Tuesday, September 30, 2008
RottenAcorn.com
Mona Charen has written an excellent column exposing ACORN's practices and connecting them to the current financial crisis. Voter fraud is a prominent part of the job description of these community organizers:
"The ACORN workers told state investigators that they went to the Seattle public library, sat at a table and filled out the voter registration forms. They made up names, addresses, and Social Security numbers and in some cases plucked names from the phone book. One worker said it was a lot of hard work making up all those names and another said he would sit at home, smoke marijuana and fill out the forms."
Ms. Charen refers her readers to rottenacorn.com. Below are a few items from their fraud map:
“It’s safe to say the forgery was widespread.”
An ACORN employee in West Reading, PA, was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison for identity theft and tampering with records.
“The signature is not my signature. It’s not even close.”
Three ACORN employees pleaded guilty, and four more were charged, in the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington state history.
A contractor with ACORN-affiliated Project Vote was arrested for falsifying about 400 voter registration cards.
Two ex-ACORN employees were convicted in Denver of perjury for submitting false voter registrations.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
SARAH OPENS UP TO KATIE COURIC ON CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES!!
Palin Opens Up On Controversial Issues
VP Candidate Speaks Frankly With Katie Couric About Feminism, Homosexuality, Abortion And The Environment
GOP Presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin speak to CBS News anchor Katie Couric Sept. 29, 2008. (CBS)
(CBS) As they gear up for the one and only vice presidential debate on Thursday night in St. Louis, candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin spent part of today prepping - separately, of course. Before the debate preps, CBS News anchor Katie Couric spent some time with Alaska's Gov. Palin on the campaign trail. And in an exclusive interview, she spoke frankly about a number of controversial issues - including at least one disagreement with her running mate, Sen. John McCain.
The day began early. After being briefed by her staff, Sarah Palin heads out with her 14-year-old daughter Willow in tow.
"So nice to meet you," CBS News anchor Katie Couric said to Willow.
At 8 a.m., Palin hit the ground running - accompanied by Couric.
"Do you have any down-time, though?" Couric asked Palin.
"I get to go running every day, which is my sanity," Palin said. "Sweat is my sanity."
First, a photo-op with hotel staff.
Then it's off to the McCain campaign plane, where CBS News was invited up front to ask a handful of questions. Couric asked Palin whether she considers herself a feminist.
"I do," Palin said. "I'm a feminist who, uh, believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed, and to try to do it all, anyway. And I'm very, very thankful that I've been brought up in a family where gender hasn't been an issue. You know, I've been expected to do everything growing up that the boys were doing. We were out chopping wood and you're out hunting and fishing and filling our freezer with good wild Alaskan game to feed our family. So it kinda started with that."
Before a rally in Columbus, Ohio, the candidates sat down with Couric for their first joint interview, where Couric and Palin focused on energy policy.
Couric: Gov. Palin, almost every expert says it will take about 10 years for domestic drilling to have an impact on consumers. So isn't the notion of "drill, baby, drill" a little misleading to people who think this will automatically lower their gas prices, and quickly?
Palin: And it's why we should have started 10 years ago tapping into domestic supplies that America is so rich in. Alaska has billions of barrels of oil and hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean, green natural gas onshore and off-shore. Should have started doing it 10 years ago, but better late than never. It's gotta be an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence.
Couric: Gov. Palin, I know you'd like to see drilling take place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And Sen. McCain, you oppose this. You call it, quote: "one of the most pristine and beautiful parts of the world."
McCain: Uh huh.
Couric: Who's right?
McCain: Did you expect two mavericks to agree on - (laughter) to agree on everything? Look, I …we just have, we'll be talking more and more about this issue. We do agree on the off-shore drilling and other means of limiting our dependence on foreign oil. But for us to agree on everything would make us, I think, a little boring. You can … say a lot about us, but we're anything but boring.
Palin has brought plenty of energy to the campaign, attracting huge, enthusiastic crowds, like one at Capital University.
Her trademark feistiness is on display as she delivers a punchy sound bite about her rival, Joe Biden.
"I'm looking forward to meeting him, too. I've never met him before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade," she said at a campaign rally.
Couric: You have a 72-year-old running mate - is that kind of a risky thing to say, insinuating that Joe Biden's been around a while?
Palin: Oh no, it's nothing negative at all. He's got a lot of experience and just stating the fact there, that we've been hearing his speeches for all these years. So he's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience.
Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, "Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?" Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Then it's off to the bus where Palin sits down for a wide-ranging interview.
Couric: What's your position on global warming? Do you believe it's man-made or not?
Palin: Well, we're the only Arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we feel the impacts more than any other state, up there with the changes in climates. And certainly, it is apparent. We have erosion issues. And we have melting sea ice, of course. So, what I've done up there is form a sub-cabinet to focus solely on climate change. Understanding that it is real. And …
Couric: Is it man-made, though in your view?
Palin: You know there are - there are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now, these impacts. I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate. Because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. And over history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it's real; we need to do something about it.
Couric: If a 15-year-old is raped by her father, do you believe it should be illegal for her to get an abortion, and why?
Palin: I am pro-life. And I'm unapologetic in my position that I am pro-life. And I understand there are good people on both sides of the abortion debate. In fact, good people in my own family have differing views on abortion, and when it should be allowed. Do I respect people's opinions on this. Now, I would counsel to choose life. I would also like to see a culture of life in this country. But I would also like to take it one step further. Not just saying I am pro-life and I want fewer and fewer abortions in this country, but I want them, those women who find themselves in circumstances that are absolutely less than ideal, for them to be supported, and adoptions made easier.
Couric: But ideally, you think it should be illegal for a girl who was raped or the victim of incest to get an abortion?
Palin: I'm saying that, personally, I would counsel the person to choose life, despite horrific, horrific circumstances that this person would find themselves in. And, um, if you're asking, though, kind of foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an … abortion, absolutely not. That's nothing I would ever support.
Couric: Some people have credited the morning-after pill for decreasing the number of abortions. How do you feel about the morning-after pill?
Palin: Well, I am all for contraception. And I am all for preventative measures that are legal and save, and should be taken, but Katie, again, I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception. And I would like to see …
Couric: And so you don't believe in the morning-after pill?
Palin: ... I would like to see fewer and fewer abortions in this world. And again, I haven't spoken with anyone who disagrees with my position on that.
Couric: I'm sorry, I just want to ask you again. Do you not support or do you condone or condemn the morning-after pill.
Palin: Personally, and this isn't McCain-Palin policy …
Couric: No, that's OK, I'm just asking you.
Palin: But personally, I would not choose to participate in that kind of contraception.
Couric: Do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle or as one of several theories?
Palin: Oh, I think it should be taught as an accepted principle. And, as you know, I say that also as the daughter of a school teacher, a science teacher, who has really instilled in me a respect for science. It should be taught in our schools. And I won't deny that I see the hand of God in this beautiful creation that is Earth. But that is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught it science class.
The governor told us though she's not a member of any church, she visits a couple of them regularly when she's home. She took issue with news reports that one of them, The Wasilla Bible Church, sponsored a conference where gays could be made straight through prayer.
Palin: Well, it matters though, Katie, when the media gets it wrong. It frustrates Americans who are just trying to get the facts and … be able to make up their mind on, about a person's values. So it does matter.
But what you're talking about, I think, value here, what my position is on homosexuality and you can pray it away, because I think that was the title that was listed on that bulletin. And you know, I don't know what prayers are worthy of being prayed. I don't know what's prayers are going to be asked and answered. But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years happens to be gay, and I love her dearly. And she is not my "gay friend," she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made. But I am not going to judge people.
People may judge her after Thursday's debate, where she'll be unfiltered and unedited - something reporters complain the campaign has resisted.
Palin: The campaign knows that I am an open book. My record is out there and my life is out there.
VP Candidate Speaks Frankly With Katie Couric About Feminism, Homosexuality, Abortion And The Environment
GOP Presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin speak to CBS News anchor Katie Couric Sept. 29, 2008. (CBS)
(CBS) As they gear up for the one and only vice presidential debate on Thursday night in St. Louis, candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin spent part of today prepping - separately, of course. Before the debate preps, CBS News anchor Katie Couric spent some time with Alaska's Gov. Palin on the campaign trail. And in an exclusive interview, she spoke frankly about a number of controversial issues - including at least one disagreement with her running mate, Sen. John McCain.
The day began early. After being briefed by her staff, Sarah Palin heads out with her 14-year-old daughter Willow in tow.
"So nice to meet you," CBS News anchor Katie Couric said to Willow.
At 8 a.m., Palin hit the ground running - accompanied by Couric.
"Do you have any down-time, though?" Couric asked Palin.
"I get to go running every day, which is my sanity," Palin said. "Sweat is my sanity."
First, a photo-op with hotel staff.
Then it's off to the McCain campaign plane, where CBS News was invited up front to ask a handful of questions. Couric asked Palin whether she considers herself a feminist.
"I do," Palin said. "I'm a feminist who, uh, believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed, and to try to do it all, anyway. And I'm very, very thankful that I've been brought up in a family where gender hasn't been an issue. You know, I've been expected to do everything growing up that the boys were doing. We were out chopping wood and you're out hunting and fishing and filling our freezer with good wild Alaskan game to feed our family. So it kinda started with that."
Before a rally in Columbus, Ohio, the candidates sat down with Couric for their first joint interview, where Couric and Palin focused on energy policy.
Couric: Gov. Palin, almost every expert says it will take about 10 years for domestic drilling to have an impact on consumers. So isn't the notion of "drill, baby, drill" a little misleading to people who think this will automatically lower their gas prices, and quickly?
Palin: And it's why we should have started 10 years ago tapping into domestic supplies that America is so rich in. Alaska has billions of barrels of oil and hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean, green natural gas onshore and off-shore. Should have started doing it 10 years ago, but better late than never. It's gotta be an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence.
Couric: Gov. Palin, I know you'd like to see drilling take place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And Sen. McCain, you oppose this. You call it, quote: "one of the most pristine and beautiful parts of the world."
McCain: Uh huh.
Couric: Who's right?
McCain: Did you expect two mavericks to agree on - (laughter) to agree on everything? Look, I …we just have, we'll be talking more and more about this issue. We do agree on the off-shore drilling and other means of limiting our dependence on foreign oil. But for us to agree on everything would make us, I think, a little boring. You can … say a lot about us, but we're anything but boring.
Palin has brought plenty of energy to the campaign, attracting huge, enthusiastic crowds, like one at Capital University.
Her trademark feistiness is on display as she delivers a punchy sound bite about her rival, Joe Biden.
"I'm looking forward to meeting him, too. I've never met him before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade," she said at a campaign rally.
Couric: You have a 72-year-old running mate - is that kind of a risky thing to say, insinuating that Joe Biden's been around a while?
Palin: Oh no, it's nothing negative at all. He's got a lot of experience and just stating the fact there, that we've been hearing his speeches for all these years. So he's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience.
Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, "Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?" Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Then it's off to the bus where Palin sits down for a wide-ranging interview.
Couric: What's your position on global warming? Do you believe it's man-made or not?
Palin: Well, we're the only Arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we feel the impacts more than any other state, up there with the changes in climates. And certainly, it is apparent. We have erosion issues. And we have melting sea ice, of course. So, what I've done up there is form a sub-cabinet to focus solely on climate change. Understanding that it is real. And …
Couric: Is it man-made, though in your view?
Palin: You know there are - there are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now, these impacts. I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate. Because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. And over history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it's real; we need to do something about it.
Couric: If a 15-year-old is raped by her father, do you believe it should be illegal for her to get an abortion, and why?
Palin: I am pro-life. And I'm unapologetic in my position that I am pro-life. And I understand there are good people on both sides of the abortion debate. In fact, good people in my own family have differing views on abortion, and when it should be allowed. Do I respect people's opinions on this. Now, I would counsel to choose life. I would also like to see a culture of life in this country. But I would also like to take it one step further. Not just saying I am pro-life and I want fewer and fewer abortions in this country, but I want them, those women who find themselves in circumstances that are absolutely less than ideal, for them to be supported, and adoptions made easier.
Couric: But ideally, you think it should be illegal for a girl who was raped or the victim of incest to get an abortion?
Palin: I'm saying that, personally, I would counsel the person to choose life, despite horrific, horrific circumstances that this person would find themselves in. And, um, if you're asking, though, kind of foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an … abortion, absolutely not. That's nothing I would ever support.
Couric: Some people have credited the morning-after pill for decreasing the number of abortions. How do you feel about the morning-after pill?
Palin: Well, I am all for contraception. And I am all for preventative measures that are legal and save, and should be taken, but Katie, again, I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception. And I would like to see …
Couric: And so you don't believe in the morning-after pill?
Palin: ... I would like to see fewer and fewer abortions in this world. And again, I haven't spoken with anyone who disagrees with my position on that.
Couric: I'm sorry, I just want to ask you again. Do you not support or do you condone or condemn the morning-after pill.
Palin: Personally, and this isn't McCain-Palin policy …
Couric: No, that's OK, I'm just asking you.
Palin: But personally, I would not choose to participate in that kind of contraception.
Couric: Do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle or as one of several theories?
Palin: Oh, I think it should be taught as an accepted principle. And, as you know, I say that also as the daughter of a school teacher, a science teacher, who has really instilled in me a respect for science. It should be taught in our schools. And I won't deny that I see the hand of God in this beautiful creation that is Earth. But that is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught it science class.
The governor told us though she's not a member of any church, she visits a couple of them regularly when she's home. She took issue with news reports that one of them, The Wasilla Bible Church, sponsored a conference where gays could be made straight through prayer.
Palin: Well, it matters though, Katie, when the media gets it wrong. It frustrates Americans who are just trying to get the facts and … be able to make up their mind on, about a person's values. So it does matter.
But what you're talking about, I think, value here, what my position is on homosexuality and you can pray it away, because I think that was the title that was listed on that bulletin. And you know, I don't know what prayers are worthy of being prayed. I don't know what's prayers are going to be asked and answered. But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years happens to be gay, and I love her dearly. And she is not my "gay friend," she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made. But I am not going to judge people.
People may judge her after Thursday's debate, where she'll be unfiltered and unedited - something reporters complain the campaign has resisted.
Palin: The campaign knows that I am an open book. My record is out there and my life is out there.
SOUNDS GREAT, JOHN & CINDY!! CAN I COME, TOO???
September 30th, 2008
Palin Debate Prep at McCain Ranch
by Shushannah Walshe
SEDONA, ARIZ. –The Palin campaign is not letting many details of her debate preparation leak out. But, we do know that it is going on at her running mate’s ranch here in this picturesque desert town.
A Palin camp aide describe the setting of the Alaska governor’s preparations, “The Governor’s debate prep today is taking place outdoors near a creek on the scenic McCain ranch in Sedona. The serenity and beauty of this setting has contributed to what can be characterized as a relaxed environment. Her family (Todd, Willow, Piper and Trig) are also at the ranch. Several advisors are participating.”
The advisors that the aide is referring to are McCain senior advisor Steve Schmidt; McCain chief foreign policy aide, Randy Scheunemann; Mark Wallace, a former deputy campaign manager for President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign; and Palin senior foreign policy advisor Steve Biegun, a former staff member of President Bush’s National Security Council and an executive at Ford Motor Company. Cindy McCain is also on hand to make Palin as comfortable as possible in her home.
Joe Biden has enlisted Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to “play” Palin in his debate prep, but we do not know who is acting as that role on the McCain ranch over the next few days.
Palin will be doing conservative talk radio while in Sedona, but the campaign has not released which radio shows only saying, “stay tuned.”
Palin Debate Prep at McCain Ranch
by Shushannah Walshe
SEDONA, ARIZ. –The Palin campaign is not letting many details of her debate preparation leak out. But, we do know that it is going on at her running mate’s ranch here in this picturesque desert town.
A Palin camp aide describe the setting of the Alaska governor’s preparations, “The Governor’s debate prep today is taking place outdoors near a creek on the scenic McCain ranch in Sedona. The serenity and beauty of this setting has contributed to what can be characterized as a relaxed environment. Her family (Todd, Willow, Piper and Trig) are also at the ranch. Several advisors are participating.”
The advisors that the aide is referring to are McCain senior advisor Steve Schmidt; McCain chief foreign policy aide, Randy Scheunemann; Mark Wallace, a former deputy campaign manager for President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign; and Palin senior foreign policy advisor Steve Biegun, a former staff member of President Bush’s National Security Council and an executive at Ford Motor Company. Cindy McCain is also on hand to make Palin as comfortable as possible in her home.
Joe Biden has enlisted Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to “play” Palin in his debate prep, but we do not know who is acting as that role on the McCain ranch over the next few days.
Palin will be doing conservative talk radio while in Sedona, but the campaign has not released which radio shows only saying, “stay tuned.”
OBAMA - ACORN - VOTER FRAUD - MORTGAGE CRISIS!!!
September 29, 2008 2:30 PM
An ACORN Falls from the Tree
A congressional outrage.
By Ken Blackwell
As negotiations over Congress’s emergency rescue bill continued over the weekend, repeated rumors leaked out that the Democrats were trying to funnel money to a hyper-partisan organization involved in criminal voter fraud. I’m speaking of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — known by its acronym, ACORN. Although ACORN was cut from the final legislation, it’s important to understand this organization and its long history with, of all people, Barack Obama. And it’s important to see how partisan this emergency legislation has become.
As the weekend progressed, reports were constantly emerging of the sticking points preventing a final agreement. One of these reputed points of contention was whether 20 percent of the profit proceedings for asset sales in the future would go to what is called the Housing Trust Fund, subsidizing certain groups for ostensibly nonpartisan activity. One of these groups that this trust supports is ACORN.
ACORN has often been in the news since 2004. Officially, they work to register voters and support housing. In reality, everyone in public life knows that they are hardcore supporters for the Democratic Party, and employ bare-knuckle tactics. Their organization is plagued by repeated investigations of voter fraud and other crimes.
In Ohio, where as secretary of state I oversaw elections for eight years, ACORN has been busy. One ACORN man in Reynoldsburg was indicted on two felony counts of voter fraud, and another was indicted in Columbus. Other such problems surfaced in Cuyahoga County, where criminal investigations are ongoing.
It’s not just Ohio. ACORN personnel are facing criminal charges in over a dozen states. In Washington State, for example, seven ACORN leaders had felony charges filed against them for voter fraud.
And there’s an unexpected twist. One of the organizations accused of pushing banks into making many of the unwise loans at the heart of the current crisis is … ACORN. Now that’s ironic. An organization that possibly contributed to our current financial profits is now being considered to make money off of it. And by “money,” I’m referring to your tax money.
Twice already this year Congress has funneled money to ACORN. Some report that February’s economic stimulus included funds for ACORN, as did the bill to help people struggling with mortgages passed this April.
What deserves closer scrutiny is Barack Obama’s history with ACORN. Obama cites Saul Alinsky, a self-acknowledged radical who advocated extreme acts to achieve social goals, as one of his inspirations. ACORN follows the Saul Alinsky model. After Obama graduated from Harvard, he went to work for ACORN in Chicago. Mr. Obama then became a trainer for ACORN, teaching others how to employ ACORN tactics in voter registration drives.
This ACORN involvement coincides with the increasing partisanship of this situation.
Congressional Democrats, and specifically Mr. Obama, are now saying that the problem underlying all this is “deregulation,” pushed by the Republicans. There are two fundamental flaws with this allegation.
First, this is not deregulation. This is not the private sector. Fannie and Freddie are government creations, that pay their executives millions of dollars but are shielded with your tax money from suffering the downside risk of the market. Engage in racetrack-style financing, they must be strictly controlled. Deregulation is about keeping government from hobbling the private sector and hamstringing its ingenuity and productivity. Deregulation does not apply.
Second, Republicans have tried to rein in Fannie and Freddie. Republican attempts to reform them in 1999 failed. In 2003, when Alan Greenspan testified about how Fannie and Freddie’s loose practices could endanger our financial system, it was Democrat Barney Frank who said these institutions were fundamentally sound, and should be more aggressive in getting loans to low-income people. In 2005, a Republican reform passed the Senate Banking Committee on a party-line vote, only to be blocked by Democrats from passing the full Senate. And in 2006 when John McCain spoke on the Senate floor of the need to reform Fannie and Freddie immediately, Democrats (including Barack Obama) would not respond.
You can also see where Fannie and Freddie look for protection by where they direct their money. Public records show that the top two recipients of Fannie/Freddie campaign contributions are Sens. Chris Dodd and Barack Obama, taking $165,000 and $126,000, respectively. Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, and Mr. Obama, who says he’s going to remedy the whole situation.
It suddenly seems so clear why Democrats want ACORN to get some of the taxpayers’ money. I have unapologetically criticized Republicans, some by name, for out-of-control spending, lack of accountability, and other inexcusable actions that have tarnished the GOP and disserved the nation. And there are other issues that are either both parties’ fault, or no one’s fault.
But here, the Democrats are squarely to blame. They have resisted all attempts at reforming Fannie and Freddie, and pushed those organizations to become ever more reckless in their policies. This made the investments on Wall Street carrying those tainted mortgages go from bad to worse, and now we’re in a crisis and on the verge of a meltdown.
This is inexcusable. And if independent voters figure this out, their outrage over this situation will suddenly be directed against the party that pushed these disastrous policies. So Democrats want ACORN to get as much funding as possible, because they might need some new votes in their column on Election Day.
Voter fraud is in one sense the worst crime against democracy. The sole means of democratically choosing leaders is through voting. Every voter gets an equal vote. Every citizen who is a law-abiding adult has an equal voice in who will govern us. Our vote is sacred. Those engaging in voter fraud are in one sense no different than who intimidated voters at the polls in years past. Voter fraud may not be attended by the suffering that accompanied the beatings and water hoses of those days, but the assault on democracy is no less real.
ACORN is a discredited organization, and far too many of its leaders and workers have been prosecuted for felonies against democracy. The idea that a single dime of taxpayer money would ever go to such a group is an outrage.
And Mr. Obama needs to explain his involvement with them.
— Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state, is a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union. He has also served as an undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
***********************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
WHY IS THIS NOT ALL OVER THE NEWS?? WHY ISN'T IT BLASTING FROM EVERY LOCAL AND CABLE NEWS PROGRAM?? WHY AREN'T THE TALKING HEADS DISCUSSING THIS AND QUESTIONING WHY OBAMA IS EVEN THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE??? MAYBE THEY CAN PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER (IF THEY DON'T ALREADY KNOW) AND FIGURE OUT THE VOTER FRAUD TOOK PLACE DURING THE PRIMARIES, TOO!!! WHY, MAINSTREAM MEDIA??? WHY ARE YOU KEEPING THIS A SECRET?? MANY PEOPLE DON'T GO ON THE INTERNET. SOME WATCH 15 MINUTES OF NEWS A NIGHT, IF THAT. WHY AREN'T ALL THE NEWSPAPERS REPORTING THIS??? OR HAS OBAMA BOUGHT EVERYBODY OFF???
An ACORN Falls from the Tree
A congressional outrage.
By Ken Blackwell
As negotiations over Congress’s emergency rescue bill continued over the weekend, repeated rumors leaked out that the Democrats were trying to funnel money to a hyper-partisan organization involved in criminal voter fraud. I’m speaking of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — known by its acronym, ACORN. Although ACORN was cut from the final legislation, it’s important to understand this organization and its long history with, of all people, Barack Obama. And it’s important to see how partisan this emergency legislation has become.
As the weekend progressed, reports were constantly emerging of the sticking points preventing a final agreement. One of these reputed points of contention was whether 20 percent of the profit proceedings for asset sales in the future would go to what is called the Housing Trust Fund, subsidizing certain groups for ostensibly nonpartisan activity. One of these groups that this trust supports is ACORN.
ACORN has often been in the news since 2004. Officially, they work to register voters and support housing. In reality, everyone in public life knows that they are hardcore supporters for the Democratic Party, and employ bare-knuckle tactics. Their organization is plagued by repeated investigations of voter fraud and other crimes.
In Ohio, where as secretary of state I oversaw elections for eight years, ACORN has been busy. One ACORN man in Reynoldsburg was indicted on two felony counts of voter fraud, and another was indicted in Columbus. Other such problems surfaced in Cuyahoga County, where criminal investigations are ongoing.
It’s not just Ohio. ACORN personnel are facing criminal charges in over a dozen states. In Washington State, for example, seven ACORN leaders had felony charges filed against them for voter fraud.
And there’s an unexpected twist. One of the organizations accused of pushing banks into making many of the unwise loans at the heart of the current crisis is … ACORN. Now that’s ironic. An organization that possibly contributed to our current financial profits is now being considered to make money off of it. And by “money,” I’m referring to your tax money.
Twice already this year Congress has funneled money to ACORN. Some report that February’s economic stimulus included funds for ACORN, as did the bill to help people struggling with mortgages passed this April.
What deserves closer scrutiny is Barack Obama’s history with ACORN. Obama cites Saul Alinsky, a self-acknowledged radical who advocated extreme acts to achieve social goals, as one of his inspirations. ACORN follows the Saul Alinsky model. After Obama graduated from Harvard, he went to work for ACORN in Chicago. Mr. Obama then became a trainer for ACORN, teaching others how to employ ACORN tactics in voter registration drives.
This ACORN involvement coincides with the increasing partisanship of this situation.
Congressional Democrats, and specifically Mr. Obama, are now saying that the problem underlying all this is “deregulation,” pushed by the Republicans. There are two fundamental flaws with this allegation.
First, this is not deregulation. This is not the private sector. Fannie and Freddie are government creations, that pay their executives millions of dollars but are shielded with your tax money from suffering the downside risk of the market. Engage in racetrack-style financing, they must be strictly controlled. Deregulation is about keeping government from hobbling the private sector and hamstringing its ingenuity and productivity. Deregulation does not apply.
Second, Republicans have tried to rein in Fannie and Freddie. Republican attempts to reform them in 1999 failed. In 2003, when Alan Greenspan testified about how Fannie and Freddie’s loose practices could endanger our financial system, it was Democrat Barney Frank who said these institutions were fundamentally sound, and should be more aggressive in getting loans to low-income people. In 2005, a Republican reform passed the Senate Banking Committee on a party-line vote, only to be blocked by Democrats from passing the full Senate. And in 2006 when John McCain spoke on the Senate floor of the need to reform Fannie and Freddie immediately, Democrats (including Barack Obama) would not respond.
You can also see where Fannie and Freddie look for protection by where they direct their money. Public records show that the top two recipients of Fannie/Freddie campaign contributions are Sens. Chris Dodd and Barack Obama, taking $165,000 and $126,000, respectively. Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, and Mr. Obama, who says he’s going to remedy the whole situation.
It suddenly seems so clear why Democrats want ACORN to get some of the taxpayers’ money. I have unapologetically criticized Republicans, some by name, for out-of-control spending, lack of accountability, and other inexcusable actions that have tarnished the GOP and disserved the nation. And there are other issues that are either both parties’ fault, or no one’s fault.
But here, the Democrats are squarely to blame. They have resisted all attempts at reforming Fannie and Freddie, and pushed those organizations to become ever more reckless in their policies. This made the investments on Wall Street carrying those tainted mortgages go from bad to worse, and now we’re in a crisis and on the verge of a meltdown.
This is inexcusable. And if independent voters figure this out, their outrage over this situation will suddenly be directed against the party that pushed these disastrous policies. So Democrats want ACORN to get as much funding as possible, because they might need some new votes in their column on Election Day.
Voter fraud is in one sense the worst crime against democracy. The sole means of democratically choosing leaders is through voting. Every voter gets an equal vote. Every citizen who is a law-abiding adult has an equal voice in who will govern us. Our vote is sacred. Those engaging in voter fraud are in one sense no different than who intimidated voters at the polls in years past. Voter fraud may not be attended by the suffering that accompanied the beatings and water hoses of those days, but the assault on democracy is no less real.
ACORN is a discredited organization, and far too many of its leaders and workers have been prosecuted for felonies against democracy. The idea that a single dime of taxpayer money would ever go to such a group is an outrage.
And Mr. Obama needs to explain his involvement with them.
— Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state, is a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union. He has also served as an undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
***********************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
WHY IS THIS NOT ALL OVER THE NEWS?? WHY ISN'T IT BLASTING FROM EVERY LOCAL AND CABLE NEWS PROGRAM?? WHY AREN'T THE TALKING HEADS DISCUSSING THIS AND QUESTIONING WHY OBAMA IS EVEN THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE??? MAYBE THEY CAN PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER (IF THEY DON'T ALREADY KNOW) AND FIGURE OUT THE VOTER FRAUD TOOK PLACE DURING THE PRIMARIES, TOO!!! WHY, MAINSTREAM MEDIA??? WHY ARE YOU KEEPING THIS A SECRET?? MANY PEOPLE DON'T GO ON THE INTERNET. SOME WATCH 15 MINUTES OF NEWS A NIGHT, IF THAT. WHY AREN'T ALL THE NEWSPAPERS REPORTING THIS??? OR HAS OBAMA BOUGHT EVERYBODY OFF???
GOV. PALIN SPEAKS ABOUT BABY & HOLDING DOWN HER JOB AS GOVERNOR.
THIS IS PART OF A NEWS REPORT FROM WHEN SARAH ANNOUNCED SHE WAS EXPECTING TRIG. ALSO INCLUDED ARE REACTIONS FROM HER CONSTITUENTS!!
FROM BLOG: THE CONSERVATIVE EDGE!!
Complicity to Fraud, the Old School Media and Barak Obama
Just yesterday, I told a friend that Obama supporters working as state prosecutors in Missouri, were threatening citizens with criminal prosecution for speaking out against Barak Obama. The friend, a McCain supporter, stormed away from me, saying that there was no way the story was true. “That’s just someone shooting their mouth off” was the final remark.
I had to show the friend Missouri Governor Mel Blunt’s official website with his press release condemning the tactics of St. Louis County prosecutors, to convince the friend that the story was true. But why did a private citizen have to go to the effort to bring this deeply disturbing story to the attention of another citizen, of what should have been the leading news story on every legitimate news organization in the country?
Truth be told, the candidacy of Barak Obama is the biggest fraud perpetrated on the United States in history, and the fourth estate has been complicit in the fraud. My friend assumed that Obama was a mainstream person, just like the majority of Americans, because he is the candidate of one of our two major political parties and that there was no way he would engage in the systematic denial of civil rights of the citizens of the United States. And therein lays the fraud.
Barak Obama is not mainstream. He is a radical extremist who has conned a minority of his party and the fourth estate into believing he is one of them. The man who considers radical counter culturalist Saul Alinsky a mentor, and terrorist bomber William Ayers and racist Jeremiah Wright friends and confidantes, is 37 days away from assuming control of the most powerful military and government in the world.
To make matters worse, Obama has not been entirely covert in his plans for America. In addition to coordinating with state prosecutors to criminalize free speech, he has asked for federal prosecutors to bring federal criminal charges against his political adversaries. And where that doesn’t work, Obama has brought civil lawsuits and used aggressive bullying tactics to try and silence his critics.
Finally, Obama has pledged to create a 250,000 strong federal national police force that will have power equal to our military. It is no coincidence that a man who has developed a cult of personality, and has fashioned himself the savior of mankind, stifles dissent and develops his own police force. We saw this before in Germany, 70 years ago.
In the meantime, our fourth estate, the Old School media, has been silent. Whether blinded by their own hatred of George Bush or so witless that they do not possess the mental acumen to break from the Obama trance, our Old School media has failed to do its job.
This is a final warning to the fourth estate. News magazines Time and Newsweek, network news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC, old line newspapers and their editors, the Associated Press and cable news networks CNN and MSNBC will bear responsibility if Barak Obama wins the election.
Columnists E.J. Dionne, Maureen Dowd, Joe Klein, Jonathan Alter and Paul Krugman are among the most active Obama fraud perpetrators in print media. Talking heads Chris Mathews, Keith Olberman, Katie Couric, David Letterman, Charles Gibson, the entire staff of NBC News and CNN are among the most guilty of Obama myth making on the airwaves.
If Obama makes good on his telegraphed moves against the 1st amendment, the ramifications will be enormous. The fairness doctrine will be but a minor annoyance compared to the monstrosity that is the potential Obama presidency.
Everyone should pray that enough Americans get the message before November 7th, to end this growing terror. Believe me, the last thing I want to say about this is “I told you so”. It will be too late by then.
************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
It's truly UNBELIEVABLE how the media (all except FOX NEWS) are not only in the tank for Obama, but it's as if they have a PACT to have a CONE OF SILENCE where Obama is concerned!! No matter what he does or says, play it up to be positive. Say he won debates he actually lost. AND NEVER, EVER REPORT ANYTHING THAT MAY HURT HIS CANDIDACY!!! I never thought that the media could be so unreliable and actually if there was such a thing, GUILTY OF MALPRACTICE!!!
Just yesterday, I told a friend that Obama supporters working as state prosecutors in Missouri, were threatening citizens with criminal prosecution for speaking out against Barak Obama. The friend, a McCain supporter, stormed away from me, saying that there was no way the story was true. “That’s just someone shooting their mouth off” was the final remark.
I had to show the friend Missouri Governor Mel Blunt’s official website with his press release condemning the tactics of St. Louis County prosecutors, to convince the friend that the story was true. But why did a private citizen have to go to the effort to bring this deeply disturbing story to the attention of another citizen, of what should have been the leading news story on every legitimate news organization in the country?
Truth be told, the candidacy of Barak Obama is the biggest fraud perpetrated on the United States in history, and the fourth estate has been complicit in the fraud. My friend assumed that Obama was a mainstream person, just like the majority of Americans, because he is the candidate of one of our two major political parties and that there was no way he would engage in the systematic denial of civil rights of the citizens of the United States. And therein lays the fraud.
Barak Obama is not mainstream. He is a radical extremist who has conned a minority of his party and the fourth estate into believing he is one of them. The man who considers radical counter culturalist Saul Alinsky a mentor, and terrorist bomber William Ayers and racist Jeremiah Wright friends and confidantes, is 37 days away from assuming control of the most powerful military and government in the world.
To make matters worse, Obama has not been entirely covert in his plans for America. In addition to coordinating with state prosecutors to criminalize free speech, he has asked for federal prosecutors to bring federal criminal charges against his political adversaries. And where that doesn’t work, Obama has brought civil lawsuits and used aggressive bullying tactics to try and silence his critics.
Finally, Obama has pledged to create a 250,000 strong federal national police force that will have power equal to our military. It is no coincidence that a man who has developed a cult of personality, and has fashioned himself the savior of mankind, stifles dissent and develops his own police force. We saw this before in Germany, 70 years ago.
In the meantime, our fourth estate, the Old School media, has been silent. Whether blinded by their own hatred of George Bush or so witless that they do not possess the mental acumen to break from the Obama trance, our Old School media has failed to do its job.
This is a final warning to the fourth estate. News magazines Time and Newsweek, network news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC, old line newspapers and their editors, the Associated Press and cable news networks CNN and MSNBC will bear responsibility if Barak Obama wins the election.
Columnists E.J. Dionne, Maureen Dowd, Joe Klein, Jonathan Alter and Paul Krugman are among the most active Obama fraud perpetrators in print media. Talking heads Chris Mathews, Keith Olberman, Katie Couric, David Letterman, Charles Gibson, the entire staff of NBC News and CNN are among the most guilty of Obama myth making on the airwaves.
If Obama makes good on his telegraphed moves against the 1st amendment, the ramifications will be enormous. The fairness doctrine will be but a minor annoyance compared to the monstrosity that is the potential Obama presidency.
Everyone should pray that enough Americans get the message before November 7th, to end this growing terror. Believe me, the last thing I want to say about this is “I told you so”. It will be too late by then.
************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
It's truly UNBELIEVABLE how the media (all except FOX NEWS) are not only in the tank for Obama, but it's as if they have a PACT to have a CONE OF SILENCE where Obama is concerned!! No matter what he does or says, play it up to be positive. Say he won debates he actually lost. AND NEVER, EVER REPORT ANYTHING THAT MAY HURT HIS CANDIDACY!!! I never thought that the media could be so unreliable and actually if there was such a thing, GUILTY OF MALPRACTICE!!!
JOHN MC CAIN PUTS HIS COUNTRY FIRST!! ALWAYS HAS. ALWAYS WILL!!!
McCain/Palin: Chicago Sun Times Steve Huntley Praises McCain Presidential Leadership in Crisis
Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun Times columnist, bangs out a great evaluation of John McCain's Leadership during the Fannie Mae/Mac meltdown and DNC clown opera. While Obama does what he has done all of his career - wait, test the waters, get what he can and when pushed Vote Present - John McCain leads from the front. MSNBC is tripping over its agenda to clear the brush and right Obama's path - which he couldn't find without the Scout Masters holding his hand. John McCain knows the jungle and is out in front with a machete. By Columbus Day Obama will bedown in the polls by double digits.
Read Steve Huntley!
The bottom line: McCain was right last week when he said the rescue plan was on course for failure. Had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid more attention to McCain's warning, heeded his call for a greater bipartisan spirit and acted on that advice instead of accusing him of political grandstanding, the headlines in today's paper might have been different. At the last minute it was Pelosi, not McCain, who waved the partisan red flag in a speech prior to Monday's vote. That likely doomed the Paulson plan by alienating the GOP ballots Pelosi needed to pass the bill since she didn't have enough Democratic votes lined up.
McCain's astute sizing up of the situation in Washington was just the latest example of a politician not known for expertise in economic matters proven to be right at key times on fiscal issues.
Just a week ago he came in for withering criticism from the Wall Street Journal and country club Republicans for suggesting that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox should be fired because of the Wall Street meltdown. Now we learn from the SEC's inspector general that in 2006 the SEC staff "identified precisely the types of risks that evolved into the subprime crisis" but the agency failed to rein in the aggressive subprime investment practices of Bear Sterns, the first casualty in the meltdown. McCain, it turns out, was right to tag the SEC for failure to do its job.
McCain also proved prescient two years ago when he co-sponsored a bill to tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They are the quasi-government mortgage underwriters at the epicenter of the financial crisis. Obama was silent on the issue.
Despite the stereotype presented about McCain, over the years he has demonstrated wisdom on economic issues.
Posted by pathickey
Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun Times columnist, bangs out a great evaluation of John McCain's Leadership during the Fannie Mae/Mac meltdown and DNC clown opera. While Obama does what he has done all of his career - wait, test the waters, get what he can and when pushed Vote Present - John McCain leads from the front. MSNBC is tripping over its agenda to clear the brush and right Obama's path - which he couldn't find without the Scout Masters holding his hand. John McCain knows the jungle and is out in front with a machete. By Columbus Day Obama will bedown in the polls by double digits.
Read Steve Huntley!
The bottom line: McCain was right last week when he said the rescue plan was on course for failure. Had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid more attention to McCain's warning, heeded his call for a greater bipartisan spirit and acted on that advice instead of accusing him of political grandstanding, the headlines in today's paper might have been different. At the last minute it was Pelosi, not McCain, who waved the partisan red flag in a speech prior to Monday's vote. That likely doomed the Paulson plan by alienating the GOP ballots Pelosi needed to pass the bill since she didn't have enough Democratic votes lined up.
McCain's astute sizing up of the situation in Washington was just the latest example of a politician not known for expertise in economic matters proven to be right at key times on fiscal issues.
Just a week ago he came in for withering criticism from the Wall Street Journal and country club Republicans for suggesting that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox should be fired because of the Wall Street meltdown. Now we learn from the SEC's inspector general that in 2006 the SEC staff "identified precisely the types of risks that evolved into the subprime crisis" but the agency failed to rein in the aggressive subprime investment practices of Bear Sterns, the first casualty in the meltdown. McCain, it turns out, was right to tag the SEC for failure to do its job.
McCain also proved prescient two years ago when he co-sponsored a bill to tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They are the quasi-government mortgage underwriters at the epicenter of the financial crisis. Obama was silent on the issue.
Despite the stereotype presented about McCain, over the years he has demonstrated wisdom on economic issues.
Posted by pathickey
IS MEDIA IN THE TANK FOR OBAMA??? IS THE SKY BLUE???
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Stating the Obvious...
This courtesy of Instapundit:
A READER AT A MAJOR NEWSROOM EMAILS: "Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM (Main Stream Media) being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working." I asked permission to reprint without attribution and it was granted.
Of course, for those of us who have been talking, writing and blogging endlessly about Obama and his associations this comes as absolutely no surprise. The MSM is totally in the tank for Obie...failing to do even a cursory job at investigating what are real news stories.
Is the double standard here not painfully obvious? Can you imagine what the feeding frenzy would be like if John McCain were friends with David Duke (the former LA State Rep and KKK leader)? Or if he were on a board with a guy who had bombed the Pentagon? Or if he had arranged all sorts of pork within the state of Illinois for a mobster and (now) convicted felon? Or if McCain had been the second largest recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and had the former CEO's on his payroll?
Wow. It would have been all news, all the time. The McCain campaign would have been stopped in its tracks.
But not for Obama. The press is ignoring these stories lest it convince voters that the carefully planned post-partisan, post-racial, hope-filled narrative is just a marketing package designed to hoodwink the American people. Which it is.
Kenneth G. Davenport
I am an entrepreneur and management consultant based in Fort Collins, Colorado. I've lived both in Europe and Japan and follow closely the international political scene. I have a Masters in International Relations at the London School of Economics and also earned a Masters in International Management from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at U.C. San Diego. My writings have appeared in the Weekly Standard, the San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Union Tribune.
Stating the Obvious...
This courtesy of Instapundit:
A READER AT A MAJOR NEWSROOM EMAILS: "Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM (Main Stream Media) being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working." I asked permission to reprint without attribution and it was granted.
Of course, for those of us who have been talking, writing and blogging endlessly about Obama and his associations this comes as absolutely no surprise. The MSM is totally in the tank for Obie...failing to do even a cursory job at investigating what are real news stories.
Is the double standard here not painfully obvious? Can you imagine what the feeding frenzy would be like if John McCain were friends with David Duke (the former LA State Rep and KKK leader)? Or if he were on a board with a guy who had bombed the Pentagon? Or if he had arranged all sorts of pork within the state of Illinois for a mobster and (now) convicted felon? Or if McCain had been the second largest recipient of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and had the former CEO's on his payroll?
Wow. It would have been all news, all the time. The McCain campaign would have been stopped in its tracks.
But not for Obama. The press is ignoring these stories lest it convince voters that the carefully planned post-partisan, post-racial, hope-filled narrative is just a marketing package designed to hoodwink the American people. Which it is.
Kenneth G. Davenport
I am an entrepreneur and management consultant based in Fort Collins, Colorado. I've lived both in Europe and Japan and follow closely the international political scene. I have a Masters in International Relations at the London School of Economics and also earned a Masters in International Management from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at U.C. San Diego. My writings have appeared in the Weekly Standard, the San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Union Tribune.
SARAH'S COMING TO SAVE THE DAY (AND THE ECONOMY!!!!)
PRUDEN: A job for the right woman
If there's still room under the bus where Barack Obama throws his discards - his white granny, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, William Ayres, Bernadine Dohrn and even Hillary Clinton - that's the right place for Nancy Pelosi.
The congressional bailout of Wall Street, as unpopular as it is, was nevertheless headed for grudging acceptance Monday until Mzz Pelosi, the dowager queen of the San Francisco Democrats (where there are many queens), killed it with a particularly mean-spirited attack on the Republicans whom the Democrats were counting on to join them for just this one bipartisan vote.
"$700 billion is a staggering number," she told her caucus just before the vote was taken, "but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies to our country." If only she had waited until the vote was safely taken before she began biting the ankles of the Republicans she needed, there might have been a successful vote, and no record 700-point tanking of the market on Wall Street.
This morning, millions of Americans could have taken a half-breath as everyone moved a half-step back from the edge of the abyss.
Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, whose state is perhaps the most crucial of the must-win states for both John McCain and Barack Obama, was disbelieving after the vote: "I do believe that we could have gotten there today, had it not been for this partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House." Mzz Pelosi "poisoned the debate," the House Republican leader said.
Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the chief Republican whip, said many of his colleagues were ready to find a clothespin to hold their noses while voting "aye," but not after Mzz Pelosi's bizarre remarks. There were no clothespins big enough to repel the speaker's partisan stink.
Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, one of the Republicans hustling bailout votes, said her speech "set the partisan tone and cost us votes." About a third of the Republicans finally joined the 60 percent of the Democrats who voted for the measure, which had been worked out over the kind of desperate weekend Washington hadn't seen since, well, nobody remembered when. Pearl Harbor?
Mzz Pelosi's near-death experience didn't teach her much. After the vote, she said merely that the bailout package had been written on "a bipartisan basis" - indeed correct - and that she had produced the Democratic votes, just not enough of them. What she didn't say was that there were probably enough Republican votes to save the day but for her insistence on taking victory laps before a victory.
Sarah Palin
Perhaps her tantrum was not a tantrum at all, but a carefully orchestrated two-step to pay back John McCain for his attempt to get Barack Obama back to Washington, even if it meant postponing the Ole Miss debate (that neither man won), where together they could have twisted enough Republican and Democratic arms to win passage of the bailout that nobody wanted and nearly everybody agreed was necessary. If Mr. Obama had made common cause with Mr. McCain even after the debate in Mississippi, there might still have been enough time to make the difference.
Maybe that's what the Obama campaign wanted to avoid. The tears the Anointed One shed after the vote looked a lot like the tears of a crocodile. He even tried to be lighthearted, to show a little insouciance if not actual wit. (An insouciant Barack Obama? Who knew?) He's "confident" of a "solution," but "it's sort of like flying into Denver. You know you're going to land, but it's not always fun going over those mountains."
This sets up an opportunity, maybe the last good one, for John McCain to start burning barns. Who better to start it than Sarah Palin, the stubborn mom with true grit who so terrifies the Democratic left, to debate - in her own voice, unrestrained by the Nervous Nellies and Willie Wimps of the McCain camp who don't understand her Everywoman appeal - Joe Biden about what's real, about the prospect not of a recession but a depression, and the tough decisions ahead and the need for a maverick president with the experience of persuading partisan foes of making painful decisions.
Merely voting "present" won't do it. The people in all 57 states, clinging bitterly to God, guns and now to their life's savings, deserve nothing less.
• Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times.
If there's still room under the bus where Barack Obama throws his discards - his white granny, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, William Ayres, Bernadine Dohrn and even Hillary Clinton - that's the right place for Nancy Pelosi.
The congressional bailout of Wall Street, as unpopular as it is, was nevertheless headed for grudging acceptance Monday until Mzz Pelosi, the dowager queen of the San Francisco Democrats (where there are many queens), killed it with a particularly mean-spirited attack on the Republicans whom the Democrats were counting on to join them for just this one bipartisan vote.
"$700 billion is a staggering number," she told her caucus just before the vote was taken, "but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies to our country." If only she had waited until the vote was safely taken before she began biting the ankles of the Republicans she needed, there might have been a successful vote, and no record 700-point tanking of the market on Wall Street.
This morning, millions of Americans could have taken a half-breath as everyone moved a half-step back from the edge of the abyss.
Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, whose state is perhaps the most crucial of the must-win states for both John McCain and Barack Obama, was disbelieving after the vote: "I do believe that we could have gotten there today, had it not been for this partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House." Mzz Pelosi "poisoned the debate," the House Republican leader said.
Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the chief Republican whip, said many of his colleagues were ready to find a clothespin to hold their noses while voting "aye," but not after Mzz Pelosi's bizarre remarks. There were no clothespins big enough to repel the speaker's partisan stink.
Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, one of the Republicans hustling bailout votes, said her speech "set the partisan tone and cost us votes." About a third of the Republicans finally joined the 60 percent of the Democrats who voted for the measure, which had been worked out over the kind of desperate weekend Washington hadn't seen since, well, nobody remembered when. Pearl Harbor?
Mzz Pelosi's near-death experience didn't teach her much. After the vote, she said merely that the bailout package had been written on "a bipartisan basis" - indeed correct - and that she had produced the Democratic votes, just not enough of them. What she didn't say was that there were probably enough Republican votes to save the day but for her insistence on taking victory laps before a victory.
Sarah Palin
Perhaps her tantrum was not a tantrum at all, but a carefully orchestrated two-step to pay back John McCain for his attempt to get Barack Obama back to Washington, even if it meant postponing the Ole Miss debate (that neither man won), where together they could have twisted enough Republican and Democratic arms to win passage of the bailout that nobody wanted and nearly everybody agreed was necessary. If Mr. Obama had made common cause with Mr. McCain even after the debate in Mississippi, there might still have been enough time to make the difference.
Maybe that's what the Obama campaign wanted to avoid. The tears the Anointed One shed after the vote looked a lot like the tears of a crocodile. He even tried to be lighthearted, to show a little insouciance if not actual wit. (An insouciant Barack Obama? Who knew?) He's "confident" of a "solution," but "it's sort of like flying into Denver. You know you're going to land, but it's not always fun going over those mountains."
This sets up an opportunity, maybe the last good one, for John McCain to start burning barns. Who better to start it than Sarah Palin, the stubborn mom with true grit who so terrifies the Democratic left, to debate - in her own voice, unrestrained by the Nervous Nellies and Willie Wimps of the McCain camp who don't understand her Everywoman appeal - Joe Biden about what's real, about the prospect not of a recession but a depression, and the tough decisions ahead and the need for a maverick president with the experience of persuading partisan foes of making painful decisions.
Merely voting "present" won't do it. The people in all 57 states, clinging bitterly to God, guns and now to their life's savings, deserve nothing less.
• Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times.
IS SOME OF THE MEDIA WAKING UP TO OBAMA'S CORRUPTION????
September 30, 2008
ACORN, Obama, and the Mortgage Mess
By Mona Charen
The financial markets were teetering on the edge of an abyss last week. The secretary of the Treasury was literally on his knees begging the speaker of the House not to sabotage the bailout bill. The crash of falling banks made the earth tremble. The Republican presidential candidate suspended his campaign to deal with the crisis. And amid all this, the Democrats in Congress managed to find time to slip language into the bailout legislation that would provide a dandy little slush fund for ACORN.
ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a busy hive of left-wing agitation and "direct action" that claims chapters in 50 cities and 100,000 dues-paying members. ACORN is where Sixties leftovers who couldn't get tenure at universities wound up. That the bill-writing Democrats remembered their pet clients during such an emergency speaks volumes. This attempted gift to ACORN (stripped out of the bill after outraged howls from Republicans) demonstrates how little Democrats understand about what caused the mess we're in.
ACORN does many things under the umbrella of "community organizing." They agitate for higher minimum wages, attempt to thwart school reform, try to unionize welfare workers (that is, those welfare recipients who are obliged to work in exchange for benefits) and organize voter registration efforts (always for Democrats, of course). Because they are on the side of righteousness and justice, they aren't especially fastidious about their methods. In 2006, for example, ACORN registered 1,800 new voters in Washington. The only trouble was, with the exception of six, all of the names submitted were fake. The secretary of state called it the "worst case of election fraud in our state's history." As Fox News reported:
"The ACORN workers told state investigators that they went to the Seattle public library, sat at a table and filled out the voter registration forms. They made up names, addresses, and Social Security numbers and in some cases plucked names from the phone book. One worker said it was a lot of hard work making up all those names and another said he would sit at home, smoke marijuana and fill out the forms."
ACORN explained that this was an "isolated" incident, yet similar stories have been reported in Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, and Colorado -- all swing states, by the way. ACORN members have been prosecuted for voter fraud in a number of states. (See www.rottenacorn.com.) Their philosophy seems to be that everyone deserves the right to vote, whether legal or illegal, living or dead.
ACORN recognized very early the opportunity presented by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977. As Stanley Kurtz has reported, ACORN proudly touted "affirmative action" lending and pressured banks to make subprime loans. Madeline Talbott, a Chicago ACORN leader, boasted of "dragging banks kicking and screaming" into dubious loans. And, as Sol Stern reported in City Journal, ACORN also found a remunerative niche as an "advisor" to banks seeking regulatory approval. "Thus we have J.P. Morgan & Co., the legatee of the man who once symbolized for many all that was supposedly evil about American capitalism, suddenly donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to ACORN." Is this a great country or what? As conservative community activist Robert Woodson put it, "The same corporations that pay ransom to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton pay ransom to ACORN."
ACORN attracted Barack Obama in his youthful community organizing days. Madeline Talbott hired him to train her staff -- the very people who would later descend on Chicago's banks as CRA shakedown artists. The Democratic nominee later funneled money to the group through the Woods Fund, on whose board he sat, and through the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, ditto. Obama was not just sympathetic -- he was an ACORN fellow traveler.
Now you could make the case that before 2008, well-intentioned people were simply unaware of what their agitation on behalf of non-credit-worthy borrowers could lead to. But now? With the whole financial world and possibly the world economy trembling and cracking like a cement building in an earthquake, Democrats continue to try to fund their friends at ACORN? And, unashamed, they then trot out to the TV cameras to declare "the party is over" for Wall Street (Nancy Pelosi)? The party should be over for the Democrats who brought us to this pass. If Obama wins, it means hiring an arsonist to fight a fire.
Copyright 2008, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ACORN, Obama, and the Mortgage Mess
By Mona Charen
The financial markets were teetering on the edge of an abyss last week. The secretary of the Treasury was literally on his knees begging the speaker of the House not to sabotage the bailout bill. The crash of falling banks made the earth tremble. The Republican presidential candidate suspended his campaign to deal with the crisis. And amid all this, the Democrats in Congress managed to find time to slip language into the bailout legislation that would provide a dandy little slush fund for ACORN.
ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a busy hive of left-wing agitation and "direct action" that claims chapters in 50 cities and 100,000 dues-paying members. ACORN is where Sixties leftovers who couldn't get tenure at universities wound up. That the bill-writing Democrats remembered their pet clients during such an emergency speaks volumes. This attempted gift to ACORN (stripped out of the bill after outraged howls from Republicans) demonstrates how little Democrats understand about what caused the mess we're in.
ACORN does many things under the umbrella of "community organizing." They agitate for higher minimum wages, attempt to thwart school reform, try to unionize welfare workers (that is, those welfare recipients who are obliged to work in exchange for benefits) and organize voter registration efforts (always for Democrats, of course). Because they are on the side of righteousness and justice, they aren't especially fastidious about their methods. In 2006, for example, ACORN registered 1,800 new voters in Washington. The only trouble was, with the exception of six, all of the names submitted were fake. The secretary of state called it the "worst case of election fraud in our state's history." As Fox News reported:
"The ACORN workers told state investigators that they went to the Seattle public library, sat at a table and filled out the voter registration forms. They made up names, addresses, and Social Security numbers and in some cases plucked names from the phone book. One worker said it was a lot of hard work making up all those names and another said he would sit at home, smoke marijuana and fill out the forms."
ACORN explained that this was an "isolated" incident, yet similar stories have been reported in Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, and Colorado -- all swing states, by the way. ACORN members have been prosecuted for voter fraud in a number of states. (See www.rottenacorn.com.) Their philosophy seems to be that everyone deserves the right to vote, whether legal or illegal, living or dead.
ACORN recognized very early the opportunity presented by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977. As Stanley Kurtz has reported, ACORN proudly touted "affirmative action" lending and pressured banks to make subprime loans. Madeline Talbott, a Chicago ACORN leader, boasted of "dragging banks kicking and screaming" into dubious loans. And, as Sol Stern reported in City Journal, ACORN also found a remunerative niche as an "advisor" to banks seeking regulatory approval. "Thus we have J.P. Morgan & Co., the legatee of the man who once symbolized for many all that was supposedly evil about American capitalism, suddenly donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to ACORN." Is this a great country or what? As conservative community activist Robert Woodson put it, "The same corporations that pay ransom to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton pay ransom to ACORN."
ACORN attracted Barack Obama in his youthful community organizing days. Madeline Talbott hired him to train her staff -- the very people who would later descend on Chicago's banks as CRA shakedown artists. The Democratic nominee later funneled money to the group through the Woods Fund, on whose board he sat, and through the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, ditto. Obama was not just sympathetic -- he was an ACORN fellow traveler.
Now you could make the case that before 2008, well-intentioned people were simply unaware of what their agitation on behalf of non-credit-worthy borrowers could lead to. But now? With the whole financial world and possibly the world economy trembling and cracking like a cement building in an earthquake, Democrats continue to try to fund their friends at ACORN? And, unashamed, they then trot out to the TV cameras to declare "the party is over" for Wall Street (Nancy Pelosi)? The party should be over for the Democrats who brought us to this pass. If Obama wins, it means hiring an arsonist to fight a fire.
Copyright 2008, Creators Syndicate Inc.
IS THERE ANYTHING HONEST ABOUT OBAMA OR HIS CAMPAIGN??? I DON'T THINK SO!!!
Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama Campaign
Monday, September 29, 2008
By: Kenneth R. Timmerman
More than half of the whopping $426.9 million Barack Obama has raised has come from small donors whose names the Obama campaign won't disclose.
And questions have arisen about millions more in foreign donations the Obama campaign has received that apparently have not been vetted as legitimate.
Obama has raised nearly twice that of John McCain's campaign, according to new campaign finance report.
But because of Obama’s high expenses during the hotly contested Democratic primary season and an early decision to forgo public campaign money and the spending limits it imposes, all that cash has not translated into a financial advantage — at least, not yet.
The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee began September with $95 million in cash, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The McCain camp and the Republican National Committee had $94 million, because of an influx of $84 million in public money.
