Masters of America - International Social/Political

But all is not lost, Bankers and Financial elites are grooming a new president, however, some gnawing doubts remain. Fully cognisant of the fact they need a radical change in the White House their two runners are becoming slightly problematic. Bomb, bomb McCain is losing popularity for a number of reasons but he has proven himself LOYAL to the Bankers and ruling cabals.

Obama on the other hand has forced the elites to take him on board by SUCCESSFULLY utilising grass roots Internet methods of funding and campaigning – a formula that would have won him the presidency without the support of Wall St tycoons and media moguls!

The interesting factor -- not forgetting the last short-lived president to disregard the ruling executive – is that Obama has made all the right ‘noises’ after the executive tentatively embraced him. Obama’s AIPAC performance and his re-commitment to Central Asian oil wars were signs of his compliance! However, such deft handling of flagrant policy inversions raises some doubts and creates consternation in elite circles; can this UNKNOWN black man be trusted?

Obama has demonstrated that he has a MIND (imagine that) of his own – not good – and that he is as sharp as a razor. Combine those qualities with his demonstrated pragmatism/'versatility' and the picture gets even worse for the very suspicious ruling cabals. There is no room for error as the world is in crisis and heads might roll if things go wrong – indeed gentlemen!

If Obama decides to double cross Wall St. and the Jewish lobby after he is elected -- a very simple manoeuvre for a smooth talking, charismatic con artist -- what then? Is there a bullet with his name on it or in these turbulent times an unfortunate lunatic assassin or ‘tragic accident’ just waiting to happen?

Enough doubt exists for elites to go with McCain, we know from bitter past experience what happens to a president who is capable of independent thought.

Think like ruling conservatives if you desire an accurate answer; reject uncertainty and go with loyalty. Air-head Palin for president after McCain’s tragic heart attack, perfect! Computerised voting -- it’s in the bag!

Republican running mates John McCain and Sarah Palin raised new questions about Barack Obama's readiness to lead Tuesday, taking advantage of Joe Biden's claims that Obama would face a "generated crisis."

Biden's comments seemed to hand the McCain campaign yet another last-minute line of attack as the Arizona senator tries to close the gap between him and his Democratic rival in the final two weeks of the presidential campaign.

"We don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars," McCain said Tuesday in Harrisburg, Pa.

"Thanks for the warning, Joe," Palin said to cheers from about 2,500 supporters at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Nevada.

Biden made the comments over the weekend to two fundraising audiences in Seattle, saying he expected world figures to test Obama early if he wins the election in two weeks.

"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking," Biden said. "Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

The McCain campaign jumped on the remarks, with McCain and Palin bringing them up on the stump Monday evening and Tuesday.

McCain on Tuesday, in response to Biden's reference to President Kennedy, recalled being ready to launch a bombing run during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

"I was on board the USS Enterprise," McCain, a former naval aviator, said. "I sat in the cockpit, on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, you know how close we came to a nuclear war."

As the crowd of several thousand began to swell with cheers and applause, he added: "America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I've been tested, my friends."

Democratic aides said that Biden was merely reciting history and assuring supporters that Obama is the man for the job.

But Palin on Tuesday linked Biden's comments to Obama's foreign policy positions.

She said the "crisis" scenarios Biden referenced could be triggered by Obama's willingness to sit down with "the world's worst dictators," his willingness to send U.S. military into Pakistan without the approval of their government, or other positions.

"But I guess the looming crisis that most worries the Obama campaign right now is Joe Biden's next speaking engagement. Let's call that crisis scenario number five," she said.

The McCain campaign is trying to build steam off Biden's remark as it incorporates several other lines of attack into its day-to-day message.

McCain already has gotten significant political mileage out of the man known as Joe the Plumber, who was filmed asking Obama about his tax policies two weekends ago and became the rhetorical centerpiece of the final presidential debate last week. Republicans seized on Obama's response that he would "spread the wealth around" if elected.

The McCain campaign has gone so far as to liken Obama's philosophy to "socialism."

