Happy Birthday
We don't get involved in partisan politics here, but you know John McCain is from my home state of Arizona, and today is his birthday. So without actually coming out and saying we endorse him, I just wanted to wish him a happy birthday as he prepares for the convention and Gustav heads for New Orleans. McCain is 72 today.
(Thanks to Firedoglake for the picture of our leaders taking a break from protecting the city of New Orleans from hurricane Katrina three years ago.)
(Thanks to Firedoglake for the picture of our leaders taking a break from protecting the city of New Orleans from hurricane Katrina three years ago.)
posted by JimK at 8:49 AM
56 Comments:
that's great, Kennedy
last week you were trying to associate McCain with torture policies he has bravely opposed and, now, for the mismanagement of a disaster by an administration he wasn't part of
keep it up or someone will notice that the Democrats just nominated someone for President that is unqualified for the position, at least according to Hillary and Biden
Don't know if you guys heard yet but McCain has picked Alaska Gov Sarah Palin as VP.
I actually like her but the one problem is that she has little experience. It'll be harder to hit Obama's inexperience when you've got someone similar a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
Otherwise, she's a solid pro-family candidate.
It's going to be interesting.
Here's something you kids might like:
"Palin's first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples."
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She's not pro-family. Pro-family candidates accept all of people's family members, including the gay ones. She's an anti-family/traditional islamic-christian values candidate.
Her selection confirms what a fool Red Baron is. Remember "president Huckabee's going to do this and president Huckabee's going to do that" and then it was "Huckabee's going to be Mccain's running mate", then it was "condoleeza rice is going to be Mccain's running mate" and then "Colin Powel's going to be Mccain's running mate" and then "There's a conspiracy to make Huckabee president and Mccain's in on it". All spoken with cocksure certainty as though it were a fact. We've enjoyed you repeatedly making a fool of yourself Red Baron, keep it up - tell us now how Mccain's going to win for the ultimate egg on your face moment.
Andrea- not anon
Palin is a creationist. Says a lot about a lack of intellect- i don't even need to speak to her lack of experience. Let's see McCain harp about inexperience now.
Also Palin's veto of the law to bar the state from granting benefits to the partners of state employees only came after the Alaska supreme court ruled the state must provide those benefits and the AG told her the law was unconstitutional. She is opposed to equality in marriage.
- Palin told the Anchorage Daily News that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment on marriage.
- In addition, she told the Daily News that she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to the domestic partners of public employees, which were ordered by an October 2005 decision of the Alaska Supreme Court, because, she said “honoring the family structure is that important." http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/elections/governor06/story/8049298p-7942233c.html
"Let's see McCain harp about inexperience now."
Well, that's what so brilliant about this pick. Obama has already issued a statement attacking Palin's lack of experience. And the average voter is thinking, without any prompting by Republicans, this guy Obama has got a lot of gall.
Truth is, she has executive experience which Obama doesn't and, fasten your selt belts kids, she has ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
You see, Obama has been in the Senate three years, during which time he had a whole mess of ideas but authored and endorsed no major legislation. He has, however, written a book about how wonderful he is and spent a couple of those years travelling the highways and hedgerows telling the whole country how great it would be if he ran the free world.
"She is opposed to equality in marriage."
That's what we like about her. She in intelligent enough to discriminate between deviancy and heterosexuality.
Oh, and Priya the Simple has pointed out what a fool I am.
Guilty as charged.
Could someone please send Priya a check to help cover her psych bills.
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Anyone that can't distinguish between deviancy and gayness, like you, is clearly a moron.
50 years of consistent research has proven that gays are indistinguishable from straights on common measures of mental health.
Your Islamic-christian values are rapidly going out of style and people are recognizing them for the bigotry they are - just look at California, the wave of the U.S'
s future.
And I live in Canada moron, if I had any psych bills the government would pay for it.
"- Palin told the Anchorage Daily News that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment on marriage.
- In addition, she told the Daily News that she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to the domestic partners of public employees"
Sounds like you're campaigning for Sarah now.
Yeah, pointing out someone's ignorant bigotry is an affirmation. And president Huckabee's going to do this and president Huckabee's going to do that.
"50 years of consistent research has proven that gays are indistinguishable from straights on common measures of mental health."
The study took fifty years to complete?
Sounds like some loonies cooked it up.
