Departing Istanbul today, I figured things would only get better.

Now mind you, that is some pretty long odds. I’d already been given tearful parting gifts by a waiter I’d met once, found a pal in my hotel staff barman and never yet been disappointed by a meal. The law of averages was sure to kick in soon, whether I was in the Land of Wonder or not.

After spending a day in Samsun, I assure you: It gets better and better.

Before I regale you with photos of what I saw in Istanbul, I’ll share an anecdote from my ongoing discoveries about Turkish hospitality – each a eureka moment:

I had managed to partial amputate the power cord of my laptop, then short out the adapter box. Given that it came with my laptop, and was from the US, I thought I was out of luck. I ended up in a small electronics store, faced with a taciturn Turk.

“Merhaba,” I say. “Cord broke.”

He then proceeds to grab the power cord from me. He pops off the rubber feet. He urges me to sit. Then he unscrews the whole adapter section of the cord and begins to tinker.

I wait, mystified that service was not only instant, but productive. The fellow works with a soldering iron on the adapter itself, cuts a new cord, wires it. All the while, he exchanges somnolent “Salaams” with various quiet visitors who enter, sit, mellow.

Finally, he’s done. We test it. Sure enough, it fits the laptop and runs perfectly.

How much, I ask.

“5 Lira.” He tells me. About three dollars and change.

This kind of thing is not uncommon here. It’s practically the rule.

Now for Istanbul:

On the first day, I saw the mosque of Sultan Akhmet – the Blue Mosque. Akhmet struck me as kind of like Reagan – he presided over a time of relative growth and strength for the Ottoman Empire, and pioneered new frontiers of debt in the process of making Ottomans proud of their country again.

Anyway, his mosque has more minarets than just about any mosque, so there.

There are more rug salesmen inside the mosque courtyard than worshippers in the mosque – and this is Ramadan, mind you. Inside is quiet lovely and dim, with lighting that webs every capacious and frilly angle with its dangling wires. It is a very peaceful place.

Outside the Blue Mosque is the Hippodrome, NASCAR track for its epoch – the place where tens of thousands of plebs gathered to get bombed, watch vehicles whirl around and around the track, and secretly hope for a crash.

Unlike Talladega, the Hippodrome’s chariot races revolved a gigantic bronze plated column (that had its awesome bronze plates melted down into weapons by invading Crusaders), a beheaded serpent column from 490 BC, and this mighty obelisk, a third of its original size, from 1500 BC.

The next day took me to Topkapi Palace, where generations of Turk decorators veered between saturating themselves in their steppeland frippery and emulating the design styles of Europe.

It was vast, drafty, and extremely ornate. The rambling green space is made for both cultivating flowers and playing Cirit – a form of polo where you hit the other riders, not a ball, with a stick. In this is, it is distinctly Turkish.

Quite distinct is the Hagia Sophia – our next stop – which is distinctly Byzantine. This means it’s looming, like some primeval dinosaur created by a Judgment Day deity, sleeping in red brick before the showdown. Its guts are dark and rumbling, enough to swallow the largest western church.

Once a basilica church, then a massacre site, then a mosque, and now a museum, the Sofia is one fierce, forty-story fossil.

A milder delight is the Archaeological Museum near the palace – the mot just of my trip. It has a great array of artifacts from the origins of the world up to the soaring economies of Pax Romana, and then down into the tribal clumsiness of Dark Ages Byzantine art.

Above is a statue of Oceanus, one of the patrons of Ephesus, with Zeus reclining behind him. They are but a few of the hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of beautiful old stone there – so many that they spill over into snack stands, cat gardens and bathrooms.

More to come as I head east!

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21st Century America is a Debt Nation.

Debt was our largest commodity. On the global market, we sold trillions of it. It was our biggest export.

It has also been the fiber of our soul.

When war came knocking, we spent rather than sacrifice. When the bill for that spending came due, we just put it on credit. When hard decisions demanded we engage our enemies in more than a shouting match, we fumbled every time rather than swallow our pride and muster our allies.

Criticisms, we just dealt with later. Problems, we ignored rather than address in the misbelief that recognizing them causes them. And as for changing our profligate, arrogant ways, we just kept on casting support behind people that gave us a spoonful of “values” solutions, rather than the sour medicine we needed.

