Obama Campaign: "Very pleased with Palin."

CNN reporting that Obama-Biden campaign is preparing a statement.

Palin Rationale

Quick thoughts from Chris Bowers on why McCain chose Palin:

1. Takes Alaska off the table. In most elections, that might seem unnecessary. However, Obama was leading in the most recent Alaska poll, so this year it actually mattered. Palin's approval rating in Alaska is pretty high (64% in the most recent poll I could find), so this probably moves the state off the table.

2. This is the Sarkozy strategy that Gingrich talked about last year. In this vein, Palin is designed to help McCain on ethics, and in distancing McCain from governing Republicans. The idea here is that she was able to win the Alaska Governorship in 2006, a Democratic year, by making corruption charges in her own party, and defeating an incumbent in a primary. Look for McCain to start trumpeting his role in exposing the Abramoff scandal now, too. It could be an effective message, as it makes McCain look willing to stand up against his own party and take a hard line on ethics. I worried about this message last month.The problem for Palin is that she is now embroiled in a nepotism scandal.

3. Obviously, designed to help McCain with PUMA's and wavering Clinton supporters. The decision was probably made after Clinton was not chosen as VP, and during all the coverage of Clinton supporters during the convention. However, for that purpose, the pick probably came too late. Most of Obama's current bounce is from that exact same group. McCain should have announced on Sunday to peel off more of those supporters.

4. For all of the reasons listed above, it is designed to make McCain look "mavericky." Picking someone from Alaska, picking a woman, picking someone who ran against her own party, picking someone who wasn't talking about that much, picking someone who, at least at one time, fought corruption in her own party--in many ways, it is exactly the right pick for McCain to bolster his image.

The key to fighting Palin is to hit her on the scandal she is in now, to point out McCain hypocrisy on experience and "being ready to lead," and to use a lot of Hillary Clinton.

I admit that Palin and Condoleezza Rice were the only two possible picks that ever actually worried me on the Republican side. Now, however, after Palin has been picked, it just feels kind of lame and obviously political. The only reason that McCain picked Palin is that he thinks she will help him get elected. The pandering electability of it all should appear obvious to just about everyone. Clearly, McCain didn't care about or believe in the attacks he was making on Obama's experience. He just wants to win.

Jerome Armstrong: Palin? Yikes!

Make no mistake, Palin is a gamechanger pick for McCain. She, along with Whitman, was one of the two potential candidates that I thought had this potential for McCain. No one on the Democratic side saw this coming. I saw plenty of support for Palin in the rightwing blogosphere over the past few months. In fact, whenever there was a poll, she would win going away. Is she Quayle-like, or not ready? Its all going to play out here in the next few hours as she speaks, coming up in 15 minutes. That will be the impact, not all the chatter around the pick.

But you know, this is a really good pick for our nation. The Republican party has now opened itself up to having a women on the ticket for the first time in history. Palin is wrong on nearly everything in her policies, but its another powerful breakthrough for the political system.

-MyDD

Mallika, its not the Women vote. Its for rallying the Religious Right.

Kos: Yup, rallying the base

As much as the know-nothing media talked about divided Democrats, Obama felt no need to use his VP pick to rally the base and unite his party. Biden was picked precisely because Obama felt he was the best pick for the ticket, not because he needed to mollify one group or another.

Now we see McCain's pick of Quayle Palin, and it's clear that he was forced to kow-tow to the Huckabee/Dobson wing of the Republican Party. We already know she is virulently anti-choice. But did you know she is a creationist?

_______________
"The volatile issue of teaching creation science in public schools popped up in the Alaska governor's race this week when Republican Sarah Palin said she thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the state's public classrooms. Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion of Wednesday night's televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she said, "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information."
_________________________

http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/2006/10/27/intelligent_design_and_the_ala/

Two years ago, Palin was part-time mayor of a village of 6,000. Today, she's supposedly ready to step in to run this country in the eventuality that Sen. McCentury can no longer perform those duties? Right. This was a sop to the Right, which was unwilling to accept a pro-choice Republican on the ticket, and a pathetic and hilariously desperate effort to grab the 17 holdout PUMAs (who are fake Democrats already willing to vote for McCain anyway).

[Daily Kos]

Trapper John: Worse Than Quayle

So it's official - John McCain has thrown a Hail Mary and tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The trad med types are ga-ga about what a game-changing choice Palin is. And they're right. It is a game-changer. The Palin pick takes a race already leaning toward Obama and pushes it further into his corner.

Why? Because Sarah Palin is the most unqualified VP nominee in modern history, with the possible exception of Admiral Stockdale.

She's worse than Quayle.

After his selection in 1988, Dan Quayle was rightly lambasted as a dim, inexperienced lightweight with no real pertinent experience who was named by George H. W. Bush as a gimmick - a case of an old, out-of touch candidate trying to appear relevant by teaming up with a much younger pol. Now, Palin's not Quayle - by all accounts, she's quite bright. But she's fantastically inexperienced, far more so than Quayle was when he was tapped. And she possesses an attribute far worse than Quayle's stupidity - she's a big corrupt wheel in Alaska's big corrupt Republican Party, arguably the most corrupt political apparatus in the United States.

We're told that McCain really wanted to pick his old friend Joe Lieberman to run with him, but that Karl Rove and the rest of the elite Republican politburo nixed the idea, and told McCain that he had to take a conservative. And as he has at every step of his campaign, the one-time "maverick" sold out to the venal, icy core of the Republican leadership, and acquiesced by selecting Palin. Palin is really a Republican after Rove's heart - she's a product of the party that produced the indicted Ted Stevens and ethically tarred Don Young, and she's embroiled in a Troopergate scandal of her own, with state investigators looking at serious allegations that Palin abused her office by pressuring the state Public Safety Commissioner to fire "an Alaska state trooper involved in a rough divorce from Palin's sister." Sounds like a woman after Karl Rove's heart.

In addition to further associating McCain with the Republican culture of corruption, the Palin pick undermines one of his main anti-Obama narratives. It's going to be laughable to hear McCain assail Obama's supposed lack of experience after naming the first-term governor -- only one-and-a-half years into her term -- of the 47th largest state to be his running mate. Palin lacks any foreign policy experience, and is bereft of even the two core areas of policy expertise that governors are supposed to bring to a ticket -- ag policy (Alaska doesn't have much in the way of traditional agriculture) and urban affairs (Anchorage is the 65th largest city in the US, behind giants such as Corpus Christi). She's easily the least experienced running mate in recent memory, which is pretty scary, given McCain's age and his history of cancer.

By picking Palin, McCain revealed his desperation to make a splash to rival the genuine excitement generated by the Obama campaign. But desperation leads to poor decisions -- and McCain's Hail Mary, like most last second desperation moves, is destined to fail miserably. He's smeared himself with the pungent mud of Alaska Republican corruption, while cutting the legs out from one of his most reliable attacks against Obama. And he's presented Americans with the prospect of electing a dangerous neophyte to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, behind a man whose life expectancy is less than two presidential terms.

We all expected McCain to pick someone underwhelming to run with him. But we never could have expected a pick worse than Quayle. Yet that's what we got. Thanks, John!

