Call it a circular firing squad, or internal dissension, or simply the natural evolution of a campaign that is disappointed with how the endgame is playing out.
There's a faction within the McCain campaign has begun to whisper about Gov. Sarah Palin to reporters. The faction includes staff members and advisers who consult with staff members. It does not seem to include any members of the senior staff, although the definition of the senior staff here is a bit elastic.
This faction has come to believe that Palin, perhaps unwittingly subconsciously or otherwise, has begun to play Sen. McCain off of the base, consistently and deliberately departed from the campaign's message of the day in ways that damage McCain. ("palling around with terrorists" was a line that escaped HQ's vetting... Palin's criticism of the campaign for pulling out of Michigan was greeted by anger internally... Palin's expressed opinion that Rev. Wright is a legitimate issue -- which subtly knocks McCain for not raising it -- was perceived as an attempt to preemptively blame McCain's wobbliness for his loss, which would theoretically enhance Palin's standing with the base.) The complaints extend all the back to Palin's vice presidential vetting. Major disclosures, issue positions and associations did not come up, and the campaign was so overwhelmed with new information early on, it largely abandoned an effort to defend them individually. This is the claim, anyway. For the record, senior adviser Mark Salter, accurately identified everywhere as the aide who is closest to McCain, calls this scenario "bullshit."
It is NOT clear whether McCain shares any of these feelings at all, or how high up the chain of command they extend. (Reports of tension within that high command are overstated.)
Even those McCain aides who harbor doubts about Palin are quick to say that there are many Palin defenders among the staff, and that there is an almost universal belief that the media has treated her most unfairly. People close to McCain say he has come to view almost every attack on Palin as unfair, although it has not escaped his attention that his campaign has lost control of her public image, and that far too many news cycles have been dominated by Palin. (Salter denies this.)
A Sunday morning quarterback still makes a persuasive argument for picking Palin. In this environment, the Republican candidate could only win if he consolidates his base and wins a majority of persuadable votes; the Democrat simply has to turn out Democrats. Though McCain at one point wanted to pick Joe Lieberman, he'd have cut a leg from the stool and replaced it with one that, aside from his party affiliation -- independent Democrat -- has no real appeal among independents anymore. One step backward and no steps forward. By the time the news began to leak out that McCain wanted Lieberman, the trail balloon was also leaky. Republican delegations made it clear that they'd walk out on McCain. We still don't know why McCain decided that the risk wasn't worth taking -- that's for another Draper piece -- but we know that he suddenly shifted back to someone who had impressed him early on, someone who, at the time, could check the two boxes: excite Republicans and convert independents and persuadables.
Whether the vetting was complete or rushed, whether
Palin and her advisers were completely forthcoming about her record....
again, wait for the Draper piece. The point here is that the choice
was defensible. That almost every piece of information that has come
out subsequent to the pick has hurt Palin can be interpreted in several
ways: either the media was preordained to crush her spirit from the
beginning, or the McCain campaign didn't know about them, or they've
been distorted beyond any sense of the rational.
The Obama campaign believed at first that Palin helped McCain among
core Republicans, especially among men. No discernible effect among
independents. Now they believe that Palin has hurt McCain among
independent suburban women -- a cohort of voters who, not
coincidentally, has moved very solidly into Obama's column. Republican
strategists outside the campaign read the same numbers.
It behooves me to note that in 2004, similar criticism -- he's not a
team player -- was lobbed at John Edwards by members of John Kerry's
senior staff, they assumed that Edwards was the culprit and did not
account for the prerogatives of the staff he brought with
them....certain attack lines, for example, that Edwards was supposed to
utter never made it into his speech texts.
Barring the unforeseen, a major change in the national mood, or a
comet, The McCain campaign is on a trajectory to lose the election, and
it is common for factions to develop, and to begin to point fingers at
other factions. The discovery of that the RNC billed $150,000 for the
purchase of clothing and accessories for the Palin family brought these
submerged tensions to the surface.
People close to Palin and one person who has direct knowledge of the
clothing purchases say that they cannot imagine that they added up
$150,000 -- there's no way, in other words, that the clothing that was
bought for Palin amounted to that total. (Palin hints at the this here.)
Palin herself at first did not seem happy at the prospect of being
dressed in the new clothes.
« Georgia Senate Race Within Two Points | Main | Lycos's Top Political Search Item For The Election. » 11 Days Out, And The Whispering Begins24 Oct 2008 08:54 am TrackBackListed below are links to weblogs that reference 11 Days Out, And The Whispering Begins:
» Another GOPer Supports Obama from easttexasonline.com
» Randy Scheunemann misses the point from A Couple Things Comments (134)
The media treated her unfairly? B.S. Everything that's been said about Palin (save for Sullivan's admittedly over-the-top obsession about her pregnancy) has come from publicly available information and from her own deeds on the trail. Her repeated lies about the Bridge to Nowhere were easily refuted, the Troopergate scandal was in Alaskan newspapers months before Palin was picked, she did a pretty lousy job in her two sit-down interviews and she incited crowds at her rallies with abusive rhetoric. This is not a question of digging to find dirt; the dirt was in a big mound in the sunlight. I understand the GOP has to run against the media, but that strategy only gets you so far. Palin has gotten the coverage she deserves. She lied about her record and tried to divide the country, and now the country's on to her. The coverage of Palin reflects her choices, not those of reporters. 
All these "cheap shots" by people who try to discredit and smear the reputations of John McCain and Sarah Palin is life at its lowest political form. The Obama deception and lie is repugnant to an American!
Palin, or someone very similar, was absolutely the right pick. However, this is only because McCain squandered several months of nearly opposition-free campaign time half-assing it instead of going full bore on fundraising and taking the opportunity to attack both Obama and Clinton when they were both vulnerable to outside attacks. He came into September with zero ground game and uncompetitive fundraising and absolutely needed Palin to shore up both areas at least temporarily. McCain wouldn't be competitive in Colorado or Florida today without a similarly appealing pick. All that said, Huckabee would've been a vastly superior choice if his name were on the table, and Romney is talented enough to have pulled off the same even though he was probably thrown out of the running by seven-house-gate and early whiffs of economic crisis. Again, the criticism here should come directly back to the McCain campaign for imagining that poaching women Clinton supporters was a reasonable path to 270 electoral votes. I guess Gustav threw them off their game a bit circa that convention, but poaching Hillary's voters was quite literally the only coherent message coming out of McCain's campaign for the two weeks on either end of the convention. Totally braindead, and the responsibility lies with Schmidt, Davis, and ultimately McCain.
I don't know about Colorado, but look at Pollster's summary of Florida - McCain falls off a cliff right beginning with the Palin pick, and in asking voters there why, the number one knock against him was putting her on the ticket. I don't know if it is possible to separate the Palin effect from the economic crisis, but the graph is startling. http://www.pollster.com/polls/fl/08-fl-pres-ge-mvo.php So saying McCain is competitive in Florida because of Palin is simply incorrect: he is competitive there in spite of her. We all know Andrew can get a little hyper sometimes - which is why he is so engaging and so frustrating - but his list of outright lies is significant. I don't much care about some of them - when she told her kids about her selection, for example. But she lied about the bridge to nowhere. She lied about the firing of the public safety commissioner. She lied about accessing her former brother-in-law's personnel file. She lied about asking the librarian about banning books in Wasilla. She lied about the firing of the police chief and the librarian in Wasilla. She charged the state for her children to travel with her and to stay in luxurious hotels, and she charged the state per diems for 300 nights staying in her own home. A moderately competent vetting process would have revealed all of this. And we have to remember that due to the earliest primaries ever and the latest conventions in generations, McCain had longer to choose a vice presidential nominee than anyone in modern political history. The campaign has no one to blame but themselves. This wasn't the media doing anything but their jobs. McCain was never going to win this election, especially given the financial crisis this late in the game. Bush has made the -R distinction too toxic. So I don't know how ultimately toxic this pick has been, but it certainly hasn't helped.
Vince, you sound a bit off the hinge there..
Two possibilities on the clothing, if Palin is telling the truth (not a great record there): a) A McCain staffer now has a new $130,000 wardrobe, which she attempted to slip in with Palin's shopping. b) The incompetence is even deeper than the first story suggested--they bought way more than they needed, no budgeting, and there's more than $100,000 of unworn clothing in the belly of Palin's plane. On the circular firing squad, I'll just say that most of Obama's win is due to Obama. Three bad McCain decisions: a) Spending the general wooing the base, rather than running as a moderate Democrat Rino; b) Schmidt and his tactical plans over long-term strategy; c) Palin, which grew out of the first two.
I don't know about Colorado I do. Polling demos show McCain losing more than 55-45 among independents here, with most of that margin coming from independent women. He was running roughly even with both groups up until just after the Palin pick. You do the math. Democrats win Colorado elections by coming close to matching Republican turnout (the GOP usually has a 3-5 point advantage) and then having independents break for their candidate. In this election, the Republican voting margin will be gone (or at least down to a point or so), so if Obama carries independents AT ALL, he wins. The pick of Palin virtually assured that. (The peculiar nature of Colorado politics is why it looks so dismal for McCain in the state. It's not the polls aren't reasonably close -- it's that Democratic registration gains have made it critical for both parties to carry independents, and they all have seemed to made up their minds by this point to vote for Obama by a 57-43 or so margin.)