Has it been replicated, or will that take fifty years too?
"Your Islamic-christian values are rapidly going out of style and people are recognizing them for the bigotry they are - just look at California, the wave of the U.S'
s future."
If you're talking about traditional mores, you must have wiped out if think some wave is going to wash them away.
"And I live in Canada moron, if I had any psych bills the government would pay for it."
I was referring to your taxes, you inbecile.
Everyone in Canada goes to the psych.
The weather depresses them.
Red Baron said "Well, that's what so brilliant about this pick. Obama has already issued a statement attacking Palin's lack of experience. And the average voter is thinking, without any prompting by Republicans, this guy Obama has got a lot of gall.".
LOL, Paulin's only been in office for 2 years, to suggest she's as experienced as Obama is hilarious.
Just listen to this moron:
"But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell ya, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
- Sarah Palin, 8/1/08, on CNBC, "Kudlow and Company"
"LOL, Paulin's only been in office for 2 years, to suggest she's as experienced as Obama is hilarious."
Well, technically, Obama is a legislator but he really hasn't done much of anything, as far as I know. Let me know if you have some updated information.
Palin has actually run something and hasn't been preoccupied with self-agrandizement.
It really isn't funny. Obama might theoretically become the next President and he really doesn't have any experience at all.
"Just listen to this moron:
"But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell ya, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?""
It's actually a pretty good answer. The VP doesn't really have many duties. It is what you make of it.
And clearly given the chance Palin wouldn't be making anything of it.
Red Baron said "The study took fifty years to complete? Sounds like some loonies cooked it up.
Has it been replicated, or will that take fifty years too?"
4) Psychological Testing Affirms the Mental Health of Homosexuals
This represents the evidence that homosexuality is not pathological, and comes from studies that were primarily done in the 60's, 70's and 80's. There were a flurry of studies done after the classical study by Evelyn Hooker in 1957, which produced the large body of studies from the 60's -70's. Then the studies dwindle down as the 80's progress, and very few studies can be found in the 90's. This is because all of the evidence is convergent, so no further studies were warranted, and the conclusion was that homosexuality evidenced no pathological characteristics that were significantly different from heterosexuals.
a) MMPI data:
L Braaten-1965, Genetic Psychology Monographs 71:269-310
R Dean-1964, J of Consulting Psychology 28 483-86
W Horstman-1972, Homosexuality and Psychopathology(dissertation)
Adelman-1977, Arch of Sex Beh 6(3):193-201
Oberstone-1976, Psychology of Women Quarterly 1(2):172-86
b) Other tests (Eysenck's Personality Inventory, Cattel's 16PF, California Personality Inventory, etc)
R Evans-1970, J of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 34:212-15
R Turner-1974, Br J of Psychiatry 125:447-49
M Siegelman-1972, Br J of Psychiatry 120:477-481
M Siegelman-1972, Archives of Sexual Behavior 2:9-25
M Freedman-1971, Homosexuality and Psychological Functioning, Brooks/Cole Publ.
J Hopkins-1969, Br J of Psychiatry 115:1433-1436
M Wilson-1971, Psychological Reports 28:407-412
N Thompson-1971, J of Abnormal Psychology 78:237-40
E Ohlson-1974, J of Sex Research 10:308-315
D Christie-1986, Psychological Reports 59:1279-1282
H Carlson-1984, Sex Roles 10:457-67
T Clark-1975, Am J of Psychoanalysis 35:163-68
R LaTorre-1983, J of Homosexuality 9:87-97
P Nurius-1983, J of Sex Research 19:119-36
C Rand-1982, J of Homosexuality 8(1):27-39 J Harry-1983, Archives of Sexual Behavior 12:1-19
E Hooker-1957, J of Projective Techniques 21:18-31
c) Reviews
B Harris-1977, Bulletin of the Am Acad of Psychiatry and Law 5:75-89
J Gonsiorek-1977, Psychological Adjustment and Homosexuality, Select Press.
W Paul-1982, Homosexuality: Social, Psychological and Biological Issues; Sage Publ.
