Show them the money:

Colorado state troopers say it’s been more than three months since the Democratic National Convention and they have yet to get compensated for their overtime.

The economy is bad and the holiday season is here and the extra money or time off that some troopers counted on has yet to be approved.

There seem to be a lot of factors of work in the hold up, including an extraordinary event, troopers were used from around the state, and asking federal government to foot the bill.

“Are a lot of the troopers wondering, ‘Where is the money?” CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger asked Jeremy Gudday with the Troopers Association.

“I think that’s a fair question for our members and I think that’s a question that people have been concerned about,” Gudday responded. “Given the DNC was in August and here we are coming into December.”

The State Patrol says federal funds will cover the more than $150,000 involved.

“Every member of the organization that worked the event is going to be compensated,” Sgt. John Hahn with the State Patrol said. “Either monetarily or they are going to be compensated with time.”

*The Minnesota Senate race pitting the nation’s unfunniest comedian against Norm Coleman is a dead heat at 42-42. There’s talk of a recount.

*In a reprise of 2004, the Washington state gubernatorial race is a squeaker. Democrat incumbent Christine Gregoire is holding a premature celebration; GOP challenger upstart Dino Rossi, who lost by 133 votes last time, is not conceding.

*California’s gay marriage ban, Prop. 8, is too close to call:

A measure to once again ban gay marriage in California led Tuesday, throwing into doubt the unions of an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who wed during the last 4 1/2 months.

As the measure, the most divisive and emotionally fraught on the state ballot this year, took a lead in early returns, supporters gathered at a hotel ballroom in Sacramento and cheered.

“We caused Californians to rethink this issue,” Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said.

Early in the campaign, he noted, polls showed the measure trailing by 17 points.

“I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn’t we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that’s at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage,” he said.

But in San Francisco at the packed headquarters of the No on 8 campaign party in the Westin St. Francis Hotel, supporters of same-sex marriage refused to despair, saying that they were holding out hope for victory.

“You decided to live your life out loud. You fell in love and you said ‘I do.’ Tonight, we await a verdict,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said, speaking to a roaring crowd. “I’m crossing my fingers.”

Elsewhere in the country, two other gay marriage bans, in Florida and Arizona, were well ahead. In both states, laws already defined marriage as a heterosexual institution. But backers pushed to amend the state constitutions, saying that doing so would protect the institution from legal challenges.

Proposition 8 was the most expensive proposition on any ballot in the nation this year, with more than $74 million spent by both sides.

*Amendment 46 in Colorado, Ward Connerly’s ballot measure to eliminate racial preferences in government, is also too close to call.

*Voters in several states rejected abortion restriction measures.

*Unbelievably, pork-stuffed corruptocrat criminal GOP Sen. Ted Stevens is locked in a dead heat with his Democrat challenger. Make Uncle Ted go away, already. Geez.

Oregon’s Senate race is also up in the air:

In Oregon and Alaska, the races are equally close, but with just over 50 percent of the precincts reporting in the two states.

In Oregon, with 53 percent of precincts reporting, state Speaker Jeff Merkley (D) had 457,132 votes, for 47 percent, and Sen. Gordon Smith (R) had 451,276 votes, also for 47 percent. Dave Brownlow, the Constitution Party candidate, had 6 percent. Oregon is the only state where voters cast votes exclusively by mail.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, convicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R) had a 48 percent to 47 percent lead over Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D). Stevens was convicted last week in a federal corruption trial, and Begich was thought to be ahead since the Senator’s conviction.

Democrats will fall short of the filibuster-proof 60-seat majority they were seeking, and the three uncalled races will determine just how large their majority will be. So far, Democrats have picked up five seats, knocking off GOP Sens. Elizabeth Dole (N.C.) and John Sununu (N.H.) and capturing open seats in Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia. Including two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, that puts the party at 56 Senate seats, pending the results of the Alaska, Oregon and Minnesota races.

***

One more for you: It’s tight in Georgia. Chambliss/Martin…

Sen. Saxby Chambliss led the Senate race in Georgia, but with hundreds of thousands of early voting ballots still being counted in key counties, it wasn’t clear late Tuesday whether he had escaped a runoff.

To avoid a runoff, Mr. Chambliss needs more than 50 percent of the vote. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, he led with 51 percent, followed by Democrat Jim Martin at 46 percent and Libertarian Allen Buckley at 3 percent.

State elections officials said late Tuesday that early voting from Fulton and Gwinnett counties had yet to be counted. Early voting in those two counties alone totaled more than 275,000 votes.

The campaign started with most observers expecting Mr. Chambliss to win with little trouble. Polls showed him comfortably ahead until the financial crisis captured voters’ attention about four weeks ago, and his lead quickly eroded.

National Democrats had put few resources into the race. But after Mr. Chambliss voted for the $700 billion financial bailout, Democrats from across the country and the national party pumped money in, allowing Mr. Martin to increase TV advertising.

Mr. Chambliss acknowledged that people had been upset with him over the bailout vote but they were coming to understand he had to do something.