"Preordained to crush her spirit"? Failed purple prose or some serious point? Anyway, why would they think that a husband who was a member of a seccessionist party would play well? Why would they think that Bristol and Levi would play well -- in fact, it played far better than it had any right to play? Why did they think a governor under investigation for abuse of power who has a reputation for same dating back to Wasilla would play well? Why did they think her college record would play well? Why did they thing a Governor from a state that taxes corporations for exploiting public wealth and spreads the wealth around would play well? Why did they think the filmed exorcism would play well? Did anyone ever ask her any policy questions or questions about the structure of the federal government? It seems unlikely. Think about it, Marc: Palin dodged a lot of really hard questions by being basically beneath the press's attention, reducible to Tina Fey and a starlet's wardrobe. She got the Northern Exposure treatment; it could have been Twin Peaks.
Fair or not, the initial margin of error for Gov. Palin was very small. She did excellent at the convention and held her own at the debate. Unfortunately, she has made several gaffes that she hasn't been able to recover from. Her gaffes weren't any different than any of the other candidates gaffes, but she was new to the scene so again she had a small margin of error. I don't believe that Gov. Palin has any sinister plan to hurt McCain because she wants to run in 2012. I think the comments (mistakes) she made were genuine. I don't buy that someone who wants to run in 2012 would intentionally be such a polarizing figure and, by extension, alienate suburban independent women.
"but we know that he suddenly shifted back to someone who had impressed him early on, someone who, at the time, could check the two boxes: excite Republicans and convert independents and persuadables." these people thought Palin would help with independents??? from the moment they picked her it seemed rather clear they were trying to implement a "base" strategy. Palin has done nothing but excite the base, but by doing that she also alienates the independents and "persuadables" you need to win an election. Watchign the McCain campaign, you almost wonder if they know that they need people who ARENT republicans to vote for them if they want to win. Because i've seen no appeal to independents. The whole campaign the last month seems to have been solely about firing up the base.
I don't buy the argument that this pick "looked good on paper". The fact that Palin is woefully unaware of basic policy and governance issues is not something that emerged post-selection. This absence of engagement and understanding should have been obvious. If McCain had spoken to Palin for more than an hour, he should have gained a very clear picture of her shortcomings. One can only assume that either their conversations scarcely touched policy, or McCain thought he'd get away with the heavy lifting on this front. Either way, it demonstrates unbelievably poor judgment, and irresponsible decision-making given the role of the VP and McCain's own age and health.
Look, we have had a media focus extensively on such big issues as Palin's wardrobe and its cost, and on her per diems and the tax consequences thereof, and on her association with a fringe party in Alaska. But the same press that brought us those things hasn't published anything about Obama's blatant violations of Illinois' ethics laws revealed in his tax returns, and hasn't bothered to discuss his associations with a fringe political party. It's almost as if they're being held to different standards. BTW: Marc, why haven't you revised your misleading post about the AP poll the other day? The fact is, the number of evangelicals is exactly what self-reported polls have found in recent years. Why won't you correct the record?
"...held her own at the debate." No, she absolutely did not. Palin just regurgitates programmed talking points.
From the Draper piece, the people who flagged Palin knew she was not conversant with the issues of the day. What killed Palin in the public eye was not the news from Troopergate, or all of the other stuff Sullivan mucked on about. What killed her was the Couric interview. And no, Katie wasn't asking "gotcha" questions. She was asking questions that anyone who wants to take a role in public life ought to be able to engage. Palin couldn't. End of story. McCain deserves to lose on this pick alone. It made a lie of his claim to put country first. And, happily, it looks like this pick is the main reason why he is losing. The McCain campaign is seriously out of touch with reality if they can't see the weight of the simple point that McCain put the country at risk by selecting Palin to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Palin and the rightwing lost this election. She alienated not only independents, but also moderate republicans (aka. the ones that are not a on a religious crusade). Marc says that all the Dems had to do to win was "simply has to turn out Democrats." This is bullshit. Obama had to convince independents and moderate GOPers, and he did. McCain 2000 would have given Obama a run for his money for independent votes. Instead he chose Palin, and he chose to attack using Ayers, lipstick on a pig, "celebrity." With the problems this country has, those types of attack look really stupid. The Rovians running the McCain campaign thought they could run the same play as 2000 and 2004 -- they were wrong. They, Palin and the far rightwing are what lost McCain this election. The sane parts of the GOP need an uprising to happen that pushes the Limbaugh-Palin-Malkin-Dobson wing of the GOP (the insane ones in other words) to the far margins (where they really belong).
I agree with Maggie... click on my name and you can find, in one of my more recent posts, the Imus interview with McCain of Wednesday morning. Even Imus (who tells McCain he would "make a GREAT president") seems a bit baffled by Palin... "I could at least tell you what newspapers I read" he tells McCain at one point, and later expresses surprise that Palin has not done any more media than she has. The Couric interview hurt her, for sure... but she could easily have erased it by doing a lot MORE interviews, thereby muting the effect of one single instance.
Re Vince's comment: If Obama wins the election, this will not be a case of the government being "overthrown." It will be an example of the outcome of the established and lawful process by which we choose a president, whether or not one cares for his policies, or even believes that his presentation of his aims and principles has been forthright. The same will be the case if McCain wins. Both of these assertions rest on the assumption that the result of the election is not the result of voter fraud or manipulation on either side. (I will give you that there are issues in this regard on both sides, though my reading suggests that the politicized elimination of names from the voter rolls is more dangerous than the submissions of fake registrations, which are, as I understand it, quite unlikely to lead to actual illegitimate -votes-.) If there is genuine reason to believe that the apparent outcome of the election does not reflect the actual votes cast, this should of course be pursued strenuously and rectified if necessary. I would think the "winners" would have as great a stake in establishing genuine confidence in the results of the election as the "losers," to the extent that it will affect their ability to govern. But, such scenarios to one side, my point is this: Promulgating the idea that either an Obama or a McCain presidency can be seriously said to be "illegitimate" can only do harm. Whatever one thinks of the candidates' agendas, integrity, or even campaign tactics, whomever wins the electoral college cannot be said to have been "planted" in the presidency -- by definition. Such are the rules by which we play. It saddens me a bit that this needs to be said at all.
McCain's candidacy was mortally wounded a couple years ago, when he embraced President Bush and made peace with the "agents of intolerance." The wound wasn't evident at the time, but it permanently undercut his ability to play the non-partisan Maverick, which is the role he absolutely to play in this general election. It made him a phony - a problem he exacerbated a half dozen times over again, as he flitted from daily message to daily message (e.g. "The candidate of experience" was thrown away by the Palin pick).
Look, when you see huge boosts for Saturday Night live's ratings because of their coverage of Palin, it was the wrong choice to make. This is not so much an observation about Palin as Palin, it is an observation that if you are untested at the national level it is too much of a fishbowl in too short a time to get accustomed to. Remember "bitter-gate" - ancient history by now and Obama learned a lesson, an advantage of a long campaign is to make your mistakes early. Fallows made this observation more or less on the day Palin was announced that the smartest person in the world put in that fishbowl will inevitably make mistakes. compare Palin with a Huckabee pick. Does help solidify the base? Yes, maybe a bit less than Palin. Having run for President, does he make rookie mistakes like Palin - no he would have interviewed with Katie Couric which, at worst, is a non event unlike the Palin disaster. Who was the big winner from the Palin pick - wasn't the day after her nasty convention speech Obama's biggest day in fundraising? Huckabee has shown far more grace to his opponents, and wouldn't have fired up Obama's supportors to the same degree. As a 10-year governor, his "I have executive experience" would have been a credible claim. Biden would have gone harder after Huckabee than he did with Palin in the VP Debate, increasing the 'gaffe-ometer" probability. Finally the more populist sentiment of Huckabee would probably be playing much better with independents in this economic environment. (I should also say I enjoy reading Andrew S as well, and lower blood pressure for him from a Huckabee pick would be a plus as well). I doubt that Huckabee would have made the difference for McCain's candidacy, being up in a very difficult environment against a great politician, but it is hard to see how Huckabee would have made things much worse for McCain than they are now, and a number of ways he might have made things better.
I don't have much to add to this thread, other than the fact that Curtis nailed my sentiments exactly.
I READ COMMENTS ABOUT PALIN COMING FROM NO WHERE.SHE IS THE GOVERNOR OF THE LARGEST PHYSHICAL STATE IN OUR COUNTRY.YET NONE OF YOU MAKE COMMENT OF OBAMA COMING OUT OF NO WHERE AT THE LAST CONVENTION.YOUR TALK IS CHEAP YOU ONLY SEE YOUR LITTLE SIDE OF ANY STORY AND NOT THE TRUE PICTURE OF THE WHOLE.SHE SCARES YOU BECAUSE SHE STANDS FOR WOMEN,COUNTRY,FAMILY,AND SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.WHICH THAT MUST BE WRONG. WE BELONG TO A GLOBAL SOCIETY, AS LONG AS WE FLIP THE BILL FOR GLOBAL WARMING OR WHATEVER CAUSE THE UNITED NATIONS PINS ON AMERICA.THE CLOSER WE PUSH LIBERALISM IN THIS COUNTRY THE SOONER YOU WILL PUT YOURSELF AT RISK FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE A BLOG OR A PRIVATE CONVERSATION.ANYWHERE INSIDE THIS 50 UNITED STATES.
AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS ALL THE NEWS FROM TODD OF STOOPIDVILLE
It would "behoove" you to not be such a douche.
Todd Spoon, you said, "SHE SCARES YOU BECAUSE SHE STANDS FOR WOMEN,COUNTRY,FAMILY,AND SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY.WHICH THAT MUST BE WRONG." I read in the comments on an article yesterday (about Sarah Palin's new $150,000 wardrobe) that someone referred to her as a redneck, and Sarah said, "Why, thank you." She wanted to get Gretchen Wilson's autograph, because Gretchen sings the song "Redneck Woman" in which she states something about being in the front yard, barefoot with a baby on her hip. I am a college-educated African-American woman. Nothing against rednecks, or Ms. Wilson, or Gov. Palin, but, how on earth does Sarah Palin "stand for me"? And before you go there, Michelle Obama doesn't "stand for me" either - my husband is white, I didn't go to an Ivy League school, I've never held down a job earning her salary, and I'm not a mom. People make these sweeping generalizations: ALL Blacks are voting for Obama (no they're not; I'm registered Green Party) ... Sarah Palin represents ALL women (see above) ... ALL Liberals are full of hate (what about the Christian Liberals?) ... ALL Republicans are racist (what about the Republicans who are horrified by seemingly racist attitudes within their party?) ... it goes on and on. We are experiencing tough times, very tough times. And it's only going to get worse before it gets better. We have to start working together as one, as AMERICANS, instead of getting so hung up on each other's differences, or this country is going to implode.
Ordinarily I would be unimpressed by Palin's being governor of the largest physhical state in our country. But the CAPS convinced me. Arguments are always so much more persuasive when shouted.
Franklin Bruno wrote: "It saddens me a bit that this needs to be said at all." Franklin: I think you lost Vince with your eloquent writing and thoughtful, reasoned arguments. That's not something he's going to follow -- like a lot of Palin supporters.
todd spoon writes: "I READ COMMENTS ABOUT PALIN COMING FROM NO WHERE.SHE IS THE GOVERNOR OF THE LARGEST PHYSHICAL STATE IN OUR COUNTRY." Todd is an example of Palin's natural constituency. I'm sure other retarded people look up to Todd at the group home.
This wardrobe issue changed my vote to McCain. It is petty, cruel and an attempt to embarass a woman. A true nonissue.
I can't believe the GOP expects to be taken seriously with hacks like Palin leading it.
Another "unnamed source" article... When is the public going to hold the media accountable for their actions? Not just for their role in the disintegration of politics in this country...but of the dissemination of information in general? The "free press" and "right to know" has become little more than gossip and innuendo. We know more about Britney Spears mental state than we do about Obama's years in college. We know more about Bristol Palin's pregnancy than we do about Obama's associations at Columbia. And yet, Marc Ambinder brings us a "whisper campaign" from deep inside the McCain camp that implies that Palin is an opportunistic predator that is throwing McCain under the bus.
This, like most articles should be treated with the same respect as Dan "Fake but Accurate" Rather. The comments stating "publicly available material" then must also believe that Obama is a full fledged Muslim following an Ayers directed agenda paid for and funded by extreme jihadists and former KGB operatives. After all, that's all publicly available material. Oh! And by the way, the third Martian War of the Worlds will occur next week as well.
Marc, I didn't realize hanging out with Andrew Sullivan turned people into biased, unaware hacks. Oh how wrong was I.
How in the world can anyone complain about $150K when Obama spent MILLION'S on his Barackaopolis stage show at the debate? He spends money like crazy then begs for more and silly sycophants give it to him! So he can spend more MILLIONS on his victory party! Aren't there some freezing people in Chicago that need some help? And some students that need some improved education? What did he do with the money he got for those causes?
Stories like this are simply an attempt to put into play, divide and conquer. Whoever is starting this is trying to get Republicans fighting among themselves. Do not believe this tripe.
Well, considering many of Palin's events are bigger than some of Obama's, I say GREAT pick McCain. All these 'rumblings' are nonsense. Not one VP pick 100% agrees with his running mate. It was a known fact that the Clintons and Gore did NOT get along. She's bringing DROVES of people out at her events. There are people there, women especially, who have never been very politically involved. But now they are. She was a dream pick, in my opinion.
Attacks on Palin, subtle or obvious, supposedly well-intentioned or devious (read biased) will NOT (sorry about the caps for you oh so sensitive libs) resonate with the majority of "real" (yes, I mean "real" Americans). You sorry "kool-aid drinkers" following the least qualified candidate for prez ever nominated (namely B. Hussein O) just don't get it. Ah well. Gaffe-head Biden was right -- when the s**t hits the fan if BHO is elected we will all sadly realize that a grave mistake has been made; when the demos push socialism down our throats we will all suffer the $$ consequences--but I doubt even then you will refuse the "kool-aid"!
The media has been unfair to Palin since the beginning. Yes she had issues in Alaska, but nothing that could derail the McCain campaign. The witch hunt called troopergate was a laugh because the people leading the charges were Democrats and bitter Republicans that Palin had pissed off. 80% approval rating with the electorate is nothing to sneeze at. To the person who claims that the media had been fair to Palin but it was her interviews etc what a crock. Palin is still drawing huge crowds, something Mac had trouble doing. If the media had given the same amount of attention to the gaffetastic Joe Biden as they did to Palin the polls could be going another way. Last point, I love how the MSM has already started with the stories about the back biting in the McCain campaign. It's not over until the evening of November 4th and who knows what will come about in the next 10 days. One thing for sure, I want some of the stuff that the people are smoking who believe Obama is a moderate politician who is going to govern from the middle. He is the most unqualified and the most liberal candidate to ever be this close to the White House in two generations. America hold on to your wallets the government is about to take whatever was left in there after this economic tsunami we have experienced.
Blah-Blah-Blah - can't wait to hear all of the post-mordum on the McCain campaign, or will republicans do what they are doing in regards to the failed bush administration - act like it didn't happen? i say - cry, baby cry - 4 years isn't so long.
What exactly is the point of this article? That they are pointing fingers for a loss that has not occurred, and may not in fact occur? How about Joe Biden talking about Obama being tested? That he criticized ads about mccain not being able to use a computer? That hillary would have been a better Veep pick? VP candidates are not sycophants, and they're not blank slates. This stuff is going on in Obama's camp as much, if not more, than mccain's camp.
A lot of talk and no meat. There is a bunch of whispering about Bidens Gird you loins comment.
This is ridiculous. Ask McCain-Palin voters if they prefer McCain or Palin, and I think you'll see where the drag on the ticket is coming from.
The country is fed up with the slanderous nature of the Republican party. Calling all people from New York and DC, "elite" is offensive. I am tired of people talking about the "real america". As for Sarah Palin, her biggest problem is her intellect and her inability to articulate her real policy positions. In terms of coverage, there has been bad reporting on both sides. What amazes me is McCain has said he supported Bush, and all of his policies, especially around the economy have failed. How can you bash Obama, when Clinton had similar policies and we wound up with a surplus? Greenspan clearly said yesterday he overestimated the leaders on wall street to manage risk. McCain has stated he is fundamentally a deregulator. I agree that Obama doesn't have years of executive experience. As Colin Powell said, experience is only a part, a bigger part is judgement and it that area McCain fails.
its time to get rid of the moderates from the republicans. this 'big tent' BS doesn't work. All these moderates are now jumping ship, good riddance to them. as far as palin being a drag on the ticket, keep dreaming, she's the only reason the base hasn't given up this election. she's far more clean, and articulate than mccain. the so-called 'scandals' around her are just desperate left-wing attempts to destroy her. we see through the lies and BS of the left. and as far as her intelligence, at least she know JOBS has 4 letters...
Well, this is a long post and very left it seems.
Careful, loony leftists, your ass-hattery is showing. November 5th is going to be a painful realization for you that your beloved polls have lied yet again. Cue the riots.
I see a number of comments here claiming the media didn't beat up on Palin, that virtually everything they jumped on was based on truth. Maybe. Maybe not. But it is patently absurd to deny that jump on her they did. In the same seven-day period that Joe Biden made the gaffe of the election -- indeed, probably the biggest gaffe since Gerald Ford's famous line about Poland -- the media chose to jump on Palin's wardrobe budget. Or how about this one: the "Kill him" shouts at her rally. Has anyone in the MSM apologized for the tarring they placed on her and McCain for that liberal lie? And what about this: Every traitorous so-called conservative who jumped shipped and blamed Palin we heard about ad infinitum. I had never even heard of Kathleen Parker until she wrote her screed. Now all of America knows of them and we know their charge: She's grossly unqualified. Well, maybe, but has the press jumped on stories about Obama's complete lack of qualifications? I don't recall hearing much on that. Palin has withstood an onslaught of criticism and outright hatred with dignity and strength. She will return to the scene, scarred but strengthened and be a force the Dems will have to reckon with. The pseudo-conservatives she flushed out of the tree will be gone and a new conservative movement will be upon us.
