a barter economy would be good.
no change to worry about.

Cynicism is a very useful tool for those in power. Although it inherently expresses a sense of dissatisfaction, it offers nothing as a way out. And Bill Maher is the master at portraying the emptiness of all the paths out of the current impasse, which is why he is so gladly showcased by the media masters. While evoking an image of cultural resistance to the Bible Belt, his show induces a sense of apathy and impotence that severs activism from its water source, which is the fountain of justice.

He acts as a mouthpiece for the widespread alienation from politics while offering no alternative except resigned self-indulgence, which feeds consumerist culture and saps the thirst for genuine alternatives. Portraying the absurdities of both left and right is an entertaining and lucrative business. For from lampooning those in power, as such portrayals pretend, they lampoon those the very wellsprings of resistance to those powers.

Bill wrote, "It's still to early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama. "

rofl and you wrote that AFTER your intro? And might I ask, what evidence do you have that he is smart. The only talent you have is that he learned well from Rev Wrights preaching and he learned to read teleprompters well.

Smart is the last thing this narcissist is. Slick, hustler, yeah, he got you. lol

Even for DEMs, they haven't done JACK ASS!

It's gone as far as people actually owning up to being willing to vote for Sarah Palin. What exactly is the difference between you and the freepers now, again?

about Bill Maher...
"Bill Maher is one of the most politically astute comedians in America today."

Boy, if this piece comes from one of the most politically astute comedians in America today I would cringe to know who the least politically astute comedian is!!! Bill has been schizophrenic on his position on the Democratic Party since Obama has been in office and the Dems have landed an all-powerful "fillibuster proof" majority in Congress! There is no excuse for the United States citizens to be waging a war against the corporate pigs that are moving in to our public sector jobs and theft of our very houses and assets we own but do not control (like the airwaves and our public lands) and we are losing because the policians are paid for by election campaign dollars!!! we are SLAVES and Bill Maher is helping to water down our legitimate ANGER!!

Bill...you are a traitor to the people and I don't think you are funny ONE BIT!! OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE AND YOU ARE MAKING APOLOGIES FOR OBAMA AND THE CORPORATE DEMS WHO ARE SELLING OUT OUR COUNTRY!! SHAME ON YOU!!!

Near the beginning of his article, Mahr says that he expected President Obama to be something like President Franklin Roosevelt.
This is a very common misgiving.
Many people don't realize that President Obama is not a Liberal,
but rather is a Centrist.
This is why, though I like the idea of having someone other than a white man as President (and I am a white man), Obama is too Right Wing for my taste. Dennis Kucinich was my favorite, of the candidates for President in 2008. (Also, Edwards and Dodd were more Liberal than Obama.)
Once a person knows that President Obama is a Centrist, then his actions make sense.

Screw Obama. Is there an issue he hasn't completely caved on? And now he's trying to sabotage health care!

www.KickThemAllOut.org

Well, it's certainly abundantly clear today that when Obama told us, before the election, that Bill Ayers of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) had absolutely no influence on him, that he was telling the truth ---- because Obama has sure as hell not been dong anything to fight for a 'democratic society'!

Obama never mentioned anything, before we 'gave him' our votes, about the ruling-elite corporate/financial imperialist war-machine, and racist tyranny of economic oppression that SDS fought against in the late 1960's.

Obama was being truthful with us when he totally ignored the very existence of this ruling-elite corporate/financial Empire that controls our country by hiding behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy, and he was being totally truthful when he said nothing about this Empire that he himself was about to become the best front-man for.

It's just that we were too stupid, before the election, to ask him, "Hey, what about this Empire that is killing our country and the world? Will you represent this deceitful and hidden corporate/financial Empire or or will you represent us?"

We never asked him about which side he was on in our battle with Empire --- so he wasn't lying when he said nothing, because we never asked the right question!

