Today on NPR's Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Douglas Holtz-Eakin.  Terry asked about McCain's economic knowledge and Holtz-Eakin gave a very interesting answer:

Terry Gross - John McCain has said that the economy is not his strong point.  That he doesn't know that much about the economy. Is that a fatal flaw for a president?  Does it matter?

Douglas Holtz-Eakin: He has a phenominal grasp of the economy and the remark he made is self-depricating.  That's John McCain in his truest form.  But he is comparing himself to a standard of excellence on international affairs and national security that no one could meet.  He's the preminent expert in those areas.  He's been the chair of the commerce committee.  He's a superb policy maker on economics and the US economy is in good hands with John McCain.

There is much tongue clucking amongst the mainstream media gurus in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin. Was it hubris?  Arrogance?  Too much from a United States senator, who is a presidential candidate, but not yet (or perhaps never) President of the United States?  I say no.

This is not about supporting Barack Obama or any lack of support for John McCain. This is about a lack of respect for every soldier that has fought in, is fighting in and has given the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. John McCain’s assertion that another elected official (Barack Obama) wants to intentionally lose the war in Iraq is absolutely the lowest of the low.  How could any sensible man, elected official, presidential candidate, especially a veteran, say this about another elected official? His assertion is essentially an accusation of premeditated treason.

John McCain's gave an after lunch press conference today at a German Fudge House in Columbus Ohio while Barack Obama spoke before 200,000 in Berlin, Germany. Here's how it played in Columbus.

Here's the link page to the video.

By

Staff Infection
AP Nooz
Jul 24, 2008 beer:30 EST

Republican presidential candidate John McCain (R-Get Off My Lawn) is scheduled to meet with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, on Friday in Colorado.

"I’m certainly looking forward to it," said the Arizona Senator, "I’ve been a fan of her music for many years."

I have examined the polls and how the press have been covering the campaigns and their gaffes and I have reached the conclusion that John McCain will be elected the next President, no matter how great a media week Obama has or how poor a media week McCain has.

McCain talks about the surge all the time, because it is, in his mind,  the only positive thing that he is capable of talking about.

He can't talk about the economy too much, because people may start to notice which party has been in charge for so many years.

He can't talk about his knowledge of the economy, because people may begin to notice that there isn't any discernible knowledge there.

Earlier today, after Barack Obama's speech in Berlin, the McCain campaign issued a this petty press release:

While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a citizen of the world, John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election. Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving and protecting America, Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about.

Yes, how dare a presidential candidate speak to the world about his ability to govern as president. And as a matter of fact, here's John McCain thoughts on this very subject before his trip to Latin America earlier this month:

Going to Latin America in the midst of a presidential campaign, he said, speaks less to his role as a senator than to what he's hoping to achieve if elected this fall. "It's more my ability to govern as president," he said, "my ability to lead as president, to keep up with these major issues."

Did he forget that he said that, or is John McCain that much of a hypocrite?

  Several days ago I posted a diary pointing up a story from the Albany Times Union with this catchy headline: Toxic gas-drilling technique - "Hydrofracking'' plan raises questions about water safety in state. It seems there's a new technique that can get natural gas out of shale that's now economically viable - but with significant risks of poisoning ground water in a watershed that supplies millions.

  Since the original TU article, there have been several followup stories. (more below the fold)

This piece in Reuters, showing once again that the media gives too much power to people in focus groups, suggests that economists prefer a John McCain White House to a Barack Obama one.

The economy is a big issue. It has overtaken the war in Iraq as the most talked about thing by late night stand-up comedians and idiotic cable news anchors. But there are a few points I want to make sure everyone's clear on.

Sen. McCain is at Ohio State right now at the LIVESTRONG Summit, hosted by Lance Armstrong:

On Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m., Senator John McCain will share his cancer plan and answer questions from the audience. Lance Armstrong will moderate the event.

This event was not open to the general public, but I took a few photos of a small demonstration outside (High St.) put on by SEIU and ProgressOhio, to the chants of "John McCain get off our backs, we don't want your health care tax." Nothing too exciting, but for the record:

German Village, OH (Rotters)

This morning, Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain gave the most important foreign policy speech of his candidacy.

At Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Restaurant, before a moderately enthusiastic crowd estimated to be about six -- the McCain campaign believes it was closer to 45,000 -- Senator McCain gave his views on the foreign policy issues he believes will be faced by the next President.

"My first priority as President of the United States will be to win repeal of the Treaty of Versailles," McCain exclaimed, to thunderous looks of confusion from the audience.  "I always thought you Krauts got a raw deal," he said, "and I can promise the Weimar government that I will do everything in my power to restore Germany to its rightful place as the European leader in peace and in war.  Or was that in war and peace?  That sounds familiar somehow.  Whatever."

As more and more Americans feel the pinch at the pumps, our presidential candidates have turned their focus onto a new Energy Policy for the U.S.     Sen. John McCain has offered us several quick solutions.    He wants a gas tax holiday and he wants to open up off-shore drilling.   (Which he has opposed in Washington for the last 30 years.  We’ll leave the flip-flopper argument to another time.)

McCain apparently isn't as tech ignorant as we think.  Like most Republicans, he appears to be getting all his news from chain emails, because he's parroting the latest talking point that's been propagating down the pipe that brought previous bits of GOP misdirection.  

Earlier, campaigning in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., McCain credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign.

See, we didn't even have to drill to lower the price of oil, we only had to talk about it.  Which has to make you wonder why Bush didn't bother to remove the executive ban until after Republicans had decided to make oil the focus of their campaign.  (Oh yeah, and how is it that Democrats kept oil companies from saving us when Bush left the executive ban in effect until now?)

What's the real reason oil prices are falling?

"The worries about demand erosion in the U.S. and an economic slowdown are really pulling prices down," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with consulting firm Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore.

The Energy Department's report also showed that U.S. gasoline stockpiles jumped 2.9 million barrels last week, far more than analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts predicted. The decline in crude inventories was less than forecast.

So congratulations to McCain, Bush, and the Republicans!  They've reduced oil prices by wrecking the economy to the point where demand is falling.  I guess that's one way to satisfy the supply/demand equation.

Don't worry, none of this will make the email.

Now that Obama has gone on a tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Irael and several other countries and established some more foreign policy credentials, it's time to come back home and talk about what Americans care most about right now:

THE ECONOMY.

The right wing, and the McCain campaign, are getting practically orgasmic over the fact that Obama referred to himself as a "proud citizen of the United States and as a fellow citizen of the world."  The McCainiacs see incipient one-worldism and insufficient Americanism in the reference.  

Once those two steps are completed, Obama said, the government should offer a path to citizenship for existing illegals.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

   I admire his honesty and his ability to get it right.

I have to say that he has the attention of everyone that live in a border state when comparing McCains views and flips on the border subject.