And if B. Hussein O and the demos loose the election I can just hear what the MSM and the demos will say -- It's racism!
Governor Palin has excellent experience. She is an intelligent woman. She will get "up to speed" on matters new to her position... and she will increasingly perform better on interviews. She didn't step into a "friendly crowd" and interviewers editted her remarks to make her look worse than she was. She'll be just fine. Yes, she fumbled a bit on interviews. But Joe Biden has no excuse of newness to the national scene. Palin does better than Biden in her interviews and speaking (he says really, really offbase things that make no sense) and she has more experience than Obama. I think people are leaping on a couple stumbles and overexaggerating their significance due to their own bias. Palin will be just fine... and her supporters aren't "shook up" about her. We place things in context without the hyperbole rampant among those who are voting for Obama. We take your responses to her with a grain of salt. Your pro-Obama slip is showing. ;) I'm sure you'd all love Governor Palin for who she is and appreciate her abilities and experience if she held your same political views. Blessings.
It's true, the press has treated her unfairly. If she was a man, they'd be screaming, "Governor Palin, why won't you answer questions from the press? What are you hiding?" Luckily for her, she's a cute little bimbo so they're going easy on her.
For rebuz. I guess it's ok for a muslim to die serving in the US Army, to protect your freedom, so you can spew your racist crap. Your ignorance is whey America is fed up the Red party.
Mark, I am voting Republican in this election. However, if you made the same remark about Hillary Clinton... I'd call you on it. You're not liberal if you're not pro-feminist. And pro-feminist people don't call professional women pursuing public office "bimbo". That's just wrong. I'm not sure why you are voting for a liberal candidate - because your sexism isn't liberal. I wish Hillary was running instead Obama, myself. Grace.
solider4obama your ignorance is typical of an obama supporter. obama plays the race card constantly so any criticism of him is 'racist' and are you ashamed of your messiah's middle name?
Palin can't play the leading role part that the GOP directors assigned to her. She is a starlet, but without the raw acting talent. She learned how to play the peculiar game of small-town Alaska politics (pop. 600,000) but that doesn't didn't help her star in the monster fall feature. The fact that the directors are incompetent left her even more exposed. She tried valiantly, even adopting a folksy accent (yes, its fake - see interviews from years ago) but the part is too big for her. And she can't operate without the script; improv is a disaster for her (she should have started in comedy). The news of the wardrobe and the makeup expenses expose her acting to those for whom she was believable in the role. When it is your first big role you better impress or you won't get another. The SNL skit on Sunday shows her inadequacy. She watched herself being mocked but did nothing to counter the portrayal. This reinforces the frame.
Personally, I think the Muslim religion is too easily taken to extremes by radicals. If there were no Islamic radicals, we wouldn't be in Iraq. I respect freedom of religion, but I'm not going to say that I appreciate the Muslim religion myself. I don't. Islamic extremists attacked America, and any religion which promotes jihads and murders should be left by people of conscience, imo. That's just a point of view in a free country. You're welcome to your own. Laura
I love all the whining about how the press has not investigated Barack Obama enough. The press has reported on every bit of his history over the last few years. Just because there is nothing there that you can howl about doesn't mean that he hasn't been researched.
if some of the letter writers to this post are representative of the country as a whole, God help whoever wins the election. the new president, whichever candidate wins, will not be able to save us from ourselves. some people here already have their minds made up, that it will be a disaster. i am reminded of nothing so much as seeing tyrannical two-year-olds throwing tantrums at nursery school.
eric, why won't your messiah release his records then? all of them, from his medical records to his school records? his long association with ayers and dorn is clear. obama is a radical socialist/marxist who has no problem with those who wish to violently overthrow this country. oh and why won't he release the names of those small donors? obama's lies and deceptions are only believable by the gullible and easily led...his voters.
Moab, We love Governor Palin because she is so real. That's what people may not understand. She's real. She can connect with us out of her authenticity. We love Sarah Palin. The truth is, the more American sees Sarah Palin speak for herself directly to them without the media intervening... the more all America will believe her, like her, trust her, connect with her. You may not. But you'll not be a majority opinion. You project your hatred of her positions politically onto her personally though she's done you no harm and wishes you no ill. Your attitude towards Governor Palin, therefore, is a measure of your own immaturity. It's a reflection only... on you. Have a great day, people.
I agree with Sandu. If this ticket loses, it won't be because of the VP. I have always had the feeling that early on the Republican powers-that-be considered this election a lost cause and so they used it to honor McCain for his service to our country. They decided to send him off into the sunset with a lukewarm, and fairly cheap, campaign attempt. Picking Governor Palin was a game changer. That is why some of the talking heads were so confused and angry with the choice. She breathed life into this losing campaign despite the vicious attacks on her, her family and her record. If McCain/Palin wins, it will be because Governor Palin was strong enough to drag an old moderate Navy pilot across the finish line. If they lose, Governor Palin will remain a force to be reckoned with in future elections.
Eric, I listened to the MSM and felt that Obama was like a ghost... a "mystery man". So I began factfinding and reading blogs to "vet him" myself. He was a member of the NP Socialist Party. He has consistently lied about his association with Ayers. The truth about Ayers is much more shocking than even the press has portrayed. His group, for example, planned the murder of 25 million Americans in a socialist overthrow of democracy in Stalinism type stuff. That's what I see when I see Barack Obama. Based on everything I've read, I see a radical socialist campaigning for President. He was a member of the SDS... numerous radically left associations and alliances. Even his church is radically Marxist - Trinity. I can't agree with you that the image the MSM portrays about him is the reality of who Obama is. To me, America is faced with a socialist candidate who may finish what Ayers started and murder 25 million Americans (or more) to institute an overthrow of our government into Marxism. I'm not personally giving Obama any benefit of the doubt. And I'll protect you on November 4 by voting with the majority for John McCain... so you never find out... what Obama would have done if he became President. (No, I'm not leaving America - because we're still a democracy not a socialist totalitarian state as Obama would move to create.)
Remember how the Rockefeller Republicans told us that only McCain could win? No, we couldn't have a more conservative candidate. It had to be McCain and so they manipulated the primary schedule and used open primaries to be sure that Dems and independents got to vote. Now that we see McCain sinking these same Rockefeller, elitist, Beltway types want to pin the loss on Sarah to save their own sorry rearends. Enough of the big tent. We need to stand on the principles of conservatism, teach those principles, explain those principles and run our races with principled candidates. RINOs can join Obama. They vote for him anyway.
It's strange how the comments to this post started well, extremely well-reasoned analysis, and then just degenerated into madness. Hey Franklin Bruno: I just bought a NPB record on eBay. Woot!
Posted by Adam | October 24, 2008 3:43 PM Try exiting the echo chamber occasionally and doing some research that hasn't been spoon-fed to you from the talking points, or which you haven't picked up from hearing someone else say it. Exercising the brain is good for you... and may even turn you into a thoughtful, even erudite individual. Also, recent studies show that it keeps you young longer!!
Laura, Her 'authenticity', or lack thereof, is what is being revealed. There has been an element of acting in Republican candidates since Reagan, but it has been taken to an extreme now where what is called for is 100% acting, 100% PR. She may be authentic as a rural woman, but she specifically is not qualified to be president by any measure. This has nothing to do with her ruralness or femininity but with her ignorance. How can she assume leadership of US policy in the Middle East when she doesn't know what it is, even though it justified a war? How can she misstate the constitutional role of the vice president, which she is running for, as being in charge of the senate? Apparently she hasn't read the constitution that she will be sworn to uphold. But she is an authentic rural woman, even though she shops at Saks and Nordstroms, who don't have stores in her state? You are a believer in identity politics whereas I a vote based on competency. I have no hatred of anyone. You are projecting...
McCain and Palin brought it all down on themselves, and deserve what they got. McCain, whom I used to admire, defied his own moderate instincts and picked as his running mate a painfully unqualified ideologue who, for all her utility on the campaign trail, would be completely useless to him if he were to assume office. It soon became clear to anyone paying attention that she knew little about the pressing national issues of the day, or even about the vice presidency itself, and her claims to be an "outsider" and "maverick" proved to be little more than marketing slogans. It was a cynical choice, and for once, the media and the public weren't duped. McCain offered little in the way of a message or a program for the American people. He badly undercut his best message, "experience," by choosing Palin as his running mate. And his promises of an honorable, bipartisan presidency were sheer comedy given the dishonorable and highly partisan campaign he chose to run. Lacking a unique message, he tried to fall back on old GOP fallbacks like painting his opponent as a "tax-and-spend liberal." Except that doesn't work if your opponent plans to cut taxes for most middle-class Americans more than you do. In the end, all McCain had left was name-calling ("He's a socialist!") and innuendo ("How much do we really know about Barack Obama's background, anyway?"). But the red-baiting strains credulity when you've got Gen. Colin Powell standing behind you, and the Bill Ayers attacks lost their thunder when it became clear that, in fact, there seems to be no evidence that Barack's relationship to him extended any further than Chicago cocktail parties. No, it's not the media that did John McCain in. He made poor decisions and allowed himself to be out-maneuvered every step of the way. He deserves to lose.