M Hart-1978, J of Clinical Psychiatry 39:604-608
R Meredith-1980, Professional Psychology 11:174-93
B Reiss-1974, J of Homosexuality 1:71-85
B Reiss-1980, Homosexual Behavior a modern reappraisal, Basic Books
P Falk-1989, Am Psychologist 44(6):941-947
Kingdon-1979, Counseling Psychologist 8(1):44-45
V Armon-1960, Journal of Projective Techniques 24:292-309
N Thompson-1971, J of Abnormal Psychology 78:237-40
d) Psychiatric Interviews
R Pillard-1988, Psychiatric Annals 18:51-56
M Saghir-1970, Am J of Psychiatry 126:1079-86
Get your head out of religious bigotry for a while and educate yourself about reality.
The above is by no means an exhaustive list of all the evidence refuting red baron's Islamic-Christian values.
Palin said "But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell ya, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?""
Red Baron said "It's actually a pretty good answer.".
Hahah ha ha ha ha. And what my dog leaves on the lawn is a gourmet meal.
I have no doubt it's one of your quickie din-din's!
Kids, it's like this:
Both major party tickets have one experienced candidate and one with a lot of potential.
The difference is one party has the least experienced moving right into the Oval Office and one has the least experienced individual in another office in the West Wing, learning the ropes.
Which situation do you think the American people will find most reasonable?
You only get two guesses, make 'em count!
I think McShame's VP pick shows how desperate he is for votes. And IMHO it shows how ignorant he thinks Hillary's supporters are. He apparently thinks they'll vote for his ticket just because there's a woman on it. Hillary supporters may be hurt their girl didn't win the primary, but they will not be conned into voting for the old fool who selected this inexperienced, anti-choice and anti-science political novice. He's spent months trying to persuade voters Obama isn't ready and then to prove he wasn't listening to the story his handlers had him tell, he picked someone who is even less ready. And it did it on his 72 birthday, showing what an old fool he really is.
McCain wanted to pick a more experienced candidate with a background that could help take votes away from Obama, but word is that Hillary kindly turned him down. ;)
Peace,
Cynthia
"He apparently thinks they'll vote for his ticket just because there's a woman on it."
I think he's right.
The American people will fall in love with Sarah Palin.
Palin saluted "the 17 million cracks Hillary made in the glass ceiling" this afternoon.
Palin's a rock star.
Obama's yesterday's papers.
Bea, you really think women will vote against a VP candidate because the candidate has little experience and vote for Obama who has absolutely NO ACOMPLISHMENTS and NO EXPERIENCE. Palin can stand up and tick off accomplishments. Obama can say "I picked Joe Biden and wrote a book."
Furthermore, a little secret is that many women are pro-life in the secresy of the voting booth even if not on the street. The truth is women love children and know abortion is murder.
Anti-science? Is that your shorthand for belief in a Creator?
Sorry to disappoint you, Bea, but most women believe in God.
Obama's last gasp of a chance went up the chimney like a Santa Claus who left nothing under the tree today. He had to hope McCain would be stupid enough to pick a pro-choice candidate.
Didn't happen.
"but word is that Hillary kindly turned him down"
If you think Hillary would turn such an offer down, you apparently weren't paying attention in the
90's!
If you look at the end of my last post again you'll notice the "wink" emoticon: ;)
It means that I considered what I wrote a joke. Sorry to didn't get it.
Peace,
Cynthia
andrea-not snon
multi-non-personality anon doesn't know the diffrence between a creationist and someone who believes in God. Oh. well, I guess Palin isn't the only one who lacks intellect.
I'm not psychic like MNP anon- so I didn't see the McCain/Huckabee ticket coming. I guess the media can't spell because they are spelling Huckabee as "P-a-l-i-n"
"anon doesn't know the diffrence between a creationist and someone who believes in God"
just for a laugh, dreary dear, could you explain it to us?
also, tell us how Palin is anti-science
oh yeah, and where did free advice use the term, "creationist"?
just answer those few questions and we'll let you have some more meds and go back out in the rain
"It means that I considered what I wrote a joke. Sorry to didn't get it."
Sorry I didn't get it too, Cynthia.
That happens to me also. People never catch my jest.
"LOL, Paulin's only been in office for 2 years, to suggest she's as experienced as Obama is hilarious."
"Hillary supporters may be hurt their girl didn't win the primary, but they will not be conned into voting for the old fool who selected this inexperienced... political novice. He's spent months trying to persuade voters Obama isn't ready and then to prove he wasn't listening to the story his handlers had him tell, he picked someone who is even less ready."
It was close.
The judges stayed up all night debating it.
In the end, it was a tie.
