3 posts tagged “palin”
McCain Camp insiders say Palin "clueless"
Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people
are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held
a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."
[McCain] found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end.
At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.
Still, by nightfall, the day provided the younger and less experienced Mr. Obama an opportunity to, in effect, shift roles with Mr. McCain. For a moment, at least, it was Mr. Obama presenting himself as the old hand at consensus building, and as the real face of bipartisan politics.
By CHARLES BABINGTON, (from the AP)
Friday, September 26, 2008
A White House summit meeting on Thursday meant to shore up John McCain's shaky campaign "devolved into a contentious shouting match." And that's how McCain's own campaign described it.
The meeting revealed that President Bush's $700 billion bid to combat the worst financial crisis in decades had been suddenly sidetracked by fellow Republicans in the House, who refused to embrace a plan that appeared close to acceptance by the Senate and most House Democrats.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson begged Democratic participants not to disclose how badly the meeting had gone, dropping to one knee in a teasing way to make his point according to witnesses.
And when Paulson hastily tried to revive talks in a nighttime meeting near the Senate chamber, the House's top Republican refused to send a negotiator.
"This is the president's own party," said Rep. Barney Frank, a top Democratic negotiator who attended both meetings. "I don't think a president has been repudiated so strongly by the congressional wing of his own party in a long time."
By midnight, it was hard to tell who had suffered a worse evening, Bush or McCain. McCain, eager to shore up his image as a leader who rises above partisanship, was undercut by a fierce political squabble within his own party's ranks.
Both McCain and his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, would leave the White House without comment, and the meeting was described as among the wildest in memory. A beleaguered President Bush had to struggle to maintain order and reassert himself. And when Democrats left to caucus in the Roosevelt Room, Paulson pursued them, begging that they not "blow up" the legislation.
The former Goldman Sachs CEO even went down on one knee as if genuflecting, to which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) is said to have joked, "I didn’t know you were Catholic."
It was McCain who had urged Bush to call the White House meeting but Democrats made sure Obama had a prominent part. And much as they complained later of being blindsided, the whole event turned out to be something of an ambush on their part—aimed at McCain and House Republicans.
"Speaking professionally," said one Republican aide, "They did a very good job."
When Bush yielded early to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) to speak, they yielded to Obama to speak for the assembled Democrats. And it was Obama who raised the subject of the conservative alternative and pressed Paulson on what he thought of the idea.
House Republicans felt trapped—squeezed by Treasury, House Democrats and a bipartisan coalition in the Senate. And while McCain spoke surprisingly little after asking for the meeting, he conceded that it appeared there were not the votes for the core Paulson plan without major changes.
by Kula2316
Fri Sep 26, 2008
Well, we've all had a day to digest the latest "razzle dazzle" - as Chris Matthews likes to say - from the McCain campaign. So how is it spinning? Does it look like McCain made the right decision or did his latest attempt to shake up the campaign backfire big time?
Reading through today's editorials and analysis, I can't help but think that this is going to be a worse week for McCain than we realize. Pretty much across the board, the reaction is that this was a desperate move that is not going to end well for McCain.
- Kula2316's diary :: ::
E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post:
McCain could yet play a constructive role by rounding up votes from restive Republicans. Oddly, the biggest obstacle to a bill may not be Democrats but Republicans who refuse to go along with their own president. And -- yes, there is an election coming -- Democrats will be wary of going forward unless a substantial number of Republicans join them.
But McCain's boisterous intervention -- and particularly his grandstanding on the debate -- was less a presidential act than the tactical ploy of a man worried that his chances of becoming president might be slipping away.
Delco Times (PA) Editorial, There's no dispute, McCain should debate:
Apparently, Thursday's White House summit failed to reach any breakthrough in the negotiations. Members of Congress are expected to be working into this morning to hammer out a deal.
That being said, there's no reason why John McCain and Barack Obama can't go to the University of Mississippi tonight for their debate. Americans go to the polls in 38 days to decide who has to inherit this mess. They deserve to take the measure of the men who would take that mantle.