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

PS. At least Bil Ayers and his fellow Students for a Democratic Society were smart enough to ask students joining them in fighting against the imperialist war-monger/racist Empire, "Are you with us or are you just an infiltrator from the Empire 'posing' as one of us, in order to turn on us and wreck the movement."

We never even asked this phony plant if he was 'working for the man', working for the Empire. Shame on us.

As the old saying goes, "If you fool me once about an imperialist president, shame on you. But if you fool me, a dozen times, about an imperial president --- shame on all of us".

Bill Maher wrote:
"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras.
____________________________________________________________

No Bill, if the election had gone the other way, we will be in the same shit we are in right now, but without the little sprinkle of sugar Obama added to it.

The old at-least-were-not-as-bad-as-them claim is all they have left. After making the argument that nothing has changed--that it a continuation actually, they always resort to not-as-bad.

The problem is they are incapable or unwilling to recognize when it is exactly the same.

This IS as good as it gets with Obmam. It's difficult to go further downhill when we are already at bottom; however, Obama is searching for a way. Maher is just a timid chronicler who tilts at windbags.

UPDATE: REPUBLICANS WIN VIRGINIA 60 - 40 AT 92% OF THE PRECINCTS IN !

REPUBLICANS ALSO WIN STRONG IN NEW JERSEY 50 - 44 AT 88% OF THE PRECINCTS IN !

WAKE UP BILL MAHER ! THIS PARTY'S ALREADY GETTING ITS FIRST TASTE OF GETTING INCINERATED BY THE PUBLIC ANGER AND THIS IS A VERY VERY BAD OMEN, YOU HEAR ?!?!? I'M NOT A REPUBLICAN BUT THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR PATHETIC LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNING IN WASHINGTON !!!

The systemic flaws in the US political process will not be quickly changed.

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace
http://www.texansforpeace.org

I didn't realize you were so naive Bill
Wake up

Hi Bill,

As a big fan of yours, I'd like to offer the suggestion(s) that you:

First, adopt the same attitude toward Barack Obama that you have applied previously -- and tellingly -- to the various religious leaders and messiahs that you interviewed and exposed in your movie Religulous.

Second, invite Noam Chomsky and other non-naive guests to appear on your show more often. You may recall the last time Chomsky
was on, when he predicted the course of events pretty much as they have actually unfolded in Iraq -- though you weren't prepared to accept his unvarnished predictions regarding US crimes and corruption at the time.

As you know, organized religion operates according to certain general rules, which are pretty easily understood by anyone who wishes to understand them. This fact constituted a core message of Religulous.

The same principle applies to understanding governments and government officials. So, if you're surprised and disappointed by Obama -- and don't wish to be surprised again, you can simply decide to educate yourself and your listeners/followers/fans by inviting knowlegeable guests like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Naomi Klein, Jeremy Scahill to be on your show. Naturally, they are not perfect, but are likely not to be fooled by anybody's mere rhetoric.

I feel so betrayed when I see Obama on television. First of all, he has done nothing about all the Bush crimes that were committed. Nothing. He just wants to, as he puts it, look forward and put it in the past. So he has deprived the American people of having closure with a president that continually lied to us and committed many attrosities and desimated our Constitution. When I see Obama on TV he seems to give the impression that he is some great president or something. People are suffering out here. Nothing is being done. Billions of dollars were given to large companies who gambled with our money and we (the middle class) are getting screwed royally while Obama gives lofty speeches and does nothing (except maybe appease the Republicans).

I don't care how intelligent he and Rahm are, they are not good leaders - the same goes for our sorry Congress. This country is going down the road to Hell with our good looking, full of himself president and his rich cronies. We have been betrayed on a major scale.

So, I take it all of you are going to vote for Palin in 2012? My guess is that she'll really be able to turn the country around. After all, she won't have to live through 30 death threats a day and just think, you and all those pastors won't have to be praying for the Presidents death anymore. Instead all wars can instantly stop due to Palin's Witch Doctor's potions. Yeah, that will bring change in a hurry.