Interesting that you call Obama a socialist when this government has turned over nearly two trillion dollars to Wall Street rather than let firms fail. And Wall Street will once again pay themselves huge bonuses even though their firms are kept alive by the US government, except that the government purposefully did not demand voting rights for their equity stakes in the banks nor did any CEO's resign for their failures. So the US taxpayer pays in but has no rights and the party goes on. But you see some "Socialism" in Obama that scares the daylights out of you? Here we have socialism, but only for the rich. In Europe, they have been Socialistic for 60 years, and let me tell you a little secret: they live better than we do. And their total tax rate is about the same, but they get free healthcare and education.
Fahrander: With all due respect, this is not a democracy. This is a representative republic. If one party has control of Congress and the White House...it does not necessarily represent the "will of the people." The approval ratings for Congress are even lower than they are for Bush--somewhere around 13%. However, everyone wants the "other guy" voted out--not the representative or sentator from their own state, thank you very much. So, we end up stuck with the same ol' stuff. Palin has been subjected to far more scrutiny than any of the other three. Period. Has anyone in the media questioned why Biden didn't release a recent brain scan with his health records? This is a guy who had two aneurysms. For someone who is going to be "a heartbeat away"...and is prone to some interesting "off the cuff" remarks--isn't anyone a little bit curious? And to whoever said that Obama has been "vetted" over the last 20 months...please, please, please tell me--other than campaigning and getting elected (in races where he has been mostly unopposed) what has he accomplished? You can cite his "community organizer" experience...but what was his record--what did he achieve? We know about the Harvard Law Review--but where are the articles? Can we see them? Who did he spend time with in college? Palin's college friends and even high school classmates have been interviewed--what about Obama's? While Obama and Ayers were on the Annenberg board together--what did that group accomplish? Can anyone point to successes in the organizations that they funded? Was there any accountability or was it just money being thrown at problems? Reverend Wright--go back and look at Obama's first book--Obama knew exactly what Wright stood for...read up on the Black Liberation Theology...and see if you agree with the teaching. See if you still find it plausible that Wright is a "mainstream" minister that preached love and acceptance and Jesus--as Obama claimed. There are legitimate questions about Obama...and the media has done a grave disservice by focusing on other issues like wardrobe, teenage daughters, and whispers from unnamed sources. But the country hates Bush...so who cares? Right?
When McCain appeared on Letterman, Letterman asked him why Palin used the term "palling around with terrorists" since that implied there was more than one terrorist. When he asked McCain who was the other terrorist besides Ayers, McCain brushed Letterman off saying of Palin's remarks "Well, those are just words." Does Shoeneman not know what McCain said?
Michelle - It's interesting how you want Democrats to do things the the Republican candidates haven't done. McCain let reporters see his medical records (maybe not all of them) for one hour and they couldn't have copies. It's kind of hard for reporters to interpret medical documents even when they have time to review them. Palin wouldn't cooperate or let any of her aides cooperate in a bipartisan investigation of her abuse of power. And are you seriously asking where the Harvard Law Review articles are? He was the chief editor by the way.
Palin = poster girl for EPIC FAIL.
Eric wrote: -------------- Reallllllllllly? OK then. Please tell us 10 things about his time at Columbia University. Heck, if you can give us 5 meaningful pieces of information about his time there, I'd be shocked. You might actually find it hard to find three. Look, the guy has only been an adult for 29 years, and we know zip about 2 of them (~7%). And yet... we know pretty much everything there is to know about Sarah Palin - in less than TWO MONTHS! There's been 4 years to find out about Obama. Look, if the press can park 100 people outside Joe the Plumber's house, you'd think someone, somewhere would tell us something about Obama's time at Columbia. (And for those that might wonder why this is important, Ayers was there at the same time, and they lived 2 blocks away from each other. Coincidence? Maybe, heck, maybe even probably. But, don't you think we should know?)
The paranoid ravings and general illiteracy of the folks from the right here are a wonder to behold. The notion that Sarah Palin is in any way the intellectual equal of Barack Obama is beyond laughable. It's pretty amusing to here people denigrating Obama's position as the President of the Harvard Law Review. Clearly you have no clue what it takes to reach such a position. But, hey, you guys flourished for years as the stupid party. It must be a shock to the system to realize that the bullshit has lost its magic.
That would be "hear" -- Jesus, no posting while talking on the phone.
Ah, so the limp wristed weak sisters in the McCain campaign are leaking stories to their pals in the media to cover themselves in case McCain loses. It would seem that this crowd is expert at only one thing & that is protecting their own a**.
Give the McCain campaign a break. The stress of trying to defend the United States from a radical socialist like Barack Obama is taking it's toll. They'll feel better when they win on Election Day and they can take some time off.
McCain lost the election when he named Sarah Palin, pure and simple. When you need to solidify your base, it means two things: 1. You have no base -- that is exactly what does NOT need solidifying; 2. When you solidify your base by alienating everyone elose, you are about to lose. As is McCain.
I think Alec Baldwin gave us a clue into the Palin mystique. He said (after her SNL appearance) that she was a quick learner (ie MEMORIZER) but she couldn't do improv. He said the second piece where she's a newscaster was her Big Chance, she had Free Rein, yet she came up with Nothing. She's pretty (especially growing up in Alaska), she is smart enough to pull it off (ie..memorize), but Not smart enough to know what she doesn't know. All her life the big fish in the little pond (Alaska is just a bunch of small towns in a BIG BIG bunch of wilderness). So she honestly believes she the hottest cutest fastest most clever gal ever. Poor thing....not much honest reflection. And one more thing: She wasn't called the Baracuda for nothing. Although I hate all the so over and long ago references to High School (how old are we?), still she was known for her agressiveness, AND her visiousness. Not just with the other team, folks....with her own teammates. I think we could call it Competitiveness, and in combination with her avarice and ambition......well frankly I think she is capable of pretty much ANYTHING. Hey, how many mothers would mindlessly subject their poor pregnant teenager to world scrutiny, for their own agenda? Honestly...would you? Would you leave a tiny special needs baby, put him on a bottle, let him be cared for by apparently several different people, while you ran around the country trying to be famous? And has anyone noticed how as things have gotten tougher, her HAIR got BIG and LONG....and her SKIRTS KEEP GETTING SHORTER?? She knows Exactly what she's doing, and SHE WORKS IT!! What do you Think happened to McCain's brain when he spent an hour in her mesmerizing presence? The Bloodflow went south. I'm sorry folks....she's all about herself. Some might even call her a sociopath. She certainly makes up her own little reality.
Todd Spoon: I might take your opinions about national affairs more seriously if you could tell the difference between your caps lock key and a hole in the ground.
michelle: "blahblahblah wright blahblah ayers blahblah-de-blahblah..." michelle, get bent.
Just a clarification for the Obama kool-aid drinkers: Sarah Palin said he is "palling around with terrorists" using the plural since she is not a sexist. She wanted to make sure that Ayers' wife, Bernadine Dohrn got full credit for her complicity in terrorist acts.
mateko_chan I certainly hope you didn't go to college on Pell Grant money. I'd hate to think that my tax dollars were wasted on your "education" as you most certainly do not speak like a college educated woman. While I'm not quite sure what your race has to do with the issue, when you grow out of your "young college educated white girl" phase--then maybe it will be worth re-engaging in conversation with you. Until then, to quote you--"get bent"
Posted by Eric | October 24, 2008 4:12 PM Hey Eric, what were Obama's grades in college? Where did he say he was born on his application? Does he have any smoking related heart or lung problems?
Here's the deal: McCain's chances were always between low and nil given the public's disgust with Bush and his party. The only, ONLY, way he was going to win was to convince voters that he was an independent, and a clear break from Bush and the Republicans of the last eight years. He had to tack to the center because that's where the country wants to go. Yes, this might have alienated his base, but where else does his base have to go? As we've seen, the far right's fear and loathing of Democrats (especially black ones) is practically bottomless and they probably would have voted for a centrist McCain if only to vote against Obama (hear many pro-McCain arguments at McCain rallies these days?). Anyway, how much attention could they really expect when everyone thinks their party has screwed it up for 8 years? They needed McCain more than he needed them. McCain lost the day he decided that the base needed to be held first. Yes, if he had gone center there was a risk of losing hardcore Republicans, but that was his only possible if still improbable path to victory. The other path led to what he's facing now: certain defeat.
Posted by matoko_chan | October 24, 2008 5:46 PM I'm guessing the college "men" you know probably spend their weekends drinking till they vomit as well. So their opinions aren't really relevant to this conversation.
Say what you want, but this soccer mom is ONLY voting for McCain because of Palin.
hope you democRATs like your new socialist state...try reading a day in the life of ivan denisovich to get a glimpse of the future with your savior....oh but that would require intelligence and independent thinking, and democRATs do not posess either trait, or they wouldn't be democRATs. with obama, this market will be remembered as the good old days, as it goes below 3000. yeah he'll be another FDR, an incompetent fool who makes things worse.
oh and I wouldn't want to live on the east coast with an obama presidency! after obama finishes disarming us, and cutting our defense budget, his friend ahmadinajad will send over a little present, in the form of an EMP. then you liberal wackos will be wishing for global warming!