There is no time to lick wounds, point fingers, and wallow in post-election mud.

I’m getting a lot of moan-y, sad-face “What do we do now, Michelle?” e-mails.

What do we do now? We do what we’ve always done.

We stand up for our principles, as we always have — through Democrat administrations and Republican administrations, in bear markets or bull markets, in peacetime and wartime.

We stay positive and focused.

We keep the faith.

We do not apologize for our beliefs. We do not re-brand them, re-form them, or relinquish them. We defend them.

We pay respect to the office of the presidency. We count our blessings and recommit ourselves to our constitutional republic.

We gird our loins, to borrow a phrase from our Vice President-elect.

We lock and load our ideological ammunition.

We fight.

***

First assignment for fiscal conservatives in Washington:

1) Oppose the Democrats’ next stimulus boondoggle.
2) Oppose Obama’s windfall profits tax proposal.
3) Oppose new bailouts for states deep in debt.
4) Oppose new foreclosure prevention measures that will simply provide perverse incentives for borrowers to walk away and delay a needed market correction.
5) No more federal loan guarantees for corporations (especially in light of this.

***

Too funny: This post has been linked by French newspaper, Le Monde. Their headline:

“Contre-attaque: Les Républicains se préparent à une longue lutte.”

Oui.

Ward Connerly’s measure in Colorado to end racial preferences is ahead and is a projected winner in Nebraska.

The three bans defending traditional marriage all appear to be passing.

Ballot measure tracking page is here.

I’m starting a fresh thread for the night. Just a reminder that you can catch me on PJTV sometime during the 8pm-9pm Eastern slot.

Scroll for rolling updates…

Tidbits:

The Real Clear Politics electoral map is here.

McCain takes Kentucky and W. Virginia; Obama takes Vermont.

Military ballots will be counted in Virginia, thank goodness.

Democrat Mark Warner has taken the Senate seat in Va.

Stay tuned…

***

8:15pm Eastern. NBC has called Penn. for Obama. Take it for what it’s worth…

So much for those bitter, clingy racists, eh, Barry O?

McConnell hangs on in Ky. Elizabeth Dole appears to be out in NC.

I can tell you this much: The Senate Republicans need a wake-up call. We need fresh, conservative leadership. McConnell had his chance.

***

8:22pm Eastern. Virginia is still too close too call.

NH to Obama.

8:42pm Eastern. Hearing that Georgia is going in the McCain column…

8:52pm Eastern. Sununu loses his Senate seat in NH.

9:19pm Eastern. Minnesota and Michigan go for O.

GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss hangs on in Ga.

Fox and others have called Ohio for Obama.

10:55pm Eastern. Both Denver papers are calling Colorado for Obama. Also calling Democrat Udall the winner in the Senate race.

Virginia called for Obama.

Writing’s on the wall, folks.

Gearing up for election liveblogging tonight, the first thing I want to do is send a shout-out to all our troops fighting overseas to protect our freedoms here at home.

Please join me in thanking them for putting their lives on the line for our country.

God bless them all.

Preserve your sanity by taking ‘em all with a huge grain of salt.

***

Reader David D. is watching the exit poll reporting on cable TV and jotted down some of the snort-worthy results:

*61% think Michelle Obama will be a good first lady, but only 53% think Cindy McCain will be a good first lady.
*66% thought McCain attacked Obama unfairly, only 48% thought Obama attacked McCain unfairly.
*2% scared if Obama wins.
*30% scared if McCain wins.

***

Forgot to alert you to my appearance on Cavuto earlier today. To make up for that, be sure to tune in to PJTV today at around 8pm Eastern-ish. Livestream broadcast is free today and I’ll be joining the crew sometime during the hour.

Reader Steve e-mails: “Just after 12:00 noon, Fox News reported that two black panthers were at one location in Philadelphia “guarding” the doorway to a polling station. One carried a nightstick and confronted a citizen who had gone in to the polling place. That citizen called police (he was interviewed by the Philly correspondent for Fox). The citizen reported that police removed the black panther with the night stick, but the other, who lives in the area, remains near the door.”

The New Black Panther Party said yesterday it would send its members out to the polls to ensure its interests on Election Day:

Minister Najee Muhammad, national field marshal for the New Black Panther Party, and Uhuru Shakur, local chairman of the Atlanta chapter of the party, took turns reading statements from Dr. Malik Shabazz, leader of Black Lawyers for Justice and attorney for the party (yes, that Malik Shabazz)…

…”We will not allow some racists and other angry whites, who are upset over an impending Barack Obama presidential victory, to intimidate blacks at the polls,” Muhammad said. “Most certainly, we cannot allow these racist forces to slaughter our babies or commit other acts of violence against the black population, nor our black president.”

Muhammad added, “We must organize to counter and neutralize these threats using all means at our disposal. This is a great time for our people, and we must ensure that peace prevails for our people.”