And because change will be so immediate, you won't see any rallies and town hall gatherings where Palin will be called the Anti-Christ and Hitler. Intead she will be viewed as the Messiah so all you parents will DEMAND she speak in your children's schools. After all, she can tell them how well her own and her daughters abstinence worked. She won't have to defend her citizenship credentials either - proving she isn't a foreigner and therefore the antichrist like the foreigner Obama is. Besides, who needs an intelligent president anymore? GWB did fabulously without it and so will Palin.

Yeah, I say, let's get rid of all the Taliban in Afghanistan but ordain them in America!! That will be just the change America needs. In the end, we won't even need any health care at all since God will be back on America's side and everyone will be well and RICH!! I can just feel the trickling down already.

Did he get what he wanted when he became the first black President of the USA? Is Michele a Nancy Regan? The one ruling the roost? Does Michelle tell Barack every night, "Don't you dare get your self shot and killed and leave me and the girls alone for the rest of our lives." At least Ronnie had the excuse of Alzheimer’s. What's Barack’s excuse? “I can't talk tough to anyone but a chick on the campaign trail? How in the heck did the man go from hard line and eloquence on the campaign trail, to dud?

And Rham? What was all that hype about? What a useless piece of crap. Actually, he's about as useless as 90% of our House and Senate, and I'm talking on both sides. For Christ sake they even managed to wreck Joe Biden.

And for those who come on this site and bitch about the quality or caliber of comments. Please, your dammed red Republican asses are hanging out all over the place. Shut up you jack ass idiots! If you idiots ever take the country back the only thing we can look forward to is someone dropping another bomb on the US and if not a bomb, I'm confident God has a whole host of things up his sleve. Now don't let the holy rollers get to excited, I'm sure God's only going to torture you, not end the world. Even Satin couldn't stand you dumb asses on his turff. Now, was that good enough for you, you blood sucking parasites?

The way I see it is that you have to be so compromising to the Congressional Military Industrial Complex to attract the talent around you that avoids the big political mistake (spin doctors, spokesmen etc. even if the position is morally right) that you are locked in the stateroom on the ship. You can say you are controlling the ship, but the crew will only swing the rudder about 2 degrees and change speed by about 5% on your command. Everyone appears very cooperative and friendly, but no big changes are made. By the time the new occupant gets angry enough to take a risk the next election is upon them and now you either are weakened or soon to be a lame duck and the next guy is forming his group to win the White House.

We need a President that says the truth, citizens that know the truth when they hear it and Congress that reflects the will of the people. GOOD LUCK ON THAT!

Oh, come on, Bill.

OK, 0 made a fool of you and others--including some genuinely progressive and usually intelligent people, despite the denial of some Green colleagues.

Why not cut your losses?

The reason to release your hope in 0bama is not because he is NOT intelligent, well educated, articulate, and even with some experience in community organizing, but because he IS all those things:

He has the skill set to move towards progress, but he has moved against progress since his first day in office.

clearly he knows what he is doing, and clearly it is just exactly what he wants to do.

What could be worse?

obama will be climbing out from under the desks of the
monied and powerful in a while. after he takes off his knee pads gargles and straightens out his tie he will answer his
critics and defend himself! the thing of it is why did
anyone think that a guy who learned his politics in chicago
and taught at univ. of chicago wouldn't be a money whore?
wow this sure got everyone torqued up. some posts were
over a foot in length and much longer in intellectual
depth. bill hope your reading this and it gives you pause to rethink some of the things you say and even more some
of your guests!bill i'll never forget or forgive you and
michael moore for your treatment of ralph nader! bet you
would love to have that one back huh?! and if the repugs
stopped looking at color and started looking at policy
they would kiss his ass in macy's window .( an nyc term)
you are judged by the company you keep and rahm emanual
the rest of the clinton weasels are obama's company so
how were things going to change. i sure hope somebody
emerges soon that could run for his office who isn't
a repug in dem clothing with some character that we
could vote for not believe in vote for as its too
far down the road in america to believe in any pol.
anymore! ps lookat the environmental articles here
today. think your mad now? NEW RULE BILL KEEP THE
WEED CONSUMPTION DOWN A LITTLE ITS CONFUSING
YOUR JUDGEMENT. not saying that a little weed
here and there is a bad thing its cool but
less might be more!

