How far out of the park did she hit the ball? I'm thinking Barry Bonds couldn't have hit one that far.
Let's get past the fact that she's a woman, folks. If she was a man no one would be saying anything about whether she should be running for office. Let's get past the fact that she's still a little on the young side, at least compared to me. She's older than Kennedy was when he was elected, and she's running for vice president, not president.
In my last blog I told you I didn't know enough about her to pass judgement, so I asked you what you thought of her. Now I'm going to tell you what I think of her. She's sharp. She has a lot on her plate and she's handling it all. She's honest. She put it all on the table in her acceptance speech. She told America her family has problems just like every other family. But perhaps the most important point she made and other speakers at the convention made for her is that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. Running a state, no matter the size, has given Palin the experience she needs to sit at the right hand of the president, certainly more so than Biden, and more to actually sit in the Oval office than Obama. Style over substance, that's what you get from the Democrats. Personally, I prefer substance.
61 comments:
Stan, you're supposed to be a journalist. Start acting like one, instead of some dizzy schoolboy with a conservative crush.
"She has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined." You're buying that? And I'm supposed to continue to accept you as a serious newspaper editor? If you really think that running a state that's smaller than any of our PA Congressional Districts for a year and a half -- and being on the verge of indictment after that short tenure -- is a compelling argument to put someone a 72-year-old, cancer-prone heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world, then I think you need to change your title to Propaganda Czar.
You know, part of me half-wishes that the McCain-Palin ticket gets elected, just so you could experience the cold, icy chill of hearing that Sarah Palin had to assume the Presidency after nature had its way with McCain. But then, I have to live in this country, too, and that's a dread I never, ever want to know.
Luckily, I won't have to.
Meanwhile, Mr. "I Prefer Substance," what exactly did you hear of substance in last night's sarcastic smear-fest? All I heard was more of the Repubs favorite tactic of shouting "9-11!" and throwing mud.
When Obama talks about hope and change, this is exactly the kind of thing he's talking about changing -- the partisan, ugly, divisive attack politics of Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, George Bush...and now, sadly, John McCain and Sarah Palin.
And, it seems, Stan Huskey. We all deserve so much better.
Stan - montco pa dem is feeling just a little grumpy because he stayed up too late on Wednesday to see and hear Sara Palin's great speach- all the speakers prior to Sara were really great too - check their statements and you will find they were righton. Stan tonight should make you feel good all over like a " dizzy schoolboy with a conservative crush" and I hope the feeling lasts until November when John & Sara get sworn into office - President McCain and VP Sara Palin.
But perhaps the most important point she made and other speakers at the convention made for her is that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined.
Don't forget John McCain. She's got more executive experience than he does, too. And Abraham Lincoln. She's got more executive experience than he did.
And wow, did she ever raise the level of debate! This is a Presidential election here, we can't be talking about issues. We must focus on whether or not our opponent's pants are on fire because he is, in fact, a liar. We can't let ourselves be distracted by such irrelevancies as policy details.
-pb
Here's more on Palin that you won't read in the Times Herald:
"According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance...on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads..."
You can read the whole Time Magazine article by clicking here.
Stan, your slugger seems to be acting more like a pitcher - Silent Steve Carlton, to be exact.
Montco Pa Dem:
First of all you should thank Mr. Huskey for making this blog available for our comments etc. and not knock the man for it. I consider Mr. Huskey to be a fine journalist, along with many other citizens blogging here.
Secondly isn't this post an exact duplicate of the post you entered previously on the blog below. When you come up with something else new or orginal, please post it. In the interim, please don't get your panties in a bind sir.
The Professor
I thought she spoke well to her republican base but I didn't hear her say anything about what she would do for America. Same old, same old to me. I thought it was more fluff than peanut butter. As for comparing her to Joe Biden, she's never had any federal experience where he's had a lifetime of it and no one's better on foreign policy than he is. I wish the Dem ticket were reveresed...Biden for pres. and Obama as VP. Give Obama some more time to learn from someone who knows the ins and outs of Washington politics. On the whole, I think Obama/Biden has the better ticket this year.
What a great Convention...Our Times Herald's coverage was great today. McCain's wife and their family and then Palin's family in the closing made me feel even more proud to be a Republican because they have placed their whole life -good & bad - before the world.
A great Journalist expresses his opinions and also makes sure their is another Journalist on his staff that will give the opinion of the other side (Dem. vs Rep.) and Gordy is the other.
Now Age? Gender? -- in todays world this makes no nevermind. Truman "gave them hell" after he took office and I'm sure if Palin needs to she would be able to stand up to the plate as well.
Montco Pa. You forgot to mention the editorial in todays INKI. Also the article by the African American writer for the INKI.
Why jump on one Editor because of his views and forget the other negative Editors in Philly. Wait, they are Democrat views, right?
Thank God you have the right to view your points in this blog, make them your points not some other idiots.
You seem like an intelligent person, but,you continue to quote other writers thoughts and writings.
Keep your thoughts and use them wisely on November 4th,2008.
I think she did hit it out of the park and into the next county. This woman was successful in her own right before McCain ever heard of her. He picked her because she's cut out of the same maverick cloth. I think, like many attractive women in politics, people will continue to underestimate her, and I think she's probably an old pro by now at leveraging that to her advantage. I don't want people in office who "learn" or 'knows the ins and outs of Washington politics', I want someone who's going to stand the status quo on its head and create a whole new way of getting things done. As both Republican candidates have proven over the courses of their careers, that ticket is undoubtedly McCain/Palin.
Stan: Your statement "if she was a man no one would be saying anything about whether she should be running for office" is incorrect.
The American public has had the fact of Obama's inexperience, especially in the area of foreign policy, shoved down our throats for months. That is one of the reasons he chose Joe Biden as his running mate.