The result is a trillion-dollar war without end. The result is a plummeting strategic power abroad. The result is this credit crisis, where we see hapless Americans’ hard-edged support of the “free market” coming back to cut their throats and leave them to bleed out with their houses and families falling around them.

So today, the buck was passed to Congress. Business had failed. The voters had failed. Only Congress could stand up and affect a change – steer hard in the proper direct no matter the political cost, and get the entire world’s capital moving again.

Instead, Congress passed the buck back.

Afraid of offending the voters they had stunned on free market Kool-Aid over too these black and ignorant years, the House rejected their leadership and blew the bailout.

Well, sorry, America, but the buck stops with you. And right now, it’s not moving. Anywhere.

The Dow has plummeted 600 points in less than an hour. It keeps falling and falling. And already, Europe and Asia are going to be nationalizing banks. The whole world’s turning Commie – turning inwards; going Red.

All because, for too long, we’ve been yellow.

It’s time to start paying our due. It looks like it’s going to be done the hard way.

From Turkey, the future of the United States looks brighter. As fascinating as the gull-ridden minarets and aromatic bustle of Istanbul is, I find my eye stuck in the green flash of recent developments in the West. I see glorious, bright visions, dear reader – hopeful visions. Accordingly, I’ll give you some good news on points of light within the latest chapter of red sunset in America’s political history:

Barack Obama won a debate 57 million viewers watched.

46% of people who watched Friday night’s presidential debate say Democrat Barack Obama did a better job than Republican John McCain; 34% said McCain did better.

Obama scored even better — 52%-35% — when debate-watchers were asked which candidate offered the best proposals for change to solve the country’s problems.

Palin, as I suspected from all logic and research, has shown herself to be disastrously inept when it comes to discussing national and international policy off-script. This underscores what a desperation pitch and born-again pandering McCain’s choice of her was – which, for me, is a vastly more significant warning against McCain.

And, just in time to staunch the global market’s bleeding and tarry Black Monday, Washington announced it has a bailout plan in the works.

In sum, we seem to be veering away from cataclysm.

Here, on the hem of civilization’s center, all is looking rather rosy. Now, I’ll give you my perspective on Turkey.

The first and most prominent thing about Turkey is how friendly the Turks are – aggressively, genuinely friendly to an extent I have never seen demonstrated in humanity before; not on such a general scale.

They are blunt – one will not mince words if you are walking too slowly or have the wrong impression of something. And they are energetic – a fellow walked a whole eight blocks out of his way to show me to an electronics store when he overheard me saying I needed an adapter plug. But overall, they are amazingly friendly.

I have been invited in to meet the families of merchants and to drink apple chai with them no less than three times. I have never had an impolite remark or dismissive word sent my way from a Turk, even a security guard. I received a decorative fingerbowl, a cup of apple chai and a piece of buttery baklava from my waiter one meal – all free – as he beamingly explained, “I love your country.”

And indeed, that too is apparent: The people of Turkey range between grudgingly or excitedly pro-American. This not only shows their amity, but also that same casual, confident quality to their friendship – they are all pretty chill about the greatest military power in the world playing with heavy munitions in their backyard; calm, considering our presence in Iraq is like another nation occupying Mexico and running raids along the Rio Grande.

Less general observations abound in this vivid, mellow city – a city truly like a hash fantasy or poetry-stuffed dream:

Cats are profuse, well-fed and unafraid in the streets. None are mistreated; all are friendly. I think this shows something about the nature of the natives’ character.

Not many Turks observe Ramadan. When the call to prayer blasts, unseating your fillings, everybody goes about their business. I have yet to see a Turk on their knees outside a mosque, but I have seen many Turkish guides winking as they discuss good wines inside a mosque.

Turks are very much “Turks” – not Europeans, or Easterners, or Muslims. They speak with fire about their Sultans, their horsemanship, their food. They identify with their heritage and are rather excited about it. It is their favorite topic, behind how great America is.

It is no more safe to cross an Istanbul street than it is to cross any Italian street, which is to say, not at all safe. It is far safer to ask a person in Istanbul for help than it is an Italian.

