Caught again. Is the Straight Talk Express out of gas?

As the Washington Post puts it; HUCKABOOM HITS TV.

Mike Huckabee may have flamed out as a presidential candidate, but his glibness and humor did not go unnoticed.

The former Arkansas governor has signed a one-year deal as a political commentator for Fox News, where he will sound off on a variety of programs. A knowledgeable source says an announcement is expected soon.

Other cable channels had been pursuing Huckabee, who provided commentary on MSNBC during one of its primary-night broadcasts. Fox has given a platform to such former Republican politicos as Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove.

Huckabee honed his broadcasting skills during his years as a Baptist minister, and his underfunded White House campaign relied heavily on TV appearances, from his constant calls to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to his stint playing air hockey with Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. His first job, at 14, was reading the news and weather at a radio station.

The deal keeps Huckabee in the spotlight as he contemplates a second run in 2012, a tactic perfected by Pat Buchanan, who hosted CNN’s “Crossfire” between presidential campaigns.

No word on whether the deal calls for Huckabee’s band to play while Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity kick off their programs.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann delivered a scathing commentary on John McCain during last night’s broadcast. My jaw almost hit the floor. You can read the transcript here.

Rachel Keller got dumped for Obama. She wrote a song about it.

Rachel is a good friend of DoubleSpeak and we congratulate her on the success of this video. Some dude out there feels really stupid.

A quick history lesson: The first electronic computer, ENIAC, was built in 1946 when John McCain was ten years old. The first mainframes came in the 1950s when McCain was in his twenties and by the 1970s, when the first microcomputers came on the market, he was attending the National War College. In 1981 IBM released the first PC and John McCain was getting ready to run for Congress. In 2000, the first time John McCain ran for president, we’d already seen the rise of Microsoft, eBay, Amazon, Napster and the tech boom.

It’s now 2008, John McCain is running for president again, and he freely admits that he does not know how to use computers. While he may occasionally do “a Google” it’s his wife who apparently has to actually do the clicking and typing for him.

Perhaps I’m being ageist, or simply ignoring as a computer capable person myself how many people still struggle with computers. But in the 21st century, isn’t it perhaps important for the leader of the free world to know how to use a computer?

McCain has been desperately trying to distance himself from his Fundraiser-in-Chief George W. Bush. He wants to be seen as a maverick, an independent, a reformer and someone who can carry the damaged Republican brand in a new direction. Well, this all sounds like a great strategy…right?

Thanks to the great work of bloggers and researchers who know how you use Google, McCain’s declaration of independence is slowly being debunked and his true colors are starting to shine through.

From the Huffington Post:

It has been observed that one of Sen. John McCain’s most foreboding obstacles in seeking the White House will likely be the lengthy paper trail that comes with a 25-year congressional career.

And so it is, perhaps, with the macro-theme of the general election: whether or not McCain is an extension of the George Bush presidency. The Senator has worked hard to dispel such a perception, pointing to various policy disagreements with the White House and lashing out against those who claim he would be Bush’s third term.

But McCain’s case is complicated by his own words from just three years ago. In a June 2005 appearance on Meet The Press, the Senator told moderator Tim Russert that, far from being at odds with the White House, he had “been totally in agreement and support of President Bush” on “the transcendent issues.”

Here is the transcript of his remarks. Video is here.

RUSSERT: The fact is you are different than George Bush.

SEN. McCAIN: No. No. I-the fact is that I’m different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.

Barack Obama’s campaign has launched a new website which acts to counter the vicious smears that have been circulated about him through email and on conservative hate radio.

This site www.fightthesmears.com lists each of these lies and provides the facts for visitors.

An appeal to all of our readers: Add this link to your Facebook profiles, Gchat away messages or tattoo is on your forehead. It’s so important that we counter these shameful attacks in real-time and with urgency.

Go ahead and cross Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio off the list of possible Vice-Presidential candidates for Senator Obama. Governor Strickland was profiled today on NPR’s All Things Considered and spoke unequivocally about his feelings when it comes to the veep spot.

“Absolutely not. If drafted I will not run, nominated I will not accept and if elected I will not serve.”