Saturday, July 5, 2008

America’s unhappy birthday.. As the nation celebrated its 232nd birthday, people across America were more worried about how much is “wrong right now.” The AP writes, “The nation’s psyche is battered and bruised, the sense of pessimism palpable.” An example in its report from the Optimist Club in Gilbert, AZ: They use words such as “terrified,” “disgusted” and “scary” to describe what one calls “this mess” we Americans find ourselves in. … One member’s son is serving his second tour in Iraq. Another speaks of a daughter who’s lost her job in the mortgage industry and a son in construction whose salary was slashed. Still another mentions a friend who can barely afford gas. Joanne Kontak, 60, an elementary school lunch aid inducted just this day as an Optimist, sums things up like this: “There’s just entirely too much wrong right now.” Happy birthday, America? This year, we’re not so sure. A May Washington Post-ABC News poll found that nearly “seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living,[base ']Äù and a separate ABC poll showed economic anxiety at its “highest level on record since 1981.” [Think Progress] 7:47:06 PM    comment []

McCain adviser Charlie Black defended Helms’ racially-motivated ad.. As ThinkProgress noted yesterday, the late-Sen. Jesse Helms’ ran an ad in his 1990 Senate campaign that preyed on people[base ']Äôs fears about affirmative action. The Politico reports that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) senior adviser Charlie Black, who was advising Helms at the time, strongly defended the ad. When asked if there was anything improper about the ad on the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, Black said, [base ']ÄúOf course not.[base ']Äù “Do you approve of that ad, Charlie,[base ']Äù a guest pressed. Black responded, [base ']ÄúI advised Jesse Helms to do what he[base ']Äôs always done.[base ']Äù “[T]here is nothing racial about the campaign,” Black added. [Think Progress] 5:50:57 PM    comment []