But Obama easily could outpace McCain by $50 million to $100 million or more in new donations before Election Day, thanks to a legion of small contributors whose names and addresses have been kept secret.
Unlike the McCain campaign, which has made its complete donor database available online, the Obama campaign has not identified donors for nearly half the amount he has raised, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).
Federal law does not require the campaigns to identify donors who give less than $200 during the election cycle. However, it does require that campaigns calculate running totals for each donor and report them once they go beyond the $200 mark.
Surprisingly, the great majority of Obama donors never break the $200 threshold.
“Contributions that come under $200 aggregated per person are not listed,” said Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the FEC. “They don’t appear anywhere, so there’s no way of knowing who they are.”
The FEC breakdown of the Obama campaign has identified a staggering $222.7 million as coming from contributions of $200 or less. Only $39.6 million of that amount comes from donors the Obama campaign has identified.
It is the largest pool of unidentified money that has ever flooded into the U.S. election system, before or after the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms of 2002.
Biersack would not comment on whether the FEC was investigating the huge amount of cash that has come into Obama’s coffers with no public reporting.
But Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for CRP, a campaign-finance watchdog group, dismissed the scale of the unreported money.
“We feel comfortable that it isn’t the $20 donations that are corrupting a campaign,” he told Newsmax.
But those small donations have added up to more than $200 million, all of it from unknown and unreported donors.
Ritsch acknowledges that there is skepticism about all the unreported money, especially in the Obama campaign coffers.
“We and seven other watchdog groups asked both campaigns for more information on small donors,” he said. “The Obama campaign never responded,” whereas the McCain campaign “makes all its donor information, including the small donors, available online.”
The rise of the Internet as a campaign funding tool raises new questions about the adequacy of FEC requirements on disclosure. In pre-Internet fundraising, almost all political donations, even small ones, were made by bank check, leaving a paper trail and limiting the amount of fraud.
But credit cards used to make donations on the Internet have allowed for far more abuse.
“While FEC practice is to do a post-election review of all presidential campaigns, given their sluggish metabolism, results can take three or four years,” said Ken Boehm, the chairman of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center.
Already, the FEC has noted unusual patterns in Obama campaign donations among donors who have been disclosed because they have gone beyond the $200 minimum.
FEC and Mr. Doodad Pro
When FEC auditors have questions about contributions, they send letters to the campaign’s finance committee requesting additional information, such as the complete address or employment status of the donor.
Many of the FEC letters that Newsmax reviewed instructed the Obama campaign to “redesignate” contributions in excess of the finance limits.
Under campaign finance laws, an individual can donate $2,300 to a candidate for federal office in both the primary and general election, for a total of $4,600. If a donor has topped the limit in the primary, the campaign can “redesignate” the contribution to the general election on its books.
In a letter dated June 25, 2008, the FEC asked the Obama campaign to verify a series of $25 donations from a contributor identified as “Will, Good” from Austin, Texas.
Mr. Good Will listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You.”
A Newsmax analysis of the 1.4 million individual contributions in the latest master file for the Obama campaign discovered 1,000 separate entries for Mr. Good Will, most of them for $25.
In total, Mr. Good Will gave $17,375.
Following this and subsequent FEC requests, campaign records show that 330 contributions from Mr. Good Will were credited back to a credit card. But the most recent report, filed on Sept. 20, showed a net cumulative balance of $8,950 — still well over the $4,600 limit.
There can be no doubt that the Obama campaign noticed these contributions, since Obama’s Sept. 20 report specified that Good Will’s cumulative contributions since the beginning of the campaign were $9,375.
In an e-mailed response to a query from Newsmax, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt pledged that the campaign would return the donations. But given the slowness with which the campaign has responded to earlier FEC queries, there’s no guarantee that the money will be returned before the Nov. 4 election.
Similarly, a donor identified as “Pro, Doodad,” from “Nando, NY,” gave $19,500 in 786 separate donations, most of them for $25. For most of these donations, Mr. Doodad Pro listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You,” just as Good Will had done.
But in some of them, he didn’t even go this far, apparently picking letters at random to fill in the blanks on the credit card donation form. In these cases, he said he was employed by “VCX” and that his profession was “VCVC.”
Following FEC requests, the Obama campaign began refunding money to Doodad Pro in February 2008. In all, about $8,425 was charged back to a credit card. But that still left a net total of $11,165 as of Sept. 20, way over the individual limit of $4,600.
Here again, LaBolt pledged that the contributions would be returned but gave no date.
In February, after just 93 donations, Doodad Pro had already gone over the $2,300 limit for the primary. He was over the $4,600 limit for the general election one month later.
In response to FEC complaints, the Obama campaign began refunding money to Doodad Pro even before he reached these limits. But his credit card was the gift that kept on giving. His most recent un-refunded contributions were on July 7, when he made 14 separate donations, apparently by credit card, of $25 each.
Just as with Mr. Good Will, there can be no doubt that the Obama campaign noticed the contributions, since its Sept. 20 report specified that Doodad’s cumulative contributions since the beginning of the campaign were $10,965.
Foreign Donations
And then there are the overseas donations — at least, the ones that we know about.
The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $33.8 million. More than 520 listed their “state” as “IR,” often an abbreviation for Iran. Another 63 listed it as “UK,” the United Kingdom.
More than 1,400 of the overseas entries clearly were U.S. diplomats or military personnel, who gave an APO address overseas. Their total contributions came to just $201,680.
But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah, Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France.
Until recently, the Obama Web site allowed a contributor to select the country where he resided from the entire membership of the United Nations, including such friendly places as North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Unlike McCain’s or Sen. Hillary Clinton’s online donation pages, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently. Clinton’s presidential campaign required U.S. citizens living abroad to actually fax a copy of their passport before a donation would be accepted.
With such lax vetting of foreign contributions, the Obama campaign may have indirectly contributed to questionable fundraising by foreigners.
In July and August, the head of the Nigeria’s stock market held a series of pro-Obama fundraisers in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. The events attracted local Nigerian business owners.
At one event, a table for eight at one fundraising dinner went for $16,800. Nigerian press reports claimed sponsors raked in an estimated $900,000.
The sponsors said the fundraisers were held to help Nigerians attend the Democratic convention in Denver. But the Nigerian press expressed skepticism of that claim, and the Nigerian public anti-fraud commission is now investigating the matter.
Concerns about foreign fundraising have been raised by other anecdotal accounts of illegal activities.
In June, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave a public speech praising Obama, claiming foreign nationals were donating to his campaign.
“All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man,” the Libyan leader said. “They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency..."
Though Gadhafi asserted that fundraising from Arab and African nations were “legitimate,” the fact is that U.S. federal law bans any foreigner from donating to a U.S. election campaign.
The rise of the Internet and use of credit cards have made it easier for foreign nationals to donate to American campaigns, especially if they claim their donation is less than $200.
Campaign spokesman LaBolt cited several measures that the campaign has adopted to “root out fraud,” including a requirement that anyone attending an Obama fundraising event overseas present a valid U.S. passport, and a new requirement that overseas contributors must provide a passport number when donating online.
One new measure that might not appear obvious at first could be frustrating to foreigners wanting to buy campaign paraphernalia such as T-shirts or bumper stickers through the online store.
In response to an investigation conducted by blogger Pamela Geller, who runs the blog Atlas Shrugs, the Obama campaign has locked down the store.
Geller first revealed on July 31 that donors from the Gaza strip had contributed $33,000 to the Obama campaign through bulk purchases of T-shirts they had shipped to Gaza.
The online campaign store allows buyers to complete their purchases by making an additional donation to the Obama campaign.
A pair of Palestinian brothers named Hosam and Monir Edwan contributed more than $31,300 to the Obama campaign in October and November 2007, FEC records show.
Their largesse attracted the attention of the FEC almost immediately. In an April 15, 2008, report that examined the Obama campaign’s year-end figures for 2007, the FEC asked that some of these contributions be reassigned.
The Obama camp complied sluggishly, prompting a more detailed admonishment form the FEC on July 30.
The Edwan brothers listed their address as “GA,” as in Georgia, although they entered “Gaza” or “Rafah Refugee camp” as their city of residence on most of the online contribution forms.
According to the Obama campaign, they wrongly identified themselves as U.S. citizens, via a voluntary check-off box at the time the donations were made.
Many of the Edwan brothers’ contributions have been purged from the FEC database, but they still can be found in archived versions available for CRP and other watchdog groups.
The latest Obama campaign filing shows that $891.11 still has not been refunded to the Edwan brothers, despite repeated FEC warnings and campaign claims that all the money was refunded in December.
A Newsmax review of the Obama campaign finance filings found that the FEC had asked for the redesignation or refund of 53,828 donations, totaling just under $30 million.
But none involves the donors who never appear in the Obama campaign reports, which the CRP estimates at nearly half the $426.8 million the Obama campaign has raised to date.
Many of the small donors participated in online “matching” programs, which allows them to hook up with other Obama supporters and eventually share e-mail addresses and blogs.
The Obama Web site described the matching contribution program as similar to a public radio fundraising drive.
“Our goal is to bring 50,000 new donors into our movement by Friday at midnight,” campaign manager David Plouffe e-mailed supporters on Sept. 15. “And if you make your first online donation today, your gift will go twice as far. A previous donor has promised to match every dollar you donate.”
FEC spokesman Biersack said he was unfamiliar with the matching donation drive. But he said that if donations from another donor were going to be reassigned to a new donor, as the campaign suggested, “the two people must agree” to do so.
This type of matching drive probably would be legal as long as the matching donor had not exceeded the $2,300 per-election limit, he said.
Obama campaign spokesman LaBolt said, “We have more than 2.5 million donors overall, hundreds of thousands of which have participated in this program.”
Until now, the names of those donors and where they live have remained anonymous — and the federal watchdog agency in charge of ensuring that the presidential campaigns play by the same rules has no tools to find out.
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Monday, September 29, 2008
By: Kenneth R. Timmerman
More than half of the whopping $426.9 million Barack Obama has raised has come from small donors whose names the Obama campaign won't disclose.
And questions have arisen about millions more in foreign donations the Obama campaign has received that apparently have not been vetted as legitimate.
Obama has raised nearly twice that of John McCain's campaign, according to new campaign finance report.
But because of Obama’s high expenses during the hotly contested Democratic primary season and an early decision to forgo public campaign money and the spending limits it imposes, all that cash has not translated into a financial advantage — at least, not yet.
The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee began September with $95 million in cash, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The McCain camp and the Republican National Committee had $94 million, because of an influx of $84 million in public money.
But Obama easily could outpace McCain by $50 million to $100 million or more in new donations before Election Day, thanks to a legion of small contributors whose names and addresses have been kept secret.
Unlike the McCain campaign, which has made its complete donor database available online, the Obama campaign has not identified donors for nearly half the amount he has raised, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).
Federal law does not require the campaigns to identify donors who give less than $200 during the election cycle. However, it does require that campaigns calculate running totals for each donor and report them once they go beyond the $200 mark.
Surprisingly, the great majority of Obama donors never break the $200 threshold.
“Contributions that come under $200 aggregated per person are not listed,” said Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the FEC. “They don’t appear anywhere, so there’s no way of knowing who they are.”
The FEC breakdown of the Obama campaign has identified a staggering $222.7 million as coming from contributions of $200 or less. Only $39.6 million of that amount comes from donors the Obama campaign has identified.
It is the largest pool of unidentified money that has ever flooded into the U.S. election system, before or after the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms of 2002.
Biersack would not comment on whether the FEC was investigating the huge amount of cash that has come into Obama’s coffers with no public reporting.
But Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for CRP, a campaign-finance watchdog group, dismissed the scale of the unreported money.
“We feel comfortable that it isn’t the $20 donations that are corrupting a campaign,” he told Newsmax.
But those small donations have added up to more than $200 million, all of it from unknown and unreported donors.
Ritsch acknowledges that there is skepticism about all the unreported money, especially in the Obama campaign coffers.
“We and seven other watchdog groups asked both campaigns for more information on small donors,” he said. “The Obama campaign never responded,” whereas the McCain campaign “makes all its donor information, including the small donors, available online.”
The rise of the Internet as a campaign funding tool raises new questions about the adequacy of FEC requirements on disclosure. In pre-Internet fundraising, almost all political donations, even small ones, were made by bank check, leaving a paper trail and limiting the amount of fraud.
But credit cards used to make donations on the Internet have allowed for far more abuse.
“While FEC practice is to do a post-election review of all presidential campaigns, given their sluggish metabolism, results can take three or four years,” said Ken Boehm, the chairman of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center.
Already, the FEC has noted unusual patterns in Obama campaign donations among donors who have been disclosed because they have gone beyond the $200 minimum.
FEC and Mr. Doodad Pro
When FEC auditors have questions about contributions, they send letters to the campaign’s finance committee requesting additional information, such as the complete address or employment status of the donor.
Many of the FEC letters that Newsmax reviewed instructed the Obama campaign to “redesignate” contributions in excess of the finance limits.
Under campaign finance laws, an individual can donate $2,300 to a candidate for federal office in both the primary and general election, for a total of $4,600. If a donor has topped the limit in the primary, the campaign can “redesignate” the contribution to the general election on its books.
In a letter dated June 25, 2008, the FEC asked the Obama campaign to verify a series of $25 donations from a contributor identified as “Will, Good” from Austin, Texas.
Mr. Good Will listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You.”
A Newsmax analysis of the 1.4 million individual contributions in the latest master file for the Obama campaign discovered 1,000 separate entries for Mr. Good Will, most of them for $25.
In total, Mr. Good Will gave $17,375.
Following this and subsequent FEC requests, campaign records show that 330 contributions from Mr. Good Will were credited back to a credit card. But the most recent report, filed on Sept. 20, showed a net cumulative balance of $8,950 — still well over the $4,600 limit.
There can be no doubt that the Obama campaign noticed these contributions, since Obama’s Sept. 20 report specified that Good Will’s cumulative contributions since the beginning of the campaign were $9,375.
In an e-mailed response to a query from Newsmax, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt pledged that the campaign would return the donations. But given the slowness with which the campaign has responded to earlier FEC queries, there’s no guarantee that the money will be returned before the Nov. 4 election.
Similarly, a donor identified as “Pro, Doodad,” from “Nando, NY,” gave $19,500 in 786 separate donations, most of them for $25. For most of these donations, Mr. Doodad Pro listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You,” just as Good Will had done.
But in some of them, he didn’t even go this far, apparently picking letters at random to fill in the blanks on the credit card donation form. In these cases, he said he was employed by “VCX” and that his profession was “VCVC.”
Following FEC requests, the Obama campaign began refunding money to Doodad Pro in February 2008. In all, about $8,425 was charged back to a credit card. But that still left a net total of $11,165 as of Sept. 20, way over the individual limit of $4,600.
Here again, LaBolt pledged that the contributions would be returned but gave no date.
In February, after just 93 donations, Doodad Pro had already gone over the $2,300 limit for the primary. He was over the $4,600 limit for the general election one month later.
In response to FEC complaints, the Obama campaign began refunding money to Doodad Pro even before he reached these limits. But his credit card was the gift that kept on giving. His most recent un-refunded contributions were on July 7, when he made 14 separate donations, apparently by credit card, of $25 each.
Just as with Mr. Good Will, there can be no doubt that the Obama campaign noticed the contributions, since its Sept. 20 report specified that Doodad’s cumulative contributions since the beginning of the campaign were $10,965.
Foreign Donations
And then there are the overseas donations — at least, the ones that we know about.
The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $33.8 million. More than 520 listed their “state” as “IR,” often an abbreviation for Iran. Another 63 listed it as “UK,” the United Kingdom.
More than 1,400 of the overseas entries clearly were U.S. diplomats or military personnel, who gave an APO address overseas. Their total contributions came to just $201,680.
But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah, Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France.
Until recently, the Obama Web site allowed a contributor to select the country where he resided from the entire membership of the United Nations, including such friendly places as North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Unlike McCain’s or Sen. Hillary Clinton’s online donation pages, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently. Clinton’s presidential campaign required U.S. citizens living abroad to actually fax a copy of their passport before a donation would be accepted.
With such lax vetting of foreign contributions, the Obama campaign may have indirectly contributed to questionable fundraising by foreigners.
In July and August, the head of the Nigeria’s stock market held a series of pro-Obama fundraisers in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. The events attracted local Nigerian business owners.
At one event, a table for eight at one fundraising dinner went for $16,800. Nigerian press reports claimed sponsors raked in an estimated $900,000.
The sponsors said the fundraisers were held to help Nigerians attend the Democratic convention in Denver. But the Nigerian press expressed skepticism of that claim, and the Nigerian public anti-fraud commission is now investigating the matter.
Concerns about foreign fundraising have been raised by other anecdotal accounts of illegal activities.
In June, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave a public speech praising Obama, claiming foreign nationals were donating to his campaign.
“All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man,” the Libyan leader said. “They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency..."
Though Gadhafi asserted that fundraising from Arab and African nations were “legitimate,” the fact is that U.S. federal law bans any foreigner from donating to a U.S. election campaign.
The rise of the Internet and use of credit cards have made it easier for foreign nationals to donate to American campaigns, especially if they claim their donation is less than $200.
Campaign spokesman LaBolt cited several measures that the campaign has adopted to “root out fraud,” including a requirement that anyone attending an Obama fundraising event overseas present a valid U.S. passport, and a new requirement that overseas contributors must provide a passport number when donating online.
One new measure that might not appear obvious at first could be frustrating to foreigners wanting to buy campaign paraphernalia such as T-shirts or bumper stickers through the online store.
In response to an investigation conducted by blogger Pamela Geller, who runs the blog Atlas Shrugs, the Obama campaign has locked down the store.
Geller first revealed on July 31 that donors from the Gaza strip had contributed $33,000 to the Obama campaign through bulk purchases of T-shirts they had shipped to Gaza.
The online campaign store allows buyers to complete their purchases by making an additional donation to the Obama campaign.
A pair of Palestinian brothers named Hosam and Monir Edwan contributed more than $31,300 to the Obama campaign in October and November 2007, FEC records show.
Their largesse attracted the attention of the FEC almost immediately. In an April 15, 2008, report that examined the Obama campaign’s year-end figures for 2007, the FEC asked that some of these contributions be reassigned.
The Obama camp complied sluggishly, prompting a more detailed admonishment form the FEC on July 30.
The Edwan brothers listed their address as “GA,” as in Georgia, although they entered “Gaza” or “Rafah Refugee camp” as their city of residence on most of the online contribution forms.
According to the Obama campaign, they wrongly identified themselves as U.S. citizens, via a voluntary check-off box at the time the donations were made.
Many of the Edwan brothers’ contributions have been purged from the FEC database, but they still can be found in archived versions available for CRP and other watchdog groups.
The latest Obama campaign filing shows that $891.11 still has not been refunded to the Edwan brothers, despite repeated FEC warnings and campaign claims that all the money was refunded in December.
A Newsmax review of the Obama campaign finance filings found that the FEC had asked for the redesignation or refund of 53,828 donations, totaling just under $30 million.
But none involves the donors who never appear in the Obama campaign reports, which the CRP estimates at nearly half the $426.8 million the Obama campaign has raised to date.
Many of the small donors participated in online “matching” programs, which allows them to hook up with other Obama supporters and eventually share e-mail addresses and blogs.
The Obama Web site described the matching contribution program as similar to a public radio fundraising drive.
“Our goal is to bring 50,000 new donors into our movement by Friday at midnight,” campaign manager David Plouffe e-mailed supporters on Sept. 15. “And if you make your first online donation today, your gift will go twice as far. A previous donor has promised to match every dollar you donate.”
FEC spokesman Biersack said he was unfamiliar with the matching donation drive. But he said that if donations from another donor were going to be reassigned to a new donor, as the campaign suggested, “the two people must agree” to do so.
This type of matching drive probably would be legal as long as the matching donor had not exceeded the $2,300 per-election limit, he said.
Obama campaign spokesman LaBolt said, “We have more than 2.5 million donors overall, hundreds of thousands of which have participated in this program.”
Until now, the names of those donors and where they live have remained anonymous — and the federal watchdog agency in charge of ensuring that the presidential campaigns play by the same rules has no tools to find out.
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
PUMA PAC PHONE CALLS AND E-MAILS PAY OFF!!!
ELECTION 2008
Prosecutors on Obama 'Truth Squad' sound retreat
No one involved 'has any intention of prosecuting anybody'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 29, 2008
By Drew Zahn
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Missouri law officials, including public prosecutors, who were reportedly planning to "respond immediately" to any misleading advertisements against Barack Obama if they "might violate Missouri ethics laws," have now backed off the intimidating implications of that report, promising they have no intention of prosecuting anyone.
As WND reported, prosecuting attorneys Bob McCulloch and Jennifer Joyce originally announced on KMOV-TV in St. Louis their participation in Obama's "Truth Squad," pledging to defend the candidate from untruthful ads with an undefined "immediate" response.
"Whether it is directly attributable to the (McCain) campaign or to one of the soft money operations," McCulloch told the station, "if they're not going to tell the truth, somebody's got to step up and say, 'That's not the truth. This is the truth.'"
The move prompted Missouri's governor to object that the prosecutors were using "police state tactics" to squelch information hurtful to the Obama campaign.
"What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words," wrote Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. "The party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment."
A spokeswoman for St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, however, told WND that the televised "Truth Squad" announcement was misunderstood.
"The only action they would take would be to provide truthful information to the public so they can make up their minds," said Susan Ryan. "Neither (Joyce) nor anybody involved in this has any intention of prosecuting anybody."
When asked if the initial announcement suggested legal ramifications for "crossing ethics laws in Missouri," Ryan confirmed, "Unfortunately it did suggest that, but the 'Truth Squad' has no intention of prosecuting anyone for this."
Further, Ryan insisted, attorneys McCulloch and Joyce are participating in the "Truth Squad" as part of their private citizenship, on their own time, and in no way in their capacity as prosecutors.
"That's not how they announced it," objected Gov. Blunt in an interview on the Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom" show. "They rolled it out as prosecutors willing to take actions as prosecutors."
Blunt conceded that government officials could serve on "Truth Squads" in their private time but defended his sharp criticism of the way the announcement was made.
"What I found troubling," said Blunt, "is that a campaign enlisted prosecutors, and those prosecutors specifically talked about targeting their opponents; they talked about responding to 'alleged violations of the law.' Generally when a prosecutor talks about responding to an alleged violation of the law, that means you're going to prosecute."
When Blunt was asked if he would take action against the attorneys, he said, "They have really stepped back from how they announced this. When they announced this I think it was intimidating. … In a lot of ways they have reversed course, and I'm glad to see that."
While some of Missouri's reported "Truth Squad" have backed down, one named in the KMOV-TV report claims he was never on course to begin with.
Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer, who also was named in Gov. Blunt's statement, told WND that not only had he never agreed to join the "Truth Squad," it "infuriated" him that anyone would think he would use his office to quash others' freedom of speech.
"I'm a small, Democratic sheriff in rural Missouri," Boyer told WND. "I haven't even seen the original interview with Jennifer Joyce and Bob McCulloch. … All I know is, I came into my office on Monday morning unaware of any of this. I had a fundraiser Saturday, when all this started, of my own. I came into my office Monday morning, and I've got 500 emails and 19 nasty phone calls calling me a communist pig! I think, 'Man, I thought it was a pretty good fundraiser.'"
*******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I am so relieved to read this article. I could NOT stop thinking about Obama's TRUTH SQUAD and how these prosecutors were targeting people. Threatening them to not make any negative comments on Obama!! Everything Obama does seems to involve THREATS, INTIMIDATION, ASSAULTS, ETC. I am glad to see the dogs have been called off, however, I have no doubt whatsoever that Obama's true purpose was to INTIMIDATE AND THREATEN!!
Prosecutors on Obama 'Truth Squad' sound retreat
No one involved 'has any intention of prosecuting anybody'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 29, 2008
By Drew Zahn
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Missouri law officials, including public prosecutors, who were reportedly planning to "respond immediately" to any misleading advertisements against Barack Obama if they "might violate Missouri ethics laws," have now backed off the intimidating implications of that report, promising they have no intention of prosecuting anyone.
As WND reported, prosecuting attorneys Bob McCulloch and Jennifer Joyce originally announced on KMOV-TV in St. Louis their participation in Obama's "Truth Squad," pledging to defend the candidate from untruthful ads with an undefined "immediate" response.
"Whether it is directly attributable to the (McCain) campaign or to one of the soft money operations," McCulloch told the station, "if they're not going to tell the truth, somebody's got to step up and say, 'That's not the truth. This is the truth.'"
The move prompted Missouri's governor to object that the prosecutors were using "police state tactics" to squelch information hurtful to the Obama campaign.
"What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words," wrote Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. "The party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment."
A spokeswoman for St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, however, told WND that the televised "Truth Squad" announcement was misunderstood.
"The only action they would take would be to provide truthful information to the public so they can make up their minds," said Susan Ryan. "Neither (Joyce) nor anybody involved in this has any intention of prosecuting anybody."
When asked if the initial announcement suggested legal ramifications for "crossing ethics laws in Missouri," Ryan confirmed, "Unfortunately it did suggest that, but the 'Truth Squad' has no intention of prosecuting anyone for this."
Further, Ryan insisted, attorneys McCulloch and Joyce are participating in the "Truth Squad" as part of their private citizenship, on their own time, and in no way in their capacity as prosecutors.
"That's not how they announced it," objected Gov. Blunt in an interview on the Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom" show. "They rolled it out as prosecutors willing to take actions as prosecutors."
Blunt conceded that government officials could serve on "Truth Squads" in their private time but defended his sharp criticism of the way the announcement was made.
"What I found troubling," said Blunt, "is that a campaign enlisted prosecutors, and those prosecutors specifically talked about targeting their opponents; they talked about responding to 'alleged violations of the law.' Generally when a prosecutor talks about responding to an alleged violation of the law, that means you're going to prosecute."
When Blunt was asked if he would take action against the attorneys, he said, "They have really stepped back from how they announced this. When they announced this I think it was intimidating. … In a lot of ways they have reversed course, and I'm glad to see that."
While some of Missouri's reported "Truth Squad" have backed down, one named in the KMOV-TV report claims he was never on course to begin with.
Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer, who also was named in Gov. Blunt's statement, told WND that not only had he never agreed to join the "Truth Squad," it "infuriated" him that anyone would think he would use his office to quash others' freedom of speech.
"I'm a small, Democratic sheriff in rural Missouri," Boyer told WND. "I haven't even seen the original interview with Jennifer Joyce and Bob McCulloch. … All I know is, I came into my office on Monday morning unaware of any of this. I had a fundraiser Saturday, when all this started, of my own. I came into my office Monday morning, and I've got 500 emails and 19 nasty phone calls calling me a communist pig! I think, 'Man, I thought it was a pretty good fundraiser.'"
*******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I am so relieved to read this article. I could NOT stop thinking about Obama's TRUTH SQUAD and how these prosecutors were targeting people. Threatening them to not make any negative comments on Obama!! Everything Obama does seems to involve THREATS, INTIMIDATION, ASSAULTS, ETC. I am glad to see the dogs have been called off, however, I have no doubt whatsoever that Obama's true purpose was to INTIMIDATE AND THREATEN!!
ANOTHER OFFENSIVE FORM OF MISOGYNY!!!
Sarah Palin gets painted in full, and nothing's conservative about it
North Side tavern hangs nude portrait
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons | Chicago Tribune reporter
September 30, 2008
Bruce Elliott, whose wife owns the Old Town Ale House, painted this nude portrait of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. He said his daughter, who does a good impression of the Alaska governor, served as model.
There's been no shortage of takeoffs on Sarah Palin lately, from television skits to action figures, but Bruce Elliott has gone one step further than most. He's taken off her clothes.
Palin became Elliott's muse after he saw her on TV.
"I've been following her religiously," he said Monday at the bar. "I had never heard of her before, like everyone else. I find her bizarrely fascinating, even though I pretty much despise everything she stands for.
Despite their political differences, Elliott admits to a bit of a crush on the Alaska governor. He began painting her smile and trademark glasses, he said, before filling in the details: a gun, red high heels, polar bear rug, rugged Alaska landscape and a scared moose. His daughter, who looks a little like Palin and does a great impression of her, served as model for the governor's body.
Since Elliott, 68, hung the portrait Thursday, it's been a steady draw at the dive bar, which is a popular spot for Second City comedians to grab beers and play pinball after shows. But after the image hit the Internet on Monday, interest exploded.
"We got a bunch of people in tonight," Elliott said. "They're coming to take pictures with their camera phones. The photo is all over the place."
***********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Would anyone ever think of painting a nude portrait of a MALE POLITICIAN??? Would he/she put it up in their tavern for public display?? This is yet another form of misogny and total disrespect for women in politics. Sarah has not gotten any respect in any form from the mainstream media, anyway. But this one is a bit over the top!!
North Side tavern hangs nude portrait
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons | Chicago Tribune reporter
September 30, 2008
Bruce Elliott, whose wife owns the Old Town Ale House, painted this nude portrait of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. He said his daughter, who does a good impression of the Alaska governor, served as model.
There's been no shortage of takeoffs on Sarah Palin lately, from television skits to action figures, but Bruce Elliott has gone one step further than most. He's taken off her clothes.
Palin became Elliott's muse after he saw her on TV.
"I've been following her religiously," he said Monday at the bar. "I had never heard of her before, like everyone else. I find her bizarrely fascinating, even though I pretty much despise everything she stands for.
Despite their political differences, Elliott admits to a bit of a crush on the Alaska governor. He began painting her smile and trademark glasses, he said, before filling in the details: a gun, red high heels, polar bear rug, rugged Alaska landscape and a scared moose. His daughter, who looks a little like Palin and does a great impression of her, served as model for the governor's body.
Since Elliott, 68, hung the portrait Thursday, it's been a steady draw at the dive bar, which is a popular spot for Second City comedians to grab beers and play pinball after shows. But after the image hit the Internet on Monday, interest exploded.
"We got a bunch of people in tonight," Elliott said. "They're coming to take pictures with their camera phones. The photo is all over the place."
***********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Would anyone ever think of painting a nude portrait of a MALE POLITICIAN??? Would he/she put it up in their tavern for public display?? This is yet another form of misogny and total disrespect for women in politics. Sarah has not gotten any respect in any form from the mainstream media, anyway. But this one is a bit over the top!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
SARAH'S CRAMMING FOR DEBATE AT MC CAIN RANCH!!
Palin begins three-day cramming course for crucial TV showdown•
McCain's aides rehearse running mate at his ranch
• More experienced Biden also faces risks in debate
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington The Guardian, Tuesday September 30 2008
Sarah Palin was set to enter the confines of John McCain's ranch in Arizona yesterday for three days of intensive preparations ahead of her showdown against Joe Biden in this week's vice-presidential television debate. Thursday night's match in St Louis, Missouri, will bring McCain's running mate her moment of greatest national exposure since the virtual unknown joined the Republican ticket for the White House.
Though vice-presidential debates seldom influence an election, Palin's novelty raises the importance of the clash with her Democratic party counterpart. The debate offers a chance for her to redeem herself after a number of damaging press reports and disastrous TV interviews - or to self-destruct if she fails to hold her own against the far more experienced Biden.
In a parting shot before she entered the seclusion of the ranch for the debate rehearsals, Palin told a rally in Columbus, Ohio, yesterday that she was excited about the encounter. "I'm looking forward to meeting Joe Biden. I've been hearing about him since second grade," she said.
But the bravado belies the intense pressure on Palin to deliver a credible performance, and the efforts campaign aides have made to get her up to speed. A team of senior aides has been at her side for days, hunkering down in Philadelphia at the weekend and travelling with her yesterday.
At first glance, the debate might look like an unequal fight. Biden has been a ubiquitous figure in Washington for 36 years; Palin was virtually unknown outside her native Alaska until 33 days ago. A Wall Street Journal poll last week found that 49% of Americans thought Palin fit to be vice-president, against 64% for Biden.
But Biden faces challenges as well in the first national debate between male and female candidates since Geraldine Ferraro ran for vice-president in 1984. He has been rehearsing against Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan, to prepare for the gender dynamics.
"[Palin] has to show command of her material. She has to show preparedness to take on the presidency, and she has to show more intellectual gravitas than she has shown so far," said Alan Schroeder, a professor at North Eastern University who has written a book about 40 years of presidential debates. "[Biden] has the problem of high expectations versus his opponent's low expectations."
Though wildly popular with hardcore Republicans, Palin has become a butt of late-night comics for her insistence that Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her some insight into international affairs.
The conservative commentator David Brooks called her candidacy "embarrassing" and Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria said her answers on the economy in a CBS interview last week were "gibberish".
Yesterday even Mitt Romney, a former Republican candidate for the White House, admitted that the campaign had mishandled Palin by keeping her from the media and trying to make her stick to scripted answers. "Holding Sarah Palin to just three interviews and microscopically focusing on each I think has been a mistake," he told MSNBC. "They'd be a lot wiser to let Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin. Let her talk to the media, talk to people."
Palin's claim to be a crusader for reform has also been shaken by further investigation into her record in Alaska. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Palin got exemption from zoning regulations to make it easier to sell her home in Wasilla. As a small town mayor, she made it a habit to accept gifts such as a facial, flowers and even fresh salmon from local merchants.
Palin also faces questions about policy splits. Unlike McCain, she supports drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge and only recently admitted a human role in global warming. She also opposes stem cell research, which McCain supports.
Such differences could prove embarrassing to Biden as well. When he was running for the White House earlier this year, Biden said he did not think Obama was ready to be president.
He has broken with the campaign on clean coal technology, and committed a number of gaffes. Earlier this month, he embarrassed Obama and himself by saying that Hillary Clinton would have made a better vice-presidential candidate.
But perhaps his greatest challenge is to guard against being perceived as overbearing or condescending to a younger female candidate. This is especially true in the case of Palin, whose relative inexperience could make women viewers feel protective of her.
Such factors have also come into play in debates with the most seasoned women politicians. Hillary Clinton, widely considered the Democrats' best debater, won her 2000 Senate debate when her opponent, Rick Lazio, came up to her and waved a sheaf of papers in her face. The invasion of Clinton's personal space outraged women viewers and made Lazio seem like a bully.
George Bush Sr lost his debate against Ferraro in 1984 the moment he decided to give her a lecture about the difference between Lebanon and Iran.
Ferraro, who had several years experience as a New York prosecutor and congresswoman on her resume, would have none of it. "I almost resent, Vice-President Bush, your patronising attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy," she shot back.
The gaffe-prone Biden would also do well to remember that Bush dug himself even deeper into the hole the next day by bragging to a bunch of dockers that he had "kicked a little ass" in the debate.
McCain's aides rehearse running mate at his ranch
• More experienced Biden also faces risks in debate
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington The Guardian, Tuesday September 30 2008
Sarah Palin was set to enter the confines of John McCain's ranch in Arizona yesterday for three days of intensive preparations ahead of her showdown against Joe Biden in this week's vice-presidential television debate. Thursday night's match in St Louis, Missouri, will bring McCain's running mate her moment of greatest national exposure since the virtual unknown joined the Republican ticket for the White House.
Though vice-presidential debates seldom influence an election, Palin's novelty raises the importance of the clash with her Democratic party counterpart. The debate offers a chance for her to redeem herself after a number of damaging press reports and disastrous TV interviews - or to self-destruct if she fails to hold her own against the far more experienced Biden.
In a parting shot before she entered the seclusion of the ranch for the debate rehearsals, Palin told a rally in Columbus, Ohio, yesterday that she was excited about the encounter. "I'm looking forward to meeting Joe Biden. I've been hearing about him since second grade," she said.
But the bravado belies the intense pressure on Palin to deliver a credible performance, and the efforts campaign aides have made to get her up to speed. A team of senior aides has been at her side for days, hunkering down in Philadelphia at the weekend and travelling with her yesterday.
At first glance, the debate might look like an unequal fight. Biden has been a ubiquitous figure in Washington for 36 years; Palin was virtually unknown outside her native Alaska until 33 days ago. A Wall Street Journal poll last week found that 49% of Americans thought Palin fit to be vice-president, against 64% for Biden.
But Biden faces challenges as well in the first national debate between male and female candidates since Geraldine Ferraro ran for vice-president in 1984. He has been rehearsing against Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan, to prepare for the gender dynamics.
"[Palin] has to show command of her material. She has to show preparedness to take on the presidency, and she has to show more intellectual gravitas than she has shown so far," said Alan Schroeder, a professor at North Eastern University who has written a book about 40 years of presidential debates. "[Biden] has the problem of high expectations versus his opponent's low expectations."
Though wildly popular with hardcore Republicans, Palin has become a butt of late-night comics for her insistence that Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her some insight into international affairs.
The conservative commentator David Brooks called her candidacy "embarrassing" and Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria said her answers on the economy in a CBS interview last week were "gibberish".
Yesterday even Mitt Romney, a former Republican candidate for the White House, admitted that the campaign had mishandled Palin by keeping her from the media and trying to make her stick to scripted answers. "Holding Sarah Palin to just three interviews and microscopically focusing on each I think has been a mistake," he told MSNBC. "They'd be a lot wiser to let Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin. Let her talk to the media, talk to people."
Palin's claim to be a crusader for reform has also been shaken by further investigation into her record in Alaska. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Palin got exemption from zoning regulations to make it easier to sell her home in Wasilla. As a small town mayor, she made it a habit to accept gifts such as a facial, flowers and even fresh salmon from local merchants.
Palin also faces questions about policy splits. Unlike McCain, she supports drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge and only recently admitted a human role in global warming. She also opposes stem cell research, which McCain supports.
Such differences could prove embarrassing to Biden as well. When he was running for the White House earlier this year, Biden said he did not think Obama was ready to be president.
He has broken with the campaign on clean coal technology, and committed a number of gaffes. Earlier this month, he embarrassed Obama and himself by saying that Hillary Clinton would have made a better vice-presidential candidate.
But perhaps his greatest challenge is to guard against being perceived as overbearing or condescending to a younger female candidate. This is especially true in the case of Palin, whose relative inexperience could make women viewers feel protective of her.
Such factors have also come into play in debates with the most seasoned women politicians. Hillary Clinton, widely considered the Democrats' best debater, won her 2000 Senate debate when her opponent, Rick Lazio, came up to her and waved a sheaf of papers in her face. The invasion of Clinton's personal space outraged women viewers and made Lazio seem like a bully.
George Bush Sr lost his debate against Ferraro in 1984 the moment he decided to give her a lecture about the difference between Lebanon and Iran.
Ferraro, who had several years experience as a New York prosecutor and congresswoman on her resume, would have none of it. "I almost resent, Vice-President Bush, your patronising attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy," she shot back.
The gaffe-prone Biden would also do well to remember that Bush dug himself even deeper into the hole the next day by bragging to a bunch of dockers that he had "kicked a little ass" in the debate.
PALIN TO GIVE BACK TAINTED GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN MONEY!!
Palin to Give Back Tainted Gubernatorial Campaign Money
Sarah Palin, touted by Republican presidential nominee John McCain as a reformer when he picked her to be his running mate, says she will donate to charity more than $1,000 in campaign contributions from two Alaska politicians implicated in a federal corruption probe.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin, touted by Republican presidential nominee John McCain as a reformer when he picked her to be his running mate, says she will donate to charity more than $1,000 in campaign contributions from two Alaska politicians implicated in a federal corruption probe.
Palin said Thursday she also is giving back $1,000 from the wife of one of the men. The move came a few hours after The Associated Press reported that Palin had accepted the money during her successful 2006 run for governor. Palin was elected easily after she promised to rid Alaska's capital of dirty politics.
"Gov. Palin has made a career of holding herself to the highest standards of ethics. As soon as the governor learned of the donations today, she immediately decided to donate them to charity," campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
Palin took aim at gift-giving to state officials as part of her ethics agenda but has kept more than $25,000 in gifts in the 20 months she has been governor, The Washington Post reported in a story in its Friday editions.
A review of state records shows that gifts came from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose board includes officials from some of the largest mining interests in Alaska, according to the newspaper.
The Post reported that the 41 gifts Palin accepted included artwork, free travel, a gold-nugget pin valued at $1,200, a $2,200 ivory puffin mask, a woven grass fan worth $300 and a $150 ivory necklace. A spokeswoman for McCain's campaign said the gifts had no undue influence on Palin, according to the newspaper.
Over the years, McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama have both returned campaign donations tied to corruption.
Obama's campaign says he's given to charity $159,000 tied to convicted Chicago real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko. In the early 1990s, McCain returned $112,000 from Charles Keating, a central figure in the savings-and-loan crisis, after a Senate ethics inquiry.
The two politicians in this case were snagged in a federal investigation revolving around an oil field services company once known as VECO Corp. Executives from the company are at the center of the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, that began this week in Washington.
Palin felt so strongly about the indictment of once-powerful Sen. John Cowdery that she urged him to resign. He was indicted in July on two federal bribery counts; the other donor, former Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, is awaiting trial. Both are Republicans, and their contributions were to the joint campaign of Palin and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. Neither had any obvious connection to the rising star before she took office.
In the Stevens case, prosecutors say he lied on his financial disclosure forms about more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts he received from VECO. In Alaska, the government has leveled more serious charges: That the company and its bosses tried to corrupt lawmakers by plying them with money or gifts in exchange for their votes.
On Aug. 31, 2006, FBI agents searched the offices of six state lawmakers, including Cowdery and Weyhrauch.
The government had secretly taped Cowdery in a conversation that prosecutors say proved he conspired with VECO officials to bribe legislators to support changes in Alaska's oil tax structure. Weyhrauch allegedly promised to support VECO's position in exchange for consideration for future work as a lawyer.
VECO quickly came to symbolize outsized corruption in Alaska and Palin was able to capitalize: As the GOP nominee for governor, she campaigned as an outsider and made a public point of saying she didn't want money from the company or its employees.
By October 2006, Palin's campaign had received $30 from Weyhrauch in addition to Cowdery's $1,000. Separately, Cowdery's wife, Juanita, contributed $1,000; she is not accused of any wrongdoing, but Palin is giving that money back, too.
The fact that Palin had kept Cowdery's donation was notable, given that on July 10, the day after he was indicted, the governor issued a statement asking him to "step down, for the good of the state."
Sarah Palin, touted by Republican presidential nominee John McCain as a reformer when he picked her to be his running mate, says she will donate to charity more than $1,000 in campaign contributions from two Alaska politicians implicated in a federal corruption probe.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin, touted by Republican presidential nominee John McCain as a reformer when he picked her to be his running mate, says she will donate to charity more than $1,000 in campaign contributions from two Alaska politicians implicated in a federal corruption probe.
Palin said Thursday she also is giving back $1,000 from the wife of one of the men. The move came a few hours after The Associated Press reported that Palin had accepted the money during her successful 2006 run for governor. Palin was elected easily after she promised to rid Alaska's capital of dirty politics.
"Gov. Palin has made a career of holding herself to the highest standards of ethics. As soon as the governor learned of the donations today, she immediately decided to donate them to charity," campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
Palin took aim at gift-giving to state officials as part of her ethics agenda but has kept more than $25,000 in gifts in the 20 months she has been governor, The Washington Post reported in a story in its Friday editions.
A review of state records shows that gifts came from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose board includes officials from some of the largest mining interests in Alaska, according to the newspaper.
The Post reported that the 41 gifts Palin accepted included artwork, free travel, a gold-nugget pin valued at $1,200, a $2,200 ivory puffin mask, a woven grass fan worth $300 and a $150 ivory necklace. A spokeswoman for McCain's campaign said the gifts had no undue influence on Palin, according to the newspaper.
Over the years, McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama have both returned campaign donations tied to corruption.
Obama's campaign says he's given to charity $159,000 tied to convicted Chicago real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko. In the early 1990s, McCain returned $112,000 from Charles Keating, a central figure in the savings-and-loan crisis, after a Senate ethics inquiry.
The two politicians in this case were snagged in a federal investigation revolving around an oil field services company once known as VECO Corp. Executives from the company are at the center of the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, that began this week in Washington.
Palin felt so strongly about the indictment of once-powerful Sen. John Cowdery that she urged him to resign. He was indicted in July on two federal bribery counts; the other donor, former Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, is awaiting trial. Both are Republicans, and their contributions were to the joint campaign of Palin and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. Neither had any obvious connection to the rising star before she took office.
In the Stevens case, prosecutors say he lied on his financial disclosure forms about more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts he received from VECO. In Alaska, the government has leveled more serious charges: That the company and its bosses tried to corrupt lawmakers by plying them with money or gifts in exchange for their votes.
On Aug. 31, 2006, FBI agents searched the offices of six state lawmakers, including Cowdery and Weyhrauch.
The government had secretly taped Cowdery in a conversation that prosecutors say proved he conspired with VECO officials to bribe legislators to support changes in Alaska's oil tax structure. Weyhrauch allegedly promised to support VECO's position in exchange for consideration for future work as a lawyer.
VECO quickly came to symbolize outsized corruption in Alaska and Palin was able to capitalize: As the GOP nominee for governor, she campaigned as an outsider and made a public point of saying she didn't want money from the company or its employees.
By October 2006, Palin's campaign had received $30 from Weyhrauch in addition to Cowdery's $1,000. Separately, Cowdery's wife, Juanita, contributed $1,000; she is not accused of any wrongdoing, but Palin is giving that money back, too.
The fact that Palin had kept Cowdery's donation was notable, given that on July 10, the day after he was indicted, the governor issued a statement asking him to "step down, for the good of the state."
ALASKA NATIVES DOUBT PALIN'S SUPPORT!!
Alaska Natives Doubt Palin's Support
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Many Alaska Natives say they've felt ignored when Palin made appointments to her administration, sided with sporting interests over Native hunting rights and pursued a lawsuit that Natives say seeks to undermine their ancient traditions.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin routinely notes her husband's Yup'ik Eskimo roots. But those connections haven't erased doubts about her in a community long slighted by the white settlers who flocked to Alaska and dominate its government.
Since she took office in 2006, many Alaska Natives say they've felt ignored when she made appointments to her administration, sided with sporting interests over Native hunting rights and pursued a lawsuit that Natives say seeks to undermine their ancient traditions.
Alaska's population today is mostly white but nearly a fifth of its people are Native Americans -- primarily Alaska Natives. Blacks and Asians combined make up less than 10 percent of the state's population.
As a result, race relations in Alaska are different from those in other states. Palin inherited a complex, sometimes strained relationship with Alaska Natives. There is a wide economic disparity between its predominantly white urban areas and the scores of isolated Native villages, and competition between sport hunting rights and tribal sovereignty.
Early in her administration, Palin created a furor by trying to appoint a white woman to a seat, held for more than 25 years by a Native, on the panel that oversees wildlife management. Ultimately, Palin named an Athabascan Indian to the game board, but not before relations were bruised.
When Palin this summer fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, a Native, she replaced him with a non-Native. His successor resigned after 10 days on the job, when a previously undisclosed reprimand that stemmed from a sexual harassment claim against him came to light.
The Monegan firing is the subject of two state investigations. Palin is accused of firing Monegan because he refused to fire her sister's former husband, a state trooper.
Two weeks after she was tapped as John McCain's running mate, Palin named a Native to Monegan's old position.
Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the governor's Cabinet members and chief advisers represent the state's diversity. For example, Palin's communications director, Bill McAllister, is part black. Her commissioner for the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Emil Notti, is a noted Alaska Native leader.
"The governor is colorblind when it comes to hiring," Leighow said.
But Duke University political science professor Paula McClain, who went to high school in Alaska and now specializes in minority relations, said Palin's actions suggest she has "a political tin ear or that she simply doesn't care."
"In a state like Alaska, how can you not be aware of how not reappointing a Native is going to play? At best, she's naive," McClain said.
Alaska Natives -- the term includes indigenous Eskimo, Aleut and Indian populations -- tend to lean Democrat. Many prominent Native leaders have endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.
But the mother of Palin's husband, Todd, is a quarter Yup'ik Eskimo. Each summer, he heads to his birthplace in Western Alaska to work in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery.
Palin's family ties would suggest she would be more sensitive to Native issues, said Stephen Haycox, a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor. But in her 21-month tenure, the governor has used those ties mostly to highlight her experiences in commercial fishing, moose hunting and general outdoorsmanship.
"She has not manifested, so far, any extraordinary measures on behalf of Alaska Natives," Haycox said.
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council Chairman Mike Williams of Akiak said he's been seeking an audience with Palin to address tribal concerns ever since she was elected governor, but her staff keeps telling him that her schedule is full.
"She's so busy that she doesn't have time for the tribes. There needs to be respect and a dialogue," said Williams, who is also Yup'ik Eskimo.
This time of year, Williams is busy putting away meat, fish and berries for the winter -- supplies that are critical to survival in cash-poor rural villages -- and he said he wants to explain to Palin how increased pressures from sport hunting and fishing as well as oil and mining have eroded native hunting lands.
Palin's Director of Community and Regional Affairs, Tara Jollie, a member of the Chippewa tribe of North Dakota, said the popular governor's schedule is busy, but she has attended events such as the yearly gathering of the Alaska Federation of Natives and a recent bridge dedication honoring a native leader.
Jollie also said many of Palin's initiatives, like energy assistance and sharing state revenues with municipalities, are particularly important to the rural Natives coping with some of the highest fuel costs in the nation.
"It's her nature to want the best for all Alaskans," said Jollie. "She would treat her native constituency exactly the same as any other constituency."
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Many Alaska Natives say they've felt ignored when Palin made appointments to her administration, sided with sporting interests over Native hunting rights and pursued a lawsuit that Natives say seeks to undermine their ancient traditions.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin routinely notes her husband's Yup'ik Eskimo roots. But those connections haven't erased doubts about her in a community long slighted by the white settlers who flocked to Alaska and dominate its government.
Since she took office in 2006, many Alaska Natives say they've felt ignored when she made appointments to her administration, sided with sporting interests over Native hunting rights and pursued a lawsuit that Natives say seeks to undermine their ancient traditions.
Alaska's population today is mostly white but nearly a fifth of its people are Native Americans -- primarily Alaska Natives. Blacks and Asians combined make up less than 10 percent of the state's population.
As a result, race relations in Alaska are different from those in other states. Palin inherited a complex, sometimes strained relationship with Alaska Natives. There is a wide economic disparity between its predominantly white urban areas and the scores of isolated Native villages, and competition between sport hunting rights and tribal sovereignty.
Early in her administration, Palin created a furor by trying to appoint a white woman to a seat, held for more than 25 years by a Native, on the panel that oversees wildlife management. Ultimately, Palin named an Athabascan Indian to the game board, but not before relations were bruised.
When Palin this summer fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, a Native, she replaced him with a non-Native. His successor resigned after 10 days on the job, when a previously undisclosed reprimand that stemmed from a sexual harassment claim against him came to light.
The Monegan firing is the subject of two state investigations. Palin is accused of firing Monegan because he refused to fire her sister's former husband, a state trooper.
Two weeks after she was tapped as John McCain's running mate, Palin named a Native to Monegan's old position.
Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the governor's Cabinet members and chief advisers represent the state's diversity. For example, Palin's communications director, Bill McAllister, is part black. Her commissioner for the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Emil Notti, is a noted Alaska Native leader.
"The governor is colorblind when it comes to hiring," Leighow said.
But Duke University political science professor Paula McClain, who went to high school in Alaska and now specializes in minority relations, said Palin's actions suggest she has "a political tin ear or that she simply doesn't care."
"In a state like Alaska, how can you not be aware of how not reappointing a Native is going to play? At best, she's naive," McClain said.
Alaska Natives -- the term includes indigenous Eskimo, Aleut and Indian populations -- tend to lean Democrat. Many prominent Native leaders have endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.
But the mother of Palin's husband, Todd, is a quarter Yup'ik Eskimo. Each summer, he heads to his birthplace in Western Alaska to work in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery.
Palin's family ties would suggest she would be more sensitive to Native issues, said Stephen Haycox, a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor. But in her 21-month tenure, the governor has used those ties mostly to highlight her experiences in commercial fishing, moose hunting and general outdoorsmanship.
"She has not manifested, so far, any extraordinary measures on behalf of Alaska Natives," Haycox said.
Alaska Inter-Tribal Council Chairman Mike Williams of Akiak said he's been seeking an audience with Palin to address tribal concerns ever since she was elected governor, but her staff keeps telling him that her schedule is full.
"She's so busy that she doesn't have time for the tribes. There needs to be respect and a dialogue," said Williams, who is also Yup'ik Eskimo.
This time of year, Williams is busy putting away meat, fish and berries for the winter -- supplies that are critical to survival in cash-poor rural villages -- and he said he wants to explain to Palin how increased pressures from sport hunting and fishing as well as oil and mining have eroded native hunting lands.
Palin's Director of Community and Regional Affairs, Tara Jollie, a member of the Chippewa tribe of North Dakota, said the popular governor's schedule is busy, but she has attended events such as the yearly gathering of the Alaska Federation of Natives and a recent bridge dedication honoring a native leader.
Jollie also said many of Palin's initiatives, like energy assistance and sharing state revenues with municipalities, are particularly important to the rural Natives coping with some of the highest fuel costs in the nation.
"It's her nature to want the best for all Alaskans," said Jollie. "She would treat her native constituency exactly the same as any other constituency."
SARAH IS LOOKING FORWARD TO DEBATING JOE BIDEN!!!
September 29th, 2008
Palin: Biden is Doggone Confident
by Shushannah Walshe
COLUMBUS, OHIO –-Sarah Palin usually reserves her jabs for the top of the Democratic ticket, but at a rally today Palin went after her actual rival, Joe Biden. She will face off with him on Thursday at the Vice-Presidential debate in St. Louis.
She went after the Delaware Senator on his years in Washington and his age while increasing expectations for her own debate performance on Thursday, “So I guess it’s my turn now and I do look forward to Thursday night and debating Senator Joe Biden. We are going to talk about those new ideas, new energy for America. I’m looking forward to meeting him too. I’ve never met him before. But, I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in like 2nd grade,” Palin said to laughs from the crowd, “I have to admit though he is a great debater and looks pretty doggone confident like he’s sure he’s gonna win. But, then again this is the same Senator Biden who said the other day that the University of Delaware would trounce the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wrong!”
Biden has been in the United States Senate for 35 years and is 65 years old. Palin’s running mate, John McCain has been in Washington as both a United States Representative and Senator for 25 years and he is 72 years old. McCain will be the oldest President of the United States ever elected if he wins in November.
Palin also went after Biden again when she brought up energy independence and clean coal. A You Tube clip surfaced of the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate telling a member of a group that is against the development of new coal-fired power plants that both he and his running mate do not support clean coal.
Today, the McCain-Palin campaign launched a radio ad using the clip and Palin hit him at today’s rally while pressing that a McCain-Palin administration would be advocates of clean coal, “To meet America’s energy challenges, we’re going to need an all of the above approach. And in a McCain-Palin administration, that’s going to include the use of clean coal. Just recently, Senator Biden made it perfectly clear that in an Obama-Biden administration, there would no use of clean coal at all,” Palin said, “From Wyoming to West Virginia and especially right here in Ohio, American coal resources are greater than the oil riches of the Middle East. And yet Joe Biden says, ‘Sorry Ohio, we’re not going to use it.’ As for Senator McCain and I, we will make clean coal a reality, and to help power the American economy with clean coal technology, we’re going to look to the hard working people of Ohio to help us do that.”
Today’s rally was a joint campaign event with John McCain at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Palin will then head West to Arizona for debate prep until she travels to St. Louis for the face-off with Biden.
Palin: Biden is Doggone Confident
by Shushannah Walshe
COLUMBUS, OHIO –-Sarah Palin usually reserves her jabs for the top of the Democratic ticket, but at a rally today Palin went after her actual rival, Joe Biden. She will face off with him on Thursday at the Vice-Presidential debate in St. Louis.
She went after the Delaware Senator on his years in Washington and his age while increasing expectations for her own debate performance on Thursday, “So I guess it’s my turn now and I do look forward to Thursday night and debating Senator Joe Biden. We are going to talk about those new ideas, new energy for America. I’m looking forward to meeting him too. I’ve never met him before. But, I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in like 2nd grade,” Palin said to laughs from the crowd, “I have to admit though he is a great debater and looks pretty doggone confident like he’s sure he’s gonna win. But, then again this is the same Senator Biden who said the other day that the University of Delaware would trounce the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wrong!”
Biden has been in the United States Senate for 35 years and is 65 years old. Palin’s running mate, John McCain has been in Washington as both a United States Representative and Senator for 25 years and he is 72 years old. McCain will be the oldest President of the United States ever elected if he wins in November.
Palin also went after Biden again when she brought up energy independence and clean coal. A You Tube clip surfaced of the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate telling a member of a group that is against the development of new coal-fired power plants that both he and his running mate do not support clean coal.
Today, the McCain-Palin campaign launched a radio ad using the clip and Palin hit him at today’s rally while pressing that a McCain-Palin administration would be advocates of clean coal, “To meet America’s energy challenges, we’re going to need an all of the above approach. And in a McCain-Palin administration, that’s going to include the use of clean coal. Just recently, Senator Biden made it perfectly clear that in an Obama-Biden administration, there would no use of clean coal at all,” Palin said, “From Wyoming to West Virginia and especially right here in Ohio, American coal resources are greater than the oil riches of the Middle East. And yet Joe Biden says, ‘Sorry Ohio, we’re not going to use it.’ As for Senator McCain and I, we will make clean coal a reality, and to help power the American economy with clean coal technology, we’re going to look to the hard working people of Ohio to help us do that.”