(And for those who are certain to point out that Bush-Quayle won in '88 -- do you really think that Barack Obama is remotely close to Michael Dukakis in political skill? No? Didn't think so.)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/104611/395/220/578471

No, Senator McCain, I am not an idiot.

You think I'm stupid.

You think I'm going to fall for it.

You think that because I loved Hillary Clinton, gave money to Hillary Clinton, stood in the freezing rain for two hours to see her speak, put a sticker on my car, wore my pin around town, and supported Hillary Clinton to the very end, that I will vote for you.

You think I will forget every single one of my personal and political values just because there's a vagina on your pro-war, anti-woman, anti-science ticket.

You, Senator McCain, are wrong.

I'd love to see a woman in the White House. I would have loved to see a woman on Obama's ticket.

But not 'this' woman.

Not a woman who thinks decisions about my body should be made by hateful old men in Washington.

Not a woman who thinks science is a myth.

Not a woman who thinks the Republican party has anything to offer besides more war, higher taxes, oil dependency, and hate.

I am not falling for it, Senator McCain.

Because what you do not understand is that my support for Hillary was not about anatomy. It was about values. Hillary Clinton articulated and represented my dreams.

You do not. Not even with a vagina on your pathetic ticket.

This changes nothing.

No way. No how. No McCain.

Mallika, if you weren't so pretty and sweet, I'd call you a dumbass...I just can't do that to you. If Gotham or your dad had written this, I'd say it, and you'd kick me off again.

Having said that...this is the dumbest thing you've ever written....

No we don't think women will vote purely for a woman...we do think people will vote for the right person....she is a bedrock conservative, and people will vote for this ticket...

It's gonna be funny when they win...and the Repubs, you know...that party of hate, and glass ceilings...will have put the first woman in that position...oh that will be rich...y'all will be so frustrated you'll chew on your own ears!!

Your second paragraph is quite humourous!! your little diatribe about experience....is a giggler! Obama and the gasbag...vs.....beauty and the beast!!

I think your little boy blue is a goner!!

It's gonna be so funny...that Wednesday in November, when y'all get up to headlines reading, "First Woman VP in American History!!"

He he he he he...

I think she's a hunter too....she doesn't have to go put on the dog like John Kerry...that is important in middle America...you know...out here where all of us hicks live....low info voters... that y'all like to think doesn't exist...

have a great day...

ps....isn't it funny that Obama, the candidate of change....picked someone who has been in the Senate since '72. McCain...the old whitehaired dude...picked the fresh faced outsider!!!

Can you imagine how Hillary is gnashing her teeth right now?? Whoa daddy!!!

Obama shoulda picked her!! Gotham is talking about srewups? Little Boy Blue....'done messed up'!!

This is rich....I may not have to hold my nose now when voting for Mac!!

By the way...some yo yo in Newsweek said that if Obama is not elected it proves that America is racist... So now...can we say that if Obama is elected...it proves American is chauvinistic? Huh? does it?

:)

Funny . . .

McCain's audience is a bunch of brunette "white" people, with a few blond/blondes in the crowd but of course they are just confused . . .

Democrats are brown, black, white, red, skin and hair color: I have always firmly believed diversity is the spice of life.

Palin. Red in tooth and claw as she presently screeches for McCain ("there is only one candidate who has truly fought for his country, John Mccain" Uh-o, be scared of Iran and Russia).

The Palin looking type of women so coldly look down at you from their perch, that judge Judy type with haranguing tone and all, on the bench as they sentence you to jail and fines, and they appear so benevolently predatory, as they know a courthouse full of goons are ready to put the smackdown on us little ones . . .

black, brown, and ill-white colored goons at that . . .

funny

Demcoartioc party has many women leaders with excellent record paart from Hillary Clinton; Katleen Sibelius, Janet Napolitano and Claire McCaskill. Sibelius was a strong front-runner for the VP pick. She is a progressive and popular governor in a Red State(Kansas). I would have loved her to be VP.

Democratic party has many women leaders with excellent record apart from Hillary Clinton; Katleen Sibelius, Janet Napolitano and Claire McCaskill. Sibelius was a strong front-runner for the VP pick. She is a progressive and popular governor in a Red State(Kansas). I would have loved her to be VP.

The very fact that you left wing kooks are so bent out of shape...tells me that Mac hit a home run with this one!

Salina ranting, ruth puking, Mallika spazzing, Irivnechrisjohnpreityfreeya cutting, pasting, and whining....awwww.....what a great day!

This lady has executive experience....it could be argued that she is more fit for pres than any of the other three!

She hasn't slept with domestic terrorists, she hasn't been attending a rabidly anti-american church....

God...this is exciting.....

She will clean Biden's clock....he'll look like an old stale gasbag up beside her. McCain already looks like a senior statesman beside little boy blue.....

Oh yeah.... go ahead.... puke, gag, spew venom... Nobama is going down
down
down
down
down
down
down

:)

I like you Skinny, your really funny! My husband said this morning, "I have never seen two people wanna lose so bad" I laughed hard for five minutes! cause its so true! If he would have picked Hillary, this would have been a done deal. But I suppose there entertaining us well this late August! Get ready for the rodeo, fans. Hee Haw!

Cheers

What do you think, Richard....this delightful 'fiction' unfolding? I mean superimposed, all of it, not just America.

Who's the Morph-master?

I can't wait for the final shake-out!

Palin wonders "what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"

Go to 2:50... in the Video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA

Palin: "As for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

My favorite part of the video is when Kudlow has to explain that the OVP is indeed, important.

Not to overlook the first part of this video, where Kudlow's question about her ongoing ethics investigation is answered with "it's cool." Like totally, Sara!

nailbender:

the most damaging part of the quote, imo,

is this:

"We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

She needs to read the Constitution. The Vice President is a national position. Telegraphing her intention to use the position to advance the interests of one state is a huge gift, not to the GOP, but to the Dems.

Palin wonders "what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"

Go to 2:50... in the Video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA

Palin: "As for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

My favorite part of the video is when Kudlow has to explain that the OVP is indeed, important.

Not to overlook the first part of this video, where Kudlow's question about her ongoing ethics investigation is answered with "it's cool." Like totally, Sara!

nailbender:

the most damaging part of the quote, imo,

is this:

"We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

She needs to read the Constitution. The Vice President is a national position. Telegraphing her intention to use the position to advance the interests of one state is a huge gift, not to the GOP, but to the Dems.

There ya go.

Here ya go.

Hey skinny,

I'm a fan of inappropriate humor, not inappropriate VP choices. :-)

Here ya go.

This isn't the first time McCain has gone for a younger attractive woman.

One wonders if it'll be the last time...

Yo Salina. McCain picked a vagina.

Cuntry First!

Something is wrong with the system isn't there? Usually, after I hit post I hit refresh and it post, no fuss, no muss. Not workin today

Oops, sorry for multi posts, it seems the system is not keeping up. Whats new..I LOVE this shake down!

Make awkward sexual advances, not war. lol.

2 (count em) years experience as governor of the least populated state in the union, before that, mayor of a town of 6500 (Giving her VP acceptance speech to more people than the town she was a mayor two years ago!) And McCain is going to question Obama's fitness to be President???

Yeah, he tends to prefer young attractive and petite women.

Because he's short.