We are now presented with a candidate who has been governor of a state with one of the smallest populations for 18 months. By statute, it's legislature is limited to meeting for less than 90 days a year. Before that the nominee was on the city council and mayor of a town with under 9,000 people.
Qualifying that as "executive experience" to represent a world power is padding the resume, no matter what the gender.
What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
The Sybil
Hey Stan:
Ready to continue being mocked as part of the know-nothing Media? Ready to toss out science and have our schools teaching creationism? Ready to have the Government making personal health and reproductive decisions for women, no matter what their circumstances? Ready to have another politician in power who trivializes the lives of most people, while pandering to a small elite on the Right that wants to control our lives? Ready to completely destroy that fragile wall separating Church and State? Ready to drill/drill/drill rather than energize the American people to address long-term energy solutions? Ready for a VP who wants to torture first, then think about "rights" later? Ready for the continued sorry spectacle of a once proud man, John McCain, tossing aside everything he believes in just to achieve power? Ready for 4 more years of the Bush/Cheney/Rove style of governing? If so, you know what to do. Sarah Palin's speech sure was a barn-burner. Unfortunately, our freedoms, rights, and Constitution are in the barn.
This is to montco pa dem and candlebrook. Repeat after me. This is a blog. It is here to further public discourse on issues of the day. Got that? I express my opinions here, just as you do. I'm not sure why you both post with such condescending tones, but I'm guessing it must be because you think your opinions and observations are above reproach.
To montco pa dem, do you have an original thought? "A 72-year-old, cancer-prone heartbeat away..." Is that the best the Dems can come up with?
To candlebrook, do you understand the 'know nothing' media is where you get your information to form your opinions?
Stan,
You can’t go attack people you don’t agree with for being condescending when you open the conversation with: “Style over substance, that's what you get from the Democrats”
Barry Bonds is the right person to compare Palin.
She’s a “pit bull with lipstick”, fine, there should be no complaints if the Dems use a baseball bat and mace against her.
Obama has more substance than Palin based on his upbringing (across the planet vs. somebody who JUST got a passport), education (Columbia vs. University of Idaho), preparations for first political career move (Harvard Law for Faith based Community activism vs. being a mom for PTA President), number of people represented in first office held (State Senator >200,000 vs. Mayor 9,000) and second office held (Senator 12,000,000 vs. Governor 670,000), length of time in office (45 months vs 18months), budgets approved in highest office held ( 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 vs. 2008, 2009?)
Alaska has less people than in Montco (775,000) does that mean one of the 3 wise men running our county is as qualified as she? Don’t answer that - the image is too frightening.
It’s a shame that Lloyd Benston isn’t still alive – I remember the last time the elephants trotted out a lightweight and compared them to JFK.
By the elephant’s logic she is ready to take on DC, but she’s not ready for Meet the Press or the Daily Show. Hmmmmmm.
She has been hermitically sealed.
Let’s take a closer look at how she’s kept the money for the bridge to nowhere. How about her stint as mayor, where it appears she wanted to start banning books. I’d like to hear the librarians’ view on this.
When will we hear about the jet that wasn’t sold on ebay, but to some Alaska GOP insider for less than what it was worth?
Her former brother-in-law sounds as wacky as the rest of them, but she appears to have overstepped her authority when trying to can the guy.
I can’t help be hear the echoes of elephant howls when the Clinton had the target on their backs.
It is a shame that families are off-limits now that McCain is running. I guess we can’t revisit the substance of McCain’s attack of Chelsea Clinton when she lived in the White House.
Do I want some guy as president who broke up a marriage to get his first wife, then dumped her when she wasn’t perfect anymore? Do I want some guy as president who ran around on his first wife while she was convalescing? Will you guys talk about that type of honor and courage in the same way the Clinton were savaged?
Yeah substance – real good substance – the substance that is being spread around by the elephants makes corn grow.
Geez, Stan, I didn't realize you were that thin-skinned. I'll go easier next time, bub.
Meanwhile, let me run through the difference between fact and opinion.
"A 72-year-old, cancer-prone, heartbeat away from the Presidency" is not an opinion. It is a statement of fact:
72 year old - This is John McCain's age. (He is, incidentally, 25 years older than Sen. Obama, who will be 47 when he is sworn in as President in January.) According to the Social Security Administration, the average 72 year old man can expect to live about 12 years more. But unfortunately, John McCain is not an average 72 year old.
Cancer-prone - McCain has had several bouts with cancer. In 2000, he underwent surgery to remove two malignant melanomas along with lymph nodes from his neck and part of his salivary gland. And according to a recent report from the Medical University of South Carolina (click here to read it), people who develop even milder skin cancers than McCain's stand twice the risk of devleoping other, more serious forms of cancer going forward.
Heartbeat away - This, of course, referred to Sarah Palin's proximity to the Oval Office. If elected, she would be the next in line should anything happen to McCain.
Now the fact that I see the possibility of Sarah Palin ever being in this position as about the most frightening thing I can ever imagine -- that's an opinion.
But the more I talk with folks around here, the more I'm finding that it's an opinion lots of others share.
montco pa dem's Sept. 9th Quote:"You know, part of me half-wishes that the McCain-Palin ticket gets elected" --not to worry they will. I believe you are of the age that you should remember "A" War. Exactly who do you think fought the wars so that you and your children can and have enjoyed the freedom we have today? Now, that being said --sit back and think what you are saying before you ask to have it in print on Stan's Blog. The saying your mother should have taught you is "You Are Responsible for What You Do and What You Say" -because that 72 Year-Old does know what he is saying and exactly what should be done and the whole world knows it too. Palin will do just fine if she is called on to become our Commander-in-Chief, and if you are called on to serve in some capacity - do so with out a backward thought as my husband did. We still celebrate all the accomplishments that he and his shipmates accomplished during WWII - and yes they are still sharp at 83? Got a problem with that? The essence of McCain and Palin are why they will become our President and Vice President come November.