Shakur said the New Black Panther Party does not hate white people, but it does not like racist white people who try to harm the black community…

…Shakur added, “We warn you, leave Barack Obama alone and leave our babies alone because black people are a spiritual people and a people who are trying to do right, and we will not hesitate to take up our legal rights of self-defense.”

Shakur said the New Black Panther Party believes the plot that was foiled in Crockett County was not an isolated incident and that the party will do what it can to protect members of the black community on Election Day.

“We will be at the polls in the cities and counties in many states to ensure that the enemy does not sabotage the black vote, which was won through the blood of the martyrs of our people,” he said.

As members of the New Black Panther Party said “Black Power,” Andrew Chirwa, an Alamo resident and native of Malawi in Southern Africa, urged everyone at the press conference to shout “Black Power” together.

***

Vid:

Transcript from the FNC report:

FOX: LEVENTHAL (Alleged Black Panthers Voter Intimidation)

JANE SKINNER: breaking election news, we have reports of possible voter intimidation in some way — pennsylvania. republicans saying that two black panthers have been blocking the doorway of one polling locations. rick, what are the details on this? what are you hearing?

RICK LEVENTHAL: i do not even know where to begin, but we have reached a polling place in the city of philadelphia. one of the two black panthers who was allegedly blocking the door is standing right over here, with an accused us of intimidating voters because we were here with a camera and microphone. he did not answer questions, other people here have confirmed that another person in black panther attire was holding a night stick and apparently the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote. a republican poll observer actually called the police, the police were here and we miss them, they came and left. that person called the police is here. why don’t you tell us — step down off the curb, if you do not mind. what is going on here?

CITIZEN: we got a phone call that there was intimidation going on. i walked up to the door, two gentlemen in black panther guard, one brandishing a nightstick, standing in front of the door. they closed ranks as i walked up. i am a veteran, that does not scare me. i went inside and found full- watchers, they said they had been here for an hour — i went inside and found poll-watchers, they said that they had said not to let people outside because black people are going to win no matter what. at that point, i spoke to him, we would not get into a fistfight, i said, and i called the police.

LEVENTHAL: the person with the nightstick was escorted away, which i just confirmed inside. but the implication is that you were telling me that the black panthers were there to intimidate white voters from coming to this location?

CITIZEN: anyone who is not going their way, i do not know. someone in front of a polling place with a nightstick, that is intimidating for all voters.

LEVENTHAL: this is the first time i have heard of black panthers being stationed outside of a polling place. the one gentleman who is still here, he is a poll-watcher?

CITIZEN: yes, and he can wear what he wants.

LEVENTHAL: the other person was not allowed to be there with a nice that?

CITIZEN: you cannot stand with a nightstick anywhere, that is a weapon. obviously, you cannot stand around with a weapon menacingly in your hand under any circumstances.

LEVENTHAL: that is situation, as far as we know it. we have heard of other incidents in the city, including voting machines breaking down. we heard of an incident not far from here where far — all three machines broke down. people did wait, most of them. lines have dissipated. i have not made it inside yet, we had a skirmish in front of the door. apparently there is voting going on as well. at this point, apparently anyone who wants to vote here can vote here.

SKINNER: i know that they do not have enough people to man ever falling site, but as far as you understand the police have come and gone. is anyone monitoring in case someone is still hanging around?

LEVENTHAL: well there are poll watchers still standing here, we’ve been to at least a half a dozen polls around here and I haven’t seen any police officers, they don’t want a police presence to intimidate some voters, they did escort one gentleman out of here

SKINNER: It’s true in some places they don’t want police on sight, plenty going on there for you

***

New vid here.

So, will Michelle Obama be calling our country “downright mean” again at the end of the night? Or will she and The One get the chance to “transform” the constitution, the military, the schools, and every other aspect of American life in their image?

Toledo police are gearing up — literally — with gas masks and helmets.

Let me know what turnout looks like in your neck of the woods.

And let me know what local, county, and state races and measures matter most to you.

Some of the down ticket action I’ll be tracking throughout the day (I’ll be adding to the list):

* Murtha/Russell, 12th congressional district, Pa. I belive in miracles.

*Barletta/Kanjorski, 11th CD, Pa. Lou Barletta is the staunch opponent of illegal immigration and mayor of Hazleton. He’s one of the few House GOP candidates poised to take a seat away from a sitting Democrat.

*Franken/Coleman, Minn. Senate. Three scary-as-hell words: Senator Al Franken.

*Washington gubernatorial race. A Dino Rossi-Christine Gregoire rematch. It was razor-thin last time. GOP candidate Rossi is a rock-solid conservative with broad appeal. Watch Sound Politics.

*Senate races by bailout vote.

*Races noted by See-Dubya: Lt. Col Allen West in Florida and Keith Fimian in Northern Virginia.

*Ward Connerly’s anti-racial preference measures in Colorado and Nebraska. Both likely to pass, as they have every single time they’ve made it onto the ballot.

*Prop. 8, the marriage protection initiative in California, and two other marriage measures in Arizona and Florida.