let me get this straight -- "Logic tells me that really smart guys like Obama and Rahm Emanuel know better what they're doing than I do. They certainly know things I don't know. I think we have the same general goals and beliefs. And this is what they do for a living -- I wouldn't even try it." so why does he give them criticism if what he just wrote is true?

New rule:

If the Huffpost moderator won't print your crappy replies, post them on Common Dreams.

Loveya Bill

Is Maher so intellectually bankrupt he can't state his case without vulgar language? Get a vocabulary, Bill!

And who made you a political pundit anyway? You're more wrong than right but you think you're always right. And your guests lap it up and think you are entertaining.

If anyone can defend that lowlife Polanski and still retain his credibility, he must be delusional.

Why anyone with a good reputation and a brain would appear on your stupid show, it's unfathomable.

I like Bill Maher. I've been a fan of his for a long time. I think he speaks his mind and addresses some issues most public figures are too afraid to tackle.

But, having been a regular viewer of his for many years, I think Mister Maher misses the mark here, in a major way. The crux of the problem is highlighted in one line about President Obama and Rahm Emanuel: "I think we have the same general goals and beliefs."

After watching everything Obama has done since (and before) becoming president, I fail to see how Obama and Maher have ANY of the same goals. And the sad irony is, Maher has articulated this fact many times on his show "Real Time."

During his program this past season, particularly on the outstanding "New Rules" segment that concludes each episode, Maher has repeatedly (and often angrily) questioned Obama's positions on issues like Afghanistan, torture, rendition, bank bailouts and - perhaps Maher's biggest disappointment - single payer health care.

[From "Real Time" July 24th - "New Rule: Not Everything in America Has to Make a Profit ... If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized medicine," I get to call private health care "soulless vampires making money off human pain." The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism."]

Yet, after seeing all the facts - and calling Obama out on all of them - Maher still concludes, "Logic tells me that really smart guys like Obama and Rahm Emanuel know better what they're doing than I do."

Why, Bill? It seems to me that logic would point you in exactly the opposite direction. That Obama and Emanuel ARE smart and KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Namely, serving the people that put and keep politicians in power - the wealthy! Why else would they have taken single payer off of the table before the debate even began? Why else would they have cut a deal with pharmaceutical companies ensuring they would not try to lower drug costs, in exchange for the industry's support of the health care bill?

How many times do we have to see Democrats spout progressive rhetoric, only to take regressive action before we understand the game? Before we're willing to (as Maher himself might say) call a spade a spade? (Please, please don't misread that one.)

The idea that there's a bigger context, an "eight year plan," that Obama's trying to "reach across party lines," defies the very logic Maher regularly uses in his list of grievances against the Obama administration.

The facts are all there in plain sight, add 'em up. Don't look for any hidden agendas. For what it's worth, here's my "New Rule:" Sometimes 2 + 2 simply equals 4.

To nativetongueredux---

How do we know you're not "gringo" posing as something else?

At first I thought, some time ago, that your reference to "Gringolandia" was pretty clever, but the more I see it the less I like it.

For example, while I am "white" I have been a Minority of One all my life. So was my father, who was persecuted for his radical thinking and daring to express it. He married a "white" Jew who was a refugee from Hitler. My nephews are brown and half my cousins are asian and collectively speak about 30 languages and live in as many countries.

Meanwhile, nearly everyone I know feels "persecuted" for one reason or another, by one means or another. Including myself. And at a certain level we are probably mostly right in feeling that way. But how is it helpful to make such feelings central to our daily life?