Evansville Courier & Press (IN) Editorial:
McCain's action was a diversionary tactic and a rather crass one at that. He was not one of the key Senate negotiators needed to hammer out a congressional deal on the bailout. He could vote up-or-down on the bill and still debate.
No, McCain's duty and obligation is to be at the debate site, with Obama, so Americans can assess each candidate's ability, grasp of the issues and reasoning skills.
David Brooks at the NY Times waxes nostalgic about the old McCain, recites his many past accomplishments, and then accuses him of relying on "tactical gimmicks":
No, what disappoints me about the McCain campaign is it has no central argument. I had hoped that he would create a grand narrative explaining how the United States is fundamentally unprepared for the 21st century and how McCain’s worldview is different.
McCain has not made that sort of all-encompassing argument, so his proposals don’t add up to more than the sum of their parts. Without a groundbreaking argument about why he is different, he’s had to rely on tactical gimmicks to stay afloat. He has no frame to organize his response when financial and other crises pop up.
Matt Welch, Los Angeles Times, has a great opinion piece detailing the history of McCain's ol' razzle-dazzle. It's worth reading the entire piece:
But as many Great Men come to learn, there is a colossal downside built into running a campaign on outsized personal virtue. The line between stoic, honorable service and showy moral vanity is oftentimes difficult to maintain. And when a candidate confuses his own political ambitions with the fortunes of his country, that's when Great Men turn into self-parodies.
"I have craved distinction in my life," McCain wrote in his 2002 political memoir, "Worth the Fighting For." "I have wanted renown and influence for their own sake. That is, of course, the great temptation of public life. ... I have never been able to conquer it permanently, but I have tried."
Don't say he didn't warn us.
I truly have been looking for some Friday print reaction to John McCain that is favorable, and I thought I came across one when I found an editorial entitled "The Maverick" from The Barre Montpelier Times Argus (VT), but alas this one was negative too:
And that leads to perhaps the biggest reason McCain, the self-styled maverick, called a temporary halt to his campaign: Polls are now showing that Barack Obama has pulled ahead in the race for the White House and that the numbers are clearly moving his way. Perhaps the American people are fed up with candidates who rely too heavily on negative depictions of their opponents while unapologetically telling outright lies to dress up their own campaigns.
Even Chris Coffey, Republican strategist who writes on the Faux News blog, Fox Forum, didn't sound very positive:
Ultimatums are delivered to defenseless foes, not to vital opponents. They are a form of intimidation intended to trigger subservience. That is why McCain now risks looking like a duplicitous bully with little interest in bipartisan cooperation, even though he has spent a lifetime cultivating the opposite image.
Whatever the case, the McCain campaign has put itself in the unique position of being unable to campaign before an election. Suspension means suspension. If one staffer shows up for work, this whole gamble turns into a media stunt. I hope I am wrong and that this wager pays.
But never fear, the analysts and pundits aren't forgetting about Sarah Palin altogether in the midst of this financial crisis. James Rainey at the Los Angeles Times thinks the McCain campaign should be glad attention is focused elsewhere:
A global financial crisis and a not-quite-suspended presidential campaign dominated newspaper front pages and television reports over the last couple of days. Bad news for America. But good news for Sarah Palin.
The economic crisis and John McCain's surprising response have drawn attention away from the Republican vice presidential nominee just as she has started to answer more pointed questions from the media. Her third nationally televised interview, with CBS anchor Katie Couric, found Palin rambling, marginally responsive and even more adrift than during her network debut with ABC’s Charles Gibson.
Palin's unblinking certitude gave way at other times in the interview to a striking imprecision, as when she struggled to respond to Couric's suggestion that the $700-billion bailout might be better funneled through middle-class families instead of Wall Street firms. "That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in . . ." Palin began, before meandering off in fruitless pursuit of coherence.