Power ballads and late-80s rap are alive and well, rocking the Bosporus. If you like music to gallop on a horse to, or to wear a giant clock to, you will dig the Istanbul music scene.

Ruins are everywhere. The only similarly populous feature I can think of would be the manicured greenspace in Irvine, California, and even that falls dramatically short of how ubiquitous Roman ruins are here. In a smoky hallway leading to a public bathroom, I saw some eight marble slabs depicting ferocious Byzantine guards, leaning on the walls between alabaster nymphs and a colossal, pitted statue of Hadrian who appeared to be adjusting the cheeseboard cieling with his upraised hand. This was not unusual – at least, not to Istanbul.

That’s another distinct quality to Istanbul: Strangeness is common to its spirit – weird and unafraid and happy to see you.

And the word is, it only gets stranger as one heads east.

And east I go.

See you there, dear reader, hopefully with pictures.

McCain and his compatriots in the GOP have, since 1994, overseen the most total deregulation of business in America.

Regulation was reduced past what it was during the debt-driven expansion under Reagan and the infrastructure-invested, max-tax boom under Eisenhower. It was taken down to Herbert Hoover, pre-Depression levels. Funny coincidence, considering what’s happening today – the whole market speculation and unsound investment collapse.

Now the tiger is fighting hard to scrub off his stripes. Acting as though the platform of the GOP hasn’t been – up until last week – to reduce regulation even further and further, and rely more and more on “trickle down” model of income distribution, McCain has become a populist. Off whips the suit jacket, up roll the sleeves, and suddenly the Milton Friedman “free market” tenets of his party are anathema to him.

As if.

In preparation for your own political conversations, internal or otherwise, watch this video. Consider it an inoculation against the coming McCain line that he was ahead of Obama on this, rather than scrambling to leech off of his opponent’s prudent, well-advised plan.

I can’t make this stuff up, folks. This is no distortion on my part; no partisan argument.

The campaign choice has come down to this: Someone who breezes back and forth with every poll and mode, lying and distorting to promote his points, speaking only in the vaguest terms and having corporate lobbyists as his closest advisers, all so that he can offer policies that are basically just more extreme versions of the same, locked-in formula of the past administration…

…or someone who inspires, someone whose Presidency would make history, who is a talented writer and legal scholar, who is embraced by top minds on both sides of the aisle, and who seeks to bring our country together.

That’s the choice.

And if you differ, by all means, present evidence to prove me wrong. I have heard a lot of opinion from people – “I don’t trust him,” “I think he’s a bigot,” “He wants to destroy America” – a lot of the talk-radio, nothing-but-gut invective. But problems, whether they’re with a sick relative, an ailing business or a threat to your safety, don’t get solved by feeling.

I would like proof that McCain doesn’t change his positions dramatically whenever the wind changes. Proof that he doesn’t run the dirtiest, most perverse ads. Proof that he has a plan, not just a reaction – not just a dramatic gesture.

Because our country needs a plan. Not four more years of drama. Not just more song-and-dance intended to make us feel good when Rome burns.

At last, some answers as to the controversy as to whether Sarah Palin, as Mayor of Wasilla, saw to it that rape victims had to pay $500 to $1,200 for their forensic exams.

They come in the form of a CNN investigation on the subject:

To add some further context, the police chief mentioned in the story is the one Palin appointed after firing the previous chief for “not sharing her vision” – namely, for wanting to close the bars at 2am rather than 5am.

I am glad to find some perspective on this story between the extreme poles of Townhall.com and Daily Kos. I post it here in order to resolve one of the more disturbing controversies of late.

Definitely, definitely check this out. It’s the entirety of the roundtable discussion I mentioned yesterday.

Want to see bipartisanship? Check out George Will and Donna Brazille agreeing vehemently.

Welcome to my world, you two.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5849844

McCain has, since mid-summer, used fear as his leading campaign strategy: Fear of Obama teaching sex-ed to kindergartners, fear of Obama being inexperienced, fear of Obama’s otherness, fear that borders on the obscene in some cases.

