Pajamas Media

95 Comments

1. mike in atl.:

Obama is a flat out embarassment to AMERICA and to all of us personally who take PRIDE IN AMERICA.His campaign of deception and misdirection is scary. Almost as scary as the media ignoring it…..I get a sick feeling in my gut thinking about it. McCAIN/PALIN 08

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:26 am 2. Susan:

ditto!!!!! mike…..have wasted more time, energy than I should trying to figure why any citizen would WANT what Obama proposes. Scary isn’t quite the word- more like bewildering or DISGUSTING.

Susan in GA

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:59 am 3. John Dubya:

Jennifer Rubin:

Nice piece. However, considering who is moderating the VP debate, do you really think Sarah Palin will be given an opening to inject these ideas?

I look for soft balls to be lobbed at Biden, giving him the opportunity to pontificate at will. While Palin’s first round questions will probably be more specific. That’s the way the media bias works.

I hope Sarah Palin is going to shine tonight. But I think the game is rigged.

Oct 2, 2008 - 3:07 am 4. Ed Wallis:

Nice thoughts in the article, but I prefer to concentrate/focus on the PRESIDENTIAL candidates.

Again, IF you consider “experience” a necessary qualification – as in those who voice such concerns about Palin – it is not possible thereafter to defend Obama credibly as a candidate.

Oct 2, 2008 - 3:49 am 5. Chespirito:

Palin reminds me of Peg Bundy . . .

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:31 am 6. Chespirito:

mike in atl. 1:26:

” . . . and to all of us personally who take PRIDE IN AMERICA.”

Define America.

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:36 am 7. Chespirito:

John Dubya 3:07 am:

” But I think the game is rigged.”

Would you prefer Bill O’Reilly or Limbaugh to moderate?

I don’t think it would make any difference either way.

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:39 am 8. Chespirito:

Ed Wallis:

“but I prefer to concentrate/focus on the PRESIDENTIAL candidates.”

What if they die or become incapacitated?

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:43 am 9. David H:

As a Brit looking in, I can see what McCain wants to use Palin for which is to do the actual reforms, attacking the pork and waste, which is why the Democrats are trying to attack her so much. She has already proved herself in these areas, I would really work on that using her already noted executive success in Alaska, play to your strengths Mrs Palin, I only wish I had someone like her to vote for in Europe.

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:44 am 10. Jim in CLT:

Someone has to get McCain to understand that gentlemen rarely win barroom brawls. Telling the truth is not dirty politics. We cannot expect the MSM to report Obama’s connections to terrorists, radicals, racists and frauds. Unfortunately, it appears McCain is reluctant to do so as well.

Gov. Palin must be allowed to be the “pit bull with lipstick.” She can do it. She MUST do it.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:00 am 11. Rachel:

even though I am a pro-choice lib, I am proud of Governor Sarah Palin. It is sad that the only person with a true executive resume have to be trashed so badly by a bunch of insecure Obama fans (if they knew O was a good choice, they would not have to trash the VP candidate now,would they?)
Ifill is biased. If Ann Coulter were to moderate you KNOW the libs would have a fit. So why should we trust Ifill? Bring Lehrer back.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:05 am 12. Broadsword:

Patterico compares Gwen Ifill’s hosting of the ‘debate’,(wrong word…?, it’s a pop quiz show) to a NFL game where the referee is betting on the game. My disgust with this outweighs my desire to see Sarah Palin, and I will not watch.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:08 am 13. Turfmann:

The fact that we are putting such emphasis on the Vice Presidential contest is emblematic of the serious under-qualifications of the Democratic nominee. If Hillary had won, there would be no Biden, thus no Palin. Hillary would have chosen in the time honored tradition of shoring up her base and/or solidifying a purple state into the blue column. Now we have a second banana on the Republican side that is at least as qualified at the top banana on the Democratic side, apologies to all bananas out there. Tonight will be yet another pivotal moment in a campaign full of pivotal moments. How important is it? I’ll be watching Sarah and not the Red Sox.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:14 am 14. Bob Thompson:

Palin needs to make certain she gets to provide an accurate description of the current financial crisis as follows: the rescue package is a late stage act (maybe not the last) of a mass housing subsidy to buyers (borrowers) who could not afford the houses they bought and could not repay the money they borrowed. This is a good example of social policies advocated by democrats led by Obama/Biden. If voters like the bill being presented now for the housing subsidy debacle, they can expect more of the same if health care becomes the province of government. As a matter of fact the Senate democrats already started this process by cramming mandatory mental health benefits on health insurers as part of the rescue package sent back to the House. These types of large financial outlays can be expected to continue if Obama/Biden prevail. It is also very clear that the liberals will continue to back-door these kinds of policy initiatives so that they are not easily and quickly recognized as such by the public.