Short men don't like women to be taller than they are. lol.

Babies, Guns, Jesus.....She just wrapped up all the Red states....those ones totttering on the edge...they just fell back in the red...

The media is transfixed with Hurricane Gustav..Cat. 3.....Well...lemme tell you...Hurricane Sara, Cat. 10 Just blew into Dayton, blew the left wings mind, blew Hillary's glory to smithereens, and made Mac look like the Candidate of change....

Those customers I'm calling on this afternoon...they be in trouble....I'm blowing about Cat 5 myself right now....

To parrot Little Boy Blue's wife...."Today, for the first time in years...I'm proud to be a Republican..."

Now...I really have to get to work...

catch y'all later tonight....

wooooohawww!!!

:)

Hello Everyone,

Palin was most likely picked for the evangelical pro life vote and the most important factor, to the repubs,....Alaskan oil, and people needing jobs in Alaska will want the jobs drilling can bring them, they will not care about the environment.

She will only get the Hillary vote if that vote was just for Hillary being a woman and not for the issues Hillary stood for...The majority of Hillary voters are pro life by being pro choice.

They will make an interesting pair...the ole white haired dude and his gal pal VP...

The Barak Obama has a lot of hard work ahead of them. There is a lot at stake for this Nation and the choice lies in whether we are ready to step into the future and grow or whether we will regress.

With the republican's choice of Palin as McCain's Vice President we as a Nation are a step closer to the denial of Women their right to choose and with this denial goes a very basic individual freedom for women and delivers that power into the hands of those who care not for the one but who through bureaucratic indifference are careless with the many.

Abortion is choice

ruth

Obama and Biden congratulate Palin

A gracious candidate while the staff whacks away -- Barack Obama and Joe Biden congratulate Palin:

"We send our congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and her family on her designation as the republican nominee for Vice President. It is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics. While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign."

As an outsider, I wonder about another possibility...

Could it be that this woman is McCain's straight and direct line to the oil fields in Alaska?

And that this has been cooked up already a long time ago?

Politics, a very dirty ego game?

Mieke

Hello Everyone,

Palin was most likely picked for the evangelical pro life vote and the most important factor, to the repubs,....Alaskan oil, and people needing jobs in Alaska will want the jobs drilling can bring them, they will not care about the environment.

She will only get the Hillary vote if that vote was just for Hillary being a woman and not for the issues Hillary stood for...The majority of Hillary voters are pro life by being pro choice.

They will make an interesting pair...the ole white haired dude and his gal pal VP...

The Barak Obama has a lot of hard work ahead of them. There is a lot at stake for this Nation and the choice lies in whether we are ready to step into the future and grow or whether we will regress.

With the republican's choice of Palin as McCain's Vice President we as a Nation are a step closer to the denial of Women their right to choose and with this denial goes a very basic individual freedom for women and delivers that power into the hands of those who care not for the one but who through bureaucratic indifference are careless with the many.

Abortion is choice

ruth

I keep veering between laughing my head off at Lady Quayle and being very, very, VERY insulted. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Do they think we can't tell the difference between Clinton and Palin just because they both have the same gender? Christ, I was hearing all over the place about how Obama couldn't pick any other woman besides Clinton for the veep slot because her supporters would accept no substitutions. I have some problems with that logic, but I did agree with the underlying sentiment-- that Clinton earned her support because of who she is and what she brings to the table, and that her gender, while important, was far from being the whole picture.

McCain just showed us that he really doesn't see the difference between Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. He honestly thinks that the ONLY reason Clinton got the votes she did was because she is a woman. In pandering to her supporters, he's showing just how little he understands them and how little he thinks of them.

I wasn't a Clinton supporter, but by God I can see the difference and Clinton is far superior. We need Clinton and Pelosi on CNN to underline the difference, STAT: for Democrats, women are powerful politicians in their own right, who help shape the platform and the debate. For Republicans, women are a prop. Does Palin's inclusion mean that we're going to see the Republicans talking about wage disparity, about discrimination, about universal access to birth control and comprehensive sex ed, about the high cost of child care and the toll that takes on working women, particularly single mothers? I don't see it happening.

I will say this: at the very, very least, we're seeing that the Republicans grasp that having women in power is Somehow Kinda Important. They don't seem to understand WHY it's important, but, oh well, it's a start. Baby steps. Hopefully this won't scare the Republicans off of a REAL female candidate in the future-- provided that they can ever find one.

And finally, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Republicans react. I mean, a LOT.

Hi Ruth,

As an outsider, I think you are right on as far as the Alaskan oil is concerned. Perhaps this all has been cooked up already a few years ago.

Politics, it is and stays a dirty ego game.

Well, the rest of the world is watching in 'awe' to see how this all will develop.

At this moment I wonder, is this a stalemate or a checkmate position on the chessboard. Or is there some balance to be found in the fact that it is a 50/50 race at the moment?

Mieke

Palin's speech

Michael Clark: A forgettable speech from a forgettable candidate

Well that was a truly forgettable speech. We learned that McCain is still aiming to recast himself as the real agent of change, somehow. But there was little in the speech to explain why a Washington insider who's tied himself as closely as anyone to a deeply unpopular president should be considered an agent of change. I'm reminded of a comment my father made in passing back in the 1970s about the philosophy of Republicans:

"Republicans are always in favor of change, just not now."

The other thing we learned is that McCain still believes he can capture some of Hillary Clinton's voters. But Sarah Palin offered nothing in her banal speech that would be attractive to those voters aside from her own gender.

It was a 4th or 5th drawer speech that would have been more appropriate for the state-level chicken-dinner circuit than for the national stage. No wonder John McCain looked so nervous you thought he might have a seizure right on stage.

What didn't we learn? Why Sarah Palin should be considered ready to take over the presidency. We heard nothing about her foreign policy views - if she has any. We learned practically nothing about domestic issues. She said nothing that spoke directly to the interests of voters of Ohio specifically. It was as if she didn't know how to reach out to people outside her own state.

Heck, we didn't even learn how large the crowd was in Dayton. I wonder if the McCain campaign wanted to keep it that way.

Check out the discussion at Daily Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/124810/783/955/578745

McCain shot himself in the foot. I can't wait to see the VP debate now.

Palin Doesn't Know What A Vice-President Does

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA

The money quote coming in at around 2:50:

"[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?"

She doesn't know, huh? Hopefully, she has read The Constitution since she made that statement.

Conservatives react to Palin...

We're looking at a full-blown meltdown. Let's kick things off with Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review:

"She Just Is Not Ready to Be Commander-in-Chief" [said] Pat Buchanan on MSNBC just now, about Sarah Palin. I'm liable to agree.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/

Lopez also posted this as a typical email she's gotten:

"As much as I loathe Obama-Biden, I can't in good conscience vote for a McCain-Palin ticket. Palin has absolutely no experience in foreign affairs. Considering both McCain's advanced age and the state of the world today, it is essential that the veep be exceedingly qualified to assume the office of president. I simply don't have any confidence in Palin's ability to deal effectively with Iran, Russia, China, etc. I certainly will not cast a vote for Obama-Biden, but nor will I vote for McCain-Palin. Looks like I'll either sit this one out or vote for Bob Barr. Why, o, why, didn't McCain listen to Rove and just pick Romney?"

