100-plus jobs went to campaign donors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications. Several donors got state-subsidized loans for business ventures of dubious public value.
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Is there any quid pro quo?
Why, no?
This is why the LA Times is losing money. It is unworthy to wrap fish.

The Dishonorable roll lists contributors to Yes on California Proposition 8.

Leaders of the campaign to outlaw same-sex marriage in California made an offer to businesses that have given money to the state's largest gay-rights group: Give us money or we'll publicly identify you as opponents of traditional unions.

Supporters of same-sex marriage called the tactic "an attempt to extort people" and "a bit Mafioso."
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Mafioso is an exaggeration

A threatening letter has sparked a new controversy here in San Diego surrounding the gay marriage debate. Donors who gave money to the No on Prop 8 campaign say they received blackmail letters demanding money, and the Yes on 8 campaign now says the letters were sent by their employees.
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It was probably not wise to send such a letter in the midst of a fierecely fought campaign. Apologize and move on……

Former Republican Rep. Tom Campbell, who briefly served as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget director and is fundraising for a potential run for governor in 2010, has written an op-ed urging Republicans to vote against Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban.
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Say good bye to any nomination from the California GOP ever again…..

But is it really over?

As Mr. McCain enters this closing stretch, his aides — as well as some outside Republicans and even a few Democrats — argue that he still has a viable path to victory.

“The McCain campaign is roughly in the position where Vice President Gore was running against President Bush one week before the election of 2000,” said Steve Schmidt, Mr. McCain’s chief strategist. “We have ground to make up, but we believe we can make it up.”
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Of course, it is NOT over. And, there are down ticket races that need to be won.

With despair rising even among many of John McCain’s own advisers, influential Republicans inside and outside his campaign are engaged in an intense round of blame-casting and rear-covering — much of it virtually conceding that an Election Day rout is likely.

A McCain interview published Thursday in The Washington Times sparked the latest and most nasty round of finger-pointing, with senior GOP hands close to President Bush and top congressional aides denouncing the candidate for what they said was an unfocused message and poorly executed campaign.

McCain told the Times that the administration “let things get completely out of hand” through eight years of bad decisions about Iraq, global warming, and big spending.
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Pundits have to remember that after 8 years of the Bush Presidency the natural political cycle disfavored the GOP from the start

Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?
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The NYT is obsessed with smearing Sarah Palin. Ah the double standard and what did Obama spend his $ millions of campaign on?

Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staff member. It was Amy Strozzi, who was identified by the Washington Post this week as Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

Yesterday CNN's Drew Griffin addressed his misquote of my article during that interview with Sarah Palin:

Unfortunately, in my question, I botched it. I misquoted York by using the word "I" instead of reading his direct quote, which I had in front of me, which attributes the statement to the media.

I thought it was a very good article, Wolf. I was going to get it — use it to get the governor to answer the question why her, you know, successful record in Alaska wasn't getting out. She had no trouble answering that question and in no way did I intend to misquote the National Review…

I've since called Byron York and his editor, Rich Lowry, to explain what happened and told them both that I regret any harm this may have brought.

Just for the record, I've said that I thought the bigger harm in all this was to Palin, who was hit on-camera with an out-of-nowhere quote. But as far as I'm concerned, Griffin's explanation is fine with me……
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Despicable

Krauthammer calls Obama’s foreign-policy instincts “flabby”, but we can apply that to the thinking of other conservatives who have endorsed Obama. Ken Adelman followed Christopher Buckley in engaging in little more than wishing on a birthday candle that Obama will become more conservative once he wins the election. Neither of them gave any evidence to believe that Obama would do so. Instead of treating this election as a choice between a centrist and a hard-Left ideologue, Adelman and Buckley indulged in spite over their distaste for McCain and wound up making fools of themselves.
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Fools for Obama

Barack Obama has re mained cool and confident amid the financial melt down, even as John McCain at times has been embarrassing, lurching from one proposal to the next. But while the polls are reflecting Obama's steady hand, the markets haven't. In fact, they're getting worse by the day as Obama's lead widens
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Of course the markets are scared and in a panic. Obama's tax politices will be anti-business and his regulation will be oppressive.