Candlebrook & montco pa dem - When did we stop electing Senators and Congresspeople? It takes more than a Pres. & VP to change any law - now you know that. Elect the best people for these positions and you will need not to worry. Our Congressman seems to be more worried about everyone but the people in his district so-- go Republican !!
Stan, Can't understand why it took you so long to answer the two idiots you addressed.
It so easy to sit back and be that next day quarterback and repeat the so called press (IDIOTS) who can twist the best of things.
Keep the blog going and ask those questions that get's the idiots irate and fumbling into nothing.
It seems that the Pa Dem has some sort of grude against you, but, you have been there and done that with the best of them.
All though we have never met in person keep up the good work.
Someday, I will run into you either at a pork eating contest or some other function, if I do the drinks are on me.
Stan:
I do understand what this is - I'm just expressing my opinion along with everyone else. I wrote about what I heard over and over from the speakers at the RNC convention to get at some truths that we're all facing this election. You say I'm condescending. That's not my intention and I am concerned if that's how my writing comes across. It's interesting that you seem to think it's all right for you and those that agree with you to post your opinions, but the two people that disagree with you are taken to task. If you reread my post, you'll see that each of the points that I made are fire lines in the culture war that were being stoked in St. Paul last week. On the particular point of the "know-nothing Media", I was saying that that is the attitude of the McCain/Palin/RNC ticket and that this attitude, along with the other points that I made, would become part of a McCain-Palin administration. The editorial cartoon in today's (Sunday's) Times Herald and Gordon's column make the same point about the attack on the Media. I believe that a President will govern as he/she campaigns. I'll take the optimism and forward thinking of Barack Obama over what John McCain has to offer. You might not like what I have to say, but I'm still going to say it. I know I'm not above reproach. I'm reflecting upon my motivations and how I present myself - maybe you should do the same.
20 months as a governor of a state that has more wildlife than people? That's experience? You've got to be kidding! This so-called anti-pork barrel spending person was responsible for the "road to nowhere" that would have connected to the "bridge to nowhere"! And, when she finally "changed her mind", she keep the money. For a state with oil revenues, she and others need to leave some tax money for other states that need it. California is going broke, and the cronies, like president-select shrub, etc., caused the Navy (and the money) to be shipped to Alaska, where it takes up to three (3) hours to get out to sea. Sitting ducks if Russia or China wants to attack. Her involvement in troopergate and other things will come out to bite her and McSame in the butt. Palin is a nobody, just like "caught in the headlights" Quayle. And, McSame is pandering to the women voters, but it doesn't fool me. I will be voting DEMOCRATIC this year and in the future. We have been dragged down in the muck by the shrub, but he can send billions to other countries to bail them out, but not US citizens. The fannymae and freddymac crisis is yet another one of the republicrats failures to understand that "IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!". Yes, I know, this is "your" blog, and with your bias favoring republicrats, I won't see my comment here. So, I will copy it and paste it elsewhere, where it will get equal time.
Yikes people! Seems like some nerves have been touched to say the least. Here's the deal. The Republians can't go around condemning people for immoral actions and then expect their own party to embrace a woman who hasn't lived up to their strict moral code. Stan, you don't honestly think that the right-wingers are going to accept this woman do you? How can they? They'd be the biggest hypocrits if they did. You may want to watch the Youtube clip of John Stewart and Bill O'Reilly whre Mr. Stewart points out how the R's called Jamie Lynn Spear's parents pinheads and blamed their bad parenting for her pregnancy but then all of a sudden it's Ok for Sarah Palin's daughter to be preganant at 17 yeas old? Come on. Talk about your double standards. Here's the question you must ask yourself. If Sarah Palin was Barack Obama's VP, would you stll say how wonderful she is and what a maverick or would you rip her to shreds for being an unfit mother and too inexperienced to lead the country. Yeah, that's what I thought. This is all about partisanship and who's gonna stand by who and defend themselves the hardest. Why don't you look at the resumes of all of the candidates combined and see who really is the best choice for president with the most experience? That would b a great op-ed piece for the Times. I say it's Joe Biden and John McCain. of course, Hillary would have been the best.
Anonymous said...
Montco Pa Dem:
First of all you should thank Mr. Huskey for making this blog available for our comments etc. and not knock the man for it. I consider Mr. Huskey to be a fine journalist, along with many other citizens blogging here.
Secondly isn't this post an exact duplicate of the post you entered previously on the blog below. When you come up with something else new or orginal, please post it. In the interim, please don't get your panties in a bind sir.
The Professor
September 5, 2008 4:50 AM
Well, as I stated before, Stan censors what he doesn't like. I have yet to see my comments of the racial bias shown in his paper or the republicrat bias either. I am shocked that he actually put my "20 months experience" comment here, as I have had a lot of comments completely ignored since they go against his idea of the perfect town. And, Montco Pa Dem agrees. So don't get your panties in a bunch, professor. I know a lot of professors and your comment shows a lack of a thought process with no research.
According to St. Candlebrook on St. Paul's Convention Verses... Yes, Palin's Speech was a "Barn-Burner" and of course she and McCain know never to place unseasoned hay in the loft because the whole structure would go up in flame along with our Freedoms, Rights and Constitution which are in the structure (barn).
Propaganda Czar (aka montco pa dem).
Your mouth runith away with words that I hope do not represent your Dem.Party here in the State. You need to show a little more refined way of stating your feelings - then maybe the undecided will consider your Candidates.
Posted September 2, 2008 9:20 AM
by Frank James
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin apparently likes a good earmark as much as most other politicians.
The watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense found that when Palin was mayor of little old Wasilla, Alaska she hired a well-connected law firm to lobby for nearly $27 million in earmarks. That's the kind of spending Sen. John McCain, the all-but-official Republican nominee typically rails against as pork.
