Hillary 2.0 with a multiplier

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Everything the Rethugs have told us for years they hated about Hillary Clinton we're now seeing unfold in Cindy McCain. Appearing this morning on ABC to tell George Stephanopoulos how offended she was by Obama's Invesco Field speech. The beer baroness meeting privately with Sarah "Barracuda" Palin at her Arizona getaway ranch just before McCain's endorsement.

Even Cindy's trip into the war zone of Georgia...did she get roses? Did she chat up any of the American "advisors" and thank 'em for the campaign boost?

Along with everything else this campaign season is tellin' us about the tired old party, the emergence of Cindy McCain's iron hand in the campaign reinforces just how hypocritical the Rethugs are.

And everything they point their finger at goes back at them four-fold.

Meanwhile, we have McCain's arranged "marriage" with his newfound soulmate...yeah, I'm thinkin' Putin, too. Although it doesn't seem to be her eyes he was checkin' out in the video from Dayton. Funny, though, how the metaphors have a way of coming full circle.

So right now, we've got the new darlin' of the Republican base. Palin...meet Putin...meet....[Evita] Peron?

Well, there is the small matter of her lying about being strongly anti-bridge-to-Nowhere. And using the power of her office to get a state official fired when he wouldn't jump to her command and her husband's 24 phone calls. And say, just what was her "Dude" doin' sitting in on state meetings about gas and oil while he worked for the oil industry?

And that's just the first weekend. Imagine what we've yet to learn once Gustav passes.

"Don't cry for me, Minnesota...."
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Long-Suffering Wives Club

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In Ohio, some say the tide will be tipped toward Obama because of John McCain's role in the outsourcing of DHL jobs.

Tip O'Neill said it, all politics is local.

Hereabouts in Prairie Country [aka the Dakotas and the best of Minnesota], McCain just may be done in by a Buffalo Chip.

As Jane Ahlin points out today in Fargo's Forum, McCain's suggestion that his wife Cindy would make a fine entrant for the Miss Buffalo Chip Contest...right along with being a fine first lady...was met with, well, a pointed response from the bikers in the audience at Sturgis.

Surely John McCain realized something wasn’t quite right when a bunch of the patriotic fellows he was addressing at the Sturgis (S.D.) Motorcycle Rally shouted to Cindy McCain, “Show us your boobs!” But by then it was too late.

The Miss Buffalo Chip contest is noted for such qualifying events as "live orgasm," "wet t-shirt" and "pickle licking" contests.

And it's not as though McCain tossed off his little bon mots to Cindy on the spur of the moment, notes Ahlin.

Like many others, when I first heard this story, I thought McCain must have been trying to be clever with a little off-the-cuff humor that bombed. But video of the event shows that’s not so (that darned Internet). He read his wife joke from a prepared script, which makes one wonder not simply whether he thought it was funny (obviously he did), but also whether he practiced it.

Even before the big revelation about another politician who shall forever be named "Ratboy," I noted in a Friday commentary that McCain has real women issues [go ahead, scroll back].

Maybe the mainstream media, The Villagers and other Very Important People are still pretending that isn't so, but in light of recent events, its abundantly clear out here in Politics, Local where reality exists that two men this week have shown their worst colors when it comes to how they treat their wives.
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Confidential to Cindy

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Perhaps a step back would be in order for you, Cindy, and the rest of the rightwing smear machine, of which you have now made yourself deliberately, repetitively, a part.

"Let she who is without sin cast the first stone."

Wise philosophy...wise political strategy, too. Just sayin'.
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"I Voted"

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Prairie Country had an election yesterday—not to worry, no presidential races on the ballot. Yes, the presidential primary season is truly over. We were voting for City Commissioners, County Commissioners, School Board, Park Board. And a primary at the state level, but no cross-overs allowed, so that doesn't indicate a whole lot. Oh, yes, and whether we can smoke in bars.

Some results gave me pause, so let's talk about 'em a bit, because even small elections can be microcosms of the macro-election coming this fall.

Women incumbents were voted out of City Commission seats in both Fargo and West Fargo, one, the largest city, and the other, among the the fastest-growing cities in North Dakota [sidebar to Chris Matthews: Tweety, you came to North Dakota and you didn't call? You didn't write? I'm not feelin' the luv... and you looked so gosh-darned cute in that black cowboy hat. What's the metaphor, Chris?]. We are now back to business as usual in both cities—greying white males with boosterism and sports arenas in their hearts and guts. Chalk up one in each city for the Fatcats.

Was there a Hillary Factor? Unquestionably both were targeted by the business [bar and restaurant owners] crowd. Will there be a backlash against women candidates after Hillary's campaign—the law of unintended consequences coming into play? I don't know, but it's something I'm chewing over.

The pro-smoking crowd lost bigtime and this morning their spokesman predicted they'll need to gear up statewide in the future against a likely campaign by those awful charities with their nasty mortality statistics and campaign dollars. Chalk up one for Families and better, proactive health management. Wait a sec. Management, isn't that a bigbiz kinda thing? They should be happy about that.

Across the river in Minnesnowta over the weekend, Al Franken won the Democrats' endorsement to run against former Democrat-turned-Republican-turned Opportunist...nah, that's not right...Opportunist-Democrat turned Republican [yeah, that fits] Norm Coleman.

Don't know what Minnesota's Republican Governor Tim Paw-plenty was doing over the weekend [*cough* McCainiacism *cough*]...sure wasn't showin' up for his job. In the true spirit o'Katrina, it took until Monday morning for P'lenty to do a fly-over in the North Country/Hubbard County after the force-3 tornado blew through Friday morning. Heckuva job, Timmie. Guess he wants to show his chops for that veep slot on the McCain ticket.

Now we turn to the General. Come November there will be clear choices. You might find a few here on the distinctions between Republicans and Democrats.

Or, in the weeks to come, expect to be flooded with screed. That Obama woman, she's too proud, she's not proud enough, she's...why, she's...

"Yes"? The strong mother of a loving family, a wife who truly cares about her husband and his campaign and his causes which are all our causes.

Or, that wacky Cindy...was she proud stealing drugs from the charity she was working for? Proud that she could buy herself a political rising star? Proud that she could be holier than thou in the best tradition of hypocritical Republicans? Think anybody will ask her?

Or, in the state elections, like Minnesota, will it be about how racy Franken's writings were back in the day? Or how racy Coleman's little woman's poses were back in the Washington Post?

Or could we maybe—with the help of a shamed press corps that will no longer allow themselves to be used for political, partisan propagandizing—talk about the real policy differences that separate us, and work for and vote for the candidates at all levels of government who will work to restore the "US" in USA.

Nah, I'm not holdin' my breath, either.

Brace yourselves, America, it's gonna be an epic battle.
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Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, just sayin'.