She needs to name names (and be able to follow-up after the debates with details) including people like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and numerous other democrats who are on the record as well as any republicans who can be similarly identified. She needs to point out specific warnings and efforts to rein in these abuses and also point out where these efforts were not pursued aggressively enough. This monologue should be geared to her promise along with McCain to reform political behavior in Washington. Otherwise American citizens are giving up the individual liberty secured by our founders.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:22 am 15. Bob Thompson:

The MSM is avoiding the true underlying reasons for the mortgage lending debacle but if this becomes Sarah Palin’s mantra, she should be able to get the message out because the MSM is chomping at the bit to get her talking to them. This issue also fits very well to her known strengths.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:45 am 16. Ed Wallis:

“Chespirito” –

INCAPACITATED…as in “incapable of carrying out the responsibilities of President”…as Obama is, I presume you mean.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:00 am 17. McSame:

I have noticed every time Sarah Palin squints and leans in she is lying. Something to watch for, it’s her poker tell. Just like when McCain shrugs and gives his super fake smile, he’s lying.. watch they do it a lot.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:08 am 18. Peg:

Mike and others, you’ve got it backwards, the scarey scenerio is IF Palin ever became President of the U.S. She’s clearly out of her league. She’s one the the conservatives who thinks being a Christian and having high values prepares you for ANYTHING………even President of the free world. WRONG! Leaders need to have knowledge, intelligence, and the ability to know when they are clearly “out of their league” and defer to others with expertise. She thinks God will show her the way and she can ask him and he will provide her with the answers…..scarey! She has none of the above. Sure, she’s cute, able to skin a moose, likeable, and was able to somehow procure the position of governor of a very small state with very few votes. Big deal….get real, vote for real change…Obama/Biden.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:13 am 19. David Thomson:

“Everyone from Bill Kristol to Mitt Romney to Byron York has advice for the McCain camp: free Sarah Palin.”

This may be another way of saying that Sarah Palin must not be inhibited by political correctness. If she is prevented from going after ACORN and the other leftist individuals and organizations associated with Barack Obama—then tonight’s debate is a waste of time! John McCain’s fear of being charged with racism is severely damaging his campaign.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:16 am 20. Robert Hurley:

We don’t need the debate to prove that Palin is a diaster. She has already provided the evidence

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:16 am 21. Mother:

“Obama is a flat out embarassment to AMERICA and to all of us personally who take PRIDE IN AMERICA.”

The embarrassment is that America would rather vote for a very old confirmed racist like McCain who will be Bush’s replica for another four years, instead of overcoming their own racist ideologies and vote for a man who has dedicated his life to his community.

All I see in this election is the fear of racists that for the first time in American history the victor might actually win by character, not color.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:24 am 22. Monkeydarts:

It isn’t a coincidence that the only time McCain has polled better than Obama was when Gov. Palin was front and center. When the bailout took the stage it was one McCain error after another– fire Chris Cox?!?, hire Andrew Cuomo?!?!, attack the private center but not the Dodd/Frank cabal that created the problem– all of it culminating in his vote for a pork-laden monster of a bailout bill last night.

Gov. Palin is the one thing that can save McCain from his own bad candidacy. Far from being his problem, she’s his potential life saver. The only reason I can even think of voting for McCain is Sarah Palin. I just wish they could flip the ticket.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:31 am 23. Chocoholic:

Mother, you are an idiot.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:33 am 24. Jenni Crid:

Jesus the lord is on our side and if we pray a lot we can have McCain in office. Praise Jesus and thank the Lord that he is OUR mascot!

