Are you saying that the person one heartbeat from the presidency should be any less qualified?

I view proven experience as less important for VP than POTUS.

That said, I have serious reservations regardin Palin for the very reasons you allude to. If only you clowns had similar concerns regarding Obama. But I digress.

Rogue,

Click my profile - I see it too.

Crispee,

What up, girlfriend!

;-)

Joking aside, you raise several points.

The one that I find to be the most salient is that we are comparing the qualifications of Sarah Palin (running for veep) vs. Obama (Running for POTUS)

I was about to comment but Murph beat me to it.

Hey Rob...

I made a couple of references to that time when you made Boyd cry. He ignored them of course, but got kinda angry with me a bit later.

Do you sense a new handle in the making?

Rogue,

Your party screwed up.

A Clinton/Obama ticket would have been killer - possibly 12 years of the DNC running the White House. Now? This election will likely go down to the wire.

Rogue,

It's infurating, isnt it?

She has all sorts of potential but is SO unproven, with such a minimal resume.

Sound familiar?

No Jeff, it's a whole nother thing....

OK.

So, the old "Gooner" thread has morphed into a mucic thread?

Cool!

Yeah. Right. Link me to something aside from the RNC,

No problem.

However, I suspect you aren't looking for a link - I am sure you are well aware of her shakedown of Alaskan corruption.

You are probably wise to bail on this though - I sense that Rob was gearing up to make you cry.

Again.

Damn, I guess we can't be accused of deifying Obama anymore since Sarah Palin seems to be the real Messiah.

Not even close.

Look, I fully agree that some of her appeal is superfical, but she hasn't caused anybody to faint yet.

Marvelous?

Gal,

I don't think it was sexist.

I just think he was channeling Billy Crystal.

Well, for starters, you didn't name an accomplishment of Palin's, so when you do that and cite it, then we can begin.

Are you serious?

She's been the equivalent of the Tasmanian Devil in regards to dealing with entrencbed, Alaskan corruption.

I agree that her resume is ultimately lacking. That said, so is Obama's.

Lastly, you'd better be careful. I suspect that Rob is itching to make you cry. Again.

Gal,

I DVR'd her speech and watched it 3 times.

It was exceptionally delivered.

That said, she was a bit too attack-dog-ish for my tastes. Add to that the fact that some of her claims were misleading.

She has more to prove for me.

Gal,

Obama/Biden were careful to say at the convention how much they like McCain, respect his service, etc. They have said he isn't a bad person, but that he just doesn't get it on the issues.

This is how I see it...

Per usual, people are ready for a moderate change. By default, the Democrats provide that. As such, focusing on issues, given the pendulum swinging for change, is their strength. This is nothing new and has been a part of our politics since 1776.

This poses McCain with a unique challenge. He needs to paint himself as an agent of change, even though he is of the same party as Bush. Palin adds serious cred in this regard. However, to say that 2 Republicans are going to be reforminsts after the GOP had total power for 6 years just doesn't fly.

The best chance the Republicans have is to line up strengths vs. weaknesses. McCain has truly proven himself over and over again. Obama hasn't.

Biden is proven, but stodgy. Palin is like a female Obama - very much unproven, but is a crowd-pleaser.

This election should come down to McCain vs. Obama and McCain would love nothing more for it to be about himself vs Obama as opposed to platforms. McCain is far more proven than Obama.

Ultimately, I think this election comes down to Palin. I really do. I think the strenghts, weaknesses and strategic advnatages and disadvantes between the 2 even out. Biden is a known entity and he'll hold serve. This puts things into Palin's court. She HAS to perform very well. Period.

It'll be fascinating to watch.

BetelG,

Please don't slip back into Cooperville.

You really have done well under your current handle.

Yet, you seem to be slipping.

Keep your head above water, dude!

Don't morph back into Cooper, or "Badweek with a twist of bitch."

Mod,

She is an exciting candidate, but still has much to prove.

Her recent track record is impressive, but she remains largely untested.

I do like her, but she needs to continue to perform.

I am not sold yet.

Gal,

I agree that a fair amount of the 'Palin-Sensation' is superficial.

It's annoying, isn't it?

To have a candidate whom has a very thin resume, who has a pretty face and delivers a good speech and is adorned an underserved status??? Yes, I feel something familiar here.

I can't wait for swooning followers to faint when she gives a speech.

I can't wait for Chris Matthews to claim that just listening to her gives him shivers up his leg.

I can't wait for Oprah to label one of her speeches as the best ever since Lincoln.

I can't wait for her supporters to lecture you that her lack of experience is actually a good thing - she has yet to be corrupted by corporate DC.

I can't wait for her supporters to proclaim that she will unite the entire globe and bring us all together.

I can't wait for her supporters to spin EVERY gaffe, no matter how egregious, just because she's Sarah.

I can't wait for SNL skits satirizing the swooning treatment she's been given by the press.

NOW - Substitute the pronoun "he" for "she" in my above comments, and you'll get the picture.

I think I may have actually just shit my pants hearing this from an Obama supporter...

#198 | Posted by Rob_The_A_Hole

Game. Set. Match!