Today’s rally was a joint campaign event with John McCain at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Palin will then head West to Arizona for debate prep until she travels to St. Louis for the face-off with Biden.
SARAH CHATS WITH REPORTS IN NEW YORK AT GROUND ZERO
SARAH CHATS WITH CUSTOMERS IN CHEESESTEAK RESTAURANT. POSES FOR PHOTOS; TALKS ON CELL PHONE TO SOMEONE'S FRIEND/RELATIVE. SO FUNNY - WHEN SHE'S ORDERING THE GUY BEHIND THE COUNTER ASKS "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" AND SHE REPLIES: "SARAH". SHE IS SO DOWN-TO-EARTH AND SEEMS LIKE SUCH A LOVELY LADY!!!
SARAH AT RALLY IN OHIO BRAGS ABOUT JOHN MC CAIN AND HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE. SHE SAYS SHE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO DEBATING JOE BIDEN. SHE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING HIM, TOO. SHE SAID SHE'S BEEN HEARING HIS SPEECHES SINCE SHE WAS IN SECOND GRADE!!! LOL!!!
FROM: PAGAN POWER - WONDERFUL ARTICLE!!
Obama’s RACE to the Finish Line
There is a fascinating story in The Chicago Tribune that tries to determine why it is that more white voters that once supported Hillary are now supporting John McCain. The fact that both Hillary and McCain have actual experience is of no consequence. Rather than look at why 90% of blacks are supporting Barack Obama they feel it is much more important to figure out why whites are supporting the white guy.
Racial prejudice and the elderly
Older white voters heavily favored Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama during the Democratic primary season, and national polls indicate that group now leans toward Sen. John McCain by 10 percentage points or more.
And this is where things begin to get bizarre. You see, according to researchers, the problem is that a percentage of white supporters supporting McCain are predominately older. And because they are of an advanced aged they have greater racist tendencies. No really.
Pollsters and political scientists cannot pinpoint how much of that anti-Obama sentiment may be related to racial prejudice. But sociologists say their research indicates that implicit racial biases influence the voting decisions of many Americans of all ages—and that, for very basic physiological reasons related to the aging of their brains, many older citizens may be unable to suppress their prejudicial impulses, whether at the family dinner table or in the privacy of a voting booth.
In other words, Grandma’s biased outbursts may not be her fault. And Obama’s election strategists may want to schedule more campaign stops at nursing homes.
According to these researchers, as we get older we go through physical changes that turn us into the racists we always were but somehow managed to keep secret for so many years.
Von Hippel, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, has found that as the brain’s frontal lobe begins to atrophy with age, elderly adults exhibit greater social inappropriateness and increased stereotyping and prejudice. And it happens despite their best intentions.
“At some level, I would say we should not hold older adults responsible for their racist attitudes,” von Hippel said. “We call it ‘prejudice against your will,’ because we think it’s not something they can control.”
So old folks are uncontrolled racists. They can’t help but be that way. And what real world example is cited to bolster Von Hippel’s claim?
Other Bayou Manor residents appeared to show some of the inhibition losses studied by von Hippel.
“I have two black caregivers,” said Iris Williams, 89, who supports McCain. “One of them is pretty smart, the other one not really. But neither of them is for Obama. So that tells you something right there.”
So the woman stated that one of her black caregivers is smart, in her opinion, and the other isn’t. But neither support Obama. That means she is a racist? Since when did making a statement about relative intelligence become racial denigration, all other things being equal?
Never fear. The researchers have all the answers.
A massive, decade-long sociological study called Project Implicit, jointly run by Harvard University, the University of Washington and the University of Virginia, has shown that up to 80 percent of whites and Asians show a measurable bias favoring whites over blacks.
More than 4.5 million people worldwide—730,000 of them Americans—have participated in the online Project Implicit study, which captures subconscious, or implicit, bias by asking respondents to associate positive or negative words with a series of photographs of black and white faces.
So let me get this straight. So-called scientific researchers put together an assortment of buzz words, then ask people to associate those words with either black or white faces. So if you have a choice of associating the word lazy with a white or black person’s face and you associate that word with the black face then you are supposedly racist. Never mind that the white face reminded you of your Uncle Fred who worked two jobs his whole life. This is what passes for science.
And wouldn’t you know it, Barack Obama agrees. Obama believes white racial attitudes have been bred into our makeup. In other words, they are genetic predispositions that we cannot help but exhibit. White people are racists because it is in their genes.
Typical White Person
But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.
Where have we heard this before? As it turns out, this belief is held by a good friend of Senator Obama’s spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright. None other than Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, the guy Obama’s former church stated had truly epitomized greatness, has a similar view of white people, who he refers to as potential humans.
Yakub
According to the Nation of Islam (NOI), Yakub (also spelled Yacub or Yakob), was an evil scientist responsible for creating the white race — a race of devils, in their view. Yakub created white people by a process of grafting the “black germ” to a “white germ” from the original black population of the world.
And how is this being played out on the campaign trail? It seems that Obama-supporting Union leaders believe that the reason more white people aren’t supporting Obama is because of his race.
Union Leaders Confronted by Resistance to Obama
Yet union canvassers are also confronting an unprecedented factor in this election — Mr. Obama’s race — making the effects of their door-to-door appeals less predictable.
MacDavis Slade, a political activist with the painters’ union, said that was why “some people are having a hard time seeing things for what they are or hearing what he has to say.”
“I think race is playing a major part,” Mr. Slade said. “I think that’s why some people say, ‘Isn’t he a Muslim?’ ”
So is Osama bin Laden secretly black?
Some people interviewed stated that Obama’s lack of a record of achievement has something to do with their decision of who to back. Nevertheless this is portrayed as a racist attitude.
Still, Mr. Obama’s race has complicated labor’s efforts. When canvassers knock on doors, some voters do not acknowledge race explicitly, said Mr. Rainey, the U.A.W. leader. “The main reason you get is, ‘I don’t trust him because I don’t know him.’ ”
But not everyone buys into the pro-Obama union lie. The article actually cites one example of a voter making a decision based upon an issue.
“We basically vote pro-life,” said Ms. Siegel, a mother of five. “As a ‘little person,’ I don’t feel that any of these candidates have our best interests in mind. So if there’s a specific thing that sways our vote, it would be abortion.”
Reince Priebus (try saying that 3 times fast), the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party has an entirely different viewpoint .
“I don’t think race is an issue at all,” Mr. Priebus said. “A bigger problem is that Barack Obama has a sort of show pony style. The speeches and the classic double speak and being a great orator, that kind of thing doesn’t play well in Wisconsin.”
Rather than accuse older folks of being racist because they aren’t supporting Obama perhaps his supporters should look at the man himself, his ever changing views and his shocking lack of experience.
If anything I believe that younger, less mature minds are more easily swayed with these lies of racism. That is why Obama and his Bots use the charge every time they see the chance.
But will it work? Not if we do our job.
NObama! NO DEAL!
*****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
My God, if I hear RACISM, RACIST, RACE; any of these words used to describe WHY both WHITE and BLACK people won't vote for Obama, I will SCREAM!!! Give me a friggin' break!! As PAGAN POWER says, his NO EXPERIENCE AND NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS has a lot to do with why people won't vote for him. And I am talking about ordinary people who are not familiar with the VOTER FRAUD, INTIMIDATION, THREATS, ASSAULTS, VANDALISM, DEATH THREATS, ETC. ETC. that has gone on throughout this campaign. Just an ordinary voter who is not familiar with the goings on in the Obama camp (because of course the MEDIA WON'T REPORT IT!!). They look at this guy who was in the senate a grand total of 140 days before he decided to run for president!! That takes ARROGANCE, HUBRIS, BALLS, HUTZPAH!!
What about Obama's changing positions?? Today he is in favor of this; tomorrow he isn't. He says he didn't say things he said and he says he said things that he didn't. He copies everybody. Took all of Hillary's plans from her website and changed a few figures here and there and claimed it as his own!! He stole speeches from so many people. Now he's taking credit for the ECONOMIC BAILOUT PLAN!! It was McCain who went to Washington and actually HELPED!! Obama "call me if you need me, stayed on the campaign trail.
My God, there are SO MANY REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!! His Obama camps where he teaches young people how to be THUGS!! Cheating in all the caucuses; stealing delegates he didn't earn in a state where he took his name off the ballot, plus taking 4 more of Hillary's delegates!! Buying and paying for superdelegates' endorsements. And even when he knew he had to allow Hillary's name to be put into nomination because he knew about the petition going around by delegates, even then the whole friggin' ROLL CALL VOTE WAS A SHAM!!
Now let's not forget BILL AYERS, TONY REZKO, JEREMIAH WRIGHT, ETC. ETC. His wife, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country!" . The list goes on and on. I cannot think of ONE REASON WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT TO VOTE FOR HIM AND RACE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!
There is a fascinating story in The Chicago Tribune that tries to determine why it is that more white voters that once supported Hillary are now supporting John McCain. The fact that both Hillary and McCain have actual experience is of no consequence. Rather than look at why 90% of blacks are supporting Barack Obama they feel it is much more important to figure out why whites are supporting the white guy.
Racial prejudice and the elderly
Older white voters heavily favored Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama during the Democratic primary season, and national polls indicate that group now leans toward Sen. John McCain by 10 percentage points or more.
And this is where things begin to get bizarre. You see, according to researchers, the problem is that a percentage of white supporters supporting McCain are predominately older. And because they are of an advanced aged they have greater racist tendencies. No really.
Pollsters and political scientists cannot pinpoint how much of that anti-Obama sentiment may be related to racial prejudice. But sociologists say their research indicates that implicit racial biases influence the voting decisions of many Americans of all ages—and that, for very basic physiological reasons related to the aging of their brains, many older citizens may be unable to suppress their prejudicial impulses, whether at the family dinner table or in the privacy of a voting booth.
In other words, Grandma’s biased outbursts may not be her fault. And Obama’s election strategists may want to schedule more campaign stops at nursing homes.
According to these researchers, as we get older we go through physical changes that turn us into the racists we always were but somehow managed to keep secret for so many years.
Von Hippel, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, has found that as the brain’s frontal lobe begins to atrophy with age, elderly adults exhibit greater social inappropriateness and increased stereotyping and prejudice. And it happens despite their best intentions.
“At some level, I would say we should not hold older adults responsible for their racist attitudes,” von Hippel said. “We call it ‘prejudice against your will,’ because we think it’s not something they can control.”
So old folks are uncontrolled racists. They can’t help but be that way. And what real world example is cited to bolster Von Hippel’s claim?
Other Bayou Manor residents appeared to show some of the inhibition losses studied by von Hippel.
“I have two black caregivers,” said Iris Williams, 89, who supports McCain. “One of them is pretty smart, the other one not really. But neither of them is for Obama. So that tells you something right there.”
So the woman stated that one of her black caregivers is smart, in her opinion, and the other isn’t. But neither support Obama. That means she is a racist? Since when did making a statement about relative intelligence become racial denigration, all other things being equal?
Never fear. The researchers have all the answers.
A massive, decade-long sociological study called Project Implicit, jointly run by Harvard University, the University of Washington and the University of Virginia, has shown that up to 80 percent of whites and Asians show a measurable bias favoring whites over blacks.
More than 4.5 million people worldwide—730,000 of them Americans—have participated in the online Project Implicit study, which captures subconscious, or implicit, bias by asking respondents to associate positive or negative words with a series of photographs of black and white faces.
So let me get this straight. So-called scientific researchers put together an assortment of buzz words, then ask people to associate those words with either black or white faces. So if you have a choice of associating the word lazy with a white or black person’s face and you associate that word with the black face then you are supposedly racist. Never mind that the white face reminded you of your Uncle Fred who worked two jobs his whole life. This is what passes for science.
And wouldn’t you know it, Barack Obama agrees. Obama believes white racial attitudes have been bred into our makeup. In other words, they are genetic predispositions that we cannot help but exhibit. White people are racists because it is in their genes.
Typical White Person
But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.
Where have we heard this before? As it turns out, this belief is held by a good friend of Senator Obama’s spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright. None other than Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, the guy Obama’s former church stated had truly epitomized greatness, has a similar view of white people, who he refers to as potential humans.
Yakub
According to the Nation of Islam (NOI), Yakub (also spelled Yacub or Yakob), was an evil scientist responsible for creating the white race — a race of devils, in their view. Yakub created white people by a process of grafting the “black germ” to a “white germ” from the original black population of the world.
And how is this being played out on the campaign trail? It seems that Obama-supporting Union leaders believe that the reason more white people aren’t supporting Obama is because of his race.
Union Leaders Confronted by Resistance to Obama
Yet union canvassers are also confronting an unprecedented factor in this election — Mr. Obama’s race — making the effects of their door-to-door appeals less predictable.
MacDavis Slade, a political activist with the painters’ union, said that was why “some people are having a hard time seeing things for what they are or hearing what he has to say.”
“I think race is playing a major part,” Mr. Slade said. “I think that’s why some people say, ‘Isn’t he a Muslim?’ ”
So is Osama bin Laden secretly black?
Some people interviewed stated that Obama’s lack of a record of achievement has something to do with their decision of who to back. Nevertheless this is portrayed as a racist attitude.
Still, Mr. Obama’s race has complicated labor’s efforts. When canvassers knock on doors, some voters do not acknowledge race explicitly, said Mr. Rainey, the U.A.W. leader. “The main reason you get is, ‘I don’t trust him because I don’t know him.’ ”
But not everyone buys into the pro-Obama union lie. The article actually cites one example of a voter making a decision based upon an issue.
“We basically vote pro-life,” said Ms. Siegel, a mother of five. “As a ‘little person,’ I don’t feel that any of these candidates have our best interests in mind. So if there’s a specific thing that sways our vote, it would be abortion.”
Reince Priebus (try saying that 3 times fast), the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party has an entirely different viewpoint .
“I don’t think race is an issue at all,” Mr. Priebus said. “A bigger problem is that Barack Obama has a sort of show pony style. The speeches and the classic double speak and being a great orator, that kind of thing doesn’t play well in Wisconsin.”
Rather than accuse older folks of being racist because they aren’t supporting Obama perhaps his supporters should look at the man himself, his ever changing views and his shocking lack of experience.
If anything I believe that younger, less mature minds are more easily swayed with these lies of racism. That is why Obama and his Bots use the charge every time they see the chance.
But will it work? Not if we do our job.
NObama! NO DEAL!
*****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
My God, if I hear RACISM, RACIST, RACE; any of these words used to describe WHY both WHITE and BLACK people won't vote for Obama, I will SCREAM!!! Give me a friggin' break!! As PAGAN POWER says, his NO EXPERIENCE AND NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS has a lot to do with why people won't vote for him. And I am talking about ordinary people who are not familiar with the VOTER FRAUD, INTIMIDATION, THREATS, ASSAULTS, VANDALISM, DEATH THREATS, ETC. ETC. that has gone on throughout this campaign. Just an ordinary voter who is not familiar with the goings on in the Obama camp (because of course the MEDIA WON'T REPORT IT!!). They look at this guy who was in the senate a grand total of 140 days before he decided to run for president!! That takes ARROGANCE, HUBRIS, BALLS, HUTZPAH!!
What about Obama's changing positions?? Today he is in favor of this; tomorrow he isn't. He says he didn't say things he said and he says he said things that he didn't. He copies everybody. Took all of Hillary's plans from her website and changed a few figures here and there and claimed it as his own!! He stole speeches from so many people. Now he's taking credit for the ECONOMIC BAILOUT PLAN!! It was McCain who went to Washington and actually HELPED!! Obama "call me if you need me, stayed on the campaign trail.
My God, there are SO MANY REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!! His Obama camps where he teaches young people how to be THUGS!! Cheating in all the caucuses; stealing delegates he didn't earn in a state where he took his name off the ballot, plus taking 4 more of Hillary's delegates!! Buying and paying for superdelegates' endorsements. And even when he knew he had to allow Hillary's name to be put into nomination because he knew about the petition going around by delegates, even then the whole friggin' ROLL CALL VOTE WAS A SHAM!!
Now let's not forget BILL AYERS, TONY REZKO, JEREMIAH WRIGHT, ETC. ETC. His wife, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country!" . The list goes on and on. I cannot think of ONE REASON WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT TO VOTE FOR HIM AND RACE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!
KOOLAIDE DRUNK MEDIA HAS LOST ALL SENSE OF OBJECTIVITY!!!
FROM THE BLOG: JUST THINKIN' ABOUT STUFF
AP is kidding, right?
In an amazing display of investigative journalism, Brett J. Blackledge at AP uncovered the following shocking news about then mayor Sarah Palin:
She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free “awesome facial” she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The “absolutely gorgeous flowers” she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.
She also stepped in to help friends or neighbors with City Hall dealings. She asked the City Council to add a friend to the list of speakers at a 2002 meeting — and then the friend got up and asked them to give his radio station advertising business.
They’re kidding, right? This is news. Digging into Obama’s relationship with Rezko, ACORN, Ayers… not a big enough deal for the super sleuths at AP… but a mayor receiving a facial and flowers… ewww, let’s appoint a special prosecutor.
But wait, thre’s more:
Some of her first actions after being elected mayor in 1996 raised possible ethical red flags: She cast the tie-breaking vote to propose a tax exemption on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one, and backed the city’s repeal of all taxes a year later on planes, snow machines and other personal property. She also asked the council to consider looser rules for snow machine races. Palin and her husband, Todd, a champion racer, co-owned a snow machine store at the time.
Oh my goodness, mercy me.
To be fair, Blackledge did include the following…. as the LAST THREE FREAKIN PARAGRAPHS IN THE ARTICE!!!!!
James Svara, professor of public affairs at Arizona State University and author of “The Ethics Primer for Public Administrators in Government and Nonprofit Organizations,” suggested such behavior is part of small-town politics.
“Small towns are first-person politics, and if people are close, it’s hard to separate one’s own personal interest and one’s own personal property from the work of the city,” Svara said. The key questions from an ethics standpoint include whether the politician makes a potential conflict of interest known and removes himself or herself from actions related to it, he added.
“I think in a small town there is a greater likelihood that people will accept that you will pay careful attention to friends and neighbors,” he said, adding that there may be some local gossip about it, but not a lot of public scrutiny. “At the national level, there will be far more people watching, there will be far more pressures to come forward to try to influence the outcome.”
If Palin’s record as a mayor is fair game for MSM like AP, then why isn’t Obama’s partnership with Ayers, his association with ACORN, his relationship with Rezko?
For example, a search on “Rezko” finds 3 AP articles about Sarah Palin, a couple with headlines about the Illinois senate, and one article with the following:
AP - McCain’s ad begins, “Barack Obama: Born of the corrupt Chicago political machine.” That’s an inaccurate statement - Obama wasn’t a machine candidate in the state Senate or in the U.S. Senate primary. However, he has been backed by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other establishment Democrats since he got the Senate nomination in 2004 and has worked with them since being elected.
The ad goes on to list establishment Democrats and their connection to Obama - some stronger than others.
It is true that Obama’s fundraiser Tony Rezko is a convicted felon. And his political mentor, state Senate President Emil Jones, has an array of relatives with state jobs, arranged for his son to take over his Senate seat next year and has dragged his feet on ethics legislation.
Obama did endorse his fellow Illinois Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich for re-election despite questions about his ethics, but the two are not particularly close. It’s also true that William Daley has been an adviser. But it’s not surprising Obama would seek economic advice from a former Commerce secretary.
The article is about attack ads, barely mentions Rezko, and is essentially written as a defense of Obama.
Why not dig a little deeper into the Rezko-Obama relationship then simply mentioning he is a fundraiser for Obama and a convicted felon:
From Wiki - Starting in 2003, Rezko was one of the people on Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign finance committee, which raised more than $14 million. Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama, which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with seed money for his U.S. Senate race. Obama has since identified over $250,000 in campaign contributions to various Obama campaigns as coming from Rezko or close associates, and has claimed to have donated almost two thirds of that amount to charity.
Also, in 2005 Obama purchased a new home in the Kenwood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (which was $300,000 below the asking price but represented the highest offer on the property) on the same day that Rezko’s wife, Rita Rezko, purchased the adjoining empty lot from the same sellers for the full asking price. Obama acknowledged bringing his interest in the property to Rezko’s attention, but denied any coordination of offers. According to Obama, while the properties had originally been a single property, the previous owners decided to sell the land as two separate lots, but made it a condition of the sales that they be closed on the same date. Obama also claimed that the properties had been on the market for months, that his offer was the best of two bids, and that Ms. Rezko’s bid was matched by another offer, also of $625,000, so that she could not have purchased the property for less. Obama’s description of the purchase was later confirmed by the previous owner of the house.
After it had been reported in 2006 that Rezko was under federal investigation for influence-peddling, Obama purchased a 10 foot (3.0 m) wide strip of Ms. Rezko’s property for $104,500, $60,000 above the assessed value. According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Mark Brown, “Rezko definitely did Obama a favor by selling him the 10-foot strip of land, making his own parcel less attractive for development.” Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety, and stated “I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it.”
In June 2007, the Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Of Obama’s letters in support of the Cottage View Terrace apartments development, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, “This wasn’t done as a favor for anyone, it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project. I don’t know that anyone specifically asked him to write this letter nine years ago. There was a consensus in the community about the positive impact the project would make and Obama supported it because it was going to help people in his district.” Rezko’s attorney responded that “Mr. Rezko never spoke with, nor sought a letter from, Senator Obama in connection with that project.
Now I know what you’re thinking… Obama’s relationship to a man convicted on six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation, and two counts of money laundering does not reach the level of Palin accepting flowers and a facial, but I just thought you should know anyway.
But seriously… this is what I found on Wikipedia.. don’t you think AP’s time would be well spent digging a bit deeper here? Isn’t this at least as important as Palin supporting the roll-back of taxes on planes when her father-in-law owned a plane or Palin being given some Salmon?
****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
What about the fact the media NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THE LAWSUIT FILED BY BERG REGARDING OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THE NEWS CONFERENCE WITH LARRY SINCLAIR (EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE THERE!!)??
NEVER ONCE MENTIONED ALL THE CHEATING OBAMA DID IN THE CAUCUSES?
My God, I could go on and on. The media did this with Hillary - she couldn't look at someone crooked without the media reporting on it day after day after day!! Now they are nitpicking Sarah Palin!! Besides BEING IN THE TANK FOR OBAMA SINCE THE BEGINNING, it has gotten to the point now that the ONLY STATION I will watch is FOX NEWS!! They really ARE FAIR!! They do not pick sides and I feel this is the only station I can rely on to DELIVER THE NEWS!!
AS FOR MSNBC, CNN, ETC., THEY MAY AS WELL CHANGE THEIR NAMES TO THE OBAMA-LOVIN' NETWORK!!
AP is kidding, right?
In an amazing display of investigative journalism, Brett J. Blackledge at AP uncovered the following shocking news about then mayor Sarah Palin:
She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free “awesome facial” she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The “absolutely gorgeous flowers” she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.
She also stepped in to help friends or neighbors with City Hall dealings. She asked the City Council to add a friend to the list of speakers at a 2002 meeting — and then the friend got up and asked them to give his radio station advertising business.
They’re kidding, right? This is news. Digging into Obama’s relationship with Rezko, ACORN, Ayers… not a big enough deal for the super sleuths at AP… but a mayor receiving a facial and flowers… ewww, let’s appoint a special prosecutor.
But wait, thre’s more:
Some of her first actions after being elected mayor in 1996 raised possible ethical red flags: She cast the tie-breaking vote to propose a tax exemption on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one, and backed the city’s repeal of all taxes a year later on planes, snow machines and other personal property. She also asked the council to consider looser rules for snow machine races. Palin and her husband, Todd, a champion racer, co-owned a snow machine store at the time.
Oh my goodness, mercy me.
To be fair, Blackledge did include the following…. as the LAST THREE FREAKIN PARAGRAPHS IN THE ARTICE!!!!!
James Svara, professor of public affairs at Arizona State University and author of “The Ethics Primer for Public Administrators in Government and Nonprofit Organizations,” suggested such behavior is part of small-town politics.
“Small towns are first-person politics, and if people are close, it’s hard to separate one’s own personal interest and one’s own personal property from the work of the city,” Svara said. The key questions from an ethics standpoint include whether the politician makes a potential conflict of interest known and removes himself or herself from actions related to it, he added.
“I think in a small town there is a greater likelihood that people will accept that you will pay careful attention to friends and neighbors,” he said, adding that there may be some local gossip about it, but not a lot of public scrutiny. “At the national level, there will be far more people watching, there will be far more pressures to come forward to try to influence the outcome.”
If Palin’s record as a mayor is fair game for MSM like AP, then why isn’t Obama’s partnership with Ayers, his association with ACORN, his relationship with Rezko?
For example, a search on “Rezko” finds 3 AP articles about Sarah Palin, a couple with headlines about the Illinois senate, and one article with the following:
AP - McCain’s ad begins, “Barack Obama: Born of the corrupt Chicago political machine.” That’s an inaccurate statement - Obama wasn’t a machine candidate in the state Senate or in the U.S. Senate primary. However, he has been backed by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other establishment Democrats since he got the Senate nomination in 2004 and has worked with them since being elected.
The ad goes on to list establishment Democrats and their connection to Obama - some stronger than others.
It is true that Obama’s fundraiser Tony Rezko is a convicted felon. And his political mentor, state Senate President Emil Jones, has an array of relatives with state jobs, arranged for his son to take over his Senate seat next year and has dragged his feet on ethics legislation.
Obama did endorse his fellow Illinois Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich for re-election despite questions about his ethics, but the two are not particularly close. It’s also true that William Daley has been an adviser. But it’s not surprising Obama would seek economic advice from a former Commerce secretary.
The article is about attack ads, barely mentions Rezko, and is essentially written as a defense of Obama.
Why not dig a little deeper into the Rezko-Obama relationship then simply mentioning he is a fundraiser for Obama and a convicted felon:
From Wiki - Starting in 2003, Rezko was one of the people on Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign finance committee, which raised more than $14 million. Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama, which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with seed money for his U.S. Senate race. Obama has since identified over $250,000 in campaign contributions to various Obama campaigns as coming from Rezko or close associates, and has claimed to have donated almost two thirds of that amount to charity.
Also, in 2005 Obama purchased a new home in the Kenwood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (which was $300,000 below the asking price but represented the highest offer on the property) on the same day that Rezko’s wife, Rita Rezko, purchased the adjoining empty lot from the same sellers for the full asking price. Obama acknowledged bringing his interest in the property to Rezko’s attention, but denied any coordination of offers. According to Obama, while the properties had originally been a single property, the previous owners decided to sell the land as two separate lots, but made it a condition of the sales that they be closed on the same date. Obama also claimed that the properties had been on the market for months, that his offer was the best of two bids, and that Ms. Rezko’s bid was matched by another offer, also of $625,000, so that she could not have purchased the property for less. Obama’s description of the purchase was later confirmed by the previous owner of the house.
After it had been reported in 2006 that Rezko was under federal investigation for influence-peddling, Obama purchased a 10 foot (3.0 m) wide strip of Ms. Rezko’s property for $104,500, $60,000 above the assessed value. According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Mark Brown, “Rezko definitely did Obama a favor by selling him the 10-foot strip of land, making his own parcel less attractive for development.” Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety, and stated “I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it.”
In June 2007, the Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Of Obama’s letters in support of the Cottage View Terrace apartments development, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, “This wasn’t done as a favor for anyone, it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project. I don’t know that anyone specifically asked him to write this letter nine years ago. There was a consensus in the community about the positive impact the project would make and Obama supported it because it was going to help people in his district.” Rezko’s attorney responded that “Mr. Rezko never spoke with, nor sought a letter from, Senator Obama in connection with that project.
Now I know what you’re thinking… Obama’s relationship to a man convicted on six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation, and two counts of money laundering does not reach the level of Palin accepting flowers and a facial, but I just thought you should know anyway.
But seriously… this is what I found on Wikipedia.. don’t you think AP’s time would be well spent digging a bit deeper here? Isn’t this at least as important as Palin supporting the roll-back of taxes on planes when her father-in-law owned a plane or Palin being given some Salmon?
****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
What about the fact the media NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THE LAWSUIT FILED BY BERG REGARDING OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THE NEWS CONFERENCE WITH LARRY SINCLAIR (EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE THERE!!)??
NEVER ONCE MENTIONED ALL THE CHEATING OBAMA DID IN THE CAUCUSES?
My God, I could go on and on. The media did this with Hillary - she couldn't look at someone crooked without the media reporting on it day after day after day!! Now they are nitpicking Sarah Palin!! Besides BEING IN THE TANK FOR OBAMA SINCE THE BEGINNING, it has gotten to the point now that the ONLY STATION I will watch is FOX NEWS!! They really ARE FAIR!! They do not pick sides and I feel this is the only station I can rely on to DELIVER THE NEWS!!
AS FOR MSNBC, CNN, ETC., THEY MAY AS WELL CHANGE THEIR NAMES TO THE OBAMA-LOVIN' NETWORK!!
HYPOCRITE OBAMA STRIKES AGAIN!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
McCain/Palin: Obama's Dreams of Class Warfare - He Fired the Opening Shot at the Debate
CNN - Obama second-string cheerleaders helped his Campaign Spin the Debate on Friday and craft an Obama Shot Heard Round the Nuanced Crowd!
Speaking about Friday's presidential debate, Obama accused McCain of not addressing working families.
"We talked about the economy for 40 minutes, and not once did Sen. McCain talk about the struggles that middle class families are facing every day," Obama said at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan.
The economy took the lead in Friday night's presidential debate, as both candidates highlighted their plans to bring the United States out of what some are describing as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
McCain on Sunday brushed off Obama's latest line of attack, saying he has "bigger things to worry about."
"Who does he think I was talking about when I said 'people on Main Street'? Who did he think I was talking about, about the necessity of helping the American taxpayers and income -- and Americans who are out there working and trying to keep their jobs?" he said on ABC's "This Week."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/28/campaign.wrap/
Yep, Obama is all about the Middle Class, Mainstreet, Non-Arugula buying 'bitter and clinging Bible Toting and gun packing Middle Class Bubbas! Rubes with Union Cards- real ones
These are Obama's Words from Dreams of My Father ( clique my Post Title for more on Obama Class Warrior):
Our rage at the white world needed no object, he seemed to be telling me, no independent confirmation; it could be switched on and off at our pleasure.” (page 81);
j) “Following this maddening logic, the only thing you could choose as your own was withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage, until being black meant only the knowledge of your own powerlessness, of your own defeat. And the final irony: Should you refuse this defeat and lash out at your captors, they would have a name for that, too, a name that could cage you just as good. Paranoid. Militant. Violent. Nigger.” (page 85);
k) “Frank opened his eyes: ‘What I’m trying to tell you is, your grandma’s right to be scared. She’s at least as right as Stanley is. She understands that black people have a reason to hate. That’s just how it is. For your sake, I wish it were otherwise. But it’s not. So you might as well get used to it.’ ” (page 90);
l) “Understand something, boy. You’re not going to college to get educated. You’re going there to get trained. They’ll train you to want what you don’t need. They’ll train you to manipulate words so they don’t mean anything anymore.” (page 97);
m) “I had stumbled upon one of the well-kept secrets about black people: that most of us weren’t interested in revolt; that most of us were tired of thinking about race all the time; that if we preferred to keep to ourselves it was mainly because that was the easiest way to stop thinking about it, easier than spending all your time mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you.” (page 98);
n) “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.” (page 100);
o) “There was one particular passage in Trinity’s (Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ pastured by Reverend Wright) brochure that stood out…”A Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness,’ the heading read. ‘While it is permissible to chase “middleclassness” with all our might,’ the text stated, those blessed with the talent or good fortune (no mention of “hard work”) to achieve success in the American mainstream must avoid the ‘psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness” that hypnotizes the successful brother or sister into believing they are better than the rest and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “US”!’” (page 284);
p) “I took the opportunity to study these tourists as Auma and I sat down for lunch in the outdoor café of the New Stanley Hotel. They were everywhere – Germans, Japanese, British, Americans – taking pictures, hailing taxis, fending off street peddlers, many of them dressed in safari suites like extras on a movie set. In Hawaii, when we were still kids, my friends and I had laughed at tourists like these, with their sunburns and their pale, skinny legs, basking in the glow of our obvious superiority.” (page 312)
He ought to get look at my pasty, Mick gams! That would get him off of Arugula!
What a phoney! That is why Obama plays so well with Olbermann, Matthews, Brown, Maddow, Blitzer, and the whole gang of Middle Class hating elites.
McCain/Palin: Obama's Dreams of Class Warfare - He Fired the Opening Shot at the Debate
CNN - Obama second-string cheerleaders helped his Campaign Spin the Debate on Friday and craft an Obama Shot Heard Round the Nuanced Crowd!
Speaking about Friday's presidential debate, Obama accused McCain of not addressing working families.
"We talked about the economy for 40 minutes, and not once did Sen. McCain talk about the struggles that middle class families are facing every day," Obama said at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan.
The economy took the lead in Friday night's presidential debate, as both candidates highlighted their plans to bring the United States out of what some are describing as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
McCain on Sunday brushed off Obama's latest line of attack, saying he has "bigger things to worry about."
"Who does he think I was talking about when I said 'people on Main Street'? Who did he think I was talking about, about the necessity of helping the American taxpayers and income -- and Americans who are out there working and trying to keep their jobs?" he said on ABC's "This Week."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/28/campaign.wrap/
Yep, Obama is all about the Middle Class, Mainstreet, Non-Arugula buying 'bitter and clinging Bible Toting and gun packing Middle Class Bubbas! Rubes with Union Cards- real ones
These are Obama's Words from Dreams of My Father ( clique my Post Title for more on Obama Class Warrior):
Our rage at the white world needed no object, he seemed to be telling me, no independent confirmation; it could be switched on and off at our pleasure.” (page 81);
j) “Following this maddening logic, the only thing you could choose as your own was withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage, until being black meant only the knowledge of your own powerlessness, of your own defeat. And the final irony: Should you refuse this defeat and lash out at your captors, they would have a name for that, too, a name that could cage you just as good. Paranoid. Militant. Violent. Nigger.” (page 85);
k) “Frank opened his eyes: ‘What I’m trying to tell you is, your grandma’s right to be scared. She’s at least as right as Stanley is. She understands that black people have a reason to hate. That’s just how it is. For your sake, I wish it were otherwise. But it’s not. So you might as well get used to it.’ ” (page 90);
l) “Understand something, boy. You’re not going to college to get educated. You’re going there to get trained. They’ll train you to want what you don’t need. They’ll train you to manipulate words so they don’t mean anything anymore.” (page 97);
m) “I had stumbled upon one of the well-kept secrets about black people: that most of us weren’t interested in revolt; that most of us were tired of thinking about race all the time; that if we preferred to keep to ourselves it was mainly because that was the easiest way to stop thinking about it, easier than spending all your time mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you.” (page 98);
n) “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets.” (page 100);
o) “There was one particular passage in Trinity’s (Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ pastured by Reverend Wright) brochure that stood out…”A Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness,’ the heading read. ‘While it is permissible to chase “middleclassness” with all our might,’ the text stated, those blessed with the talent or good fortune (no mention of “hard work”) to achieve success in the American mainstream must avoid the ‘psychological entrapment of Black “middleclassness” that hypnotizes the successful brother or sister into believing they are better than the rest and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “US”!’” (page 284);
p) “I took the opportunity to study these tourists as Auma and I sat down for lunch in the outdoor café of the New Stanley Hotel. They were everywhere – Germans, Japanese, British, Americans – taking pictures, hailing taxis, fending off street peddlers, many of them dressed in safari suites like extras on a movie set. In Hawaii, when we were still kids, my friends and I had laughed at tourists like these, with their sunburns and their pale, skinny legs, basking in the glow of our obvious superiority.” (page 312)
He ought to get look at my pasty, Mick gams! That would get him off of Arugula!
What a phoney! That is why Obama plays so well with Olbermann, Matthews, Brown, Maddow, Blitzer, and the whole gang of Middle Class hating elites.
FROM BLOG: THINKIN' ABOUT STUFF/ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT OBAMA'S JUSTIFICATION FOR CHEATING!!!
Election 2008: The OJ Effect?
I’ve been thinking about the apparent increase in deliberate voter registration fraud and wondering what changed, what is different today that might be contributing to folks justifying, in their minds, a concerted effort to illegally sway the election in 2008.
Then it occurred to me: The OJ Effect.
Only this time, although there may be a racial component, the genesis of the effect was the “stolen elections” of 2000 and 2004.
I believe most people try to do the right things for the right reasons. But when a group, whether defined by race, gender or ideology, believes they have been wronged over a period of time, true or not, pressure to do the wrong thing for the “right reasons” will increase.
The justification for doing the wrong thing is reinforced by the us-vs-them mentality that is fueled by the echo chamber of the blogosphere. Essentially, “if we don’t do something they will steal the election again”… I’m sure we’ve all heard that at least once this election cycle.
In this case, the “right reason” is to combat the evil Republican machine that stole two elections that were clear slam-dunks for the Democrats. How can it be that a Republican like George Bush got elected … twice?! Something really stinks here. We can’t let them steal another election from us. We need to take our country back.
Sound familiar?
I often wonder: take our country back from whom?
As illogical as that sounds to folks outside the group, inside the group it makes total sense. So much sense, in fact, there are actually sub-grpups within these groups who are convinced… convinced that George Bush was behind 9/11.
If you believe that, if you believe elections have been stolen from you, if you believe you have been wronged and that you are doing the right thing for the sake of the country you love… then why not fight fire with fire… why not even the playing field…
Why not ensure your team has more players even if you need to cheat a little bit.
After all, it’s the right thing to do for the right reason … all it takes is a bit of adjusting in our perception of right and wrong.
I’ve been thinking about the apparent increase in deliberate voter registration fraud and wondering what changed, what is different today that might be contributing to folks justifying, in their minds, a concerted effort to illegally sway the election in 2008.
Then it occurred to me: The OJ Effect.
Only this time, although there may be a racial component, the genesis of the effect was the “stolen elections” of 2000 and 2004.
I believe most people try to do the right things for the right reasons. But when a group, whether defined by race, gender or ideology, believes they have been wronged over a period of time, true or not, pressure to do the wrong thing for the “right reasons” will increase.
The justification for doing the wrong thing is reinforced by the us-vs-them mentality that is fueled by the echo chamber of the blogosphere. Essentially, “if we don’t do something they will steal the election again”… I’m sure we’ve all heard that at least once this election cycle.
In this case, the “right reason” is to combat the evil Republican machine that stole two elections that were clear slam-dunks for the Democrats. How can it be that a Republican like George Bush got elected … twice?! Something really stinks here. We can’t let them steal another election from us. We need to take our country back.
Sound familiar?
I often wonder: take our country back from whom?
As illogical as that sounds to folks outside the group, inside the group it makes total sense. So much sense, in fact, there are actually sub-grpups within these groups who are convinced… convinced that George Bush was behind 9/11.
If you believe that, if you believe elections have been stolen from you, if you believe you have been wronged and that you are doing the right thing for the sake of the country you love… then why not fight fire with fire… why not even the playing field…
Why not ensure your team has more players even if you need to cheat a little bit.
After all, it’s the right thing to do for the right reason … all it takes is a bit of adjusting in our perception of right and wrong.
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THIS LADY, GUYS. I THINK SHE'LL SURPRISE YOU BIG TIME!!!
September 29th, 2008
L.A. Times: How Democrats Set Sarah Palin Up to ‘Win’ Thursday’s VP Debate
by Bill Dupray
Thursday night’s Vice-Presidential debate pits a first term governor against a 35-year veteran of the Senate, who is a foreign policy expert to boot. That lowers expectations for Sarah Palin all by itself. But then the Democrats (with the help of some Republicans), may have lowered them even more. Did the GOP do a rope-a-dope? From the L.A. Times.
But have Palin’s Democratic opponents overplayed their hand in portraying the 44-year-old mother of five so derisively in recent days?
Was John McCain manager Steve Schmidt’s puzzingly strong attack on the New York Times last week really a trap, an intentional bid to call even more attention to negative coverage of Palin to lower expectations? . . .
The upcoming downside for the Obama-Biden campaign is that its supporters became so flustered over Palin’s surprisingly explosive popularity coming out of the GOP convention. They have so successfully mocked, derided and lowered expectations for Palin in Thursday night’s VP debate that if she doesn’t drool or speak in tongues, many millions still open to persuasion will be impressed.
Al Gore’s campaign made the exact same mistake going into the 2000 debates. So all Texas Gov. George W. Bush had to do was not lose.
In that sense Democrats may have played right into a PR cul-de-sac. Biden, for instance, described Palin as merely better-looking than him. A far better communications strategy would have been to insincerely portray Palin with superlatives as a superwoman, make it harder, not easy, for her to impress. Too late now.
It is significant that the debate will be televised live. Had Palin’s interview with Charlie Gibson been live, ABC would not have been able to selectively broadcast incomplete answers out of context. Sarah Palin also doesn’t speak in sound bites, which is a useful skill to dodge partisan newsroom editors, but is a waste of time for a normal person to learn. The live debate will offer a chance for her personality to shine through over a longer period of time.
And while she may not have much experience speaking in sound-bites to major network news anchors, she does have experience debating political rivals. And what is the one lesson those vanquished political rivals warn about?
Don’t underestimate Sarah Palin. Democrats in Alaska learned this lesson the hard way.
Can the Republicans really use national novice Sarah Palin to juice the doddering McCain campaign all the way to the White House?
You bet, warn Alaska Democrats. They’ve seen this movie before.
“Her campaign locked her in a closet during the governor’s race in 2006 — and they’re doing the same thing now,” said one longtime Democratic consultant here, who like many others asked to remain anonymous because “it’s a small state and Sarah takes names and numbers.”
“They’re setting a trap for the country,” he continued. “Keep her away from the press, while they set up these phony ‘tests’ for her. The first test was her speech before the Republican convention. They spread all this nervous chatter about her — is she ready for prime time, can she pull it off?
“But all Alaskans knew she would do fine. She was a TV sportscaster, for God’s sake. And of course a telegenic star was born.”
Veteran Democratic operatives in Alaska admit Palin took them completely off-guard when she burst into the state’s spotlight during the gubernatorial campaign.
“She didn’t have any major backers, she seemed to come out of nowhere,” said Bill Parker, a former state legislator and deputy commissioner of corrections. “People in Anchorage tend to think of people from Wasilla as toothless hicks, living on dope and poached moose. But she came out of nowhere and beat us like a drum.”
Joe McKinnon, another longtime activist in Democratic state politics and a former assistant state attorney general, agreed: “We all dismissed her as a cheerleader. But she turned out to be a point guard. It’s real easy to underestimate her.”
But despite these warnings the libs keep on moving the bar lower and lower. Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria, thinks McCain needs to dump her now.
Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in American politics, “to spend more time with her family”? . . .
Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start.
Love that elitist little dig. He apparently knows what Sarah Palin has, or has not, been thinking about over the course of her entire life.
L.A. Times: How Democrats Set Sarah Palin Up to ‘Win’ Thursday’s VP Debate
by Bill Dupray
Thursday night’s Vice-Presidential debate pits a first term governor against a 35-year veteran of the Senate, who is a foreign policy expert to boot. That lowers expectations for Sarah Palin all by itself. But then the Democrats (with the help of some Republicans), may have lowered them even more. Did the GOP do a rope-a-dope? From the L.A. Times.
But have Palin’s Democratic opponents overplayed their hand in portraying the 44-year-old mother of five so derisively in recent days?
Was John McCain manager Steve Schmidt’s puzzingly strong attack on the New York Times last week really a trap, an intentional bid to call even more attention to negative coverage of Palin to lower expectations? . . .
The upcoming downside for the Obama-Biden campaign is that its supporters became so flustered over Palin’s surprisingly explosive popularity coming out of the GOP convention. They have so successfully mocked, derided and lowered expectations for Palin in Thursday night’s VP debate that if she doesn’t drool or speak in tongues, many millions still open to persuasion will be impressed.
Al Gore’s campaign made the exact same mistake going into the 2000 debates. So all Texas Gov. George W. Bush had to do was not lose.
In that sense Democrats may have played right into a PR cul-de-sac. Biden, for instance, described Palin as merely better-looking than him. A far better communications strategy would have been to insincerely portray Palin with superlatives as a superwoman, make it harder, not easy, for her to impress. Too late now.
It is significant that the debate will be televised live. Had Palin’s interview with Charlie Gibson been live, ABC would not have been able to selectively broadcast incomplete answers out of context. Sarah Palin also doesn’t speak in sound bites, which is a useful skill to dodge partisan newsroom editors, but is a waste of time for a normal person to learn. The live debate will offer a chance for her personality to shine through over a longer period of time.
And while she may not have much experience speaking in sound-bites to major network news anchors, she does have experience debating political rivals. And what is the one lesson those vanquished political rivals warn about?
Don’t underestimate Sarah Palin. Democrats in Alaska learned this lesson the hard way.
Can the Republicans really use national novice Sarah Palin to juice the doddering McCain campaign all the way to the White House?
You bet, warn Alaska Democrats. They’ve seen this movie before.
“Her campaign locked her in a closet during the governor’s race in 2006 — and they’re doing the same thing now,” said one longtime Democratic consultant here, who like many others asked to remain anonymous because “it’s a small state and Sarah takes names and numbers.”
“They’re setting a trap for the country,” he continued. “Keep her away from the press, while they set up these phony ‘tests’ for her. The first test was her speech before the Republican convention. They spread all this nervous chatter about her — is she ready for prime time, can she pull it off?
“But all Alaskans knew she would do fine. She was a TV sportscaster, for God’s sake. And of course a telegenic star was born.”
Veteran Democratic operatives in Alaska admit Palin took them completely off-guard when she burst into the state’s spotlight during the gubernatorial campaign.
“She didn’t have any major backers, she seemed to come out of nowhere,” said Bill Parker, a former state legislator and deputy commissioner of corrections. “People in Anchorage tend to think of people from Wasilla as toothless hicks, living on dope and poached moose. But she came out of nowhere and beat us like a drum.”
Joe McKinnon, another longtime activist in Democratic state politics and a former assistant state attorney general, agreed: “We all dismissed her as a cheerleader. But she turned out to be a point guard. It’s real easy to underestimate her.”
But despite these warnings the libs keep on moving the bar lower and lower. Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria, thinks McCain needs to dump her now.
Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in American politics, “to spend more time with her family”? . . .
Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start.
Love that elitist little dig. He apparently knows what Sarah Palin has, or has not, been thinking about over the course of her entire life.
FROM BLOG: AMERICA NEEDS SARAH PALIN!!! (I AGREE!!)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Obama as narcissist
The American Thinker has a very interesting article about Obama's "malignant narcissism." Oprah and her guru, new-ager Eckhardt Tolle, are also evaluated in this light.
Narcissistic checklist:
*Believing that you're better than others
*Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
*Exaggerating your achievements or talents
*Expecting constant praise and admiration
*Believing that you're special
*Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
*Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
*Taking advantage of others
*Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
*Being jealous of others
*Believing that others are jealous of you
*Trouble keeping healthy relationships
*Setting unrealistic goals
*Being easily hurt and rejected
*Having a fragile self-esteem
*Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
WOW!!! HEY, OBAMA, IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT!!! IF THESE PHRASES DO NOT IDENTIFY YOU EXACTLY, NOTHING DOES!!!
Obama as narcissist
The American Thinker has a very interesting article about Obama's "malignant narcissism." Oprah and her guru, new-ager Eckhardt Tolle, are also evaluated in this light.
Narcissistic checklist:
*Believing that you're better than others
*Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
*Exaggerating your achievements or talents
*Expecting constant praise and admiration
*Believing that you're special
*Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
*Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
*Taking advantage of others
*Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
*Being jealous of others
*Believing that others are jealous of you
*Trouble keeping healthy relationships
*Setting unrealistic goals
*Being easily hurt and rejected
*Having a fragile self-esteem
*Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
WOW!!! HEY, OBAMA, IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT!!! IF THESE PHRASES DO NOT IDENTIFY YOU EXACTLY, NOTHING DOES!!!
OBAMA'S INFLUENCE INFILTRATING COLLEGE CLASSES!!!
The Assignment to Trash Sarah Palin
Lacing higher education with indoctrination is nothing new on U.S. campuses.
September 29, 2008 - by Reut Cohen
On September 18, Metro State College in Denver announced that campus officials would investigate a college professor who assigned an essay in an English composition course which explicitly called for a critique of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
According to students, their instructor, Andrew Hallam, told them that their assignment was to write an essay to critique the “fairy tale image” of the governor that was presented at the Republican National Convention.
Students in the class who did not agree with the instructor’s views reported that the instructor and students ridiculed them and that they had felt like they were singled out. The college officials will be investigating students’ claims of bias and bullying in the classroom.
One student, Jana Barber, suggested that the professor used the classroom setting as “just an open door for him to discuss politics with us.” She has filed a complaint against the professor.
Another student suggested that the professor allowed other students to bully him and his peers who disagreed with the professor. “I said something to him like, ‘Well, there may be five of us, but we’re ready to debate this,’ and he cussed us out,” said Ben Faurer. “He’s trying to avoid all this, go along like nothing is happening,” Faurer said about the instructor who is in his first semester at the college.
A spokesperson for the college, Cathy Lucas, agreed that the professors need to foster free thinking. “The faculty’s responsibility is to provide opportunity for critical thinking and civic engagement, so bringing something of relevancy into the classroom was the faculty’s goal.”
******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
This is DESPICABLE!! Obviously the professor is an Obama supporter. What wasn't the class asked to select one of the four candidates running for president or vice president and write an article on why they liked or disliked the person??? WHY TELL THEM THE KIND OF ARTICLE (NEGATIVE) THEY HAD TO WRITE ABOUT A SPECIFIC CANDIDATE?? This reminds me of another article I read where students were given "credits" for CAMPAIGNING FOR OBAMA!!! This whole thing scares the crap out of me, plain and simple!!
Lacing higher education with indoctrination is nothing new on U.S. campuses.
September 29, 2008 - by Reut Cohen
On September 18, Metro State College in Denver announced that campus officials would investigate a college professor who assigned an essay in an English composition course which explicitly called for a critique of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
According to students, their instructor, Andrew Hallam, told them that their assignment was to write an essay to critique the “fairy tale image” of the governor that was presented at the Republican National Convention.
Students in the class who did not agree with the instructor’s views reported that the instructor and students ridiculed them and that they had felt like they were singled out. The college officials will be investigating students’ claims of bias and bullying in the classroom.
One student, Jana Barber, suggested that the professor used the classroom setting as “just an open door for him to discuss politics with us.” She has filed a complaint against the professor.
Another student suggested that the professor allowed other students to bully him and his peers who disagreed with the professor. “I said something to him like, ‘Well, there may be five of us, but we’re ready to debate this,’ and he cussed us out,” said Ben Faurer. “He’s trying to avoid all this, go along like nothing is happening,” Faurer said about the instructor who is in his first semester at the college.
A spokesperson for the college, Cathy Lucas, agreed that the professors need to foster free thinking. “The faculty’s responsibility is to provide opportunity for critical thinking and civic engagement, so bringing something of relevancy into the classroom was the faculty’s goal.”
******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
This is DESPICABLE!! Obviously the professor is an Obama supporter. What wasn't the class asked to select one of the four candidates running for president or vice president and write an article on why they liked or disliked the person??? WHY TELL THEM THE KIND OF ARTICLE (NEGATIVE) THEY HAD TO WRITE ABOUT A SPECIFIC CANDIDATE?? This reminds me of another article I read where students were given "credits" for CAMPAIGNING FOR OBAMA!!! This whole thing scares the crap out of me, plain and simple!!
COME ON, LET SARAH BE SARAH!!!
SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 Game Plan for Palin Is Retooled Ahead of Debate
Top McCain Aides Oversee Preparation After Recent Flubs
By MONICA LANGLEY
The McCain campaign moved its top officials inside Gov. Sarah Palin's operation Sunday to prepare for what is certain to be the most important event of her vice-presidential campaign: her debate on Thursday with Democrat Joe Biden.
Additionally, at the urging of the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Palin will leave late Monday for his Arizona ranch to prepare for the high-stakes debate.
The moves follow several shaky performances by Gov. Palin last week and come amid concern and grumbling from Republicans, and even a few queries from her husband, Todd Palin, according to campaign operatives and Republican officials.
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and senior adviser Steve Schmidt are planning to coach the candidate ahead of the debate, according to senior advisers. They traveled Sunday to meet the Republican vice-presidential nominee in Philadelphia. After her appearance with Sen. McCain at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, these top officials plan to fly with her on Monday to Sen. McCain's ranch in Sedona, Ariz., which they hope she will find a comforting place to prep, these people said.
More broadly, the McCain campaign aims to halt what it sees as a perceived decline in the crispness and precision of Gov. Palin's latest remarks as well as a fall in recent polls, according to several advisers and party officials.
McCain officials denied any problems inside the campaign. "The nature of political campaigns, with all their ups and downs, is for insiders and outsiders and no-siders to register complaints, often anonymously," said Tucker Eskew, a counselor for Gov. Palin. "We all in this campaign understand that, and we're not distracted by it, even as we welcome well-intentioned and good advice."
Some prominent Republicans and senior members of Congress have expressed worries about certain facets of the Palin campaign, particularly that Gov. Palin may be "overprepared" and not encouraged to be herself, an adviser said.
"She hasn't had the time or inclination to question the judgments of the people telling her to hit her marks," said one Republican strategist. "Gov. Palin is a team player, but the campaign needs to adjust to a game plan that works for her."
For his part, Mr. Palin has worried about the frequent separation of his wife from her family, friends and Alaska staff, an adviser said. Accordingly, her family will be with her in Sedona during this week. Also, a key Alaska staffer joined the Palin operation Sunday.
Meanwhile, the more experienced advisers assigned to her by the McCain campaign are accustomed to working with seasoned candidates, not someone "completely green on the national stage," one strategist said. Several Republican backers have griped that the campaign has put the candidate in difficult situations, from sitting for high-profile television interviews to popping into meetings with foreign leaders, some of whom made sexist remarks, said several officials.
"It's time to let Palin be Palin -- and let it all hang out," said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist.
From her campaign's perspective, Gov. Palin isn't getting media attention for her contributions. For example, with foreign leaders last week, she had detailed conversations about the national-security and global implications of the energy crisis, one adviser said.
Since her selection nearly a month ago, the 44-year-old governor has excited the party's conservative base with huge crowds and newfound fund raising. She remains popular in many areas, and last week drew 60,000 people to an event near Orlando, Fla.
But in recent days, Gov. Palin flubbed quasi-mock debates in New York City and Philadelphia, some operatives said. Finger-pointing began, and then intensified after her faltering interview with CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric. However, she performed better when she took questions from the press after touring Ground Zero and remarked about her parents' visit there after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Her performance also sparked negative responses from some conservative pundits, and she has slipped in some polls. Last week, nearly half the respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said she is unqualified to be president, while one in three said they were "not at all" comfortable with the idea of Gov. Palin as vice president, up five points from a poll in early September.
Until the weekend, the highest levels of the McCain campaign were focused on Sen. McCain's response to the financial crisis and his own debate against Sen. Barack Obama.
The McCain campaign has put in place several other well-regarded advisers to Gov. Palin, including head of vice-presidential operations Michael Glassner, who has worked for former Sen. Bob Dole, and Mr. Eskew, who worked for President George W. Bush's campaign and administration.
Amid the heavy scrutiny in a close campaign, Gov. Palin is under considerable pressure to make Thursday's debate a "game changer," advisers said. The campaign is sending in Sen. McCain's debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, to help with her preparation, advisers said. Though he always was expected to help out after Sen. McCain's debate Friday in Oxford, Miss., Mr. O'Donnell now needs to "undo" much of her previous debate prep, which has resulted in occasional "rote" responses, one adviser said.
"We've got four days," another adviser said Sunday. "People love Sarah Palin and she's got a unique personality and presence we need to bring out -- not shut down." Aides will work with her this week to be certain her responses use "her words," this adviser said.
Top McCain Aides Oversee Preparation After Recent Flubs
By MONICA LANGLEY
The McCain campaign moved its top officials inside Gov. Sarah Palin's operation Sunday to prepare for what is certain to be the most important event of her vice-presidential campaign: her debate on Thursday with Democrat Joe Biden.
Additionally, at the urging of the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Palin will leave late Monday for his Arizona ranch to prepare for the high-stakes debate.
The moves follow several shaky performances by Gov. Palin last week and come amid concern and grumbling from Republicans, and even a few queries from her husband, Todd Palin, according to campaign operatives and Republican officials.
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and senior adviser Steve Schmidt are planning to coach the candidate ahead of the debate, according to senior advisers. They traveled Sunday to meet the Republican vice-presidential nominee in Philadelphia. After her appearance with Sen. McCain at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, these top officials plan to fly with her on Monday to Sen. McCain's ranch in Sedona, Ariz., which they hope she will find a comforting place to prep, these people said.
More broadly, the McCain campaign aims to halt what it sees as a perceived decline in the crispness and precision of Gov. Palin's latest remarks as well as a fall in recent polls, according to several advisers and party officials.