Now fear seems to be turning against McCain, as the economy struggles and McCain’s reaction is panicked – from saying he would fire the old-hand SEC Chairman, flailing between announcing fundamental economic strength and crisis, and of late portraying himself as a pro-regulation populist, at the very moment an article in which he suggests deregulating the health care industry like we have the finance industry is hitting the shelves.

This was capably discussed on ‘This Week’ by ABC’s round table panel. None on the panel was as precise in depicting the problem as the conservative party stalwart, George Will.

Take my advice – especially if your values are conservative:

WATCH THIS VIDEO.

I could not embed it, given that ABC carefully guards its Web content. Even YouTube did not have the full, in-context segment yet. But click the link and see. It is well worth a watching.

It underscores what is lately becoming the verdict on the McCain campaign by all quarters: That despite reflexive assumptions about his experience, McCain is not the candidate who reacts calmly, with integrity, to crisis.

The article I cited earlier by Wick Allison, the National Review publisher and protege of William F. Buckley, brilliantly asserts the difference between the two candidates and why those with conservative fundamentals have a solid choice in Barack Obama.

If you have not yet read Allison’s essay, here it is again. Definitely read it.

It explains why, in the words of George Will, John McCain has provided ample evidence to make “some of us” – particularly those on the right – “fearful.”

At last, the truth about the American POW/MIA in Southeast Asia has another chance at being investigated.

The investigator writing about it is Pulitzer prize-winner Sydney Schanberg. Schanberg is responsible for exposing Pol Pot’s killing fields. He is a tireless crusader for POW/MIA rights.

Next month, national periodical The Nation will be publishing the investigation that has proven Schanberg’s greatest challenge – revealing the impediment to releasing documents from North Vietnam and around the world that the POW/MIA families have, for decades, been fighting to obtain.

http://www.nationinstitute.org/p/schanberg09182008pt1

Schanberg writes what these families, and those that know them, political spectrum aside, well know:

That the man who has fought hardest, even against a unanimous Senate, to conceal those records, is John McCain.

This is a hard truth to swallow.

McCain endured much, that is certain. But what also is certain is that time and again, the people – both POW/MIA interest groups and Congress – have tried to get the Pentagon to release documents from North Vietnam, and time and again, it was John McCain who was instrumental in blocking them.

This is indisputable fact.

And unlike the partisan slander that it will doubtless be accused of being – some crude incarnation of the Obama-Muslim farce – Schanberg actually does support his claims with sourcing and evidence that has long been in public record.

One may speculate on McCain’s motives. But one cannot speculate that he has stopped, time and again, the release of information about the POW/MIA left in Vietnam to the public. One cannot speculate that people on both the left and the right – Schanberg and Bob Smith and Ed Asner – have been struggling to expose this cover-up.

The media will not like to hear this.

The likes of Hannity on FOX will not like his heroic candidate’s record sullied, even though it is only a concealment of the record – a refusal to admit to hard truth – that makes McCain look clean.

The left is always loath to raise the specter of Vietnam or to challenge patriotism.

And Obama will doubtless say, “I want this campaign to be about the issues. I do not want to discuss personal attacks.”

So it falls to we, the people, again to take a stand for the POW/MIA families. They have no one else.

The media does not support them. The system does not support them. They will be treated as a distraction or a tool in this election.

But this is their chance – now. This story will not be as potentially important as it could be now. The attention paid to it now will likely not come again.

So please, spread the word to others.

Send this in an e-mail. Do the research into it yourself if you doubt or support the facts. Do justice to this cause by working to spread the truth – it has only asked for truth.

If you consider yourself a patriot, do the research. If you feel you support our troops, do the research. If you respect honesty and facts, do the research.

Do the research.  Get the truth and spread it.  Only you can do this.

The time for the truth is now. Forty years of dedication from families that have sacrificed, journalists that have fought the system, voices lost on both sides of the aisle, and the legacy of the abandoned men, have come to this moment – this article – now.

Please support it by sending it on.

I have often said that losing this election will be the best thing that happened to the Republican Party in the last 50 years. It would be like an addict “hitting bottom” – the fear-mongering, patriotism-baiting, sound byte slinging, demagoguery dependent, hysteria-feeding, monolithic thinking, avaricious forces that have increasingly poisoned the GOP would be shown no longer to work.