The TCS report, which the Washington Post evidently got an exclusive on, suggests that Palin, who McCain recently named as his running mate, isn't the anti-earmark crusader that the man on the top of the Republican presidential ticket portrayed her as when he announced her as his veep choice.
Added to the information that Palin actually supported the infamous Alaskan bridge-to-nowhere before she opposed it, the emerging picture of Palin is of a fairly typical local and state politician interested in capturing as much federal taxpayer money for her constituency as possible.
Here's an important passage from the story:
Palin has also railed against earmarks, touting her opposition to a $223 million bridge in the state as a prime credential for the vice presidential nomination. "As governor, I've stood up to the old politics-as-usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-ol'-boy network," she said Friday.
As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.
Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996 on a campaign theme of "a time for change." According to a review of congressional spending by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, Wasilla did not receive any federal earmarks in the first few years of Palin's tenure.
Senate records show that Silver's firm began working for Palin in early 2000, just as federal money began flowing.
In fiscal 2000, Wasilla received a $1 million earmark, tucked into a transportation appropriations bill, for a rail and bus project in the town. And in the winter of 2000, Palin appeared before congressional appropriations committees to seek earmarks, according to a report in the Anchorage Daily News.
Palin and the Wasilla City Council increased Silver's fee from $24,000 to $36,000 a year by 2001, Senate records show.
Soon after, the city benefited from additional earmarks: $500,000 for a mental health center, $500,000 for the purchase of federal land and $450,000 to rehabilitate an agricultural processing facility. Then there was the $15 million rail project, intended to connect Wasilla with the town of Girdwood, where Stevens has a house.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that Sen. Stevens had a house in Girdwood, but if it was it certainly was one of those alignments of the stars that makes you say "hmmmmm."
This story raises further questions about the quality and amount of vetting the McCain team did before the senator from Arizona made her his vice presidential pick. McCain has made his fight against earmarks an important part of his presidential campaign.
How many times have we heard him say he will make Washington D.C. pork producers famous by publicizing their names? Plenty. Now it turns out that the woman he chose to be his running mate is quite the pork producer herself. The most forthright members of the McCain campaign would have to agree that this certainly steps on their message.
Anonymous said...
Propaganda Czar (aka montco pa dem).
Your mouth runith away with words that I hope do not represent your Dem.Party here in the State. You need to show a little more refined way of stating your feelings - then maybe the undecided will consider your Candidates.
September 9, 2008 4:02 PM
Refined, like pitbull palin spouting her lies about change? This is politics as usual. Republicrats can attack with lies, like Henry Hyde, Newt and the rest who went after Clinton, while cheating on their spouses.
And, BTW, Stan, I am copying this to Gordon's blog, just in case the bad words offend you and you censor this comment, too.
Here in PA both Rep. & Dems. are trying to sell their platform and explain how it will be accomplished. As of 1:00 pm today CNN had McCain leading Obama by one (1) point - now who says it isn't too close to call. I'm surprised that one of Bloggers expressed his concern for McCain's Cancer, but not of Biden's Tumor... Our Senator here in PA has had many problems with his crossing with cancer and usually it is just a temporary setback and years before you have to accept the given. I do hope the alignment of the stars will be with all candidates as they and the people here in Bloggsville try to convince the undecided or change the minds of those on the fence who they should vote for come November.
Did you say "Pork"?? Well if she does prefer pork and our diet of pork increases, let's hope it benefits all Americans ... Big Digs, Bridges that GO Nowhere and selling our highways to the highest bidder will give all pork lovers a full plate to think on before signing on the dotted line.
Mr. Huskey. You printed Jesse's brother blog why not mine?? I asked you if you could tell me what would happen if they find out Obama was not born in this country.
Why is it every one is taking shots at the "R's" and no one can give me an answer?
Mr. Berg will find out---wait and see.
Oh my,"I wish I knew" -- you're right!
One of the Presidential candidates WAS born out of the country and may be ineligible. What a bombshell! Wait until voters hear the news about...
John McCain.
Yep, that's right, Mr. Not-so-Maverick was born under the red, white & blue, stars & squares flag in the good, ol' heartland of...Panama? From sea to shining...canal? God bless Central America?
Absolutely true. You can read about it by clicking this link, which connects to the article. (An article, by the way, written by a libertarian during McCain's run for the Republican nomination back in January.)
Anyway, it's probably all a big nothing, just like the nonsense rumors about Obama are. But since you raised the subject, I thought you'd like to know.
Pa Dem
Thanks.....
I wish I knew
Leave a comment for what? No free speech here as you decide what you want to show or not to act like people's comments agree with yours. Grow up and smell the coffee. Your crackerjack reporters only show your bias. As usual, I will "copy and paste" on Gordon's blog as he doesn't censor anyone even if they disagree with him. palin is a loser and I hope the racists don't win this race like they did with president-select shrub!
stan the so-called man is afraid to post any comments that disagree with his mind-set, or lack of mind as he is a brain-washed republicrat!
When Ms. Palin was elected to the mayor's office, the Wasilli population was far smaller, about the size of Bridgeport, and so was it's budget.
However, very little of its revenues came from Real Estate Taxes; the large portion came from apportioned Sales Taxes, which are state controlled, and other distributed state revenues.
Her popularity with Alaskans swelled as one of her first acts was to increase the distribution of OIL royalties from $2500 to $3500 per capita. Ms. Palin's family receives $24,500 under that distribution.
My analysis of her Wasilli budget shows no sign of her being a fiscal conservative or being an innovative maverick.
Republican spinners say that mid-America housewives identify with Ms. Palin. I wonder if it is the part of her aspiring to be a beauty queen or the part of her enjoying moose hunting.
I believe her primary benefit to the McCain campaign is she serves as a diversion away from the issues which are crippling our country that McCain continues to support and she knows how to stimulate male hormones.