Priya the Simple Queen's Subject and Caun't Bea That Stupid get co-awards for the most sexist statements of the day.
If Palin were a male, no one would be saying her experience was any less significant than Obama's.
She has a record of accomplishment, battling corrupt political opponents and fighting pork barrel pushes from special interests. And she has won those battles.
Obama has voted as the Democratic leadeship has instructed virtually every time and led no legislative initiative. In the Senate for three years, he has chosen to visit every Starbucks in America to ask latte drinkers to vote for him while Palin has been in the trenches fighting for what's right.
The only way Obama looks good in comparison is if you think men are naturally more competent than women.
And he's running for the top job while she's just aiming to be the understudy.
And so, PTSQS and CBTS, you both get an award today.
P.S. Have you guys seen clips of Sarah when she played b-ball in school?
I can't wait til she challenges Obama to a little one-on-one!
When you start to think about it, Obama really is a sexist.
Leave aside the Hillary decision and ask why he didn't consider Nancy Pelosi.
How is she less qualified than Biden?
Forget the women's vote. The true men of America will support their mothers and wives and daughters and vote McCain-Palin.
Change we can believe because it has been demonstrated.
In the words of Ronald Reagan:
"trust but verify"
"I can't wait til she challenges Obama to a little one-on-one!"
Oh, I'm sure he'll decline just like he chickened out when McCain challenged him to town hall debates this summer.
He's above all that sort of thing, you know. It's not bloody proper!
Barracuda Palin is under investigation for trying to have ex-brother-in-law fired from his job as an Alaska State Trooper.
And the GOP thought Hillary was a bitch!
It didn't take long. Palin's first lie as VP nominee:
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/08/well_that_didnt_take_long.php#more
“the term, "creationist"?”
What would you have us call you?
Hey, I know some of you guys are gay and stuff, so you might not get what the deal is. McCain made a good choice picking a totally hot chick for vice president. I mean come on, I want to see more of her!
I could handle McCain as president, but I don't like what I've heard so far (such as the creationism--good god, how could anyone believe in that!).
The reality is that John McCain is 72 years old, and it matters a great deal whom the Republican vice-presdidential nominee is.
"such as the creationism--good god, how could anyone believe in that"
It must be a dark little corner you inhabit. Most of humanity believes God created the universe and everything in it.
And all you have to say is "how could they"?
What are you afraid of?
It's wonderful seeing the troll multi-personality Free Advice-Red Baron-Green Baron-Low Rider-Riding the Wave try to rationalize and glorify McCain's worst mistake of his flip/flop campagn by "lauding" the career and accomplishmens of Ms. Palin, his least-qualified candidate for Vice President.
No doubt she make her mark on her PTA involvement and sitting on the city council of Wasilla, AK for 2 terms and acting as Mayor for 2 terms of that city (population 6,715 - (Wasilla's web site)- btw, for comparison purposes: Takoma Park has a population (as of 2000) of 17,200. She has been Governor of Alaska for less than 2 years (anniversary 12/04/08), a state with a population of 683,478 - a population smaller than Delaware or the city of Austin Texas.
www.ontheissues.org lists her positions on the pressing issues of the day:
Abortion - against
Civil Rights - against gay marriage
Death Penalty - would sign if the legislature of Alaska passed a law.
Energy - Positions on oil that would benefit Alaska.
Environment - Positions that would benefit Alaska.
Gun Control - opposed D.C.'s 32-yr ban on handguns (so far, her only "national" position)
Homeland Security - Visited Kuwait, encourages big game hunting in Alaska to troops (2007)
Supports National Guard promotion in Alaska. She is their "Commander"?
Social Security - supports the Seniors Longevity Bonus Program in Alaska.
Tax Reform - Supports the repeal of "nuisance taxes" in Alaska.
OTHER ISSUES:
Corporations - no position
Drugs - no position
Families and Children - no position
Foreign Policy - no position
Free Trade - no position
Immigration - no position
Principles and Values - (currently under investigation for ethics violations in the Department of Public Safety affair)
Technology - no position
Oh, and by the way, she shoots moose when she hunts and was a runner-up in a beauty contest!!