Even Peggy Noonan at the Wall Street Journal couldn't put a positive spin on Palin's week:
As for Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign continues to make mistakes. They don't seem to understand her strengths and weaknesses. The U.N. photo-ops were a staged embarrassment. Keeping the press away made her look infantilized. When she finally began to sit for television interviews, the atmosphere was heightened, every misstep magnified. With Katie Couric she seemed rattled. In the Charlie Gibson interview it was not good when she sounded chirpy discussing possible war with Russia. One should not chirp about such things. Or one wouldn't if one knew the implications. And knowing the implications is part of what we hire leaders for.
Mrs. Palin is a two-term mayor and has two years as a governor of an American state. She is well-liked and highly regarded back home. She rose for a reason. She has to show America what she showed Alaska.
And for your morning sleaze fix: Charles Krauthammer lays the blame for the economic crisis - not on the Republican's policies of deregulation or greedy corporations - but on those pesky minorities and poor people who had the gall to believe they should be able to own a home!
For decades, starting with Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, there has been bipartisan agreement to use government power to expand homeownership to people who had been shut out for economic reasons or, sometimes, because of racial and ethnic discrimination. What could be a more worthy cause? But it led to tremendous pressure on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which in turn pressured banks and other lenders -- to extend mortgages to people who were borrowing over their heads. That's called subprime lending. It lies at the root of our current calamity.
I can't leave you on that note, so here's something to make you smile. What was the most-watched political video of the week on YouTube? Letterman's skewering of John McCain, who will regret the day he cancelled that appearance!
CNN reports that both campaigns have their advance teams in Mississippi, but I wouldn't take that to mean that the debate will definitely go forward as planned. Although, given the reaction, I don't think there is any way that McCain can not show up... it would be the end of his campaign, in my opinion. So my prediction is that the debate goes on as planned. But, just in case he doesn't, Sam Stein is reporting that Obama will hold a 90-minute townhall as an alternative. That would be awesome.
Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
by DemFromCT
Fri Sep 26, 2008
House Republicans try to bail out McCain while the markets and average American's pensions twist in the wind.
Paul Krugman: Where are the grown-ups?
Drama King to the Rescue
John McCain is rapidly making his temperament an inescapable issue in the presidential campaign. Does the nation really want so much drama in the White House?
Instead he [McCain] found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end.
At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.
...
Still, by nightfall, the day provided the younger and less experienced Mr. Obama an opportunity to, in effect, shift roles with Mr. McCain. For a moment, at least, it was Mr. Obama presenting himself as the old hand at consensus building, and as the real face of bipartisan politics
John McCain's sudden intervention in Washington's deliberations over the Wall Street bailout could not have been more out of sync with what was actually happening.
Charles Krauthammer: Just shoot a few investment bankers, give the rabble their bread and circus, and let's move on and save the rich.
OK, you run to the fire hydrant, cut left, and then when he gets to the Buick, John, you heave it.
Sarah Palin loves the word "exceptional." At a rally in Nevada the other day, the Republican vice-presidential candidate said: "We are an exceptional nation." Then she declared: "America is an exceptional country." In case anyone missed that, she added: "You are all exceptional Americans."
I have to hand it to Palin, she may be onto something in her batty way: the election is very much about American exceptionalism.
David Brooks: McCain was a POW. I'm where Richard Cohen was two months ago, except Cohen realized McCain was full of shit and a toxic serial liar, and I'm not intellectually honest enough to admit it to myself.
Added:
Kathleen Parker: I don't know what's with Brooks, but even I know Sarah the Unready is a disaster. And David, McCain chose her. What does that tell you about McCain?
Breaking News from Big Eddie:
McCain Camp insiders say Palin "clueless"
Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people
are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held
a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."
by Excelscior1
The speculation I'm hearing now from various radio reporters (including Errol Lewis here in NY), is that McCain is really trying to back Palin out of her debate. The memo must be spreading.
Joe Scarborough, Pat Buchanon and Mike Murphy all simultaneously, argued that Palin was not the best choice today on Morning Joe. Scarborough said:
If she can't answer basic questions, that's tough. Katie did not ask her tough questions, her questions were very fair. Apparently Katie asked her, "what's the worst thing Dick Cheney did", and she answered "Shooting his friend with the gun". Us Elections aren't a meritocracy, about picking the most qualified people, it's obvious she has very little knowledge of US facts. She may be a good person and a good governor, she has also has a high approval rating, but is this is the best person you can find for Vice President? but what does this say about Palin and McCain's judgement?
