The Hollywood Liberal

Suffolk Poll: Obama Ahead in Florida
A new Suffolk University poll in Florida finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 49% to 44%.

Key finding: “The poll also asked about all of those who waited in hours-long lines to vote early, and among early voters, Obama crushes McCain, 60 to 40 percent.”

LLN FDL: Boots Of Chinese Plastic
The Pretenders – Boots of Chinese Plastic.

What’s on your mind tonight?

The Pretenders – Boots of Chinese Plastic.

What’s on your mind tonight?

How McCain Turned His Back on the Vietnamese Man Who Saved His Life
Forty-one years after McCain was shot down in Vietnam, the man who saved his life has died in obscurity.

A Night At The Congressional Races
Here’s tonight’s run-down on the Congressional races; NRSC’s New Mailer Invites Children To Read About Pornography, Rape The NRSC has this new mailer against Al Franken, presented in the format of a goofy children’s book about what an obscene human…

Seriously?
Former CIA Director Porter Goss has been appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) as co-chairman of the new Office of Congressional Ethics. Late Update: For those who may not recall, Goss’ disastrous run…

Barbara West should be fired

There are some things that really have been repulsive in this election season. Over the weekend Joe Biden did an interview with a Florida television station. The questions were simply the worst Republican talking points, ever. KFTV needs to apologize and fire Barbara West. There is a difference between a political operative and a news reporter.

From FireDogLake:

It’s a tale of two interview subjects and one GOP-agenda-driven “journalist.” And what a tale it is. JedReport took a peek at KFTV’s Barbara West and interviews with Joe Biden and John McCain. The side by side comparison is astonishing.

Watch the clip and you’ll see exactly what I mean: bias, alla way, baby.

Matt Stoller’s done a series of posts recently about issues of bias in local media, and repeated use of hand-fed GOP talking points as “research” which is worth watching closely. With the advent of media consolidation, more and more local stations are in the hands of fewer and fewer large corporate conglomerates, and that’s not good for fact-checking or diversity of opinion.

BT asked this morning that folks sign a petition demanding an apology from WFTV for this hatchet job posing as an interview. I’m asking for your help on this as well.

You can sign the petition here.

For Obama, a new cause for caution
CONCORD, N.H. – Barack Obama has vaulted to a 15-point lead over John McCain in New Hampshire, according to a new Boston Globe poll, a significant gap in a state that McCain considers his second political home and has long been a swing state in the race for the White House…

Senate Conservatives Would ?Welcome Lieberman With Open Arms? Next Congress
With the possibility of Democrats gaining a “supermajority” in the Senate, Senate conservatives appear to have their sights set on Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Interviewed on MSNBC today, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) said that he would welcome Lieberman into his caucus “with open arms“: “We welcome Joe. I think Joe’s a terrific guy with a lot […]

With the possibility of Democrats gaining a “supermajority” in the Senate, Senate conservatives appear to have their sights set on Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Interviewed on MSNBC today, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) said that he would welcome Lieberman into his caucus “with open arms“:

“We welcome Joe. I think Joe’s a terrific guy with a lot of integrity and does what he believes,” Ensign stated. “But, you know, it’ll be interesting to see how the Democrats handle Joe Lieberman after what he’s done in this presidential race. But as far as Republicans are concerned, we welcome him with open arms.”

Lieberman sides with McCain on foreign policy issues, including Iraq and kicking Russia out of the G8, but he has also refused to condemn McCain’s radical Social Security privatization scheme. In an interview with ThinkProgress at the RNC in September, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said that Lieberman is “practically” voting like a conservative already:

SPECTER: Well I would like to see him move a little closer to being a Republican. I’d like to see him vote with the Republicans when we go back in September. He’s practically there. That would have the consequence of giving us a Republican senator . We could confirm a lot of judges. We could do a lot of things.

The media has also picked up on Lieberman’s potential switch to the GOP. On Friday, Politico’s Mike Allen told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt that Lieberman “very may well caucus with Republicans” next year:

ALLEN: Any single senator can stop something, so no matter how bad the numbers are, Republicans senators are still going to have clout and, a little tidbit for you, when you’re doing your tallying, don’t forget to count Sen. Lieberman. He very well may caucus with Republicans. He almost certainly is to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee and that would allow him to be counted as a Republican.

Listen here:

In July, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) “did not rule out” removing Lieberman from his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee in 2009.

GOP Senator Banks on Obama in Oregon Race
PORTLAND, Ore. — In the state where President Bush has his lowest popularity ratings in the nation, the incumbent Republican senator is reaching across the aisle and groping for the coattails of Barack Obama.

Winning Clinton’s West Virginia Voters
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — It’s hard to find a place more Democratic than here in Mingo County, snug up against Kentucky in the southwestern corner of the state, where Mother Jones fought to unionize striking coalminers. In 2004, when President Bush trounced John Kerry by seven points in this state, Mingo voted 56 percent for Kerry. Of 19,391 registered voters, just 1,741 are Republicans.

The Endgame in Florida
ORLANDO — Florida provides the appropriate closing metaphor for the 2008 campaign. If John McCain were on a clear path to victory, there would be no campaign here at all. Yet there was McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, battling on Sunday across the state’s crucial central corridor in Tampa and Kissimmee. Come Wednesday, Bill Clinton will campaign with Barack Obama — the former president’s first joint appearance with the Democratic nominee — at an evening rally here.