Perhaps you should change your on-line handle to nativetongueredacted. I know this is off-topic but it seemed like a good time to bring it up.

I found the article fatuous. I expected better from Maher, who sometimes can get pretty deep.

-30-

One of the more stupid articles I have read here on CD.

At war with Honduras? Over what? Bananas?

A barter economy would be a HUGE step up for Gringolandia.

Obama is a sap. He tried for bipartisanship, not realizing that the Republicans are interested in no such thing. Hillary Clinton is tougher. I cannot imagine her getting rolled in this way.

"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras.'

And if Gore/Lieberman had won in 2000, we'd be at war with Iraq.

Bill, please--don't write anymore. Just do your little TV show on HBO and be happy with that. You are useless--except to the MSM, the democrats and the little Huffington girl.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed, too."

Really. Because... you thought that "Frankly, they own the place" was some sort of comedic figure of speech?

For f**k's sake, BM, grow up already - BO was hired to manage the place they - as in, Big Bankster and their Big Everything Else partners - own, and he was tasked with one mission: profits for shareholders.

Period.

It's about time BM, and so many others, stop pretending we've got a government that isn't owned and, in fact, can do the Will of The People if we just pressured this pol or that one a little more...

They. Own. The. Place. Mission Number 1 should be: They No Longer Own The Place.

Then a President might - just might - actually be able to put the needs of The People before the wants of the present owners...

the rich fight the poor at every step...and then decry class antagonism and moan about how bad class warfare is..... at what point do the working class - the people in this country that actually create something - get to fight back?

after the knife is drawn across our throats?

our country has become a country of rich freeloaders - stealing our wealth and calling us lazy - while,they sit around the pool waiting for the check to come in - and they get lower tax rates and bigger deductions that the rest of us......

the rich have become a cancer on our country......

shortly before getting her head chopped off marie anntoinette famously said "let them eat cake"

the rich are now famously saying " let them eat shit"

where's the guillotine when we need it?

I have only two words for Bill Maher.

BUILDING SEVEN.

We never required Obama to commit to fighting EMPIRE

If "we" are guilty of not "making him create change", then 'we' should have demanded his commitment to that change BEFORE we elected him.

I don't have any problem, nor do I feel guilty about making the "root" of our problems the issue --- and specifically THE issue that 'we' should have demanded that Obama publicly COMMIT to fight against BEFORE we elected him.

The 'root' issue, the central cause, the common thread, the metastasizing cancerous tumor that is the single cause of all the mutliplicity of symptomatic problems is EMPIRE ---- specifically, this ruling-elite corporate/financial Empire that controls our country by hiding behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy.

Thus, if 'we' have anything to we guilty about, or not doing enough (before the election to address and nail-down as a commitment before we GAVE our votes to this man) it is that we should have DEMANDED that he make a public pledge, make a commitment, damn near give us a contract, that he would confront the EMPIRE that is the source of all our problems and 'sorrows' (as Chalmers Johnson says).

Instead, we didn't even bring up the seminal issue of Empire with him, with the campaign, with the media. And Obama obliged us with our lack of questioning about what he would do against the Emprie ---- by saying ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, ABSOFRIGGINLUTLEY NOTHING about Empire. He never mentioned it. He never committed to do anything about it. He never even whispered its name (check the record).

So, if we, the average people, the informed people, the media, even the supposedly left media never even raised the question of how Obama would deal with Empire, and never asked any candidate in the 2008 presidential campaign, "Hey, what are you going to do about that Empire that is killing us and our country?" -- then that's the friggin thing to feel guilty about.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_alan_mac_070125_the_most_important_q.htm

I don't feel guilty. But I still feel, and even more strongly, that until the American people have the information and guts to ask their leaders to confront this EMPIRE we will be in the 'deep muddy' until we hit extinction.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/-Empire-Elitism-External-by-Alan-MacDonald-090310-224.html

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Four time Nader voter --- because he publicly committed to fight the EMPIRE, which is the cause of all our problems and sorrows.