*T. Boone Pickens’ Big Wind boondoggle initiative in Cali.

*Via NR, life and tax measures:

The culture of life is on the ballot in five states. California, Colorado, and South Dakota have the opportunity to limit abortion rights. An initiative in Michigan would permit the destruction of human embryos in scientific research and allow state funding for it. This vote will test the strength of the pro-life movement in a state that is home to many culturally conservative Democrats. Finally, the state of Washington will consider following in the footsteps of its neighbor to the south, Oregon, legalizing euthanasia.

Massachusetts will decide whether to phase out the state’s personal income tax. Voters in Arizona, Florida, Maine, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Oregon also will have a chance to limit or lower their taxes. Coloradoans will ponder raising their state sales tax to provide more services to the disabled. Minnesotans also will have a chance to increase their sales taxes so that the state government can spend more on parks and the arts. Although Minnesotans love the outdoors, taxpayer groups point out that St. Paul already has underwritten such public artworks as sculpture popularly known as “The Big Poo.” Simple disgust may compel enough voters to flush down this tax hike.

*More races to watch from Down The Ticket.

***

Pajamas Media will have continuous election coverage here.

I sure do wish the coal-plant audio had hit early last week. I wish the Palin exoneration had come sooner. I wish MKH’s video, the credit card story, Ayers’ relationship to Cuban Intelligence, the text of Ayers’ book, the Khalidi tape…well, we’ve tried. For good or ill, that part’s over. We’ve made our case. We’ve walked our routes and knocked on doors. We’ve given money. We’ve said our piece. To us is left only the simple duty of voting our conscience and remaining vigilant.

It is out of our hands now, but I do believe it is in someone else’s. And so there is still one more thing left to do.

Pray for our country. By God’s grace, we live in a Republic where we may govern ourselves. Pray God would guide us to do so wisely.

Here is the prayer for our country from the magnificent old 1928 Book of Common Prayer. While my private intercessions are a bit more…specific than this, these sentiments still ring true, across party lines, across the years, and across the issues:

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Senator Obama vowed a few days ago that, if elected, he will “fundamentally transform” the United States of America. (Silly me, I thought he was supposed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, not remodel it.) And so he may get to change some laws. He’ll definitely try to take our money and our guns. His goons may break some heads and wreck some careers.

But that fundamental change he’s been waiting for is going to be harder than he realizes. He cannot break our spirits. He cannot fundamentally transform us from Americans into cosmopolitan “citizens of the world”. He can’t deface our pride, and his depredations will only make us cling even more joyfully to our faith. No matter who wins this election, on November 5th, and on January 20th, and every day thereafter we will still be free and emancipated citizens of the greatest nation on God’s earth. Obama and his judges cannot just decree us otherwise.

Not unless we let him. Not unless we give up and act like we’re whipped. Not unless we bow down.

I won’t bow down. Not to the Obamessiah. And I won’t change–or if I do, it certainly won’t be a change he directs, and it won’t be into his idea of what I ought to be.

But maybe that won’t even happen. I remember going to bed in November 2000 thinking the same sort of thing about the incipient presidency of Al Gore. And look how that worked out…

As I said, it is out of our hands. Remain vigilant. Do not bow down. Do not give up.

Pray.

________________

{Post by See-Dubya, written on my own time on my own computer.}

I don’t know why this cracks me up so much, but it does. There’s something Inspector Clouseau-like about it. Had to share:

Hello,

Best regards,
Fabrice Hoss
French reporter
France 5 tv
24 quai Alphonse Le Gallo
92100 Boulogne

Bon voyage!

They screwed us. Now, they want us to fork over a trillion dollars.

Screw them.

Kill this bailout.

And I second Mark Krikorian: Credit is not a civil right. It’s not a civil right for illegal aliens. For foreign banks. For American banks. For anyone. The bailout proposal, as I noted earlier, now includes student loans and auto loan debt. Will our tax dollars next cover foreign student loan debts? Illegal alien in-state discounted college tuition debt? Where and when will it end?

Oh, but pardon me. I’m just being, you know, an ideological purist.

***

Illegal immigration and the mortgage mess
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2008

The Mother of All Bailouts has many fathers. As panicked politicians prepare to fork over a trillion dollars in taxpayer funding to rescue the financial industry, they’ve fingered regulation, deregulation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, both Bushes, greedy banks, greedy borrowers, greedy short-sellers, and minority home ownership mau-mauers (can’t call ‘em greedy, that would be racist) for blame.

But there’s one giant paternal elephant in the room that has slipped notice: How illegal immigration, crime-enabling banks, and open-borders Bush policies fueled the mortgage crisis.

It’s no coincidence that most of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave – Loudon County, Virginia, California’s Inland Empire, Stockton, San Joaquin Valley, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, for starters — also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers with the shadiest credit histories). A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.

Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring.