***

From the National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru:

"Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain’s decision, Palin could be commander-in-chief next year. That may strike people as a reckless choice; it strikes me that way. And McCain's age raised the stakes on this issue.

As a political matter, it undercuts the case against Obama. Conservatives are pointing out that it is tricky for the Obama campaign to raise the issue of her inexperience given his own, and note that the presidency matters more than the vice-presidency. But that gets things backward. To the extent the experience, qualifications, and national-security arguments are taken off the table, Obama wins.

And it’s not just foreign policy. Palin has no experience dealing with national domestic issues, either. (On the other hand, as Kate O’Beirne just told me, we know that Palin will be ready for that 3 a.m. phone call: She’ll already be up with her baby.)

Tokenism. Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man?

Compatibility. It doesn’t seem as though McCain knows Palin well. Do we have much reason to think they would work well together?

Debates. Maybe, as Jonah said the other day, Biden will look like a bully going up against her—and maybe she’ll shine. But I can think of a lot of other picks who would have been lower-risk.

I am not even sure that the pick will have quite the galvanizing effect on conservatives that it seems to be having now as it sinks in. The concerns I’ve mentioned here—about her readiness and her credentials—are the kind of thing that many conservative voters take seriously."

***

From the National Review's Jonah Goldberg:

"Downside: She may not be ready for primetime. The heartbeat-from-the-presidency issue is a real one."

***

From the National Review's Jonathon Adler:

"I recognize that were McCain to select Palin as his Veep it disrupts the Obama Lacks Foreign Policy Experience" talking point, but I was never thought that argument was all that powerful."

***

From Town Hall's Ron Fournier:

"If Obama is an empty suit, as McCain has suggested, is Palin suited for the Oval Office herself?

She is younger and less experienced than the first-term Illinois senator, and brings an ethical shadow to the ticket. Just 20 months ago, she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 6,500 where the biggest issue is controlling growth and the biggest annual worry is whether there will be enough snow for the Iditarod dog-mushing race."

***

From MSNBC's Joe Scarborough:

"It Sounds Like a Harriet Miers Decision. Let's Find a Woman, Whether She's Experienced or Not."

For those that can read..

Ed, I actually wasn’t going to respond, because it’s an ego drama that sucks energy, but because you asked assuming you meant me. This whole “race” is a production and takes our attention off the ego doers and their scheme to maintain a disproportionate advantage and the imbalances, division and conflict they profit from.

This is one of those days I am thinking to God just wipe it all out, and if it all exists in my mind that just might happen; thanks to nature and flawed system design. I had to deal with the deceptive practices of Comcast today which only strengthens my resolve to build a consumer owned communication network so no one can extort more value then they actually create.

It’s a numbers game, divide and conquer. Yet only the ego can be divided, the spirit cannot. Source disconnected ego eventually fails and achieves the opposite of what it intends when that intention is not aligned with the divine or at least harmonious with it’s environment and those others in it.

These are the left and right hands of the same body, both hands are used to maintain and orchestrate the big scheme.

The question that we all need to ask is what brain is controlling the hands of this body? Is the brain dominated by ego intention of spirit intention? Is the brain influenced by the desire for money? In a balanced world the brain controlling these hands would be the collective mind formed by the people. This divided brain is controlled by individuals each acting to protect their own self interests. Working to maintain the current system of things because they benefit from it, success measured by their ability to maintain an ignorant indentured servitude.

The machinations of the ego abound in this game. Just look at all the ego chatter in these threads.

I will just leave it up to the divine, and wait for inspiration, there is none now. Guess I will just watch the movie.

At the moment I would not be able to make a case with the highest court for the preservation of humanity, which seems beyond repair because it gives its attention to the false prophet, the corporate source disconnected managed media.

It would require a miracle to save all from the forces of ego and to bring down the ego empire.

Yet, miracles do happen.

Before they loved Hillary, before Hillary Clinton became GOP-feminist icon of opportunity, Sarah Palin, like a couple other Republicans, wasn't such a fan:

Palin in the Green Room
NEWSWEEK's Karen Breslau shares a personal moment with the Alaska governor.
By Karen Breslau | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 29, 2008 | Updated: 2:11 p.m. ET Aug 29, 2008

http://www.newsweek.com/id/156190

Newsweek reports that she said she felt kind of bad she couldn't support a woman, but she didn't like Clinton's "WHINING."

She apparently said that at a forum last year.

yo flabs...dont laugh so hard...damn!...u might back fire some unpleasant hot air...to make the poor nabes scatter ...fast..for cover...

beachboy the repubs are toast...u'd have to be real dumb or real 'tupid to vote for 4 more yrs of the same...yeah 4 more yrs of

the same

the same

the same in...

macain

macain

macain

go kentucky go!

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the traditional media:

I now expect you -- no, REQUIRE you -- to run 24/7 stories about Republicans being in severe, angry disarray going into their convention next week.

Why? Because John McCain's jilted Vice-Presidential candidates are extremely pissed at being used for cover over the last few weeks:

***********************************************
"Palin Pick Leaves Bruised Feelings

By Anne E. Kornblut

DENVER -- Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked -- and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now "feel manipulated."

"They now know that they were used as decoys, well after McCain had decided not to pick them," one Republican involved in the process said."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/29/palin_pick_leaves_bruised_feel.html
**********************************************

The Republicans are in complete chaos, and former rivals are enraged at the candidate.

Does that storyline sound familiar, ladies and gentlemen of the media?

It should. It's the same exact one you flogged shamelessly for the Democratic convention that just ended, even when it was crystal clear that you were mostly making it up. A ragtag group of fools calling itself "PUMA" was the best you could unearth to justify pumping oxygen into that same story every day, and it turns out that their numbers were so pathetically low that they could meet in one restaurant in Denver.

And then Hillary Clinton herself destroyed their reason for existence with a brilliant speech supporting Barack Obama... and yet you media Heathers STILL tried to keep the story going.

Last night's speech by Barack Obama made it ALL go away, of course: his incredible performance dissolved all your little storylines, once and for all.

But I know that it makes most of you sad, since you love your pet narratives. You love your soap operas, and you love repeating them ad infinitum. Heck, it beats working. Real reporting is hard!

Well, you have my sympathies. I know how difficult it is for you Beltway geniuses to think up new stories.

So I'm going to make it easy on you. Just run the same exact story next week, and substitute the names "Mitt Romney" and "Tim Pawlenty" for "Hillary Clinton." Make that THE big story of the convention: how the Republican party is divided into factions that loathe each other, and how that schism severely endangers John McCain's chances of winning in November.

Easy, right ? And unlike the Clinton story, this one is mostly TRUE.

(But wait, that's not really a factor for you, is it? )

...In any case, I look forward to your 24/7 stories of Hopelessly Divided Republicans next week.

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com has an excellent analysis:

Palin: It's Not Really About Experience

So why is the Obama campaign going for the jugular and critiquing Sarah Palin's experience?

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/08/obama_campaign_reactions_inexp.php

Shouldn't they be happy enough that the experience argument was essentially taken off the table by this selection?

