Really.
(Vanity Fair on her yellow Big Bird dress)
(Yahoo Cindy Fashion Show)
Her convention dresses were over-the-top -- yet somehow Barack and Michelle Obama are labeled as elists, while the McCains with their 7 or 8 or however many homes are down to earth?
But what's more crazy is the lack of discussion of issues. That it's all about dresses and mooseburgers - and little to no discussion of health care or the economy.
John McCain wants to TAX our health insurance. The health insurance we get from employers. Taxes we don't pay now. Isn't this RAISING our taxes in a way no one ever proposed before?
Don't you think Soccer Moms and Hockey Moms alike would be a little pissed if they really thought about this?
For years, health care was a campaign-winning issue for Congressional Dems.
That's because Dems believe that all Americans should have health insurance. Not just the rich.
When Oprah had Sicko producer Michael Moore on her show she posed the bottom-line question - don't you think you should have the same health care coverage as a millionaire?
Or to go one step more grounded - do you think you deserve at least the same health care coverage as your boss?
Here's what FactCheck.org had to say about McCain's health care tax...
(Claim in a McCain Ad:) "Let's give every American family a $5,000 refundable tax credit" to buy health insurance.
Sounds good. But McCain failed to mention how existing employer-sponsored health benefits would be affected.
• Workers would be taxed on the value of any employer-paid health benefits, partially offsetting the $5,000 credit for those now covered by such plans.
• Experts say a tax credit plan like this would likely cause companies to reduce or eliminate health benefits for their employees.
The aim of the McCain plan is to reduce health care costs through increased competition, by encouraging individuals to shop around for health insurance and medical care. There are many who favor such an approach, and we take no position on it one way or the other. But McCain's simplistic ad misleads viewers by promising to give "every American family" a $5,000 benefit while failing to mention what he would also take away.
And the New York Times pointed out:
Though Senator John McCain has promised to not raise taxes, his campaign acknowledged Wednesday that the health plan he outlined this week would have the effect of increasing tax payments for some workers, primarily those with high incomes and expensive health plans.
The campaign cannot yet project how many taxpayers might see their taxes go up, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Mr. McCain’s top domestic policy adviser. But Mr. Holtz-Eakin said in an interview that for some, Mr. McCain’s health care tax credits would not be large enough to compensate for his proposal to eliminate the tax breaks afforded to workers with employer-provided health benefits.
And the AFL-CIO's analysis:
McCAIN’S HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL Will Increase Costs and Reduce Benefits
John McCain’s health care proposal is similar to President Bush’s failed plan. Like Bush’s, McCain’s plan undermines existing employer-based health care and pushes workers into the private market to fight big insurance companies on their own. It will reduce benefits, increase costs and leave many with no health care at all.
A New Tax on Working Families. McCain wants to shift the burden from employers to workers. He will make health care premiums part of taxable income, essentially creating a new tax for working families.
Increases Costs to Workers. The modest tax credit McCain wants to give people to cover his new tax would cover less than half the average health premium, leaving workers to pick up the difference. Also, by promoting high-deductible Health Savings Account (HSA) plans, which provide fewer benefits at higher costs, he will make the high costs of individual insurance even worse.
Leaves Workers at the Mercy of Big Insurance Companies.McCain’s efforts to “eliminate the bias” toward employer-based health care will encourage employers to stop offering health care, pushing workers into an unregulated private insurance market to fend for themselves. Big insurance companies will be free to weed out people with health care needs, charge excessive premiums and limit benefits.
Makes Health Care Harder to Get. Pushing workers into the private health care market and promoting HSAs will encourage insurance companies to attract only the healthiest people, driving costs up overall. Insurance companies can decide to refuse to cover people with preexisting conditions, such as cancer survivors. Retirees will have a particularly hard time getting health care.
Lowers the Quality of Available Health Care Plans. Many states have laws regulating health care quality by requiring basic services to be included in health care coverage. McCain’s proposal would circumvent these laws, resulting in lower quality coverage without consumer protections.
But that's enough about an issue that might impact Americans...
What's Cindy wearing?
What barnyard animal is wearing cosmetics now?