This is the individual Sen. McCain wants to be "one heartbeat from the Presidency". He really is thinking of the interests of the people of the United States (isn't that pathetic?); this is not meant to be seen as a naked political stunt or piteous poor judgement on his part. He really believes, I guess, that if something should happen to him, she could step in in an instant and take control of the government's responsibilities and America's foreign policy. No doubt, he believes that she can be "coached" on how to execute the duties of the office of Vice President of the United States by Carl Rove and Dick Chaney. How pathetic - how senile.
You, multi-personality Troll, should take your smarmy remarks to another blog site or, at least, get real!
American Citizen
The last comment starts:
"It's wonderful seeing the troll multi-personality Free Advice-Red Baron-Green Baron-Low Rider-Riding the Wave try to rationalize and glorify McCain's"
and ends:
"You, multi-personality Troll, should take your smarmy remarks to another blog site"
anyone notice anything strange?
Huh?
"his least-qualified candidate for Vice President"
This may be true by conventional measures but the problem for Democrats is that, by any objective measure, she has more experience than Obama and, vastly more important, has done so much more with her experience.
Like Obama, she began her career in local politics. While Obama fit in nicely with the famously corrupt Chicago political system she pushed back against the fatcats who used their position for self-interests- and she won.
What you will soon learn is that America is looking for a change to overall our political system. McCain has always rubbed the powers-to-be the wrong way and selected a soul mate. Obama plays the game and selected his own soul mate.
If this contest is between McCain-Obama, we win. If this contest is between Palin-Biden, we win. If this contest is between McCain-Biden, we win. And, though you haven't yet realized it, if this contest is between the experience of Obama and the experience of Sarah Palin, we win big!
'Keep on Smilin" - You said: "she (Palin) has more experience than Obama and, vastly more important, has done so much more with her experience." But, of course, she is not running against the much-more experienced Senator Obama, is she? And you also fail to mention that Sen. McCain has no "executive experience" either.
Palin has absolutely no qualifications to be the Vice President of the U.S. (even after explaining to her what the V.P. does). She is devoid of any experience on the NATIONAL level (unless you count her participation in her local PTA).
You are correct when you say "What you will soon learn is that America is looking for a change to overall our political system" (sic.). "McCain has always rubbed the powers-to-be the wrong way and selected a soul mate."
I suppose voting with Bush in 90%+ of his votes is an example of "rubbing the powers-to-be the wrong way"? And you are also right...Americans want to clean out the mess in Washington after 8 years of Bush, et al..and, despite his desperate attempts to excise his role in the fiasco of Republican rule, McCain still represents 4 more years of Bush destructiveness as much as he would like to convince Americans that he is "a reformer; an agent of change."
Americans also hope that Cindy is his "soul mate", not the 28 year younger Palin. That would be naughty(but, then again, he has been naughty before in his life)!
Diogenes
John McSame's pick of Palin is supposed to con the public into believing he's respectful of women and cares about their lives. And of course the mainstream press is going along with it. Maybe he does respect women, but does that include Democratic women, like the Hillary Clinton supporters he's trying to win over? Judge for yourself.
Here's some insight into the real John McShame that the mainstream press seems loath to report.
...at a Republican Senate fund-raiser, McCain told a downright nasty joke making fun of Janet Reno, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.
The fact that McCain had made the tasteless joke was reported in major newspapers, as was the vain attempt by his press secretary to initially deny what McCain had done. But in several major newspapers, the joke itself was kept a secret. When McCain subsequently apologized to President Clinton, the Washington Post, in its personality section, noted the apology but said the joke "was too vicious to print."
The Los Angeles Times, in its Life & Style section, provided an oblique rendering of the joke that did not fully convey its ugliness. When Maureen Dowd penned a column in the New York Times about the joke, she wrote that McCain "is so revered by the press that his disgusting jape was largely nudged under the rug." But Dowd chose not to relay the joke, either.
The joke did appear in McCain's hometown paper, the Arizona Republic, and the Associated Press did report the joke in full, so everyone in the press had access to McCain's words. But by censoring themselves, the Post, the Times and others helped McCain deflect flak and preserved his status as a Republican presidential contender.
Salon feels its readers deserve the unadulterated truth. Though no tape of McCain's quip has yet emerged, this is what he reportedly said:
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."
...McCain's two-liner conveys some interesting insights into what he considers humorous (lesbianism, a young woman's physical appearance), particularly since it was delivered to a Republican crowd. Remember, this is the party that champions pro-family values.