Because it isn't really an argument about experience "per se". It's an argument about whether she meets the basic threshold test of voters feeling comfortable with having her as President. Experience is a part of that, but so are essentially the aesthetics of it: picturing a young, attractive, kooky, female governor from Alaska who has an accent straight out of "Fargo" in the White House is going to be a "much" bigger leap for many voters than picturing Barack Obama there.

And whereas Obama has had eighteen months to make himself familiar to voters, the McCain campaign has barely any time to roll Palin out. It's not that she's inexperienced so much as that she's "new".

Hi, Mieke,

Yes, McCain is trying to cover oil drilling in Alaska so we can be swimming in oil in 30 years and the evangelical's desire to stack the Supreme Court with the extreme christian right, we will be closer to looking and acting like Saudi Arabia..rich white men laying down the law to us women folk.....yippee...

have a great weekend, Mieke....ruth

Maybe many misjudged McCain and he secretly wants Obama to be president, maybe he saw through all the fictions and really does love his country.

If McCain was going for a skirt with a bit of oil stain on her, he should have picked Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. At least she has some experience and probably knows a thing or two about what the job entails.

Dearest Preity, I now "expect", no no "Require" you to walk down the beach clothed only in a purple and green toto and proclaim your undieing love for the canidate of your choice, yeah.

Hopelessly divided, and you?

Hunter@Daily Kos writes:

A McCain/Palin pairing? I'm sorry, but that's just... weird. It's a pairing that seems to be drawn not from politics, but from a 1980's network sitcom.

HE is an ex-POW turned multimillionaire. He has power, wealth, and more houses than most people have ties. But can anything -- or anyone -- calm his savage temper, and teach him to love again?

SHE's a young creationist who knows little about politics and is in 'trouble with the law.'

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/29/palin-corruption-investigation/

He'll take her in -- but can he teach her the ways of Washington before she embarrasses him at the big Telecom Ball?

Find out this fall on Dharma and Methuselah...

Groan. This is a presidential pairing? I'm just not sure what McCain's thinking. Like it or not, John McCain is a man who has not always been in the best of health. He's made "experience" the cornerstone of his campaign. So does he really believe -- does he really want 'all of us' to believe -- that Palin is ready to be President of the United States, in the event something were to happen to him? Based on what?

I don't think it's a wrong choice, I think it's an unserious -- even fairly offensive -- choice. McCain isn't even officially his party's nominee yet, and he's already treating his presumptive office with disdain, and making executive decisions that seem like they've been phoned in or made in a panic.

Don't tell me it's his "brave" choice because she's a woman -- the Republican Party has 'many' women more qualified for the Vice Presidency. I don't agree with them on issues, but they'd be more qualified. This choice is indeed akin to choosing Quayle -- it smacks of choosing someone because they won't get in the way, or because all the other potential candidates were too personally threatening. It's just a bad choice, period.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/141112/083/746/578954

OR..

Maybe many misjudged Obama and he secretly wants McCain to be president, maybe he saw through all the fictions and really does love his country. Hmmm Richard?

#39 #45
Thanks, the one and only Richard :)

I didn't want you to be depressed about the ego drama. I do see a quickening overall and under all. I quite agree viewed from here a relative 'miracle' is required. Get the other side of that 'miracle' and we'll see it was the inevitable and even, inherent, 'solution.'

Some of us will still need to do some 'triggering' even though we won't have much more than the vaguest certainty of where we are going......
which brings me to your #45 .....

In that same vein
I think John McCain
Is 'trigger-happy' too!

Bring on the Clowns!

john maccain is 72 yrs old today!

his veep just had a baby, her 5th, just 4 months ago! john...what's that all about? hmmnn!

#49 Nice one Tammy, got called away and missed that.
So you are a Clown, too ;)

"The thing is Tara, my six year old daughter, wants the woman to be in the White House."

Mallika Chopra
Jan 9, 2008

Intent Blog titled "The Gender Thing"

I guess Gov Palin is the wrong type of woman right because she is not afraid to wear a skirt in public, or that she simply doesn't share your values? I'm just wondering what is it about this particular woman? Smart and strong just like Hillary.

Btw, she has a ton more executive experience that Barak Obama, aren't you really talking about someone else here?

Cheers,

Steve

This is a VERY easy one.

All Obama has to do is invoke the phrase, "Heck of a job, Brownie" as it relates to hurricanes and government paralysis in times of emergency, her part-time mayoralship of Podunk, AK, maybe Katherine Harris on a cantering horse, and maybe then toss in Elaine Benes from Seinfeld vintage, and everyone's going to get the pic.

This chick is a Face.

Does Palin ride a horse?

amber..

what exact executive experience qualifies one for the presidency? and where in the constitution is that a requirement for the office...ditto...to the farmer from bluegrass country...

amber and hoggie...conveniently, like cowards, quickly go silent when they are called out or when caught in the headlights! tsk!

Chill D. I was driving, is that ok?

I was responding to Mallika assertion about her apparent lack of experience and I wonder why should say that given Obama's tabla rasa. Sorry you have to look that up.

Btw, I'm sure Palin can ride a horse, I know she can shoot and fish, heck she is indeed more of a man than what I see on the other ticket.

Agree Skins?

Gotta run, will comment later D. nice to hear from you.

Final thoughts, Palin will be tough and she won't back down from plug man in a debate, she has tackled a lot tougher in Alaska.

Dems should be very nervous, completely took away from yesterday's togathon.

But to your point D. she doesn't have to have any experience, this hasn't stop BO from running and I give him the right to do so.

Steve

Some things you didn't know about Sarah Palin writes Michael Clark:

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9055227p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services. In other words Palin is about as efficient as Michael Brown, onetime head of FEMA.

Diarist loyalson, a resident of Wasilla, has more to say about the damage Palin did to his town while she was mayor.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

"Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy."

John McCain would have us believe that Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror, and yet he selects as his running mate somebody who was paying almost no attention to the Iraq war for 4 long years after the invasion.

So what was Palin focused on?

"Alaska Business Monthly: It's extremely early to ask this, but when your tenure as governor is over, what would you like to have accomplished? How would you like to be remembered?

Palin: I want people to remember me as having always conducted the state's business in an upright and honest manner. I want them to understand that I put Alaska first in every decision I made."

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104611/395

What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

This lady is a true blue regular Ol' American, but can she be our next VP? Its gettin weirder and weirder around here every moment. And I need MORE choices than these!

Micheal Clark writes that Palin loved Obama Energy plan as recently as a day ago!:

Speaking of inconsistencies, earlier this month Palin PRAISED Barack Obama's energy plan (h/t Excelscior1).

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104049/979/214/578461

Here is the cached version of the press release that had been posted at the Governor's website.

http://tinyurl.com/6gdech

The original document has been scrubbed sometime during the last day (since Aug. 28).

http://gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1384&type=1

I wonder if that could have anything to do with McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate?

Some things you didn't know about Sarah Palin writes Michael Clark:

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9055227p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services. In other words Palin is about as efficient as Michael Brown, onetime head of FEMA.

Diarist loyalson, a resident of Wasilla, has more to say about the damage Palin did to his town while she was mayor.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

"Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy."

John McCain would have us believe that Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror, and yet he selects as his running mate somebody who was paying almost no attention to the Iraq war for 4 long years after the invasion.

So what was Palin focused on?