It's still too early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama.

No, it's not. Smart. Talented. What does that mean? It means nothing in the face of Obama's corrupt character - the lying, vain, strutting, self-satisfied, golfing yuppie blowing the hot, vapid air of a high school valedictorian. So, he fooled Maher as well. And Gore Vidal. And millions of us not as brilliant. But not again. Vote third party in '012.

And if Bill Maher is reading this, he better pay attention to this shocker from New Jersey.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com
/public_content/politics/elections2
/election_2009/new_jersey
/election_2009_new_jersey_governor

Election 2009: New Jersey Governor
New Jersey Governor’s Race Still Shows Christie with Slight Edge

Friday, October 30, 2009

Republican Chris Christie continues to hold a three-point advantage over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey's down-to-the-wire race for governor.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state, conducted Thursday night, shows Christie with 46% of the vote and Corzine with 43%. Those numbers are unchanged from earlier in the week and little changed from polling conducted the week before.

The last four Rasmussen Reports polls have shown Christie with a very slight advantage ranging from two to four percentage points each time. Christie now leads by eight points among men while Corzine is up by two among women.

Independent candidate Chris Daggett attracts eight percent (8%) support in the latest poll. That’s up a point from earlier in the week but down three from two weeks ago. While more than 20% of the state’s voters have considered voting for Daggett at some point along the way, his actual support has been declining over the past couple of weeks. Daggett was initially seen primarily as a protest vote for those unhappy with Corzine as governor but unwilling to vote for a Republican.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

Christie leads by seven points among those who are certain they will show up and vote.

Corzine does better among voters who might not make it to the polls. That's one reason President Obama, former President Bill Clinton and other Democratic Party luminaries are spending time in the Garden State. The more of these uncommitted voters that the Democratic Party and its allies can get to the polls, the better the prospects for Corzine. Democrats generally have an edge in New Jersey when it comes to getting out the vote, which is one reason no Republican has won a statewide race since 1997.

Still, even among supporters of the president, there is some reluctance to embrace Corzine. Voters who Strongly Approve of the president’s job performance overwhelmingly support Corzine. However, among those who Somewhat Approve of Obama’s performance, 48% say they’ll vote for Corzine, while another 48% will vote for one of the challengers—28% for Christie, 20% for Daggett.

Those who Somewhat or Strongly Disapprove of how the president is doing his job prefer Christie by wide margins. Overall, 55% of New Jersey voters give the president their approval.

Measuring the ultimate impact of third-party candidates is always challenging. Many voters initially say they support an independent option and then change their minds as Election Day nears. Over the past couple of weeks, the number of voters who cite Daggett as their first preference has declined from 16% to 12%. The number who will actually vote for such a candidate typically declines because they eventually decide to vote for the lesser of two evils between the major party candidates.

Currently, Daggett draws support from eight percent (8%) of Democrats and four percent (4%) of Republicans.

Overall, Daggett is viewed favorably by 37% of voters and unfavorably by 47%. His unfavorables are up seven points from earlier in the week and 20 points over the past three weeks. Daggett is viewed unfavorably by 66% of Republicans while Democrats and unaffiliated voters are more evenly divided in their views of him.

Corzine is now viewed favorably by 44% and unfavorably by 54%. Those numbers are a slight improvement from earlier in the week.

Christie’s totals are 48% favorable and 50% unfavorable, down slightly from earlier in the week when the two were even.

Early in the year, Christie held a solid lead over Corzine. The governor’s campaign worked to make Christie an unacceptable alternative and succeeded in driving the negative ratings up for the GOP hopeful. Daggett became a possible candidate for those who didn’t like the governor but also didn’t want to vote for a Republican, so Christie began linking Corzine and Daggett. That has succeeded in driving up Daggett’s negative ratings. About the only thing certain in New Jersey at the moment is that the next governor will be someone that is disliked by at least half the state.