They would have to be purged. An accounting of morals and priorities would take place. Actual values and philosophies would replace the unthinking commercialization of those terms.

We may be seeing its beginnings now, as increasing numbers of conservatives shove aside the mind-numbing, red meat baggage that calculating smear merchants have piled on Obama’s character. They’re ignoring the media branding, going to the facts and using that virtue they so famously hallow – independence. And despite the Reverend Wright distortions, the Muslim knee-jerk terror and the endless, topsy-turvy drivel about Obama being an elitist – despite all the calculated and cold-hearted slander for political purposes – this group of late converts is listening to the man.

Some are liking what they’re hearing. Former Congressman and actual maverick, Wayne Gilchrest, is among them, as he cross the aisle to endorse Obama. A former National Review publisher and William F. Buckley disciple has followed the footsteps of Susan Eisenhower and done this as well.

Others are long-time supporters, like Hagel and Lugar, who have taken up a recent cause: Reacting to John McCain’s seemingly limitless, morally disgusting lies.

Hagel and Lugar both had to defend truth, decency and Obama today when McCain began to spread the lie that the Illinois Senator had a secret meeting with Iraqis to prolong and worsen the war. They informed the media that there was nothing secret about the meeting – a number of US officials, such as ambassador Crocker, were there, and there was nothing insidious or contrary to US policy happening either. Temperatures have since been running hot.

And it is this constant lying that has conservative commentators beginning to protest. So far, it is happening in small numbers, but significant ones nevertheless. Outside the hate-based slop on talk radio, right-wing pundits are beginning to feel the truth is being bent too much for them to support the man appointed to champion their policies.

The Wall Street Journal hit McCain for his assault on the SEC and mischaracterization of it. FOX objected to McCain distorting the words of one of their journalists and threatened action.

Ross Douthat at The Atlantic takes particular issue with the McCain camp’s winging about how Palin needs to be protected from the media. But it is Richard Cohen, a former ardent supporter of McCain like myself, that has the most emphatic and eloquent reaction to McCain’s distortions:

McCain has turned ugly. His dishonesty would be unacceptable in any politician, but McCain has always set his own bar higher than most. He has contempt for most of his colleagues for that very reason: They lie. He tells the truth. He internalizes the code of the McCains — his grandfather, his father: both admirals of the shining sea. He serves his country differently, that’s all — but just as honorably. No more, though.

“No more” is right. And many on the Right are coming to feel that. It is a hard thing to admit one’s appointed champion is not worthy of one’s values; to denounce him.

But it is necessary for the survival of those values.

Lies.

It’s said every politician commits them. Its said that’s to be expected. It is, therefore, assumed that it balances out.

I reject this at least in part – the part that finds a moral equivalence between all untruths. The term “little white lie” can be dismissed by a truth-stickler as just an excuse, but the premise that there are degrees of dishonesty is no excuse.

If someone lies about whether they returned your call, it’s one thing. If they lie about you having molested or murdered children, it’s another.

If your President lies about his sex life, it’s one thing. If they lie about an imminent nuclear threat that needs to be countered by vast, heart-wrenching sacrifice by hundreds of thousands, it’s another.

So here I have decided to do a thorough vetting of lies told by both sides – all four candidates on the major tickets. I do this in the interest of research – so that you can tell your friends that you are abreast of the issues; you know what’s going on.

So that you can decide which lies matter most to you, and which suggest a sin of omission as opposed to deliberate and cynical treachery.

And so that you can do an audit of your own feelings about honesty, about how much of a premium you put on it, and why. Mind you, I will not be including accusations of “lies” that were exposed as lies themselves. I will, however, be noting blatant flip-flops. If you say your position is something, then specifically oppose it three hours later without noting that you changed your position, that is a lie.

You can review them in alphabetical order, below or in linked articles, by last name.

Biden

McCain

Obama

Palin

Conclusion

Joe Biden

* The Veep Lie: Joe Biden said a few days before he was announced as Obama’s running mate that, “I’m not the guy.” He is the guy.

I mention this given that a huge number of “conservative” commentary on the internet is devoted to how this “malicious lie” shows you can’t trust Biden about anything.