But make no mistake, a Democratic rout on Election Day will mean same-sex marriage from Maine to Maui.
That’s not what you’ll hear from Obama or Biden. When asked to define marriage during his interview with Rick Warren, Obama said, “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it's also a sacred union. God's in the mix.”

During his debate with Governor Sarah Palin, Joe Biden told moderator Gwen Ifill: “Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that.”
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Should Proposition 8 passes the federal legal challenge will accelerate.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are."

"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are.

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," said Palin, saying the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. Still, she has been wearing pricey clothes at campaign events this fall. She said they will be given back, auctioned off or sent to charity. Most of them, she said, haven't even left the belly of her campaign plane.
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You mean the MSM spun the story? No! They wouldn't do that…..

As campaign managers for Sarah Palin plot last-minute tactics to get her elected, Hollywood bigwigs are convening strategy sessions of their own. Their goal: finding the ideal on-air vehicle for the vp candidate if and when she exits politics.

Love her or hate her — there doesn't seem to be much middle ground with Palin — the 44-year-old hockey mom has captured the public imagination in a way no politician has since, well, Barack Obama.

But as more and more polls cast doubt on the McCain-Palin ticket, producers and agents across the entertainment world are discussing possibilities for capitalizing on her fame, ranging from an Oprah-style syndicated talk show to a Sean Hannity-like perch in cable news or on radio.
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She should go on Fox News and radio to continue her conservative credibility like Reagan who lost in 1976.

McCain has cut into Obama's lead for a second day and is now just 1.1 points behind. The spread was 3.7 Wednesday and 6.0 Tuesday. The Republican is making headway with middle- and working- class voters, and has surged 10 points in two days among those earning between $30,000 and $75,000. He has also gone from an 11-point deficit to a 9-point lead among Catholics.
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This poll was the closest in 2004.

The robber is described as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes.
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Obviously a racist story, right?

Of all the traditional social institutions that have suffered at the hands of progressives during the last half-century, perhaps none has been so rapidly dismantled as marriage. Once considered the cornerstone of a stable society, the prestige of marriage has rapidly diminished, as it is increasingly viewed as merely one more "lifestyle." Many on the left argue that marriage actually causes significant harm, formalizing patriarchal dominance while subjugating women, and endangering their physical and mental well-being.

Does marriage really deserve this dismal reputation? Absolutely not, say Maggie Gallagher and Linda J. Waite, authors of the newly-released work, The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially. Instead, as the title of their book suggests, Gallagher and Waite use extensive scientific data along with illustrative anecdotes to demonstrate that the traditional "'til death do us part" vow

Can we trust the polls this year? That's a question many people have been asking as we approach the end of this long, long presidential campaign. As a recovering pollster and continuing poll consumer, my answer is yes — with qualifications.
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The Presidential race will tighten.

The New York Times Co posted a quarterly loss from continuing operations on Thursday, hurt by charges for job cuts and said it is looking for ways to reduce its debt.
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Oh really?

The company, which reported a 16 percent drop in advertising revenue at its news media group, also said it might write down as much as $150 million at its New England operations, underscoring the dismal state of newspaper advertising.

As Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., prepares for an Indiana rally this morning, one of the state's favorite sons hits the radio airwaves.
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Time to tell Chevy that no more purchases till they get rid of Cougar's songs.

Let's just call Tom Cole (R-OK), the head of the NRCC, what he is: a douchebag.
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Indeed Tom Cole is a douchbag

There's a suspicion in some McCain loyalist precincts that Gov. Sarah Palin is beginning to play the Republican base against John McCain — McCain won't let her campaign in Michigan…McCain won't let her bring up Jeremiah Wright… McCain doesn't like her terrorist pal talks….

Think ahead to 2010…2011…2012.

Palin is ambitious. Very ambitious.

And if she wants the job, she's easily the frontrunner to become THE voice of the angry Right in the Wilderness. She is a favorite of talk radio and Fox News conservatives, and speaks their language as only a true member of the club can. (Her recent Limbaugh interview was full of dog whistles that any Dittohead would recognize. Including her actual use of the word ditto.)
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Sarah Palin may very well be the frontrunner in 2012 or 2016. But, watch Mitt Romney if he runs and wins California governor