I guess I fail to see where my skin pigmentation has anything to to with anything. Perhaps you folks can continue to clue me in.'

Skin pigmentation has nothing to do with anything. It's the salinity that we detect from a tear-duct overflow that is being alluded to. ;-)

Gal,

I don't think Biden or Obama can beat Palin up.

I could be wrong, but she doesn't strike me as the type to whine and complain, nor does she strike me as the type to back down.

That being said, I can easily envision her losing a debate from a substantive standpoint. As much as I enjoyed her speech and respect her recent accomplishments, she is still very much unproven.

Rob,

Are you going to try and make BetelG cry again?

My prediction is that no later than a couple of weeks from now she'll grant an interview to an approved lefty source. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it.

McCain comes off as supremely confident in her. Granted, his intitial strategy was brilliant - upstage Obama coming down from the clouds and delivering a sermon by announcing, a mere 12 hours later, an extremely intriguing pick. It totally took the wind out of Obama's sails and may have cost him close to a 10-point post-conventtion bounce.

S'Ok - McCain rolled the dice. He created a new media sensation in Palin. The problem is, now the spotlight is on her. In order for this ploy to work, she has to perform.

I'd guess that she'll be quickly eased into a 'true' media venue. She'll start on the campaign trail - she'll flash her cans and rev up the base. Then, she'll do a couple of puff pieces - she'll go on Letterman and the View. Then, she'll get bold and do a Hannity interview. This will run through the end of September. Then, at the beginning of October, she'll do a bona fide interview...and a second.

Granted, this is all speculative, but I really do think this is how it will all play out. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that this woman isn't easily intimidated.

Time will tell.

Chair,

I think you've made truthhurts angry.

"She can't give an interview with the press.

It's too tough."

Don't worry, the McCain camp will back off this siliness and she'll give microphone time.

I can see it now:

McCain camp: After what the media did to her, do you think she's going to grant you dicks microphone time?

Response: As she's a heartbeat away from the presidency - if she can't handle the media dicks, how can she handle Ahmediniblowjob?

What's good for the goose and all that.

TH,

Did the Washtington Times story create a national blur, with all sorts of pundits calling into question Biden's parenting skills?

Was Biden then chasised by the media for even staying in politics when he should have been home raising his kids - after his wife died?

Don't be disingenuous. You are comparing apples and oranges and you know it.

DR liberals:

Don't get your panties all knotted up. If she doesn't do at least a couple of interviews, McCain loses. She's generated so much of a media maelstorm and public interest. People want to see her - they want to get to know her better. If the public is denied access, they'll turn away.

Unless a whitey tape surfaces in October (it won't) or something dramatic happens in October, like getting Bin Laden; McCain is toast unless she does some press time.

If McCain ends up trying to shield her from the press, I can see the October Obama ads now:

[ soundbyte ] He voted present over 130 times. He couldn't vote yes or no. I was too tough. [ /soundbyte ]

[ voice-over ] The Republican party claims that Barack Obama is too timid to be president. Barack Obama has done countless interviews with the press. Sarah Palin has done 1; with Fox News. Who's REALLY too timid to be president? [ /voice-over ]

That will play out big time with the voter and I don't think McCain can build enough of a lead to be able to deal with a slide in the final stretch.

I can see waiting a couple of weeks before doing interviews - Go out on the campaign trail and whip up that base, and all that.

However, she can only hide for so long before it becomes apparent that she's hiding.

She's going to have to do some serious interviews and she can't wait until the middle of October to do it. Oh, and going onto Leno doesn't constitute a serious interview.

Message to John McCain:

If you felt so strongly that she was your best choice for a running mate, you are going to have to show confidence in her and allow her to get before the press. If you don't, you'll lose this election.

This article perfectly sums up my view of Palin as a VP pick.

McCain staked an awful lot into her - she's going to have to perform extremely well for it to pay off in the long-haul of this campaign battle.

Its OK to think that. Its even fine to say that. But to actively campaign for, support, and advise the candidate from the other party, while disparaging the candidate from your own, then you should expect some repercussions.

Chances are Lieberman never would have spoke on behalf of McCain had your duechebag party not tried to ruin him.

You've got your cause and effect backwards.

At this point, Lieberman had nothing to lose.

"I would like to include Biden except for the fact he got less votes for President from his own party than Palin's Mayor run." Posted by Crispee OC

Or not...

"Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries."

Semantical 'gotcha' posts are so beneath you, Rogue.

I believe he intended his remark to mean that she got a higher percentage of the vote.

Regardless, while your respons was 'technically' accurate it was a bit lame in comparison with most of your other posts on any subject.

She did READ a good speech last night.

Christ almighty!!

Don't be a fucking hack, Jimmy.

She delivered an exceptional speech.

Disagree with the content? No problem.

That said, fucking-A, give at least a modicum of credit where it's due. It was a great speech in terms of delivery.

Please note - as much as I am impressed with Palin thus far, she still has much to prove - to me. She needs to get herself in front of the camera and answer tough questions levied by a media that is seeking blood.

Yes, it was a tremendous speech - but it was extensively rehearsed and it was presented in the friendliest of atmospheres.