"Alaska Business Monthly: It's extremely early to ask this, but when your tenure as governor is over, what would you like to have accomplished? How would you like to be remembered?

Palin: I want people to remember me as having always conducted the state's business in an upright and honest manner. I want them to understand that I put Alaska first in every decision I made."

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104611/395

What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

Some things you didn't know about Sarah Palin writes Michael Clark:

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9055227p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services. In other words Palin is about as efficient as Michael Brown, onetime head of FEMA.

Diarist loyalson, a resident of Wasilla, has more to say about the damage Palin did to his town while she was mayor.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

"Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy."

John McCain would have us believe that Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror, and yet he selects as his running mate somebody who was paying almost no attention to the Iraq war for 4 long years after the invasion.

So what was Palin focused on?

"Alaska Business Monthly: It's extremely early to ask this, but when your tenure as governor is over, what would you like to have accomplished? How would you like to be remembered?

Palin: I want people to remember me as having always conducted the state's business in an upright and honest manner. I want them to understand that I put Alaska first in every decision I made."

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104611/395

What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

Some things you didn't know about Sarah Palin writes Michael Clark:

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9055227p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services. In other words Palin is about as efficient as Michael Brown, onetime head of FEMA.

Diarist loyalson, a resident of Wasilla, has more to say about the damage Palin did to his town while she was mayor.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

"Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy."

John McCain would have us believe that Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror, and yet he selects as his running mate somebody who was paying almost no attention to the Iraq war for 4 long years after the invasion.

So what was Palin focused on?

"Alaska Business Monthly: It's extremely early to ask this, but when your tenure as governor is over, what would you like to have accomplished? How would you like to be remembered?

Palin: I want people to remember me as having always conducted the state's business in an upright and honest manner. I want them to understand that I put Alaska first in every decision I made."

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104611/395

What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

Some things you didn't know about Sarah Palin writes Michael Clark:

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/9055227p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services. In other words Palin is about as efficient as Michael Brown, onetime head of FEMA.

Diarist loyalson, a resident of Wasilla, has more to say about the damage Palin did to his town while she was mayor.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

"Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy."

John McCain would have us believe that Iraq is the central battle in the war on terror, and yet he selects as his running mate somebody who was paying almost no attention to the Iraq war for 4 long years after the invasion.

So what was Palin focused on?

"Alaska Business Monthly: It's extremely early to ask this, but when your tenure as governor is over, what would you like to have accomplished? How would you like to be remembered?

Palin: I want people to remember me as having always conducted the state's business in an upright and honest manner. I want them to understand that I put Alaska first in every decision I made."

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104611/395

What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

Micheal Clark writes that Palin loved Obama Energy plan as recently as a day ago!:

Speaking of inconsistencies, earlier this month Palin PRAISED Barack Obama's energy plan (h/t Excelscior1).

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/104049/979/214/578461

Here is the cached version of the press release that had been posted at the Governor's website.

http://tinyurl.com/6gdech

The original document has been scrubbed sometime during the last day (since Aug. 28).

http://gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1384&type=1

I wonder if that could have anything to do with McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate?

Can we please stop hearing from the media about how brilliant Karl Rove and Steve Schmidt are?
Plain is a VP pick made from desperation. John McCain is forced by the brilliantly-staged and historic Democratic convention:

>"His TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people who watched John Kerry accept the Democratic nomination to run against President Bush four years ago. Kerry's speech was seen by just over 20 million people.">

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i2jxRdoi5AN3SjYwU0ErKRVWPKHwD92S3HOG1

to pick an obscure, untested and unknown woman when we all know McCain wanted Lieberman and was willing to settle for Pawlenty. Instead:

>“No one knows anything about her,” complained one GOP strategist, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. “I don’t know anyone who has even met her.”

McCain succeeded in keeping his pick a secret until this morning, but the secrecy came at a cost: Surrogates who might have been counted on to sing Palin’s praises were caught flat-footed and unprepared instead.

“I don’t know much about her,” Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told CNN this morning. “I don't know Sarah Palin.">

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12978.html

Palin will win a news cycle, quickly be obscured by Gustav, and be a long term failure as a pick. Not that that's entirely McCain's fault; the rest of his weak GOP bench would have been failures of different sorts. What we wound up with was the grumpy old guy and the charming creationist cheerleader. But let's be clear about what happened and why: McCain sensed he was going to lose and therefore threw the Hail Mary pass to try and win.

Is he entitled? Surely he is. But this was a move out of desperation, not out of genius.

Not every conservative commentator fell in line and hailed the choice (see #37 posted by Welsh.) And not every party official was thrilled:

"Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked -- and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now "feel manipulated.""

This was a tactical win and a strategic disaster. And all the pre-confirmation chatter was true. For all the 24-hour distraction, this is an unserious and lightweight choice which will not address any of the major and multiple problems this country faces. She has neither economic nor foreign policy chops, and is not ready to step up and be President (I haven't seen anyone who agrees she is, except only a few here or there.) And given that that's the most important and vital role of a VP, and given McCain's 72 years of age, that's a game breaker.

She has strengths, certainly. She's new, unknown, charming, and from the West, and can talk credibly about Big Oil energy. Most importantly, it's a historic thing for the GOP to put a woman on the ticket. But she is not a qualified woman. She simply doesn't measure up where it counts.

More background from Gregg Erickson, Columnist and Reporter, Anchorage Daily News and Editor at Large, Alaska Budget Report :

>"About her strengths and weaknesses: “She is smart, vivacious and energetic; she tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes. She is under legislative investigation on this, the so-called “troopergate” issue, in which she is said to have used improper influence to try to get her sister’s ex-husband fired from the state troopers."

About her approval ratings: “Her approval ratings are high–65 percent, or so–but down from 80 percent earlier in her term. Most Alaskan’s haven’t watched her as closely as most reporters or legislators. If you took a poll of reporters and legislators I expect her approval rating would be down in the teens or twenties.">
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/08/29/DI2008082902052.html

3 a.m.? I don't think so. And using her to go after the Clinton voters? Not if you know the record:

>"She said she felt kind of bad she couldn't support a woman, but she didn't like Clinton's "whining."> (see #40 posted by Welsh)

No doubt, voters will note those comments come the fall, along with her abuse of power issues, 2000 Pat Buchanan support and her hard-right creationism.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/350730/sarah_palin_buchananite

Those characteristics will not play well in the suburbs. Debbie Wasserman Schultz called this "colossally bad judgment" on McCain's part. She's absolutely right.

This was a weak and embarrassing pick, and McCain has failed his first executive decision. But for now, don't lose sight of the fact that this happened because McCain was losing.

Obama meets Palin, spokesman Robert Gibbs:

"Senator Obama talked with Governor Palin for several minutes at 4:50 PM today from the campaign bus. He told her she would be a terrific candidate and that he looked forward to seeing her on the campaign trail.

He also wished her good luck but not too much luck."

Biden also called Palin, his spokesman, David Wade, tells reporters:

"At 5:00 Sen. Biden called Gov. Palin to congratulate her. They had a very friendly conversation, talked about the shared experience of being announced as veep picks, and Sen. Biden said he looked forward to meeting her and getting to know her."