McCain officials denied any problems inside the campaign. "The nature of political campaigns, with all their ups and downs, is for insiders and outsiders and no-siders to register complaints, often anonymously," said Tucker Eskew, a counselor for Gov. Palin. "We all in this campaign understand that, and we're not distracted by it, even as we welcome well-intentioned and good advice."
Some prominent Republicans and senior members of Congress have expressed worries about certain facets of the Palin campaign, particularly that Gov. Palin may be "overprepared" and not encouraged to be herself, an adviser said.
"She hasn't had the time or inclination to question the judgments of the people telling her to hit her marks," said one Republican strategist. "Gov. Palin is a team player, but the campaign needs to adjust to a game plan that works for her."
For his part, Mr. Palin has worried about the frequent separation of his wife from her family, friends and Alaska staff, an adviser said. Accordingly, her family will be with her in Sedona during this week. Also, a key Alaska staffer joined the Palin operation Sunday.
Meanwhile, the more experienced advisers assigned to her by the McCain campaign are accustomed to working with seasoned candidates, not someone "completely green on the national stage," one strategist said. Several Republican backers have griped that the campaign has put the candidate in difficult situations, from sitting for high-profile television interviews to popping into meetings with foreign leaders, some of whom made sexist remarks, said several officials.
"It's time to let Palin be Palin -- and let it all hang out," said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist.
From her campaign's perspective, Gov. Palin isn't getting media attention for her contributions. For example, with foreign leaders last week, she had detailed conversations about the national-security and global implications of the energy crisis, one adviser said.
Since her selection nearly a month ago, the 44-year-old governor has excited the party's conservative base with huge crowds and newfound fund raising. She remains popular in many areas, and last week drew 60,000 people to an event near Orlando, Fla.
But in recent days, Gov. Palin flubbed quasi-mock debates in New York City and Philadelphia, some operatives said. Finger-pointing began, and then intensified after her faltering interview with CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric. However, she performed better when she took questions from the press after touring Ground Zero and remarked about her parents' visit there after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Her performance also sparked negative responses from some conservative pundits, and she has slipped in some polls. Last week, nearly half the respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said she is unqualified to be president, while one in three said they were "not at all" comfortable with the idea of Gov. Palin as vice president, up five points from a poll in early September.
Until the weekend, the highest levels of the McCain campaign were focused on Sen. McCain's response to the financial crisis and his own debate against Sen. Barack Obama.
The McCain campaign has put in place several other well-regarded advisers to Gov. Palin, including head of vice-presidential operations Michael Glassner, who has worked for former Sen. Bob Dole, and Mr. Eskew, who worked for President George W. Bush's campaign and administration.
Amid the heavy scrutiny in a close campaign, Gov. Palin is under considerable pressure to make Thursday's debate a "game changer," advisers said. The campaign is sending in Sen. McCain's debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, to help with her preparation, advisers said. Though he always was expected to help out after Sen. McCain's debate Friday in Oxford, Miss., Mr. O'Donnell now needs to "undo" much of her previous debate prep, which has resulted in occasional "rote" responses, one adviser said.
"We've got four days," another adviser said Sunday. "People love Sarah Palin and she's got a unique personality and presence we need to bring out -- not shut down." Aides will work with her this week to be certain her responses use "her words," this adviser said.
HOW MC CAIN (AND SARAH) CAN WIN!!
By WILLIAM KRISTOL
Published: September 28, 2008
John McCain is on course to lose the presidential election to Barack Obama. Can he turn it around, and surge to victory?
He has a chance. But only if he overrules those of his aides who are trapped by conventional wisdom, huddled in a defensive crouch and overcome by ideological timidity.
The conventional wisdom is that it was a mistake for McCain to go back to Washington last week to engage in the attempt to craft the financial rescue legislation, and that McCain has to move on to a new topic as quickly as possible. As one McCain adviser told The Washington Post, “you’ve got to get it [the financial crisis] over with and start having a normal campaign.”
Wrong.
McCain’s impetuous decision to return to Washington was right. The agreement announced early Sunday morning is better than Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s original proposal, and better than the deal the Democrats claimed was close on Thursday. Assuming the legislation passes soon, and assuming it reassures financial markets, McCain will be able to take some credit.
But the goal shouldn’t be to return to “a normal campaign.” For these aren’t normal times.
We face a real financial crisis. Usually the candidate of the incumbent’s party minimizes the severity of the nation’s problems. McCain should break the mold and acknowledge, even emphasize the crisis. He can explain that dealing with it requires candor and leadership of the sort he’s shown in his career. McCain can tell voters we’re almost certainly in a recession, and things will likely get worse before they get better.
And McCain can note that the financial crisis isn’t going to be solved by any one piece of legislation. There are serious economists, for example, who think we could be on the verge of a huge bank run. Congress may have to act to authorize the F.D.I.C. to provide far greater deposit insurance, and the secretary of the Treasury to protect money market funds. McCain can call for Congress to stand ready to pass such legislation. He can say more generally that in the tough times ahead, we’ll need a tough president willing to make tough decisions.
With respect to his campaign, McCain needs to liberate his running mate from the former Bush aides brought in to handle her — aides who seem to have succeeded in importing to the Palin campaign the trademark defensive crouch of the Bush White House. McCain picked Sarah Palin in part because she’s a talented politician and communicator. He needs to free her to use her political talents and to communicate in her own voice.
I’m told McCain recently expressed unhappiness with his staff’s handling of Palin. On Sunday he dispatched his top aides Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis to join Palin in Philadelphia. They’re supposed to liberate Palin to go on the offensive as a combative conservative in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday.
That debate is important. McCain took a risk in choosing Palin. If she does poorly, it will reflect badly on his judgment. If she does well, it will be a shot in the arm for his campaign.
In the debate, Palin has to dispatch quickly any queries about herself, and confidently assert that of course she’s qualified to be vice president. She should spend her time making the case for McCain and, more important, the case against Obama. As one shrewd McCain supporter told me, “Every minute she spends not telling the American people something that makes them less well disposed to Obama is a minute wasted.”
The core case against Obama is pretty simple: he’s too liberal. A few months ago I asked one of McCain’s aides what aspect of Obama’s liberalism they thought they could most effectively exploit. He looked at me as if I were a simpleton, and patiently explained that talking about “conservatism” and “liberalism” was so old-fashioned.
Maybe. But the fact is the only Democrats to win the presidency in the past 40 years — Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton — distanced themselves from liberal orthodoxy. Obama is, by contrast, a garden-variety liberal. He also has radical associates in his past.
The most famous of these is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and I wonder if Obama may have inadvertently set the stage for the McCain team to reintroduce him to the American public. On Saturday, Obama criticized McCain for never using in the debate Friday night the words “middle class.” The Obama campaign even released an advertisement trumpeting McCain’s omission.
The McCain campaign might consider responding by calling attention to Chapter 14 of Obama’s eloquent memoir, “Dreams From My Father.” There Obama quotes from the brochure of Reverend Wright’s church — a passage entitled “A Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness.”
So when Biden goes on about the middle class on Thursday, Palin might ask Biden when Obama flip-flopped on Middleclassness.
Published: September 28, 2008
John McCain is on course to lose the presidential election to Barack Obama. Can he turn it around, and surge to victory?
He has a chance. But only if he overrules those of his aides who are trapped by conventional wisdom, huddled in a defensive crouch and overcome by ideological timidity.
The conventional wisdom is that it was a mistake for McCain to go back to Washington last week to engage in the attempt to craft the financial rescue legislation, and that McCain has to move on to a new topic as quickly as possible. As one McCain adviser told The Washington Post, “you’ve got to get it [the financial crisis] over with and start having a normal campaign.”
Wrong.
McCain’s impetuous decision to return to Washington was right. The agreement announced early Sunday morning is better than Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s original proposal, and better than the deal the Democrats claimed was close on Thursday. Assuming the legislation passes soon, and assuming it reassures financial markets, McCain will be able to take some credit.
But the goal shouldn’t be to return to “a normal campaign.” For these aren’t normal times.
We face a real financial crisis. Usually the candidate of the incumbent’s party minimizes the severity of the nation’s problems. McCain should break the mold and acknowledge, even emphasize the crisis. He can explain that dealing with it requires candor and leadership of the sort he’s shown in his career. McCain can tell voters we’re almost certainly in a recession, and things will likely get worse before they get better.
And McCain can note that the financial crisis isn’t going to be solved by any one piece of legislation. There are serious economists, for example, who think we could be on the verge of a huge bank run. Congress may have to act to authorize the F.D.I.C. to provide far greater deposit insurance, and the secretary of the Treasury to protect money market funds. McCain can call for Congress to stand ready to pass such legislation. He can say more generally that in the tough times ahead, we’ll need a tough president willing to make tough decisions.
With respect to his campaign, McCain needs to liberate his running mate from the former Bush aides brought in to handle her — aides who seem to have succeeded in importing to the Palin campaign the trademark defensive crouch of the Bush White House. McCain picked Sarah Palin in part because she’s a talented politician and communicator. He needs to free her to use her political talents and to communicate in her own voice.
I’m told McCain recently expressed unhappiness with his staff’s handling of Palin. On Sunday he dispatched his top aides Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis to join Palin in Philadelphia. They’re supposed to liberate Palin to go on the offensive as a combative conservative in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday.
That debate is important. McCain took a risk in choosing Palin. If she does poorly, it will reflect badly on his judgment. If she does well, it will be a shot in the arm for his campaign.
In the debate, Palin has to dispatch quickly any queries about herself, and confidently assert that of course she’s qualified to be vice president. She should spend her time making the case for McCain and, more important, the case against Obama. As one shrewd McCain supporter told me, “Every minute she spends not telling the American people something that makes them less well disposed to Obama is a minute wasted.”
The core case against Obama is pretty simple: he’s too liberal. A few months ago I asked one of McCain’s aides what aspect of Obama’s liberalism they thought they could most effectively exploit. He looked at me as if I were a simpleton, and patiently explained that talking about “conservatism” and “liberalism” was so old-fashioned.
Maybe. But the fact is the only Democrats to win the presidency in the past 40 years — Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton — distanced themselves from liberal orthodoxy. Obama is, by contrast, a garden-variety liberal. He also has radical associates in his past.
The most famous of these is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and I wonder if Obama may have inadvertently set the stage for the McCain team to reintroduce him to the American public. On Saturday, Obama criticized McCain for never using in the debate Friday night the words “middle class.” The Obama campaign even released an advertisement trumpeting McCain’s omission.
The McCain campaign might consider responding by calling attention to Chapter 14 of Obama’s eloquent memoir, “Dreams From My Father.” There Obama quotes from the brochure of Reverend Wright’s church — a passage entitled “A Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness.”
So when Biden goes on about the middle class on Thursday, Palin might ask Biden when Obama flip-flopped on Middleclassness.
I SAY "DEAD CAT" (HATE EVEN SAYING THAT AS I LOVE CATS!!!!)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Obama's Bounce: Dead Cat or Trend?
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt
Aided by a MSM willing to say whatever it has to say to help Obama make it to 1600, the democratic nominee has not yet been hurt by his very poor performance on Friday night's debate. Weekend talking heads chanting "ties go to the winner" nonsense and the output of loyalists like E.J. Dionne are trying to make Obama's halting answers on Iraq, Pakistan and especially North Korea seem like C-minuses on a pass-fail test. The cringe-inducing bracelet moment has surfaced in just a few places, and McCain's dominance on the facts concerning Russia and his memorable "You don't do that" dismissal of Obama's threats towards our ally in Pakistan will get their full play this morning on all the talk shows, and of course Bill Bennett's, Rush's, Dennis', Sean's, Michael's, Mark's and my reach will instantly overshadow all the work done by CNN and the nets to spin this into "a draw that helps the rookie."
Obama doesn't know what he's talking about on the perils we face abroad, and he was led around by the hand on the bailout package. He is a figurehead for Democratic party elites from the hard left edge of the party. While the financial panic erased McCain's momentum by taking the real reform message off the front pages, it will be back as markets settle. The focus on the triggers of the crisis --look to Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and the friends of Bill Clinton-- can't be bottled up now that the legislation is in place. The idea of turning all parts of the government over to the gang that engineered the structure that brought it upon us is so absurd that only the MSM can ignore it, not voters.
Obama's nearly 5 point lead in the RCP combined poll average has many nervous e-mailers sending me "it's over" e-mails, but of course it is just beginning, and the deep uncertainty and fear in the country doesn't help an untested Chicago machine pol much if at all or for long. (The Battleground dead-heat numbers should encourage the worriers, as it is a long reliable and respected poll, though so are Gallup and Rasmussen with their 8 and 6 point Obama leads.)
The Palin pile-on from the the Manhattan-Beltway media elite also is working a strange and important reaction in the electorate, driving liberals deeper into their blind hate of the accomplished and popular governor, and rallying the conservative base to her cause. The cultural divide in the country --obscured by the financial mess-- didn't go away, and it will dominate this week and weekend.
Palin faces an enormous challenge, just as she did on the night of her acceptance speech. She will not be graded on the curve by the MSM as Obama was.
But she does believe the right things, and understands the crucial choice facing the country. These are significant advantages. And if the momentum reverses itself again as is likely, Sarah Palin's performance Thursday night will be the third time she has re-energized the McCain campaign.
Obama's Bounce: Dead Cat or Trend?
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt
Aided by a MSM willing to say whatever it has to say to help Obama make it to 1600, the democratic nominee has not yet been hurt by his very poor performance on Friday night's debate. Weekend talking heads chanting "ties go to the winner" nonsense and the output of loyalists like E.J. Dionne are trying to make Obama's halting answers on Iraq, Pakistan and especially North Korea seem like C-minuses on a pass-fail test. The cringe-inducing bracelet moment has surfaced in just a few places, and McCain's dominance on the facts concerning Russia and his memorable "You don't do that" dismissal of Obama's threats towards our ally in Pakistan will get their full play this morning on all the talk shows, and of course Bill Bennett's, Rush's, Dennis', Sean's, Michael's, Mark's and my reach will instantly overshadow all the work done by CNN and the nets to spin this into "a draw that helps the rookie."
Obama doesn't know what he's talking about on the perils we face abroad, and he was led around by the hand on the bailout package. He is a figurehead for Democratic party elites from the hard left edge of the party. While the financial panic erased McCain's momentum by taking the real reform message off the front pages, it will be back as markets settle. The focus on the triggers of the crisis --look to Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and the friends of Bill Clinton-- can't be bottled up now that the legislation is in place. The idea of turning all parts of the government over to the gang that engineered the structure that brought it upon us is so absurd that only the MSM can ignore it, not voters.
Obama's nearly 5 point lead in the RCP combined poll average has many nervous e-mailers sending me "it's over" e-mails, but of course it is just beginning, and the deep uncertainty and fear in the country doesn't help an untested Chicago machine pol much if at all or for long. (The Battleground dead-heat numbers should encourage the worriers, as it is a long reliable and respected poll, though so are Gallup and Rasmussen with their 8 and 6 point Obama leads.)
The Palin pile-on from the the Manhattan-Beltway media elite also is working a strange and important reaction in the electorate, driving liberals deeper into their blind hate of the accomplished and popular governor, and rallying the conservative base to her cause. The cultural divide in the country --obscured by the financial mess-- didn't go away, and it will dominate this week and weekend.
Palin faces an enormous challenge, just as she did on the night of her acceptance speech. She will not be graded on the curve by the MSM as Obama was.
But she does believe the right things, and understands the crucial choice facing the country. These are significant advantages. And if the momentum reverses itself again as is likely, Sarah Palin's performance Thursday night will be the third time she has re-energized the McCain campaign.
SARAH, THIS IS WHAT "COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS" DO!!! CORRUPTION, INTIMIDATION, THREATS!!!
O'S DANGEROUS PALS
BARACK'S 'ORGANIZER' BUDS PUSHED FOR BAD MORTGAGES
By STANLEY KURTZ
September 29, 2008
WHAT exactly does a "community organizer" do? Barack Obama's rise has left many Americans asking themselves that question. Here's a big part of the answer: Community organizers intimidate banks into making high-risk loans to customers with poor credit.
In the name of fairness to minorities, community organizers occupy private offices, chant inside bank lobbies, and confront executives at their homes - and thereby force financial institutions to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgages to low-credit customers.
In other words, community organizers help to undermine the US economy by pushing the banking system into a sinkhole of bad loans. And Obama has spent years training and funding the organizers who do it.
THE seeds of today's financial meltdown lie in the Commu nity Reinvestment Act - a law passed in 1977 and made riskier by unwise amendments and regulatory rulings in later decades.
CRA was meant to encourage banks to make loans to high-risk borrowers, often minorities living in unstable neighborhoods. That has provided an opening to radical groups like ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to abuse the law by forcing banks to make hundreds of millions of dollars in "subprime" loans to often uncreditworthy poor and minority customers.
Any bank that wants to expand or merge with another has to show it has complied with CRA - and approval can be held up by complaints filed by groups like ACORN.
In fact, intimidation tactics, public charges of racism and threats to use CRA to block business expansion have enabled ACORN to extract hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and contributions from America's financial institutions.
Banks already overexposed by these shaky loans were pushed still further in the wrong direction when government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began buying up their bad loans and offering them for sale on world markets.
Fannie and Freddie acted in response to Clinton administration pressure to boost homeownership rates among minorities and the poor. However compassionate the motive, the result of this systematic disregard for normal credit standards has been financial disaster.
ONE key pioneer of ACORN's subprime-loan shakedown racket was Madeline Talbott - an activist with extensive ties to Barack Obama. She was also in on the ground floor of the disastrous turn in Fannie Mae's mortgage policies.
Long the director of Chicago ACORN, Talbott is a specialist in "direct action" - organizers' term for their militant tactics of intimidation and disruption. Perhaps her most famous stunt was leading a group of ACORN protesters breaking into a meeting of the Chicago City Council to push for a "living wage" law, shouting in defiance as she was arrested for mob action and disorderly conduct. But her real legacy may be her drive to push banks into making risky mortgage loans.
In February 1990, Illinois regulators held what was believed to be the first-ever state hearing to consider blocking a thrift merger for lack of compliance with CRA. The challenge was filed by ACORN, led by Talbott. Officials of Bell Federal Savings and Loan Association, her target, complained that ACORN pressure was undermining its ability to meet strict financial requirements it was obligated to uphold and protested being boxed into an "affirmative-action lending policy." The following years saw Talbott featured in dozens of news stories about pressuring banks into higher-risk minority loans.
IN April 1992, Talbott filed an other precedent-setting com plaint using the "community support requirements" of the 1989 savings-and-loan bailout, this time against Avondale Federal Bank for Savings. Within a month, Chicago ACORN had organized its first "bank fair" at Malcolm X College and found 16 Chicago-area financial institutions willing to participate.
Two months later, aided by ACORN organizer Sandra Maxwell, Talbott announced plans to conduct demonstrations in the lobbies of area banks that refused to attend an ACORN-sponsored national bank "summit" in New York. She insisted that banks show a commitment to minority lending by lowering their standards on downpayments and underwriting - for example, by overlooking bad credit histories.
By September 1992, The Chicago Tribune was describing Talbott's program as "affirma- tive-action lending" and ACORN was issuing fact sheets bragging about relaxations of credit standards that it had won on behalf of minorities.
And Talbott continued her effort to, as she put it, drag banks "kicking and screaming" into high-risk loans. A September 1993 story in The Chicago Sun-Times presents her as the leader of an initiative in which five area financial institutions (including two of her former targets, now plainly cowed - Bell Federal Savings and Avondale Federal Savings) were "participating in a $55 million national pilot program with affordable-housing group ACORN to make mortgages for low- and moderate-income people with troubled credit histories."
What made this program different from others, the paper added, was the participation of Fannie Mae - which had agreed to buy up the loans. "If this pilot program works," crowed Talbott, "it will send a message to the lending community that it's OK to make these kind of loans."
Well, the pilot program "worked," and Fannie Mae's message that risky loans to minorities were "OK" was sent. The rest is financial-meltdown history.
IT would be tough to find an "on the ground" community organizer more closely tied to the subprime-mortgage fiasco than Madeline Talbott. And no one has been more supportive of Madeline Talbott than Barack Obama.
When Obama was just a budding community organizer in Chicago, Talbott was so impressed that she asked him to train her personal staff.
He returned to Chicago in the early '90s, just as Talbott was starting her pressure campaign on local banks. Chicago ACORN sought out Obama's legal services for a "motor voter" case and partnered with him on his 1992 "Project VOTE" registration drive.
In those years, he also conducted leadership-training seminars for ACORN's up-and-coming organizers. That is, Obama was training the army of ACORN organizers who participated in Madeline Talbott's drive against Chicago's banks.
More than that, Obama was funding them. As he rose to a leadership role at Chicago's Woods Fund, he became the most powerful voice on the foundation's board for supporting ACORN and other community organizers. In 1995, the Woods Fund substantially expanded its funding of community organizers - and Obama chaired the committee that urged and managed the shift.
That committee's report on strategies for funding groups like ACORN features all the key names in Obama's organizer network. The report quotes Talbott more than any other figure; Sandra Maxwell, Talbott's ACORN ally in the bank battle, was also among the organizers consulted.
MORE, the Obama-supervised Woods Fund report ac knowledges the problem of getting donors and foundations to contribute to radical groups like ACORN - whose confrontational tactics often scare off even liberal donors and foundations.
Indeed, the report brags about pulling the wool over the public's eye. The Woods Fund's claim to be "nonideological," it says, has "enabled the Trustees to make grants to organizations that use confrontational tactics against the business and government 'establishments' without undue risk of being criticized for partisanship."
Hmm. Radicalism disguised by a claim to be postideological. Sound familiar?
The Woods Fund report makes it clear Obama was fully aware of the intimidation tactics used by ACORN's Madeline Talbott in her pioneering efforts to force banks to suspend their usual credit standards. Yet he supported Talbott in every conceivable way. He trained her personal staff and other aspiring ACORN leaders, he consulted with her extensively, and he arranged a major boost in foundation funding for her efforts.
And, as the leader of another charity, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Obama channeled more funding Talbott's way - ostensibly for education projects but surely supportive of ACORN's overall efforts.
In return, Talbott proudly announced her support of Obama's first campaign for state Senate, saying, "We accept and respect him as a kindred spirit, a fellow organizer."
IN short, to understand the roots of the subprime-mort gage crisis, look to ACORN's Madeline Talbott. And to see how Talbott was able to work her mischief, look to Barack Obama.
Then you'll truly know what community organizers do.
Stanley Kurtz is a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC.
******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
The pieces of the filthy puzzle all fits together. ACORN, Woods Foundation, Annenberg Challenge. Though not mentioned in this article, we know Bill Ayers is connected with these organizations as is our "selected" Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Now we can fully understand how Obama learned and used these intimidation tactics. I think if you look in the dictionary under 'FILTHY POLITICIAN', you will see Obama's picture!! This guy scares the living daylights out of me. He's using these same tactics now that the campaign is getting closer and closer to Election Day. It's scary time for sure.
PLEASE JOHN MC CAIN AND SARAH PALIN!!! WE NEED YOU TO WIN ON NOVEMBER 4TH!!!
BARACK'S 'ORGANIZER' BUDS PUSHED FOR BAD MORTGAGES
By STANLEY KURTZ
September 29, 2008
WHAT exactly does a "community organizer" do? Barack Obama's rise has left many Americans asking themselves that question. Here's a big part of the answer: Community organizers intimidate banks into making high-risk loans to customers with poor credit.
In the name of fairness to minorities, community organizers occupy private offices, chant inside bank lobbies, and confront executives at their homes - and thereby force financial institutions to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgages to low-credit customers.
In other words, community organizers help to undermine the US economy by pushing the banking system into a sinkhole of bad loans. And Obama has spent years training and funding the organizers who do it.
THE seeds of today's financial meltdown lie in the Commu nity Reinvestment Act - a law passed in 1977 and made riskier by unwise amendments and regulatory rulings in later decades.
CRA was meant to encourage banks to make loans to high-risk borrowers, often minorities living in unstable neighborhoods. That has provided an opening to radical groups like ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to abuse the law by forcing banks to make hundreds of millions of dollars in "subprime" loans to often uncreditworthy poor and minority customers.
Any bank that wants to expand or merge with another has to show it has complied with CRA - and approval can be held up by complaints filed by groups like ACORN.
In fact, intimidation tactics, public charges of racism and threats to use CRA to block business expansion have enabled ACORN to extract hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and contributions from America's financial institutions.
Banks already overexposed by these shaky loans were pushed still further in the wrong direction when government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began buying up their bad loans and offering them for sale on world markets.
Fannie and Freddie acted in response to Clinton administration pressure to boost homeownership rates among minorities and the poor. However compassionate the motive, the result of this systematic disregard for normal credit standards has been financial disaster.
ONE key pioneer of ACORN's subprime-loan shakedown racket was Madeline Talbott - an activist with extensive ties to Barack Obama. She was also in on the ground floor of the disastrous turn in Fannie Mae's mortgage policies.
Long the director of Chicago ACORN, Talbott is a specialist in "direct action" - organizers' term for their militant tactics of intimidation and disruption. Perhaps her most famous stunt was leading a group of ACORN protesters breaking into a meeting of the Chicago City Council to push for a "living wage" law, shouting in defiance as she was arrested for mob action and disorderly conduct. But her real legacy may be her drive to push banks into making risky mortgage loans.
In February 1990, Illinois regulators held what was believed to be the first-ever state hearing to consider blocking a thrift merger for lack of compliance with CRA. The challenge was filed by ACORN, led by Talbott. Officials of Bell Federal Savings and Loan Association, her target, complained that ACORN pressure was undermining its ability to meet strict financial requirements it was obligated to uphold and protested being boxed into an "affirmative-action lending policy." The following years saw Talbott featured in dozens of news stories about pressuring banks into higher-risk minority loans.
IN April 1992, Talbott filed an other precedent-setting com plaint using the "community support requirements" of the 1989 savings-and-loan bailout, this time against Avondale Federal Bank for Savings. Within a month, Chicago ACORN had organized its first "bank fair" at Malcolm X College and found 16 Chicago-area financial institutions willing to participate.
Two months later, aided by ACORN organizer Sandra Maxwell, Talbott announced plans to conduct demonstrations in the lobbies of area banks that refused to attend an ACORN-sponsored national bank "summit" in New York. She insisted that banks show a commitment to minority lending by lowering their standards on downpayments and underwriting - for example, by overlooking bad credit histories.
By September 1992, The Chicago Tribune was describing Talbott's program as "affirma- tive-action lending" and ACORN was issuing fact sheets bragging about relaxations of credit standards that it had won on behalf of minorities.
And Talbott continued her effort to, as she put it, drag banks "kicking and screaming" into high-risk loans. A September 1993 story in The Chicago Sun-Times presents her as the leader of an initiative in which five area financial institutions (including two of her former targets, now plainly cowed - Bell Federal Savings and Avondale Federal Savings) were "participating in a $55 million national pilot program with affordable-housing group ACORN to make mortgages for low- and moderate-income people with troubled credit histories."
What made this program different from others, the paper added, was the participation of Fannie Mae - which had agreed to buy up the loans. "If this pilot program works," crowed Talbott, "it will send a message to the lending community that it's OK to make these kind of loans."
Well, the pilot program "worked," and Fannie Mae's message that risky loans to minorities were "OK" was sent. The rest is financial-meltdown history.
IT would be tough to find an "on the ground" community organizer more closely tied to the subprime-mortgage fiasco than Madeline Talbott. And no one has been more supportive of Madeline Talbott than Barack Obama.
When Obama was just a budding community organizer in Chicago, Talbott was so impressed that she asked him to train her personal staff.
He returned to Chicago in the early '90s, just as Talbott was starting her pressure campaign on local banks. Chicago ACORN sought out Obama's legal services for a "motor voter" case and partnered with him on his 1992 "Project VOTE" registration drive.
In those years, he also conducted leadership-training seminars for ACORN's up-and-coming organizers. That is, Obama was training the army of ACORN organizers who participated in Madeline Talbott's drive against Chicago's banks.
More than that, Obama was funding them. As he rose to a leadership role at Chicago's Woods Fund, he became the most powerful voice on the foundation's board for supporting ACORN and other community organizers. In 1995, the Woods Fund substantially expanded its funding of community organizers - and Obama chaired the committee that urged and managed the shift.
That committee's report on strategies for funding groups like ACORN features all the key names in Obama's organizer network. The report quotes Talbott more than any other figure; Sandra Maxwell, Talbott's ACORN ally in the bank battle, was also among the organizers consulted.
MORE, the Obama-supervised Woods Fund report ac knowledges the problem of getting donors and foundations to contribute to radical groups like ACORN - whose confrontational tactics often scare off even liberal donors and foundations.
Indeed, the report brags about pulling the wool over the public's eye. The Woods Fund's claim to be "nonideological," it says, has "enabled the Trustees to make grants to organizations that use confrontational tactics against the business and government 'establishments' without undue risk of being criticized for partisanship."
Hmm. Radicalism disguised by a claim to be postideological. Sound familiar?
The Woods Fund report makes it clear Obama was fully aware of the intimidation tactics used by ACORN's Madeline Talbott in her pioneering efforts to force banks to suspend their usual credit standards. Yet he supported Talbott in every conceivable way. He trained her personal staff and other aspiring ACORN leaders, he consulted with her extensively, and he arranged a major boost in foundation funding for her efforts.
And, as the leader of another charity, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Obama channeled more funding Talbott's way - ostensibly for education projects but surely supportive of ACORN's overall efforts.
In return, Talbott proudly announced her support of Obama's first campaign for state Senate, saying, "We accept and respect him as a kindred spirit, a fellow organizer."
IN short, to understand the roots of the subprime-mort gage crisis, look to ACORN's Madeline Talbott. And to see how Talbott was able to work her mischief, look to Barack Obama.
Then you'll truly know what community organizers do.
Stanley Kurtz is a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC.
******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
The pieces of the filthy puzzle all fits together. ACORN, Woods Foundation, Annenberg Challenge. Though not mentioned in this article, we know Bill Ayers is connected with these organizations as is our "selected" Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Now we can fully understand how Obama learned and used these intimidation tactics. I think if you look in the dictionary under 'FILTHY POLITICIAN', you will see Obama's picture!! This guy scares the living daylights out of me. He's using these same tactics now that the campaign is getting closer and closer to Election Day. It's scary time for sure.
PLEASE JOHN MC CAIN AND SARAH PALIN!!! WE NEED YOU TO WIN ON NOVEMBER 4TH!!!
PELOSI DECLARED MARTIAL LAW????
I am TERRIFIED of what Obama's campaign has done to this country and how it has CORRUPTED the Democrats, or should I say the NEW MAFIA PARTY!! Obama is not even allowing free speech; if he doesn't like ADS placed about him, he files lawsuits. Some teenager questioned an Obama worker and the person didn't like the question. When he pursued it, he found himself under arrest by the police and THREATENED TO BE TASERED!!!
Now I understand WHAT CHANGE IS ALL ABOUT!!! Well, Obama, we DON'T WANT OR NEED YOUR KIND OF CHANGE!! THIS IS AMERICA. YOU WILL NOT TAKE OUR RIGHTS AWAY FROM US!!!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
ANOTHER VERSION OF SAME STORY BELOW:
Joggers well..not just jogging … “run into” Governor Palin and it is not nice
by Greta Van Susteren
Check out the red print below …I highlighted part of this embed report about Governor Palin on the campaign trail today: Here is what I don’t get: go ahead and disagree with politicians and their policies and record…but do you have to be so disrespectful? such jerks? These runners/joggers (see below) are having a leisurely Sunday morning ….and the politician? working!
From: Walshe, Shushannah
To:
Sent: Sun Sep 28 11:30:00 2008
Subject: Palin pool note 5
The full TV report is below. The only news are her remarks on the bailout which I sent earlier and is also below. Tape is en route to our afil now.
Palin entered Di Bruno Bros., a gourmet market and breakfast place at 9:02AM. Palin wore a black Nike jacket; black pants, and had her hair in a ponytail. Her daughter Willow accompanied her and she was joined by several staff members including John Wallace, who is working on debate prep with her, Senior advisor Tucker Eskew and various advance staff.
She was meeting four Blue Star Mothers: Julie Devitt, Nancy Harding, Maureen Snook, and Lee Anthony (more info below) who waited for Palin inside the store. The Blue Star moms are a support and service group for women whose sons and daughters are in the military.
Palin entered and said to the women, “So nice to see you.” “Hello, How are you?” “Thank you so much.” “Here to get coffee?” “Coffee sounds wonderful.”
It was difficult to hear the women’s responses, but Palin’s voice is clear.
They walked to the counter and Palin ordered, “How about a tall skinny white chocolate mocha? These gals too are going to order with us.” The next mother ordered, ” I’ll have a large of your strongest coffee.” She then turned to Palin and said, “That’s the Blue Star Mom way” and the four started laughing.
While waiting for their drinks Palin and the women started talking about their sons in the Army. Maureen Snook said her son told her, “Mom, you won’t know where I am.” Palin responded, “That’s what my son says! I belong to the Army now. I below to America.
My baby!”
One of the moms asked Palin how she is doing. She responded, “I’m doing well. Doing well.” Then added, “Our boys will have plenty of coffee over there.” Another mom chimed in, “Absolutely.”
I was able to ask her about the economic bailout overnight and she answered making it clear that she was then going to concentrate on the Blue Star Mothers, “Bailout? Ok? Then I’m going to talk to these gals whose sons are also in the service. But thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal to have more sound oversight taxpayers aren’t going to be assumed to be called upon to bailout so I’m glad that John McCain’s voice is heard and his leadership too.”
Directly after that answer the press was escorted out–making the first part of the OTR exactly 5 minutes long. I was not able to see who paid for the coffees or how much they were.
We shot Palin chatting with the women and sipping her coffee through the store window.
After about 15 minutes, we were brought back in for 25 minutes to stand on the steps in the middle of the shop and shoot her drinking coffee with the four women and Willow. But, we were too far away to hear anything the women may have been discussing. They did laugh every now and then and Palin signed 2 books for Lee Anthony and McCain-Palin photographs for the group. At one point Palin put her hand over her heart and Snook rubbed her back. Anthony then showed Palin a photograph of two German Shepherds.
At this point, three runners entered the shop and when they realized what was going on one man started booing and another stormed out and said, “What the F is she doing here?” This was behind us and is not on cam, but you can hear the booing and the vulgarity.
She then took pictures with the four moms and hugged them. She took pictures and signed autographs with customers and the staff clapped for her. The press was still kept to the steps so it is not possible to hear what she was saying to the patrons or staff.
As Palin walked closer to the exit it is possible to hear her saying, “How are you?” to various customers and asking what their names are. She signed several autographs and met one man who said, “Hi Sarah” to her.
As she was leaving a woman asked if she as staying in Pennsylvania for a while. She answered, ” Just one more night.”
She then saw two rain soaked little girls and said, ” Oh let me say hello! Oh they got stuck in the rain. What are their names? They are beautiful! Have a great day.”
It’s not possible to hear the parents’ responses. She then departed Di Bruno Bros. at 9:56AM.
Cecil says it is a lid for the day.
Info on Blue Star Moms:
Julie Devitt- black shirt
Nancy Harding- blue blouse, shorter black hair.
Maureen Snook- teal shirt
Lee Anthony-white blouse
Mother: Mrs. Lee Anthony
Lt. Matthew Anthony, USN
Applied for and will start SEAL training in May.
Graduated Naval Academy in 2005m
Guards oil outlets off Iraqi coast.
Must board all ships that approach an outlet.
Third deployment.
Mother Mrs. Julie Devitt
Sgt. Glen Devitt, Army
Deployed Dec 10 to Iraq with the 127 IB
Mother Maureen Snook
2nd Lt John Paul Snook, US Army
ROTC in college
Stationed in Germany, seeking assignment to Intelligence.
Mother: Nancy Harding (US Army Retired)
Two kids serving
Spc David Harding, National Guard
Stationed in MS for workup to first deployment to Iraq
Capt Matthew Harding
Serving with Track in Iraq
Third deployment to Iraq since 2002
————————–
Shushannah Walshe
Fox News Channel
by Greta Van Susteren
Check out the red print below …I highlighted part of this embed report about Governor Palin on the campaign trail today: Here is what I don’t get: go ahead and disagree with politicians and their policies and record…but do you have to be so disrespectful? such jerks? These runners/joggers (see below) are having a leisurely Sunday morning ….and the politician? working!
From: Walshe, Shushannah
To:
Sent: Sun Sep 28 11:30:00 2008
Subject: Palin pool note 5
The full TV report is below. The only news are her remarks on the bailout which I sent earlier and is also below. Tape is en route to our afil now.
Palin entered Di Bruno Bros., a gourmet market and breakfast place at 9:02AM. Palin wore a black Nike jacket; black pants, and had her hair in a ponytail. Her daughter Willow accompanied her and she was joined by several staff members including John Wallace, who is working on debate prep with her, Senior advisor Tucker Eskew and various advance staff.
She was meeting four Blue Star Mothers: Julie Devitt, Nancy Harding, Maureen Snook, and Lee Anthony (more info below) who waited for Palin inside the store. The Blue Star moms are a support and service group for women whose sons and daughters are in the military.
Palin entered and said to the women, “So nice to see you.” “Hello, How are you?” “Thank you so much.” “Here to get coffee?” “Coffee sounds wonderful.”
It was difficult to hear the women’s responses, but Palin’s voice is clear.
They walked to the counter and Palin ordered, “How about a tall skinny white chocolate mocha? These gals too are going to order with us.” The next mother ordered, ” I’ll have a large of your strongest coffee.” She then turned to Palin and said, “That’s the Blue Star Mom way” and the four started laughing.
While waiting for their drinks Palin and the women started talking about their sons in the Army. Maureen Snook said her son told her, “Mom, you won’t know where I am.” Palin responded, “That’s what my son says! I belong to the Army now. I below to America.
My baby!”
One of the moms asked Palin how she is doing. She responded, “I’m doing well. Doing well.” Then added, “Our boys will have plenty of coffee over there.” Another mom chimed in, “Absolutely.”
I was able to ask her about the economic bailout overnight and she answered making it clear that she was then going to concentrate on the Blue Star Mothers, “Bailout? Ok? Then I’m going to talk to these gals whose sons are also in the service. But thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal to have more sound oversight taxpayers aren’t going to be assumed to be called upon to bailout so I’m glad that John McCain’s voice is heard and his leadership too.”
Directly after that answer the press was escorted out–making the first part of the OTR exactly 5 minutes long. I was not able to see who paid for the coffees or how much they were.
We shot Palin chatting with the women and sipping her coffee through the store window.
After about 15 minutes, we were brought back in for 25 minutes to stand on the steps in the middle of the shop and shoot her drinking coffee with the four women and Willow. But, we were too far away to hear anything the women may have been discussing. They did laugh every now and then and Palin signed 2 books for Lee Anthony and McCain-Palin photographs for the group. At one point Palin put her hand over her heart and Snook rubbed her back. Anthony then showed Palin a photograph of two German Shepherds.
At this point, three runners entered the shop and when they realized what was going on one man started booing and another stormed out and said, “What the F is she doing here?” This was behind us and is not on cam, but you can hear the booing and the vulgarity.
She then took pictures with the four moms and hugged them. She took pictures and signed autographs with customers and the staff clapped for her. The press was still kept to the steps so it is not possible to hear what she was saying to the patrons or staff.
As Palin walked closer to the exit it is possible to hear her saying, “How are you?” to various customers and asking what their names are. She signed several autographs and met one man who said, “Hi Sarah” to her.
As she was leaving a woman asked if she as staying in Pennsylvania for a while. She answered, ” Just one more night.”
She then saw two rain soaked little girls and said, ” Oh let me say hello! Oh they got stuck in the rain. What are their names? They are beautiful! Have a great day.”
It’s not possible to hear the parents’ responses. She then departed Di Bruno Bros. at 9:56AM.
Cecil says it is a lid for the day.
Info on Blue Star Moms:
Julie Devitt- black shirt
Nancy Harding- blue blouse, shorter black hair.
Maureen Snook- teal shirt
Lee Anthony-white blouse
Mother: Mrs. Lee Anthony
Lt. Matthew Anthony, USN
Applied for and will start SEAL training in May.
Graduated Naval Academy in 2005m
Guards oil outlets off Iraqi coast.
Must board all ships that approach an outlet.
Third deployment.
Mother Mrs. Julie Devitt
Sgt. Glen Devitt, Army
Deployed Dec 10 to Iraq with the 127 IB
Mother Maureen Snook
2nd Lt John Paul Snook, US Army
ROTC in college
Stationed in Germany, seeking assignment to Intelligence.
Mother: Nancy Harding (US Army Retired)
Two kids serving
Spc David Harding, National Guard
Stationed in MS for workup to first deployment to Iraq
Capt Matthew Harding
Serving with Track in Iraq
Third deployment to Iraq since 2002
————————–
Shushannah Walshe
Fox News Channel
SARAH BREAKFASTS WITH MILITARY MOMS IN PHILADELPHIA!!
Palin Responds to Federal Bail Out
by Shushannah Walshe
PHILADELPHIA–Sarah Palin had coffee this morning at a gourmet market and breakfast restaurant and was joined by four Blue Star mothers. The Blue Star Moms are a support and service group for women whose sons and daughters are in the military.
Palin responded to a question about the economic recovery plan, which was hashed out overnight. She answered, but she made it clear that she was then going to concentrate on the Blue Star Moms, “Bailout? Ok? Then I’m going to talk to these gals whose sons are also in the service. But, thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal to have more sound oversight,” Palin said. “Taxpayers aren’t going to be assumed to be called upon to bail out so I’m glad that John McCain’s voice is heard and his leadership too.”
Directly after that answer, the press was escorted out for 15 minutes and then re-positioned to a staircase in the middle of Di Bruno Bros.—which was too far away to hear what the women were talking about or to ask the Vice-Presidential candidate any other questions.
While waiting for their drinks Palin and the women started talking about their sons in the Army. Maureen Snook said her son told her, “Mom, you won’t know where I am.” Palin responded, “That’s what my son says! I belong to the Army now. I belong to America. My baby!” referring to her 19 year old son Track who is deployed in Iraq.
Palin’s daughter Willow joined the four Blue Star Moms: Julie Devitt, Nancy Harding, Maureen Snook, and Lee Anthony. The women sipped coffee, laughed, took pictures, and even hugged during their almost hour meeting.
Palin’s other events in heavily Democratic Philadelphia have attracted hundreds of protesters, but none were to be found today. Possibly, because the location was not advertised. Three runners entered the shop and when they realized that the GOP Vice-Presidential nominee was there one man started booing and a woman stormed out and shouted a vulgarity.
by Shushannah Walshe
PHILADELPHIA–Sarah Palin had coffee this morning at a gourmet market and breakfast restaurant and was joined by four Blue Star mothers. The Blue Star Moms are a support and service group for women whose sons and daughters are in the military.
Palin responded to a question about the economic recovery plan, which was hashed out overnight. She answered, but she made it clear that she was then going to concentrate on the Blue Star Moms, “Bailout? Ok? Then I’m going to talk to these gals whose sons are also in the service. But, thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal to have more sound oversight,” Palin said. “Taxpayers aren’t going to be assumed to be called upon to bail out so I’m glad that John McCain’s voice is heard and his leadership too.”
Directly after that answer, the press was escorted out for 15 minutes and then re-positioned to a staircase in the middle of Di Bruno Bros.—which was too far away to hear what the women were talking about or to ask the Vice-Presidential candidate any other questions.
While waiting for their drinks Palin and the women started talking about their sons in the Army. Maureen Snook said her son told her, “Mom, you won’t know where I am.” Palin responded, “That’s what my son says! I belong to the Army now. I belong to America. My baby!” referring to her 19 year old son Track who is deployed in Iraq.
Palin’s daughter Willow joined the four Blue Star Moms: Julie Devitt, Nancy Harding, Maureen Snook, and Lee Anthony. The women sipped coffee, laughed, took pictures, and even hugged during their almost hour meeting.
Palin’s other events in heavily Democratic Philadelphia have attracted hundreds of protesters, but none were to be found today. Possibly, because the location was not advertised. Three runners entered the shop and when they realized that the GOP Vice-Presidential nominee was there one man started booing and a woman stormed out and shouted a vulgarity.
SOLDIER'S MOTHER HAD TOLD OBAMA TO STOP WEARING BRACELET!!!
As always everything Obama does is done FOR OBAMA!! With his petulant comment, "I've got a bracelet, too!!!!!!" even though he didn't remember WHOSE bracelet it was, it now comes to light the mother of the soldier, who gave the bracelet to him, had asked him TO NOT WEAR IT because he was using it as part of his stump speech. In other words, using it to for his own POLITICAL GAIN!! OBAMA HAS SHOWN TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT HE HAS NO RESPECT FOR OUR MILITARY PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING HE DOES IS FOR HIS OWN SELFISH INTERESTS!!
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE AT STAKE FOR V.P. DEBATE
Style and substance at stake for Biden, Palin
By JIM KUHNHENN – 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — One talks too much. The other hasn't talked enough.
For voters, Thursday's vice presidential debate promises a transfixing match between the loquacious veteran Sen. Joe Biden and the still-underexposed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
For the campaigns, the encounter in St. Louis represents a potential white-knuckle moment: The free-wheeling Biden vs. the tightly managed Palin in a test of knowledge, fluency and grace before millions of TV viewers.
Vice presidential candidates seldom decide elections; people vote for who's at the top of the ticket. But in a contest as close as this one between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, a misstep could set back either campaign in the final weeks before Election Day.
What's more, both Biden, the Democrat, and Palin, the Republican, have become Obama's and McCain's ambassadors to independent voters, but each with different tasks: Biden to reassure them about Obama, and Palin to reassure them about herself.
And while the stakes may not be as high as they were in Friday's presidential debate, the running mates face more land mines than Obama and McCain did.
Since Palin roused the Republican Party at its national convention this month, she has been undergoing a crash course in foreign policy. Her struggles with some answers in interviews have been lampooned on "Saturday Night Live."
"She just has to show some rational basis to policy positions, some knowledge basis," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a former GOP presidential candidate and McCain supporter. "I don't think it is a high expectation level at all for her."
In short, Palin must aim for the kind of coherence that appeared to elude her last week when she tried to explain to CBS news anchor Katie Couric why being governor of Alaska gave her a certain understanding of Russia.
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska," she said. "It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state."
Still, Biden, who twice has run unsuccessfully for president, perhaps faces the greater challenge. He has years of foreign policy experience and an affinity for extemporaneous speech that can cause him trouble. And he already has strayed from campaign talking points and mangled history during his own interview with Couric.
Discussing why President Bush should explain why it is necessary to help the financial industry, Biden said: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" (Herbert Hoover was president when the market crashed in 1929 and radio, not television, was the medium of the day.)
Biden, however, can check his tongue. In an April 2007 debate, NBC news anchor Brian Williams, noting Biden's loose-tongued history, asked whether he could reassure voters "that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage."
Biden replied simply: "Yes."
But the pressure on Biden will be less on what he says than how he says it.
"He's in a no-win situation," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., an Obama backer. "If he stretches out his knowledge and expounds on all the things he knows, he runs the risk of being patronizing. If he is circumspect and is short-winded and deferential, he runs the risk of being patronizing. If he says everything he knows and is tough, he runs the risk of being a bully."
Palin and Biden will be questioned by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent on PBS' "The NewsHour" and moderator of "Washington Week." Under the format, each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to a question, followed by a two-minute discussion. That is tighter than Friday's presidential encounter, when the candidates had up to five minutes to mix it up. The shorter discussion period should favor Palin.
Both are likely to face questions about policy splits with partners.
For instance, Palin opposes embryonic stem cell research; McCain has supported such federal funding. Palin supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; McCain opposes it.
Biden recently criticized an Obama campaign ad that questioned McCain's facility with computers. He also has appeared to give mixed messages on clean coal technology — an advancement in energy that Obama supports. He even described vanquished Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton as being more qualified than he is to be vice president.
And, while a presidential candidate himself earlier this year, Biden said he didn't think Obama was ready to be president yet, saying the job doesn't "lend itself to on-the-job training."
By JIM KUHNHENN – 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — One talks too much. The other hasn't talked enough.
For voters, Thursday's vice presidential debate promises a transfixing match between the loquacious veteran Sen. Joe Biden and the still-underexposed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
For the campaigns, the encounter in St. Louis represents a potential white-knuckle moment: The free-wheeling Biden vs. the tightly managed Palin in a test of knowledge, fluency and grace before millions of TV viewers.
Vice presidential candidates seldom decide elections; people vote for who's at the top of the ticket. But in a contest as close as this one between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, a misstep could set back either campaign in the final weeks before Election Day.
What's more, both Biden, the Democrat, and Palin, the Republican, have become Obama's and McCain's ambassadors to independent voters, but each with different tasks: Biden to reassure them about Obama, and Palin to reassure them about herself.
And while the stakes may not be as high as they were in Friday's presidential debate, the running mates face more land mines than Obama and McCain did.
Since Palin roused the Republican Party at its national convention this month, she has been undergoing a crash course in foreign policy. Her struggles with some answers in interviews have been lampooned on "Saturday Night Live."
"She just has to show some rational basis to policy positions, some knowledge basis," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a former GOP presidential candidate and McCain supporter. "I don't think it is a high expectation level at all for her."
In short, Palin must aim for the kind of coherence that appeared to elude her last week when she tried to explain to CBS news anchor Katie Couric why being governor of Alaska gave her a certain understanding of Russia.
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska," she said. "It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state."
Still, Biden, who twice has run unsuccessfully for president, perhaps faces the greater challenge. He has years of foreign policy experience and an affinity for extemporaneous speech that can cause him trouble. And he already has strayed from campaign talking points and mangled history during his own interview with Couric.
Discussing why President Bush should explain why it is necessary to help the financial industry, Biden said: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" (Herbert Hoover was president when the market crashed in 1929 and radio, not television, was the medium of the day.)
Biden, however, can check his tongue. In an April 2007 debate, NBC news anchor Brian Williams, noting Biden's loose-tongued history, asked whether he could reassure voters "that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage."
Biden replied simply: "Yes."
But the pressure on Biden will be less on what he says than how he says it.
"He's in a no-win situation," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., an Obama backer. "If he stretches out his knowledge and expounds on all the things he knows, he runs the risk of being patronizing. If he is circumspect and is short-winded and deferential, he runs the risk of being patronizing. If he says everything he knows and is tough, he runs the risk of being a bully."
Palin and Biden will be questioned by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent on PBS' "The NewsHour" and moderator of "Washington Week." Under the format, each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to a question, followed by a two-minute discussion. That is tighter than Friday's presidential encounter, when the candidates had up to five minutes to mix it up. The shorter discussion period should favor Palin.
Both are likely to face questions about policy splits with partners.
For instance, Palin opposes embryonic stem cell research; McCain has supported such federal funding. Palin supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; McCain opposes it.
Biden recently criticized an Obama campaign ad that questioned McCain's facility with computers. He also has appeared to give mixed messages on clean coal technology — an advancement in energy that Obama supports. He even described vanquished Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton as being more qualified than he is to be vice president.
And, while a presidential candidate himself earlier this year, Biden said he didn't think Obama was ready to be president yet, saying the job doesn't "lend itself to on-the-job training."
JOHN MC CAIN DEFENDS HIS V.P. CHOICE, SARAH PALIN!!!!
Sarah Palin is defended by the man whose opinion matters most: John McCain
You've read about the harsh language lobbed at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential candidate, for her performance in her interviews last week with Katie Couric of CBS. That was followed by the call on Friday from conservative columnist Kathleen Parker that Palin take to heart the slogan of the GOP campaign -- "Country first" -- and, for the good of the country, retreat gracefully from the ticket.
But if you ask the fellow who picked her for the ticket, John McCain, about whether that criticism has caused him to rethink his choice (as George Stephanopoulos did today on ABC's "This Week"), you'll get this answer: No way, no how.
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Well, let me ask you a different question, though. What do you make of some of the criticism that Sarah Palin has -- has gotten over the last couple of weeks, including from many conservatives coming out of her interviews this week?
Kathleen Parker wrote in the Washington Post this morning, "It's increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions require her promotion."
MCCAIN: It's a free country. I'm so excited ...
STEPHANOPOULOS: You don't agree?
MCCAIN: Listen, I'm so excited about the reaction that Sarah Palin has gotten across this country, huge turnouts, enthusiasm, excitement. She knows how to communicate directly with people. They respond in a way that I've -- that I've seldom seen.
You know, they can complain all they want to. I'll rely on the American people. The American people have responded to her in a way that's been wonderful. And I've had -- what
a wonderful person, a great leader, and the most popular governor in America.
The things that she's done are exactly what we're going to do in Washington. Kathleen Parker, if that's her name, go right ahead and criticize.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no second thoughts?
MCCAIN: Go right ahead and criticize. I'm -- I'm so happy that she is part of the team. And she's brought a kind of exuberance and a kind of excitement that makes you really think that political campaigns again can still be something that is an exciting trip.
You've read about the harsh language lobbed at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential candidate, for her performance in her interviews last week with Katie Couric of CBS. That was followed by the call on Friday from conservative columnist Kathleen Parker that Palin take to heart the slogan of the GOP campaign -- "Country first" -- and, for the good of the country, retreat gracefully from the ticket.
But if you ask the fellow who picked her for the ticket, John McCain, about whether that criticism has caused him to rethink his choice (as George Stephanopoulos did today on ABC's "This Week"), you'll get this answer: No way, no how.
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Well, let me ask you a different question, though. What do you make of some of the criticism that Sarah Palin has -- has gotten over the last couple of weeks, including from many conservatives coming out of her interviews this week?
Kathleen Parker wrote in the Washington Post this morning, "It's increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions require her promotion."
MCCAIN: It's a free country. I'm so excited ...
STEPHANOPOULOS: You don't agree?
MCCAIN: Listen, I'm so excited about the reaction that Sarah Palin has gotten across this country, huge turnouts, enthusiasm, excitement. She knows how to communicate directly with people. They respond in a way that I've -- that I've seldom seen.
You know, they can complain all they want to. I'll rely on the American people. The American people have responded to her in a way that's been wonderful. And I've had -- what
a wonderful person, a great leader, and the most popular governor in America.
The things that she's done are exactly what we're going to do in Washington. Kathleen Parker, if that's her name, go right ahead and criticize.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no second thoughts?
MCCAIN: Go right ahead and criticize. I'm -- I'm so happy that she is part of the team. And she's brought a kind of exuberance and a kind of excitement that makes you really think that political campaigns again can still be something that is an exciting trip.
OBAMA IS DESPICABLE!!!!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.
“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.
“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.
“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.
“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gov. Blunt Statement on Obama Campaign’s Abusive Use of Missouri Law Enforcement
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.
“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.
“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.
“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.
“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
JACK CAFFERTY, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WITH STRONG WOMEN??? YOU HATE HILLARY AND NOW SARAH, TOO???
Bride of Rove
Response to CNN’s Jack Cafferty
Saturday September 27th 2008
“One of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country.” ~ CNN’s Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty says the thought of Sarah Palin as President should scare the hell out of you. I understand exactly how he feels. Sure. At first I took umbrage at his ranty tirade in response to one of Governor Palin’s answers to Katie Couric in an interview. I played the answer back several times trying to figure out what she said that was worthy of a seasoned news man blowing his lid like that on national tv and … yeah. Whatever. Didn’t get what he was saying. This probably makes me as bad as Governor Palin, I guess.
I thought, am I really that blond? I have an engineering degree. I’m gainfully employed. I feel I’m reasonably current on politics, finances, current events and such. Granted I DID read somewhere that with each kid 5% of a mother’s brain is sucked out of her head permanently, so my IQ is probably reduced more so than Cafferty’s, and if that’s true Palin is five time less on the ball than him so perhaps I’m just a few kids closer to her logic circuits or something. Her answer wasn’t a rocket-science-the-world-is-now-saved-because-she-revealed-secrets-of-the-universe great, but it was ok-fine-with-me because I can’t stand Couric and I’m pretty sick of these “gotcha” test questions anyway. So. What? What is he seeing that I’m not getting?
Then it hit me.
Cafferty is watching Governor Palin with the exact same neurons firing in his head that fire in mine when I watch Senator Obama speak! The only difference is, Obama’s un-frickin-believably dumb statements weren’t necessarily in interviews, because he never really gets slam-danced by the main stream media the way Palin does. Obama just comes out and says amazingly dumb stuff and I sit there and think, “My GOD! Who in their right mind thinks this man is at all ready to be President of the United States. Are they completely insane?” Do I exaggerate? I give you exhibit A. Watch this. I’ll wait.
Now. If you are an Obama supporter, I’m sure you watched that and have no idea why that gives me nightmares. If you are for McCain, I am sorry for giving you nightmares. But now I understand just how Mr. Cafferty feels when he hears Governor Palin speak. The difference is, Governor Palin is running for Vice President and has proven she is phenomenally competent to run a smaller version of the government and Obama is running for PRESIDENT and has no experience running anything at all. So, really, magnify how you feel about Governor Palin, Mr. Cafferty … by an order of ten ….and you will understand how I feel.