I can't imagine how anyone will look back on the Palin pick as anything other than a huge mistake. Her supposed value (frankly, her only value) to McCain has been to fire up the Republican base. As a democrat, I can tell you that she has had the exact same effect on the Democratic base. Picking her has changed many democrat's feelings of respect for McCain into outrage at what is seen as a cynical ploy by someone who they believe should have known better. I would say that any benefit McCain has gained with the Repub base has at least been negated by the same effect on the other side. It could possibly wind up being a net negative for him. I guess we'll know soon enough.
I suppose there's nothing too wrong with Palin, beyond the fact she's a Dominionist stealth candidate closely connected with secessionists, militias, neo-Confederates and racists, and believes that a woman who gets raped somehow asked for it.
WHAT HAS BARACK OBAMA ACCOMPLISHED? written by kismet at punditkitchen: You know, if I was to cite every little act of charity he’s done, or what qualifications he has, I could be here all day. But here’s a tiny, tiny fraction of all that he’s accomplished. [...] A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. Obama was hired as director of Developing Communities Project (DCP). During his three years as the DCP’s director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants’ rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama directed Illinois’ Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of ten and seven hundred volunteers; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African-Americans in the state, and led to Crain’s Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of “40 under Forty” powers to be. Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992. (Public Allies is an American non-profit, largely taxpayer-funded organization, dedicated to youth leadership development.) He served from 1993 to 2002 on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago. (The Woods Fund of Chicago is a philanthropic organization devoted to poverty relief and the promotion of social mobility. It as an offshoot of the Woods Charitable Fund. The fund describes itself as “a grantmaking foundation whose goal is to increase opportunities for less advantaged people and communities in the metropolitan area, including the opportunity to shape decisions affecting them. The foundation works primarily as a funding partner with nonprofit organizations. Woods supports nonprofits in their important roles of engaging people in civic life, addressing the causes of poverty and other challenges facing the region, promoting more effective public policies, reducing racism and other barriers to equal opportunity, and building a sense of community and common ground.”) **You don’t have to like when I say that the Woods Fund of Chicago is an honorable organization, but and also from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation. **Programs * Education: Focuses on public schools in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee; concentrates on teacher quality, early childhood education, and “innovations,” primarily charter schools, small schools, and similar initiatives. In 2005, the Joyce Foundation paid grants in the amount of $8,385,304 in its Environment program, $7,888,380 in its Education program, $6,302,775 in its Employment program, $3,056,117 in its Gun Violence Program, $2,818,105 in its Money and Politics program, and $1,427,350 in its Culture program. Source: The Joyce Foundation 2005 Annual Report, Page 45. Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (The Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) was a Chicago public school reform project from 1995 to 2001 that worked with half of Chicago’s public schools and was funded by a $49.2 million, 2-to-1 matching challenge grant over five years from the Annenberg Foundation. The grant was contingent on being matched by $49.2 million in private donations and $49.2 million in public money) from 1995–2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995–1999. He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center. Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from Illinois’ 13th District, which then spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn. Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws. He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan’s payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.
I keep reading from some people that Palin was mistreated by the press. Why would you think so? This woman courted the press, even before she was picked as a running mate for John McCain.
Wow so much republican hysteria on here. demsrdumb, you must be the highlight of vapidity on the internet, and that includes a lot of idiots. Congratulations. Now I'm not going to say that Obama isn't a socialist, but if he is, he's the worst socialist ever. I guess what they say is right though, 50 monkeys working at 50 typewriters can produce dreck so idiotic that fox news will run it. Wowza. Ahmadinejad has about as much control over the proceedings in Iran that I do. The fact is, the Iranian ruling party (specifically, Ayatollah Ali Khameini) has pretty flatly denied aggression oagainst the United States. You know why? He knows what's happening in Iraq, and he's smart enough no to rattle his saber against the United States. Suggesting that Barack is the modern day version of Stalin is laughable. I guess that would make Palin the Marquis de Sade?
Gin: thanks for proving the truth of my monikor!! is there ANY democrat who is NOT as dumb as a box of rocks? I mean you probably think obama 'cares' about you!! sure he does...that and a buck will buy ya a soda!! oh yeah Iran is our friend!! sure they are...all that talk about getting rid of the Israel and the US is just right wing propoganda!!! and you think ahmadinajad would be president without the backing of Khameini??? you dems are pathetically stupid!! you must be in a great deal of pain, such stupidity has to hurt!! oh well, when that EMP goes off over the east coast, and ya got now power in the winter...I'm sure you'll stay warm knowing obama 'cares' for you!!
and whats obama done? besides pal around with terrorists that is? oh yeah he voted against the born alive infant protection act, so you could kill any babies lucky enough to survive the abortionists grisly procedures. oh and he voted to teach kindegartners sex ed!! not reading and writing, sex ed and socialism. all he's done us produce more uneducated, easily led democRAT voters, which is the only type there are. oh yeah he also voted to make it a crime to protect you or your family with a gun...he doesn't like people to have guns..oh no! only obama and his brown-shirted fascist thug storm troopers will have guns in his new national socialist regime!!
Wow. You really have your talking points down. All of them debunked by Fox News and everything. Get back to the bunker, everything is not okay, Obama is a secret muslim. The Fear Police are out for you. I don't think you know anything about anything. Look at who Khameini supported for president and look at who won. Not the same guy. And I never said that Iran was our friend. But they certainly ain't our enemy. It's your short-sided lame approach to Geo-political clap-trap that keeps Fox News in business. Did ya hear that a McCain supporter was beaten up by a mean old Obama supporter? Yep, carved a B into her cheek? Nimrod.
The Republican Party is in a state of fear not because Barack Obama is leading in the polls but because they did not have a prettier girl to bring to the dance. The most powerful political party in the WORLD could not muster up a better ticket then McCain/Palin; what a joke. While the absence of Bill Clinton is very noticeable on the Democratic side it is no where near as damaging as the stain of George Bush on the Republican side. The fear in the party is manifesting itself with such ugly words by the right wing radio whores. They are at the point of making preemptive concessionary statements such as; “black America is only voting for Obama because they THINK he is black; HE”S not BLACK he is a MULATTO”. Tell that to the people of South Africa who suffered Apartheid for over 45 years. These types of statements serve to announce defeat, but no way defeat to a BLACK MAN. If Obama wins the election on Nov 4th, the sun will come up November 5th and just maybe the right and the left will get together and try to fix the mess we all are in.
Can't you people out there be civil. It shows that you are not really aprised of the importance of this election, and the awful lies that are being spread around. If you would take time to really study and listen to everything that has been printed, the media coverage and in any other manner over the last 20 months, you would come up with sensible judgements. Aside from that you MIGHT learn something important. I can wonder now why it is that education in our country needs improving.
Palin isn't a pick that looks good on paper. Palin is a pick that looks good in X-ray glasses, imagining how even more fantastic she'd look underneath those $150,000 clothes. I read a great peice this morning that cites research showing that men (particularly, cranky old men prone to getting boners for younger women, like an old Senator with a trophy wife 'frinstance) have their judgement totally destroyed by being in the presence of a young, sexy woman. The study was pretty solid. It's predictable and repeatable. Most likely scenario: McCain met Palin, obtained a big boner, and made a very stupid decision to hire her. It happens all the time, and has happened forever.
Ambinder: "This faction has come to believe that Palin, perhaps unwittingly subconsciously or otherwise, has begun to play Sen. McCain off of the base..." As I understand it, "Sarah Barracuda" earned her baskeball nickname not for her attitude towards players on opposing teams, but for the way she treated her own teammates. As they say in the Godfather movies, John McCain sleeps with the fishes.
The Oct. 25th issue of "The Lancet" reports that McCain, with his history of melanoma, has a 22% chance of not surviving his term if he is elected. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Campaign08/Campaign08/11444 Feeling nervous, anyone?
Laura--My mother also liked Palin because she seemed "real" and was speaking her language. What my mother said was, "She doesn't make me feel stupid." Consider whether your admiration for Sarah is based on similar grounds. Not that she's genuinely up to the role--a role that very, very few could ever perform well, right?--but rather, that she simply makes you feel smarter. Hey, I love my mother. But you both need to make a distinction between someone you'd like to be your pal, and someone who can handle the complexities of governing the most powerful nation on earth. Would you want Sarah doing your root canal? Drawing up the plans for your new house? Installing the brakes on your car? So, don't ask someone so unfit and unprepared for the role to run our country. It's political malpractice.
We love Governor Palin because she is so real. LOL! Who are you kidding? "Governor Palin" can't relate to "real people" like you, who wear off-the-rack clothes, and get a free pass from the press who lets her off even as she's taking the people of Alaska for a ride. Do you really think riffraff like YOU could get away with ethics violations and wardrobes that cost more than "Joe Sixpack's" house? Get real, stop being a stupid tool because you think you yourself will one day be in Sarah Palin's shoes. You never will. She looks down on you from her 1.5 million bank account and half million dollar house. Kid yourself, but you are not kidding us.