Rogue,

Given the timeline, it's VERY possible that the Palin couple didn't realize that Sarah was pregnant when they eloped.

Just sayin'

Rogue,

I appreciate your honesty.

I just re-watched the speech.

The deliver was exceptional, to say the least - she seems to be a natural.

No problem disagreeing with the content.

Nevertheless, it takes a pure hack to state that her delivery was anything less than 'very good'.

Watching it again on TV - and looking for the red border, I think Anamerican is correct.

yeah not sure if it is an israeli flag either upon reconsideration,

I am quite curious.

Eagerly awaiting a closeup of it.

Damn! If I'd bothered to upgrade my service, I'd likely be able to discern the pattern with HD.

why is she fighting the investigation?

It's far from unprecedented to seek legal counsel when being investigated.

TH,

I don't see the red outline either.

I also don't see the 2 thick blue horizontal lines that are part of the Israeli flag pin.

Gotta hand it to McCain.

The media has been fawning all over Obama for 19 months now.

He picks Palin for Veep and Obama is now old news. The lens that Palin has been placed under is enormous. Granted, the media has been harsh, but she's gotten an unprecedented level of attention and coverage nonetheless.

What I find so fascinating is the unmitigated hatred the left has for this woman. Usually it takes a lot more than 5 days to generate such hatred, even in politics.

I think this is partly due to the Uncle Tom complex. Palin's story belongs on the left side of the fence, according to the narrative. The fact that she's conservative infuriates the lefties. She is the next Clarence Thomas - mark my words.

Skiz,

Both Gingrich and Rove commented favorably on Palin last night, BEFORE she gave her speech.

There's just no way they can allow anyone other than a shill to have free access to her.

Then McCain loses.

She is now the buzz of this election, BY FAR.

If the press is denied access to her; picking her backfires. Big time.

I'm hearing from other threads the press will be forbidden to have access to Palin. Anyone the least bit concerned about that?

If it happens - yes, I would be very concerned.

That said, we also had rabid Obamaites, as recently as yesterday, claiming with iron-clad certainty that she'd be dropped from the ticket.

My prediction is that she will get a shit-load of unfettered press-time. McCain has staked his campaign on her and I suspect he believes that she will shine when interviewed.

Regardless, time will tell.

MW,

From your provided pics, the 2 thick horizontal lines aren't visible on Palin's pin.

It left me feeling that Obama and Michelle are much more real, more down to earth.

You've got to be shitting me!

More real.

She and her family couldn't be more of a microchosm of blue-collar America.

Contrast that with Mr. Ivy League.

Zed,

Oh, I think it's very possible that she retaliates.

I also know that every story has at least 2 sides to it. She created a lot of enemies with her house-cleaning. This could all be a bunch of spiteful BS to get back at her.

I prefer to reserve judgement on something like this until all of the evidence is in.

PALIN's constituents say she keeps and enemy's list and and is noted for personal retaliation.

I am guessing those making the claim are part of the 20% who disapprove of her performance...

I don't think we're going to be witnessing many opportunities for the press--they're the enemy, remember--to quiz Sarah about much of anything.

If she takes such a tack, she dooms her ticket.

McCain has basically staked his campaign on her. He pretty much had to make a risky move - it was the only way he could give himself a fighting chance in this election.

She's going to have to make herself very available to the press and when interviewed, she is going to have to perform well.

How many governors claim to have said "Thanks, but no thanks" to the dough for a project and then kept the dough anyway?

Since she didn't actually build the bridge, her claim is valid, in a Clintonian sort of way.

Joking aside, you raise a valid point.

What surprises me is just how much abject hatred so many lefties and Democrats have for Palin.

She's been on the national scene for all of 5 days now.

Give her some time to be really offensive, before y'all go into your collective hate-fest.

then keeping the money

Serious question: How many governors turn down a free check from the US government?

You're becoming a blind sided loon jj.

How so?

You claimed her pin was that of an Israeli flag. I did a little digging and based upon my observations, I think you are mistaken. If I could get a clear, close-up of her pin, I would be appreciative.

they can't see the anti-patriot ways even when it blatantly defaces our country on national TV

When I scrutinize the pin she's wearing, it doesn't resemble the Israeli flag pin I linked.

It is clear that the right has gotton so spiteful and hateful toward the democrats

Turn that back around - You seem to carry so much hatred for Republicans that you see things that aren't there. I am not ruling out the possiblity that what she's wearing is an Israeli flag pin. Nevertheless, it doesn't look like it to me, based upon my observations. If only I had a closeup of her pin.

Sorry MW.

I know you REALLY want to hate this woman with every fiber of your being, but based upon my observations, you probably will need to find a different reason for hating her.

MW,

Looking at the pic of the pin I linked, I think you are wrong.

The dot on her pin looked solid, whereas the Star on the pin I linked is not solid. Not to mention the missing horizontal lines.

Seriously, you may have jumped to a premature conclusion on this one.

MW,

When I look at the pin on my TV, I see a white square with what looks like a blue dot in the middle - the Star of David?

However, I don't see the 2 horizontal lines above and below the star, as depicted in the link I provided above.

You may want to cool your jets on this until you get incontrovertible proof.