Mmmmh. That was Joe.
Former McCain campaign Manager, "Hot" Mike Murphy, said that:
Is my Mike on, Lol. Well you know Pat, I never agreed with the Palin pick in the first place. I said she's a good base pick, but this is not a base vote type of year. The McCain camp has problems, because it seems CBS has more footage, and it's not any better, then what we've seen.
Pat Buchanon says:
Either way, McCain doesn't look good. If he doesn't support the bailout, they'll say he killed it, but if he does, the house democrats will be angry. But at this point he has to go.
What Is This Money Even For?
by Hunter
Fri Sep 26, 2008
The $700 billion figure isn't an explainable one, given the purported problem at hand of "bad mortgages".
And that's where we get that math problem. 1% of all mortgages -- the amount now in default -- comes out to $111 billion. Triple that, and you've got $333 billion. Let's round that up to $350 billion. So even if we reach the point where three percent of all mortgages are in foreclosure, the total dollars to flat out buy all those mortgages would be half of what the Bush-Paulson-McCain plan calls for.
Then we need to factor in that a purchased mortgage isn't worth zero. After all, these documents come with property attached. Even with home prices falling and some of the homes lying around unsold, it's safe to assume that some portion of these values could be recovered. In the S&L crisis, about 70% of asset value was recovered, but let's say we don't do that well. Let's say we hit 50%. Then the real outlay for taxpayers would be around $175 billion.
Which, frankly, is a number that Wall Street should be able to handle without our help. After all, the top firms on Wall Steet payed out $120 billion in bonuses alone between 2000 and 2006. If they've got that kind of mad money, why do they need us to step in now? And why do they need twice as much as all the mortgages that are even likely to implode?
Dear friends,
So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks. :)You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .Thanks,
ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe".It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She's smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.Sarah complained about the "old boy’s club" when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he "intimidated"
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the "old boys’ club" when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to
nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.CLAIM VS FACT
•"Hockey mom": true for a few years
•"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•"NRA supporter": absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
What are her views on the war in Iraq? Afghanistan? The
Russian/Georgian conflict? NATO? Entitlement programs? Rebuilding
infrastructure? Education? Health care reform? Welfare? Immigration?
Look,
I love a non traditional resume when it comes to Washington, DC. I just
have not seen any evidence that Palin has thought seriously about the
above issues at all. And with a 72 year old man in the top spot, that
is very disconcerting.
by filegirl
********************************************************************************
Some say She seems like a really nice lady, good for PTA and such, ..meeting with other countries and such, not so much..but she's no Hillary Clinton! Some say Mc same must think women are really dumb.! Personally I am very happy about Mcsame's choice, it shows that he cares more about winning then he does about the county.He said it himself: "She is exactly what I need..." Not what the nation
needs. Some say It is a choice he made based surely on politics, what he thought
might help him win. Just call him McPander-- Some say He just handed Obama the keys to the white house.
On Fox News Sunday, McCain refers to his reckless pick for a running-mate as his "soulmate".
So does that mean he is in love with her? Only your wife or the one you love should be your soulmate.
Yes, Sarah Palin is merely running for VP, not president, but with a 72 year-old candidate with a history of serious medical issues, this is who they're saying is able to step in as president in a heart-beat. She has so little experience that she makes Sen. Obama look like FDR, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar combined. So, the Republicans pulled the rug out from under themselves. They have no issues. The economy? Housing? The national debt? Education? The Environment? Iraq? Afghanistan? Nothing. All they have is "Dear Democratic women: please pretend our VP candidate is Hillary Clinton. Just forget that she's pro-life. And against most things Democrats stand for.".
But that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.
Because if the hope for John McCain is to get women to vote for him who otherwise supported Hillary Clinton - if anything could get Hillary Clinton campaigning in full force and fury...this is it. She likely would have campaigned hard, but it's in Hillary Clinton's best interest to be the leading voice for women, and the leading woman candidate for president in the future, so having another woman as the potential Vice President (and potential President) is a significant challenge to that. The Republicans just opened Pandora's Box and brought Hillary Clinton roaring to Barack Obama's side on the Democratic train. And Bill Clinton, too.