For the last five years, I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket. The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants. The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos ! Sin verificacion de documento !” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”

In addition, fraudsters have engaged in massive house-flipping rings using illegal aliens as straw buyers. Among many examples cited by the FBI: a conspiracy in Las Vegas involving a former Nevada First Residential Mortgage Company branch manager who directed loan officers and processors in the origination of 233 fraudulent Federal Housing Authority loans valued at over $25 million. The defrauders manufactured and submitted false employment and income documentation for borrowers; most were illegal immigrants from Mexico. To date, the FBI reported, “58 loans with a total value of $6.2 million have gone into default, with a loss to the Housing and Urban Development Department of over $1.9 million.”

It’s the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to lax Bush administration-approved policies allowing illegal aliens to use “matricula consular cards” and taxpayer identification numbers to open bank accounts, more forms of mortgage fraud have burgeoned. Moneylenders still have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans. In an interview about rampant illegal alien home loan fraud, a spokeswoman for the U.S. General Accounting Office told me five years ago:

“[C]onsidering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens, I don’t think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions.”

Chickens coming home to roost. And law-abiding, responsible taxpayers are going to pay for it.

At least they weren’t filled with urine, like the ones the moonbats were tossing.

President Bush will address the RNC tonight by satellite.

Also on tap in prime time slots:

First Lady Laura Bush.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson.

And Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman.

FWIW, here’s what GOP insiders are saying about the post-Gustav convention shake-up.

With the base energized, let’s hope Fred Thompson brings on the heat and some no-bull, red-meat inspiration. He’s got a golden opportunity to capture the conservative zeitgeist.

Get your popcorn ready.

***

PJTV is livestreaming.

The Corner has a few advance Fred excerpts.

Via Allah, here’s the official Palin intro video, drawing on her VP announcement speech.

John Hawkins at Right Wing News reports on getting blackballed at the convention.

Pamela at Atlas Shrugged reports on the nomadic search for somewhere to sit and work.

Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey will have video of the day’s events.

Have you seen this photo of anarchists welcoming a Republican to the Twin Cities? Peace and love, dude.

Founding Bloggers has lots of clips from the scene.

And my friends at UStream have wall-to-wall live coverage that you can embed.

***

9:35pm Eastern…Tune in if you can. There’s an amazing video tribute to Medal of Honor recipient and Iraq war hero Michael Monsoor.

9:54pm Eastern. First Lady Laura Bush delivers a nice intro of the President, speaking now from the White House. Bush gets off a good line about how how if McCain’s tormentors in Vietnam didn’t break his spirit, “the Angry Left never will.”

Advance excerpts…

On Senator McCain Being Prepared To Make the Hard Decisions That Fall Solely to the President:

John McCain’s life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this Nation.

We live in a dangerous world. And we need a President who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.

On Senator McCain’s Courage and Vision:

John McCain’s life is a story of service above self.

John is an independent man who thinks for himself. He’s not afraid to tell you when he disagrees. … No matter what the issue, this man is honest and speaks straight from the heart.

Last year, John McCain’s independence and character helped change history. The Democrats had taken control of Congress and were threatening to cut off funds for our troops. In the face of calls for retreat, I ordered a surge of forces into Iraq. Many in Congress said it had no chance of working. Yet one Senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission – and that was John McCain. Some told him that his early and consistent call for more troops would put his Presidential campaign at risk. He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. That is the kind of courage and vision we need in our next Commander-in-Chief.

On Americans Choosing the McCain-Palin Ticket:

I am optimistic about our future, because I believe in the goodness and wisdom of the American people. I am optimistic because I have faith in freedom’s power to lift up all of God’s children and lead this world to a future of peace.

And I am optimistic about something else: When the debates have ended, and all the ads have run, and it is time to vote, Americans will look closely at the judgment, the experience, and the policies of the candidates – and they will cast their ballots for the McCain-Palin ticket.

10:09pm Eastern…Fred Thompson takes the stage.

Prepared remarks…

Tonight our thoughts are still with our friends and fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast area, and our thanks go to those who have worked so hard to keep them safe. There can be no more important work than this.

But what we are doing at this convention is also important to our country.

We are going to nominate the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

We do so while taking a different view of our country than that of the other party.

Listening to them you’d think that we were in the middle of a great depression; that we are down, disrespected and incapable of prevailing against challenges facing us.

We know that we have challenges … always have, always will.

But we also know that we live in the freest, strongest, most generous and prosperous nation in the history of the world and we are thankful.

Speaking of the vice presidential nominee, what a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is.

She is from a small town, with small town values, but that’s not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family.

Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan Governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the Union — and won — over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week.

Let’s be clear … the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful, reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment.

Sound like anyone else we know?

She has run a municipality and she has run a state.

And I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt.

She and John McCain are not going to care how much the alligators get irritated when they get to Washington, they’re going to drain that swamp.

But tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the remarkable story of John McCain.

It’s a story about character.

John McCain’s character has been tested like no other presidential candidate in the history of this nation.

He comes from a military family whose service to our country goes back to the Revolutionary War.