Let me go back to my TV and see if I can get a better view of her pin.

Here's a picture of an Israeli flag pin:

MW,

Your link didn't help.

I got a better shot of it on my TV and then, couldn't make out what the pin was.

But don't kid yourself: Sarah Palin is a hypocrite and a loon.

Of course she is - she has an (R) after her name.

Just being a Republican makes her a hypocrite and ANY religious belief makes her a loon.

Of course, the religious thing doesn't apply to Mr. Black theology Obama.

She comes across as a snide, sneering, self-righteous shithead.....and she has an (R) after her name, which is all you need to know.

Seriously, can you name 5 Republicans in the federal government whom you don't hate with a passion beyond all belief?

MW,

I have a 37" LCD TV, but haven't upgraded our service to HD as of yet.

As such, I couldn't get a close enough read on it to determine what the pin represented.

Nevertheless, I suspect you are probably correct - I am sure the incontrovertible truth will come out by day's end.

Anyhow, for the sake of argument, let's assume you are correct. This is a BAD decision on her part. She's likely wearing it as a way of blunting assertions that she's a Nazi sympathizer. Regardless, VERY stupid move on her part.

Rcade,

OK.

Let me ammend my comment a bit.

He held him for the vast majority of the speech.

the guy is a republican hack defending the party choice with shit loads of rhetoric.

So, you are claiming that he didn't source his claims then?

I do find it interesting that you have chosen to ignore the FACT that palin showed her unpatriotic nature and border traitorous standing by wearing an israeli pin not a U.S. pin.

Give me a minute on this one - I DVR'd her speech. Let me check out the pin and get back with you.

Sarah Palin's enthusiasm for "abstinence-only" sex education,

And the sole basis for this assessment is her answer on an either/or questionaire.

Her choices were:

"Explicit sex ed" - which included distributing contraceptives in school and in-school clinics.

"Abstinence ed" - Notice the lack of the word 'only'.

The question itself contains so many vagaries that answering either way is likely to yield a misleading answer.

She may very well be in favor of 'abstinence-only' sex ed, in which case I'd agree with your consternation.

Regardless, the author's point is a non-sequitur, unless he can prove that teenage girls exposed to 'explicit sex ed' and who are given free contraceptives on the tax-payers' dime, don't ever get pregnant.

It's nothing more than a shitty rationalization to drag Bristol Palin through the mud as a means of attacking her mother.

I really hope she clarifies her stance on this. Until she does, I won't falsely assign a position to her, one way or another.

Starvis,

The guy who wrote the article you re-produced is conflating issues. Questioning Palin's stance on issues, her performance in public life, etc are to be expected and welcomed.

That said, you are living in a dream world if you haven't observed the Soap-opera, Jerry Springer-esque coverage of her thus far.

MW,

Posting an article doesn't mean that I agree 100% with its content.

Regardless, the guy really did his homework and provided a shitload of links to back up his assertions.

Alex,

Agreed that McCain has gotten an easy ride; although I'd characterize it differently - he's gotten no ride. The amount of coverage Obama has gotten vs. McCain is stark.

Starvis,

The attacks are to be expected among the partisans and the 2 parties.

What sets Palin apart is that the attacks came from the mainstream media.

CLR draws a salient conclusion based upon maybe 2 minutes worth of video. Never mind the fact that Palin's husband held the boy for the entire speech.

You're worse than Frist.

Larry,

I have been critical of some of the attacks on Obama - the ones that I felt were either baseless or of very little merit. Regardless, this site is so infested with Obama-supporters and Obama-cultists that ANY criticism of him is met with an immediate flurry of responses. Obama doesn't need my help on this blog.

Alex,

Let's compare convention speeches thus far.

Fair enough. That said, given the media's kid-glove treatment of Obama, for 19 months, somebody had to point some of this shit out.

To All,

I didn't post this thread as a 'woe is me' for Sarah Palin. I posted it as a means of debunking false claims made about her. She's in the big-leagues now and this type of shit is common; although I can't ever remember this much intense fury so quickly, but I digress.

This is a very long article, but certainly worth reading.

Anybody who has been particularly staunch in their criticisms of Sarah Palin, YET fancy themselves to be fair-minded and truth-seeking (are you listening, AU?) would do well for yourself to read this.

PS - I had to alter the headline a bit to make it fit into RCade's 50-character cap.

Sarah Palin just passed her first test with flying colors.

That said, let's analyze her first test:

An extensively rehearsed speech given in the friendliest of forums.

Now, she needs to do some serious interviews and answer some tough questions. She's also going to have to debate a seasoned veteran in Joe Biden.

She'll likely do very well in the fluff interviews - like going on Leno. She seems very much at ease and comes off as having a sweet and infectious demeanor.

As I've been saying; time will tell.

Lugar-Obama Bill Seeks to Secure Weapons

The Lugar-Obama Act (S. 2566) passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last Tuesday, May 23rd, and will proceed to the Senate floor. The bill, sponsored by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL) and co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of 17 other senators, would provide $25 million in funding to prevent the proliferation of conventional weapons and $50 million to help US allies detect and interdict weapons and materials of mass destruction.