Yet even that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.
What this does in the most profound and grandiose way possible is give lie to John McCain's pompous posturing that he Always Puts America First. And that undercuts the most prominent campaign issue of his entire career, that everything he does is for reasons of honor. There is nothing honorable about making Sarah Palin your vice presidential nominee. Nothing. Unless you define honor as "blatantly pandering."
And all that's not even the reason the decision is so terrible.
The reason is because the election is not about Sarah Palin. Or about Joe Biden. As much as TV analysts want to be excited by the balloons and hoopla, tomorrow the air will be let out, and there are still over two months to go for the campaign.
The campaign is about Barack Obama and John McCain.
Sarah Palin's nomination doesn't change that. In fact, it reinforces it. Nothing about putting Sarah Palin on the GOP ticket changes a word that Barack Obama said in his vibrant acceptance speech - about himself, about his issues, and about John McCain's repeatedly faulty judgment on the critical issues facing America.
What Sarah Palin's nomination does do is focus attention on John McCain's age. Indeed, the nomination was made on his birthday, when he turned 72, the oldest man ever to run for president. As the crowd sang "Happy Birthday to You," you almost sensed that through John McCain's clenched smile, saying, "Thanks for reminding me," that what he was thinking underneath was "Please, oh, please, don't sing the 'How old are you now?' part." And how good a message was it that he's saying he supposedly forgot it was his birthday?
Before her meteoric rise to political success as governor, just two short years ago Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla. I had a good chuckle at MSN.com’s claim that she had been the mayor of “Wasilla City”. It is not a city. Just Wasilla. Wasilla is the heart of the Alaska “Bible belt” and Sarah was raised amongst the tribe that believes creationism should be taught in our public schools, homosexuality is a sin, and life begins at conception. She’s a gun-toting, hang ‘em high conservative. Remember…this is where her approval ratings come from. There is no doubt that McCain again is making a strategic choice to appeal to a particular demographic - fundamentalist right-wing gun-owning Christians. And Republican bloggers are already gushing about how she has ‘more executive experience’ than Obama does! Above is a picture of lovely downtown Wasilla, for those of you unfamiliar with the area. Behind the Mug-Shot Saloon (the first bar I visited when I moved to Alaska long ago) is a little strip mall. There are street signs in Wasilla with bullet holes in them. Wasilla has a population of about 5500 people, and 1979 occupied housing units. This is where your potential Vice President was two short years ago. Can you imagine her negotiating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty? Discussing foreign policy? Understanding non-Alaskan issues? Frankly, I don’t even know if she’s ever been out of the country. She may ‘get’ Alaska, but there are only a half a million people here. Don’t get me wrong….I love Alaska with all my heart. I’m just saying.
I, and all Alaskans will be interested to see how this whole process unfolds. This is definitely a gamble for McCain, and in my humble opinion, a gift to Obama and to Joe Biden who just got thrown a big hunk of red meat for the vice presidential debate.
This is the wedge-issue, desperate ’Hail Sarah’ pass of the McCain campaign.
What other Alaskans are saying:
I, like all Alaskans, have been glued to the news media today, watching with amazement as Sarah Palin was tagged as McCain’s vice presidential running mate. Local radio talk shows are all a-buzz. The progressive station has a mixture of callers who are amused, horrified, and bewildered. The conservative station has a mixture of callers who are amused, enthusiastic, horrified and bewildered. No one is really sure how this happened, or what to make of it. Citing the fact that she was the mayor of Wasilla 2 years ago in her list of “executive experience” doesn’t even pass the giggle test in Alaska. Palin does have many supporters here in the state, but even many of them are doubting whether she can cut it in the Veep slot. A few callers have said they feel sorry for her, because they like her but she’s obviously being “used” and is way over her head. Local politicians are fiercely divided. Those who like her are generally appointees who are locally referred to as “Palin-bots” and have drawn comparisons to George Bush’s idealogical croneys. Many, Democrats and Republicans, are fierce opponents.