Previously, Barack Obama and Joe Biden congratulate Palin:

"We send our congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and her family on her designation as the republican nominee for Vice President. It is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics. While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign."

Here's Clinton's statement on McCain's VP selection:

"We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."

Clinton's public opposition to Palin will be a key factor here, as will her willingness to reiterate and detail it. In particular, Palin opposes abortion even in the cases of rape and incest, which puts her to McCain's right.

Hilary's policies on women's rights are exactly same that of Obama.

Sure, as you can see from many reactions, the idea that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate would boost his support among hordes of Clinton's disaffected female supporters is a miscalculation at best. CNN ran a piece that featured a very funny montage of woman after woman, all former Clinton supporters, answering the question of whether they're likely to support McCain now that Palin is on the ticket by just saying "No" "No" "No" "No" "No"...

CNN also interviewed one woman who was incredulous:

"Well, first we were just laughing. Does he really think that's going to work?"

The piece went on to contrast Palin and Clinton even further, citing the fact that Palin is anti-abortion rights, a member of the NRA and, well, is a Republican. As Van Jones puts it:

"Someone should stand up and say: 'I know Senator Clinton. Senator Clinton is a friend of mine. And Sarah Palin is no Hillary Rodham Clinton.'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/palin-youre-no-hillary-cl_b_122479.html

But the larger damage done to McCain's candidacy by his pick of Palin may not be among Hillary Clinton supporters at all, but instead among moderate Republican women turned off by Hillary, inspired by Barack but leaning toward McCain. Could the condescension and the pandering inherent in the Palin pick tip them ever so slightly toward Barack Obama? I think, come November, the resounding answer is yes.

For those of us who care, how does Palin weigh in on climate change and sustainability?

Not too well, it turns out:
The Island of Doubt
Sarah Palin?
http://tinyurl.com/65k9dp

money quotes:

"Thanks to Grist's rapid rundown on Palin's record, we know that she:

* Believes intelligent design should be taught along with evolution in science classes
* Does not attribute global warming human forces
* Sued the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species
* Has pushed to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling
* Opposed a statewide ballot initiative to prohibit or restrict new mining operations that could affect salmon in the state's streams and rivers
* Believes we can "drill our way out of our problem"

and

"...given that her husband's job is "an oil production operator for BP on Alaska's North Slope" and that just last week she said:

"When I look every day, the big oil company's building is right out there next to me, and it's quite a reminder that we should have mutually beneficial relationships with the oil industry."

McCain did what he had to do, perhaps advised by smart political analysts. He made a gamble. That's his only chance to victory. The race is on.

To add to #43, Nate and Sean at FiveThirtyEight weigh with their excellent analysis on what Plain's pick holds for the election outcome:

Nate: Sarah Palin Thoughts, Revised and Extended

Wow. Judging by the amount of traffic and commentary on the couple of Sarah Palin threads I posted earlier, people are absolutely fascinated by this story. I don't think we can pass this off with the usual excuse about a VP choice not mattering. This is another fascinating element in a fascinating election -- I just don't think we have any real idea of how it's going to play out.

One thing we do have to give McCain credit for is taking a risk. Being behind in the election -- and I think McCain probably will wind up being a couple of points behind once the respective convention bumps play out -- necessitates taking a risk. Suppose, for instance, that McCain is 2 points down in the election. Suppose furthermore than there is a 50 percent chance that Palin boosts his standing by 3 points, and a 50 percent chance that she makes a major gaffe that costs McCain 10 points. That's actually a pretty good gamble for McCain to take, since he'd wind up winning the election 50 percent of the time (by one point) and getting blown out the other 50 percent of the time (by 12 points) -- better than losing the election by 2 points 100 percent of the time.

Obviously, that is an idealized rendering of an exceptionally complicated dynamic, but the whole reason to make a game-changing pick is because you're losing the game. And that McCain apparently made this pick on Thursday, after having seen that Bill and Hillary Clinton had exceeded all possible expectations in rallying their supporters behind Barack Obama, showed a certain awareness of the political landscape.

Then again, I think there was a better risk for McCain to take, which would have been picking a pro-choice candidate and calling out the religious right's bluff. You want a really terrific pick? How about Olympia Snowe, who has held down a senate seat in a blue state for 14 years, and who has a formidable resume.

***

But ultimately, we are in completely uncharted territory here. Palin is the most manifestly ordinary person ever to be nominated for a major party ticket. In this year of bittergate and Britney-gate and McCain-has-seven-houses-gate, that could conceivably be a virtue; it's certainly less tone-deaf than a selection like Mitt Romney would have been.

But Palin isn't merely playing at being ordinary, the way that Bill Clinton (Rhodes Scholar) or George W. Bush (son of a president) or Hillary Clinton (wife of a president) might. She really, really comes across that way -- like someone who had won a sweepstakes or an essay contest. Her authenticity factor is off-the-charts good; her biography sings. But do Americans really want their next-door-neighbor running for Vice President, or rather someone who seems like one?

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/sarah-palin-thoughts-revised-and.html#comments
____________________________________

Sean: Palin: More Follow Up Comments

To follow up on what Nate was saying earlier, there is a lot of gamble in the pick. What about the gamble of Palin v. Biden? One reason I've been arguing to Nate all week that McCain might need to pick a woman once Biden was picked is that while Biden has the ability to hit hard, would he hit a woman hard? And with specifically Palin, who is young and attractive, does it bait Biden into some kind of stray condescending comment about her youth and looks that would make many people furious, particularly women?

Call it the "gorgeous broad" mentality. Biden's got a bit of that Sinatra-ism, where he refers to his wife as "drop dead gorgeous" and it sounds like that's the way Biden most naturally expresses himself. But that's his wife. Biden can get away with that. With Palin, he might find himself giving a comment that in his mind sounds like a compliment, but comes out all wrong.

And that gets back to the heart of the gamble this pick represents. If McCain and Obama each consolidate their bases at the same percentages, Obama wins. There are now numerically more Democrats, and independents favor Obama. Before the conventions, McCain had moved past Obama, mostly because many women in Hillary Clinton's coalition had failed to warm to the Democratic nominee. Obama was stuck at 83% of his base and McCain had moved from a tie into 87% consolidation. Had this week's Denver convention not been as successful from a unity standpoint, McCain might not have needed as much to go for broke. If Obama secures his base, wins indies (as he's easily doing) and dominates in the ground game, game over for McCain. Demographically, the mountain is too steep to climb.

So what does McCain do? He picks a woman specifically to aim a wedge at the Obama base. It's a demographic pick - all about gaming the vote and little about governing. This is not the resume of a male candidate that would be acceptable. There is a small but legitimate chance Joe Biden will say something that can be used to call the Obama ticket a sexist one. Biden, of course, will and should be coached to restrain any such "stray comment" impulse in which he is wont to indulge.

But even if Biden (or anyone else) doesn't take the bait by dismissing her in a condescendingly sexist way, putting a woman on the ticket may give other Democratic women who don't want to vote for Obama a real reason to cross over. People aren't as undecided when it comes to politics as they claim, a recent study argues. They just haven't found an articulable reason to capture their decision. If some Democratic women don't really want to vote for Obama, identity politics may provide them with an affirmative, articulable reason to do so. McCain is old, and Palin could very easily become the next president by default.