Now imagine that Bill Clinton had told a similar joke about some GOP big wig's kid. Does anyone believe think the mainstream press would have refrained from publishing it?
6 things Palin pick says about 'maverick' McCain
by David Mark and Fred Barbash - Aug. 31, 2008 12:00 AM
Politico
The selection of a running mate is among the most consequential, most defining decisions a presidential nominee can make. John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decision-making - and some of it is downright breathtaking.
We knew McCain is a politician who relishes improvisation and likes to go with his gut. But it is remarkable that someone who has repeatedly emphasized experience in this campaign named an inexperienced governor he barely knew to be his No. 2. Whatever you think of the pick, here are six things it tells us about McCain:
• 1. He's desperate. Let's stop pretending this race is as close as national polling suggests. The truth is McCain is essentially tied or trailing in every swing state that matters - and too close for comfort in several states like Indiana and Montana the GOP usually wins pretty easily in presidential races. On top of that, voters seem very inclined to elect Democrats in general this election and seem very sick of the Bush years.
McCain could easily lose in an electoral landslide. That is the private view of Democrats and Republicans alike.
McCain's pick shows he is not pretending. Politicians, even "mavericks" like McCain, play it safe when they think they are winning - or see an easy path to winning. They roll the dice only when they know that the risks of conventionality are greater than the risks of boldness.
The Republican brand is a mess. McCain is reasonably concluding that it won't work to replicate George W. Bush and Karl Rove's electoral formula, based around national security and a big advantage among Y chromosomes, from 2004. "She's a fresh new face in a party that's dying for one - the antidote to boring White men," a campaign official said.
Palin, the logic goes, will prompt voters to give him a second look, especially women who have watched Democrats reject Hillary Clinton for Barack Obama.
The risks of a backlash from choosing someone so unknown and so untested are obvious. In one swift stroke, McCain demolished what had been one of his main arguments against Obama.
"I think we're going to have to examine our tag line, 'dangerously inexperienced,' "a top McCain official said wryly.
• 2. He's willing to gamble - big time. Let's face it: This is not the pick of a self-confident candidate. It is the political equivalent of a trick play or, as some Democrats called it, a Hail Mary pass in football. McCain talks incessantly about experience and then goes and selects a woman he hardly knows, who hardly knows foreign policy and who can hardly be seen as instantly ready for the presidency.
He is smart enough to know it could work, at least politically. Many Republicans see this pick as a brilliant stroke because it will be difficult for Democrats to run hard against a woman in the wake of the Clinton drama. Will this push those disgruntled Clinton voters to McCain? Perhaps. But this is hardly aimed at them: It is directed at the huge bloc of independent women, especially those who do not see abortion as make-or-break, who could decide this election.
McCain has a history of taking dares. Palin represents his biggest one yet.
• 3. He's worried about the political implications of his age. Like a driver overcorrecting out of a swerve, he chooses someone who is two years younger than the youthful Obama and 28 years younger than he is. (He turned 72 on Friday.) The father-daughter comparison was inevitable when they appeared next to each other.
• 4. He's not worried about the actuarial implications of his age. He thinks he's in fine fettle, and Palin wouldn't be performing the only constitutional duty of a vice president, which is standing by in case a president dies or becomes incapacitated. If he was really concerned about an inexperienced person sitting in the Oval Office, we would be writing about vice presidential nominee Mitt Romney or Tom Ridge or Condoleezza Rice. There is no plausible way that McCain could say that he picked Palin, who was only elected governor in 2006 and whose most extended public service was as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population 8,471), because she was ready to be president on Day One.
Nor can McCain argue that he was looking for someone he could trust as a close adviser. Most people know the staff at the local Starbucks better than McCain knows Palin. They met for the first time in February at a National Governors Association meeting in Washington. Then, they spoke again - by phone - last Sunday while she was at the Alaska state fair and he was at home in Arizona.
McCain has made a mockery out of his campaign's longtime contention that Obama is too dangerously inexperienced to be commander in chief. Now, the Democratic ticket boasts 40 years of national experience (four years for Obama and 36 years for Joe Biden of Delaware), while the Republican ticket has 26 (McCain's four years in the House and 22 in the Senate.)
The McCain campaign has made a calculation that most voters don't really care about the national experience or credentials of a vice president and that Palin's ebullient personality and reputation as a reformer who took on cesspool politics in Alaska matters more.