The bill has been modeled after the Nunn-Lugar Act of 1991, which established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Although the Nunn-Lugar Act sought to secure nuclear weapons, the Lugar-Obama Act would expand the concept to include securing conventional weapons stockpiles. Of particular concern is the proliferation of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles (Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems, or MANPADS) which could pose a serious threat to commercial airliners, military installations, and government facilities.

The Lugar-Obama bill recognizes that the proliferation of conventional weapons is a major obstacle to peace, reconstruction, and economic development in regions suffering from conflict and instability,-- Lugar said. It calls upon the State Department to implement a global effort to seek out and destroy surplus and unguarded stocks of conventional armaments and to cooperate with allies and international organizations when possible.--

The bill also focuses on helping US allies to detect and interdict weapons and materials of mass destruction:

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is the number one national security threat that confronts the United States today,-- Obama said. Under Senator Lugars leadership, the Nunn-Lugar program has safely disposed of literally thousands of weapons of mass destruction which, had they fallen into the wrong hands, could have been used against America with catastrophic results. The Lugar-Obama bill will build on this success by helping other nations find and eliminate conventional weapons that have been used against our own soldiers in Iraq and sought by terrorists all over the world.

He worked as a community organizer. What?"
-Rudy

Rudy knows: if you have the chance, cash in. What did he make after 9/11...ten million? Stupid Obama could have made some serious cash outside of Harvard, but the idiot chose to help folks instead. Fool.

#704 | Posted by Danforth

1. Obama is quite wealthy

2. Community organizer? That's quite a blurb on the resume of an applicant seeking the White House. / snark

Gal,

If those were the issues that the media were focusing on; none of this would be an issue.

Klein's comment is disingenuous.

Oohrah,

I certainly agree.

That said, she needs to clearly demonstrate that she's not just a female Ted Nugent.

She needs to come accross as a serious candidate and she needs to demonstrate a firm knowledge of the issues. Furthermore, she needs to make no apologies for who she is.

Hopefully, she succeeds.

Time will tell.

As most of you already know, I view the mainstream media as biased left. That said, the vitriolic attacks against Governor Palin even caught me by surprise. The blogs are one thing, but mainstream media engaging in such utterly blatant partisanship???

If Obama is as smart as he's reputed to be, he will go on the offensive - in defense of Sarah Palin. If he does, he will earn my respect as an adept strategist. This WILL backfire - mark my words. What the media has been doing is beyond despicable. My god!! This woman has much to be criticized and scrutinized for. Yet, most of you, including your puppet-masters in the media focus on the stupidest and most offensive shit possible. I think Obama recognizes this, hence his immediate repudiation of such attacks.

If we've ever had a blatantly-open display of a biased-left media, this is it.

We'll never know as long as the McCain campaign keeps muzzling her.

Don't be a tool.

She has the biggest speech of her life tonight.

For some strange reason, I suspect she has been dedicating her time to preparation for it.

Now, if after the convention she goes into a shell, I would agree with you on this.

If this is the type of stuff the left wants to focus on, then I'd say that Palin should do quite well during campaign season.

Christ almighty BetelG.

You are the most literal person in the world, when it suits your fancy.

It's disappointing, really. You've actually done pretty well under your BetelG, handle. Relatively speaking of course. Tonight was a Cooper performance.

Toomuch,

Substantiate your claims with a direct quote, or stop falsely assigning positions to her.

SHE ELOPED CAUSE SHE WAS KNOCKED UP!

From your link:

Their first son, Track, was born eight months after their wedding

It's quite possible the young couple didn't even know she was pregnant when they decided to elope. She was barely a month pregnant at the time of their marriage.

Don't let that stop your typical, partisan masturbatory frenzy though. If you're having some difficulty getting things going, I can post some pics of dead US soldiers to help things along.

JEEZ! I didn't realize it's such an awful thing to get married and raise a family.

They would handle it the same way they did Gores kid in 2000 with the drug thing. They ignored it.

Which was pretty much the reaction when Ted Kennedy's son was involved in that auto accident a couple of years ago.

Danforth,

See my 415 post to AU in the recent comments section - it's on a different thread.

Her daughter's pregnancy is only proof that opposition to birth control is not in the best interests of hormone crazed teenage girls.

Can you substantiate that she personally opposes birth control? Do you have statements made directly by her to this effect?

If she drops out, or is removed from the ticket, McCain is sunk. Period.

I hate to break up a DR circle-jerk, but it just ain't very likely.

As much as her moral code and the way she and her family live their lives is so repellent to a bunch of lefties, that aspect of her life resonates with your average American.

She has much to be criticized for that will go over well in public.

Attacking her daughter and her parenting will likely backfire; so by all means, please continue.

If one of your backyard neighbor's girls got pregnant at 17, would you view that as a triumph of their parenting, or would you question their methods based on the results?

Given that I am well aware of how they parent their children, I'd chalk it up to their daughter making a serious mistake - a mistake that lots of other teens make (unprotected vaginal intercourse) without the misfortune of poor timing within the menstrual cyclce. Furthermore, contraception isn't 100% foolproof. My college roommate had a condom break on him when he was nailing his girlfriend. They nervously bit their nails waiting for her next period, which came 2 weeks late.