********************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I agree with this blogger about the dumb things Obama says and also how no one in the media will ever bash him for those stupid comments. However, the reason I HATE to hear Obama speak, the reason I HATE to see Obama's ugly face (Yes, I said UGLY; I don't see where anyone can think he is "handsome".), the reason I hate to hear the media's fawning all over him, is because of the UGLINESS INSIDE HIM!! He is the most CORRUPT, FILTHIEST POLITICIAN AROUND, AND HE'S GOING AROUND AND MAKING HIMSELF OUT TO BE THIS NEW KIND OF POLITICIAN. BULLSHIT!!!
Response to CNN’s Jack Cafferty
Saturday September 27th 2008
“One of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country.” ~ CNN’s Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty says the thought of Sarah Palin as President should scare the hell out of you. I understand exactly how he feels. Sure. At first I took umbrage at his ranty tirade in response to one of Governor Palin’s answers to Katie Couric in an interview. I played the answer back several times trying to figure out what she said that was worthy of a seasoned news man blowing his lid like that on national tv and … yeah. Whatever. Didn’t get what he was saying. This probably makes me as bad as Governor Palin, I guess.
I thought, am I really that blond? I have an engineering degree. I’m gainfully employed. I feel I’m reasonably current on politics, finances, current events and such. Granted I DID read somewhere that with each kid 5% of a mother’s brain is sucked out of her head permanently, so my IQ is probably reduced more so than Cafferty’s, and if that’s true Palin is five time less on the ball than him so perhaps I’m just a few kids closer to her logic circuits or something. Her answer wasn’t a rocket-science-the-world-is-now-saved-because-she-revealed-secrets-of-the-universe great, but it was ok-fine-with-me because I can’t stand Couric and I’m pretty sick of these “gotcha” test questions anyway. So. What? What is he seeing that I’m not getting?
Then it hit me.
Cafferty is watching Governor Palin with the exact same neurons firing in his head that fire in mine when I watch Senator Obama speak! The only difference is, Obama’s un-frickin-believably dumb statements weren’t necessarily in interviews, because he never really gets slam-danced by the main stream media the way Palin does. Obama just comes out and says amazingly dumb stuff and I sit there and think, “My GOD! Who in their right mind thinks this man is at all ready to be President of the United States. Are they completely insane?” Do I exaggerate? I give you exhibit A. Watch this. I’ll wait.
Now. If you are an Obama supporter, I’m sure you watched that and have no idea why that gives me nightmares. If you are for McCain, I am sorry for giving you nightmares. But now I understand just how Mr. Cafferty feels when he hears Governor Palin speak. The difference is, Governor Palin is running for Vice President and has proven she is phenomenally competent to run a smaller version of the government and Obama is running for PRESIDENT and has no experience running anything at all. So, really, magnify how you feel about Governor Palin, Mr. Cafferty … by an order of ten ….and you will understand how I feel.
********************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I agree with this blogger about the dumb things Obama says and also how no one in the media will ever bash him for those stupid comments. However, the reason I HATE to hear Obama speak, the reason I HATE to see Obama's ugly face (Yes, I said UGLY; I don't see where anyone can think he is "handsome".), the reason I hate to hear the media's fawning all over him, is because of the UGLINESS INSIDE HIM!! He is the most CORRUPT, FILTHIEST POLITICIAN AROUND, AND HE'S GOING AROUND AND MAKING HIMSELF OUT TO BE THIS NEW KIND OF POLITICIAN. BULLSHIT!!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
MC CAIN CAMP PRAYS FOR PALIN WEDDING!!!
From The Sunday Times
September 28, 2008
McCain camp prays for Palin wedding
The marriage of the vice-presidential candidate’s pregnant teenage daughter could lift a flagging campaignSarah Baxter in Washington
In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”
There is already some urgency to the wedding as Bristol, who is six months pregnant, may not want to walk down the aisle too close to her date of delivery. She turns 18 on October 18, a respectable age for a bride — and the same age as Barack Obama’s pregnant mother when she married his Kenyan father. The Democrat has already declared Bristol’s private life off-limits as far as his campaign is concerned.
The selection of Palin, 44, the moose-hunting governor of Alaska, as his running mate was one of McCain’s biggest gambles. It paid off handsomely at first, but she could benefit from a fresh injection of homespun authenticity, the hallmark of her style, provided by her daughter’s wedding after appearing out of depth away from her home state.
David Letterman, the late-night television chat show host, joked that Palin’s meetings with world leaders at the United Nations in New York looked like “take your daughter to work day”.
In a series of heavily criticised interviews with Katie Couric of CBS News, she fumbled her points about Alaska’s proximity to Russia and sounded like an over-crammed, under-informed student. Palin was stumped when Couric asked her to provide examples of McCain’s proposals for reforming the banking industry. “I’ll try to find some and I’ll bring them to you,” she said eventually. Republicans are quailing in advance of one of her biggest tests of the election, her televised debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, on Thursday in St Louis, Missouri.
The conservative commentator Kathleen Parker, an early admirer, shocked McCain supporters late last week by calling on Palin to withdraw. “My cringe reflex is exhausted,” she wrote in National Review Online, a conservative journal. “Palin’s recent interviews . . . all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out of Her League.”
Parker advised Palin to “save McCain, her party and the country she loves” by announcing that she wanted to spend more time with Trig, her five-month-old Down’s syndrome baby: “No one would criticise a mother who puts her family first.”
The Republicans’ Palin “bounce” ended last week as concern for the plunging economy mounted. Obama ended the week four points ahead of McCain on 48% to 44% in the RealClearPolitics poll of polls. A Rasmussen survey showed that McCain’s lead among white women voters slipped to two points, as opposed to 14 points for George W Bush in 2004.
However, Palin has a remarkable ability to galvanise the evangelical voters and social conservatives who form the Republican base. The party boasted last week that it will probably surpass its fundraising goal of $100m for September and October. Much of it is because of the grassroots enthusiasm for Palin, boosted by her decision to have Trig and to support her pregnant daughter.
McCain is expected to have a front-row seat at Bristol’s wedding and to benefit from the outpouring of goodwill that it could bring. “What’s the downside?” a source inside the McCain campaign said. “It would be wonderful. I don’t know that there has ever been a pre-election wedding before.”
When McCain picked Palin as his running mate, Bristol’s pregnancy was regarded as a potential liability with voters. The idea was to keep her condition quiet initially. However, rumours quickly surfaced that Trig was Bristol’s son. News that Bristol was pregnant, making it a near-biological impossibility for her to be Trig’s mother, had to be rushed out.
Johnston was greeted with a handshake and friendly slap on the back by McCain in St Paul, Minnesota, and treated as a member of the family during the Republican national convention when he appeared on stage after Palin’s speech.
The ice-hockey player wrote on his MySpace page he was a “f****** redneck” and stated, “I don’t want kids.” But a McCain insider predicted he would marry Bristol whenever his future mother-in-law wanted. “It’s a shotgun wedding. She kills things,” the source joked.
The McCain campaign is divided over how to handle Palin’s appearances, which have been so limited and over-rehearsed that last week Campbell Brown, a CNN anchor, accused it of sexism. “Stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment,” she said. “If she were a man, would we be putting up with this? . . . Would she be coddled this way, cloistered this way? I don’t think so.”
Inside McCain’s camp, aides are arguing over the benefits of “letting Sarah be Sarah”. Some officials believe her appeal to voters is such that it would be worth risking a few gaffes in exchange for letting her personality shine through.
The question will assume particular importance when she faces Biden, 65, in debate. The chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee has already come up with a multitude of gaffes, from asking a wheelchair-bound man to stand up at one of his rallies to admitting that Hillary Clinton “might have been a better pick” for vice-president, without any seeming ill-effect.
McCain officials believe that Palin’s underdog status gives her a chance to shine. “Joe Biden is going to have to destroy her for it to be perceived as a victory for him,” said an aide.
September 28, 2008
McCain camp prays for Palin wedding
The marriage of the vice-presidential candidate’s pregnant teenage daughter could lift a flagging campaignSarah Baxter in Washington
In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”
There is already some urgency to the wedding as Bristol, who is six months pregnant, may not want to walk down the aisle too close to her date of delivery. She turns 18 on October 18, a respectable age for a bride — and the same age as Barack Obama’s pregnant mother when she married his Kenyan father. The Democrat has already declared Bristol’s private life off-limits as far as his campaign is concerned.
The selection of Palin, 44, the moose-hunting governor of Alaska, as his running mate was one of McCain’s biggest gambles. It paid off handsomely at first, but she could benefit from a fresh injection of homespun authenticity, the hallmark of her style, provided by her daughter’s wedding after appearing out of depth away from her home state.
David Letterman, the late-night television chat show host, joked that Palin’s meetings with world leaders at the United Nations in New York looked like “take your daughter to work day”.
In a series of heavily criticised interviews with Katie Couric of CBS News, she fumbled her points about Alaska’s proximity to Russia and sounded like an over-crammed, under-informed student. Palin was stumped when Couric asked her to provide examples of McCain’s proposals for reforming the banking industry. “I’ll try to find some and I’ll bring them to you,” she said eventually. Republicans are quailing in advance of one of her biggest tests of the election, her televised debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, on Thursday in St Louis, Missouri.
The conservative commentator Kathleen Parker, an early admirer, shocked McCain supporters late last week by calling on Palin to withdraw. “My cringe reflex is exhausted,” she wrote in National Review Online, a conservative journal. “Palin’s recent interviews . . . all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out of Her League.”
Parker advised Palin to “save McCain, her party and the country she loves” by announcing that she wanted to spend more time with Trig, her five-month-old Down’s syndrome baby: “No one would criticise a mother who puts her family first.”
The Republicans’ Palin “bounce” ended last week as concern for the plunging economy mounted. Obama ended the week four points ahead of McCain on 48% to 44% in the RealClearPolitics poll of polls. A Rasmussen survey showed that McCain’s lead among white women voters slipped to two points, as opposed to 14 points for George W Bush in 2004.
However, Palin has a remarkable ability to galvanise the evangelical voters and social conservatives who form the Republican base. The party boasted last week that it will probably surpass its fundraising goal of $100m for September and October. Much of it is because of the grassroots enthusiasm for Palin, boosted by her decision to have Trig and to support her pregnant daughter.
McCain is expected to have a front-row seat at Bristol’s wedding and to benefit from the outpouring of goodwill that it could bring. “What’s the downside?” a source inside the McCain campaign said. “It would be wonderful. I don’t know that there has ever been a pre-election wedding before.”
When McCain picked Palin as his running mate, Bristol’s pregnancy was regarded as a potential liability with voters. The idea was to keep her condition quiet initially. However, rumours quickly surfaced that Trig was Bristol’s son. News that Bristol was pregnant, making it a near-biological impossibility for her to be Trig’s mother, had to be rushed out.
Johnston was greeted with a handshake and friendly slap on the back by McCain in St Paul, Minnesota, and treated as a member of the family during the Republican national convention when he appeared on stage after Palin’s speech.
The ice-hockey player wrote on his MySpace page he was a “f****** redneck” and stated, “I don’t want kids.” But a McCain insider predicted he would marry Bristol whenever his future mother-in-law wanted. “It’s a shotgun wedding. She kills things,” the source joked.
The McCain campaign is divided over how to handle Palin’s appearances, which have been so limited and over-rehearsed that last week Campbell Brown, a CNN anchor, accused it of sexism. “Stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment,” she said. “If she were a man, would we be putting up with this? . . . Would she be coddled this way, cloistered this way? I don’t think so.”
Inside McCain’s camp, aides are arguing over the benefits of “letting Sarah be Sarah”. Some officials believe her appeal to voters is such that it would be worth risking a few gaffes in exchange for letting her personality shine through.
The question will assume particular importance when she faces Biden, 65, in debate. The chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee has already come up with a multitude of gaffes, from asking a wheelchair-bound man to stand up at one of his rallies to admitting that Hillary Clinton “might have been a better pick” for vice-president, without any seeming ill-effect.
McCain officials believe that Palin’s underdog status gives her a chance to shine. “Joe Biden is going to have to destroy her for it to be perceived as a victory for him,” said an aide.
TIMES ONLINE: WHERE IS SARAH?
In Search of Sarah Palin
By Nancy Gibbs Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008
Watching Joe Biden buzz from network to network post debate, you had to wonder one more time: As she prepares for her own big night, is Sarah Palin's worst enemy now the McCain campaign?
Post-debate spin would have been a natural for her; a chance to be sharp and funny and charming and not worry that some interviewer would ambush her, since any pointed questions aimed at her could be brushed back with a breezy, "Hey, I have to wait my turn; tune in next Thursday. Tonight was John's night."
But once again she was nowhere to be found, and that seemed especially odd given the rough week she'd had. She sat down with Henry Kissinger and various world leaders in New York, in meetings that were initially open to cameras but closed to reporters until the networks threatened to boycott the whole thing. The encounters thus came off as substance free, though the new President of Pakistan did declare her "even more gorgeous" than he'd expected and suggested he'd like to hug her. She summed up her global speed date Wednesday: "It's going great," she said. "The meetings are very informative and helpful. A lot of good people share an appreciation for America."
Her big interview of the week, with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, was sufficiently cringe-making to inspire conservative columnist Kathleen Parker to conclude sadly that for the good of the ticket and the country, Palin should declare she wants to spend more time with her family and step down. And watching her with Couric, you had to wonder what happened to the spirited, sparkling character who swept onstage in St. Paul and turned the race upside down.
In the month or so since then she has been in lockdown, either lashed to McCain's side to boost the size of his crowds, or hunkered down in debate prep and remedial candidate school. No press conferences, few interviews, no questions allowed from the reporters traveling with her, no appearances on The View to stare down Joy Behar. Rather than playing to her strengths as a fresh face in an unendurably long campaign, they hid her away in a kind of conspicuous vote of no-confidence — which, one can only imagine, took a toll on her. I was struck watching her in St. Paul, where she appeared after five days of relentless media pressure and blew the doubts away, that she had the jauntiness of one who knew her own gifts: knew she could connect to a crowd and raise the roof and stomp her opponent with her sensible high heels. And of course, benefit from her critics' instinct to underestimate her.
Now that confidence seems gone, replaced by cockiness — which is just insecurity on steroids. With Charlie Gibson the waters were smooth if shallow; with Katie Couric she seemed forever at risk of drowning in her own syntax. But if she's growing less surefooted with each passing day of cramming, who can blame her, when the highly experienced Republican pols around her don't seem to trust her to talk past her talking points. Talk about undermining your brand; if she was picked as the Outsider Original Maverick with the experience and courage to help clean up Washington, you can't argue that she's not giving interviews because the press is so mean to her. She's ready for a cage fight with Nancy Pelosi but won't sit down with Campbell Brown?
In fact it got so bad that CNN's Brown called on the McCain team to free Sarah Palin, denouncing their use of her as sexist and infantilizing. "Stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment," Brown argued. "This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong, she is tough, she is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. ... Sarah Palin has as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do."
The XX Factor bloggers over at Slate have been carrying on a lively argument about how Palin has been deployed and what that tells us. "I'm guessing part of the reason the Palin effect is fading so fast is that they've tried so hard to turn her into a pet — adorable, as you say, but mute," Hanna Rosin argued. "So now she's fetching but useless. And who else could we blame but her male handlers? It can't possibly be her choice. One suspects she would love to take the liberal media on, given the chance." But Dahlia Lithwick counters that this argument diminishes Palin just as much. "Why do we keep talking about women as though they lack any agency? Are we really going to condemn the McCain campaign for treating her as an object, with demands that they "free" her? I understand why smart women in the media are enraged with Palin's refusal to engage them. It's appalling. But I don't think it's good for women to direct that rage at her male keepers, handlers, or advisers, either."
All I know is that with each passing day, Palin's road gets harder, the expectations higher, the margin for error smaller. For voters who were encouraged to see a woman on the ticket for the first time in nearly a quarter century, it's discouraging that Election Day fast approaches and we still know so little about Palin's reflexes and principles and priorities. Hurling a newcomer onto the national stage with two months to go and then hiding her behind photo ops and teleprompters is a disservice to her, and to women, and to voters who want to know what they're buying.
************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me agrees that the McCain campaign should not shelter Sarah and let her out there!! However, the media has been BRUTAL to her since the day she came on the national scene as McCain's running mate. Can you really BLAME them for trying to prolong the added critical press so close to Election Day?? Perhaps if the media was OBJECTIVE; something they certainly have NOT been this election cycle, the campaign would not be keeping Sarah hidden away.
By Nancy Gibbs Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008
Watching Joe Biden buzz from network to network post debate, you had to wonder one more time: As she prepares for her own big night, is Sarah Palin's worst enemy now the McCain campaign?
Post-debate spin would have been a natural for her; a chance to be sharp and funny and charming and not worry that some interviewer would ambush her, since any pointed questions aimed at her could be brushed back with a breezy, "Hey, I have to wait my turn; tune in next Thursday. Tonight was John's night."
But once again she was nowhere to be found, and that seemed especially odd given the rough week she'd had. She sat down with Henry Kissinger and various world leaders in New York, in meetings that were initially open to cameras but closed to reporters until the networks threatened to boycott the whole thing. The encounters thus came off as substance free, though the new President of Pakistan did declare her "even more gorgeous" than he'd expected and suggested he'd like to hug her. She summed up her global speed date Wednesday: "It's going great," she said. "The meetings are very informative and helpful. A lot of good people share an appreciation for America."
Her big interview of the week, with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, was sufficiently cringe-making to inspire conservative columnist Kathleen Parker to conclude sadly that for the good of the ticket and the country, Palin should declare she wants to spend more time with her family and step down. And watching her with Couric, you had to wonder what happened to the spirited, sparkling character who swept onstage in St. Paul and turned the race upside down.
In the month or so since then she has been in lockdown, either lashed to McCain's side to boost the size of his crowds, or hunkered down in debate prep and remedial candidate school. No press conferences, few interviews, no questions allowed from the reporters traveling with her, no appearances on The View to stare down Joy Behar. Rather than playing to her strengths as a fresh face in an unendurably long campaign, they hid her away in a kind of conspicuous vote of no-confidence — which, one can only imagine, took a toll on her. I was struck watching her in St. Paul, where she appeared after five days of relentless media pressure and blew the doubts away, that she had the jauntiness of one who knew her own gifts: knew she could connect to a crowd and raise the roof and stomp her opponent with her sensible high heels. And of course, benefit from her critics' instinct to underestimate her.
Now that confidence seems gone, replaced by cockiness — which is just insecurity on steroids. With Charlie Gibson the waters were smooth if shallow; with Katie Couric she seemed forever at risk of drowning in her own syntax. But if she's growing less surefooted with each passing day of cramming, who can blame her, when the highly experienced Republican pols around her don't seem to trust her to talk past her talking points. Talk about undermining your brand; if she was picked as the Outsider Original Maverick with the experience and courage to help clean up Washington, you can't argue that she's not giving interviews because the press is so mean to her. She's ready for a cage fight with Nancy Pelosi but won't sit down with Campbell Brown?
In fact it got so bad that CNN's Brown called on the McCain team to free Sarah Palin, denouncing their use of her as sexist and infantilizing. "Stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment," Brown argued. "This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong, she is tough, she is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. ... Sarah Palin has as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do."
The XX Factor bloggers over at Slate have been carrying on a lively argument about how Palin has been deployed and what that tells us. "I'm guessing part of the reason the Palin effect is fading so fast is that they've tried so hard to turn her into a pet — adorable, as you say, but mute," Hanna Rosin argued. "So now she's fetching but useless. And who else could we blame but her male handlers? It can't possibly be her choice. One suspects she would love to take the liberal media on, given the chance." But Dahlia Lithwick counters that this argument diminishes Palin just as much. "Why do we keep talking about women as though they lack any agency? Are we really going to condemn the McCain campaign for treating her as an object, with demands that they "free" her? I understand why smart women in the media are enraged with Palin's refusal to engage them. It's appalling. But I don't think it's good for women to direct that rage at her male keepers, handlers, or advisers, either."
All I know is that with each passing day, Palin's road gets harder, the expectations higher, the margin for error smaller. For voters who were encouraged to see a woman on the ticket for the first time in nearly a quarter century, it's discouraging that Election Day fast approaches and we still know so little about Palin's reflexes and principles and priorities. Hurling a newcomer onto the national stage with two months to go and then hiding her behind photo ops and teleprompters is a disservice to her, and to women, and to voters who want to know what they're buying.
************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me agrees that the McCain campaign should not shelter Sarah and let her out there!! However, the media has been BRUTAL to her since the day she came on the national scene as McCain's running mate. Can you really BLAME them for trying to prolong the added critical press so close to Election Day?? Perhaps if the media was OBJECTIVE; something they certainly have NOT been this election cycle, the campaign would not be keeping Sarah hidden away.
OBAMA TEAM HAS CHECKED SARAH'S DEBATE TAPES!!!!
Vice Presidential Debate Expectations: Obama Camp Calls Palin "Terrific Debater"
On a Saturday conference call with reporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called Gov. Sarah Palin "a terrific debater" who has "performed very, very well" in previous debates with opponents in her state.
Politico's Mike Allen writes:
"We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "She has performed very, very well. She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday." [...]
"She's obviously prepping this weekend in Pennsylvania," Plouffe continued. "Anyone who watches any of her previous debates would be impressed by her debating skills."
Obama national press secretary Bill Burton added: "What's missing is knowing where she stands on a lot of the important issues that will come up at the debate. Preparing to debate against someone who is really largely unknown, who's spent so much time preparing for the debate, will be a real challenge.
"She's not out there on the stump that much. She's not doing a whole lot of interviews. So she's spending a whole lot of time -- hours and hours a day, apparently -- preparing for this debate. And we suspect that she'll come in fighting form."
As Allen notes, campaigns regularly play such expectations games in the days leading up to a debate (in this case, Thursday's vice presidential debate).
But despite Palin's multiple cringe-inducing interview moments over the last few weeks, this sentiment from Obama aides is not just theater for the media's consumption. Privately, Democratic campaign officials have sent video clips of Palin's previous debates to the Huffington Post, noting her strong performances against more experienced Alaskan pols.
There is a legitimate sense of unease that the bar has been set so low for Palin that even a modest performance will be seen as a major success -- and that Palin may be capable of much more.
UPDATE: Some footage of Palin at a 2006 debate discussing her opposition to abortion rights:
On a Saturday conference call with reporters, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called Gov. Sarah Palin "a terrific debater" who has "performed very, very well" in previous debates with opponents in her state.
Politico's Mike Allen writes:
"We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "She has performed very, very well. She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday." [...]
"She's obviously prepping this weekend in Pennsylvania," Plouffe continued. "Anyone who watches any of her previous debates would be impressed by her debating skills."
Obama national press secretary Bill Burton added: "What's missing is knowing where she stands on a lot of the important issues that will come up at the debate. Preparing to debate against someone who is really largely unknown, who's spent so much time preparing for the debate, will be a real challenge.
"She's not out there on the stump that much. She's not doing a whole lot of interviews. So she's spending a whole lot of time -- hours and hours a day, apparently -- preparing for this debate. And we suspect that she'll come in fighting form."
As Allen notes, campaigns regularly play such expectations games in the days leading up to a debate (in this case, Thursday's vice presidential debate).
But despite Palin's multiple cringe-inducing interview moments over the last few weeks, this sentiment from Obama aides is not just theater for the media's consumption. Privately, Democratic campaign officials have sent video clips of Palin's previous debates to the Huffington Post, noting her strong performances against more experienced Alaskan pols.
There is a legitimate sense of unease that the bar has been set so low for Palin that even a modest performance will be seen as a major success -- and that Palin may be capable of much more.
UPDATE: Some footage of Palin at a 2006 debate discussing her opposition to abortion rights:
GOP SEEKS TO ATTRACT WOMEN TO MC CAIN CAMP
GOP seeks to attract women to McCain camp
Saturday, September 27, 2008
By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Down in the polls and struggling to close a gender gap that has long dogged Republican candidates, party leaders in Pennsylvania yesterday kicked off a drive to bring women into the McCain-Palin camp.
At the top of the speaking list was a woman who described herself as the longtime, sole member of "the pregnant governors club," former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, mother of twins and a woman determined to turn things around in Pennsylvania for John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.
"Pennsylvania is just so critical for our nation," Ms. Swift told a group of volunteers at Republican Headquarters in Green Tree.
Women - notably in the four traditionally Republican counties outside Philadelphia - began to abandon the party, largely because of disagreement with its longstanding platform opposing legalized abortion.
Yesterday, Ms. Swift, who describes herself as a pro-choice Republican, said she believed the party's efforts to reach beyond the abortion issue could draw women back into the fold.
"Sen. McCain has an economic policy that is very focused on small businesses. And as many women know and I think many economists will attest, small businesses are largely growing and thriving because they are started by women," Ms. Swift said.
She said Democratic nominee Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on annual incomes over $250,000 overlooks the fact that many women running small businesses file only personal income tax returns.
A secondary issue, she added, is likely to be national security.
"Women instinctively understand that if we are not safe and in a free society, all the other aspirations we have for our children become meaningless," she said.
Whether that message reaches Pennsylvania's women voters could well turn on drawing back people such as Mary D. Birks, a lifelong Republican from Mt. Lebanon.
She was attending a debate-watching party Friday night sponsored by the Obama campaign. She had not gone to cheer on Mr. McCain.
"I decided when he chose Palin," she said of Mr. McCain's selection of the staunchly conservative Alaska governor. "I'm going with Obama."
Ms. Birks said she was drawn by Mr. Obama's policies on education and support for the middle class.
"We have a strong upper class and we have a growing lower class and we're shrinking - our middle class is shrinking," Ms. Birks said.
Her replacement could come from the ranks of former Hillary Clinton voters - women such as Jeamour Matthews, a Braddock Democrat who was leaving headquarters yesterday with a "Women for McCain" yard sign.
"I have to vote for the man who supports women, and McCain is the man," she said, asserting that her group, Democracy in Suffrage, believes Mr. Obama underpays women on his senate staff.
Had the Democrats nominated Mrs. Clinton, she said, that McCain sign wouldn't be in her hand.
"Oh, without a doubt. Hillary Clinton is our modern-day Eleanor Roosevelt," Ms. Matthews said.
The abortion issue aside, she said her group also accepts Mr. McCain's stands on national security and the fact that Mrs. Palin has a son serving in Iraq.
"There's more things than just my reproductive issues," she said
Saturday, September 27, 2008
By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Down in the polls and struggling to close a gender gap that has long dogged Republican candidates, party leaders in Pennsylvania yesterday kicked off a drive to bring women into the McCain-Palin camp.
At the top of the speaking list was a woman who described herself as the longtime, sole member of "the pregnant governors club," former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, mother of twins and a woman determined to turn things around in Pennsylvania for John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.
"Pennsylvania is just so critical for our nation," Ms. Swift told a group of volunteers at Republican Headquarters in Green Tree.
Women - notably in the four traditionally Republican counties outside Philadelphia - began to abandon the party, largely because of disagreement with its longstanding platform opposing legalized abortion.
Yesterday, Ms. Swift, who describes herself as a pro-choice Republican, said she believed the party's efforts to reach beyond the abortion issue could draw women back into the fold.
"Sen. McCain has an economic policy that is very focused on small businesses. And as many women know and I think many economists will attest, small businesses are largely growing and thriving because they are started by women," Ms. Swift said.
She said Democratic nominee Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on annual incomes over $250,000 overlooks the fact that many women running small businesses file only personal income tax returns.
A secondary issue, she added, is likely to be national security.
"Women instinctively understand that if we are not safe and in a free society, all the other aspirations we have for our children become meaningless," she said.
Whether that message reaches Pennsylvania's women voters could well turn on drawing back people such as Mary D. Birks, a lifelong Republican from Mt. Lebanon.
She was attending a debate-watching party Friday night sponsored by the Obama campaign. She had not gone to cheer on Mr. McCain.
"I decided when he chose Palin," she said of Mr. McCain's selection of the staunchly conservative Alaska governor. "I'm going with Obama."
Ms. Birks said she was drawn by Mr. Obama's policies on education and support for the middle class.
"We have a strong upper class and we have a growing lower class and we're shrinking - our middle class is shrinking," Ms. Birks said.
Her replacement could come from the ranks of former Hillary Clinton voters - women such as Jeamour Matthews, a Braddock Democrat who was leaving headquarters yesterday with a "Women for McCain" yard sign.
"I have to vote for the man who supports women, and McCain is the man," she said, asserting that her group, Democracy in Suffrage, believes Mr. Obama underpays women on his senate staff.
Had the Democrats nominated Mrs. Clinton, she said, that McCain sign wouldn't be in her hand.
"Oh, without a doubt. Hillary Clinton is our modern-day Eleanor Roosevelt," Ms. Matthews said.
The abortion issue aside, she said her group also accepts Mr. McCain's stands on national security and the fact that Mrs. Palin has a son serving in Iraq.
"There's more things than just my reproductive issues," she said
SARAH PALIN'S UNASSERTIVE FASHION STATEMENT
By Robin Givhan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's style is exceptionally ordinary. Nothing about it connotes authority. No detail announces that she is in charge. And that's what makes it so powerful.
The rimless glasses that dominate her face are as banal as modern spectacles come. The entire goal of their design is to have them go unnoticed. They are not meant to frame her features as much as they are crafted to avoid detracting from her big brown eyes.
Her clothes are unpretentious, but they are also unremarkable. They have nothing to do with Fashion. It's fashion show season now, with designers unveiling their spring 2009 collections in New York, Milan and soon Paris. So far, none of them have suggested that the next new thing for the power-wielding woman is a straight black skirt with a boxy, oyster-colored blazer, which is what Palin wore when she accepted the vice-presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minn.
In the narrow confines of political style, the accepted rule is to dress in a manner that implies empathy for one's constituency -- so don't wear anything too expensive -- but also conveys authority. Palin has embraced the former and utterly ignored the latter. Nothing about her style jibes with the image of power. She does not dress like a boss lady, an Iron Lady or the devil who wore Prada.
Her clothes don't have the aura of sophistication like that of Michelle Obama's sheaths and pearls. They do not have a patina of glamour like Cindy McCain's heiress wardrobe. And they do not announce themselves with the confidence, assertiveness and listen-to-me-ness of Sen. Hillary Clinton's bold pantsuits. Palin's clothes are common. Everyone knows someone who dresses like her, which is partly why so many folks seem to think that they know her.
Palin likes to wear a super-size Old Glory brooch that shouts with as much patriotic bravado as one of those monster flags that wave from a car dealership. Her flag was on display during a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. And for the record, it has no kin among the statement jewelry currently being championed on the runway.
The ruby slippers she wore on the campaign trail, the ones she paired with the black jacket and skirt that pulled just so across her hips, churn up images of another small-town girl who'd suddenly landed in Oz. A peep-toe pump is coy -- coquettish even. But not an emblem of gravitas.
Despite what every optometrist with a publicity agent has to say, there is nothing remotely striking about her eyeglasses. It's only notable in an age of contact lenses and Lasik surgery that anyone in the public spotlight regularly wears them at all -- except, perhaps, when they're trying to make a point, such as when television interviewers keep a pair of reading glasses perched on the tip of their nose in a way that makes them look like professors skeptical of a student's ability to withstand their Socratic interrogation.
Palin is the girl next door. And yes, much about her attire emphasizes youthfulness, most distinctly her hair.
The hair, which has been highlighted, teased and scrunched, is a standard-issue, mommy-is-in-a-rush style. Since motherhood has been laid out by her campaign like one of the pillars of national service, the mop-top hairdo is practically a battle scar.
Executive women tend to avoid wearing their hair in ponytails or looking like they have it tacked to the top of their head with a chip clip. Like a good female news anchor, they get themselves a haircut that falls no further than the shoulders, is feminine and easy to maintain. They do not want to be wind-blown and tousled when they walk into a boardroom. Hair shouldn't be a distraction.
Palin doesn't have Maria Menounos's Pantene hair. But it is chestnut brown and long and is the antithesis of what most women do with it as they come into their own. They typically become more polished and controlled, not less so.
Palin has been referred to as America's hottest governor by sources as varied as Alaska Magazine and button-wearing Republican conventioneers. But Palin's power isn't in her physical looks as much as in the packaging.
Palin seems to dress for pretty rather than powerful. She is willing to be sexual, with the occasional fitted jacket and high heels. She wears dangly earrings. Campaign photographers can't seem to resist shooting her legs, as if they've never seen an American female politician with bare gams wearing three-inch heels. (Then again, they probably haven't.)
She talks tough. She doesn't blink. She speaks of "guys and gals." What is a gal? One thinks of a waitress in a bar who knows that if she pretends she doesn't notice when a guy's ogling her legs and gives as good as she gets when it comes to off-color jokes, life will go along more smoothly. She's not one of the guys, but she doesn't confront them with either a lawyer or rhetoric from a women's studies seminar.
Palin's style serves as evidence that a woman can step onto the national political stage without having to manipulate her wardrobe into some torturous costume calibrated to make her look authoritative but not threatening, feminine but not sexy, serious but not dour. Palin proves that a woman can wear red patent-leather shoes and still take questions on foreign policy and the economy.
The test, of course, is whether this particular gal knows the answers.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's style is exceptionally ordinary. Nothing about it connotes authority. No detail announces that she is in charge. And that's what makes it so powerful.
The rimless glasses that dominate her face are as banal as modern spectacles come. The entire goal of their design is to have them go unnoticed. They are not meant to frame her features as much as they are crafted to avoid detracting from her big brown eyes.
Her clothes are unpretentious, but they are also unremarkable. They have nothing to do with Fashion. It's fashion show season now, with designers unveiling their spring 2009 collections in New York, Milan and soon Paris. So far, none of them have suggested that the next new thing for the power-wielding woman is a straight black skirt with a boxy, oyster-colored blazer, which is what Palin wore when she accepted the vice-presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minn.
In the narrow confines of political style, the accepted rule is to dress in a manner that implies empathy for one's constituency -- so don't wear anything too expensive -- but also conveys authority. Palin has embraced the former and utterly ignored the latter. Nothing about her style jibes with the image of power. She does not dress like a boss lady, an Iron Lady or the devil who wore Prada.
Her clothes don't have the aura of sophistication like that of Michelle Obama's sheaths and pearls. They do not have a patina of glamour like Cindy McCain's heiress wardrobe. And they do not announce themselves with the confidence, assertiveness and listen-to-me-ness of Sen. Hillary Clinton's bold pantsuits. Palin's clothes are common. Everyone knows someone who dresses like her, which is partly why so many folks seem to think that they know her.
Palin likes to wear a super-size Old Glory brooch that shouts with as much patriotic bravado as one of those monster flags that wave from a car dealership. Her flag was on display during a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. And for the record, it has no kin among the statement jewelry currently being championed on the runway.
The ruby slippers she wore on the campaign trail, the ones she paired with the black jacket and skirt that pulled just so across her hips, churn up images of another small-town girl who'd suddenly landed in Oz. A peep-toe pump is coy -- coquettish even. But not an emblem of gravitas.
Despite what every optometrist with a publicity agent has to say, there is nothing remotely striking about her eyeglasses. It's only notable in an age of contact lenses and Lasik surgery that anyone in the public spotlight regularly wears them at all -- except, perhaps, when they're trying to make a point, such as when television interviewers keep a pair of reading glasses perched on the tip of their nose in a way that makes them look like professors skeptical of a student's ability to withstand their Socratic interrogation.
Palin is the girl next door. And yes, much about her attire emphasizes youthfulness, most distinctly her hair.
The hair, which has been highlighted, teased and scrunched, is a standard-issue, mommy-is-in-a-rush style. Since motherhood has been laid out by her campaign like one of the pillars of national service, the mop-top hairdo is practically a battle scar.
Executive women tend to avoid wearing their hair in ponytails or looking like they have it tacked to the top of their head with a chip clip. Like a good female news anchor, they get themselves a haircut that falls no further than the shoulders, is feminine and easy to maintain. They do not want to be wind-blown and tousled when they walk into a boardroom. Hair shouldn't be a distraction.
Palin doesn't have Maria Menounos's Pantene hair. But it is chestnut brown and long and is the antithesis of what most women do with it as they come into their own. They typically become more polished and controlled, not less so.
Palin has been referred to as America's hottest governor by sources as varied as Alaska Magazine and button-wearing Republican conventioneers. But Palin's power isn't in her physical looks as much as in the packaging.
Palin seems to dress for pretty rather than powerful. She is willing to be sexual, with the occasional fitted jacket and high heels. She wears dangly earrings. Campaign photographers can't seem to resist shooting her legs, as if they've never seen an American female politician with bare gams wearing three-inch heels. (Then again, they probably haven't.)
She talks tough. She doesn't blink. She speaks of "guys and gals." What is a gal? One thinks of a waitress in a bar who knows that if she pretends she doesn't notice when a guy's ogling her legs and gives as good as she gets when it comes to off-color jokes, life will go along more smoothly. She's not one of the guys, but she doesn't confront them with either a lawyer or rhetoric from a women's studies seminar.
Palin's style serves as evidence that a woman can step onto the national political stage without having to manipulate her wardrobe into some torturous costume calibrated to make her look authoritative but not threatening, feminine but not sexy, serious but not dour. Palin proves that a woman can wear red patent-leather shoes and still take questions on foreign policy and the economy.
The test, of course, is whether this particular gal knows the answers.
FORMER GOVERNOR LASHES INTO OBAMA AND PRAISES SARAH PALIN!!!
Pete Wilson tears into Obama at state GOP convention
McCain is the only candidate who can take on foreign leaders like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the former governor says. He also defends Palin's qualifications to be vice president.
By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 27, 2008
Former Gov. Pete Wilson lashed into Sen. Barack Obama today as a man who is unequipped to occupy the White House, even as he defended Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice presidency.
In a speech to the state GOP convention in Anaheim that was laced with reminisces of his decades of political battle, Wilson said that Sen. John McCain was the sole candidate who could go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Obama, he said, "is not someone who is ready to deal with someone like Putin."
Wilson, who served eight years in the U.S. Senate before winning the governorship, accused Democrats, and by extension Obama, of underhanded campaign tactics.
"Once again we have in this candidate a spender, someone who has adhered to a time-honored Democratic philosophy -- too often a philosophy that translates into, I think, the most divisive and cynical class warfare," said Wilson, who came under the same criticism himself after leading battles against illegal immigration and affirmative action.
Wilson took pains to praise Palin, whose leap onto the GOP ticket has energized the Republican base, although it has yet to translate into sustained upward movement for the ticket itself.
"This is a woman of some considerable spunk," Wilson told several hundred Republican delegates gathered for three days of strategizing for November's general election. "She's got guts. And she's also got intelligence."
Asked later how he squared his criticism of Obama, a four-year senator, with his praise of Palin, who has been governor for less than two years, Wilson cited her executive experience.
"If I were the Obama campaign management, I wouldn't hit that," he said. "That's just inviting attack on his greatest weakness."
Wilson's praise of Palin generated some of the most enthusiastic response to his speech, and those attending the convention cited her as their main reason for optimism. In part, that is because McCain has always had a touchy relationship with the party base because of his more moderate stance on illegal immigration. Palin, in contrast, has been embraced by the same conservatives skeptical of McCain.
At the convention, T-shirts bearing Palin's likeness were selling quickly -- including one with her face imposed over the classic, arm-cocked image of Rosie the Riveter. Several delegates bought -- sight unseen -- the $368 frame-less glasses popularized by Palin.
Shellie Whalen, a Yorba Linda mother and volunteer turned entrepreneur with her own "Palin Power" shirts, said that she hadn't felt an affinity for McCain until his selection of the Alaska governor as his running mate. In Palin, she said, she saw herself.
"She embraces her femininity, her motherhood," she said. "But she's got teeth. Just like the rest of us."
cathleen.decker@latimes.com
McCain is the only candidate who can take on foreign leaders like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the former governor says. He also defends Palin's qualifications to be vice president.
By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 27, 2008
Former Gov. Pete Wilson lashed into Sen. Barack Obama today as a man who is unequipped to occupy the White House, even as he defended Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice presidency.
In a speech to the state GOP convention in Anaheim that was laced with reminisces of his decades of political battle, Wilson said that Sen. John McCain was the sole candidate who could go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders like Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Obama, he said, "is not someone who is ready to deal with someone like Putin."
Wilson, who served eight years in the U.S. Senate before winning the governorship, accused Democrats, and by extension Obama, of underhanded campaign tactics.
"Once again we have in this candidate a spender, someone who has adhered to a time-honored Democratic philosophy -- too often a philosophy that translates into, I think, the most divisive and cynical class warfare," said Wilson, who came under the same criticism himself after leading battles against illegal immigration and affirmative action.
Wilson took pains to praise Palin, whose leap onto the GOP ticket has energized the Republican base, although it has yet to translate into sustained upward movement for the ticket itself.
"This is a woman of some considerable spunk," Wilson told several hundred Republican delegates gathered for three days of strategizing for November's general election. "She's got guts. And she's also got intelligence."
Asked later how he squared his criticism of Obama, a four-year senator, with his praise of Palin, who has been governor for less than two years, Wilson cited her executive experience.
"If I were the Obama campaign management, I wouldn't hit that," he said. "That's just inviting attack on his greatest weakness."
Wilson's praise of Palin generated some of the most enthusiastic response to his speech, and those attending the convention cited her as their main reason for optimism. In part, that is because McCain has always had a touchy relationship with the party base because of his more moderate stance on illegal immigration. Palin, in contrast, has been embraced by the same conservatives skeptical of McCain.
At the convention, T-shirts bearing Palin's likeness were selling quickly -- including one with her face imposed over the classic, arm-cocked image of Rosie the Riveter. Several delegates bought -- sight unseen -- the $368 frame-less glasses popularized by Palin.
Shellie Whalen, a Yorba Linda mother and volunteer turned entrepreneur with her own "Palin Power" shirts, said that she hadn't felt an affinity for McCain until his selection of the Alaska governor as his running mate. In Palin, she said, she saw herself.
"She embraces her femininity, her motherhood," she said. "But she's got teeth. Just like the rest of us."
cathleen.decker@latimes.com
ERIN BROCKOVICH PRAISES SARAH!!!
Left Angered Over Erin Brockovich Praise for Sarah Palin
By P.J. Gladnick
September 27, 2008
Julia Roberts might not be too happy when she finds out that the woman she portrayed in a movie of the same name, Erin Brockovich, is currently praising Sarah Palin. This is considered an act of treason by the left. And that is not the only "heresy" committed by Erin Brockovich who, until recently, was considered to be a "progressive." An article by John Vidal in the UK Guardian details Brockovich's "thought crimes" (emphasis mine):
...Although she rates herself as a leading environmentalist, she is extremely keen on Sarah Palin, the huntin', shootin' Alaskan governor running for vice president with the Republican candidate John McCain.
Environmentalists have painted Palin as the arch-enemy, to the right of Bush, because until last week she was denying climate change had anything to do with man, thought polar bears could go live on land and wants to see the Arctic drilled to within a quart of its oil.
But Palin is also being called the "Erin Brockovich of Alaska" and last week, on her blog, Brockovich came close to endorsing Palin. "Sure, she may be loud. So am I," she said. "Sometimes you've got to scream to get anyone to hear you. So what if her 17-year-old is pregnant? None of us should judge Sarah Palin for anything but her own actions."
What about her wanting to drill the arctic reserve? What about the bears and wolves that Palin shoots?
"No buts," says Brockovich. "The fact is that Sarah Palin positively emanates strength. She gives off the aura of being a strong woman who doesn't back down, and she does it sporting heels and wearing her family like a badge of honour. I am sure there are a million other women out there who are doing the same thing."
The blogosphere went wild, with people applauding or accusing. She denies moving to the right, pointing out that she's a registered Democrat, and says she'd be elated if asked to work with the Democrats. "But it's not about politics. I don't pick a person because they are a Republican or a Democrat but for the person. I like Obama. I like McCain. Both have strong points".
Her real beef is neither capitalism nor industry, Democrats nor Republicans, she says, but greed.
Erin Brockovich's other heresy is in supporting a (gasp!) Republican for the state senate in California. Brockovich, in her blog, explains:
...I am endorsing a local Senate candidate named Tony Strickland.
Tony Strickland is a friend of mine and a Republican. He is also for green energy and would make a great Senator.
The idea that we can't cross party lines is ridiculous.
So just how angry is the left at Brockovich's "heresy" in expressing admiration for Palin as well as endorsing a Republican? You can get a pretty good idea by taking a look at the Democratic Underground. Here are a few sample rantings:
Who would have thought that Erin would be this stupid?
I think it's more an attitude of....we former bimbos have got to stick together.
Then Brockovich Isn't Too Bright Either and they are both too ignorant to live.
She was in those beauty competitions too...and quite the FRAUD
I think Erin Brockovich will soon find out, if she hasn't already, that her invites to mingle with the Hollywood glitterati will be quickly drying up. Any admiration expressed for Sarah Palin is considered taboo by most celebs whether in Hollywood or in the liberal media.
—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.
By P.J. Gladnick
September 27, 2008
Julia Roberts might not be too happy when she finds out that the woman she portrayed in a movie of the same name, Erin Brockovich, is currently praising Sarah Palin. This is considered an act of treason by the left. And that is not the only "heresy" committed by Erin Brockovich who, until recently, was considered to be a "progressive." An article by John Vidal in the UK Guardian details Brockovich's "thought crimes" (emphasis mine):
...Although she rates herself as a leading environmentalist, she is extremely keen on Sarah Palin, the huntin', shootin' Alaskan governor running for vice president with the Republican candidate John McCain.
Environmentalists have painted Palin as the arch-enemy, to the right of Bush, because until last week she was denying climate change had anything to do with man, thought polar bears could go live on land and wants to see the Arctic drilled to within a quart of its oil.
But Palin is also being called the "Erin Brockovich of Alaska" and last week, on her blog, Brockovich came close to endorsing Palin. "Sure, she may be loud. So am I," she said. "Sometimes you've got to scream to get anyone to hear you. So what if her 17-year-old is pregnant? None of us should judge Sarah Palin for anything but her own actions."
What about her wanting to drill the arctic reserve? What about the bears and wolves that Palin shoots?
"No buts," says Brockovich. "The fact is that Sarah Palin positively emanates strength. She gives off the aura of being a strong woman who doesn't back down, and she does it sporting heels and wearing her family like a badge of honour. I am sure there are a million other women out there who are doing the same thing."
The blogosphere went wild, with people applauding or accusing. She denies moving to the right, pointing out that she's a registered Democrat, and says she'd be elated if asked to work with the Democrats. "But it's not about politics. I don't pick a person because they are a Republican or a Democrat but for the person. I like Obama. I like McCain. Both have strong points".
Her real beef is neither capitalism nor industry, Democrats nor Republicans, she says, but greed.
Erin Brockovich's other heresy is in supporting a (gasp!) Republican for the state senate in California. Brockovich, in her blog, explains:
...I am endorsing a local Senate candidate named Tony Strickland.
Tony Strickland is a friend of mine and a Republican. He is also for green energy and would make a great Senator.
The idea that we can't cross party lines is ridiculous.
So just how angry is the left at Brockovich's "heresy" in expressing admiration for Palin as well as endorsing a Republican? You can get a pretty good idea by taking a look at the Democratic Underground. Here are a few sample rantings:
Who would have thought that Erin would be this stupid?
I think it's more an attitude of....we former bimbos have got to stick together.
Then Brockovich Isn't Too Bright Either and they are both too ignorant to live.
She was in those beauty competitions too...and quite the FRAUD
I think Erin Brockovich will soon find out, if she hasn't already, that her invites to mingle with the Hollywood glitterati will be quickly drying up. Any admiration expressed for Sarah Palin is considered taboo by most celebs whether in Hollywood or in the liberal media.
—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.
SARAH IN PHILADELPHIA TO WATCH DEBATE LAST NIGHT!!
Palin grabs a seat at the bar
By CATHERINE LUCEY
Philadelphia Daily News
luceyc@phillynews.com 215-854-4172
Perhaps it was coincidence that the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was playing as Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin worked the crowd at the Irish Pub last night.
But her amorous fans were definitely ready to let the moose-hunting Alaska governor rule.
"I expect her to be president of the United States one day," said Suzanne Haney, the Republican leader for the 2nd Ward in South Philadelphia, who gave Palin a $2 bill for luck.
Palin appeared at the bar on 20th and Walnut streets last night to shake hands with her fans for about an hour before the first presidential debate. While the crowd inside was friendly, hundreds of people lined the street outside in protest with signs that read things like "Palin is Santorum With Lipstick."
Palin did not take questions from reporters nor did she talk policy. She posed for pictures and chatted with supporters, many of whom were from outside the city limits, and made an approximately minute-long statement.
"We have an opportunity to put government back on the side of the people and shake things up in D.C.," said Palin, who was garbed in a Phillies jersey, a white T-shirt and jeans with a leopard-print belt buckle.
A surprise pick by Sen. John McCain, Palin burst on the GOP scene to huge enthusiasm several weeks ago. The self-described "hockey mom" has served as governor of Alaska for just two years and previously was mayor of the small town of Wasilla.
But she has struggled with questions about her experience and foreign-policy credentials, and has been dogged by the "Troopergate" scandal over whether she tried to remove her ex-brother-in-law from his job on the state police force.
Still, supporters at the Irish Pub last night said they were excited about Palin.
Christine Olsen-Liney, 39, of King of Prussia, said she could relate to Palin because she has five kids, one with special needs. Palin recently gave birth to a son with Down syndrome.
"I think she can relate to the common mom," said Olsen-Liney, who has a 3-year-old son with a neurological disorder that prevents him from speaking. "I like the fact that [she's] somebody who recognizes that not enough is done for special-needs children."
Palin, who arrived in Philly on Thursday, said that she was enjoying her time in town. "I went for a beautiful run this morning along the river," she said, referring to a jog along the Schuylkill with Secret Service agents in tow.
By CATHERINE LUCEY
Philadelphia Daily News
luceyc@phillynews.com 215-854-4172
Perhaps it was coincidence that the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was playing as Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin worked the crowd at the Irish Pub last night.
But her amorous fans were definitely ready to let the moose-hunting Alaska governor rule.
"I expect her to be president of the United States one day," said Suzanne Haney, the Republican leader for the 2nd Ward in South Philadelphia, who gave Palin a $2 bill for luck.
Palin appeared at the bar on 20th and Walnut streets last night to shake hands with her fans for about an hour before the first presidential debate. While the crowd inside was friendly, hundreds of people lined the street outside in protest with signs that read things like "Palin is Santorum With Lipstick."
Palin did not take questions from reporters nor did she talk policy. She posed for pictures and chatted with supporters, many of whom were from outside the city limits, and made an approximately minute-long statement.
"We have an opportunity to put government back on the side of the people and shake things up in D.C.," said Palin, who was garbed in a Phillies jersey, a white T-shirt and jeans with a leopard-print belt buckle.
A surprise pick by Sen. John McCain, Palin burst on the GOP scene to huge enthusiasm several weeks ago. The self-described "hockey mom" has served as governor of Alaska for just two years and previously was mayor of the small town of Wasilla.
But she has struggled with questions about her experience and foreign-policy credentials, and has been dogged by the "Troopergate" scandal over whether she tried to remove her ex-brother-in-law from his job on the state police force.
Still, supporters at the Irish Pub last night said they were excited about Palin.
Christine Olsen-Liney, 39, of King of Prussia, said she could relate to Palin because she has five kids, one with special needs. Palin recently gave birth to a son with Down syndrome.
"I think she can relate to the common mom," said Olsen-Liney, who has a 3-year-old son with a neurological disorder that prevents him from speaking. "I like the fact that [she's] somebody who recognizes that not enough is done for special-needs children."
Palin, who arrived in Philly on Thursday, said that she was enjoying her time in town. "I went for a beautiful run this morning along the river," she said, referring to a jog along the Schuylkill with Secret Service agents in tow.
WOMAN SHOWS HER SUPPORT FOR PALIN!!!
Woman shows her support for Palin
Lindsay Blake, Staff Writer, lindsay.blake@nonpareilonline.com
09/27/2008
Ruth Munger shows her support of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin by painting “PALIN POWER” on the back of her home. Munger and her husband started painting their home before they decided to show their support after the Republican National Convention.
Freedom of expression is found in every corner of the United States in many unique forms.
Through music, tattoos, blogs, bumper stickers and more, U.S. citizens have the privilege of voicing their views on just about anything without the fear of persecution or death.
Ruth Munger understands the sacrifice that was made for her and has taken advantage of these rights when she painted "PALIN POWER" on the back of her house in big red letters.
Munger and her husband were painting their home while the Republican National Convention took place and although very excited and inspired, she felt Sarah Palin received bad press in the days that followed.
"This is a show of support and solidarity for the woman," Munger said.
Not wanting to be a part of the process but wanting to support his wife, Munger's husband gave the thumbs up.
"I waited a few days before doing it," Munger said. "But really, it's not like I'm being a total radical; we plan to paint over it before the cold season."
Munger said she felt a bond with Palin on many different levels.
"I'm a woman just like her, I have family values just like her, her husband is in the union and all of my family is very strong union supporters," Munger said.
Excited to express her views, others are not afraid to share theirs. Drivers honk in support while some neighbors wonder when the painting will be completed.
"It's lighthearted, " Munger said. "But it is freedom of speech."
Munger is the CFO of Cooperative Mutual Insurance Company in Omaha and is the mother of two girls.
"I try to stay very active in my family, community and work," Munger said. "So I really connect with Sarah Palin and juggling all those balls."
Munger and her husband try to educate and help their daughters understand politics. Both girls go to the voting booth with Munger each time she votes.
"We really try to get them involved in the process," Munger said. "My 12-year-old thinks it's pretty cool because I'm kind of being a little rebel."
While she expresses her political view with her hand painted sign, she said it is only temporary.
"I'm letting everyone know where I stand, and hopefully I'm going to convince a few people along the way," Munger said. "It's all in good clean fun. At least I didn't paint my house purple."
©SW Iowa News 2008
Lindsay Blake, Staff Writer, lindsay.blake@nonpareilonline.com
09/27/2008
Ruth Munger shows her support of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin by painting “PALIN POWER” on the back of her home. Munger and her husband started painting their home before they decided to show their support after the Republican National Convention.
Freedom of expression is found in every corner of the United States in many unique forms.
Through music, tattoos, blogs, bumper stickers and more, U.S. citizens have the privilege of voicing their views on just about anything without the fear of persecution or death.
Ruth Munger understands the sacrifice that was made for her and has taken advantage of these rights when she painted "PALIN POWER" on the back of her house in big red letters.
Munger and her husband were painting their home while the Republican National Convention took place and although very excited and inspired, she felt Sarah Palin received bad press in the days that followed.
"This is a show of support and solidarity for the woman," Munger said.
Not wanting to be a part of the process but wanting to support his wife, Munger's husband gave the thumbs up.
"I waited a few days before doing it," Munger said. "But really, it's not like I'm being a total radical; we plan to paint over it before the cold season."
Munger said she felt a bond with Palin on many different levels.
"I'm a woman just like her, I have family values just like her, her husband is in the union and all of my family is very strong union supporters," Munger said.
Excited to express her views, others are not afraid to share theirs. Drivers honk in support while some neighbors wonder when the painting will be completed.
"It's lighthearted, " Munger said. "But it is freedom of speech."
Munger is the CFO of Cooperative Mutual Insurance Company in Omaha and is the mother of two girls.
"I try to stay very active in my family, community and work," Munger said. "So I really connect with Sarah Palin and juggling all those balls."
Munger and her husband try to educate and help their daughters understand politics. Both girls go to the voting booth with Munger each time she votes.
"We really try to get them involved in the process," Munger said. "My 12-year-old thinks it's pretty cool because I'm kind of being a little rebel."
While she expresses her political view with her hand painted sign, she said it is only temporary.
"I'm letting everyone know where I stand, and hopefully I'm going to convince a few people along the way," Munger said. "It's all in good clean fun. At least I didn't paint my house purple."
©SW Iowa News 2008
I'VE GOT A BRACELET, TOO!!!!
'I've Got a Bracelet, Too'
By Matthew Sheffield
September 27, 2008
In recent memory, every presidential debate eventually distills down into a few catchphrases. Al Gore became known for his sighs and love of lockboxes. John Kerry actually served in Vietnam. Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy.
Barack Obama has a bracelet, too.
That inartful comeback will likely filter out through the political ether in the days ahead. What might not filter through our partisan press is that shortly after pointing out that, like John McCain, he sports a bracelet given to him by a military family, Barack Obama had to stop and look down find out the name of the soldier he's honoring.
That soldier is Ryan David Jopek. Barack Obama doesn't appear to have known that fact.
Here's his complete line:
"Jim, let me just make a point. I've got a bracelet too. From, Sergeant, uh, uh, from the mother of, uh, Sergeant, Ryan David Jopek."
Had a Republican, say Sarah Palin, made this gaffe, who wants to bet that we wouldn't hear this clip repeated endlessly during the post-debate spin shows and in the days ahead? How much would the sincerity of our hypothetical Republican politician be called into question.
I didn't hear it discussed once in the post-debate coverage. Did you?
Sidenote: Michelle Malkin reminds us that this incident is remarkably reminiscent of the now-famous incident of George H. W. Bush looking at his watch during the 1992 presidential debates.
Update 3:22. No mention of Obama's gaffe by Reuters reporter Jeremy Pelofsky.
UK Guardian unsurprisingly misses it as well.