Obama Kenyan Citizenship Issue Still not Resolved Pennsylvania Democrat Philip J. Berg, who filed a lawsuit demanding Sen. Barack Obama present proof of his American citizenship, now says that by failing to respond Obama has legally “admitted” to the lawsuit’s accusations, including the charge that the Democratic candidate was born in Mombosa, Kenya. As WND reported, Berg filed suit in U.S. District Court in August, alleging Obama is not a natural-born citizen and is thus ineligible to serve as president of the United States. Though Obama has posted an image of a Hawaii birth certificate online, Berg demands that the court verify the original document, which the Obama campaign has not provided. Now Berg cites Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that unless the accused party provides written answer or objection to charges within 30 days, the accused legally admits the matter. Since Obama has only filed motions to dismiss and has not actually answered the charges in the lawsuit, Berg claims, according to Rule 36, Obama has legally admitted he is not a natural-born citizen. Now Berg is asking the court for a formal declaration of Obama’s admission and asking the Democratic National Committee for another presidential candidate. In a statement released today, Berg argues that he filed Requests for Admissions on Sept. 15, meaning Obama had until Oct. 15 to answer or face the consequences of Rule 36. “Obama and the DNC ‘admitted,’ by way of failure to timely respond to Requests for Admissions, all of the numerous specific requests in the Federal lawsuit,” Berg’s statement reads. “Obama is ‘not qualified’ to be president and therefore Obama must immediately withdraw his candidacy for president and the DNC shall substitute a qualified candidate.” Berg’s original lawsuit leveled several charges at both Obama and the DNC - accusing the former of lying about his place of birth, faking his birth certificate and fraudulently running for office; and accusing the latter of not properly vetting its candidate. Though it hasn’t given Berg the evidence he seeks, the Obama campaign has publicly answered allegations that the candidate was born in Kenya and faked his Hawaii birth certificate. “Smears claiming Barack Obama doesn’t have a birth certificate aren’t actually about that piece of paper,” says the “Fight the Smears” section of Obama’s website, “they’re about manipulating people into thinking Barack is not an American citizen. “The truth is, Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961, a native citizen of the United States of America,” the campaign website states. It also includes images of a Hawaii birth certificate bearing the name Barack Hussein Obama II. Berg has also taken the controversy public through his website and through repeated public offers to revoke the lawsuit if Obama will produce legal documents that establish his citizenship. Without those documents, Berg has chosen to file two additional motions in district court in Philadelphia. The first asks the court to notify Obama and the DNC of what Berg understands they have now legally “admitted,” and the second asks for an expedited ruling, given the quickly upcoming Nov. 4 election. “It all comes down to the fact that there’s nothing from the other side,” Berg told Jeff Schreiber for his blog, America’s Right. “The admissions are there. By not filing the answers or objections, the defense has admitted everything. He admits he was born in Kenya. He admits he was adopted in Indonesia. He admits that the documentation posted online is a phony. And he admits that he is constitutionally ineligible to serve as president of the United States.” WorldNetDaily So what’s the deal behind all this? I guess we’ll see what happens. To be honest, if there is a chance that he isn’t a citizen it’s going to swept under the rug and fixed by the DNC. There’s no way that there are going to let their guy sit out of the race. They destroyed the Clintons to get him where he is there’s no way a little think like not being a U.S. citizen is going to stop them.
Palin does not represent me, female, under Obama's tax plan, I earn enough to pay more taxes. Palin reminds me of a well heeled con artist,I am a registered Republican who will be voting for Obama - she's is the sole reason I will not be voting for McCain
It is amazing how socialist = communist for the right wing fear mongers. It's pretty clear they have never been to any of the dozen or so European socialist democracies, say Germany or Sweden. Are they Communist? Are our NATO allies actually Communist nations? Learn the difference between communism and socialism; they are not the same thing. My family fled communism so I know a thing or two about it. And also, social security and medicare are socialist programs. Social security is the most popular program in US history, with 80% approval. But the lameness of the argument is the total lack of evidence for this ad hominem attack. Obama is not even proposing universal healthcare, which would be socialist. The Republicans are losing this election because of the rabid fear mongering and name calling, which anyone but hardcore right wingers find to be absurd after a while. And Obama is just much smarter and more presidential than his opponents. The absolute irony of it all is that Bush has trampled on the Constitution and expanded Executive power to the greatest in history with the full support of these right wingers only to hand over that power to someone they despise. They put their faith in men while the rest of us put our faith in laws. Men are fallible; that is why the founders created three co-equal branches of government.
Do these McCain aides think that cussing on the record helps McCain come back? Or do they just not care/conceding defeat?
Sara Palin is a type. I had her for a boss once. She is so convinced that she is morally and intellectually superior to everyone else around her. She calls herself a Maverick but that is code for Big Bully, and yes she's fond of biting the hand that feeds her.She is her own worst enemy and she will eventually go down in flames as these types inevitably do. Her narcissism is plain and clear to me. She has 5 children.I'm sorry she is not the magic women, someone else is missing her kid's while she gets drunk on power. Go home Sara and ask the Alaskan people to forgive you for abusing your power, get right with your family and maybe your daughters won't be getting pregnant or beat. Exit stage right.
Palin became a Vice Presidential candidate on 8/30/08. On 10/22/08 she gave an interview where she described the job of the V.P. and got it wrong. The duties of the V.P. are limited and only require a brief mention in the Constitution. In other words, Ms. Palin has not bothered to read or understand what the job she is campaigning for entails. Not even to cover her own a**. Don't take anyone else's word for it, check out the interview and then read about the V.P. in the Constitution. What more can anyone say?
Palin was doing OK until the Couric interview. Then it was apparent just how inarticulate she is. Dubya gave "inarticulate" a bad name. At least he could be cute about it ("misunderestimate" -- indeed). As for McCain, he did everything he could to win but was done in by two avoidable errors: (1) letting Palin be interviewed before November, and (2) not being able to pull the trigger and lead the fight against the $700B bailout that had Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber and even Mighty Joe Young screaming NO WAY. Maverick, my ass -- that was his golden chance and he let it go by. (Heck, I might have even voted for him then...)
I have watched both Palin and McCain for a few weeks now and personally, I am sick and tired of seeing their faces. I flip the channel when the come on CNN. I have not heard any positive messages from them, they only slam Obama. A country that is in a depression, does not need more negativety. The US needs someone like Obama who brings hope and a vision. People should turn away from Bush and McCain. We know that the are personal friends. It is just a game with them right now, pretending not to be friends. Bush would like McCain to win because people think that there is fraud going on within the treasury. Obama could expose that when he wins and should do so. Right now we are planning an Obama party for Nov 4th when Obama wins. You will see Obama parties all over the world because it will give young people hope. He is a symbol of hope! I wish parents would wake up and tell their kids that if Obama could do it, then they could do it. Young men and women need to see someone like Obama who stands steady in times of trouble. Doesn't act erratic like McCain. Besides McCain is no role model for younger folks, he is an old man ready to croak. Palin is a joke and an embarassment to women. She puts womens rights back a 100 years. She needs to go back to Alaska to hunt moose and take real good care of her disabled child.
Hillary cries, blames others and derived her power from her marriage. Her life often seems miserable and would be empty without her career. Palin never flinches, smiles through everything, and has it all in a way that looks profoundly happy and unaffected. And a lot of women hate her for that. Hate, hate, hate. It's genuinely bizarre. Men love that she kicks butt. Women hate it. Hillary gets sympahty for being a victim. She gets scorn for being a victor. It's all kind of...sick?
Read Inez comment above. Sarah is powerful. Go home and chain yourself to the kitchen, beotch. Of course, Obama was never power hungry or manipulative! He's a Care Bear who wants to give us all candy hearts and rainbows!
"Palin herself at first did not seem happy at the prospect of being dressed in the new clothes." Would any prospective Emperor?
Obama The President/Biden The Vice President in 2012.
The Neo/Theo-Conservative Movement? Stick a fork in it -- it's finished for good. The GOP? Finished for at least a generation. See ya in 2028.
I guess this is to be expected in a losing campaign--especially one that has been so spectacularly inept in virtually every phase. My take is that Palin's is innocent of intentional subversion--she's just out of her depth. They called up a fire-baller from semi-pro to pitch game seven of the World Series. And you could make the case that McC has been equally destructive. McC's assertion that Palin's the best qualified VP candidate of recent years is probably the real epitaph of the campaign. That signaled loud and clear that the campaign has nothing but BS to offer.
If McCain hadn't flipflopped on the Bush millionaire Tax Cuts he'd have my vote instead of Obama. Horrible judgement, no backbone. Voting for McCain is just ignorant.
Re:'McC's assertion that Palin's the best qualified VP candidate of recent years" Meaning since Dan Quayle, of course. Mike
I don't for a nanosecond think that Palin's less-than-subtle digs at McCain are inadvertant. I think she understands the trajectory of the polls isn't exactly favorable to her ticket and she's trying to distance herself from seemingly bad decisions to set herself up for higher office in future. Anyone who knows anything about psychology would be able to easily assess Palin's personality - the red flags are all there - and could have predicted very early on that this would likely happen. My bet is even if McCain/Palin won, Palin would find ways to try and undermine McCain and advance her own career and brand. If you haven't figured it out yet, Palin's all about Palin.