The tradition continues.

As I speak, John and Cindy McCain have one son who’s just finished his first tour in Iraq.

Another son is putting “Country First” and is attending the Naval Academy. We have a number of McCains in the audience tonight.

Also here tonight is John’s 96-year-old mother, Roberta. All I’ve got to say is that if Roberta McCain had been the McCain captured by the North Vietnamese, they would have surrendered.

Now, John’s father was a bit of a rebel, too.

In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits.

Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten.

A rebellious mother and a rebellious father – I guess you can see where this is going.

In high school and the Naval Academy, he earned a reputation as a troublemaker.

But as John points out, he wasn’t just a troublemaker. He was the leader of the troublemakers.

Although loaded with demerits like his father, John was principled even in rebellion.

He never violated the honor code.

However, in flight school in Pensacola, he did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an exotic dancer under the name of Marie, the Flame of Florida.

And the reason I’m telling you these things, is that, apparently, this mixture of rebellion and honor helped John McCain survive the next chapter of his life:

John McCain was preparing to take off from the USS Forrestal for his sixth mission over Vietnam, when a missile from another plane accidentally fired and hit his plane.

The flight deck burst into a fireball of jet fuel.

John’s flight suit caught fire.

He was hit by shrapnel.

It was a scene of horrible human devastation.

Men sacrificed their lives to save others that day. One kid, who John couldn’t identify because he was burned beyond recognition, called out to John to ask if a certain pilot was OK.

John replied that, yes, he was.

The young sailor said, “Thank God”… and then he died.

These are the kind of men John McCain served with.

These are the men and women John McCain knows and understands and loves.

If you want to know who John McCain is, if you want to know what John McCain values, look to the men and women who wear America’s uniform today.

The fire on the Forrestal burned for two days.

20 planes were destroyed.

134 sailors died.

John himself barely dodged death in the inferno and could’ve returned to the States with his ship.

Instead, he volunteered for combat on another carrier that was undermanned from losing so many pilots.

Stepping up.

Putting his “Country First.”

Three months later John McCain was a Prisoner of War.

On October 26, 1967, on his 23rd mission over North Vietnam, a surface-to-air missile slammed into John’s A-4 Skyhawk jet, blowing it out of the sky.

When John ejected, part of the plane hit him — breaking his right knee, his left arm, his right arm in three places.

An angry mob got to him.

A rifle butt broke his shoulder.

A bayonet pierced his ankle and his groin.

They took him to the Hanoi Hilton, where he lapsed in and out of consciousness for days. He was offered medical care for his injuries if he would give up military information in return.

John McCain said “No”.

After days of neglect, covered in grime, lying in his own waste in a filthy room, a doctor attempted to set John’s right arm without success … and without anesthesia.

His other broken bones and injuries were not treated. John developed a high fever, dysentery. He weighed barely a hundred pounds.

Expecting him to die, his captors placed him in a cell with two other POWs who also expected him to die.

But with their help, John McCain fought on.

He persevered.

So then they put him in solitary confinement…for over two years.

Isolation … incredible heat beating on a tin roof. A light bulb in his cell burning 24 hours a day.

Boarded-up cell windows blocking any breath of fresh air.

The oppressive heat causing boils the size of baseballs under his arms.

The outside world limited to what he could see through a crack in a door.

We hear a lot of talk about hope.

John McCain knows about hope. That’s all he had to survive on. For propaganda purposes, his captors offered to let him go home.

John McCain refused.

He refused to leave ahead of men who’d been there longer.

He refused to abandon his conscience and his honor, even for his freedom.

He refused, even though his captors warned him, “It will be very bad for you.”

They were right.

It was.

The guards cracked ribs, broke teeth off at the gums. They cinched a rope around his arms and painfully drew his shoulders back.

Over four days, every two to three hours, the beatings resumed. During one especially fierce beating, he fell, again breaking his arm.

John was beaten for communicating with other prisoners.

He was beaten for NOT communicating with so-called “peace delegations.”

He was beaten for not giving information during interrogations.

When his captors wanted the names of other pilots in his squadron, John gave them the names of the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers.

Whenever John was returned to his cell — walking if he could, dragged if he couldn’t — as he passed his fellow POWs, he would call out to them.

He’d smile … and give them a thumbs-up.

For five-and-a-half years this went on.

John McCain’s bones may have been broken but his spirit never was.

Now, being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be President.

But it does reveal character.

This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders.

Strength.

Courage.

Humility.

Wisdom.

Duty.

Honor.

It’s pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, “Who is this man?” and “Can we trust this man with the Presidency?”

He has been to Iraq eight times since 2003.

He went seeking truth, not publicity.

When he travels abroad, he prefers quietly speaking to the troops amidst the heat and hardship of their daily lives.

And the same character that marked John McCain’s military career has also marked his political career.

This man, John McCain is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular.

At a point when the war in Iraq was going badly and the public lost confidence, John stood up and called for more troops.