In this year's only other gubernatorial race, Republican Robert F. McDonnell has now opened a 13-point lead over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds in Virginia.

Silly me. I forgot to post the most recent statistics on the public anger in VA and NJ.

Here's VA and this is very bad and the trend is most likely +15 for McDonnell.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com
/public_content/politics/elections2
/election_2009/virginia
/election_2009_virginia_governor_election

Election 2009: Virginia Governor Election
Virginia Governor: McDonnell Stretches Lead To 13
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Republican Robert F. McDonnell has now opened a 13-point lead over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds with less than a week to go in the race for governor of Virginia.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state - taken last night just after President Obama made a campaign appearance for Deeds in the state - shows McDonnell ahead 54% to 41%. Only four percent (4%) remain undecided.

Earlier this month, McDonnell led by seven, and last month he was up by nine.

The Deeds campaign and the White House have gone back-and-forth over whether the president should make a campaign appearance in the state. The initial reaction from Virginia voters to the president's campaign stop with Deeds late yesterday in Norfolk isn't reassuring: 39% say Obama campaigning for Deeds in Virginia makes them less likely to vote for the Democratic candidate. Just 24% say it makes them more likely to vote for Deeds, and 36% say it has no impact on their voting decision.

Among those likely to vote, 49% approve of the way Obama has handled his job as president. That’s down four points from earlier in the month.

McDonnell is overwhelmingly trusted more than Deeds on both taxes and government spending. On the transportation issue, 45% trust McDonnell while 35% trust Deeds.

Although Deeds has hammered McDonnell over the conservative social views in a college thesis paper the latter wrote in 1989, the impact of the thesis is fading. Deeds has been on the defensive since stumbling over a debate question last month, opening himself to charges that he is willing to raise taxes.

Just 41% of voters now say McDonnell's thesis is at least somewhat important in determining how they will vote. Twenty-four percent (24%) say it is very important. But 51% rate the thesis as unimportant, with 23% saying it's not very important and 28% viewing it as not at all important.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters in the state have a favorable view of McDonnell, up three points from earlier in the month and up nine points from last month.

Deeds is viewed favorably by 47%, a number that has been holding stable.

This race is markedly different from the other governor’s race this year. The New Jersey’s governor’s race is a toss-up. Not only that, all three major candidates in the race have wrapped up very high negative ratings. Unlike Virginia, whoever wins in New Jersey will be disliked by at least half the state’s voters.

For me, the first hundred days have been a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT in this administration!!!!

Moreover, I'm beginning to think that "this is as good as it gets!" Nothing but "POLITICS AS USUAL."

And as far as "Change we can believe in" goes, that was obviously a campaign slogan that simply disappeared as soon as the election was over!!!!

At 65, moving to another country actually presents itself to me as a possibility. It has never occurred to me in the past. I'm ashamed of our government and believe it's highly possible that we haven't yet seen the worst of the results of the current economic downturn.

The elite elevated Obama to the Presidency because they knew his ability to sell the American people "hope" and "change" could be used to further enrich and empower themselves.

Indeed, Obama is "smart" and "talented".

But most importantly he's spineless.

When he elevates his voice he sends chills through crowds and makes them believe.

That type of skill is pure GOLD.

And our fascist oligarchs will mine it for all it's worth.

"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras."

After seeing the reality of "no change" Obama, why do people like Maher STILL continue to make that same goddamn excuse for voting for him?

"Yeah, I'm disappointed, too. " –(Bill Maher)

–Why does no one believe you? Your criticism is so faint it seems afraid of its own shadow, which it is. Nothing but corporate 'boilerplate' serving to appear as media 'evenhandedness.'

You are not really disappointed at all as your misgivings are so cautious they amount to a backhanded apologia. But worst of all, would it have been too much to ask that you should have known better to begin with? That way we could have avoided this luke warm attempt at contrition and faux 'disappointment,' this tedious, disingenuous shilling.