Mrs. Palin has made a Grand Slam Hit with the Fashion World -- but it was not she alone -- it was Mrs. McCain and Mrs. Obama that truly helped to make it a Grand Slam. I'm sorry no more various colored Pant Suits and very long jackets. I'm looking forward to seeing these three on the campaign trail- Brains & Style what a combination. Mrs. Biden I hope will be able to join her husband more often - but Lawyer Business you know....Bankruptcy Court, etc. that Delaware is famous for.
Nobody has any idea who’s going to win the presidential election, an enormous problem for a country this impatient. Remember, this is the nation that switched to digital photography because it was tired of waiting an entire hour to find out how much fun it was having. Luckily, the recent conventions told us all we need to know about the future: John McCain will win. Why? Because he and his party are demonstrating a far greater grasp of the single most important responsibility a president has to the country: Lying to it.
Every constitutional scholar knows blatant lies are the foundation of our country. Take the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “all men are created equal,” which any single gal knows certainly isn’t the case. Ladies, back me up on this one. Franklin Roosevelt continued the tradition when he told America it had nothing to fear “but fear itself,” while knowing the 1930s were full of scary things, from poverty and Nazis to spiders and heights. In recent years, President Bush transformed lying into a science, constructing an entirely separate reality that he plans to live in when his term ends.
The Democratic Convention’s biggest disappointment was Barack Obama’s complete failure to convince anyone that he’s a regular joe, possibly the simplest lie in politics. Even babies can pull that one off. If he can’t tell us his opponent will sell New Jersey to terrorists or put a tax on sleeping, how can we trust him with the important business of deceiving America into wars, recessions, and believing we’re such a danger to ourselves that we must be watched at all times? That’s what presidents do!
John McCain, on the other hand, is a confident liar doing especially impressive work on taxes and Iraq. And Sarah Palin, who many feared would be a hopelessly honest yokel, has proven herself a pro at misrepresenting her past. They understand that the only effective way to govern Americans is to lie to them, not because we’re too stupid to grasp the big issues, but because we’re too busy to care. If we wanted the truth, we’d run for president ourselves. As we’re not, you can assume we want to be lied to, and convincingly, too. It’s possible another administration built on lies will cause us more trouble, but that doesn’t really worry me. After all, it’s not my fault. I was lied to. 09152008-11:48 a.m. 0001
Which leads us to yet another misconception, which is that the president is responsible for everything that happens in this country. If that were the case, we wouldn't have a Congress and we wouldn't have a Supreme Court. So please, when you go to the polls, remember you're also casting ballots for Congress.
I'll leave you with one final misconception that has, unfortunately, been spread by the Republican Party: That being a community organizer doesn't count for experience. I'll have to break away from the party on this one. A lot of great leaders started their careers in their own neighborhoods. One in particular, Martin Luther King Jr., was one heck of a community organizer. He organized a half million people to march on Washington. He is proof positive that being a community organizer requires innumerable skills if you are going to be able to pull off such a historic event.
So Barack Obama putting community organizer on his resume shouldn't be considered a reason to attack his experience.
Now, the fact that he never really organized anything as earth-moving as the march on Washington, or even a march on Springfield, is another subject altogether.
It really is easy to see how misconceptions can be misconstrued, isn't it?
Why does Obama have to organize a march? Did McSame? Did Palin? You insult Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., playing off a petty remark at the end of your "opinion" page.
091508 - 3:59 p.m. 0002
Anonymous - On Candidates/wife and their choice of clothing/hair style and the ability to make great presentations. This is an added attraction to the campaigns. Mrs. Biden will find little time on the Campaign Trail, judging the Crisis in the Banking/Wall Street Arena. I do believe her husband and McCain were a part of Congress when all Banks wanted to become a full service Bank and Wall Street Brokers started to do the Banking Business and out went the Banking Examiners and in came Auditors. The formula used to determine the solvency of a bank were scrapped. Now, how do they unravel this situation?? Our Fed. Reserve can only help them so much. Look for the foreign market to go down hill because they too were too greedy. Now we know the Cause and Effect - but how are our new candidates (both Presidential/Congress) going to solve or help solve this problem. We truly need great people working in the "Cabinet" and also Congress. Your Choice in November!
When voters start paying attention to the styles of the candidates wives, this nation is in serious trouble, apart from the financial crisis.
Has everyone forgotten how to establish priorities? Has everyone forgotten about objectivity.
Have we become so jaded by the profusion of lies, that we discount even the most obvious truth as a lie.
As a former sailor, I'm embarrassed by the former navy commander. I thought that being an officer and a gentleman meant you placed personal honesty and truth above all when you accept that commission.
Perhaps his oath as a Senator obviated his previous commitments to personal integrity. As someone who calls himself a Baptist, why hasn't he been baptized? Politics or lies, neither is a good answer.
While I respect his heroism during Vietnam, and understand his driving ambition, when he says he would rather lose the election than lose the war, I am confounded by his ignorance that a war can only be won when the opposing national power concedes defeat. That's impossible in Iraq. And since there is not a government that controls all of Afghanistan, it's equally impossible there, as the Russians discovered.
By Jim Popkin, NBC News Senior Investigative Producer
As a vice presidential candidate, Gov. Sarah Palin has railed against federal earmarks, or congressional funding for pork-barrel projects. "In our state, we reformed the abuses of earmarks," Palin recently boasted to a rally in Lancaster, Pa. "We championed earmark reform up there," she said, "to stop Congress from wasting public money on things that didn't serve the public interest."
But musty records culled from the archives of the Wasilla, Alaska, city government reveal that Palin was directly involved in soliciting millions of dollars in earmarks for Wasilla when she was mayor. And she got help from a well-connected Washington lobbyist.
In a monthly status report to the city on March 7, 2000, newly hired "City Lobbyist" Steve Silver describes how the Palin administration had requested $6.6 million in federal earmarks for water and sewer improvements for Wasilla, and another $1 million for police equipment. Mayor Palin reviewed and signed the lobbyist's report, dated April 5, 2000.