* The Accident: Biden has made the claim that alcohol was allegedly involved in the truck collision that killed his family. He admits to having not looked into the involvement of alcohol. Legal investigations do not support the involvement of alcohol.

* The Kinnock Plagiarism: In the 1988 Presidential race, Biden often quoted British Labor leader Neil Kinnock’s speeches in his speeches, giving him credit. One time, he didn’t credit him. His Democratic colleague-opponents dismembered him for it.

That’s all for Biden. Good show, Joe.

John McCain:

* Economic Expertise: McCain claimed he had never said he didn’t know much of the economy. He did. Then he admitted to this. Then he lied about it again and stuck by the lie.

* The Pig Lie: McCain aired a multi-market ad campaign claiming Obama had called Sarah Palin a pig, stating he “approved” the message. When asked if it was true, or even if he thought that was what Obama meant, he said, “No.”

* Sex With Children Lie: McCain claimed Obama wanted to teach kindergartners “comprehensive sex education,” which I guess implies about everything from anal to abortions. The bill he refers to was intended to protect children from sexual predators. He has stuck by this lie.

* Lying About Obama Having Lied: Rumors and lies about Sarah Palin abound on the internet, and a recent campaign ad from John McCain claims they come from Obama. It cites sources, and I now cite those sources saying that John McCain is lying about them.

* Obama-Cheney Energy Bill: McCain claims in a series of ads that Obama “gave billions to big oil.” The bill he cites, even including the perks in it, raised taxes on oil companies overall.

* Iran Tiny Threat Lie: McCain claimed Obama said Iran was a tiny threat. Obama was comparing it to the U.S.S.R., but McCain took the word out of context to make Obama look like a moron or feeb.

* Baby-Killer Lie: One of my personal favorites, this lie indicates that Obama supported post-birth abortions. Yes, he “approved a message” that flatly says Obama wanted to kill babies after they were born. Of course, the bill Obama blocked actually was to give fetuses or their relations the right to sue in the event that an abortion failed and the child wasn’t given full medical aid, and has been widely criticized for being poorly written, besides.

* Obama Tax: McCain claims Obama wants to raise your taxes. For 90% of Americans, this is a lie. The same goes for Small Business Owners. McCain claims that Obama wants to harm “23 million small business owners,” and this is a bald-faced lie. Especially when most small business owners would benefit more under Obama’s plan than McCain’s.

* Renewable Energy Lie: McCain ran an ad touting his renewable energy plans, but very little in his plans have to do with renewable energy.

* The Rezko Lie: One of the most enduring lies, McCain need merely show Rezko’s picture or mention his name, and people think Obama was involved in criminal dealings with him. This is a lie. Rezko is, indeed, a convicted criminal, but he was also a real estate owner, and his deals with Obama were limited to Obama buying a house at market value, having Rezko’s wife buy the lot next door, and then Rezko’s wife selling the lot at a profit. McCain, however, claims through ads some “$14 million in land deals.” This is a total lie.

* Pro-Life Lie: McCain claimed in speeches, forums and to the press that he has a 25-year pro-life record. Er, well, considering that one of the reasons I found him appealing in 2000 was his quote that, “I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations,” I think it is tough to say what his position is, besides thoroughly inconsistent.

Alright, that’s all of August and September for McCain. For lies like linking Obama to Castro, Obama to HAMAS, Obama snubbing our troops, Obama not voting to support the war, Obama raising taxes on electricity, Obama hating immigrants, Obama’s opposition to the gas tax holiday causing prices to remain high and Obama having no alternative energy plan – all lies that McCain paid much money to proliferate and never recounted – see this link.

Barack Obama:

* McCain Hates Education Lie: Obama ran an ad that claimed McCain voted to cut educational funding, when in truth McCain voted against additional funding for education that had been requested. So it wasn’t really a cut, rather than a limitation of the needed growth – the same goes for his proposed education funding in his plan. McCain has favored abolishing the Department of Education, though.

* Auto Loan Lie: McCain refused to support loan guarantees for the auto industry, as an Obama ad notes. However, he since changed his position in the last months, and so the ad cited his old position, not his new one.