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha also seemed to do Republicans a favor after he called his own constituents "racist" in a newspaper interview. He later apologized and then clarified, saying some of his constituents are just "rednecks."

As McCain struggles against the odds to lock down support in Obama-leaning Pennsylvania, he cited Murtha's remarks Tuesday.

"You may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about western Pennsylvania lately," he said.

McCain fumbled his next line: "And you know I couldn't agree with them more." But he continued: "I could not disagree with those critics more. This is a great part of America. This is where people love their country and they serve it."

And while Obama's record-shattering $150 million raised in September may seem like very bad news for the McCain campaign, McCain surrogates are trying to turn the report to their advantage, arguing that Obama, who declined to take public financing in the general election, is trying to buy the race.

"Senator Barack Obama has brought change all right. He's the first person since Watergate to reject public financing, raise $600 million," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top McCain supporter, said at a rally Tuesday in Bensalem, Pa. "That's the kind of change that going to ruin America. Don't reward that guy. Tell him you're not going to buy Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is not for sale."

It's unclear whether McCain can turn any of his campaign's latest talking points into significant gains at the ballot boxes. The Republican candidate has toyed with a number of messaging strategies throughout the campaign, only to watch Obama's numbers rise.

The latest Gallup tracking poll Tuesday showed Obama still leading nationally by as much as 10 percentage points among likely voters.

Biden on Tuesday advised Republicans to stop slinging attacks at Obama and concentrate on offering plans to fix the nation's deteriorating economy.

Biden told a rally in Greeley, Colo., that this election is "all about the economy."

"If it's about the economy, talk about the economy, not about Barack Obama's heritage," he thundered to a crowd at the University of Northern Colorado.

Biden said McCain has no plan to help the middle class and noted that Obama was meeting with advisers in Florida on Tuesday to discuss immediate steps to shore up the economy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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MESILLA, New Mexico (AFP) — Bitter infighting has broken out between aides to John McCain and Sarah Palin over management of the Alaska governor's role in the campaign, it was reported Saturday.

The Politico.com website cited four Republicans close to Palin as saying she had grown frustrated by advice given to her by campaign handlers, whom supporters blame for a series of public relations gaffes.

The report said Palin was now increasingly willing to disregard orders from advisors, suggesting the Republican running mate was in the initial stages of forging her own identity for a future tilt at the White House.

"She's lost confidence in most of the people on the plane," said a senior Republican quoted by Politico, adding that Palin had already begun to "go rogue" in some of her public pronouncements on the campaign trail.

The Alaska Governor's supporters accused McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt and senior aide Nicole Wallace of already attempting to blame Palin for the failure of the campaign.

"These people are going to try and shred her after the campaign to divert blame from themselves," a McCain insider was quote by Politico as saying.

When asked to comment on the Politico story by AFP, Wallace said in an email: "I have no comment other than what's in the story, if people wish to throw me under the bus, my personal belief is that the graceful thing to do is to lie there."

News of tensions within the McCain camp comes after polls suggested Palin -- who electrified the party base when named as running mate in August -- is now dragging down the Republican ticket 10 days from the November 4 election.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released on Wednesday found that Americans are less and less convinced she is worthy to serve as the country's number-two leader.

"Her numbers have plummeted in our poll ... what's more 55 percent think she's unqualified to serve as president if the need arises, which is a troublesome number given McCain's age," said NBC political director Chuck Todd.

It confirmed the findings of an ABC/Washington Post poll released earlier this month which found that six in 10 voters saw Palin, 44, as lacking the experience to be an effective president. "A third are now less likely to vote for McCain because of her," the Post added.

After being found guilty of abusing her power as governor in the so-called "troopergate" scandal over the firing of her ex-brother-in-law, Palin now faces a second probe over whether she violated ethics rules in the affair.

Palin was also back in the headlines this week after it emerged 150,000 dollars had been spent on clothes for Palin since late August, potentially undermining her appeal as a down-to-earth working "hockey mom."

© 2008 AFP

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