Those earmark requests have not previously been disclosed, said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator for the non-profit Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group. Ashdown said the lobbyist's report offers a rare window into a normally closed-door process. "The document you've found is a peek behind the curtain of how earmarks get approved in Washington," he said.
Steve Silver, the Wasilla lobbyist, is a former top staffer for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who now is under federal indictment for allegedly failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his Alaska home. He has pleaded not guilty. Under Palin, the city paid Silver about $40,000 a year to lobby on behalf of Wasilla (the contract began years before Stevens was indicted.)
In Silver's April 2000 memo to Palin, he writes that he had spent the month of February making appropriations requests to Sen. Stevens, a proud distributor of earmarks to his homestate of Alaska. "I am very hopeful that a good funding package will be approved later in the year," Silver writes.
Silver also attaches the five-page letter he sent directly to Senator Stevens and his staff, requesting the federal earmarks. Silver breaks down why Wasilla, "one of the fastest growing communities in Alaska," needs federal help, and says the small town "has tremendous needs which the State of Alaska cannot meet."
"This further confirms that Palin was very supportive of the earmark system," Ashdown said. "She was getting very specific feedback from this lobbyist."
In the letter, Silver asks Stevens for $6.6 million for wells, a pump house, a reservoir and piping to improve water and sewer service for the city of 7,000 people. Silver then asks his former boss for police equipment for Wasilla, including $100,000 worth of radar units, bulletproof vests, Remington shotguns, Colt rifles and other gear. (The police earmark seems to have shrunk from the initial $1 million request.)
It's unclear how successful Palin was in 2000 in securing earmarks for her state, Ashdown said. Part of the problem many critics have with earmarks is that they often are handed out in near secrecy, with few fingerprints left behind.
But Ashdown said that his research shows that as Mayor of Wasilla, between 1996-2002, Palin helped get nearly $27 million in earmarked federal funding. As previously reported, Palin and Silver were instrumental in bringing in millions for a local commuter rail project, a regional dispatch center, bus and airport facilities and other Wasilla projects.
In the lobbying documents, Silver also encourages Palin and other city officials to visit Washington, D.C., to meet with Sen. Stevens and the rest of the Alaska political delegation. "It is always a good idea for representatives of the City to meet personally with them during the process on their turf, so to speak," he writes.
As the Alaska papers have reported, Palin took him up on the invitation and began making regular D.C. trips. "It was about being face to face with those who were actually writing the budget," Palin told the Anchorage Daily News in 2006.
"We've been really successful getting earmarks," Wasilla public works director Archie Giddings added. "If we get a federal earmark, it's a direct result of lobbying," Giddings said. "You don't get an earmark unless you lobby for it."
091808 4:48 p.m. 0003
Video of Palin (prior to her being selected for VP) saying that Obama message of change resonates with Alaskans and no embracing of the status quo!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO6dmBm1SFw
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!
WHAT TO WEAR ON ELECTION DAY??
Time is running out for most candidates to make their message heard...but the Poll in the TH suggests that most people are worried what they should wear TO and AT the Polls. WHO CARES? The RULE at ALL POLLS IS THAT YOU MAY NOT WEAR A CAMPAIGN BUTTON OR ANY PROMOTIONAL ITEM INSIDE THE POLLING PLACE. Promotional Material must leave the Polling Booth with you is another BIGGY.
So, come as you are, but vote. If you do not own some type of Jacket/sweater to cover your so called patriotic "T" maybe you have a neighbor that would be willing to help you with your wardrobe.
Laws/Rules are made for a purpose...less friction inside the Polls where the Business is transacted...controversies are outside away from the building. Remember: To and At - who cares...but INSIDE - cover up your colors!!!
Mrs. Biden is an elementary school educator. What is the comment about "lawyer business and bankruptcy court" about?...I must have missed something.
Stan - The COUNTY should send out or place on the FRONT PAGE of ALL COUNTY NEWSPAPERS the information that Anonymous gave on 9/24 regarding the law/rules within the Polling Place. We have always had some very "self-important" people campaigning outside our Polls and usually they try to make it appear that the People working inside are not following the rules. So, to educate these people or first time voters, the above rules must appear quite frequently, plus posted at EACH POLLING PLACE. NO SHOWING YOUR COLORS INSIDE THE POLLING PLACE...
Biden's Wife is a Teacher and the State of Delaware is noted for Low/No Taxes and Bankruptcy. There was a rumor going around that the family had some problems, but you know rumors are just that.
Stan, I, along with some locals that get together to play cards will be watching the Palin/Biden Debate. I really do not see how they view the world is all that interesting. But, their Job Description is - knowledge of how the President sees things and their understanding of the facts and how the Cabinet/Congress fits into the whole process should be interesting. They do get that Big Tie Breaker Vote remember? So, leadership skills is truly needed.
As far as what to wear at the polls...I agree who cares? BUT< the post about not being allowed to wear political t-shirts, buttons inside the polling places ONLY APPLIES TO POLL WORKERS AND COMMITTEEPERSONS. If you show up weaing an Obama or McCain shirt, button, hat, etc. as a regular citizen, you may go right in and vote. YOU DO NOT NEED TO COVER IT UP!!!!
I have been watching the take on Palin on SNL. It is great - and to Palin's credit she takes it like a well-seasoned professional. My vote is McCain/Palin in November.
1st dude and porky earmarked palin are found to have abused the powers of the governor's office. Not in your headlines yet, but it's all over the net in other headlines. And, mcsame booed by his own rabid supporters who were unleashed by the pitbull with lipstick and her lies. But, she has the nerve to sling her moose patties while "clearing" herself of troopergate. I can't wait for the next SNL installment about this liar and the erratic loose cannon. Grand slam? Maybe the slammer for the hockey puck and her 1st dude radical instead. ROFL! 101108 3:28 a.m. 0017
Sun Oct 12, 5:35 PM Pacific
Pathological Liar Watch, Continued
The McCain campaign responds to Tapper's post about Palin's lie regarding the Troopergate report. Their basic argument: the report cleared us because we disagree with its findings. Truly phenomenal.