And now we are winning.

Ronald Reagan was John McCain’s hero.

And President Reagan admired John tremendously.

But when the President proposed putting U.S. troops in Beirut, John McCain, a freshman Congressman, stood up and cast a vote against his hero because he thought the deployment was a mistake.

My friends … that is character you can believe in.

For years, members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, have gouged the taxpayer with secret earmark spending.

Well, he has never sought an earmark.

I’ve experienced John’s character first hand.

In 1993, when I was thinking of running for the Senate, I went to John for advice. He convinced me I could help make a difference for our country.

I won that election, and with Republican control of Congress, we reformed welfare.

We balanced the budget.

And we began rebuilding our military.

What I remember most about those years is sitting next to John on the Senate floor as he led battle after battle to change the acrimonious, pork barreling, self serving ways of Washington.

The Senate has always had more than its share of smooth talkers.

And big talkers.

It still has.

But while others were talking reform, John McCain led the effort to make reform happen — always pressing, always moving for what he believed was right and necessary to restore the people’s faith in their government.

Confronting when necessary, reaching across the aisle when possible, John personified why we came to Washington in the first place.

It didn’t always set too well with some of his colleagues.

Some of those fights were losing efforts.

Some were not.

But a man who never quits is never defeated.

Because John McCain stood up our country is better off.

The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad, but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship.

There has been no time in our nation’s history, since we first pledged allegiance to the American flag, when the character, judgment and leadership of our President was more important.

Terrorists, rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, an increasingly belligerent Russia.

Intensifying competition from China.

Spending at home that threatens to bankrupt future generations. For decades an expanding government … increasingly wasteful and too often incompetent.

To deal with these challenges the Democrats present a history making nominee for president.

History making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for President. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history making, Democrat controlled Congress. History making because it’s the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation’s history.

Together, they would take on these urgent challenges with protectionism, higher taxes and an even bigger bureaucracy.

And a Supreme Court that could be lost to liberalism for a generation.

This is not reform.

And it’s certainly not change.

It is basically the same old stuff they’ve been peddling for years. America needs a President who understands the nature of the world we live in.

A President who feels no need to apologize for the United States of America.

We need a President who understands that you don’t make citizens prosperous by making Washington richer, and you don’t lift an economic downturn by imposing one of the largest tax increases in American history.

Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases.

They tell you they are not going to tax your family.

No, they’re just going to tax “businesses”! So unless you buy something from a “business”, like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business”, don’t worry … it’s not going to affect you.

They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the “other” side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform.

My friends, we need a leader who stands on principle.

We need a President, and Vice President, who will take the federal bureaucracy by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking.

And we need a President who doesn’t think that the protection of the unborn or a newly born baby is above his pay grade.

The man who will be that President is John McCain.

In the days ahead at this convention, you will hear much more about what John will do as president — what he will do on the economy, on energy, on health care, the environment… It is not my role tonight to explain that vision.

My role is to help remind you of the man behind the vision. Because tonight our country is calling to all of us to step up, stand up, and put “Country First” with John McCain.

Tonight we are being called upon to do what is right for our country.

Tonight we are being called upon to stand up for a strong military … a mature foreign policy … a free and growing economy and for the values that bind us together and keep our nation free.

Tonight, we are being called upon to step up and stand up with John just as he has stood up for our country.

Our country is calling.

John McCain cannot raise his arms above his shoulders.

He cannot salute the flag of the country for which he sacrificed so much. Tonight, as we begin this convention week, yes, we stand with him.

And we salute him.

We salute his character and his courage.

His spirit of independence, and his drive for reform.

His vision to bring security and peace in our time, and continued prosperity for America and all her citizens.

For our own good and our children’s, let us celebrate that vision, that belief, that faith so we can keep America the greatest country the world has ever seen.

God bless John McCain and God bless America.

10:40pm Eastern…Joe Lieberman on stage now addressing his “dear friends”…”We are all Americans”…

Prepared text…

Thank you for that warm welcome. I am honored to be here.

We meet tonight in the wake of a terrible storm that has hit the Gulf Coast but that hurts all of us, because we are all members of our larger American family.

At times like this, we set aside all that divides us, and we come together to help our fellow citizens in need.

What matters is certainly not whether we are Democrats or Republicans, but that we are all Americans.

The truth is, it shouldn’t take a hurricane to bring us together like this.

Every day, across our country, millions of our fellow citizens are facing huge problems.

They are worried about their homes, their jobs, and their businesses; they are worried about the outrageous cost of gas and of health insurance; and they are worried about the threats from our enemies abroad.

But when they look to Washington, all too often they do not see their leaders coming together to tackle these problems.

Instead they see Democrats and Republicans fighting each other, rather than fighting for the American people.

Our founding fathers foresaw the danger of this kind of senseless partisanship. George Washington himself — in his Farewell Address to our country — warned that the “spirit of party” is “the worst enemy” of our democracy and “enfeebles” our government’s ability to do its job.