You have to remember Palin's personal history: beauty pagent contestant, former "Mayor" of Wasilla, Alaska (where they met once per week to discuss city issues), a land of few women where bigotry is as acceptable as shooting a wolf from an airplane. Palin may actually believe that Alaska is a microcosm of the lower forty-eight (it is not), therefore she has the experience to be President of the United States. Just beneath the shallow surface, the illuminating glare of the spotlight exposes the true self: an egotistical, manipulative wolverine in Louis Viton clothing. The spectacle of this once rising star has faded and fallen back to earth with an ignominious thud.
McCain is a viable candidate; however, he should dump Palin right now....and nominate Lieberman. He would stand a good chance of winning....if not for Palin.
One indication, to me, of Palin's overweening ambition occurred in one of the early interviews she gave as VP candidate, where she was asked who her favorite vice-presidents were. After giving a nod to Ferraro's candidacy, she said she admired vice-presidents who had gone on to become presidents.
The media has been unkind to Governor Palin! The media has been unfair to Governor Palin!
Flyovercountry...have you checked McCain's birthplace??????PLS> DO
Palin has not been treated unfairly by the press. She put herself in the public eye, and constantly fails to measure up, and even more often is caught on record saying things that are devisive (I am so sick of that word! True as it may be.), or saying things that are incomprehensable. She was not brought in quietly, she was brought in to make a splash, and splash she did. Belly-flop type splashing. She is fair game. There are those who like her, or pin their hopes for their agenda's on her, but as a candidate she is not much more than a pretty face with a folksy style and bitchy attitude. Hardly what most people want when it comes to one of the more important positions in the land. There *should* be a lot of blame flying in McCain's circle for that choice. Like the guy who recommended her in the first place should be thinking of a new name already. The fact is that McCain, or his advisers, thought she would get two birds with one stone, women and fundamentalists...I can't speak for fundies, but I can speak for most women...you got it wrong. She was a lazy choice when it came to wooing women voters. McCain, or his advisors, clearly male, didn't have a clue what women would gravitate to. Most women aren't into pretty women, and most women aren't into pretty women who have a long list of things women can't do. To me Palin is a threat. I would also think that a lot of fundies would have a problem with her because she is a woman period, but that may just be my intolerant attitude towards fundies. How many GOP celebrity pundits have jumped ship because of her? They are truly embarassed and angry. It isn't because she is a woman, but that she is not worthy of concideration for the job. And that speaks volumes about McCain no matter who's idea she was. Bed...lay in it, etc.
John McCain made a huge blunder when he picked Sarah as his running mate. Had he chosen Joe Lieberman or someone else of equal stature, he would now be double digits ahead of Obama in the polls. Sarah Palin did energize the lowest common denominator of the conservative base, but in so doing, she has alienated most of undecided voters who would have made the difference on November 4. Joe Lieberman may be short on charisma, but by dint of his knowledge and unblemished record, he would eventually have won over the conservative base and most undecided voters as well. Also, the fact that McCain allowed his staffers to foist Palin on him sight unseen (clearly, she was not on his short list) betrays a lack of leadership. He might yet win the election, but if he loses, it will be largely because of Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin makes the hair on the back of my neck stand straight on end.From what I understand, she has a history of climbing over the bodies of those who have helped her political career.Nevermind mind that she encourages and has not once rebuked the horrific things being yelled out at her rallys,her apparent lack of respect for Mccain is equally apalling.Coming out of the primaries,I didn't think a Mccain presidency would be the end of the world.I have since changed my mind.I believe Palin is the poster girl for the absolute worst side of America.The side that Obama, and even Mccain are trying to leave in the past where it belongs.
Palin has screwed up a little. It would be more to her advantage to just support John Mccain in the last few days of this election, and to not bring up anything about the terrible Katie Couric interviews. By turning her back on John Mccain, and promoting her own agenda for 2012, it makes her look like she has no sense of character or loyalty to John Mccain. She wouldn't be where she is right now if it weren't for Mccain selecting her to be his VP. It looks like she's all about herself, and not the greater mission at hand. Mccain must be saying could you just shut up for the next 10 days? Making excuses about how she was befuddled over the Couric interview is not helping her at all. It's just more negative attention. If she couldn't handle the interview with Couric, how is she supposed to handle meetings with world leaders in stressful times? She may be trying to save face at the last minute - but blaming other people for where she 'obviously' fell short won't help either.
Regarding Palin's comment on the RNC's wardrobe purchase for her..."I didn't pick it". Sounds like a trick I used with my mother when I shoved the candy in my mouth after she told me not to eat it! I feel sorry for the commission based retail persons at Saks and Neiman Marcus when the RNC reurns $150,000 in worn clothes and shoes. Does she know that the sales person will have their 8% commission earned deducted from their wages? How's that for helping the economy? Susan
The Republican party used to be known as the "party of Lincoln". Now its the party of George Bush, John McCain and Sarah Palin. I hope they stay in the political wilderness avery long time. Hopefully long enough to figure out how it all went so terribly wrong.
Responding to "Vince" who wrote: "Those who would like to over-throw our government by planting an Obama in the presidency will have a fight! Both now, and later. The people won't allow it, we are many are not deceived by the propaganda and smear effort." Sorry, Vince, but you obviously have no understanding or respect for the Constitution. It's called an ELECTION, you've heard of this, perhaps? You know, how in a Democracy people get to vote and the majority rules, and the minority accepts the result peaceably, knowing that in the future they (the current minority) may very well have the numbers in their favor, at which point they will have every right to expect the losing side to accept that future result peaceably. The fact is, you and your ilk are not "the many," you are part of the roughly 25% who still support a man who will be remembered as one of the most imcompetent and destructive Presidents in our history. What you are suggesting is a treasonous repudiation of 230+ years of the traditions of American Democracy, and that is a damn shame! "My friend," please remember this: on Nov. 4, when your candidate and your party lose (in what may very well be a landslide), it will not be an "overthrow." That comment of yours is stupid and un-American. It will be an election, pure and simple, and you will have at least four, and most likely eight, years to nurse your resentments and anti-American fantasies about a "plant" and your impotent, would-be "fight." Open up an American history book sometime and see if you can rescue your shabby point of view from such delusions.
TO BRIAN: (October 24, 2008 10:29 AM) You want lies? Check Obama's "responses" to his associations with Ayers and Rezko, for starters. "Troopergate" has been debunked. http://www.adn.com/palin/story/577323.html "...abusive rhetoric.."?? You mean like the type flung by Rev. God-Damn America Wright, and Rev. Michael Pfleger? "Abusive rhetoric" like stating the facts about Obama: The ACORN criminlas, the accumulated supporters, admirers, and associates like If you don't think the MSM was Obama's lap dog this whole time, you've been in a coma. You want dirt? There's a fucking mountain of it, and Obama's at the top. The country will be divided between two groups once the Obamessiah is sworn in: Those who are going to get a rude awakening when they realize the Obamessiah can’t walk on water, pay their mortgages, buy their gas, or for spring for their next bottle of Henessy, and the rest of us; the working tax-paying Joe Plumbers who will refuse to kowtow to the Socialist world order. You might worship your new Dear Leader, but don't expect the rest of us to follow suit.
This is the last time that I will write anything regarding Sarah Palin. I must say that from afar, I lean toward believing everything that the McCain aides are saying behind the scenes regarding Sarah Palin and I can support my belief. First: When Sarah Palin first came on the scene, she claimed that she had said “thanks but no thanks” to Congress regarding the funds for the “Bridge to No-Where”. Later she distanced herself from that claim. The reason she did so was because a video of her saying that she supported the allocation of funds for the “Bridge to No-Where” was all over the Internet. Of course, at that time they didn’t call it the “Bridge to No-Where”, but she supported it, none-the-less !! Net effect: she lied to the entire country. Second: As Governor of Alaska, she has deluded herself into thinking that her children are officials of the state who are entitled to State paid plane trips and hotel stays. This has been to the tune of $25,000 in charges. Then I listened intently to her remarks re: the $150,000 wardrobe that she purchased. She said: “I never asked for anything except once when I asked for a soda.” No one has said that she asked for the clothing. She was told (therefore, she wasn’t asked, and she’s right about her not asking for it) to purchase a total of six (6) dress suits and a few blouses to go with them. But, she purchased $150,000 worth of clothing !!! So, the bottom line is she’s “twisting the truth” which, for me, is the same as lying, unless of course each suit is worth about $25,000 !!! This person has a problem recognizing reality and the truth and she blames everyone else when she’s confronted with it. I think this comes close to the definition of a pathological lier. Sarah Plain wasn’t just bad for John McCain and isn’t just bad for the Republican Party, she’s bad for the State of Alaska and bad for the Nation.
|
Subscribe to this blog by Email Twitter || On Facebook || QIK Live Channel  Recent Posts
Monthly Archives
|
| 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
Politics is largely selling a narrative to voters that they can trust and understand. If Palin is yakking away about hockey-moms and Joe-six-pack she and/or her handlers need to cleave to that narrative. If they are competent of course. There's the rub. Or do these "professionals" really need to read Image 101 for Dummies. Her chief asset is she's a great looking woman who's really absorbed her pageant training. She would have looked good in cheaper, more "Real America" clothing and her narrative wouldn't be in tatters. There's that competence thing again.
Posted by Dana in NYC | October 24, 2008 10:17 AM