"It's still to early to lose hope in a guy as smart and talented as Barack Obama." –(Bill Maher)

–"Still too early?" This is the type of revelatory statement that consigns your entire oeuvre-past, present and still to come–to the scrap heap of incoherence: There is no need to read you at all anymore. Corporate double-speak filtered through progressive pretensions is a dull knife indeed.

"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras."
–(Bill Maher)

–Thanks for your contribution to the dubious litany of the 'lesser of two evils' argument. There is no 'lesser' evil in American politics, only differences in aesthetics or perceived style. This tedious bromide deserves to be consigned to oblivion. –(Jill Bains)

"That said, I do not forget that if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now have a barter economy and be at war with Honduras."

And why would this have been a bad thing? It would have had a cathartic effect on Main Street. As far as I'm concerned, a little chaos right now is what we need. It would wake up a bunch of folks and demonstrate that their vote, as well as action/inaction, has consequences.

It is well known political theory that though votes to a third party do not often result in officeholders, demonstrations by large enough contingents prod the powers that be into acquiesence on popular issues.

In other words, you need to lose a few before you see results.

While Bill Maher is sleeping in "happy Obama land", the PUBLIC LAVA IN TODAY'S ELECTIONS IN VA, NJ, and that district in NY is flaming high. Today, I didn't bother to vote but for the first time in a gubernatorial election, I saw hundreds of seniors and vets all lined up at the polling both, most of them supporting Bob McDonnell. Never before have I witnessed such huge Republican turnout. I just got off the phone with one of my coworkers who was at a meeting in NJ and he says that voters in NJ are reporting much bigger Republican turnout even in heavily Democratic precincts. There has been some higher Democratic turnout in NJ being reported compared to VA but even there, doesn't look good. I don't want to rain on Maher's parade but if the GOP is ahead in NJ by more than 5 points and/or ahead in VA by more than 15 points when the election is over, this is going to be a very very BAD OMEN for Obama and his party come next year and likely in 2012. So far, this is very very bad.

Bilderberg Guoup

Well Bill, join the growing list of koolaid drinkers who are now waking up with a massive hangover. Just to remind you, and all the other idiots who foisted this narcissistic sock puppet on us: next time THINK before you vote and when one of your friends says "This guy is spewing a lot of BS."... you might want to listen to them.
If I sound angry, it's because I have to live with the consequences of the stupid decisions you and the other Obots made... and you're supposed to be the smart, cynical, sophisticated, no BS political opinion maker - talk about disappointment.

Well Bill, join the growing list of koolaid drinkers who are now waking up with a massive hangover. Just to remind you, and all the other idiots who foisted this narcissistic sock puppet on us: next time THINK before you vote and when one of your friends says "This guy is spewing a lot of BS."... you might want to listen to them.
If I sound angry, it's because I have to live with the consequences of the stupid decisions you and the other Obots made... and you're supposed to be the smart, cynical, sophisticated, no BS political opinion maker - talk about disappointment.

Also, that's not blood; it's lipstick and that's not a dog; it's a PIG! And it's NOT to (sic) early; it's TOO DEM LATE!

Bill Maher, like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, is at times, very clever. In the long run, their careers are dependent upon the same opportunistic manuevering as the politicians they ridicule. You and I can never know what they are up to at any moment.

It is not wise to give any comedian, whether on HBO, in the Vatican, in Windsor castle, or in the White House, any credence.

NOW, If we could just(ly) count on Olberman to hold the NAPP(NoAccountPresident/Party)sters to account, ala countdown!?

Maher's level of denial is actually aversive to witness. I feel simultaneously incredulous, disgusted, irritated, and bewildered, as though I'd seen a well-groomed adult drop their trousers and defecate in the middle of the pavement.

Anyone who actively seeks political office should immediately be disqualified from holding office.

I am so disappointed with Obama...he is just another corporate hack.

People should ask for their donation money back.

"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats