At the Saddleback Faith Inquisition, err, Forum, both McCain and Obama were asked, "Who are the three wisest people that you know, and that you would rely on heavily in your administration?"

Obama:

His Wife
His Grandmother
Too many valid perspectives to limit to three

McCain:

General Petraeus
John Lewis
Meg Whitman

Fair enough and true to form, Obama was truthful and tactful; McCain was truthful and shooting from the lip.

The contrast in approach and thought process aside . . . Meg Whitman? The General and John Lewis were typical examples of McCain's pandering/bolstering version of straight-talk. No real surprises there – though Mr. Lewis may disagree. But Whitman? Really? OK, I'll play along.

In ways large and small, Barack Obama's visit to the Pastor Rick Warren Saddleback Church resembled a Christian taking on the lions.  The audience, after all, was overwhelmingly predisposed to the Republican John McCain.  To be sure, the questions posed by Warren had a purpose-driven life for the conservative agenda.  And making matters even more difficult for Obama, Reverend Warren edited out scriptural references for McCain, a man notoriously uncomfortable speaking about matters of religious faith.

In theory, Warren was to pose the same questions to each candidate during their separate appearances on stage.  But starting with the very first question to each man, Rick Warren made sure John McCain was treated with biblical kid gloves:

Yesterday's Politico had an article on Longshots in the veepstakes that raised some of the more interesting potential VP candidates.

Two months after I first highlighted John McCain's prescription of eBay as the cure for what ails the economy, economists are finally weighing in.  As Bloomberg reports, the feedback isn't pretty.  While McCain, who has admitted knowing little about economics and even less about computers, may envision a nation of auctioneers, "new people selling stuff out of their closet on EBay isn't growing the economy."

We continue to hear the usual names as the talk about a McCain Vice Presidential running mate continues: Charlie Crist (Gov-FL), Bobby Jindal (Gov-LA), Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge, Meg Whitman (CEO-eBay), Fred Smith (CEO-FedEx) and, of course, Mike Huckabee. These individuals have been tossed around the MSM, as well as general circles of chatter. However, one name is suspiciously missing every time - that of Palin.

(crossposted with photos at The Dead Guy)

In Martin County, Kentucky this week, John McCain added another one his "Forgotten Places" to the growing list of places his campaign would now like to forget.  With a straight face, McCain told the residents of the economically devastated region that eBay represents their economic future. And he did so by appropriating the words of Meg Whitman, who just happens to be not only McCain's national campaign co-chair, but the former CEO of eBay.

Earlier this week we saw the disgusting spectacle of e-Bay CEO Meg Whitman "dialing for dollars" on behalf of radical right-wing Mormon Mitt Romney.

Dear Kossaks: Below is my original diary which I posted two days ago. It turned into a cyber mystery, because the letter sent out by eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman that same day, was thought to have been possibly a spoof. I emailed eBay and got a reply back today saying that it was indeed from them. I wanted to make sure the record was set straight.

I want to also thank my fellow Kossaks for looking out for me and offering their support and knowledge on the issue.

This issue is about Network Neutrality. And my first diary fell victim to this new "bizarro world" and the fact that we need to be careful about information and what is really going on. If you are paying attention out there, the issue is unfolding and getting more convoluted as we speak. We are also under assault as the right tries co-opt and infiltrate our modes of communication (see the recent "Al Gore's Penguin Army," a video playing on YouTube.com, that was made to look like it came from an amateur but really came from, who else, Exxon). Below is my original diary:

Today eBay Inc. President and CEO Meg Whitman sent a rare email to all its users urging strong action on this issue. She said she hopes something can be done before it's too late.

Whitman said she felt she must act because increduoulsly lawmakers are deciding right now if the internet should remain free to all its users -- or if it should be divided into two main tiers controlled by the biggest companies. She explains how much power they wield.  She offered this link for members to act, www.ebaymainstreet.com/netneutrality

This is my first diary, so I don't know how to direct you to Whitman's letter.  A friend, who has an account on eBay, forwarded it to me today because he knows I think it is a huge deal.  I just wanted to get the word out that the issue of Network Neutality is critical, and that the fight for it has only just begun.

It appears that in the effort to turn our internet into another version of cable TV, the telecom companies have found themselves making some powerful enemies.

I just got an email from Meg Whitman today, CEO of eBay. In it she sets up a call to action, in support of all of us that want the net to be equal for everyone.

What I like about this campaign, as opposed to just funding a large amount of lobbyists like the telecoms have, is that it gets the millions of people involved in eBay to do something progressive, in a people powered way. I know I'll be sending this along to people I know, whether they use eBay or not, because it frames this issue very nicely into "non-geek" terms.

In her own words:
"The top tier would be a "Pay-to-Play" high-speed toll-road restricted to only the largest companies that can afford to pay high fees for preferential access to the Net.

The bottom tier -- the slow lane -- would be what is left for everyone else. If the fast lane is the information "super-highway," the slow lane will operate more like a dirt road."

The main body of the email is in extended...