Sun Oct 12, 4:34 PM Pacific
Pathological Liar Watch - Troopergate Edition
Sarah Palin, talking with Alaska media yesterday (via Jake Tapper):
Well, I'm very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that.
Um, that's a total lie. The report says:
Finding Number One
For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides
"The legislature reaffirms that each public offer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
Andrew Sullivan calls them the odd lies of Sarah Palin. Amen.
Well, well... some people are commenting on trooper-gate and the morals of this "candidate" for VP... I would never vote for someone like her or her running mate.
October 13, 2008 1:35 PM
Anonymous 10/7, you must have missed Ms. Gibbons article on 9/22 titled "Changing Booth". The Montgomery County Commissioners, sitting as the county election board, this week reiterated the county's position that all electioneering, including so-called "passive" electioneering, is banned inside the county's 418 polling places on Election Day...So, remove the campaign caps,buttons and cover the "T" shirt with promotional figures on it before entering the polling place or you will not be able to vote. Passarella explained his department solicitor's take on the situation.."There is NO gray area here."
More distortions, this time from a real fruitcake for mcsame and moose-patty "hold me accountable - NOT!" paylin:
Just last Friday, a woman told Senator John McCain at a town-hall-style meeting, “I have read about him,” and “he’s an Arab.” Mr. McCain corrected her.
Until this month, the man who is widely credited with starting the cyberwhisper campaign that still dogs Mr. Obama was a secondary character in news reports, with deep explorations of his background largely confined to liberal blogs.
False claims
But an appearance in a documentary-style program on the Fox News Channel watched by three million people last week thrust the man, Andy Martin, and his past into the foreground. The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government.
An examination of legal documsents and election filings, along with interviews with his acquaintances, revealed Mr. Martin, 62, to be a man with a history of scintillating if not always factual claims. He has left a trail of animosity — some of it provoked by anti-Jewish comments — among political leaders, lawyers and judges in three states over more than 30 years.
He is a law school graduate, but his admission to the Illinois bar was blocked in the 1970s after a psychiatric finding of “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character.”
Though he is not a lawyer, Mr. Martin went on to become a prodigious filer of lawsuits, and he made unsuccessful attempts to win public office for both parties in three states, as well as for president at least twice, in 1988 and 2000. Based in Chicago, he now identifies himself as a writer who focuses on his anti-Obama Web site and press releases.
'I’m a colorful person'
Mr. Martin, in a series of interviews, did not dispute his influence in Obama rumors.
“Everybody uses my research as a takeoff point,” Mr. Martin said, adding, however, that some take his writings “and exaggerate them to suit their own fantasies.”
October 16, 2008 9:34 AM
0021-ptt
Joe the plumber seems to be a plant by mcsame and moose patty paylin...
Wurzelbacher hasn't paid the taxes he already owes, according to the state of Ohio, which placed a tax lien against him for $1,182.98 on Jan. 26, 2007, that is still active. A second judgment against him was filed in March, 2007 by St. Charles Mercy Hospital for $1,261, records show.
The company McCain said the plumber wants to buy has annual sales of $510,000, according to an analysis by Dun & Bradstreet. That makes it unlikely that Wurzelbacher's purchase would give him a taxable income of more than $200,000 -- leaving him unaffected by Obama's proposal to roll back tax breaks for those earning more than $250,000, said Steven Bankler, a certified public accountant in San Antonio, who counts plumbers and other trade professionals as his clients.
Few Businesses Affected
Few such small businesses have enough income to be affected by Obama's tax changes, Bankler said.
One other problem in making Wurzelbacher a symbol of the overtaxed: he would pay just $773 more in taxes under Obama's plan than McCain's if he did earn an adjusted gross income of $280,000, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a Washington research group that is critical of high taxes.
Earning that much would make Wurzelbacher very unusual among small businesses. According to the Internal Revenue Service, most small businesses organize in ways that allow their owners to pay taxes at personal rates rather than as corporations, which impose a second layer of taxes. Almost 95 percent of 21.5 million owners of small businesses who file as sole proprietors had receipts under $100,000 in 2007.
Another 4 million businesses organize as so-called subchapter S corporations, according to IRS data; less than 5 percent of them earn more than $200,000.
`No Joe Six-Pack'
If Wurzelbacher managed to earn $280,000, ``he's not an average Joe Six-Pack,'' said Gerald Prante, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation.
``Rather than a game-changing blow for the McCain campaign, `Joe the plumber' is turning into a bad case of blowback,'' said Rogan Kersh, a public service professor at New York University.
Still, McCain is making an appeal to the white working class, a demographic ``disproportionately represented in many swing states,'' said Karlyn Bowman, an analyst at Washington's American Enterprise Institute. ``That's Joe's group.''
The tax lien was filed in January 2007, six months after the state certified a delinquency for the taxes, said Ray Ann Estep, section chief for revenue-recovery services for the Ohio attorney general.
``Unfortunately, sometimes people don't resolve their debts as quickly as we would like them to,'' she said.
No License
Wurzelbacher doesn't have a plumber's license and isn't registered as a plumber in Ohio, the Toledo Blade reported on its Web site yesterday. His employer has a state plumbing license, the newspaper said.
Before living in Ohio, Wurzelbacher was a resident of Mesa, Arizona, in McCain's home state, according to property records.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aJgQMVekT3Jg&refer=us
October 17, 2008 10:32 AM
0023 ptt
I couldn't believe it when I heard it. Then I read it over and over. It's in print, it must be true.
I kept saying that McCain would never make such an outrageous statement that "Sarah Palin is the most knowledgeable person in the United States about energy."