Lastly, in what way does a mistake made by her daughter in any way disqualify her for VP? As Murphy pointed out, Biden's kids made mistakes too.

In fact, it's completely at odds with her "I took on the old boy network" rhetoric either.

Fact is, during her early days as governor, and during her campaign, she did just that - took on, and defeated, the old boy network.

Your use of the term 'rhetoric' is disingenuous as she has tangible evidence to support her claim.

2 personal examples:

My family:

I work full-time and my wife works part-time. Our parents watch our boys 2 days per week. I guess that makes us 'shitty parents' according to the 'It Takes a Village' crowd. My backyard neighbors do the exact same thing for their 2 girls.

My neighbors accross the street both work full-time. They have an au paire (sp?) who watches their children during the day. They vetted the shit out of every au paire they've had and all have been nice and very engaged with the kids, based upon my observations. Both are actively engaged parents and their kids are nice, well-adjusted kids - their middle boy has special needs, he has systic phibrosis (sp?). Dad coached his middle son's little league team and they do a lot of family things on the weekends. I guess that makes them shitty parents.

What a bunch of judgemental creeps some of you are. You have no frickin' idea how the Palin's parent their children, you simply ascribe the worst to them because they have an (R) after their name.

Let's see, shall we start with having 5 kids and no time to raise them?

And you know this, how? You have no idea what her parenting is like in terms of how she budgets her time and 'sommat'.

Taking a plane to Texas in her third trimester while carrying a DS child.

Retaking a plane back to Alaska after her water had already broken.

Which she did only after consultation with her doctor.

Her belief in abstinance only sex education

That may or may not be her position. Impossible to tell based solely upon her answer on that questionaire, as I've outlined above. I'll use myself as an illustration:

I believe that a responsible, comprehensive sex-ed program should include extolling to virtues of abstinence to the point of it being a moral judgement. To that, I believe that kids should learn about various methods of contraception, and what their risks as well as prevention statistics are. STD's should be matter-of-factly covered as well. I am opposed to distributing contraception at school and have serious reservations about in-school sex clinics. Many on your side would characterize this stance as "abstinence-only."

I wonder what "entire truth" means?

I think he's waiting to see when Bristol actually gives birth.

If she gives birth over 6 months from now, the claim of being 5-months pregnant will be a proven lie and will add fire to his claims.

Spud,

If the Rethugs are trying to showcase their creeping fascism at this years Convention then they are certainly doing an excellent job of it here.

Arresting a little ole lady journo fer trying to cover a protest?

That's a bit heavy handed, innit?

From the article:

"Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of [Abdel] Kouddous and [Nicole] Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention," according to an announcement on the show's web site.

Interesting that you automatically take her version of events, without question whatsoever.

Also from the article:

Denis Moynihan of Free Speech TV says Goodman's videographers were filming riot police clashing with protestors at 9th and Jackson street when they were arrested.

Goodman was taken when she tried to intervene.

Some of the protestors turned violent and the police did their job - and Goodman "tried to intervene" which is, she got in their way when trying to perform their public duty.

I suppose the police should have let them riot away, given her attempt to intervene.

Shoe,

Tony is staying away from this blog until the entire truth comes out regarding Bristol's pregnancy.

Since the news of her pregnancy stikes a huge blow to his claim he felt it was only right to honor his word until the truth fully emerges.

I am taking a liberty here because this is from a private email, but I think I know Tony well enough to know that he'd want the truth out there regarding his recent abscence.

There's really no "vitriolic nastiness"...

What???!!!???

Have you been reading this blog? At all???

Here's a relatively unknown woman who came seriously into the spotlight a mere 4 days ago. During that time we've learned that:

1. She's a whore
2. She's a nasty and terrible mother
3. She's a bible-thumping bitch who opposes all forms of contraception - a blatant lie
4. She supports abstinence-only education with the sole basis for that claim being an answer to an either-or question of 'abstinence sex ed' (Notice the lack of the word "only" vs. 'explicit sex ed' which includes school-run clinics and free contraception distributed at school.) She needs to clarify her stance on this, but the "non-vitriolic" lefties have already assigned a position to her that she hasn't necessarily taken.
5. Her daughter is a whore, a dumb bitch, and got this way because her mom is a shitty parent. "Maybe she'd learn to keep her legs closed, if Palin was a better mom" - this one of course coming from the group touting the distribution of condoms in school because - teens are going to have sex anyway.
6. That Trig is actually Bristol's son and that Palin went to great lengths to obfuscate this fact.

You are either blind or willfully ignorant if you don't see this.

We've also uncovered some serious and well-reasoned criticisms of her and her ability to be #2.

Lastly, she is playing in the Big's now and this type of shit happens with every big-time candidate. I was just surprised at how quickly this type of vitriol came out and how intensely personal it is. It's not like Palin has made a ton of big-time speeches and proclamations and offensive comments - the basis for this vitriol is of the barely scratching-the-surface variety.

Governor Palin is the next Clarence Thomas for the Left.

She rackled the feminist establishment by being a Conservative Republican who has now achieved international stature.