George Washington was absolutely right. The sad truth is — today we are living through his worst nightmare, in the capital city that bears his name.

And that brings me directly to why I am here tonight. What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this?

The answer is simple.

I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party.

I’m here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward.

I’m here because John McCain’s whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important.

But it is not more important than being an American.

Both presidential candidates this year talk about changing the culture of Washington, about breaking through the partisan gridlock and special interests that are poisoning our politics.

But only one of them has actually done it.

Only one leader has shown the courage and the capability to rise above the smallness of our politics to get big things done for our country and our people.

And that leader is John McCain!

John understands that it shouldn’t take a natural disaster like Hurricane Gustav to get us to take off our partisan blinders and work together to get things done.

It shouldn’t take a natural disaster to teach us that the American people don’t care much if you have an “R” or a “D” after your name.

What they care about is, are we solving the problems they are up against every day?

What you can expect from John McCain as President is precisely what he has done this week: which is to put country first. That is the code by which he has lived his entire life, and that is the code he will carry with him into the White House.

I have personally seen John, over and over again, bring people together from both parties to tackle our toughest problems we face –to reform our campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws, to create the 9/11 Commission and pass its critical national security reforms, and to end the partisan paralysis over judicial confirmations.

My Democratic friends know all about John’s record of independence and accomplishment.

Maybe that’s why some of them are spending so much time and so much money trying to convince voters that John McCain is someone else.

I’m here, as a Democrat myself, to tell you: Don’t be fooled.

God only made one John McCain, and he is his own man.

If John McCain was just another go-along partisan politician, he never would have taken on corrupt Republican lobbyists, or big corporations that were cheating the American people, or powerful colleagues in Congress who were wasting taxpayer money.

But he did!

If John McCain was just another go-along partisan politician, he never would have led the fight to fix our broken immigration system or to do something about global warming.

But he did!

As a matter of fact, if John McCain is just another partisan Republican, then I’m Michael Moore’s favorite Democrat.

And I’m not.

Senator Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record — not in these tough times.

In the Senate he has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party.

Contrast that to John McCain’s record, or the record of the last Democratic President, Bill Clinton, who stood up to some of those same Democratic interest groups and worked with Republicans to get important things done like welfare reform, free trade agreements, and a balanced budget.

Governor Sarah Palin, like John McCain, is a reformer who has taken on the special interests and reached across party lines. She is a leader we can count on to help John shake up Washington.

That’s why the McCain-Palin ticket is the real ticket for change this year.

The Washington bureaucrats and power brokers can’t build a pen strong enough to hold these two mavericks.

And together, you can count on John McCain and Sarah Palin to fight for America and to fight for you! And that’s what our country needs most right now.

What we need most is not more party unity in America but more national unity!

Especially at a time of war, we need a President we can count on to fight for what’s right for our country — not only when it is easy, but when it is hard.

When others were silent, John McCain had the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq. When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground,

John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge, and because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor!

Before I conclude, I ask the indulgence of those in this hall tonight, as I want to speak directly to my fellow Democrats and Independents who are watching.

I know many of you are angry and frustrated by our government and our politics and for good reason.

You may be thinking of voting for John McCain but you’re not sure. Some of you have never voted for a Republican before and in an ordinary election, you probably wouldn’t.

But this is no ordinary election, because these are not ordinary times, and John McCain is no ordinary candidate. You may not agree with John McCain on every issue.

But you can always count on him to be straight with you about where he stands, and to stand for what he thinks is right regardless of politics.

As President, you can count on John McCain to be a restless reformer, who will clean up Washington and get our government working again for you!

So tonight, I ask you whether you are an Independent, a Reagan Democrat or a Clinton Democrat, or just a Democrat: This year, when you vote for President, vote for the person you believe is best for the country, not for the party you happen to belong to.

Vote for the leader who, since the age of 17, when he raised his hand and took an oath to defend and protect our Constitution, has always put our country first.

So, let’s come together to make a great American patriot our next great President!

But first, a reminder of my warning last week about the rabble-rousers now causing trouble at the RNC. Here’s what I wrote:

We’ve been having fun mocking the motley assortment of clowns and cads here in Denver for the week, but I’ll add this caveat: Law enforcement in the Twin Cities should remain on guard. A lot of these malefactors are headed down there to join Leftists who have caused serious trouble there. Don’t forget the havoc they have wrought attacking ROTC offices on campuses and recruitment centers across the country. As I got to see up close the other day, many of these grievance-mongers are swelling with unhinged anger. The lesson of the Seattle WTO riots was “Be prepared.” Still operative.

Jim Hoft, who is on the scene, rounds up the latest anarchist tantrums involving poisons sprayed on delegates, an 80-year-old attendee who endured getting spat on, and the vehicles of state contingents getting bombed with sandbags and concrete bags.

John Hinderaker, also on scene, reports on a bus load of Cub Scouts getting terrorized by protesters.

No doubt while the mob was screaming “Love! Peace! Justice!” and goading the police.