I said, he meant to say that Palin has the most energy of any woman he's seen in the U.S. That's a bit of hyperbola for sure, but after all, ridiculous overstatements and misleading promises, or if you want, you can call them lies, expected of candidates for public office.
You might even expect grander and grander lies from the most grand offices. Then those who seek the presidency can take the gold medal for liemanship.
But what if it were true?
If Sarah Palin were the most knowledgeable expert in the field of energy, wouldn't you say that was a pretty good reason to vote for McCain and her. Surely the present field of energy experts leave a lot to be desired, as the price of everything including milk jumps based on the futures market of crude oil.
So here it is, the U.S. has the greatest oil reserves in the world, when you consider oil sands and oil shale, and they are talking about drilling offshore in no man's land. Even McCain's "top" energy expert sees that as the solution. You know,she's the one that can see Russia from her house.
Maybe with her Superwoman vision and there being no curvature of the earth in Alaska she learned a lot of that esso-teric stuff.
Every member of the flat earth society will agree with that.
Bill DeAngelis
Bill D. Some things you probably have not thought thru...The size alone when you are compairing Alaska with PA - Del - Ill or NY with all of its natural resources. Almost any 5th Grader (sorry students!) would be able to tell you that Palins' State has it all and McCain is correct. Take a trip to Canada and over to Alaska, then come back and tell us if McCain is correct or not. It's an amazing area. Do include Mt. McKinley, Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island while you are doing your research on the truth of McCain's statement. As for seeing Russia that is most evident. Homework, homework before becoming a doubting Thomas.
I usually do my homework.
It's 21 miles from tiny Wales on the mainland to Little Diomede and Russia Large (Bolshoi) Diomede, and it is a two miles between them. So I know that on a clear day I would expect you can not only see Russia from Alaska but during low tide and the stars being in alignment, maybe even walk to it.
Alaska is a large and wondrous state. It's 700 miles, as the Artic Geese fly from Wales to Anchorage and 30 miles further to Wasilli a town with just a bit more people than Bridgeport.
I've seen the snow fly on Sitka on the 4th of July. But what in heaven's name does that have to do with Governor Palin being this nation's top energy expert?
I think McCain picking Palin was a great choice...she has a quick take on people and events concerning our country & comes out smiling. Her experience is truly more when it comes to government - Obama with his much heard reference to why he is qualified - a dream because my mother had some problems,my grandparents took care of me and I had the chance to travel and get a good education-- is not experience in running a government. A "Dream" will certainly use up a lot of our money and the VP, in this case is from Delaware that knows how to fix all taxes when they come up. We understand Powell & Clinton have joined his forces - for what reason?? Advisory - not likely...they have dreams too. We know McCain has Lieberman - good solid choice - check his background/voting record. Lots of homework to do before 11/4
Wonder how much that "Michael Jackson" jacket cost out of the $150,000 that the RNC spent sprucing paylin off. And her $50,000 charges to the state of Alaska now include for her kids to travel to see the 1st dude snowmobile.
But the RNC now says the clothes will go to charity. I think $92 for a baby outfit is outlandish and the rest is beyond the pale for a "hockey mom". $4,000+ in two months for hair styles and $13,000+ for a make-up artist. Wow, and you wonder why people want change and don't buy into the "trickle down" bs. 102308 12:43 p.m. and wondering where my other posts are... Censored???
Well the cost of a baby's outfit (1), not including a jacket, socks, shoes and diapers, in our local department store would be close to $250.00. Maybe getting your hair cut, etc. & makeup for TV would also be quite expensive. $30.00 usually is the charge for a local styling plus washing and a tip (20%). It is really necessary for anyone working out in the public to be well dressed...I have no problem with that - it's better than "meet you at the local and have a few brews and we will discuss current events" & wearing only "T" shirts with Big Ears or some Animal on it. I believe a well dressed professional is a must and their clothing, will show how they feel about themself and the job they are seeking or are presently in.
Don't know where you're shopping, but an outfit with hat and a baby bouncer was less than $90 where I shopped. And, mcsame was against that kind of spending, so once again, the rnc is pandering to the guys that like that librarian with spiked heeled boots...
When watching Joeseph Lieberman's Republican National Convention speech, one should remember that not so long ago the Connecticut Senator was touting himself as Barack Obama's mentor, political enabler, and firm advocate. Nowadays, of course, Lieberman's prerogative is to question his colleague's fitness to serve as commander in chief. His backing of John McCain takes precedent over past alliances.
With that in mind, a reader sends over this video from 2006, when the Connecticut Independent-Democrat promised to help Obama "reach to the stars" and "realize not just the dreams he has for himself but the dreams we all have for him and our blessed country."
Some help. How times and politics have changed.
102808 12:21 p.m. ssdd 0002
October 26, 2008
LIEBERMAN HASN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO HIMSELF.... Joe Lieberman adopted the role of Republican attack dog early on, but as the election draws near, he's hoping the political world has a very short memory.
Lieberman, a self-proclaimed "independent Democrat" who was chosen by McCain to make the case against Obama at the Republican National Convention in early September, said his comments have been within bounds.
"When I go out, I say, 'I have a lot of respect for Sen. Obama. He's bright. He's eloquent.'"
My hunch is, Lieberman sees the direction of the political winds, and hopes to convince Democrats that while he's been a McCain sycophant, he's always been "respectful" towards Obama.
Lieberman, in other words, has to hope Democrats haven't been paying any attention at all. The party is supposed to forget, for example, when Lieberman argued that Obama doesn't put "country first."
And the time Lieberman said it was a "good question" to ask whether Obama is a "Marxist."
And the time Lieberman ironically accused the Obama campaign of "sleazy tactics."
And the time Lieberman, at the Republican National Convention, falsely accused Obama of trying to undermine the troops
"Respectful"? Nice try, Joe.
102808 12:25 p.m. ssdd 0003
Post a Comment