It's probably not going to work, but we'll see some number soon. I think it's a gamble that McCain will lose. But I do respect the gamble. He looked into the numbers, saw the need to freeze Obama's base or be swamped on the numbers alone, and he took a big risk. Will a pro-life candidate sell those reluctant Democratic women? Again, unlikely. But kick in a few sexist dismissals - particularly any by Joe Sinatra Biden - and the outrage machine might get itself going.

I can tell you this - I suddenly became a lot more excited to be in St. Paul next week.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/palin-more-follow-up-comments.html

Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick --Chris Bowers

Sarah Palin is a total wingnut:

"Pat Buchanan brought his conservative message of a smaller government and an America First foreign policy to Fairbanks and Wasilla on Friday as he continued a campaign swing through Alaska. Buchanan's strong message championing states rights resonated with the roughly 85 people gathered for an Interior Republican luncheon in Fairbanks. ... Among those sporting Buchanan buttons were Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and state Sen. Jerry Ward, R-Anchorage."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/350730/sarah_palin_buchananite

Palin is a total wingnut Buchannite, (check out what that means in practice), but ran today on feminist themes. She is running as a reformer, but she is under investigation for ethics violations. She favored the bridge to nowhere, but is now running on opposing it. She called Clinton a whiner only a few months ago, but is now invoking her name to cheers. She is the least experienced Vice-Presidential pick in decades, but was chosen by a man who is arguing that his opponent is too inexperienced. And that's not all:

_______________________
"The daughter of a science teacher who supports teaching creationism in schools. Someone from a state being hit hard by climate disruption who doesn't believe that humans cause global warming. Someone who claims to stand up to oil companies, but is instead a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big Oil. Someone who claims to fight corruption today but conveniently forgets McCain's membership in the Keating Five. The mother of a special needs child that supports a presidential who voted against funding special education."
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/29/182233/307
__________________

At first I thought Palin was a bizarre pick. However, the more I think about it, she was clearly the perfect Republican pick. It is incredibly cynical (women will vote for any woman), based on several layers of hypocrisy, and for good measure displays a cartoonish view of progressivism (in this case, affirmative action as unqualified tokenism). That is basically the entire conservative philosophy right there: a cynical view of people combined with a message that is hypocritical to its core, and topped off with a cartoonish view of the other side.

This pick isn't bizarre at all. It is conservatism and Republicanism in a nutshell.

Yo Skinny,

You better lay of the Crown Royal son, it seems to have done gone and addled up your brain.
All this laughin and cackling, and jumpin around for joy, about grandpa’s choice for veep, of a young beauty queen
who shoots wolves from helicopters, and is sleeping with the oil companies. Ranting on about how you aren’t going
to have to hold your nose in the voting booth anymore, because that the smell of George’s ass, on John’s lips,
has now been covered up by some new perfume and a pretty face.
My guess is you will have to stay drunker than a lord to believe that you and the rest of the country will be safe
If that dame becomes President, because she knows how to shoot an AK47 (or at least has some pictures to that effect)and was the Mayor of some hick town in bumfuck Alaska.
Have you been into the hog wash again? Or getting high from smelling the gas tank of your hummer?

I do agree however that you are blowin a Cat 5, bad news son, “it’s all hot air”. Hopefully you will wake up later.

Cheers,
Stan

The seriousness of this situation is such that the Republicans should find another nominee for President. John McCain has proved he is not fit to even run for the office. This is the worst example of a man incomepetent and irresponsible.

Shame on YOU, John MCCain!

"The seriousness of this situation is such that the Republicans should find another nominee for President. John McCain has proved he is not fit to even run for the office. This is the worst example of a man incomepetent and irresponsible.

Shame on YOU, John MCCain"

I read this and other similar comments and I know that John McCain is on the right track.

People are really running scared here.

Let's see what the voters say in November, this is not the Soviet Union, at least not yet.

You can take comfort in BO's pick of Joe Biden I'm sure.

"I read this and other similar comments and I know that John McCain is on the right track."

ha ha ha!

That's the thing, Mr. Moron!

Those comments are coming from former Hillary supporters, and in case of Arizonasunset, a Ron Paul supporters, a libertarian and a conservative who prefers the Republican party.

Of course Palin will bring a lot of wingnut votes, and we are happy to have our say in America, although the Bush administration abuses power like the Putin regime.

Enjoy your false comforts.

Since neither candidate picked my choice for veep, I don't have a horse in this race, so will just sit back and enjoy the fun.

While most everyone here is tearing Palin apart, there are some folks on this web site I just discovered tearing Biden apart.

For a different perspective:
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=756&Itemid=34

Hi, all

Last nite I watched and listened as the political comments came in from all across the airwaves, and I must say I am shocked that this nomination is even taken seriously, discussed as though Palin is someone who should even jokenly be considered.

John McCain and the Republican political straegists have so devalued the Office of the President and Vice President with their choice of Palin that it is a slap in the face to every man and woman who has died while serving their Nation,and these Offices in Iraq.

It is beyond shame, it is pure unadulterated disrespect.

And for those fellow Americans who cannot see or feel this slap in the face that has been given our electorial system,.......shame on you for allowing your intelligence to be played and dulled into obliviousness.

This is not a political race anymore, it is an insult and it is sad and it is, simply put, disrespectful to each and every young service man and woman who died in Iraq and Afganistan and to those who continue to serve today.

There is no political race anymore or could there be any "real and sincere" comparison between these to Presidential tickets.

Barak Obama and Joe Biden and the Democrats are a World Trade Center in height above the sad, disrespectful and conniving John McCain and Palin and the Republicans.

There is no race, it is over, and I in good conscious cannot be flippant about this circumstance anymore because I am too aware that any minute, any second, another young American will die or be seriously wounded while I sit comfortably in my home playing the game of dirty and shameful politics that the Republicans have served up with their nomination of the most unqualified Vice Prsidential Candidate in the 21st century...

The fact is that just because the Republicans and the news and the media serve this Nation this utter abomination of political back and forth does not me we as Americans have to sit back and shovel this sheet in...we have a choice to play along, open our big fat mouths and eat huge shovel fulls or we can say enough....

I am saying enough.

Come November if one want to honor our Nation and this Nations history and honor the lives given in sacrifice by respecting and honoring this great electorial process then there is only one choice available and that is Barak Obam and Joe Biden as our Leaders........

if you want to play the dirty and disrespectful game the Republican strategists continue to serve up....you have only one choice...John McCain and Palin....

it is simple and it is clear....there can no longer be a seriious discussion about this...Palin's nomination turned this race from the serious to the absurd......end of story.

good luck...with your conscious...come November.

ruth

correction re#78....should read

good luck with your conscience come November...

haven't even had my coffee yet....

oh, just want to add..

Barak Obama and Joe Biden must be tactful in their response to this nomination because of how the game is played but as American voters we do not have to be tactful nor should we be.....this is a situation where one must be absolutely frank, and honest, because of the seriousness of the situation. To be tactful would be cowardly.

ruth

oh, and it is certainly not a time to sit on the sidelines if you care one iota about this Nation and the lives that are put in harms way each and every day..

the fun time has ended with the nomination of Palin.

As an American it is my duty to speak up about this.