Here’s a smattering of reactions:
Alaska State Senate President Lyda Green (R): “She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?” (Green is from Palin’s home town of Wasilla.)
Alaska House Speaker John Harris (R): “She’s old enough. She’s a U.S. citizen.”
Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins: “In this very competitive election for them to go pick somebody who is … under a cloud of suspicion, who is under investigation for abuse of power. It just sounds like a pretty slow start to me. We need a vice president who can step in if, God forbid, something happened to John McCain. I don’t think she’s someone who is ready for that 3 a.m. phone call.”
Randy Ruedrich, Alaska Republican Party Chair: Not giving interviews.
Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg: “a mixed set of emotions, kind of an odd sense of Alaska nationalism or pride. This is like watching a moon landing or something. It’s just something you don’t expect to see very often. It’s wonderful. It was an emotional thing to see the governor walk out with her family and I say, wow, I work for her.”
McHugh Pierre, Alaska Republican Party Spokesman: “She brings her voice of new energy and change. And she knows Alaska.”
Indicted Alaska Sr. Senator Ted Stevens (R): “it’s a great day for the nation and Alaskans.”
Andrew Halcro, local blogger who ran against Palin for governor: “This shocking choice says more about McCain’s desperation than it does about Palin’s qualifications”.
and my favorite…
Alaska State Representative Mike Doogan (D): “Either Sarah Palin has talents and skills we were not aware of”, or “John McCain fell down and hit his head”. He also called the prospect of Palin potentially needing to take over as President”pretty scary.”
Chris Bowers writes:
Here is a fun fact: John McCain has been running for President longer than Sarah Palin has been governing. McCain announced his exploratory committee on November 13th, 2006:
McCain to Form Committee To Explore White House Bid
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 13, 2006; Page A08
Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he will form an exploratory committee as the first step toward a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
Palin took office three weeks later, on December 4th, 2006:
Palin was also the first Alaskan governor born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau, instead choosing to hold her inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. She took office on December 4, 2006.
This is probably the first time in history that a presidential
nominee has chosen a Vice-President who has governed for less than the
candidate has been campaigning.
Andrew Sullivan writes:.
Palin isn't the issue here. McCain's judgment is. It's completely off the wall. Is there something wrong with him?
Think about how he made this decision barely knowing the woman.
Think about the fact that the most McCain could say about his potential war-time vice-president in foreign affairs and national security when selecting her is that she commanded Alaska's National Guard as governor and has a son in the military.
Think about the men and women serving this country who have every right to trust that their potential commander-in-chief, whatever their party, would have some record of even interest in foreign policy before assuming office.
Think about how the key factor in this decision was not who could defend this country were something dreadful happen to McCain in office but how to tread as much on Obama's convention bounce and use women's equality as a wedge issue among Democrats because it might secure a few points here or there. Oh, and everyone would be surprised. And even Rove would be annoyed.
This is his sense of honor and judgment. This is his sense of responsibility and service.
Here's the real slogan the McCain campaign should now adopt:
Putting. Country. Last.
Peter Sullivan writes
In the past week, Barack Obama and John McCain have given us a clear indication of how they would run their White House.
Sen. Obama chose Joe Biden to be his running mate, a smart, seasoned, and honest statesman, respected by both Democrats and Republicans and trusted by leaders abroad.
John McCain chose Dan Quayle in a pantsuit.
The choice of Sarah Palin, the undistinguished governor of a thinly populated state with no real accomplishments, is nothing more than a crass political move. Evidently, the McCain team has seen one too many silly "puma" story on Fox or CNN, and believes that simply putting a woman on the ticket will score political points.
Obama chose someone who will help him govern effectively. McCain went for cheap political points. That says everything we need to know about the choice we face in November.
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
My Groups
-
Human Rights Updated: 18 minutes ago
-
Freethinkers Updated: 18 minutes ago
-
EFx2/EFx3 Bloggers Updated: 22 minutes ago