• 5. He's worried about his conservative base. If he had room to maneuver, there were lots of people McCain could have selected who would have represented a break from Washington politics as usual. Sen. Joseph Lieberman comes to mind (and it certainly came to McCain's throughout the process). He had no such room. GOP stalwarts were furious over trial balloons about the possibility of choosing a supporter of abortion rights, including the possibility that he would reach out to his friend.
Palin is an ardent opponent of abortion who was previously scheduled to keynote the Republican National Coalition for Life's "Life of the Party" event in the Twin Cities this week.
"She's really a perfect selection," said Darla St. Martin, co-director of the National Right to Life Committee. It is no secret McCain wanted to shake things up in this - and he realized he was limited to a shake-up conservatives could stomach.
• 6. At the end of the day, McCain is still McCain. People may find him a refreshing maverick or an erratic egotist. In either event, he marches to his own beat.
On the upside, his team did manage to play to the media's love of drama, fanning speculation about his possible choices and maximizing coverage of the decision.
On the potential downside, the drama was evidently entirely genuine. The fact that McCain spoke with Palin about the vice presidency for only the first time last Sunday, and that he was seriously considering Lieberman until days ago, suggests just how hectic and improvisational his process was.
In the end, this selection gives him a chance to reclaim the mantle of a different kind of politician intent on changing Washington. He once had a legitimate claim to this. After all, he took on his own party over campaign-finance reform and immigration. He jeopardized this claim in recent months by embracing ideas he once opposed (Bush tax cuts) and ideas that appeared politically motivated (gas-tax holiday). Spontaneity, with a touch of impulsiveness, is one of the traits that attract some of McCain's admirers. Whether it's a good calling card for a potential president will depend on the reaction in coming days to what looks for the moment like the most daring vice presidential selection in generations.
"Palin has absolutely no qualifications to be the Vice President of the U.S. (even after explaining to her what the V.P. does). She is devoid of any experience on the NATIONAL level"
Uh, Dio, this generation of Americans doesn't believe sitting on the Senate floor constitutes a qualification to be President. They prefer a lack of experience on the "National" level.
Let's start 32 years ago:
1976, Carter, no national experience
1980, Reagan, no national experience
1988, Big Daddy Bush, oops
1992, Clinton, no national experience
1980, Baby Bush, no national experience
So, 4 of the last 5 elected Presidents had no "National" experience before being elected President.
So, by what stretch of the partisan imagination does that disqualify a vice presidential candidate.
Truth is, this is a democracy. Joe Biden ran for President and got less votes than the attendance at a good-sized trade convention.
Obama chose him rather than the candidate who demonstrated widespread national support because that candidate was a woman and he has a sexist fear of powerful women.
Obama made a bad choice. McCain demonstrated he will provide a change that will renew America.
McCain is proof of the old adage:
just keep being yourself and, sooner or later, the world will catch up with you
Remeber last Thursday night when Jim Kennedy was talking about how John McCain was having trouble filling the hall in Dayton for his first appearance with his VP selection?
As it turned out, the hall was bursting through the rafters:
"ST. PAUL, Minn. (Aug. 31) - The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate has electrified conservative activists, providing a boost of energy to the GOP nominee-in-waiting from a key constituency that previously had been lukewarm — at best — about him.
By tapping the anti-abortion and pro-gun Alaska governor just ahead of his convention, which is set to start here Monday, McCain hasn’t just won approval from a skeptical Republican base — he’s ignited a wave of elation and emotion that has led some grass-roots activists to weep with joy.
Serious questions remain about McCain’s pick — exactly how much he knows about her and her positions, past and present, on key issues. But for the worker bee core of the party that is essential to any Republican victory, there are no doubts.
“I woke up and my e-mail was just going crazy,” said Charmaine Yoest, head of the legislative arm of Americans United for Life and a former top official in Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign. “And then when it was announced — it was like you couldn’t breathe.”
The media elite — as well as elite members of the GOP consulting community — have all but mocked Palin as a former small-town mayor with zero Washington experience. But that view of her totally misses the cultural resonance she carries to crucial Republican power centers and could not be more at odds with the jubilation felt among true believers that one of their own is on the ticket.
Palin, say conservative activists, has instantly changed how they feel about McCain’s campaign and spurred them to go to work for the Republican ticket.