Silence from Boston Globe and New York Times.
—Matthew Sheffield is the creator and editor of NewsBusters.
*******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Oh, My God, Obama never fails to prove just what a petulant, arrogant,impatient child he is!!LOL!!John McCain was telling a heartwarming,genuine story of a soldier's mother asking him to wear her dead son's bracelet, and she begged Senator McCain not to make her son's death have been in vain. Obama says "I've got a bracelet,too!!" You could just hear "Na na na na!" after that childish statement!! You can picture two kids in the school yard trying to one upmanship the other!! Whereas John McCain knew the name of the soldier whose bracelet he was wearing,showing an importance and significance to him, Obama stuttered (as usual!!) and had to actually LOOK to read the name on HIS BRACELET!! This is reminiscent of his not visiting the soldiers when he was in Iraq because he could not bring his camera crew with him!! It befuddles my mind how those who support this IDIOT do not see him for how he truly is!!
Also,John McCain spoke as a true leader, knew all his information as well as Obama's, and he smiled and looked comfortably at ease. Obama was exactly the same as he was in debates with Hillary. As soon as he heard something he did not like, right away that "finger" goes up indicating to the host that he has something to say. Also, you can just see it in his expressions how ANGRY, MAD, FRUSTRATED, ANNOYED HE IS!! He KNEW McCain was washing the floor with him and he didn't like it!!
The first Presidential Debate is done and McCain is definitely the WINNER!!
By Matthew Sheffield
September 27, 2008
In recent memory, every presidential debate eventually distills down into a few catchphrases. Al Gore became known for his sighs and love of lockboxes. John Kerry actually served in Vietnam. Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy.
Barack Obama has a bracelet, too.
That inartful comeback will likely filter out through the political ether in the days ahead. What might not filter through our partisan press is that shortly after pointing out that, like John McCain, he sports a bracelet given to him by a military family, Barack Obama had to stop and look down find out the name of the soldier he's honoring.
That soldier is Ryan David Jopek. Barack Obama doesn't appear to have known that fact.
Here's his complete line:
"Jim, let me just make a point. I've got a bracelet too. From, Sergeant, uh, uh, from the mother of, uh, Sergeant, Ryan David Jopek."
Had a Republican, say Sarah Palin, made this gaffe, who wants to bet that we wouldn't hear this clip repeated endlessly during the post-debate spin shows and in the days ahead? How much would the sincerity of our hypothetical Republican politician be called into question.
I didn't hear it discussed once in the post-debate coverage. Did you?
Sidenote: Michelle Malkin reminds us that this incident is remarkably reminiscent of the now-famous incident of George H. W. Bush looking at his watch during the 1992 presidential debates.
Update 3:22. No mention of Obama's gaffe by Reuters reporter Jeremy Pelofsky.
UK Guardian unsurprisingly misses it as well.
Silence from Boston Globe and New York Times.
—Matthew Sheffield is the creator and editor of NewsBusters.
*******************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Oh, My God, Obama never fails to prove just what a petulant, arrogant,impatient child he is!!LOL!!John McCain was telling a heartwarming,genuine story of a soldier's mother asking him to wear her dead son's bracelet, and she begged Senator McCain not to make her son's death have been in vain. Obama says "I've got a bracelet,too!!" You could just hear "Na na na na!" after that childish statement!! You can picture two kids in the school yard trying to one upmanship the other!! Whereas John McCain knew the name of the soldier whose bracelet he was wearing,showing an importance and significance to him, Obama stuttered (as usual!!) and had to actually LOOK to read the name on HIS BRACELET!! This is reminiscent of his not visiting the soldiers when he was in Iraq because he could not bring his camera crew with him!! It befuddles my mind how those who support this IDIOT do not see him for how he truly is!!
Also,John McCain spoke as a true leader, knew all his information as well as Obama's, and he smiled and looked comfortably at ease. Obama was exactly the same as he was in debates with Hillary. As soon as he heard something he did not like, right away that "finger" goes up indicating to the host that he has something to say. Also, you can just see it in his expressions how ANGRY, MAD, FRUSTRATED, ANNOYED HE IS!! He KNEW McCain was washing the floor with him and he didn't like it!!
The first Presidential Debate is done and McCain is definitely the WINNER!!
Friday, September 26, 2008
FROM BLOG: POWER LINE
September 26, 2008
McCain leads, Obama follows
The neat thing about a presidential race between two Senators is that voters can make direct comparisons between the candidates that otherwise are not possible. This year, the comparisons work in John McCain's favor.
McCain pushed for the "surge" in Iraq. Obama opposed it, saying it wouldn't work. When it worked, Obama said he knew it would work, but defended his vote anyway.
Two years ago, McCain warned that Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac were in serious need of reform and he so-sponsored legislation to reform it. Obama did not support this legislation, which the Democrats blocked. Obama was near the top of the list of recipients of contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, and two executives from these outfits were among his campaign advisors.
McCain also had the right line on the Russian invasion of Georgia (though this was not a legislative issue). As Rudy Giuliani recounted at the Republican Convention, Obama waffled for a while and eventually adopted McCain's view. McCain led; Obama followed
Most recently, McCain figured out that he needed to get back to Washington to engage, and if possible provide leadership in, the momentous issue of the financial sector bailout. While McCain opted to help make something happen, Obama said he could be reached by phone if anything did happen.
Obama's position was untenable, so he eventually followed McCain back to Washington.
Hoping to cover for their "follower" of a presidential candidate, Democrats are claiming that McCain has done more harm than good in the legislative debate. Although this is always a possibility with McCain (and, indeed, just about anyone who is willing to lead), the Democrats' case is absurd.
Their argument is that Congress was on the verge of a deal until McCain entered the picture and caused Republican House members to block it. The problems with this script are several. First, there is no evidence that House Republicans were ever on board with any deal. Second, the support of House Republicans is not needed to pass bailout legislation. The Democrats control the House.
The Democrats counter the second point by saying that a majority of House Dems won't support a deal unless House Republicans provide "cover." But this argument raises more problems than it addresses. First, it is a serious condemnation of House Dems (too gutless to do what they think is right, even in the face of a potential economic meltdown). Second it is a serious condemnation of Nancy Pelosi (too ineffective to whip her troops into line even in the face of a potential economic meltdown). Third, it casts serious doubt on the wisdom of the deal that McCain is falsely accused of scuttling. If the deal made sense, House Dems wouldn't believe they need "cover" from House Republicans.
Fourth, the "cover" argument shows what a non-factor Obama is in all of this. The Dems complain (preposterously) that McCain has riled up House Republicans or failed to bring them around. Meanwhile, no one seems to be asking why Obama hasn't helped the House leadership obtain sufficient support from House Dems.
There's a reason why this question isn't being asked. Obama is lightweight from whom leadership is not, and should not, be expected.
*******************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Boy does this author have Obama's number!! LOL!! Obama waits to see which way the wind blows before he makes any kind of committment to ANYTHING. But that doesn't mean two weeks later he will say he didn't mean it, or he didn't say it, or he was misunderstood, etc. It's kind of funny that Obama really thinks we're that STUPID that we didn't catch on to him a long, long time ago!!
McCain (and HILLARY & BILL) is a leader. Obama is a FOLLOWER. McCain has substance. Obama is AN EMPTY SUIT!! If you need space to store anything, Obama's brain is EMPTY!!
McCain leads, Obama follows
The neat thing about a presidential race between two Senators is that voters can make direct comparisons between the candidates that otherwise are not possible. This year, the comparisons work in John McCain's favor.
McCain pushed for the "surge" in Iraq. Obama opposed it, saying it wouldn't work. When it worked, Obama said he knew it would work, but defended his vote anyway.
Two years ago, McCain warned that Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac were in serious need of reform and he so-sponsored legislation to reform it. Obama did not support this legislation, which the Democrats blocked. Obama was near the top of the list of recipients of contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, and two executives from these outfits were among his campaign advisors.
McCain also had the right line on the Russian invasion of Georgia (though this was not a legislative issue). As Rudy Giuliani recounted at the Republican Convention, Obama waffled for a while and eventually adopted McCain's view. McCain led; Obama followed
Most recently, McCain figured out that he needed to get back to Washington to engage, and if possible provide leadership in, the momentous issue of the financial sector bailout. While McCain opted to help make something happen, Obama said he could be reached by phone if anything did happen.
Obama's position was untenable, so he eventually followed McCain back to Washington.
Hoping to cover for their "follower" of a presidential candidate, Democrats are claiming that McCain has done more harm than good in the legislative debate. Although this is always a possibility with McCain (and, indeed, just about anyone who is willing to lead), the Democrats' case is absurd.
Their argument is that Congress was on the verge of a deal until McCain entered the picture and caused Republican House members to block it. The problems with this script are several. First, there is no evidence that House Republicans were ever on board with any deal. Second, the support of House Republicans is not needed to pass bailout legislation. The Democrats control the House.
The Democrats counter the second point by saying that a majority of House Dems won't support a deal unless House Republicans provide "cover." But this argument raises more problems than it addresses. First, it is a serious condemnation of House Dems (too gutless to do what they think is right, even in the face of a potential economic meltdown). Second it is a serious condemnation of Nancy Pelosi (too ineffective to whip her troops into line even in the face of a potential economic meltdown). Third, it casts serious doubt on the wisdom of the deal that McCain is falsely accused of scuttling. If the deal made sense, House Dems wouldn't believe they need "cover" from House Republicans.
Fourth, the "cover" argument shows what a non-factor Obama is in all of this. The Dems complain (preposterously) that McCain has riled up House Republicans or failed to bring them around. Meanwhile, no one seems to be asking why Obama hasn't helped the House leadership obtain sufficient support from House Dems.
There's a reason why this question isn't being asked. Obama is lightweight from whom leadership is not, and should not, be expected.
*******************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
Boy does this author have Obama's number!! LOL!! Obama waits to see which way the wind blows before he makes any kind of committment to ANYTHING. But that doesn't mean two weeks later he will say he didn't mean it, or he didn't say it, or he was misunderstood, etc. It's kind of funny that Obama really thinks we're that STUPID that we didn't catch on to him a long, long time ago!!
McCain (and HILLARY & BILL) is a leader. Obama is a FOLLOWER. McCain has substance. Obama is AN EMPTY SUIT!! If you need space to store anything, Obama's brain is EMPTY!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
ABOUT GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN.
Sarah Louise (Heath) Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the Governor of Alaska and the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee for the 2008 United States presidential election.
Palin was elected governor in 2006 after defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election. She was the youngest person, and the first woman, to be elected governor of Alaska. Before becoming governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, and was elected and re-elected mayor of Wasilla for two three-year terms in 1996 and 1999. She also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002. Palin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Idaho.
On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced he had chosen Palin as his running mate, making her the first female vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party and the second female vice presidential candidate representing a major political party. She will also be the first politician from Alaska to run on a national ticket for president or vice president.
Early life
Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, the daughter of Sarah Heath (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach. She has English, Irish and German ancestry. Her family moved to Alaska when she was an infant. She and her father would sometimes wake at 3 a.m. to hunt moose before school, and the family regularly ran 5K and 10K races.
Palin attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school and the point guard and captain of the school's basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture at the time. She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play and was the leader of team prayer before games.
In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest, then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship. In the Wasilla pageant, she played the flute and won "Miss Congeniality."
Palin holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho, where she also minored in political science. She married Todd Palin, her boyfriend since high school, on August 29, 1988. She then briefly worked as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations while also working as a commercial fisherwoman with her husband.
Pre-gubernatorial political experience
City Council and Mayorship
Palin began her political career in 1992, running for Wasilla City Council as a supporter of the controversial new sales tax and with the goal of "a safer, more progressive Wasilla." She won and would serve two terms on the council from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, she challenged and defeated incumbent mayor, John Stein, criticizing wasteful spending and high taxes. In January 1997, Palin fired the Wasilla police chief and library director. In response, a group of 60 residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Wasilla discussed attempting a recall campaign against Palin, but then decided against it. The fired police chief eventually sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was eventually dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons. Palin followed through on her campaign promises to reduce her own salary, and to reduce property taxes by 60%. She ran for re-election against Stein in 1999, winning by an even larger margin. Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.
At the end of her mayorship, Palin was behind the construction of the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, a $15 million multi-use indoor ice arena, as her legacy. However, developer Gary Lundgren acquired the land before Palin could. Without the deed, Palin decided to build the arena there anyway, and attempted to acquire the land through eminent domain, but a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Lundgren. The case is in the process of being resolved in the courts. It will cost Wasilla at least an additional $1.67 million to acquire the land and Wasilla is still attempting to cover the budget shortfall by cutting library services, postponing capital improvement projects, and raising fees.
2002 Election
In 2002, Palin made an unsuccessful bid for Lieutenant Governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way race in the Republican primary. After Frank Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in mid-term to become governor, he considered Palin as a possible successor. Murkowski appointed his daughter, then-Alaska State Representative Lisa Murkowski.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Governor Murkowski appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2004 until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, who ignored her whistle blowing complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest. After she resigned, she exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, who was accused of doing work for the party on public time, and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail. Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.
Governorship
Running on a clean-government campaign in 2006, Palin upset then-Governor Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. In August, she declared that education, public safety, and transportation would be three cornerstones of her administration. Despite being outspent by her Democratic opponent, she won the gubernatorial election in November, defeating former Governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%.
Palin became Alaska's first woman governor and, at 42, the youngest in Alaskan history. Palin was also the first Alaskan governor born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau, instead choosing to hold her inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. She took office on December 4, 2006.
Palin initially expressed support for the Gravina Island Bridge project, commonly known outside the state as the "Bridge to Nowhere." However, once it had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending and some federal funding was lost, Palin canceled the bridge because Alaska's congressional delegation was unable to prevent the state of Alaska from having to pay for part of the bridge's construction. Alaska needs to be self-sufficient, she says, instead of relying heavily on "federal dollars," as the state does today.
She has challenged the state's Republican leaders, helping to launch a campaign by Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell to unseat U.S. Congressman Don Young and publicly challenging Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings.
Palin frequently had an approval rating above 90% in 2007. A poll published by Hays Research on July 28, 2008 showed Palin's approval rating at 80%, while another Ivan Moore poll showed it at 76%, a drop which the pollsters attributed to the controversial firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.
Palin was elected governor in 2006 after defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election. She was the youngest person, and the first woman, to be elected governor of Alaska. Before becoming governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, and was elected and re-elected mayor of Wasilla for two three-year terms in 1996 and 1999. She also ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002. Palin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Idaho.
On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced he had chosen Palin as his running mate, making her the first female vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party and the second female vice presidential candidate representing a major political party. She will also be the first politician from Alaska to run on a national ticket for president or vice president.
Early life
Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, the daughter of Sarah Heath (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach. She has English, Irish and German ancestry. Her family moved to Alaska when she was an infant. She and her father would sometimes wake at 3 a.m. to hunt moose before school, and the family regularly ran 5K and 10K races.
Palin attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, Alaska, where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school and the point guard and captain of the school's basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture at the time. She earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" because of her intense play and was the leader of team prayer before games.
In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest, then finished second in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship. In the Wasilla pageant, she played the flute and won "Miss Congeniality."
Palin holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho, where she also minored in political science. She married Todd Palin, her boyfriend since high school, on August 29, 1988. She then briefly worked as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations while also working as a commercial fisherwoman with her husband.
Pre-gubernatorial political experience
City Council and Mayorship
Palin began her political career in 1992, running for Wasilla City Council as a supporter of the controversial new sales tax and with the goal of "a safer, more progressive Wasilla." She won and would serve two terms on the council from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, she challenged and defeated incumbent mayor, John Stein, criticizing wasteful spending and high taxes. In January 1997, Palin fired the Wasilla police chief and library director. In response, a group of 60 residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Wasilla discussed attempting a recall campaign against Palin, but then decided against it. The fired police chief eventually sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was eventually dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons. Palin followed through on her campaign promises to reduce her own salary, and to reduce property taxes by 60%. She ran for re-election against Stein in 1999, winning by an even larger margin. Palin was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.
At the end of her mayorship, Palin was behind the construction of the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex, a $15 million multi-use indoor ice arena, as her legacy. However, developer Gary Lundgren acquired the land before Palin could. Without the deed, Palin decided to build the arena there anyway, and attempted to acquire the land through eminent domain, but a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Lundgren. The case is in the process of being resolved in the courts. It will cost Wasilla at least an additional $1.67 million to acquire the land and Wasilla is still attempting to cover the budget shortfall by cutting library services, postponing capital improvement projects, and raising fees.
2002 Election
In 2002, Palin made an unsuccessful bid for Lieutenant Governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way race in the Republican primary. After Frank Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in mid-term to become governor, he considered Palin as a possible successor. Murkowski appointed his daughter, then-Alaska State Representative Lisa Murkowski.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Governor Murkowski appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2004 until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, who ignored her whistle blowing complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest. After she resigned, she exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, who was accused of doing work for the party on public time, and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail. Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.
Governorship
Running on a clean-government campaign in 2006, Palin upset then-Governor Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. In August, she declared that education, public safety, and transportation would be three cornerstones of her administration. Despite being outspent by her Democratic opponent, she won the gubernatorial election in November, defeating former Governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%.
Palin became Alaska's first woman governor and, at 42, the youngest in Alaskan history. Palin was also the first Alaskan governor born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau, instead choosing to hold her inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. She took office on December 4, 2006.
Palin initially expressed support for the Gravina Island Bridge project, commonly known outside the state as the "Bridge to Nowhere." However, once it had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending and some federal funding was lost, Palin canceled the bridge because Alaska's congressional delegation was unable to prevent the state of Alaska from having to pay for part of the bridge's construction. Alaska needs to be self-sufficient, she says, instead of relying heavily on "federal dollars," as the state does today.
She has challenged the state's Republican leaders, helping to launch a campaign by Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell to unseat U.S. Congressman Don Young and publicly challenging Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings.
Palin frequently had an approval rating above 90% in 2007. A poll published by Hays Research on July 28, 2008 showed Palin's approval rating at 80%, while another Ivan Moore poll showed it at 76%, a drop which the pollsters attributed to the controversial firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.
FROM BLOG: LOGISTICS MONSTER
PUMA Politics: Do The Dems Have The Devil Inside?
It has been quite the newsday today and I have almost sent my phalanges into extinction writing posts about idiot children who do not have sense enough to clamp their lips together before they prove to us exactly how mentally challenged they actually are; and even though it is very late, I am getting to the post that should have been written many hours ago about even more insane, horrific bad manners coming from an elected official of the Democratic Party. I would like to give Texas Hill the hat-tip for reminding me about this unbelievable rudeness that started in the primaries against Hillary Clinton and her supporters but is now spreading; thanks in part, I believe, to Barack Obama’s inability, negligence or just plain apathy to step up and rein in his supporters and surrogates. What in the name of all the unspoken rules of civility has gotten into Obama surrogates? What? Is it about time for INXS “The Devil Inside”?
According to CNN, earlier today:
“If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida said at a panel about the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats Wednesday. Hastings, who is African-American, was explaining what he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the presidential race. “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through,” Hastings added as the room erupted in laughter and applause.
After telling attendees that the most important thing Jewish and African-American Democrats could do to support one another was to get Sen. Barack Obama elected president, Hastings had one more message: “For those of you like me that supported Sen. Hillary Clinton, she lost! Get over it!”
Well Rep. Hastings; thanks for that uplifting message of hope and change. I will make sure to just “get over it”, just as soon as I hear it from somebody I actually respect and who still has some class, manners, and self-respect left. I might also listen to someone who is not alluding to Hitler while speaking to a Jewish audience about another American citizen. You are a cad, and from what I have seen over the course of this election, a perfect surrogate for the Obama camp, and a candidate for having your mouth washed out with soap by the nuns.
******************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
ENOUGH WITH THE DISGUSTING COMMENTS ABOUT SARAH PALIN!!! ENOUGH!! AND ENOUGH WITH THIS "GET OVER IT", "FALL IN LINE" CRAP!! I'M NOT IN THE ARMY; I DON'T NEED YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO OR WHO TO VOTE FOR!!
I HAPPEN TO SEE A LOVELY WOMAN IN SARAH PALIN. NO, I DO NOT LIKE HUNTING OR GUNS. I AM AN ANIMAL LOVER. THAT IS THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE WITH GOVERNOR PALIN. BUT NO CANDIDATE IS GOING TO BE 100% TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING. WITH OBAMA, HE IS THE DEVIL AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED. HE IS EVERYTHING THAT IS BAD, EVIL AND CORRUPT IN THIS WORLD AND I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR HIM IF SOMEONE HAD A GUN TO MY HEAD AND A KNIFE TO MY HEART!!! SO SHUT UP AND KEEP YOUR NASTY COMMENTS AND OPINIONS TO YOURSELF!!
It has been quite the newsday today and I have almost sent my phalanges into extinction writing posts about idiot children who do not have sense enough to clamp their lips together before they prove to us exactly how mentally challenged they actually are; and even though it is very late, I am getting to the post that should have been written many hours ago about even more insane, horrific bad manners coming from an elected official of the Democratic Party. I would like to give Texas Hill the hat-tip for reminding me about this unbelievable rudeness that started in the primaries against Hillary Clinton and her supporters but is now spreading; thanks in part, I believe, to Barack Obama’s inability, negligence or just plain apathy to step up and rein in his supporters and surrogates. What in the name of all the unspoken rules of civility has gotten into Obama surrogates? What? Is it about time for INXS “The Devil Inside”?
According to CNN, earlier today:
“If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida said at a panel about the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats Wednesday. Hastings, who is African-American, was explaining what he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the presidential race. “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through,” Hastings added as the room erupted in laughter and applause.
After telling attendees that the most important thing Jewish and African-American Democrats could do to support one another was to get Sen. Barack Obama elected president, Hastings had one more message: “For those of you like me that supported Sen. Hillary Clinton, she lost! Get over it!”
Well Rep. Hastings; thanks for that uplifting message of hope and change. I will make sure to just “get over it”, just as soon as I hear it from somebody I actually respect and who still has some class, manners, and self-respect left. I might also listen to someone who is not alluding to Hitler while speaking to a Jewish audience about another American citizen. You are a cad, and from what I have seen over the course of this election, a perfect surrogate for the Obama camp, and a candidate for having your mouth washed out with soap by the nuns.
******************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
ENOUGH WITH THE DISGUSTING COMMENTS ABOUT SARAH PALIN!!! ENOUGH!! AND ENOUGH WITH THIS "GET OVER IT", "FALL IN LINE" CRAP!! I'M NOT IN THE ARMY; I DON'T NEED YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO OR WHO TO VOTE FOR!!
I HAPPEN TO SEE A LOVELY WOMAN IN SARAH PALIN. NO, I DO NOT LIKE HUNTING OR GUNS. I AM AN ANIMAL LOVER. THAT IS THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE WITH GOVERNOR PALIN. BUT NO CANDIDATE IS GOING TO BE 100% TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING. WITH OBAMA, HE IS THE DEVIL AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED. HE IS EVERYTHING THAT IS BAD, EVIL AND CORRUPT IN THIS WORLD AND I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR HIM IF SOMEONE HAD A GUN TO MY HEAD AND A KNIFE TO MY HEART!!! SO SHUT UP AND KEEP YOUR NASTY COMMENTS AND OPINIONS TO YOURSELF!!
FROM BLOG: SEMI-SEX.COM - MEDIA: STOP REPORTING SMEARS AS FACTS!!!!
Slate's XX Factor, a moment of hope, dashed by two of shame
Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 11:27 am — M.A. Liginter
On any given day, one thing is as certain as gravity. The XX Factor on Slate will feature the Male Top Editors stable of cherry-pricked XX women writers trash talking Palin. A few short months ago these same women (“liberals” all, so they say) cut Hillary to shreds with the words and fonts of their own self-loathing discontent.
I occasionally comment on the sexist, misogynistic things these female-loathing, male-adoring gals write. And yes, I do have massive Horror in my soul for Missy Dahlia Lithwick, the woman who hates her femaleness so much she lashes out at any female who dare find herself without the shredded self-esteem that so obviously plagues Missy Dahlia.
But …stop the presses, hold the phones and float gravity-free out of ur chairs for the briefest of moments. I just encountered this on the XX factor:
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One Nasty Palin Rumor Debunked, by Rachael Larimore
• When I'd read that Wasilla, during Sarah Palin's mayoral tenure, had a practice of charging victims for their "rape kits"—the forensic examination required to gather evidence against the perpetrator—I was as horrified as anyone else. The explanation that it was the policy of the local police chief doing the billing, and even a quote by a Democratic member of the state legislature that Palin probably knew nothing about the policy, brought little comfort. At the same time, it just didn't make any sense, so I tempered my horror with skepticism.
Fortunately, it turns out that skepticism wins the day. Thanks to very thorough debunkings by bloggers Charlie Martin of Explorations and Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee, we can put this bit of nastiness to rest.
First off, the Wasilla police chief, Charlie Fannon, is on record as having tried to bill victims' insurance companies, not the victims themselves, for the rape kits. In other towns in Alaska, hospitals were trying to bill victims, prompting an Alaska state law forbidding the practice. If this practice still seems creepy or exclusive to macho, rough-and-tumble Alaska, well, it happens to be the practice in other states, too, like North Carolina (until recently) and ... Illinois.
Some conservative bloggers are trying to play "gotcha" and point out that Barack Obama co-sponsored a bill in the Illinois state senate that provides state money to cover services provided to victims who have neither state aid or insurance, meaning that Illinois also tries to get insurance companies to pay up, just like little ol' Wasilla. Best I can tell from my rudimentary reading of the Illinois code, Obama co-sponsored an amendment to existing legislation that already had the insurance clause in there, and the amendment had nothing to do with rape kits. So, I'm not going to engage in gotcha-ism. We could play that game all day long.
What bothers me is that, while the media has been quick to investigate and shoot down every claim that Sarah Palin makes—that she stopped the Bridge to Nowhere, that she opposes earmarks—the nasty rumors are taken at face value. It takes bloggers, working on their own time and with tools no fancier than Google, to figure out that she's not personally sending bills for $1,200 to traumatized rape victims and that no, she did NOT cut funding for teen mothers, unless you define "cut" as not providing as much of a budget increase as had been had asked for (same with funding "cuts" for Catholic Charities and the Special Olympics).
-------------------
I was thrilled and astounded to see this honest piece on the XX Factor. All the negative and positive spin is gone and readers get what they want from MSM—an honest accounting. My only complaint is that Ms. Larimore fails to note that the “nasty rumors” are media-fueled.
That is, the Media themselves are putting out spun stories on Palin in the fashion of a negative campaign ad. Yet hats off to u Ms. Larimore. But that just means you will not get to publish as much as Missy woman-hater Dahlia.
BUT ….Folks, don’t get to excited about the sudden halt of hate for women by women on the XX Factor. Just scroll down a bit and you get this from Miss D:
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“Are we really going to condemn the McCain campaign for treating her as an object, with demands that they “free” her? I understand why smart women in the media are enraged with Palin’s refusal to engage them. It’s appalling. But I don’t think it’s good for women to direct that rage at her male keepers, handlers, or advisers, either.”
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Poor Missy BJgivernchief Dahlia Lithwick, she jumps like a dog thru a hoop at every chance to call Palin appalling and strike sexist sticks in all women’s hearts by telling us Palin has Male keepers.
Gov. Palin looks to me like a woman who has tolerated no Keepers Missy D, while you are the epitome of a woman Kept by Male Publishers. Missy D’s male handlers are the Top edit men at Slate and the very sexist Jon Meacham of Newsweek, who Handles and Minds, and Keeps his women away from writing about politics unless they have been fully inculcated into his Program of Thought. Newsweek is about as anti-feminist a place as downtown Riyadh.
And then just below Missy D’s item, we get…Ta DA!...
-----------
Vampire Vixen by another XX Factor anti-feminist Hanna Rosin
• “There is an amazing photo spread across this morning's Washington Times of Sarah Palin, shot from behind the head of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. (Sadly, I can't find it online). Palin, radiating confidence, looks like she wants to ravish him, if not suck his blood. Now we got absolutely no actual information out of this foreign affairs speed dating. ("It was fine," said Hamid Karzai. And: "We talked a lot about a lot of things.") So we are not insulting her to say it was just an image building exercise. And the image conveyed by this photo, featured in a friendly conservative paper is: That is one MANSLAYING v.p. candidate we got.
This, plus the "Hottest VP" buttons, plus the action figure in a miniskirt, makes one suspect that conservatives are promoting the sexy Christian girl image rather than offended by it, as they claim to be. “
-------------
THANK GOODNESS WOMEN HAVE ROSIN TO TELL US WHAT A BLOOD-SUCKING nasty Palin is and to diminish the Governor’s meeting with a head of state as nothing more than speed dating.
By the Way, can Missy Rosin get me some coffee… and one of those yummy jelly doughnuts? Thanks, Missy H, now get ur sad-sack male-worshipping ass back to the 60s and shut UP!
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/
September 24th 08
Also.. NOT TO BE MISSED or Forgotten....Appalling sexist comments of Missy Dahlia aimed at Hillary supporters, calling us Harridans who ask for the violence she inflicts see:
http://femisex.com/content/%E2%80%9Chillary-harridans%E2%80%9D-and-other...
****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS: I, too, am DISGUSTED - had it up to HERE with the MEDIA in general!! I am sick and tired of their media bias. Constant favorable reporting on Obama; never, ever reporting things they should be reporting, that the voting public have a RIGHT TO KNOW!! And yet, they will pick up ANY SMEAR, ANY MADE-UP LIE, from any liberal blog, about Sarah Palin and REPORT IT AS FACT!! I never thought I would live the day to say this, but I actually think the media HATES Sarah MORE than HILLARY!!! And that, my friend, is really saying something!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 11:27 am — M.A. Liginter
On any given day, one thing is as certain as gravity. The XX Factor on Slate will feature the Male Top Editors stable of cherry-pricked XX women writers trash talking Palin. A few short months ago these same women (“liberals” all, so they say) cut Hillary to shreds with the words and fonts of their own self-loathing discontent.
I occasionally comment on the sexist, misogynistic things these female-loathing, male-adoring gals write. And yes, I do have massive Horror in my soul for Missy Dahlia Lithwick, the woman who hates her femaleness so much she lashes out at any female who dare find herself without the shredded self-esteem that so obviously plagues Missy Dahlia.
But …stop the presses, hold the phones and float gravity-free out of ur chairs for the briefest of moments. I just encountered this on the XX factor:
----------
One Nasty Palin Rumor Debunked, by Rachael Larimore
• When I'd read that Wasilla, during Sarah Palin's mayoral tenure, had a practice of charging victims for their "rape kits"—the forensic examination required to gather evidence against the perpetrator—I was as horrified as anyone else. The explanation that it was the policy of the local police chief doing the billing, and even a quote by a Democratic member of the state legislature that Palin probably knew nothing about the policy, brought little comfort. At the same time, it just didn't make any sense, so I tempered my horror with skepticism.
Fortunately, it turns out that skepticism wins the day. Thanks to very thorough debunkings by bloggers Charlie Martin of Explorations and Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee, we can put this bit of nastiness to rest.
First off, the Wasilla police chief, Charlie Fannon, is on record as having tried to bill victims' insurance companies, not the victims themselves, for the rape kits. In other towns in Alaska, hospitals were trying to bill victims, prompting an Alaska state law forbidding the practice. If this practice still seems creepy or exclusive to macho, rough-and-tumble Alaska, well, it happens to be the practice in other states, too, like North Carolina (until recently) and ... Illinois.
Some conservative bloggers are trying to play "gotcha" and point out that Barack Obama co-sponsored a bill in the Illinois state senate that provides state money to cover services provided to victims who have neither state aid or insurance, meaning that Illinois also tries to get insurance companies to pay up, just like little ol' Wasilla. Best I can tell from my rudimentary reading of the Illinois code, Obama co-sponsored an amendment to existing legislation that already had the insurance clause in there, and the amendment had nothing to do with rape kits. So, I'm not going to engage in gotcha-ism. We could play that game all day long.
What bothers me is that, while the media has been quick to investigate and shoot down every claim that Sarah Palin makes—that she stopped the Bridge to Nowhere, that she opposes earmarks—the nasty rumors are taken at face value. It takes bloggers, working on their own time and with tools no fancier than Google, to figure out that she's not personally sending bills for $1,200 to traumatized rape victims and that no, she did NOT cut funding for teen mothers, unless you define "cut" as not providing as much of a budget increase as had been had asked for (same with funding "cuts" for Catholic Charities and the Special Olympics).
-------------------
I was thrilled and astounded to see this honest piece on the XX Factor. All the negative and positive spin is gone and readers get what they want from MSM—an honest accounting. My only complaint is that Ms. Larimore fails to note that the “nasty rumors” are media-fueled.
That is, the Media themselves are putting out spun stories on Palin in the fashion of a negative campaign ad. Yet hats off to u Ms. Larimore. But that just means you will not get to publish as much as Missy woman-hater Dahlia.
BUT ….Folks, don’t get to excited about the sudden halt of hate for women by women on the XX Factor. Just scroll down a bit and you get this from Miss D:
---
“Are we really going to condemn the McCain campaign for treating her as an object, with demands that they “free” her? I understand why smart women in the media are enraged with Palin’s refusal to engage them. It’s appalling. But I don’t think it’s good for women to direct that rage at her male keepers, handlers, or advisers, either.”
-------
Poor Missy BJgivernchief Dahlia Lithwick, she jumps like a dog thru a hoop at every chance to call Palin appalling and strike sexist sticks in all women’s hearts by telling us Palin has Male keepers.
Gov. Palin looks to me like a woman who has tolerated no Keepers Missy D, while you are the epitome of a woman Kept by Male Publishers. Missy D’s male handlers are the Top edit men at Slate and the very sexist Jon Meacham of Newsweek, who Handles and Minds, and Keeps his women away from writing about politics unless they have been fully inculcated into his Program of Thought. Newsweek is about as anti-feminist a place as downtown Riyadh.
And then just below Missy D’s item, we get…Ta DA!...
-----------
Vampire Vixen by another XX Factor anti-feminist Hanna Rosin
• “There is an amazing photo spread across this morning's Washington Times of Sarah Palin, shot from behind the head of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. (Sadly, I can't find it online). Palin, radiating confidence, looks like she wants to ravish him, if not suck his blood. Now we got absolutely no actual information out of this foreign affairs speed dating. ("It was fine," said Hamid Karzai. And: "We talked a lot about a lot of things.") So we are not insulting her to say it was just an image building exercise. And the image conveyed by this photo, featured in a friendly conservative paper is: That is one MANSLAYING v.p. candidate we got.
This, plus the "Hottest VP" buttons, plus the action figure in a miniskirt, makes one suspect that conservatives are promoting the sexy Christian girl image rather than offended by it, as they claim to be. “
-------------
THANK GOODNESS WOMEN HAVE ROSIN TO TELL US WHAT A BLOOD-SUCKING nasty Palin is and to diminish the Governor’s meeting with a head of state as nothing more than speed dating.
By the Way, can Missy Rosin get me some coffee… and one of those yummy jelly doughnuts? Thanks, Missy H, now get ur sad-sack male-worshipping ass back to the 60s and shut UP!
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/
September 24th 08
Also.. NOT TO BE MISSED or Forgotten....Appalling sexist comments of Missy Dahlia aimed at Hillary supporters, calling us Harridans who ask for the violence she inflicts see:
http://femisex.com/content/%E2%80%9Chillary-harridans%E2%80%9D-and-other...
****************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS: I, too, am DISGUSTED - had it up to HERE with the MEDIA in general!! I am sick and tired of their media bias. Constant favorable reporting on Obama; never, ever reporting things they should be reporting, that the voting public have a RIGHT TO KNOW!! And yet, they will pick up ANY SMEAR, ANY MADE-UP LIE, from any liberal blog, about Sarah Palin and REPORT IT AS FACT!! I never thought I would live the day to say this, but I actually think the media HATES Sarah MORE than HILLARY!!! And that, my friend, is really saying something!!
I'M GLAD MC CAIN IS ON TOP OF THIS!!! OBAMA YOU CAN'T CHEAT IN G.E. TOO!!!
McCain Fears Voter Fraud
Monday, September 22, 2008 8:35 PM
By: Dave Eberhart, Newsmax Article Font Size
Former Republican Sens. John Danforth of Missouri and Warren Rudman of New Hampshire are running the McCain-Palin 2008 Honest and Open Election Committee, and, according to them, they are running scared – scared of all the registration mischief out in the field that may just drop a bomb on Election 2008.
“Our mission is to make sure that everybody who is entitled to vote gets to vote without any intimidation, but also that there is no stuffing at the ballot boxes, no fraudulent voting, and also that the rules are the same for everybody,” announced Danforth at a teleconference with the media on Monday afternoon.
“I mean, one of our concerns is that on Election Day some polling places are kept open for extended periods of time and others are not, and that this is done to help one candidate versus the other,” Danforth added.
Both Rudman and Danforth voiced concern that there is or may be a pattern of registering people who are not entitled to vote, noting that of particular concern is an organization called The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
“We are concerned that ACORN has been connected with Senator [Barack] Obama and that he has ties to it,” said Danforth. “He directed something called Project Vote; he taught classes for future leaders that are identified by ACORN; and he has represented ACORN in court in a lawsuit against the state of Illinois. ACORN’s political action committee has endorsed Senator Obama.”
Danforth expressed alarm that ACORN has been bringing in large numbers of names, many who are not qualified to vote, and the practice may be “gumming” up the system. He added that after the enactment of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, there has been a requirement for statewide computerization of registered voters and that the local overseers may become overwhelmed by the sheer numbers being put forth by ACORN.
Between Danforth and Rudman, they ticked off an inventory of what they perceived as likely trouble spots:
In Ohio in the last election, there were four counties where voter registration exceeded the number of voting-age people in the counties.
In Colorado, ACORN registered some individuals 40 separate times. Danforth noted that the ACORN director in Ohio played this down, saying in effect just because you register somebody 35 times doesn’t mean that they get to vote 35 times. “So, a fairly cavalier attitude,” he concluded.
In Nevada, nearly 1,000 felons were illegally registered to vote in 2004.
In Washington state, felony charges were brought against ACORN workers and some went to jail.
On Sept. 18th in The Washington Post, an article pointed out the danger that Election Day could become a real mess because of the applications turned in for registration of people who are not entitled to vote.
In Michigan, ACORN enrolled 200,000 voters and a spokesman for the secretary of state of Michigan has said that there appears to be a sizable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications.
The Clark County, Nev., registrar claims that there has been rampant fraud, and counts roughly 40 percent of registration applications submitted by ACORN from January through July had been rejected or questioned.
In Pennsylvania, official are investigating ACORN for filing fraudulent voter registrations. One ACORN worker is facing 19 counts of perjury for making false statements.
In Wisconsin, more allegations of fraud. Milwaukee election officials recently turned in 32 more voter registration workers to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution, bringing the total to 39.
The secretary of state of Ohio is, in effect, disenfranchising many who have relied on printed applications for absentee ballots -- claiming that because appropriate boxes not been checked on the card requesting the ballot that the person shouldn’t get the ballot. “So we are concerned that a lot of people who want to vote absentee in Ohio are not going to be able to do so,” concluded Danforth.
Rudman zeroed in on the case of Michigan where “we believe that the Obama campaign has made really false claims about trying to suppress voters there.”
“Our concern is that if this is a close election ... and if one side believes it has been cheated ... it is going to be harder to heal the wounds that are created at election time,” said Danforth.
“[W]e have extended our hand to the Obama campaign and to the Democratic National Committee, hoping that ways can be found where we can work together toward what should be the common objective for both presidential candidates,” said Danforth.
When asked to comment on whether Florida was going to be a problem child this election cycle, the team would not directly respond.
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Monday, September 22, 2008 8:35 PM
By: Dave Eberhart, Newsmax Article Font Size
Former Republican Sens. John Danforth of Missouri and Warren Rudman of New Hampshire are running the McCain-Palin 2008 Honest and Open Election Committee, and, according to them, they are running scared – scared of all the registration mischief out in the field that may just drop a bomb on Election 2008.
“Our mission is to make sure that everybody who is entitled to vote gets to vote without any intimidation, but also that there is no stuffing at the ballot boxes, no fraudulent voting, and also that the rules are the same for everybody,” announced Danforth at a teleconference with the media on Monday afternoon.
“I mean, one of our concerns is that on Election Day some polling places are kept open for extended periods of time and others are not, and that this is done to help one candidate versus the other,” Danforth added.
Both Rudman and Danforth voiced concern that there is or may be a pattern of registering people who are not entitled to vote, noting that of particular concern is an organization called The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
“We are concerned that ACORN has been connected with Senator [Barack] Obama and that he has ties to it,” said Danforth. “He directed something called Project Vote; he taught classes for future leaders that are identified by ACORN; and he has represented ACORN in court in a lawsuit against the state of Illinois. ACORN’s political action committee has endorsed Senator Obama.”
Danforth expressed alarm that ACORN has been bringing in large numbers of names, many who are not qualified to vote, and the practice may be “gumming” up the system. He added that after the enactment of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, there has been a requirement for statewide computerization of registered voters and that the local overseers may become overwhelmed by the sheer numbers being put forth by ACORN.
Between Danforth and Rudman, they ticked off an inventory of what they perceived as likely trouble spots:
In Ohio in the last election, there were four counties where voter registration exceeded the number of voting-age people in the counties.
In Colorado, ACORN registered some individuals 40 separate times. Danforth noted that the ACORN director in Ohio played this down, saying in effect just because you register somebody 35 times doesn’t mean that they get to vote 35 times. “So, a fairly cavalier attitude,” he concluded.
In Nevada, nearly 1,000 felons were illegally registered to vote in 2004.
In Washington state, felony charges were brought against ACORN workers and some went to jail.
On Sept. 18th in The Washington Post, an article pointed out the danger that Election Day could become a real mess because of the applications turned in for registration of people who are not entitled to vote.
In Michigan, ACORN enrolled 200,000 voters and a spokesman for the secretary of state of Michigan has said that there appears to be a sizable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications.
The Clark County, Nev., registrar claims that there has been rampant fraud, and counts roughly 40 percent of registration applications submitted by ACORN from January through July had been rejected or questioned.
In Pennsylvania, official are investigating ACORN for filing fraudulent voter registrations. One ACORN worker is facing 19 counts of perjury for making false statements.
In Wisconsin, more allegations of fraud. Milwaukee election officials recently turned in 32 more voter registration workers to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution, bringing the total to 39.
The secretary of state of Ohio is, in effect, disenfranchising many who have relied on printed applications for absentee ballots -- claiming that because appropriate boxes not been checked on the card requesting the ballot that the person shouldn’t get the ballot. “So we are concerned that a lot of people who want to vote absentee in Ohio are not going to be able to do so,” concluded Danforth.
Rudman zeroed in on the case of Michigan where “we believe that the Obama campaign has made really false claims about trying to suppress voters there.”
“Our concern is that if this is a close election ... and if one side believes it has been cheated ... it is going to be harder to heal the wounds that are created at election time,” said Danforth.
“[W]e have extended our hand to the Obama campaign and to the Democratic National Committee, hoping that ways can be found where we can work together toward what should be the common objective for both presidential candidates,” said Danforth.
When asked to comment on whether Florida was going to be a problem child this election cycle, the team would not directly respond.
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
MC CAIN SHOWS HE'S A TRUE LEADER!!!
September 25, 2008, 7:24 am
Political Wisdom: Could McCain’s Move Be a Game-Changer
Here’s a summary of the smartest new political analysis on the Web:
by Gerald F. Seib and Sara Murray
Sen. John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign because of the financial crisis struck some as brilliant and others as something of a stunt, but William Kristol of The Weekly Standard thinks it’s a potential campaign game-changer. In a race between two Senators, Kristol writes, “the winner may be the one who can convince some portion of the electorate that he’s less ‘senatorial,’ and more ‘presidential,’ than the other. That’s why McCain’s action Wednesday–announcing he would come back to Washington to try to broker a deal to save our financial system–could prove so important.”
While the Bush administration’s rescue package for Wall Street was headed to possible defeat, “the presidential candidates were on the sidelines, carping and opining and commenting. But one of them, John McCain, intervened suddenly and boldly, taking a risk in order to change the situation, and to rearrange the landscape.” The move was of course, “partly election-related,” Kristol writes. But if McCain “for whatever mixed motives, ends up acting in a way that results in a deal that is viewed as better than the original proposal, and that seems to stabilize the markets and avert a meltdown–he’ll benefit politically, and he deserves to.”
Now that McCain is suspending his campaign and wants to delay the debate, “both campaigns are now locked in a bizarre game of chicken,” writes Salon.com’s Walter Shapiro. “If McCain actually boycotts the Oxford debate, Obama may score a public-relations coup while his Republican rival looks weak and evasive. Or the Democratic nominee may appear too political while McCain puts on his mantle as statesman,” Shapiro says. “Barring an agreement in Washington beforehand, it is hard to imagine that Friday’s debate will actually happen, since McCain now would look weak if he suddenly gave way in response to public pressure to relent. Also, any disruption of his debate-prep schedule would presumably undermine McCain’s performance. But then there is the Palin factor. At a time when the Republican campaign only puts Palin forward in tightly scripted settings, delaying her rendezvous with Biden would inevitably give rise to speculation that the first-term Alaska governor had yet to master her briefing books.”
In President George W. Bush’s own nationally televised statement on the financial mess, he was “somber” and hardly tried to downplay the seriousness of the situation, writes Don Frederick of the LATimes.com’s Top of the Ticket blog. But Frederick also was struck by a word the president didn’t use–“one particular noun that begins with a D and that no president wants associated with his name.” Frederick explains: “He came close to uttering it, saying that unless his bailout proposal or something close to it is quickly enacted, the nation ‘could experience a long and painful recession.’ With use of the ‘long’ and ‘painful’ adjectives, that seems close to the description of a depression. But Bush, in his speech, avoided invoking that specter.” Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, on the other hand, didn’t shy away from the term in her interview with CBS’ Katie Couric, Frederick notes. Asked about the risk of a depression, Palin said that if a bailout doesn’t pass Congress “we’re going to find ourselves in another Great Depression.”
The Washington Post’s David Broder writes that it’s interesting to see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank take the lead on the bailout plan while federal government leaders like President Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid mostly stand on the sidelines. It’s clear why Bush isn’t leading the effort — at this point he lacks credibility and his support would be more divisive than anything else. “But how do you explain the transfer of authority from Pelosi and Reid to Dodd and Frank, the chairmen of two congressional committees that supervise the operations of financial markets? The reason, I have to believe, is that public disdain for Congress and its top leaders is as great as the disillusionment with the president,” Broder writes.
“For two years, Congress has done nothing but acquiesce in Bush’s decisions on Iraq and Afghanistan, despite public weariness with those wars. Basic systems — health care, transportation, immigration, education, energy — have become increasingly expensive even as they have failed to deliver promised results. And Congress has failed to improve them — or even to bring substantive remedies to a vote. It is because of that persistent failure that Congress cannot afford to delay for long taking up and passing the financial bailout legislation urged by the administration. It can tinker with the details, but inaction is not an option. John McCain and Barack Obama are creatures of Congress. Neither of them can afford to let it flunk this test,” Broder concludes.
**************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
As the economy is falling down around us, John McCain made the decision to show what true leadership is all about!! He said he was going to temporarily suspend his campaign so he could head back to Washington to help solve this problem. He said the way it was written, he knew it would not pass. He wanted Obama to do the same. Obama who is lying around in Florida studying for his debate Friday night, said, "call me if you need me." Real leadership, right? NOT!!! McCain also said solving this crisis was more important and the debate should be postponed. Obama, who has been cramming for days, said he wanted the debate to go on. (He doesn't want to waste the days he spent studying, after all.) Turns out, Bush calls Obama and "invites" him to join him and McCain at the White House today regarding this problem. Obama "accepted the invitation." As if he had a choice!! LOL!! Bush would have said, "get your ass here or else!"
A leopard can't change his spots and Obama can't help being Obama. Where Senator McCain put his country before his campaign, Obama put his campaign before his country (and his "so-called job as a U.S. Senator that he's been away from for almost two years!!) McCain did the same thing when Hurrican Gustav happened. He delayed the start of the Republican convention to go to see the damage. I feel John McCain has demonstrated true leadership and I think that's one of the reasons why Bill and Hillary admire him so much!!
Political Wisdom: Could McCain’s Move Be a Game-Changer
Here’s a summary of the smartest new political analysis on the Web:
by Gerald F. Seib and Sara Murray
Sen. John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign because of the financial crisis struck some as brilliant and others as something of a stunt, but William Kristol of The Weekly Standard thinks it’s a potential campaign game-changer. In a race between two Senators, Kristol writes, “the winner may be the one who can convince some portion of the electorate that he’s less ‘senatorial,’ and more ‘presidential,’ than the other. That’s why McCain’s action Wednesday–announcing he would come back to Washington to try to broker a deal to save our financial system–could prove so important.”
While the Bush administration’s rescue package for Wall Street was headed to possible defeat, “the presidential candidates were on the sidelines, carping and opining and commenting. But one of them, John McCain, intervened suddenly and boldly, taking a risk in order to change the situation, and to rearrange the landscape.” The move was of course, “partly election-related,” Kristol writes. But if McCain “for whatever mixed motives, ends up acting in a way that results in a deal that is viewed as better than the original proposal, and that seems to stabilize the markets and avert a meltdown–he’ll benefit politically, and he deserves to.”
Now that McCain is suspending his campaign and wants to delay the debate, “both campaigns are now locked in a bizarre game of chicken,” writes Salon.com’s Walter Shapiro. “If McCain actually boycotts the Oxford debate, Obama may score a public-relations coup while his Republican rival looks weak and evasive. Or the Democratic nominee may appear too political while McCain puts on his mantle as statesman,” Shapiro says. “Barring an agreement in Washington beforehand, it is hard to imagine that Friday’s debate will actually happen, since McCain now would look weak if he suddenly gave way in response to public pressure to relent. Also, any disruption of his debate-prep schedule would presumably undermine McCain’s performance. But then there is the Palin factor. At a time when the Republican campaign only puts Palin forward in tightly scripted settings, delaying her rendezvous with Biden would inevitably give rise to speculation that the first-term Alaska governor had yet to master her briefing books.”
In President George W. Bush’s own nationally televised statement on the financial mess, he was “somber” and hardly tried to downplay the seriousness of the situation, writes Don Frederick of the LATimes.com’s Top of the Ticket blog. But Frederick also was struck by a word the president didn’t use–“one particular noun that begins with a D and that no president wants associated with his name.” Frederick explains: “He came close to uttering it, saying that unless his bailout proposal or something close to it is quickly enacted, the nation ‘could experience a long and painful recession.’ With use of the ‘long’ and ‘painful’ adjectives, that seems close to the description of a depression. But Bush, in his speech, avoided invoking that specter.” Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, on the other hand, didn’t shy away from the term in her interview with CBS’ Katie Couric, Frederick notes. Asked about the risk of a depression, Palin said that if a bailout doesn’t pass Congress “we’re going to find ourselves in another Great Depression.”
The Washington Post’s David Broder writes that it’s interesting to see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank take the lead on the bailout plan while federal government leaders like President Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid mostly stand on the sidelines. It’s clear why Bush isn’t leading the effort — at this point he lacks credibility and his support would be more divisive than anything else. “But how do you explain the transfer of authority from Pelosi and Reid to Dodd and Frank, the chairmen of two congressional committees that supervise the operations of financial markets? The reason, I have to believe, is that public disdain for Congress and its top leaders is as great as the disillusionment with the president,” Broder writes.
“For two years, Congress has done nothing but acquiesce in Bush’s decisions on Iraq and Afghanistan, despite public weariness with those wars. Basic systems — health care, transportation, immigration, education, energy — have become increasingly expensive even as they have failed to deliver promised results. And Congress has failed to improve them — or even to bring substantive remedies to a vote. It is because of that persistent failure that Congress cannot afford to delay for long taking up and passing the financial bailout legislation urged by the administration. It can tinker with the details, but inaction is not an option. John McCain and Barack Obama are creatures of Congress. Neither of them can afford to let it flunk this test,” Broder concludes.
**************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
As the economy is falling down around us, John McCain made the decision to show what true leadership is all about!! He said he was going to temporarily suspend his campaign so he could head back to Washington to help solve this problem. He said the way it was written, he knew it would not pass. He wanted Obama to do the same. Obama who is lying around in Florida studying for his debate Friday night, said, "call me if you need me." Real leadership, right? NOT!!! McCain also said solving this crisis was more important and the debate should be postponed. Obama, who has been cramming for days, said he wanted the debate to go on. (He doesn't want to waste the days he spent studying, after all.) Turns out, Bush calls Obama and "invites" him to join him and McCain at the White House today regarding this problem. Obama "accepted the invitation." As if he had a choice!! LOL!! Bush would have said, "get your ass here or else!"
A leopard can't change his spots and Obama can't help being Obama. Where Senator McCain put his country before his campaign, Obama put his campaign before his country (and his "so-called job as a U.S. Senator that he's been away from for almost two years!!) McCain did the same thing when Hurrican Gustav happened. He delayed the start of the Republican convention to go to see the damage. I feel John McCain has demonstrated true leadership and I think that's one of the reasons why Bill and Hillary admire him so much!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT OBAMA AND ACCUSE SARAH OF BEING "INEXPERIENCED"???!!!!
Sarah Palin's Unnoticed Empowerment of Women
By; Madeleine M. Kunin
Governor Sarah Palin has been blown off the front pages by the financial crises, which has spread across six columns of almost every newspaper. Wall Street has overtaken Main Street. Her credentials slim to begin with, appear even more flimsy under the blinding light of a financial melt down.
Still, the Palin factor has not disappeared. Polls continue to show that after the Republican convention white women have been swept to her side with the force of a tidal wave. Obama had a strong edge with women before Palin became McCain's running mate. Now women are virtually tied between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. But "tied" is not good enough. In my recently published book, Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead, I note that women supported the Democratic candidate for President by as much as eleven points in the last twenty years, and that has made the difference.
Why aren't women more supportive of the Obama/Biden ticket which speaks to so many women's concerns--equal pay for equal work, health care, education, and of course, choice. What does the Palin factor mean, especially for white married and white working class women who continue to strongly support McCain/Palin?
There is a group of women whose support for Palin does not have much to do with the issues or whether she is qualified to be President. Only 3 percent of likely women voters deemed her most qualified and prepared to be President.
I hate to think that these women are supporting her just because she is a woman and "is like me." But to some extent that is true. Almost all women have experienced--in a wide variety of ways--life-long forms of gender bias, both overt and subtle, in their families, at work, and in society. Most women have not had the opportunity to express their frustration or, their outrage. Turning the other cheek, remaining silent, denial, or smiling sweetly has been the most common rejoinders for many polite, conservative and liberal women.
Now, with Sarah Palin, they have a chance to vent their frustrations in a positive way by cheering her, supporting a woman who is not "like them" in most ways, but is enough "like them" in some ways so they can see themselves in her, and share in her present triumph.
Some of these same women cheered Senator Hillary Clinton--who is in most ways the exact opposite of Sarah Palin. She was prepared to be President, and she was vetted in a 16-month primary campaign. She spoke directly to women's issues and was strongly pro-choice. But for some women these issues did not matter; they cheered her stamina, her grit, and her willingness to be in the political fight. In some odd, inexplicable way, Hillary made them feel stronger, more capable of standing tall at home and on the job. I got that message from a variety of women after I was first elected Governor in 1984. They felt proud to be women. They, to use a now well-worn phrase, felt empowered by my campaign, and my election.
A similar phenomenon is happening with Sarah Palin. Just watching her stand and speak before a huge cheering crowd, giving "them" hell, is rejuvenating. It is as if we are hearing a long exhale from women who have had to suppress their true feelings about being put down all these years. It doesn't make sense in terms of the issues; it is not logical. But it is a reality that whether she is prepared for the job or not, whether she is right on the issues or not, some women simply are enjoying the moment of seeing her there at John McCain's side.
Even I, a former Hillary supporter and now an enthusiastic Obama supporter, occasionally feel a little thrill when I watch her, even though I disagree with almost everything she says and would never vote for her.
What Democrats underestimated was the rumbling sound from women which could only be heard if you put your ear to the ground. Women have been waiting and waiting for their turn ever since Geraldine Ferraro was the vice presidential democratic nominee twenty-four years ago. Yes, she is the wrong woman at the wrong time, and if the McCain/Palin should win the election, it would hold women back, rather than enable them to move forward to further equality. And it is becoming increasingly clear that it is the wrong ticket for the country in these precarious financial times.
The Obama/Biden ticket is right on the women's issues, and the bread and butter money issues that are roiling the economy.
The challenge is to make these issues the focal point of this election--and not the fact that Sarah Palin is "like me."
Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.
*************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
OK, now this is coming from a former governor. I am SICK & TIRED of people saying Sarah Palin doesn't have experience!! She has been a GOVERNOR FOR TWO YEARS!!! Before that she was a Mayor for six years. Obama had a grand total of 140 days in the senate before he decided he was ready to run for president. His "experience" these past two years has been RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!!! So STOP IT ALREADY WITH SARAH PALIN IS INEXPERIENCED!!! SHE IS RUNNING FOR VICE PRESIDENT!!! YOUR GUY HAS MUCH, MUCH, MUCH LESS EXPERIENCE AND HE'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!!! SO GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!!