The vitriolic nastiness is as much about her not toe-ing the feminist line as it is irrational Obamaites hating anything or anybody standing in the way of their candidate.

I think choosing her was a stroke of strategic brilliance.

That being said, she's going to be under intense scrutiny from a media that likely hates her guts; she'd better be up to the task or this pick will backfire.

Also, I have concerns regarding her readiness to step into the #1 position should something happen to McCain. Granted, his health is good and successful assassination attempts are historically rare. Nevertheless, it is a genuine risk, granted a nominal one. Now, given her supposed intellect (she came off well during her acceptance speech, but she still has to prove herself to me) and the fact that she is reputed as a quick study; coupling her governorship with 4-8 years at the veep would ausuage experience concerns for me.

The worst thing to ever happen to Obama: His supporters.

In their rabid shrill-ness, their cultish love for their Messiah coupled with their seething hatred for any and all opposition, they marginalize their chosen one.

Even BuffaloBob has observed this.

Corky has too, but I digress.

No asshole, I am attacking her for poor parenting skills.

And what, praytell would those be?

I am guessing you know her personally, have spent a lot of time around her family and personally witnessed her flogging her children for being insolent, or some shit like that.

Given how American politics work, this hurts McCain/Palin, at least a little bit, in the short-term. However, if the media and/or Dems try to make much out of this, particularly in light of Palin's public response to the rumors, it will backfire.

Blog away, lefties! Hopefully, it will 'bubble-up' into the national scene.

It's really too bad that Larry has left the DR.

He was always perfectly consistent regarding keeping the children of politics out of the process.

If he were here, he'd be sternly chiding all of the Lefties who are harping on this.

what kind of mother would bring International attention to her 17 year old pregnant daughter?

She didn't.

Rumorville was exploding in blogworld and she addressed the allegations.

She probably would have preferred this not come up at all, but once it did, she handled it responsibly IMO.

now convince Palin of that because she supports abstinence-only education.

The one comment I've seen from her neither affirms nor denies this claim.

It's something she needs to expound upon - unless of course you have something from her that supports your comment, in which case bring it forward. Please.

Leggo,

I didn't mean for it to be the end of the discussion.

The comment I initially responded to blasted the results of abstinence-only sex ed when the stats, in their purest form, simply don't support the contention.

Cabo,

This has nothing to do with Nazi-ism.

If you are going to call someone else an idiot, it's important to properly spell your words in the process.

It's really that simple.

As much as I yawn at spelling Nazi-ism, I do think it's important, when calling someone else an idiot, to spell all of your words correctly in such a post.

If not, it just lends itself to the 'self-retorting retort' tag(TM).

Mrs. J used that line when she proposed.

And I acquiesced.

AU,

Yes, it was pretty funny, actually.

The lighting was so bad that it was extremely difficult to clearly make out facial features. The only thing I saw was that his hairline was considerably receded when compared with pictures I've seen of Palin's hubbie.

Perhaps he wears a toupe?

Typical, can't tell who is liberal or conservative unless someone tells you.

Oh, I can spot liberal and conservative.

What is helpful with studies such as these is to measure the degree of liberalism of conservatism relative to their peers.

How many times am I going to have to smack you around before you bow to my obvious superiority?

I think it was awfully damn white of her daughter to get pregnant again so soon, just to cover up for her mom.

#223 | Posted by Corky

That was seriously funny!

I didn't go near my wife for 6 weeks, and even then it was very rare for another couple... Squeezing 5.5-9 pounds out of a woman literally tears a vagina up. Its the most disgusting/amazing event you could ever witness...

#221 | Posted by Rob_The_A_Hole

Which is precisely why the insipid claims of Palin faking her last pregnancy will die a quiet death. At best, it's barely a mathematical possiblity - and then the whole torn-vagina thing comes into play.

now he is most liberal.

It depends on which study is looked at.

The study (the name of it escapes me at the moment) that seems most respected by both sides has Obama and Biden tied for 10th most liberal in the senate.

Whore,

Allowing for estimation vagaries, she would have had to have sex almost immediately (within a few days) of conceiving Trig. My wife was very sore down there for about 4 weeks.

Anything is possible, but you are really grasping at straws with this one.

There is an obvious lack of parenting.

A 17 year-old girl getting pregnant is the result of bad parenting?

What if a 17-year old child engages in unprotected sex, but doens't get pregnant?

What about a 17-year old child getting drunk, despite the warnings of her parents?

Kids fuck up. The fact that Palin came forward with the truth and is supportive (at least publicly) bodes well for her.

As a Michigan resident who has plenty of family and friends tied to Ford, it has been extremely painful to watch the revolutionary Taurus evolve into a rental car.

The newest iteration is a decent-enough model, but it's almost to the point of too-little too-late.

Cabo,

That is disingenuous, at best.

You can't blame the unions for the Big-3 putting all of their R&D eggs into the SUV basket while, at the very same time, relegating the mid-size, family sedan to fleet work, and little more.

I can find blame for unions and do so, but the management and ownership of the Big-3 shoulder plenty of blame as well.

Michigan is expensive because the corporations can't run rough over the workers.

With the net-result being:

A single state recession during a period of huge economic boom.