First, though, they’re expressing their newfound fondness for McCain with their checkbooks. Since tapping Palin, the campaign has raised nearly $7 million online, according to McCain aides.
Most importantly for McCain, the two constituencies who are most energized by Palin just happen to be the twin grassroots pillars of the GOP: anti-abortion activists and pro-Second Amendment enthusiasts and sportsmen. Without these two camps making phone calls, stuffing envelopes and knocking on doors, Republican presidential candidates would severely lack for volunteers. They are critical to the health of the conservative coalition that has dominated Republican politics for a generation.
Not only is the 44-year-old governor opposed to abortion rights — but she carried and gave birth to a child with Down syndrome earlier this year, a profound and powerful motivating force to both opponents of abortion rights and the parents and relatives of special needs children.
And not only is she a supporter of the right to bear arms — but she’s a lifetime member of the NRA and an avid hunter and fisherman whose gubernatorial office couch is adorned with a massive grizzly bear pelt.
“She’s lived it!” exulted Yoest. “It’s so satisfying as a conservative woman. When she walked out on that stage there was just this moment. It was really emotional for a lot of us.”
After hearing the news, Yoest, who was in St. Paul preparing for the convention, said she and other Republican women here “were grabbing each other and jumping up and down.”
Steve Duprey, a former New Hampshire GOP chairman and top McCain backer who hails from the moderate wing of the party, was also in the Twin Cities when the news broke.
“I was in the Rules Committee with about 150 people in the room. They had TVs set up and we took a break to watch the announcement. For a second after she came out, it was silent. Then there was a gasp and everybody stood up and started cheering and clapping. We stayed standing the whole speech.”
After Palin finished, he said, the emotion set in.
“There were 10 or 12 women, party stalwarts, in tears, using napkins and handkerchiefs.”"
because that candidate was a woman and he has a sexist fear of powerful women.
Anon is obviously projecting another of his fears. Obama doesn't fear women, he respects them.
Obama made a bad choice
McCain made the bad choice. His vetting committee missed Troopergate, Alaska style.
McCain is proof of the old adage
McCain IS the old adage.
"His vetting committee missed Troopergate"
No, he didn't. It isn't a "gate".
Sarah Palin had the authority to fire the individual she did and was not required to give an account for the reason.
No, he didn't. It isn't a "gate".
The "individual" was her brother-in-law, who was in a huge custody battle with her sister. It's not part of Sarah Palin's "authority" to use her tax-payer paid position to punish a member of her own family. What a vindictive bitch.
Actually, the person she fired was his superior.
There are also many allegations of misconduct by the trooper.
Why don't you get the facts and then start tossing around your, um, interesting ideas?
I'm not the only one interested.
USA Today reports:
Palin retains lawyer over probe into alleged bid to fire trooper
More not-so-good news today regarding Sen. John McCain's running mate.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has hired a lawyer to defend her in the state Legislature's investigation of whether Palin fired former public safety commissioner Walter Monegan because he refused to sack a state trooper — her former brother-in-law, who had divorced Palin's sister.
Three weeks ago the governor had to backtrack from weeks of denials that she or anyone from her office had pressured Monegan to fire Trooper Michael Wooten. She admitted Aug. 13th that a member of her administration had made calls that could be perceived as pressure.
KTVA and the Anchorage Daily News have background on the case. Here's the Daily News' archive of related articles.
Update at 7:17 p.m. ET: The McCain campaign says that the state, not Palin, hired Anchorage attorney Thomas V. Van Flein to represent her in her capacity as governor, and that he has been working for several weeks.
"The governor of every state gets legal counsel and this attorney is part of a weeks-old effort to provide this governor defense in a series of outlandish politically motivated charges," said Tucker Eskew, a senior McCain adviser. "This legal defense is neither new nor uncommon nor at all political. It is a matter of her job and is not recent and it is not related to her selection on the McCain-Palin ticket."
Posted by Michael Winter at 05:51 PM/ET, September 01, 2008 in Politics | Permalink
yes, uh, fascinatin'
fascinatin'
taxpayers are footing the bill to defend the gov from charges she fired the guy who refused to fire her ex-bro-in-law from the alaska state troopers
her oldest daughter is going to have a baby in December during her senior year of high school
duh
divorce, custody battles, revenge, premarital sex and unplanned pregnancy, shotgun weddings
these are family problems, not family values
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