I do agree, though, as someone who worked my heart out for Hillary for 17 months and another 3 months actively trying to get her to be the nominee, it is about damned time a WOMAN HAD ONE OF THE TOP JOBS!! And Obama is NOT for women. Anything BUT!! He is very sexist and he HATES STRONG WOMEN!! John McCain pays his senate staff who are women MORE than he pays the men. Obama, on the other hand, pays his LESS!! McCain is man enough and confident enough to pick a woman running mate. He is not afraid of being outshined. Obama's ego would not allow him to pick Hillary because she would definitely OVERSHADOW HIM!!
I think Sarah Palin is a very intelligent, experienced woman who happens to be Governor of one of the 50 states. She is MORE THAN QUALIFIED to be Vice President and President, too!!
By; Madeleine M. Kunin
Governor Sarah Palin has been blown off the front pages by the financial crises, which has spread across six columns of almost every newspaper. Wall Street has overtaken Main Street. Her credentials slim to begin with, appear even more flimsy under the blinding light of a financial melt down.
Still, the Palin factor has not disappeared. Polls continue to show that after the Republican convention white women have been swept to her side with the force of a tidal wave. Obama had a strong edge with women before Palin became McCain's running mate. Now women are virtually tied between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. But "tied" is not good enough. In my recently published book, Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead, I note that women supported the Democratic candidate for President by as much as eleven points in the last twenty years, and that has made the difference.
Why aren't women more supportive of the Obama/Biden ticket which speaks to so many women's concerns--equal pay for equal work, health care, education, and of course, choice. What does the Palin factor mean, especially for white married and white working class women who continue to strongly support McCain/Palin?
There is a group of women whose support for Palin does not have much to do with the issues or whether she is qualified to be President. Only 3 percent of likely women voters deemed her most qualified and prepared to be President.
I hate to think that these women are supporting her just because she is a woman and "is like me." But to some extent that is true. Almost all women have experienced--in a wide variety of ways--life-long forms of gender bias, both overt and subtle, in their families, at work, and in society. Most women have not had the opportunity to express their frustration or, their outrage. Turning the other cheek, remaining silent, denial, or smiling sweetly has been the most common rejoinders for many polite, conservative and liberal women.
Now, with Sarah Palin, they have a chance to vent their frustrations in a positive way by cheering her, supporting a woman who is not "like them" in most ways, but is enough "like them" in some ways so they can see themselves in her, and share in her present triumph.
Some of these same women cheered Senator Hillary Clinton--who is in most ways the exact opposite of Sarah Palin. She was prepared to be President, and she was vetted in a 16-month primary campaign. She spoke directly to women's issues and was strongly pro-choice. But for some women these issues did not matter; they cheered her stamina, her grit, and her willingness to be in the political fight. In some odd, inexplicable way, Hillary made them feel stronger, more capable of standing tall at home and on the job. I got that message from a variety of women after I was first elected Governor in 1984. They felt proud to be women. They, to use a now well-worn phrase, felt empowered by my campaign, and my election.
A similar phenomenon is happening with Sarah Palin. Just watching her stand and speak before a huge cheering crowd, giving "them" hell, is rejuvenating. It is as if we are hearing a long exhale from women who have had to suppress their true feelings about being put down all these years. It doesn't make sense in terms of the issues; it is not logical. But it is a reality that whether she is prepared for the job or not, whether she is right on the issues or not, some women simply are enjoying the moment of seeing her there at John McCain's side.
Even I, a former Hillary supporter and now an enthusiastic Obama supporter, occasionally feel a little thrill when I watch her, even though I disagree with almost everything she says and would never vote for her.
What Democrats underestimated was the rumbling sound from women which could only be heard if you put your ear to the ground. Women have been waiting and waiting for their turn ever since Geraldine Ferraro was the vice presidential democratic nominee twenty-four years ago. Yes, she is the wrong woman at the wrong time, and if the McCain/Palin should win the election, it would hold women back, rather than enable them to move forward to further equality. And it is becoming increasingly clear that it is the wrong ticket for the country in these precarious financial times.
The Obama/Biden ticket is right on the women's issues, and the bread and butter money issues that are roiling the economy.
The challenge is to make these issues the focal point of this election--and not the fact that Sarah Palin is "like me."
Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.
*************************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
OK, now this is coming from a former governor. I am SICK & TIRED of people saying Sarah Palin doesn't have experience!! She has been a GOVERNOR FOR TWO YEARS!!! Before that she was a Mayor for six years. Obama had a grand total of 140 days in the senate before he decided he was ready to run for president. His "experience" these past two years has been RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!!! So STOP IT ALREADY WITH SARAH PALIN IS INEXPERIENCED!!! SHE IS RUNNING FOR VICE PRESIDENT!!! YOUR GUY HAS MUCH, MUCH, MUCH LESS EXPERIENCE AND HE'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!!! SO GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!!
I do agree, though, as someone who worked my heart out for Hillary for 17 months and another 3 months actively trying to get her to be the nominee, it is about damned time a WOMAN HAD ONE OF THE TOP JOBS!! And Obama is NOT for women. Anything BUT!! He is very sexist and he HATES STRONG WOMEN!! John McCain pays his senate staff who are women MORE than he pays the men. Obama, on the other hand, pays his LESS!! McCain is man enough and confident enough to pick a woman running mate. He is not afraid of being outshined. Obama's ego would not allow him to pick Hillary because she would definitely OVERSHADOW HIM!!
I think Sarah Palin is a very intelligent, experienced woman who happens to be Governor of one of the 50 states. She is MORE THAN QUALIFIED to be Vice President and President, too!!
SARAH VERY POPULAR WITH WORLD LEADERS!!!
Palin Visit Overshadows Administration at U.N.
by Associated Press
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NEW YORK — One is the nation’s top diplomat with a doctorate in Russian studies who has visited more than 50 foreign countries this year alone. The other is the first-term governor of Alaska who may have seen Russia on a clear day and got her first passport just last year.
Yet this week in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sarah Palin have become unlikely foreign policy rivals as the Republican vice presidential nominee embarks on a crash course to acquire international credentials.
With only four months left in office, the highest-ranking woman in the Bush administration has found herself jockeying for world leaders’ time with a woman who could become the nation’s first female vice president — a job for which Rice was once considered a hot prospect.
On Tuesday, former national security adviser Rice played second fiddle to Palin on one of America’s most critical relationships, meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai some three hours after the ex-mayor of Wasilla.
There was no explanation given for the timing that struck some as unusual given that Rice has a long-standing friendship with Karzai, having visited him in Kabul at least five times since she became secretary of state and seen him on numerous other occasions elsewhere.
Rice spent much of the day trailing President Bush, who gave his farewell address to the annual U.N. gathering.
Palin is also seeing six other world leaders — Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in New York this week.
It’s a veritable whirlwind world tour for a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” who had never before met a foreign head of state and whose previous experience abroad was limited to a brief trip to Kuwait and Germany to see Alaskan National Guard troops and visits to Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, Rice is closing in on the million mile mark in her overseas travels while secretary. As of July 30, she had flown 958,520 miles on 76 diplomatic missions to 79 different countries, according to the State Department.
Rice does have more than her fair share of meetings this week, including some with the same people Palin is seeing. Her schedule is packed with scores of individual and group sessions with her foreign minister colleagues. On Monday, she crammed in a whopping 14 of these.
There are no plans for Palin to meet Rice while both are in New York. Rice has said she liked the Alaska governor’s national debut speech during the Republican convention but asked directly if Palin has enough experience, Rice demurred.
“These are decisions that Sen. McCain has made. I have great confidence in him,” Rice said during an interview with CNN this month.
Rice added that as secretary of state she avoids politics. Rice plans to return to a teaching post next year.
by Associated Press
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NEW YORK — One is the nation’s top diplomat with a doctorate in Russian studies who has visited more than 50 foreign countries this year alone. The other is the first-term governor of Alaska who may have seen Russia on a clear day and got her first passport just last year.
Yet this week in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sarah Palin have become unlikely foreign policy rivals as the Republican vice presidential nominee embarks on a crash course to acquire international credentials.
With only four months left in office, the highest-ranking woman in the Bush administration has found herself jockeying for world leaders’ time with a woman who could become the nation’s first female vice president — a job for which Rice was once considered a hot prospect.
On Tuesday, former national security adviser Rice played second fiddle to Palin on one of America’s most critical relationships, meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai some three hours after the ex-mayor of Wasilla.
There was no explanation given for the timing that struck some as unusual given that Rice has a long-standing friendship with Karzai, having visited him in Kabul at least five times since she became secretary of state and seen him on numerous other occasions elsewhere.
Rice spent much of the day trailing President Bush, who gave his farewell address to the annual U.N. gathering.
Palin is also seeing six other world leaders — Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in New York this week.
It’s a veritable whirlwind world tour for a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” who had never before met a foreign head of state and whose previous experience abroad was limited to a brief trip to Kuwait and Germany to see Alaskan National Guard troops and visits to Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, Rice is closing in on the million mile mark in her overseas travels while secretary. As of July 30, she had flown 958,520 miles on 76 diplomatic missions to 79 different countries, according to the State Department.
Rice does have more than her fair share of meetings this week, including some with the same people Palin is seeing. Her schedule is packed with scores of individual and group sessions with her foreign minister colleagues. On Monday, she crammed in a whopping 14 of these.
There are no plans for Palin to meet Rice while both are in New York. Rice has said she liked the Alaska governor’s national debut speech during the Republican convention but asked directly if Palin has enough experience, Rice demurred.
“These are decisions that Sen. McCain has made. I have great confidence in him,” Rice said during an interview with CNN this month.
Rice added that as secretary of state she avoids politics. Rice plans to return to a teaching post next year.
LOVE IT!!! HA!! HA!! HA!! HA!!
Uncharacteristically low turnout for Barack Obama rally in Green Bay, Wisc.
McCain/Palin drew 4,000 more supporters at same venue a week ago
OBAMA, THEY'RE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU ANYMORE!!!! HA!!! HA!!! HA!!! HA!!!
McCain/Palin drew 4,000 more supporters at same venue a week ago
OBAMA, THEY'RE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU ANYMORE!!!! HA!!! HA!!! HA!!! HA!!!
ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY NEWS
Left-wing women: Stop impaling Palin
BY S.E. Cupp
Saturday, September 20th 2008
I have a message for the self-styled guardians of womanhood who have decided that Sarah Palin is public enemy No. 1 - please stop talking. You're embarrassing yourselves and women all over the country.
You are making otherwise thoughtful, careful, intelligent, tolerant and modern American women of every political bent look and sound ridiculous. As a woman myself, I'm begging you to stop. Put the pen down, close out the blog, push the E! microphone away. Your trash-talking is disturbing and humiliating. In fact, it's setting back the true cause of feminism - the advancement of women - far more than your imagined nemesis.
Stop using and abusing Palin to pump up your own overweening egos. You are not the next Sojourner Truth, and Palin is not your next punch line. She's a mother, a governor, a wife and, yes, a real woman, whether you like it or not.
I have been reluctant to point fingers at Barack Obama for being sexist toward Palin. First, because I don't think he has treated her unfairly just because of her gender. Second, because Palin doesn't need to be rescued; she's capable of defending herself.
But the attacks on Palin by so-called feminists cannot be ignored. Many of the same voices who claimed the right-wing was attacking Hillary Clinton just because she was a strong woman are now attacking Palin not for her beliefs, but for her very gender identity.
Comedian Margaret Cho has said that Sarah Palin is "the worst thing to happen to America since 9/11." She also makes it clear that for her, feminists by definition must believe what she believes, writing on her blog, "to call [Palin] a feminist is as laughable as calling evangelicals 'Christians,' " a warm and fuzzy, open-armed double punch that she continues by crassly suggesting she'd also like to have explicit sex with Palin.
In a similar conceit, Sandra Bernhard promised that Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she came to Manhattan. Congratulations, Ms. Cho and Ms. Bernhard. You've officially joined the ranks of male misogynists everywhere.
Pink, the recording artist, flatly declared, "This woman hates women." Rosie O'Donnell haiku-ed, "Women who hunt in high heels gives one pause." Say again? On second thought, please don't.
It's not just blowhard celebs who are in on the act; politicians are taking part, too. South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler had the considerable bad taste to say that Palin's "primary qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion."
I was beginning to like Hillary Clinton after Obama won the Democratic nomination. Whether it was the droning echoes of her leftover supporters or just something in the air, I grew more and more convinced that she would have made the better candidate for Democrats than Obama, and probably a better running mate pick than Joe Biden. But the 18 million cracks in the ceiling that Hillary made are apparently last month's news - for when Clinton heard that Palin was going to the same Iran protest rally she had planned to attend, Hillary canceled, in a move right out of Tina Fey's "Mean Girls." Oh, the irony.Could anyone imagine men behaving this badly? Can you picture men like Biden, Howard Dean, Mitt Romney, George Bush or anyone else bickering over whether or not Barack Obama is "man" enough to care about other men? Or whether John McCain is a man who hates men? Or suggesting they'd like to have to sex with one of the candidates?
Could anyone imagine a Democratic woman of stature and accomplishment (Nancy Pelosi or Claire McCaskill, for example) being torn down as a bad woman? The question answers itself.
Sarah Palin is of course fair game for critics - as a politician. Feel free to say what you will about her record and her positions. Feel free to arduously and passionately disagree with her. But to smear her as an embarrassment to women (nearly half the population) is, well, an embarrassment to women.
In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered a now-famous speech to a women's convention in Akron, Ohio. In it, she had the courage and dignity to tell a mostly male and white crowd, "And ain't I a woman? I have borne 13 children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?"
More than 150 years later, American women can hear a loud rumble in the distance. Is it the proud applause for Truth, for Margaret Thatcher, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Mead, Golda Meir, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Day and Susan B. Anthony ringing through the streets? No, sadly, it's just the sound of Cho, O'Donnell, Bernhard and the rest testing out their megaphones.
Apparently, women like Sarah Palin don't have to worry about being slandered by men. Women are doing it for themselves.
Cupp is author of "Why You're Wrong About the Right," with Brett Joshpe. She lives in New York City.
*********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I hate to say this but liberal women are giving women a bad name!! WHO are THEY to decide who is a "real woman". Do you have to approve of Abortion to be a real woman? It must seem that way. Because that's the only thing I can think of that is making liberal women feel so THREATENED by Sarah Palin!!
There is only ONE THING I don't LIKE about Sarah and that's the fact she HUNTS and uses guns. I HATE HUNTING. I am an animal lover and I never could understand how anyone could kill a defenseless animal. But Sarah was brought up that way. That's all she knew. I am not excusing her for this, but it certainly doesn't make her less of a woman!!
I am starting to believe that people - men and women - just don't like to see women in powerful positions. It really pisses me off when such sexist, misogynistic remarks come from women themselves!! And the comments made about Sarah Palin have been DESPICABLE!!
Also, is it assumed that liberal woman want a female president but ONLY IF SHE IS A DEMOCRAT/LIBERAL?? It seems that way to me. To me any woman who can break that highest glass ceiling, as long as she is qualified for the job, is fine with me. Sure I wanted it to be Hillary and God knows, she EARNED it after all the work she put into her campaign. Not going to go into how it was stolen from her, but IT WAS!! Now we have a lovely, young mother of five children, who has made so much of herself in a short span of time. She is a GOVERNOR. I have NEVER seen ANY Governor considered inexperienced before but it seems the fact Sarah wears a skirt makes a difference to some people. Why do women have to work ten times as hard to get the respect from people as a man?? God knows, a woman with Obama's paper-thin record and lack of experience would have gotten NOWHERE, certainly not this close to the White House!! But no one harps on his INEXPERIENCE!! HE ALSO HAS NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS WHEREAS SARAH PALIN HAS TONS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!
I just wish men and women would STOP already with the attacks on Governor Palin. Since I can't have Hillary, I want Sarah to become the FIRST FEMALE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!
BY S.E. Cupp
Saturday, September 20th 2008
I have a message for the self-styled guardians of womanhood who have decided that Sarah Palin is public enemy No. 1 - please stop talking. You're embarrassing yourselves and women all over the country.
You are making otherwise thoughtful, careful, intelligent, tolerant and modern American women of every political bent look and sound ridiculous. As a woman myself, I'm begging you to stop. Put the pen down, close out the blog, push the E! microphone away. Your trash-talking is disturbing and humiliating. In fact, it's setting back the true cause of feminism - the advancement of women - far more than your imagined nemesis.
Stop using and abusing Palin to pump up your own overweening egos. You are not the next Sojourner Truth, and Palin is not your next punch line. She's a mother, a governor, a wife and, yes, a real woman, whether you like it or not.
I have been reluctant to point fingers at Barack Obama for being sexist toward Palin. First, because I don't think he has treated her unfairly just because of her gender. Second, because Palin doesn't need to be rescued; she's capable of defending herself.
But the attacks on Palin by so-called feminists cannot be ignored. Many of the same voices who claimed the right-wing was attacking Hillary Clinton just because she was a strong woman are now attacking Palin not for her beliefs, but for her very gender identity.
Comedian Margaret Cho has said that Sarah Palin is "the worst thing to happen to America since 9/11." She also makes it clear that for her, feminists by definition must believe what she believes, writing on her blog, "to call [Palin] a feminist is as laughable as calling evangelicals 'Christians,' " a warm and fuzzy, open-armed double punch that she continues by crassly suggesting she'd also like to have explicit sex with Palin.
In a similar conceit, Sandra Bernhard promised that Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" if she came to Manhattan. Congratulations, Ms. Cho and Ms. Bernhard. You've officially joined the ranks of male misogynists everywhere.
Pink, the recording artist, flatly declared, "This woman hates women." Rosie O'Donnell haiku-ed, "Women who hunt in high heels gives one pause." Say again? On second thought, please don't.
It's not just blowhard celebs who are in on the act; politicians are taking part, too. South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler had the considerable bad taste to say that Palin's "primary qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion."
I was beginning to like Hillary Clinton after Obama won the Democratic nomination. Whether it was the droning echoes of her leftover supporters or just something in the air, I grew more and more convinced that she would have made the better candidate for Democrats than Obama, and probably a better running mate pick than Joe Biden. But the 18 million cracks in the ceiling that Hillary made are apparently last month's news - for when Clinton heard that Palin was going to the same Iran protest rally she had planned to attend, Hillary canceled, in a move right out of Tina Fey's "Mean Girls." Oh, the irony.Could anyone imagine men behaving this badly? Can you picture men like Biden, Howard Dean, Mitt Romney, George Bush or anyone else bickering over whether or not Barack Obama is "man" enough to care about other men? Or whether John McCain is a man who hates men? Or suggesting they'd like to have to sex with one of the candidates?
Could anyone imagine a Democratic woman of stature and accomplishment (Nancy Pelosi or Claire McCaskill, for example) being torn down as a bad woman? The question answers itself.
Sarah Palin is of course fair game for critics - as a politician. Feel free to say what you will about her record and her positions. Feel free to arduously and passionately disagree with her. But to smear her as an embarrassment to women (nearly half the population) is, well, an embarrassment to women.
In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered a now-famous speech to a women's convention in Akron, Ohio. In it, she had the courage and dignity to tell a mostly male and white crowd, "And ain't I a woman? I have borne 13 children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?"
More than 150 years later, American women can hear a loud rumble in the distance. Is it the proud applause for Truth, for Margaret Thatcher, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Mead, Golda Meir, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Day and Susan B. Anthony ringing through the streets? No, sadly, it's just the sound of Cho, O'Donnell, Bernhard and the rest testing out their megaphones.
Apparently, women like Sarah Palin don't have to worry about being slandered by men. Women are doing it for themselves.
Cupp is author of "Why You're Wrong About the Right," with Brett Joshpe. She lives in New York City.
*********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
I hate to say this but liberal women are giving women a bad name!! WHO are THEY to decide who is a "real woman". Do you have to approve of Abortion to be a real woman? It must seem that way. Because that's the only thing I can think of that is making liberal women feel so THREATENED by Sarah Palin!!
There is only ONE THING I don't LIKE about Sarah and that's the fact she HUNTS and uses guns. I HATE HUNTING. I am an animal lover and I never could understand how anyone could kill a defenseless animal. But Sarah was brought up that way. That's all she knew. I am not excusing her for this, but it certainly doesn't make her less of a woman!!
I am starting to believe that people - men and women - just don't like to see women in powerful positions. It really pisses me off when such sexist, misogynistic remarks come from women themselves!! And the comments made about Sarah Palin have been DESPICABLE!!
Also, is it assumed that liberal woman want a female president but ONLY IF SHE IS A DEMOCRAT/LIBERAL?? It seems that way to me. To me any woman who can break that highest glass ceiling, as long as she is qualified for the job, is fine with me. Sure I wanted it to be Hillary and God knows, she EARNED it after all the work she put into her campaign. Not going to go into how it was stolen from her, but IT WAS!! Now we have a lovely, young mother of five children, who has made so much of herself in a short span of time. She is a GOVERNOR. I have NEVER seen ANY Governor considered inexperienced before but it seems the fact Sarah wears a skirt makes a difference to some people. Why do women have to work ten times as hard to get the respect from people as a man?? God knows, a woman with Obama's paper-thin record and lack of experience would have gotten NOWHERE, certainly not this close to the White House!! But no one harps on his INEXPERIENCE!! HE ALSO HAS NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS WHEREAS SARAH PALIN HAS TONS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!
I just wish men and women would STOP already with the attacks on Governor Palin. Since I can't have Hillary, I want Sarah to become the FIRST FEMALE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!
CORRUPT OBAMA CAMPAIGN RELENTLESS WITH PALIN ATTACKS!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
CORRUPT OBAMA CAMPAIGN RELENTLESS WITH PALIN ATTACKS!!!
Axelrod Astroturfs an Attack Against Palin
by Erick Erickson
The media love covering grassroots attacks on major political candidates. The attacks signal a large base of Americans disturbed by a particular candidate or issue. When those grassroots attacks are manufactured by public relations firms, they aren’t real: they’re astroturfed -- fake attacks designed to look like a grassroots movement.
David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s chief strategist, is a master of astroturf campaigns. It should come as no surprise then that Axelrod and the Obama campaign appear to be behind anonymous attacks against Sarah Palin surfacing on the internet.
The attacks on Palin started online shortly after McCain named her his running mate and quickly spread to the mainstream media. Palin was allegedly a member of the John Birch Society. She became a member of an Alaskan separatist group. She showed no compassion for rape victims in Wasilla, Alaska. The attacks cited news organizations but were all quickly debunked. Unfortunately, the attacks went viral and started circulating through email and across the internet.
What struck many bloggers as unusual about these “grassroots” attacks was the production quality of the videos. They were well done for amateurs. The Jawa Report, a noted right of center blog known for tracking down online terrorists, observed that the videos had a female voiceover strikingly similar to the same voice David Axelrod has used in Obama advertisements and other work.
Breaking yesterday, the Jawa Report has provided stunning documentation and evidence that fairly well proves the videos are tied to David Axelrod and the Barack Obama campaign.
The Jawa Report has so well documented the ties to the Obama campaign that it sent the posters of the online attack videos into a coverup frenzy. The posters have been hard at work yanking all the attacks from the internet. Here, in a nutshell, is what the Jawa Report has shown.
The ads were put on YouTube by user “eswinner.” The Jawa Report alleges that eswinner is actually Ethan S. Winner of Publicis Groupe, whose subsidiary company Winner & Associates is run by Chuck Winner, a Democratic operative and Obama donor. The firm has also represented Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson as well as the European Union in its efforts to sell the European Union treaty to the public.
After eswinner put his attack video against Gov.Palin on YouTube, another user, cnwinner, whom the Jawa Report alleges is Chuck Winner, added comments to the original video giving it legitimacy. Around the same time, another YouTube user, “stckyfngz”, posted the video at the far left site, Democratic Underground. Based on information tracked down by the Jawa Report, stckyfngz appears to be Jared Liu-Klein, another employee of Winner & Associates. Mr. Liu-Klein also represented Valerie Plame.
The ties from Winner & Associates trace back to David Axelrod, chief strategist for Barack Obama. As previously noted, Axelroad is a master of astroturf campaigns. After the Jawa Report broke the story, someone mysteriously edited Axelrod’s Wikipedia entry to delete all references to his various astroturfing campaigns.
Nonetheless, as the Jawa Report notes, “Each and every political ad showcased on Axelrod's website that has a female voice over seems to be the same voice from the Palin smear ad. That Axelrod used her over and over again in his videos going back several years. We also believe that Axelrod has used her in several official Obama campaign videos.”
Couple the circumstantial evidence with the ongoing coverup -- Axelrod’s Wikipedia entry suddenly edited, eswinner and friends removing evidence from the internet, etc. -- and it appears the Jawa Report has uncovered a real story of organized online astroturfing designed to smear Sarah Palin on behalf of the Obama campaign.
CORRUPT OBAMA CAMPAIGN RELENTLESS WITH PALIN ATTACKS!!!
Axelrod Astroturfs an Attack Against Palin
by Erick Erickson
The media love covering grassroots attacks on major political candidates. The attacks signal a large base of Americans disturbed by a particular candidate or issue. When those grassroots attacks are manufactured by public relations firms, they aren’t real: they’re astroturfed -- fake attacks designed to look like a grassroots movement.
David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s chief strategist, is a master of astroturf campaigns. It should come as no surprise then that Axelrod and the Obama campaign appear to be behind anonymous attacks against Sarah Palin surfacing on the internet.
The attacks on Palin started online shortly after McCain named her his running mate and quickly spread to the mainstream media. Palin was allegedly a member of the John Birch Society. She became a member of an Alaskan separatist group. She showed no compassion for rape victims in Wasilla, Alaska. The attacks cited news organizations but were all quickly debunked. Unfortunately, the attacks went viral and started circulating through email and across the internet.
What struck many bloggers as unusual about these “grassroots” attacks was the production quality of the videos. They were well done for amateurs. The Jawa Report, a noted right of center blog known for tracking down online terrorists, observed that the videos had a female voiceover strikingly similar to the same voice David Axelrod has used in Obama advertisements and other work.
Breaking yesterday, the Jawa Report has provided stunning documentation and evidence that fairly well proves the videos are tied to David Axelrod and the Barack Obama campaign.
The Jawa Report has so well documented the ties to the Obama campaign that it sent the posters of the online attack videos into a coverup frenzy. The posters have been hard at work yanking all the attacks from the internet. Here, in a nutshell, is what the Jawa Report has shown.
The ads were put on YouTube by user “eswinner.” The Jawa Report alleges that eswinner is actually Ethan S. Winner of Publicis Groupe, whose subsidiary company Winner & Associates is run by Chuck Winner, a Democratic operative and Obama donor. The firm has also represented Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson as well as the European Union in its efforts to sell the European Union treaty to the public.
After eswinner put his attack video against Gov.Palin on YouTube, another user, cnwinner, whom the Jawa Report alleges is Chuck Winner, added comments to the original video giving it legitimacy. Around the same time, another YouTube user, “stckyfngz”, posted the video at the far left site, Democratic Underground. Based on information tracked down by the Jawa Report, stckyfngz appears to be Jared Liu-Klein, another employee of Winner & Associates. Mr. Liu-Klein also represented Valerie Plame.
The ties from Winner & Associates trace back to David Axelrod, chief strategist for Barack Obama. As previously noted, Axelroad is a master of astroturf campaigns. After the Jawa Report broke the story, someone mysteriously edited Axelrod’s Wikipedia entry to delete all references to his various astroturfing campaigns.
Nonetheless, as the Jawa Report notes, “Each and every political ad showcased on Axelrod's website that has a female voice over seems to be the same voice from the Palin smear ad. That Axelrod used her over and over again in his videos going back several years. We also believe that Axelrod has used her in several official Obama campaign videos.”
Couple the circumstantial evidence with the ongoing coverup -- Axelrod’s Wikipedia entry suddenly edited, eswinner and friends removing evidence from the internet, etc. -- and it appears the Jawa Report has uncovered a real story of organized online astroturfing designed to smear Sarah Palin on behalf of the Obama campaign.
FROM BLOG: FEMI SEX.COM - MORE EXAMPLES OF LIBERAL MISOGNY!!! TRANSFERRED FROM HILLARY TO SARAH!!!
The Mommy party not too keen on Mommies
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 1:31 pm — admin
Hate changes Skirts—the Left as an equal opportunity misogynist! Part 2 of the Hate Mongering Left by H. L. Trisky
Last week Femisex wrote about the Hate-Mongering Left, and its ability to keep even-steven pace with Rightwing hate. Today we offer another installation on this theme.
The Left told us women would be “insulted” by McCain’s choice of Palin, that a simple “skirt change” would insult women, who of course don’t really want a female in the veep or WH slot for another 219 years.
Yet, the Hate-filled Left has done exactly that…simply redirected their Hate from Hillary to Palin. A simple skirt change of their Hate. Slate, and MSNBC, Salon, the New York Times, and many others have simply substituted their distain for Clinton onto Palin. Rachel Maddow is now the female face of female Hate on MSNBC. She feasts on Gov. Palin with such glee it is MEAN GAY Girl, a whole new twist on sexism!
NOW....If I were given the voice, I would surely put a Left Above-the- Fold Headline on the Times that says:
“The Mommy Party Thrashes Mommies, Adores Daddies. DNC turns deaf ear on sexism, despite its massive female constituency.”
The front page stories the Times ran on Palin were so lacking in professional journalism it makes this journalist’s heart quail. The Times reported rumor without follow-up in fact or outcome. (Several articles have detailed the Times Palin debacle, as well as the Public Editor of the Times, after a fashion.)
The op/ed pages put Palin in peep-toe shoes and compare her to Willie Horton, the rapist and murderer. Clinton got much the same treatment from the reporters/editors at the Times, who said Clinton had called for Obama’s assassination, and cut her to shreds in the op/ed pages in the most sexist fashion one can imagine over and over and over again. Anyone for another White Bitch moment?
-----------------------------------------------------
I leave you with some recent random delights from the Sexist Hateful Left:
From "feminist" Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago’s Divinity School who wrote last Tuesday of Palin:
“Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman. The Republican Party’s cynical calculation that because she has a womb and makes lots and lots of babies (and drives them to school! wow!) she speaks for the women of America, and will capture their hearts and their votes, has driven thousands of real women to take to their computers in outrage. She does not speak for women; she has no sympathy for the problems of other women, particularly working-class women.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/opinion/15kristol.html?scp=3&sq=wendy%...
Note—I never thought I’d be quoting a Kristol op/ed on feminist issues…Kristol, the guy who during the Clinton primary season said “White women, are you know.. a problem we all live with.”
But today as I watch the Left telling me over and over that White Women are Obama’s problem, and racist Whites are Obama’s problem, and racist White democrats are Obama’s problem.. I’m much less concerned about the Right telling me White women are the problem. MY OWN party is telling me daily what a problem I am.
And …as I watch Media Matters get up in arms when Kritol says on Fox news that
“Republicans are much more open to strong women,” ...I’m tickled pink.
This is something that may well change the mindset of many voters in this country for the better in terms of accepting alpha women. If it takes Kristol to denounce the sexism of the Democratic Party, so be it. The Democratic Party was STONE COLD silent as it witnessed the horrific sexism The Left unleashed on Clinton. I will take this Frenemy on speaking out against sexism any day against the silence of my “Friends” at the DNC.
The Right gave women their 1st Supreme Court Justice; I will take that Justice and raise you a female Vice President!
link: http://mediamatters.org/items/200806290001
More Hate….this from Salon:
Palin as “The Dominatrix” replete with cartoon of her in full go-go get up having her fun with a moose! REALLY? what century DO you live in at Salon???
http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/09/09/mistress_palin/index.html (you Must go here to see the drawing with photo-shopped face. Is this journalism? No , NO not at ALL! Shame of Salon and Joan Walsh for allowing this sexist crap!)
Below, a few Salon reader postings re Palin that drip with HATE:
• *i fucking hate walmart!
and am voting for OBAMA.
anyone who isn't is a douche.
by -- im on ur bord... reedn ur stupidnez
Note the above post got an Editor’s star of recommendation!
*Time is short! Get to fucking work! Destroy this moron!
by steveinmidtown
*Oh, yeah sure... That's like asking a boa constrictor, please don't eat my chihuahua.
by-- conryw
*I'm gonna git you sista Sarah!
And by the same Salon poster re Palin:
*I don't know about you.
But this coming election
I won't get fucked again.
And I ain't foolin'
Fool...
-- Klytus
Urgent Note: Some-one PLEASE take note of this nutty Klytus poster who seems to be sending a bodily-harm threat at Palin in his Salon posts.
From Daily Kos:
*A cartoon of a naked Palin getn’ funky with God. (I decided not to paste link this as it was just too disrespectful.)
And this tidbit from Slate:
Justice Barracuda?WHY JOHN MCCAIN SHOULD PUT SARAH PALIN ON THE SUPREME COURT.
By Dahlia Lithwick
http://www.slate.com/id/2199931/
This vicious piece by Missy Dahlia is an odd attack on Palin, suggesting that Palin be put on the Supreme Court despite not having a law degree.
Yes, Missy Dahlia is being tongue-n-cheek, but the problem is that her tongue is inside Obama’s cheek—down his throat and tickling his insides—same as it was when she railed against Hillary Clinton.
(Can’t you just hear Obama giggling at this insult against Palin and dialing Dahlia’s digits and thanking her from the Bottom of his Heart? I can. And that makes me very sad.)
This is not journalism; this is HATE, vile pure and Over the TOP….the sort of nonsense that I always expected from the Whack-Job Right-Wingers. Turns out Hate is Diverse. Turns out my long-time holdings on the superior intellect of the Left need to be examined. All I is see is intellectual dishonesty wrapped in cluster bombs of hate and the VERY CREEPY outpouring of privacy invasions. Palin Hackers…and…
For example…the need for Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic to invade the privacy of Palin’s womb. Isn’t that a hallmark of waccko-Right wingers who wish to force procreation on women, wish to invade their wombs with government? Not this time. This time it is the Nutty Left invading Palin’s womb with tacit approval from MSM. (Sullivan has been demanding Palin’s Ob/GYN records and under NO pretense of legitimate journalism, rather under rumor-mongering that Palin’s child is not hers.
Can you imagine a Right-Winger demanding a DNA test, Jerry-Springer Like, for the Obama Tots?
Can you just imagine the OUTRAGE of the Left if that were to occur…that a MSM outlet such as the Atlantic doubted that a black women might be faithful to her man? The howl would never stop? But for the Left to attack a woman’s integrity in the same manner is somehow OK…that Sullivan has retained his job in the face of shuckster journalism worthy of the a National Enquirer headline…”BabY NOT Hers”, says Sullivan, basing his reports on…ThIN UFO AIR!
Turns out…Hate is NOT owned by the Right. Both the Left media and the Left voters can muster enough Hate to make up for the vacuum on the Right this season.
Bonus links:
http://www.nysun.com/national/palin-pick-puts-many-women-on-the-verge/86...
gotta read hate for Palin
nasty nashers
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 1:31 pm — admin
Hate changes Skirts—the Left as an equal opportunity misogynist! Part 2 of the Hate Mongering Left by H. L. Trisky
Last week Femisex wrote about the Hate-Mongering Left, and its ability to keep even-steven pace with Rightwing hate. Today we offer another installation on this theme.
The Left told us women would be “insulted” by McCain’s choice of Palin, that a simple “skirt change” would insult women, who of course don’t really want a female in the veep or WH slot for another 219 years.
Yet, the Hate-filled Left has done exactly that…simply redirected their Hate from Hillary to Palin. A simple skirt change of their Hate. Slate, and MSNBC, Salon, the New York Times, and many others have simply substituted their distain for Clinton onto Palin. Rachel Maddow is now the female face of female Hate on MSNBC. She feasts on Gov. Palin with such glee it is MEAN GAY Girl, a whole new twist on sexism!
NOW....If I were given the voice, I would surely put a Left Above-the- Fold Headline on the Times that says:
“The Mommy Party Thrashes Mommies, Adores Daddies. DNC turns deaf ear on sexism, despite its massive female constituency.”
The front page stories the Times ran on Palin were so lacking in professional journalism it makes this journalist’s heart quail. The Times reported rumor without follow-up in fact or outcome. (Several articles have detailed the Times Palin debacle, as well as the Public Editor of the Times, after a fashion.)
The op/ed pages put Palin in peep-toe shoes and compare her to Willie Horton, the rapist and murderer. Clinton got much the same treatment from the reporters/editors at the Times, who said Clinton had called for Obama’s assassination, and cut her to shreds in the op/ed pages in the most sexist fashion one can imagine over and over and over again. Anyone for another White Bitch moment?
-----------------------------------------------------
I leave you with some recent random delights from the Sexist Hateful Left:
From "feminist" Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago’s Divinity School who wrote last Tuesday of Palin:
“Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman. The Republican Party’s cynical calculation that because she has a womb and makes lots and lots of babies (and drives them to school! wow!) she speaks for the women of America, and will capture their hearts and their votes, has driven thousands of real women to take to their computers in outrage. She does not speak for women; she has no sympathy for the problems of other women, particularly working-class women.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/opinion/15kristol.html?scp=3&sq=wendy%...
Note—I never thought I’d be quoting a Kristol op/ed on feminist issues…Kristol, the guy who during the Clinton primary season said “White women, are you know.. a problem we all live with.”
But today as I watch the Left telling me over and over that White Women are Obama’s problem, and racist Whites are Obama’s problem, and racist White democrats are Obama’s problem.. I’m much less concerned about the Right telling me White women are the problem. MY OWN party is telling me daily what a problem I am.
And …as I watch Media Matters get up in arms when Kritol says on Fox news that
“Republicans are much more open to strong women,” ...I’m tickled pink.
This is something that may well change the mindset of many voters in this country for the better in terms of accepting alpha women. If it takes Kristol to denounce the sexism of the Democratic Party, so be it. The Democratic Party was STONE COLD silent as it witnessed the horrific sexism The Left unleashed on Clinton. I will take this Frenemy on speaking out against sexism any day against the silence of my “Friends” at the DNC.
The Right gave women their 1st Supreme Court Justice; I will take that Justice and raise you a female Vice President!
link: http://mediamatters.org/items/200806290001
More Hate….this from Salon:
Palin as “The Dominatrix” replete with cartoon of her in full go-go get up having her fun with a moose! REALLY? what century DO you live in at Salon???
http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/09/09/mistress_palin/index.html (you Must go here to see the drawing with photo-shopped face. Is this journalism? No , NO not at ALL! Shame of Salon and Joan Walsh for allowing this sexist crap!)
Below, a few Salon reader postings re Palin that drip with HATE:
• *i fucking hate walmart!
and am voting for OBAMA.
anyone who isn't is a douche.
by -- im on ur bord... reedn ur stupidnez
Note the above post got an Editor’s star of recommendation!
*Time is short! Get to fucking work! Destroy this moron!
by steveinmidtown
*Oh, yeah sure... That's like asking a boa constrictor, please don't eat my chihuahua.
by-- conryw
*I'm gonna git you sista Sarah!
And by the same Salon poster re Palin:
*I don't know about you.
But this coming election
I won't get fucked again.
And I ain't foolin'
Fool...
-- Klytus
Urgent Note: Some-one PLEASE take note of this nutty Klytus poster who seems to be sending a bodily-harm threat at Palin in his Salon posts.
From Daily Kos:
*A cartoon of a naked Palin getn’ funky with God. (I decided not to paste link this as it was just too disrespectful.)
And this tidbit from Slate:
Justice Barracuda?WHY JOHN MCCAIN SHOULD PUT SARAH PALIN ON THE SUPREME COURT.
By Dahlia Lithwick
http://www.slate.com/id/2199931/
This vicious piece by Missy Dahlia is an odd attack on Palin, suggesting that Palin be put on the Supreme Court despite not having a law degree.
Yes, Missy Dahlia is being tongue-n-cheek, but the problem is that her tongue is inside Obama’s cheek—down his throat and tickling his insides—same as it was when she railed against Hillary Clinton.
(Can’t you just hear Obama giggling at this insult against Palin and dialing Dahlia’s digits and thanking her from the Bottom of his Heart? I can. And that makes me very sad.)
This is not journalism; this is HATE, vile pure and Over the TOP….the sort of nonsense that I always expected from the Whack-Job Right-Wingers. Turns out Hate is Diverse. Turns out my long-time holdings on the superior intellect of the Left need to be examined. All I is see is intellectual dishonesty wrapped in cluster bombs of hate and the VERY CREEPY outpouring of privacy invasions. Palin Hackers…and…
For example…the need for Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic to invade the privacy of Palin’s womb. Isn’t that a hallmark of waccko-Right wingers who wish to force procreation on women, wish to invade their wombs with government? Not this time. This time it is the Nutty Left invading Palin’s womb with tacit approval from MSM. (Sullivan has been demanding Palin’s Ob/GYN records and under NO pretense of legitimate journalism, rather under rumor-mongering that Palin’s child is not hers.
Can you imagine a Right-Winger demanding a DNA test, Jerry-Springer Like, for the Obama Tots?
Can you just imagine the OUTRAGE of the Left if that were to occur…that a MSM outlet such as the Atlantic doubted that a black women might be faithful to her man? The howl would never stop? But for the Left to attack a woman’s integrity in the same manner is somehow OK…that Sullivan has retained his job in the face of shuckster journalism worthy of the a National Enquirer headline…”BabY NOT Hers”, says Sullivan, basing his reports on…ThIN UFO AIR!
Turns out…Hate is NOT owned by the Right. Both the Left media and the Left voters can muster enough Hate to make up for the vacuum on the Right this season.
Bonus links:
http://www.nysun.com/national/palin-pick-puts-many-women-on-the-verge/86...
gotta read hate for Palin
nasty nashers
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/
FROM BLOG: HUGH HEWITT - TOWNHALL.COM (SEEMS LIKE SOME PEOPLE ARE CRYING OVER SOUR GRAPES!!!)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A fisking of David Talbot's assembly of Alaska's defeated candidates and felons to whine about "mean girl" Sarah Palin
Posted by: Bill Dyer at 11:04 AM
(Guest Post by Bill Dyer a/k/a Beldar)
David Talbot, the founder of Salon.com, has accomplished an amazing journalistic coup on his website today: In a breathless report entitled "Mean Girl," Mr. Talbot reports the stunning news that the Alaska politicians whom Sarah Palin has either directly beaten herself, or else has seen driven from public office for corruption, don't tend to like her very much!
Stop the presses! (In other stunning news, the sun rose this morning in the east, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.)
Mr. Talbot's narrative begins with Gov. Palin's first run for mayor of Wasilla against incumbent John Stein. We're assured that ex-Mayor Stein is "an eminently reasonable and reflective man" — or so he appears to a San Francisco online journalist like Mr. Talbot, who doubtless spent many, many hours coming to know Stein intimately enough to vouch for him.
But according to Palin biographer (and Wasilla resident) Kaylene Johnson, while he originally was a popular mayor, Stein had ignored the sentiments of Wasilla residents who'd approved term limits in 1994, and he continued to take advantage of a loophole exempting incumbents (he'd been mayor since 1987). Palin had originally crossed Stein by voting against a pay increase for the mayor's position shortly after she was first elected as a city councilman in 1992; accordingly, in 1996, she campaigned against him with a promise that she would start trimming the city budget by taking a voluntary pay cut as mayor. (Which in fact she did.) She also promised to reduce property taxes. (Which in fact she did.) And she promised to promote new economic development that would increase the local tax base and permit higher levels of city services. (Which, again, she did.)
Mr. Talbot, relying on ex-Mayor Stein and his family and friends, ignores these issues and paints the 1996 mayoral campaign as being about personalities, biases, "whispering campaigns," and issues having nothing to do with city government — leading to the political birth of a terrible monster who devoured her original sponsor:
"I had a hand in creating Sarah, but in the end she blew me out of the water," Stein said, sounding more wearily ironic than bitter. "Sarah's on a mission, she's an opportunist."
Dear, me, break out the violins! Cue the orchestra! Poor, mistreated ex-Mayor Stein indeed lost the 1996 election by a vote of 651 to 440, so he decided to run against Sarah Palin again in 1999. Kaylene Johnson reports — and David Talbot and Salon.com omit to note — that given a second chance to choose between Stein and Palin, Wasilla residents re-elected Palin by a margin of 826 to 255.
*******
But wait, there's more! To further his theme that "once a powerful patron becomes a major liability, Palin is quick to jettison him," Mr. Talbot brings us the sad story of former Alaska state representative Victor Kohring, who Talbot describes as "another key Palin supporter during her political rise in Mat-Su Valley." Talbot tells us that Kohring feels "betrayed" by Sarah Palin.
"He thinks she's an opportunist, pure and simple," reports Talbot of Kohring's views (as relayed through a friend), and "she didn't give him [i.e., Kohring] the time of day." Indeed, Sarah Palin "called on [Kohring] to resign his office," which he "regarded ... as a great insult, a personal betrayal." Oh, my!
This sad story might be a bit more moving, however, and Talbot's tale of Gov. Palin's turn-coat tendencies more persuasive, were former state representative Kohring's own present residence somewhere other than "the Taft minimum security prison outside Bakersfield, Calif."
He's serving his sentence on federal corruption charges — poor fellow.
Quick! More violins! Mr. Talbot needs the whole strings section, in fact! Play louder! Play more sadly! Sarah Palin is a meanie because she won't stick up for convicted felons.
*******
On to Mr. Talbot's next witness, Andrew Halcro, who also furnishes the muckraking Mr. Talbot with juicy quotes (asterisks mine):
"The idea that Sarah shook up the state's old-boy network is one big fantasy, it's complete bulls**t," Halcro said. "She got all this public acclaim for throwing people who backed her under the bus — but she only did it after they became expendable, when she no longer needed them.
So who's Andrew Halcro? Oh, well, he's the extremely annoying know-it-all who finished a humiliating third, with 9 percent of the vote, behind Palin's 48 percent and Democratic former governor Tony Knowles' 41 percent in the 2006 gubernatorial general election. So do the facts support Halcro's assertion, or are these just more sour grapes?
I think you know what's coming, don't you? Orchestra, up and over! Crank the dials up to eleven! Hire John Williams and the entire Boston Pops!
Halcro only had the opportunity to run a distant third against her in the 2006 general election because by then, Sarah Palin had already broken from — and then soundly defeated in the GOP primary — one of Alaska's most powerful politicians, incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski. She mounted that campaign from a position as a private citizen who was widely thought to have destroyed her own political career through her 2005 resignation from her position as chair and ethics officer of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission in the Murkowski's administration to become a whistle-blower.
Here's a metaphor usage tip for Messrs. Halcro and Talbot: When someone has run as a massively underfunded underdog against a state's entrenched political structure, including its incumbent governor, and she wins despite all the odds against her, the proper metaphor isn't "throwing [anyone] under the bus." It's "assaulting the beaches at Normandy."
*******
Mr. Talbot ends his exciting work of investigative journalism with a rhetorical question, again mouthed by the soundly defeated Andrew Halcro: "So where's the new era of change that Palin supposedly brought to Alaska?"
It's true enough that Gov. Palin hasn't yet been able to oppose and defeat every single ethically challenged GOP politician in Alaska, since she can't simultaneously be Governor of Alaska, U.S. Representative from Alaska, and U.S. Senator from Alaska. No, in addition to defeating incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski, she's merely driven the head of the Alaska Republican Party from his appointed public office and helped force the resignation of the former state attorney-general.
But this rhetorical question shows Halcro to be disingenuous, and Talbot to be either ignorant or disingenuous or both, about what has actually happened in Alaska since the 2006 election. Among other accomplishments —
Gov. Palin has taken symbolic but nevertheless important steps toward fiscal responsibility such as selling the corporate jet Murkowski had purchased over legislative opposition, re-assigning the Governor's Mansion's executive chef, and driving herself to work.
She's imposed substantive fiscal discipline — despite overflowing state coffers and the spending temptations that presents — by using her line-item veto to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in pork from the state budget, and she's made those vetoes stick.
She's led the state legislature to enact a completely revamped state severance tax on oil and gas extracted from Alaska (mis-labeled by some as a "windfall profits tax"), replacing a cozy and widely distrusted version that the Murkowski administration had negotiated with the major energy companies who represent the corporate status quo.
And she's gotten the legislative groundwork laid, and an international contract signed, for a multi-billion dollar competitively-bid contract for the construction of a cross-state natural gas pipeline that will not only address Alaskans' own needs for affordable energy but also bring Alaska's plentiful reserves to hungry markets in the Lower 48 states.
These accomplishments explain Gov. Sarah Palin's stratospheric popularity ratings among her constituents — save and except for a small minority of Alaskans who take their cues from sore losers like Halcro and Stein or felons like Kohring.
And gosh: It turns out that all this sad, "wearily ironic" music from Mr. Talbot can actually be played on the world's smallest violin.
A fisking of David Talbot's assembly of Alaska's defeated candidates and felons to whine about "mean girl" Sarah Palin
Posted by: Bill Dyer at 11:04 AM
(Guest Post by Bill Dyer a/k/a Beldar)
David Talbot, the founder of Salon.com, has accomplished an amazing journalistic coup on his website today: In a breathless report entitled "Mean Girl," Mr. Talbot reports the stunning news that the Alaska politicians whom Sarah Palin has either directly beaten herself, or else has seen driven from public office for corruption, don't tend to like her very much!
Stop the presses! (In other stunning news, the sun rose this morning in the east, and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.)
Mr. Talbot's narrative begins with Gov. Palin's first run for mayor of Wasilla against incumbent John Stein. We're assured that ex-Mayor Stein is "an eminently reasonable and reflective man" — or so he appears to a San Francisco online journalist like Mr. Talbot, who doubtless spent many, many hours coming to know Stein intimately enough to vouch for him.
But according to Palin biographer (and Wasilla resident) Kaylene Johnson, while he originally was a popular mayor, Stein had ignored the sentiments of Wasilla residents who'd approved term limits in 1994, and he continued to take advantage of a loophole exempting incumbents (he'd been mayor since 1987). Palin had originally crossed Stein by voting against a pay increase for the mayor's position shortly after she was first elected as a city councilman in 1992; accordingly, in 1996, she campaigned against him with a promise that she would start trimming the city budget by taking a voluntary pay cut as mayor. (Which in fact she did.) She also promised to reduce property taxes. (Which in fact she did.) And she promised to promote new economic development that would increase the local tax base and permit higher levels of city services. (Which, again, she did.)
Mr. Talbot, relying on ex-Mayor Stein and his family and friends, ignores these issues and paints the 1996 mayoral campaign as being about personalities, biases, "whispering campaigns," and issues having nothing to do with city government — leading to the political birth of a terrible monster who devoured her original sponsor:
"I had a hand in creating Sarah, but in the end she blew me out of the water," Stein said, sounding more wearily ironic than bitter. "Sarah's on a mission, she's an opportunist."
Dear, me, break out the violins! Cue the orchestra! Poor, mistreated ex-Mayor Stein indeed lost the 1996 election by a vote of 651 to 440, so he decided to run against Sarah Palin again in 1999. Kaylene Johnson reports — and David Talbot and Salon.com omit to note — that given a second chance to choose between Stein and Palin, Wasilla residents re-elected Palin by a margin of 826 to 255.
*******
But wait, there's more! To further his theme that "once a powerful patron becomes a major liability, Palin is quick to jettison him," Mr. Talbot brings us the sad story of former Alaska state representative Victor Kohring, who Talbot describes as "another key Palin supporter during her political rise in Mat-Su Valley." Talbot tells us that Kohring feels "betrayed" by Sarah Palin.
"He thinks she's an opportunist, pure and simple," reports Talbot of Kohring's views (as relayed through a friend), and "she didn't give him [i.e., Kohring] the time of day." Indeed, Sarah Palin "called on [Kohring] to resign his office," which he "regarded ... as a great insult, a personal betrayal." Oh, my!
This sad story might be a bit more moving, however, and Talbot's tale of Gov. Palin's turn-coat tendencies more persuasive, were former state representative Kohring's own present residence somewhere other than "the Taft minimum security prison outside Bakersfield, Calif."
He's serving his sentence on federal corruption charges — poor fellow.
Quick! More violins! Mr. Talbot needs the whole strings section, in fact! Play louder! Play more sadly! Sarah Palin is a meanie because she won't stick up for convicted felons.
*******
On to Mr. Talbot's next witness, Andrew Halcro, who also furnishes the muckraking Mr. Talbot with juicy quotes (asterisks mine):
"The idea that Sarah shook up the state's old-boy network is one big fantasy, it's complete bulls**t," Halcro said. "She got all this public acclaim for throwing people who backed her under the bus — but she only did it after they became expendable, when she no longer needed them.
So who's Andrew Halcro? Oh, well, he's the extremely annoying know-it-all who finished a humiliating third, with 9 percent of the vote, behind Palin's 48 percent and Democratic former governor Tony Knowles' 41 percent in the 2006 gubernatorial general election. So do the facts support Halcro's assertion, or are these just more sour grapes?
I think you know what's coming, don't you? Orchestra, up and over! Crank the dials up to eleven! Hire John Williams and the entire Boston Pops!
Halcro only had the opportunity to run a distant third against her in the 2006 general election because by then, Sarah Palin had already broken from — and then soundly defeated in the GOP primary — one of Alaska's most powerful politicians, incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski. She mounted that campaign from a position as a private citizen who was widely thought to have destroyed her own political career through her 2005 resignation from her position as chair and ethics officer of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission in the Murkowski's administration to become a whistle-blower.
Here's a metaphor usage tip for Messrs. Halcro and Talbot: When someone has run as a massively underfunded underdog against a state's entrenched political structure, including its incumbent governor, and she wins despite all the odds against her, the proper metaphor isn't "throwing [anyone] under the bus." It's "assaulting the beaches at Normandy."
*******
Mr. Talbot ends his exciting work of investigative journalism with a rhetorical question, again mouthed by the soundly defeated Andrew Halcro: "So where's the new era of change that Palin supposedly brought to Alaska?"
It's true enough that Gov. Palin hasn't yet been able to oppose and defeat every single ethically challenged GOP politician in Alaska, since she can't simultaneously be Governor of Alaska, U.S. Representative from Alaska, and U.S. Senator from Alaska. No, in addition to defeating incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski, she's merely driven the head of the Alaska Republican Party from his appointed public office and helped force the resignation of the former state attorney-general.
But this rhetorical question shows Halcro to be disingenuous, and Talbot to be either ignorant or disingenuous or both, about what has actually happened in Alaska since the 2006 election. Among other accomplishments —
Gov. Palin has taken symbolic but nevertheless important steps toward fiscal responsibility such as selling the corporate jet Murkowski had purchased over legislative opposition, re-assigning the Governor's Mansion's executive chef, and driving herself to work.
She's imposed substantive fiscal discipline — despite overflowing state coffers and the spending temptations that presents — by using her line-item veto to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in pork from the state budget, and she's made those vetoes stick.
She's led the state legislature to enact a completely revamped state severance tax on oil and gas extracted from Alaska (mis-labeled by some as a "windfall profits tax"), replacing a cozy and widely distrusted version that the Murkowski administration had negotiated with the major energy companies who represent the corporate status quo.
And she's gotten the legislative groundwork laid, and an international contract signed, for a multi-billion dollar competitively-bid contract for the construction of a cross-state natural gas pipeline that will not only address Alaskans' own needs for affordable energy but also bring Alaska's plentiful reserves to hungry markets in the Lower 48 states.
These accomplishments explain Gov. Sarah Palin's stratospheric popularity ratings among her constituents — save and except for a small minority of Alaskans who take their cues from sore losers like Halcro and Stein or felons like Kohring.
And gosh: It turns out that all this sad, "wearily ironic" music from Mr. Talbot can actually be played on the world's smallest violin.
PALIN TUSSLES WITH NETWORKS OVER REPORTER ACCESS (FOX NEWS)
Palin Tussles With Networks Over Reporter Access
by FOXNews.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sarah Palin threatened to ban all reporters from her first-ever meetings with world leaders Tuesday, leading to an hour-long standoff with the five major television networks — who in response threatened to pull the camera crew assigned to cover her.
The stand-off was resolved just minutes before the Republican vice presidential nominee met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York City, where the United Nation General Assembly is getting underway.
But it was a reminder of the lingering tension between Palin and some members of the media, who have been limited in their interaction with the candidate.
The clash started at about 10:40 a.m. ET when Palin’s aides informed CNN — which was providing a producer and camera coverage for its own network as well as NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX News — that only photographers and the TV crew from CNN would be allowed in. They said the producer would not be allowed to attend.
Less than 45 minutes later, representatives from the five networks agreed to pull the TV crew entirely, effectively denying Palin the high visibility she had sought. It is considered a violation of internal rules to not allow an editorial presence along with the TV crew.
However, shortly before noon Palin agreed to allow the producer back in, and CNN reinstated the TV crew.
A print reporter was not allowed back in to the meeting, though a still photographer was.
The meetings in New York City are expected to be mostly private anyway, but media were to be allowed in to witness the first few moments.
The media were escorted out of the Karzai meeting after about 40 seconds.
Campaign aides subsequently announced that reporters would be allowed to accompany photographers into the later sessions Tuesday with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Kissinger.
Campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said it was all just a “miscommunication.” Earlier, she had said, “The decision was made for this to be a photo spray with still cameras and video cameras only.”
The series of sit-downs with top world leaders amounts to Palin’s debut on the international stage.
The first-term Alaska governor has arranged to meet with seven leaders as well as Kissinger in the Big Apple.
The series of meetings is part of a move to shore up her credentials on foreign policy and answer critics who challenge her knowledge of international affairs.
While John McCain is well-known abroad, Palin had never met a foreign head of state before this week. Her travels have been limited to trips to Mexico and Canada, and a visit to Germany and Kuwait where she visited U.S. troops. Palin obtained her first passport last year.
On Wednesday she is to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. She then will meet separately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Despite Palin’s stand-off with reporters Tuesday, John McCain at the same time scheduled his first press conference in six weeks Tuesday afternoon in Middleburg, Ohio. It was unclear why McCain called the press conference.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
by FOXNews.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sarah Palin threatened to ban all reporters from her first-ever meetings with world leaders Tuesday, leading to an hour-long standoff with the five major television networks — who in response threatened to pull the camera crew assigned to cover her.
The stand-off was resolved just minutes before the Republican vice presidential nominee met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York City, where the United Nation General Assembly is getting underway.
But it was a reminder of the lingering tension between Palin and some members of the media, who have been limited in their interaction with the candidate.
The clash started at about 10:40 a.m. ET when Palin’s aides informed CNN — which was providing a producer and camera coverage for its own network as well as NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX News — that only photographers and the TV crew from CNN would be allowed in. They said the producer would not be allowed to attend.
Less than 45 minutes later, representatives from the five networks agreed to pull the TV crew entirely, effectively denying Palin the high visibility she had sought. It is considered a violation of internal rules to not allow an editorial presence along with the TV crew.
However, shortly before noon Palin agreed to allow the producer back in, and CNN reinstated the TV crew.
A print reporter was not allowed back in to the meeting, though a still photographer was.
The meetings in New York City are expected to be mostly private anyway, but media were to be allowed in to witness the first few moments.
The media were escorted out of the Karzai meeting after about 40 seconds.
Campaign aides subsequently announced that reporters would be allowed to accompany photographers into the later sessions Tuesday with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Kissinger.
Campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said it was all just a “miscommunication.” Earlier, she had said, “The decision was made for this to be a photo spray with still cameras and video cameras only.”
The series of sit-downs with top world leaders amounts to Palin’s debut on the international stage.
The first-term Alaska governor has arranged to meet with seven leaders as well as Kissinger in the Big Apple.
The series of meetings is part of a move to shore up her credentials on foreign policy and answer critics who challenge her knowledge of international affairs.
While John McCain is well-known abroad, Palin had never met a foreign head of state before this week. Her travels have been limited to trips to Mexico and Canada, and a visit to Germany and Kuwait where she visited U.S. troops. Palin obtained her first passport last year.
On Wednesday she is to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. She then will meet separately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Despite Palin’s stand-off with reporters Tuesday, John McCain at the same time scheduled his first press conference in six weeks Tuesday afternoon in Middleburg, Ohio. It was unclear why McCain called the press conference.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Monday, September 22, 2008
MY GUT TOLD ME A LONG TIME AGO OBAMA WAS BAD NEWS!!!
(9/22) "Double Indemnity"(Savage Politics)-Loyal Dems: When Your Gut Tells You Not to Vote For Obama, LISTEN!
http://savagepolitics.com
Quote:
An article for those whose gut tells you not to vote for Obama and yet your loyalty holds you to the DNC’s choice.
On a dark Los Angeles summer night in 1938, insurance agent Walter Neff is bleeding from a gunshot wound and slips into his office at the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co. Walter records his murder confession on the Dictaphone, addressing his boss and friend, Barton Keyes, a methodical and intuitive claims agent
Walter was a good man who was manipulated by the intriguing Phyllis Dietrichson. Phyllis uses her sexual allure to maneuver Walter into killing her husband for the insurance. As the plan seems to be working, Walter is surprised by a visit from Keyes, who has developed indigestion due to incongruities in the case….. But more about this later.
I was always fascinated by Keyes, because throughout my lifetime, I have always had gut feelings, which later, as the facts add up, turn out to be true. That is what strongly motivated me to investigate Obama, rather than being spoon fed by mainstream media.
THE CRAFTED IMAGE- Obama has been compared to JFK. About the only connection, is his ability to give a good speech from a teleprompter. From my memories of JFK, he was personally charming (especially to women), a quick wit, a great extemporaneous speaker, a speed reader that was well versed in current events, a history buff, and an innovator for the country. He was raised in a politically savvy environment that promoted deep examination of policy formation. JFK, also, backed up his political bid with honorable military and government service. Obama fails on all these counts.
Obama is packaged as an above the fray politician, yet , in Chicago, he befriended kingmakers, assisted with their special interests, and neutralized rivals.
POLITICAL SELF-INTEREST- It seems that Obama’s whole political career is not for the good of others, but for his own aggrandizement. In the Illinois State Senate, he voted present 130 times to avoid any controversial stands. In the US Senate, he did not take a principled stand against the war, as did Dennis Kucinich. Of his 143 days in the US Senate, there were no accomplishments to set him apart. He simply moved on to his Presidential bid. Obama has not stayed anywhere long enough to make any real change.
POLITICAL EVASION- During the Primaries, Obama claimed his policies were the same as Hillary Clinton’s with just some nuance. And now he’s tapping John McCain’s stances on off shore drilling, Russian responsibility for aggression on Georgia (reversing his prior stance), and he’s decided to delay rescinding tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.
Obama has voted contrary to his stances on hand gun ban, death penalty for child rapists, and FISA. He has opted out of Public Campaign Financing. His stance on abortion has now become murky. He’s also caving on separation of church and state, since he’s pledging to expand President Bush’s faith based initiatives.
Throughout this election cycle, the press has given free passes to all his deceptions, so the public is unaware of critical facts which just might floor them. Such as, Obama and Biden voted FOR the earmarked funds for the ‘bridge to nowhere”, and refused to vote for an amendment that that would have switched the money to Katrina relief.
There is simply no record to criticize. He adopts his opponent’s policies. He makes policy shifts so he can take credit for both sides of the issues. He votes discretely against his original stances. This creates the perfect illusion for those too busy to pay attention.
FORESHADOWING EXECUTIVE ABILITY- Obama’s 13th District of Chicago is a forlorn place that has stayed the same for decades. High rise slums without heat in the cold of winter, gang violence, drug warfare, school violence, hate churches, hate mosques, corrupt city councilmen, and slum landlords show that Obama’s stint as a Community Organizer has changed nothing.
Weatherman William Ayers is not just some guy who lives in Obama’s neighborhood. Ayers introduced Obama to the political community of Chicago and he was also on the Board of the Woods Fund with him. More importantly, he served with “Chairman of the Board’ Obama on the failed Chicago Anneberg Challenge which was to transform the deplorable Chicago schools. It seems that the CAC was a 100 million dollar failure and there seems to be a question as to where this money was filtered.
Our country has already experienced a President who expressed one thing in public while doing just the opposite behind the scenes. Obama has already exhibited the same dishonesty with his reversal votes on bills, his non-transparency of public and personal records, his deception about his money sources, and his “behind the scenes” comments (NAFTA/Canada, teamster ear of the.., and the “working class” disparage).
http://www.wsj.com/public/article_pr...490321133.html
PATRIOTISM- Why was there no flag pin on Obama’s lapel, or a hand over Obama’s heart during the National Anthem, until it became a political liability? Who was the soldier that gave Obama the flag pin? What is the background of the great uncle that liberated the Jewish people in WWII? Why didn’t Obama begin his Town Hall Meetings with the ‘Pledge of Allegiance”? Why wasn’t Michelle proud of her country? Why, with all her opportunities, did Michelle feel this is a mean country? Why did Obama, Michelle and their girls, listen to hatred of white society and the United States from Pastor Wright?
BIG MONEY- Obama has kept his big investors hidden through non -transparency of his funding. Obama’s truth was showing when he voted for the FISA bill legalizing warrantless wire tapping and email viewing by the government. Why would a man who vowed to filibuster this bill, vote just the opposite, unless something was owed to his benefactors?
Obama’s announcement that he would opt out of public financing is another indication of his true allegiance. Big contributors hold influence over Obama. Sadly, the small donors, who truly believe in Obama’s message of change, are being hoodwinked.
Obama denies taking money from lobbyist, however he still has lobbyist bundling money for him, so appearances are deceiving.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/04...ke-money-from/
With the Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac crisis, Obama has shown the same old corruption and graft characteristic of the old politics. Obama, as well as his associates, were major recipients of campaign contributions from these two entities.
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008...d-freddie.html
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09...treet-problem/
Then there is the nagging question of the Lehman Brothers failure and the connection to Rezko, Auchi, and Obama.
http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/09...-interest.html
Obama has built a network of big money supporters, such as Wall Street investment firms, communication conglomerates, foreign investors, and Republican Neo-Conservatives. Therefore, we can expect from an Obama Administration something like a Bush third term. Obama will have to repay his top donors leaving more of a disparity between rich and poor, and maintaining a more aggressive foreign policy. Obama wears the reformer’s mantle while he swims in the polluted waters of special interests.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...1004045_pf.htm
MUSLIM TIES- Obama has denied ‘his Muslim connections’, however in a recent unguarded moment he called it “my” Muslim faith, a slip that undid all of the carefully crafted efforts of his campaign to conceal his Muslim family (both his father and stepfather), his Muslim childhood, and his adult Muslim connections.
FRIENDS, SUPPORTERS, CONTRIBUTORS of Obama- An investigation on any of these individuals or groups is disturbing. http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/
(See Categories-Select Category)
Weathermen William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn; Rashid & Mona Khalidi; Arab American Action Network; New Black Panthers; Louis Farrakhan; Antonin “Tony” Rezko; Lou Raila Odinga; Hamas; Dr. Sami Al-Arian; Aiham Alsammarae; Semir Sirazi; Nadhmi Auchi; Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr.; Joseph Aramanda; Elie Maloof; Ali Baghdadi; Emil Jones,Jr.; Hugo Chavez; Mousa Abu Mazook; Fr. Pfleger; Jodie Evans; Muamar al-Gaddafi; Fidel Castro etc.
BLUE COLLARS, WOMEN, & THE MILITARY- No matter how many times, Obama rolls up his sleeves and struts in front of the working class, decrying lost jobs, while not giving any clear workable solutions, he’ll never win the blue collars over.
No matter how many times, Obama extols HRC’s virtues, the images of brushing his shoulders off, smirking and shaking his head, and giving Hillary the finger, will not be erased in women’s minds.
No matter how many times, Obama talks about the sacrifices of our troops, the image of Obama working out in a German gym instead of visiting our hospitalized soldiers, will not win over the military.
No matter how many times, Obama proclaims, “I’m just one of you.”, the image of the 1.9 million dollar home and the fact of the 4 million dollar income coupled with Michelle’s statement that she has had a difficult time making ends meet, will not make him accepted by the shop worn or unemployed person.
UNITY- The Clintons’, and anyone else in Obama’s way, has been smeared. Obama has run a campaign of racism, sexism, threats, graft, and hate. Obama has deeply divided the Democratic Party, without remorse, because he never truly felt a part of the DNC, it was simply a means to his political aspirations.
CRIMNAL EXPOSURE- Obama’s attempt to delay the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq for his personal political gain, constitutes a felony under the Logan Act.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/pol/845869426.html
Democratic Party- The image of American flags in ‘bagged garbage” after the Democratic Convention, says it all. The DNC allowed Caucus fraud, pay-offs, misogyny, sexism, jealousy, threats, and intimidation. The fix was in for a candidate, who was not properly vetted. The Roll Call was manipulated and 18 million votes were trashed. The DNC allowed an extravagant, egotistical display for the nomination acceptance speech, while many of the middle class are worrying about paying for gas, food, and the cost of living.
The Democratic Party has shown a woeful lack of character, leadership, and good judgment. Their focus has been propping up and protecting a severely flawed candidate with a glitzy facade. Donna Brazile’s secret communications with Carl Rove have set the party on the path to self destruction.
http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/...veConnect.html
Donna posed as an unbiased political strategist and was a major player in distorting the votes for the presumptive nominee. She arrogantly declared that Obama did not need women or Ohio to win. Howard Dean’s foolish focus was to defeat the Clintons. Nancy Pelosi discounted the best interest of the country because she was seduced by a power trip.
It is truly sad to watch well-respected Democrat politicians “fall in line” behind Obama to try and save the Democratic Party and their political association with the party. Speaking the truth about Obama can only be done in a cloaked way, as in Bill Clinton’s “X and Y candidates” or even Joe Biden’s “Hillary would have made a great VP or even a great President” remarks.
The Democratic Party has abandoned respect for its base, women, and its original principles of truth, honesty, fairness, and righteousness. It has lost its vision about what would be good for the country. Most of all, the Democratic Party has abandoned the ideal of upholding the middle class. The Republicans have bested the Democrats by choosing a woman for VP, stealing the mantle of “change/reform” and forcing the biased and abusive media to begin to self-prune.
As Keyes expounds on his theory to Walter, he says, “It’s beginning to come apart at the seams already. They’re stuck with each other and they’ve got to ride all the way to the end of the line and the last stop is the cemetery.”
Later, Walter begins to see things more clearly and so he confronts Phyllis and tells her that he knows she has used him. Phyllis then shoots Walter, but is unable to kill him. Admitting that she has never loved him, Phyllis now embraces him, and Walter shoots her twice, killing her.
In the early a.m., Walter finishes his confession as Keyes makes his presence known, having been called by the janitor who noticed Walter trailing blood. Walter pulls himself together and walks out, intending to escape to the border, but collapses before he gets to the elevator. Keyes, disappointed, nevertheless reveals his affection for Walter, and Walter reciprocates, as Keyes lights Walter’s final cigarette.
The DNC, once a good party, has become morally corrupt and did not vet the alluring Obama. They thought that they could get away with destroying their true candidate of substance and reap the spoils of policies which she took a lifetime formulating.
As Obama begins to slowly tank in the polls, I ask the Democratic Party, “Do you want one last cigarette?"
http://savagepolitics.com
Quote:
An article for those whose gut tells you not to vote for Obama and yet your loyalty holds you to the DNC’s choice.
On a dark Los Angeles summer night in 1938, insurance agent Walter Neff is bleeding from a gunshot wound and slips into his office at the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co. Walter records his murder confession on the Dictaphone, addressing his boss and friend, Barton Keyes, a methodical and intuitive claims agent
Walter was a good man who was manipulated by the intriguing Phyllis Dietrichson. Phyllis uses her sexual allure to maneuver Walter into killing her husband for the insurance. As the plan seems to be working, Walter is surprised by a visit from Keyes, who has developed indigestion due to incongruities in the case….. But more about this later.
I was always fascinated by Keyes, because throughout my lifetime, I have always had gut feelings, which later, as the facts add up, turn out to be true. That is what strongly motivated me to investigate Obama, rather than being spoon fed by mainstream media.
THE CRAFTED IMAGE- Obama has been compared to JFK. About the only connection, is his ability to give a good speech from a teleprompter. From my memories of JFK, he was personally charming (especially to women), a quick wit, a great extemporaneous speaker, a speed reader that was well versed in current events, a history buff, and an innovator for the country. He was raised in a politically savvy environment that promoted deep examination of policy formation. JFK, also, backed up his political bid with honorable military and government service. Obama fails on all these counts.
Obama is packaged as an above the fray politician, yet , in Chicago, he befriended kingmakers, assisted with their special interests, and neutralized rivals.
POLITICAL SELF-INTEREST- It seems that Obama’s whole political career is not for the good of others, but for his own aggrandizement. In the Illinois State Senate, he voted present 130 times to avoid any controversial stands. In the US Senate, he did not take a principled stand against the war, as did Dennis Kucinich. Of his 143 days in the US Senate, there were no accomplishments to set him apart. He simply moved on to his Presidential bid. Obama has not stayed anywhere long enough to make any real change.
POLITICAL EVASION- During the Primaries, Obama claimed his policies were the same as Hillary Clinton’s with just some nuance. And now he’s tapping John McCain’s stances on off shore drilling, Russian responsibility for aggression on Georgia (reversing his prior stance), and he’s decided to delay rescinding tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.
Obama has voted contrary to his stances on hand gun ban, death penalty for child rapists, and FISA. He has opted out of Public Campaign Financing. His stance on abortion has now become murky. He’s also caving on separation of church and state, since he’s pledging to expand President Bush’s faith based initiatives.
Throughout this election cycle, the press has given free passes to all his deceptions, so the public is unaware of critical facts which just might floor them. Such as, Obama and Biden voted FOR the earmarked funds for the ‘bridge to nowhere”, and refused to vote for an amendment that that would have switched the money to Katrina relief.
There is simply no record to criticize. He adopts his opponent’s policies. He makes policy shifts so he can take credit for both sides of the issues. He votes discretely against his original stances. This creates the perfect illusion for those too busy to pay attention.
FORESHADOWING EXECUTIVE ABILITY- Obama’s 13th District of Chicago is a forlorn place that has stayed the same for decades. High rise slums without heat in the cold of winter, gang violence, drug warfare, school violence, hate churches, hate mosques, corrupt city councilmen, and slum landlords show that Obama’s stint as a Community Organizer has changed nothing.
Weatherman William Ayers is not just some guy who lives in Obama’s neighborhood. Ayers introduced Obama to the political community of Chicago and he was also on the Board of the Woods Fund with him. More importantly, he served with “Chairman of the Board’ Obama on the failed Chicago Anneberg Challenge which was to transform the deplorable Chicago schools. It seems that the CAC was a 100 million dollar failure and there seems to be a question as to where this money was filtered.
Our country has already experienced a President who expressed one thing in public while doing just the opposite behind the scenes. Obama has already exhibited the same dishonesty with his reversal votes on bills, his non-transparency of public and personal records, his deception about his money sources, and his “behind the scenes” comments (NAFTA/Canada, teamster ear of the.., and the “working class” disparage).
http://www.wsj.com/public/article_pr...490321133.html
PATRIOTISM- Why was there no flag pin on Obama’s lapel, or a hand over Obama’s heart during the National Anthem, until it became a political liability? Who was the soldier that gave Obama the flag pin? What is the background of the great uncle that liberated the Jewish people in WWII? Why didn’t Obama begin his Town Hall Meetings with the ‘Pledge of Allegiance”? Why wasn’t Michelle proud of her country? Why, with all her opportunities, did Michelle feel this is a mean country? Why did Obama, Michelle and their girls, listen to hatred of white society and the United States from Pastor Wright?
BIG MONEY- Obama has kept his big investors hidden through non -transparency of his funding. Obama’s truth was showing when he voted for the FISA bill legalizing warrantless wire tapping and email viewing by the government. Why would a man who vowed to filibuster this bill, vote just the opposite, unless something was owed to his benefactors?
Obama’s announcement that he would opt out of public financing is another indication of his true allegiance. Big contributors hold influence over Obama. Sadly, the small donors, who truly believe in Obama’s message of change, are being hoodwinked.
Obama denies taking money from lobbyist, however he still has lobbyist bundling money for him, so appearances are deceiving.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/04...ke-money-from/
With the Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac crisis, Obama has shown the same old corruption and graft characteristic of the old politics. Obama, as well as his associates, were major recipients of campaign contributions from these two entities.
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008...d-freddie.html
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09...treet-problem/
Then there is the nagging question of the Lehman Brothers failure and the connection to Rezko, Auchi, and Obama.
http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/09...-interest.html
Obama has built a network of big money supporters, such as Wall Street investment firms, communication conglomerates, foreign investors, and Republican Neo-Conservatives. Therefore, we can expect from an Obama Administration something like a Bush third term. Obama will have to repay his top donors leaving more of a disparity between rich and poor, and maintaining a more aggressive foreign policy. Obama wears the reformer’s mantle while he swims in the polluted waters of special interests.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...1004045_pf.htm
MUSLIM TIES- Obama has denied ‘his Muslim connections’, however in a recent unguarded moment he called it “my” Muslim faith, a slip that undid all of the carefully crafted efforts of his campaign to conceal his Muslim family (both his father and stepfather), his Muslim childhood, and his adult Muslim connections.
FRIENDS, SUPPORTERS, CONTRIBUTORS of Obama- An investigation on any of these individuals or groups is disturbing. http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/
(See Categories-Select Category)
Weathermen William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrn; Rashid & Mona Khalidi; Arab American Action Network; New Black Panthers; Louis Farrakhan; Antonin “Tony” Rezko; Lou Raila Odinga; Hamas; Dr. Sami Al-Arian; Aiham Alsammarae; Semir Sirazi; Nadhmi Auchi; Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr.; Joseph Aramanda; Elie Maloof; Ali Baghdadi; Emil Jones,Jr.; Hugo Chavez; Mousa Abu Mazook; Fr. Pfleger; Jodie Evans; Muamar al-Gaddafi; Fidel Castro etc.
BLUE COLLARS, WOMEN, & THE MILITARY- No matter how many times, Obama rolls up his sleeves and struts in front of the working class, decrying lost jobs, while not giving any clear workable solutions, he’ll never win the blue collars over.
No matter how many times, Obama extols HRC’s virtues, the images of brushing his shoulders off, smirking and shaking his head, and giving Hillary the finger, will not be erased in women’s minds.
No matter how many times, Obama talks about the sacrifices of our troops, the image of Obama working out in a German gym instead of visiting our hospitalized soldiers, will not win over the military.
No matter how many times, Obama proclaims, “I’m just one of you.”, the image of the 1.9 million dollar home and the fact of the 4 million dollar income coupled with Michelle’s statement that she has had a difficult time making ends meet, will not make him accepted by the shop worn or unemployed person.
UNITY- The Clintons’, and anyone else in Obama’s way, has been smeared. Obama has run a campaign of racism, sexism, threats, graft, and hate. Obama has deeply divided the Democratic Party, without remorse, because he never truly felt a part of the DNC, it was simply a means to his political aspirations.
CRIMNAL EXPOSURE- Obama’s attempt to delay the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq for his personal political gain, constitutes a felony under the Logan Act.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/pol/845869426.html
Democratic Party- The image of American flags in ‘bagged garbage” after the Democratic Convention, says it all. The DNC allowed Caucus fraud, pay-offs, misogyny, sexism, jealousy, threats, and intimidation. The fix was in for a candidate, who was not properly vetted. The Roll Call was manipulated and 18 million votes were trashed. The DNC allowed an extravagant, egotistical display for the nomination acceptance speech, while many of the middle class are worrying about paying for gas, food, and the cost of living.
The Democratic Party has shown a woeful lack of character, leadership, and good judgment. Their focus has been propping up and protecting a severely flawed candidate with a glitzy facade. Donna Brazile’s secret communications with Carl Rove have set the party on the path to self destruction.
http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/...veConnect.html
Donna posed as an unbiased political strategist and was a major player in distorting the votes for the presumptive nominee. She arrogantly declared that Obama did not need women or Ohio to win. Howard Dean’s foolish focus was to defeat the Clintons. Nancy Pelosi discounted the best interest of the country because she was seduced by a power trip.
It is truly sad to watch well-respected Democrat politicians “fall in line” behind Obama to try and save the Democratic Party and their political association with the party. Speaking the truth about Obama can only be done in a cloaked way, as in Bill Clinton’s “X and Y candidates” or even Joe Biden’s “Hillary would have made a great VP or even a great President” remarks.
The Democratic Party has abandoned respect for its base, women, and its original principles of truth, honesty, fairness, and righteousness. It has lost its vision about what would be good for the country. Most of all, the Democratic Party has abandoned the ideal of upholding the middle class. The Republicans have bested the Democrats by choosing a woman for VP, stealing the mantle of “change/reform” and forcing the biased and abusive media to begin to self-prune.
As Keyes expounds on his theory to Walter, he says, “It’s beginning to come apart at the seams already. They’re stuck with each other and they’ve got to ride all the way to the end of the line and the last stop is the cemetery.”
Later, Walter begins to see things more clearly and so he confronts Phyllis and tells her that he knows she has used him. Phyllis then shoots Walter, but is unable to kill him. Admitting that she has never loved him, Phyllis now embraces him, and Walter shoots her twice, killing her.
In the early a.m., Walter finishes his confession as Keyes makes his presence known, having been called by the janitor who noticed Walter trailing blood. Walter pulls himself together and walks out, intending to escape to the border, but collapses before he gets to the elevator. Keyes, disappointed, nevertheless reveals his affection for Walter, and Walter reciprocates, as Keyes lights Walter’s final cigarette.
The DNC, once a good party, has become morally corrupt and did not vet the alluring Obama. They thought that they could get away with destroying their true candidate of substance and reap the spoils of policies which she took a lifetime formulating.
As Obama begins to slowly tank in the polls, I ask the Democratic Party, “Do you want one last cigarette?"
THE MEDIA IN GENERAL (WITH EXCEPTION OF FOX NEWS) IS NOT LEGITIMATE WHERE OBAMA IS CONCERNED!!!
McCain aide: NYT not legit news source
By MIKE ALLEN | 9/22/08 12:25 PM EDT Text Size:
Steve Schmidt, a McCain campaign senior adviser, declared on a conference call with reporters Monday that The New York Times is "not ... a journalistic organization.”
His lengthy broadside, prompted by an article Monday documenting ties between the campaign and lobbying for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was the latest in a series of grievances with the Gray Lady that that aides to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have aired publicly..
“Whatever The New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization,” Schmidt said. “It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day impugns the McCain campaign, attacks Sen. McCain, attacks Gov. [Sarah] Palin. It excuse Sen. Obama. …
“Everything that is read in The New York Times that attacks this campaign should be evaluated by the American people from that perspective — that it is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic integrity and tradition, to advocate for the defeat of one candidate — in this case, John McCain — and to advocate for the election of the other candidate, Barack Obama.”
Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said in a statement of response: "The New York Times is committed to covering the candidates fully, fairly and aggressively. It's our job to ask hard questions, fact-check their statements and their advertising, examine their programs, positions, biographies and advisors. Candidates and their campaign operatives are not always comfortable with that level of scrutiny, but it's what our readers expect and deserve.
Bill Burton, the Obama campaign's national press secretary, called Schmidt's accusation laughable, and said The Times had published more than 40 "probing stories ... over the course of the campaign about Barack Obama, his life, his religion, his childhood, his politics, his time in the state senate, his time in the U.S. Senate, his family, his religion, his friends, his fundraising and all other manner of associations."
Burton attached a list of 42 citations, pasted below.
On Monday, the paper published an article on page A18 tying McCain campaign manager Rick Davis to lobbying group set up by troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
When CNN’s Dana Bash asked about the article, Schmidt unloaded.
“Let me first say: We are First Amendment absolutists on this campaign,” Schmidt began. “The press, and anybody who wishes to cover this race from the blogosphere perspective or from a media perspective, … of course is constitutionally protected with regard to writing … whatever they want to write. But let’s be clear and be honest with each other about something fundamental to this race.”
Schmidt said that the Obama campaign has been “abetted” by a compliant media that gives more scrutiny to the Republican than to the Democrat.
Then, naming the Times, he said: “There is no level of public vetting with Senator Obama’s record, his background, his past statements. There’s no level of outrage directed at his deceitful ads. This is an organization that is completely, totally, 150 percent in tank for the Democratic candidate, which is their prerogative to be. But let’s not be dishonest and call it something other than what it is.”
By MIKE ALLEN | 9/22/08 12:25 PM EDT Text Size:
Steve Schmidt, a McCain campaign senior adviser, declared on a conference call with reporters Monday that The New York Times is "not ... a journalistic organization.”
His lengthy broadside, prompted by an article Monday documenting ties between the campaign and lobbying for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was the latest in a series of grievances with the Gray Lady that that aides to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have aired publicly..
“Whatever The New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization,” Schmidt said. “It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day impugns the McCain campaign, attacks Sen. McCain, attacks Gov. [Sarah] Palin. It excuse Sen. Obama. …
“Everything that is read in The New York Times that attacks this campaign should be evaluated by the American people from that perspective — that it is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic integrity and tradition, to advocate for the defeat of one candidate — in this case, John McCain — and to advocate for the election of the other candidate, Barack Obama.”
Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said in a statement of response: "The New York Times is committed to covering the candidates fully, fairly and aggressively. It's our job to ask hard questions, fact-check their statements and their advertising, examine their programs, positions, biographies and advisors. Candidates and their campaign operatives are not always comfortable with that level of scrutiny, but it's what our readers expect and deserve.
Bill Burton, the Obama campaign's national press secretary, called Schmidt's accusation laughable, and said The Times had published more than 40 "probing stories ... over the course of the campaign about Barack Obama, his life, his religion, his childhood, his politics, his time in the state senate, his time in the U.S. Senate, his family, his religion, his friends, his fundraising and all other manner of associations."
Burton attached a list of 42 citations, pasted below.
On Monday, the paper published an article on page A18 tying McCain campaign manager Rick Davis to lobbying group set up by troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
When CNN’s Dana Bash asked about the article, Schmidt unloaded.
“Let me first say: We are First Amendment absolutists on this campaign,” Schmidt began. “The press, and anybody who wishes to cover this race from the blogosphere perspective or from a media perspective, … of course is constitutionally protected with regard to writing … whatever they want to write. But let’s be clear and be honest with each other about something fundamental to this race.”
Schmidt said that the Obama campaign has been “abetted” by a compliant media that gives more scrutiny to the Republican than to the Democrat.
Then, naming the Times, he said: “There is no level of public vetting with Senator Obama’s record, his background, his past statements. There’s no level of outrage directed at his deceitful ads. This is an organization that is completely, totally, 150 percent in tank for the Democratic candidate, which is their prerogative to be. But let’s not be dishonest and call it something other than what it is.”
FROM FOX NEWS: SARAH SAYS OBAMA VOTED "PRESENT"; WHAT ELSE IS NEW???!!!!
September 21st, 2008 7:13 PM Eastern
Palin: Obama “Refused to Even Take a Stand” on Wall Street Crisis
by Shushannah Walshe
LADY LAKE, Fla. –
Sarah Palin held her first campaign event in the battleground state of Florida with a rally in the retirement community of the Villages attracting one of the largest–if not the biggest crowd either member of the ticket has ever seen. The center square was filled with enthusiastic supporters made up mostly of the reliable voting bloc of senior citizens.
She went after the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama telling the crowd that her rival has not taken a position on this week’s Wall Street crisis and compared it to his terms in the Illinois State Legislature, “This week when the economic crisis threatened the livelihood of millions of Americans John McCain took a clear stand and he offered his own recovery plan. Our opponent refused to even take a stand on the position and that’s a lot like his tenure in the Illinois State Legislature where Barack Obama voted present about 130 times,” Palin said. “This week he voted present on the major economic issues of the day and that is not leadership America. It’s not leadership Americans can afford.”
McCain’s number two has still not taken questions from her traveling press corps—as we follow her every move from state to state. So today we decided to try to get some questions answered on the rope line while she was shaking hands and signing autographs after the rally. Through the throng, a reporter asked what she expects out of her meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week. She didn’t answer, but it wasn’t clear that over the music and crowd that she heard the question. When her husband Todd came up the rope line he was asked why he refuses to testify in the troopergate investigation. He looked up and listened to the question and looked down again declining to answer the reporter’s queries.
During the rally, the Alaska governor introduced her family saying her two daughters, Willow and Piper, were happy to be here because they had been to Disney World during their weekend trip to Orlando. 7-year-old Piper even got on the microphone and shouted, “Thank you” to the thousands of screaming supporters. After the event, Piper–donning a forest green dress–worked the rope line signing her name on McCain-Palin signs proving once again that she could very well be the GOP ticket’s secret weapon.
Palin: Obama “Refused to Even Take a Stand” on Wall Street Crisis
by Shushannah Walshe
LADY LAKE, Fla. –
Sarah Palin held her first campaign event in the battleground state of Florida with a rally in the retirement community of the Villages attracting one of the largest–if not the biggest crowd either member of the ticket has ever seen. The center square was filled with enthusiastic supporters made up mostly of the reliable voting bloc of senior citizens.
She went after the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama telling the crowd that her rival has not taken a position on this week’s Wall Street crisis and compared it to his terms in the Illinois State Legislature, “This week when the economic crisis threatened the livelihood of millions of Americans John McCain took a clear stand and he offered his own recovery plan. Our opponent refused to even take a stand on the position and that’s a lot like his tenure in the Illinois State Legislature where Barack Obama voted present about 130 times,” Palin said. “This week he voted present on the major economic issues of the day and that is not leadership America. It’s not leadership Americans can afford.”
McCain’s number two has still not taken questions from her traveling press corps—as we follow her every move from state to state. So today we decided to try to get some questions answered on the rope line while she was shaking hands and signing autographs after the rally. Through the throng, a reporter asked what she expects out of her meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week. She didn’t answer, but it wasn’t clear that over the music and crowd that she heard the question. When her husband Todd came up the rope line he was asked why he refuses to testify in the troopergate investigation. He looked up and listened to the question and looked down again declining to answer the reporter’s queries.
During the rally, the Alaska governor introduced her family saying her two daughters, Willow and Piper, were happy to be here because they had been to Disney World during their weekend trip to Orlando. 7-year-old Piper even got on the microphone and shouted, “Thank you” to the thousands of screaming supporters. After the event, Piper–donning a forest green dress–worked the rope line signing her name on McCain-Palin signs proving once again that she could very well be the GOP ticket’s secret weapon.
FROM FOX NEWS: DESPICABLE SKETCH IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY????!!!!!!
‘SNL’ Palin-Incest Joke Falls Flat In Sketch Lampooning New York Times
by FOXNews.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
In Saturday Night Live’s second attempt to mock this year’s vice presidential race, a sketch lampooning The New York Times as out of touch has instead touched off a firestorm by casually throwing out a much more insidious inference — incest — between Todd Palin and his pregnant, teenage daughter, Bristol.
While SNL fans had widely anticipated the return of Tina Fey in an edgy yet endearing role as Sarah Palin, Saturday’s sketch has managed to reignite the furor sparked by claims early this month that the Republican vice presidential candidate is not the mother of her 5-month-old son, Trig.
The sketch, say supporters, was supposed to accentuate how disconnected The New York Times is from anything west of the Hudson River, particularly Alaska. But critics say that the sketch backfired by suggesting that Todd Palin committed incest.
In the sketch, New York Times reporters are sitting around an assignment meeting discussing what about Palin to investigate next.
One reporter asks: “What about the husband? You know he’s doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It’s Alaska.”
Guest host James Franco, who played the assignment editor, sets up the joke of proving a negative, saying, “He very well could be. Admittedly, there is no evidence of that, but on the other hand, there is no convincing evidence to the contrary. And these are just some of the lingering questions about Governor Palin.”
After three of the reporters agree to go to Alaska, one sues for sexual discrimination after being called “sweetie” by a school board member, one is killed by a polar bear and a final reporter wins a Pulitzer for “unproven, yet un-disproven incest in the Palin family” and then is killed by a polar bear driving a “snow machine.”
The final shot in the rambling joke is an image of a New York Times page, featuring headlines: “While No Direct Evidence of Incest in Palin Family Emerges, Counter Evidence Remains Agonizingly Elusive” and “In a Small Alaska Town, Doubts Still Linger.”
Conservative bloggers are infuriated over the incest joke, most particularly because it plays off claims earlier this month that 17-year-old Bristol Palin is the mother of Trig Palin.
Bristol Palin is five months pregnant and therefore could not be Trig’s mother, John McCain’s campaign noted earlier this month in efforts to diffuse widespread and unfounded gossip that surrounded Trig’s maternity.
Still, left-wing conspirators dissatisfied with that response, have argued that Trig Palin, who was born with Down syndrome, a much more frequent occurrence in women over 40, could have been the outcome of incest, which also increases the odds of the disability.
Now, some bloggers are urging protests of the show be sent to producer Lorne Michaels. The video was not posted on the SNL Web site.
Editor’s Note: When this story was originally published at 12:07 pm ET, the video was available on YouTube. It has since been removed and a notice posted that NBC Universal has issued a copyright claim. Many other SNL videos remain on YouTube.
by FOXNews.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
In Saturday Night Live’s second attempt to mock this year’s vice presidential race, a sketch lampooning The New York Times as out of touch has instead touched off a firestorm by casually throwing out a much more insidious inference — incest — between Todd Palin and his pregnant, teenage daughter, Bristol.
While SNL fans had widely anticipated the return of Tina Fey in an edgy yet endearing role as Sarah Palin, Saturday’s sketch has managed to reignite the furor sparked by claims early this month that the Republican vice presidential candidate is not the mother of her 5-month-old son, Trig.
The sketch, say supporters, was supposed to accentuate how disconnected The New York Times is from anything west of the Hudson River, particularly Alaska. But critics say that the sketch backfired by suggesting that Todd Palin committed incest.
In the sketch, New York Times reporters are sitting around an assignment meeting discussing what about Palin to investigate next.
One reporter asks: “What about the husband? You know he’s doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It’s Alaska.”
Guest host James Franco, who played the assignment editor, sets up the joke of proving a negative, saying, “He very well could be. Admittedly, there is no evidence of that, but on the other hand, there is no convincing evidence to the contrary. And these are just some of the lingering questions about Governor Palin.”
After three of the reporters agree to go to Alaska, one sues for sexual discrimination after being called “sweetie” by a school board member, one is killed by a polar bear and a final reporter wins a Pulitzer for “unproven, yet un-disproven incest in the Palin family” and then is killed by a polar bear driving a “snow machine.”
The final shot in the rambling joke is an image of a New York Times page, featuring headlines: “While No Direct Evidence of Incest in Palin Family Emerges, Counter Evidence Remains Agonizingly Elusive” and “In a Small Alaska Town, Doubts Still Linger.”
Conservative bloggers are infuriated over the incest joke, most particularly because it plays off claims earlier this month that 17-year-old Bristol Palin is the mother of Trig Palin.
Bristol Palin is five months pregnant and therefore could not be Trig’s mother, John McCain’s campaign noted earlier this month in efforts to diffuse widespread and unfounded gossip that surrounded Trig’s maternity.
Still, left-wing conspirators dissatisfied with that response, have argued that Trig Palin, who was born with Down syndrome, a much more frequent occurrence in women over 40, could have been the outcome of incest, which also increases the odds of the disability.
Now, some bloggers are urging protests of the show be sent to producer Lorne Michaels. The video was not posted on the SNL Web site.
Editor’s Note: When this story was originally published at 12:07 pm ET, the video was available on YouTube. It has since been removed and a notice posted that NBC Universal has issued a copyright claim. Many other SNL videos remain on YouTube.
FROM FOX NEWS: SARAH WILL MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS!!
September 21st, 2008 8:41 PM Eastern
Palin to Meet with Presidents of Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Pakistan
by Shushannah Walshe
Orlando, Fla. –
According to a Palin campaign aide, this Wednesday in separate meetings Sarah Palin will meet with Iraqi President Talabani, Georgian President Saakashvelli, Ukrainian President Yuschenko, Pakistani President Zardari, and Indian Prime Minister Singh.
She will also meet with rock star and humanitarian, Bono on the same day.
As previously reported, her meetings with world leaders start Tuesday with separate meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Dr. Kissinger.
The meetings will be in New York and coincide with the United Nations’ General Assembly, which meets this week and attracts leaders from all over the world. The meetings are an effort by the campaign to boost Palin’s foreign policy credentials and show her ability to hob knob with foreign leaders.
A Palin campaign aide explains what they expect, “It’s a great opportunity for Governor Palin to meet and discuss pressing issues facing the world with the same leaders she will interact with as Vice-President.”
Her lack of foreign policy experience has been widely criticized since John McCain’s selection of Palin as his running mate.
Palin to Meet with Presidents of Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Pakistan
by Shushannah Walshe
Orlando, Fla. –
According to a Palin campaign aide, this Wednesday in separate meetings Sarah Palin will meet with Iraqi President Talabani, Georgian President Saakashvelli, Ukrainian President Yuschenko, Pakistani President Zardari, and Indian Prime Minister Singh.
She will also meet with rock star and humanitarian, Bono on the same day.
As previously reported, her meetings with world leaders start Tuesday with separate meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Dr. Kissinger.
The meetings will be in New York and coincide with the United Nations’ General Assembly, which meets this week and attracts leaders from all over the world. The meetings are an effort by the campaign to boost Palin’s foreign policy credentials and show her ability to hob knob with foreign leaders.
A Palin campaign aide explains what they expect, “It’s a great opportunity for Governor Palin to meet and discuss pressing issues facing the world with the same leaders she will interact with as Vice-President.”
Her lack of foreign policy experience has been widely criticized since John McCain’s selection of Palin as his running mate.
FROM THE BLOG: LOGISTCS MONSTER
PUMA Politics: Obama Creating More PUMAs
I just love the Internet. It is absolutely amazing what little trails of bread crumbs, when followed, bring a person to some absolute truths. Once again, it appears the Democratic Party and the Obama Campaign are pressuring someone else to achieve the results they want; no matter the cost to the Democratic Party and the country. Three news articles prove that the Dems are still trying to game the system and in the process the Obama campaign is creating more PUMAs by the minute.
According to WCBStv.com, Sources: Intense Pressure Led To Palin UN Snub (CBS 2 HD Has Learned Democrats Threatened To Attack Jewish Groups’ Tax Exempt Status Over VP Nominee Invite.
Sources tell CBS 2 HD that a decision to disinvite Palin from the high profile rally after Clinton pulled out in a huff came as the result of intense pressure from Democrats.
“This is insulting. This is embarrassing, especially to Gov. Palin, to me and I think it should be to every single New Yorker,” Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, told CBS 2 HD.
Sources say the axes were out for Palin as soon as Sen. Clinton pulled out because she did not want to attend the same event as the Republican vice presidential candidate.
“I have never seen such raw emotion — on both sides,” said someone close to the situation.
The groups sponsoring the rally against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the UN were reportedly told, “it could jeopardize their tax exempt status” if they had Palin and not Clinton or Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden on hand.
So all politicians were disinvited, most prominently, Palin.
“It’s an absolute shame that this has happened,” Hikind said. “To threaten organizations … to threaten the Conference of Presidents that if you don’t withdraw the invitation to Gov. Palin we’re going to look into your tax exempt status … that’s McCarthyism.”
Another Jewish group tried to step into the breach by inviting Palin to a different protest a day earlier.
“I’m absolutely appalled at the behavior of the Democrats,” said Bob Kunst of Defenders.net. “I’m a Democrat and for the first time in my life I’m going to vote Republican. I can’t take it anymore.”
Now I realize that one story with undisclosed sources can be a little like crying wolf, so here is another from today, Dems Threaten Anti-Iran Rally Organizers With IRS Attack If They Let Palin Speak at Newsbusters.
News has emerged that the organizers of that anti-Iran rally that famously got snarled up in Senator Hillary Clinton’s ire at Governor Sarah Palin last week were threatened by New York Democrats with IRS action against their tax-exempt status if they allowed Palin to speak. CBS local NY news reported this little fact and so did NBC but most of the national news has ignored this outrageous threat to use the IRS to silence Governor Palin.
The real story here, though, is that Democrats immediately leapt to using the IRS as a weapon against the rally organizers. Along with the attacks on talk radio host Milt Rosenberg (here and here) it is becoming clear that Democrats are not interested in free speech, but will turn to threats and attacks to get their way to silence dissenting views or opposing party representatives.
And according to (believe it or not), Market Watch, JINSA Condems Decision by Presidents Conference to Politicize Anti-Iran Rally.
WASHINGTON, Sep 19, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Tom Neumann, Executive Director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), today sent a letter to Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, strongly opposing the decision by the Conference of Presidents to disinvite Gov. Palin to speak at a rally scheduled for Monday, September 22 to protest the appearance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, and questioning why member organizations had not been consulted before this drastic action was taken.
Earlier this week, Sen. Clinton learned that Gov. Palin was also invited to speak at the rally and chose to withdraw her participation, essentially trivializing would have been a united, bipartisan demonstration of opposition to the Iranian government. Yesterday, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, under pressure from the Obama campaign, withdrew its invitation to Gov. Palin.
Follow the link for the text of Mr. Neumann’s letter to Malcolm Hoenlein. I am thinking Tom Neumann and Americans following this story, may become PUMAs before the weekend is out because even though we all know that politics is a messy, dirty game; Americans still believe in “how we play the game”, and Obama and the Dems continue to go way over the line…..
********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
This is truly unbelievable the lengths Obama will go through to get his way. For these organizations to be threatened with IRA status changes, just shows HOW DESPERATE OBAMA is and how CORRUPT HE HAS MADE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!
I just love the Internet. It is absolutely amazing what little trails of bread crumbs, when followed, bring a person to some absolute truths. Once again, it appears the Democratic Party and the Obama Campaign are pressuring someone else to achieve the results they want; no matter the cost to the Democratic Party and the country. Three news articles prove that the Dems are still trying to game the system and in the process the Obama campaign is creating more PUMAs by the minute.
According to WCBStv.com, Sources: Intense Pressure Led To Palin UN Snub (CBS 2 HD Has Learned Democrats Threatened To Attack Jewish Groups’ Tax Exempt Status Over VP Nominee Invite.
Sources tell CBS 2 HD that a decision to disinvite Palin from the high profile rally after Clinton pulled out in a huff came as the result of intense pressure from Democrats.
“This is insulting. This is embarrassing, especially to Gov. Palin, to me and I think it should be to every single New Yorker,” Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, told CBS 2 HD.
Sources say the axes were out for Palin as soon as Sen. Clinton pulled out because she did not want to attend the same event as the Republican vice presidential candidate.
“I have never seen such raw emotion — on both sides,” said someone close to the situation.
The groups sponsoring the rally against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the UN were reportedly told, “it could jeopardize their tax exempt status” if they had Palin and not Clinton or Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden on hand.
So all politicians were disinvited, most prominently, Palin.
“It’s an absolute shame that this has happened,” Hikind said. “To threaten organizations … to threaten the Conference of Presidents that if you don’t withdraw the invitation to Gov. Palin we’re going to look into your tax exempt status … that’s McCarthyism.”
Another Jewish group tried to step into the breach by inviting Palin to a different protest a day earlier.
“I’m absolutely appalled at the behavior of the Democrats,” said Bob Kunst of Defenders.net. “I’m a Democrat and for the first time in my life I’m going to vote Republican. I can’t take it anymore.”
Now I realize that one story with undisclosed sources can be a little like crying wolf, so here is another from today, Dems Threaten Anti-Iran Rally Organizers With IRS Attack If They Let Palin Speak at Newsbusters.
News has emerged that the organizers of that anti-Iran rally that famously got snarled up in Senator Hillary Clinton’s ire at Governor Sarah Palin last week were threatened by New York Democrats with IRS action against their tax-exempt status if they allowed Palin to speak. CBS local NY news reported this little fact and so did NBC but most of the national news has ignored this outrageous threat to use the IRS to silence Governor Palin.
The real story here, though, is that Democrats immediately leapt to using the IRS as a weapon against the rally organizers. Along with the attacks on talk radio host Milt Rosenberg (here and here) it is becoming clear that Democrats are not interested in free speech, but will turn to threats and attacks to get their way to silence dissenting views or opposing party representatives.
And according to (believe it or not), Market Watch, JINSA Condems Decision by Presidents Conference to Politicize Anti-Iran Rally.
WASHINGTON, Sep 19, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Tom Neumann, Executive Director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), today sent a letter to Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, strongly opposing the decision by the Conference of Presidents to disinvite Gov. Palin to speak at a rally scheduled for Monday, September 22 to protest the appearance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, and questioning why member organizations had not been consulted before this drastic action was taken.
Earlier this week, Sen. Clinton learned that Gov. Palin was also invited to speak at the rally and chose to withdraw her participation, essentially trivializing would have been a united, bipartisan demonstration of opposition to the Iranian government. Yesterday, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, under pressure from the Obama campaign, withdrew its invitation to Gov. Palin.
Follow the link for the text of Mr. Neumann’s letter to Malcolm Hoenlein. I am thinking Tom Neumann and Americans following this story, may become PUMAs before the weekend is out because even though we all know that politics is a messy, dirty game; Americans still believe in “how we play the game”, and Obama and the Dems continue to go way over the line…..
********************************************************************
MY THOUGHTS:
This is truly unbelievable the lengths Obama will go through to get his way. For these organizations to be threatened with IRA status changes, just shows HOW DESPERATE OBAMA is and how CORRUPT HE HAS MADE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!
"OBAMA IN THE MUD: SO MUCH FOR HONESTY"!!!!
For Immediate Release
September 21, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550
ICYMI: "Obama In The Mud: So Much For Honesty"
"In the past few weeks, Obama has thrown so many false accusations against John McCain that just keeping track of them has become difficult. And these aren't innocent errors. They are deliberate distortions of the sort Obama has always said he reviles." -- New Hampshire Union Leader
"Obama In The Mud: So Much For Honesty"
Editorial
New Hampshire Union Leader
September 21, 2008
When Barack Obama first began campaigning in New Hampshire in early 2007, many voters swooned. We watched him speak to retirees in Claremont one snowy February day that year. Not a single voter we talked with before he spoke planned to vote for him. Afterwards, many said they would. The word that spontaneously came from the lips of multiple attendees: sincere. They couldn't remember a politician who spoke with such sincerity, they said. And many of them had been voting since World War II.
We wonder what those same voters think of Obama's sincerity now. In the past few weeks, Obama has thrown so many false accusations against John McCain that just keeping track of them has become difficult. And these aren't innocent errors. They are deliberate distortions of the sort Obama has always said he reviles.
On Thursday, Obama said of McCain, "He has consistently opposed the sorts of common-sense regulations that might have lessened the current crisis." That's entirely untrue.
As The Washington Post pointed out in an editorial on Friday, McCain in fact has supported many new regulations of financial institutions, including some that Obama opposed. "In 2006, he pushed for stronger regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- while Mr. Obama was notably silent," The Post wrote.
Obama attacked McCain for having a top financial advisor who supported a deregulation bill a few years ago. Yet two top Obama financial advisors, with whom he met on Friday to help him form his response to the current troubles on Wall Street, supported the same bill, which was signed by President Clinton.
Also last week, Obama released a Spanish-language ad that portrayed McCain as anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic and tried to link him to immigration policies that were not his own as well as some choice Rush Limbaugh quotes that appeared to insult Mexicans.
Anyone who has followed the immigration debate knows that McCain is the most pro-immigration Republican on the national stage and that he is not in the least anti-Hispanic. To pull quotes from Rush Limbaugh, who has completely different immigration views than McCain and who opposed him on that issue for years (and still does) is completely disingenuous. The ad is so bad that even The New York Times called it "misleading."
Obama's campaign also accused McCain of lying when McCain's campaign ran an ad saying that Obama supported sex education for kindergarteners. But the bill in question, which Obama supported in the Illinois state Senate, did indeed change state law to allow sex education for kindergarteners.
Obama has said that he won't attack John McCain's motives, only his policies. But he has repeatedly attacked McCain's motives, suggesting that he has been bought off by oil companies and lobbyists.
Obama's greatest strength as a candidate, aside from his oratorical skill, has long been his apparent sincerity and decency. Voters attracted to him think of him as that rarest of things: an honest politician. He has claimed himself that he would never engage in the sort of deceptive politicking that he says has tainted Washington for so long.
Yet here he is violating his own professed standards. This is not the Barack Obama so many voters in New Hampshire and elsewhere thought they knew. But it is the real Barack Obama. For despite his rhetoric, he is in fact campaigning so dishonestly that even The Washington Post and The New York Times have called him on it. Which means that he is in practice no different from those regular politicians against whom his entire campaign has been built.
September 21, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550
ICYMI: "Obama In The Mud: So Much For Honesty"
"In the past few weeks, Obama has thrown so many false accusations against John McCain that just keeping track of them has become difficult. And these aren't innocent errors. They are deliberate distortions of the sort Obama has always said he reviles." -- New Hampshire Union Leader
"Obama In The Mud: So Much For Honesty"
Editorial
New Hampshire Union Leader
September 21, 2008
When Barack Obama first began campaigning in New Hampshire in early 2007, many voters swooned. We watched him speak to retirees in Claremont one snowy February day that year. Not a single voter we talked with before he spoke planned to vote for him. Afterwards, many said they would. The word that spontaneously came from the lips of multiple attendees: sincere. They couldn't remember a politician who spoke with such sincerity, they said. And many of them had been voting since World War II.
We wonder what those same voters think of Obama's sincerity now. In the past few weeks, Obama has thrown so many false accusations against John McCain that just keeping track of them has become difficult. And these aren't innocent errors. They are deliberate distortions of the sort Obama has always said he reviles.
On Thursday, Obama said of McCain, "He has consistently opposed the sorts of common-sense regulations that might have lessened the current crisis." That's entirely untrue.
As The Washington Post pointed out in an editorial on Friday, McCain in fact has supported many new regulations of financial institutions, including some that Obama opposed. "In 2006, he pushed for stronger regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- while Mr. Obama was notably silent," The Post wrote.
Obama attacked McCain for having a top financial advisor who supported a deregulation bill a few years ago. Yet two top Obama financial advisors, with whom he met on Friday to help him form his response to the current troubles on Wall Street, supported the same bill, which was signed by President Clinton.
Also last week, Obama released a Spanish-language ad that portrayed McCain as anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic and tried to link him to immigration policies that were not his own as well as some choice Rush Limbaugh quotes that appeared to insult Mexicans.
Anyone who has followed the immigration debate knows that McCain is the most pro-immigration Republican on the national stage and that he is not in the least anti-Hispanic. To pull quotes from Rush Limbaugh, who has completely different immigration views than McCain and who opposed him on that issue for years (and still does) is completely disingenuous. The ad is so bad that even The New York Times called it "misleading."
Obama's campaign also accused McCain of lying when McCain's campaign ran an ad saying that Obama supported sex education for kindergarteners. But the bill in question, which Obama supported in the Illinois state Senate, did indeed change state law to allow sex education for kindergarteners.
Obama has said that he won't attack John McCain's motives, only his policies. But he has repeatedly attacked McCain's motives, suggesting that he has been bought off by oil companies and lobbyists.
Obama's greatest strength as a candidate, aside from his oratorical skill, has long been his apparent sincerity and decency. Voters attracted to him think of him as that rarest of things: an honest politician. He has claimed himself that he would never engage in the sort of deceptive politicking that he says has tainted Washington for so long.
Yet here he is violating his own professed standards. This is not the Barack Obama so many voters in New Hampshire and elsewhere thought they knew. But it is the real Barack Obama. For despite his rhetoric, he is in fact campaigning so dishonestly that even The Washington Post and The New York Times have called him on it. Which means that he is in practice no different from those regular politicians against whom his entire campaign has been built.
WHAT SARAH WOULD HAVE SAID AT RALLY IF SHE HADN'T BEEN "UNINVITED"!!!
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2008 Contact: Press Office
ICYMI: "Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped'"
"Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York -- to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan -- and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for. Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him." -- Governor Sarah Palin
"Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped'"
Governor Sarah Palin
New York Sun
September 22, 2008
Governor Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, was scheduled to speak today at a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to protest the appearance here of President Ahmadinejad of Iran. Her appearance was canceled by rally organizers who sought a nonpolitical event. Following are the remarks Mrs. Palin would have given:
***
I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country -- leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.
Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York -- to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan -- and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.
Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.
The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" -- the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman -- not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.
The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.
The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.
So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.
If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons -- they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.
But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.
Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.
It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.
If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested.
But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of "propaganda against the system." After international protests, the judiciary reduced her sentence to "only" 10 lashes and 36 months in prison and then temporarily suspended her sentence. She still faces the threat of imprisonment.
Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that "Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that" effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.
Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!
Only by working together, across national, religious, and political differences, can we alter this regime's dangerous behavior. Iran has many vulnerabilities, including a regime weakened by sanctions and a population eager to embrace opportunities with the West. We must increase economic pressure to change Iran's behavior.
Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech -- a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him.
We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the U.N. or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the U.N. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports.
We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.
We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.
President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law.
We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps -- which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization.
Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program.
Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise.
Thank you.
September 22, 2008 Contact: Press Office
ICYMI: "Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped'"
"Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York -- to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan -- and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for. Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him." -- Governor Sarah Palin
"Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped'"
Governor Sarah Palin
New York Sun
September 22, 2008
Governor Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, was scheduled to speak today at a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to protest the appearance here of President Ahmadinejad of Iran. Her appearance was canceled by rally organizers who sought a nonpolitical event. Following are the remarks Mrs. Palin would have given:
***
I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country -- leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.
Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York -- to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan -- and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.
Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.
The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" -- the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman -- not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.
The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.
The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.
So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.
If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons -- they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.
But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.
Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.
It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.
If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested.
But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of "propaganda against the system." After international protests, the judiciary reduced her sentence to "only" 10 lashes and 36 months in prison and then temporarily suspended her sentence. She still faces the threat of imprisonment.
Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that "Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that" effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.
Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!
Only by working together, across national, religious, and political differences, can we alter this regime's dangerous behavior. Iran has many vulnerabilities, including a regime weakened by sanctions and a population eager to embrace opportunities with the West. We must increase economic pressure to change Iran's behavior.
Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech -- a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him.
We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the U.N. or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the U.N. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports.
We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.
We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.
President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law.
We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps -- which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization.
Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program.
Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise.
Thank you.