How about this you conserv tools? If MCain KNEW of this, what does this say about his judgment? he HAD to know what a distraction it would be during his own convention, and yet this was the BEST choice for VP?

He likely regarded it as a calculated risk.

On this front, what matters ultimately is public opinion.

He wants to win the election and felt that Palin gave him the best shot as a running mate, given his short-list.

Time will tell whether or not he made a good choice.

Personally, I think the Dems make a huge mistake if they try and harp on this. Obama seems to think so as well, hence his apology (before you all go apeshit, my belief is that Obama was sincere with his repudiation of attacks against Palin via the mistake made by her 17 year-old daughter).

I don't think this hurts McCain/Palin at all. In fact, this could be quietly spun to make Palin even more human and 'common-man-ish'.

AU,

Some of Michigan's economic problems are tied-in with the Big 3 being in so much trouble. It's unfair to blame that on any governor.

That said, Michigan is a very expensive state to run a business. High corporate taxes coupled with no right-to-work laws and a very big union presence. Add it all up and it's extremely difficult to attract big-business players into Michigan.

Fair or not - Granholm is out of here if things don't begin to turn around in Michigan.

RiR,

Help my memory - did you bet a Drudgie once before who welched upon losing the bet?

In addition to that one, I've personally witnessed 3 other bets occur on DR.

1 was between Rex and Billofidian - Rex lost and welched.

1 was between 101Chairborne and either Briwo or Corky. Regardless, Chair won and his opponent paid up. Although, with that bet, the money went to an agreed-upon charity and Chair matched the loser's donation.

The other was between JMFJ and TonyRoma, and it pertained to the last Lieberman election. Roma lost and set JMFJ with a 6-pack of beer - the prize money of the bet.

Brit,

If Palin bails or McCain bails on her, his campaign is toast. Period.

If you don't like her, or McCain, you'd best hope that the Walter Monegan thing hits pay-dirt, in a short period of time. Otherwise, I highly doubt she or McCain will bail.

Time will tell though.

incenting????

Yes, incenting.

The welfare payments go up when the number of dependants is increased.

The more dependents, the more a mother is needed at home and is thus less able to provide for herself and her family via the job market.

Unintended consequences.

It's similar to drug commercials.

"If you have affliction A, this drug will treat it. However, this drug also has the following side-effects...."

Often, the side-effects are worse than the treated affliction.

Now that's some silly shit. No doubt to make her look more intelligent than she truly is?

It's sad that appearance is so important in politics.

An aside - Gary Burghoff (Radar from M*A*S*H) doesn't wear glasses either. He thought that glasses would befit his character.

MW,

What most righties oppose is financially incenting women to have as many out-of-wedlock children as possible.

Whore,

Trig was born on April 18th.

Palin's daugher is 5 months pregnant.

Let's see:

1 month - May 18
2 - June 18
3 - July 18
4 - August 18
5 - September 18

find other things to criticize Palin for. This one is going nowhere.

Anybody who believes this video is authentic is an unmitigated retard.

The only issue that matters here is that the position of McCain/Bush/Palin is wrong and kids are having their lives impacted by the irresponsible position

What position are you ascribing to Palin?

Why is this a dump:

No Experience,
No Substance,
NObama!

Posted by TheOneBS

Yes, but there are limits. Style with substance is powerful. Style without it has a short shelf life. Almost certainly less than 66 days or so.

She's going to have to perform very well over the next 2 months, especially with a media who will likely have it in for her.

I hope she's up to the task.

Yet you want to make a point that kids won't have sex without a condom because they cost?

That wasn't my point, it was Rastaninja's and I thought it was fair.

Jeff I ask in all candor when you were a teen if you were dating a girl that denied you sex witout because of a lack of protection, to what lenghs would you have gone to get what was needed?

That's one scenario. What about a scenario where the girl doesn't give a shit if the guy has a condom or not? The onus is then on him and what if he thinks he can pull-out on time, and thus prefers non-condom sex because it feels a bit better?

Rasta raised a decent point, as much as it pains me to admit it.

Doc,

That's no more 'stoopid' than saying the US has 57 states.

that Sarah Palin is an empty suit of such woefully inadequate caliber to be vice president that she's taken the Dan Quayle Prize for becoming a laughingstock, I don't think there's much point in me attepting to do so.

I fully agree that she lacks experience. Whilst I feel she had performed very well as governor, her tenure is very short. Her lack of experience is a very valid criticism and it certainly is a drawback for her as a veep candidate.

That being said, it doesn't mean that the positives that I've listed don't exist.

The difference is that condoms are FREE at school so kids will use them.

Condoms cost money which most kids don't always have

That's a fair point and admittedly a negative tradeoff to my position on this.

"She's hot".

What are you, 14? 14-year olds can't vote although the results you get sometimes make you wonder whether some of them slipped past the safeguards.

#148 | Posted by BlueInBushland

What are you - ignorant of the realities of the political process?

You should know full well by now that style does indeed count in American politics - you should be acutely aware of it as your candidate is mostly style and little of substance.

CChris,

Your 452 post was solid.

Read it and then read what you posted earlier - the contrast should be evident.