* Ohio Job Loss Lie: Obama claimed in a limited Ohio ad that McCain and his campaign manager played instrumental roles in a DHL deal that cost Ohio 8,200 jobs. In truth, it was more like 6,000. And in all honesty, McCain and Teamsters interests thought the deal would lead to jobs.

* Nuke Waste Lie: John McCain supports Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as a dump site, and an Obama ad in limited markets suggested he didn’t want such a thing for Arizona. In full truth, McCain did go on to say that transportation of the waste through Arizona could, potentially, and should be made safe.

* Big Oil Lie: John McCain didn’t get $2 million from the oil industry, as the widely played Obama ad claimed. Yet. He got $1.3 million at the time of the ad.

* Working Hard For The Money Lie: Obama, in an ad, said he worked his way through college. He only worked through college – summer jobs and selling subscriptions.

That does it through to June.

And yes, I am aware of the Ralph Reed ad “lie” – that Reed, an Abramoff pal, is raising money from McCain – but I didn’t include the “debunk” given that Reed is raising money from McCain; McCain just said he doesn’t want Reed’s money, even though he takes it and spends it.

If you say you don’t want someone’s help, and then you take it, that’s a lie.

Sarah Palin

* Frugality Lie: Sarah touts her reputation as someone who eliminated wasteful spending. She is about the only one in Alaska’s administrations that served with her that feels this way – namely the $50,000 redecoration of her office in Wasilla, the $20+ million she left Wasilla in debt and the exceptionally high level of earmarks she requested from the national tax payer.

* Bridge to Nowhere Lie: The bridge, which cost over $200 million, has been Palin’s showpiece for her frugality and hate of wastefulness. When she ran for governor, support of the bridge was her pet project – she even went so far as to weave it into speeches. She did turn it down, eventually when it became unpopular, but she kept the money the federal taxpayers gave her.

* Energy Supply Lie: Palin repeatedly claimed Alaska supplied 20% of the nation’s energy. She was only off by 16.5% – it supplies 3.5% of the United States’ domestically produced energy. That’s an exaggeration of only, oh, around %570.

* No Major Law Lie: Sarah likes to say Obama hasn’t authored “a single major law,” which is ridiculous, given that he has international WMD limitation, small arms limitation, government transparency legislation and international mission legislation all under his belt, just to name some of the ones he personally initiated and sponsored.

* Iraq Lie: Sarah said she visited Iraq. She got close. She visited Kuwait. They then clarified it. Then went back to the original version, where she visited the war zone.

* Private Chef Lie: Sarah claimed she dismissed the private chef. She didn’t. She just shifted the person to another part of the State’s service. Then, since she didn’t have a chef anymore, she began charging Alaska’s tax payers for her meals at home.

* eBay Plane Lie: Palin likes to repeat her yarn about selling the plane on eBay. It didn’t sell there, though; she eventually sold it for $600,000 less than the State had initially purchased it for to a major Republican contributor.

* Polar Bear Lie: In her Op-Ed strangely advocating that polar bears should not be protected as an Endangered Species, Palin cites that the state of Alaska did studies to support her assertion. Those studies actually contradict her, and she tried to suppress them.

* Troopergate Lie: After encouraging the investigation, Sarah then has used lawyers, witness suppression and personal evasion of subpoenas to block facts about her firing of a state trooper allegedly over a personal matter from coming to light.

Conclusion

So there you have them all – all from the period of July to September 18th, that is, with an extra few tacked on for Biden just so he wouldn’t feel lonely.

Now it’s time for a little honesty on your behalf – some self-evaluation. Looking over the perfidy, distortion, fluffing and fumbling listed here, do you see comparison?

Do you feel degrees? Does the involvement of some subject matter surpass your standards of decency?

Ask yourself whether you would be comfortable making those statements about someone. Ask yourself how you would feel if they were put into the public record about you.

And above all, ask yourself whether you want to help put them into what is arguably the highest office of the greatest country in the world.

* * *

My thanks to Factcheck.org for their thorough review of the distortions in this campaign. I strongly suggest everyone who wants to be in the know go there and review their bipartisan work.

I also recommend ontheissues.org for diligent reviews of candidates’ positions.