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:33 am 25. Richard:

No matter how well she does, Marshmallow McCain will drop the ball. I don’t think he wants to win.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:45 am 26. TomF:

Jenni, The Lord is not a mascot.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:49 am 27. MrLucky:

Mother and other Neo-Liberals

I surmise that your Biden bozon has gone into retrograde spin motion. This will cause up quarks to become down quarks, down quarks up quarks, and the appearance of Palin will occur. This in turn will cause your symptoms of neo-liberal confusion, conservative dislike, and a garlic odor. (The garlic odor occurs because the rationality module of your mainframe has detected the Lenin Psychic Vampire strangelet. Your mainframe is attempting to self protect.) Your should reboot your liberal module and install the older JFK v1960 firmware and then reboot again, checking that the firmware has successfully installed. This can be done by viewing an indoctrination session on your telescreen by the current neo-liberal firmware guru, a Mr. B. Hussein Obama. Red flags with hammer and sickle should appear on your visual unit, with praise leader songs sung by young girls being heard in your aural unit. Caution – You will have a moment of extreme panic. This will pass in approximately 1 Biden gaffe. Turn the telesceen off. (The JFK v1960 firmware allows this.) This will be followed by Rational Clarity, and realization of Personal Freedom. The garlic odor will dissipate. But you must act before 11-4-08. Any attempt at reprogramming your liberal firmware module after that date will result in a tax of 100% being imposed on your personal income. Personal ownership will not be allowed as well.

The B. Hussein Obama Firmware Collective has found a backdoor into the liberal module, which they have exploited by broadcasting the BHO-Biden virus via Main Stream Media (v2008) telescreen operatives, who themselves have been severely compromised by the Biden bozon retrograde motion. Unfortunately, after the update, when telescreening, there will be a mental stench (you will become more aware of all of your surroundings) in the form of the MSM BHO spewed talking points. There will be patch to the JFK v1960 firmware in the future, the Verbal Rationality Converter (v1.20.2009). Until the patch is ready, it is recommended that you burn Lady of the Lake incense in the presence of your telescreen to alleviate the MSM BHO stench.

With the update, there is a remote possibility of total liberal firmware module destruction. In this case, we do have access to the McCain/Palin module. There have been several successful restorations, most notably with the Lieberman unit.

Oct 2, 2008 - 6:57 am 28. Sandra M:

The best — the only competent — interviews with Sarah Palin were those that Larry Kudlow did months ago on one of THE most important subjects to voters: oil, natural gas and energy policy. Palin is an expert on these topics. Do you remember Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric asking her about them? No. They were playing gotcha politics so they could win kudos from their journalist buddies.

McCain is well-qualified to be Commander-In-Chief. Obama isn’t. Palin’s as VP would work on energy policy and government reform, areas in which she is expert. Can we expect questions on either from Ifill tonight? I doubt it.

Gwen Ifill is a hack who has been around forever. Hers is the only political talk show I don’t watch because it’s so boring. Will she ask questions about energy policy? I doubt it. She’s stubbornly holding on to her role as debate moderator from which, if she had any character, she would recluse herself because of a conflict of interest. Why? Well, not only because of the potential profits from her Obama book but because if she pleases “the one” he may give her a plum role in his new administration.

Ifill protests she hasn’t even written the Obama chapter in her book yet; however, she did do a gushing cover story on the Obama family for ESSENCE magazine.

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:19 am 29. cfbleachers:

Norm Crosby vs. Gracie Allen. This should be a real stunner, if only we could get rid of the “rigged moderator” portion and allow these two to have a three hour “open microphone” discussion.

Of course, Biden would spend 2.75 hours talking about himself and Palin would get in 15 minutes, trying to get a word in edgewise…while a moderator who is writing a book about politics in the AGE OF OBAMA. Not that merely mentioning that a candidate for whom she is supposed to be an “objective arbiter” in a debate against his ticket…is given AN ERA OF ITS OWN, in her mind.

The AGE OF OBAMA, has about 143 days of experience on a federal level…prior to him creating this ERA OF OBAMA…by doing something amazing, stupendous, outstanding in the Senate…um, well, or at least running for President on a resume’ so thin he needs the full force and effect of a cheating media giving him every advantage and assailing his opponents like a crooked umpire at a 16 inch softball tournament in Grant Park.

The Mao-Stream Media and his National Socialist team of thugs have already threatened to not only shout down principled dissent, but to send “offenders” who don’t buy into the “We NEED government intervention, bureaucratic red tape, regulations, pork for leftist special interest groups, and to line the pockets of our cronies while they cook the books at our favorite social engineering debacle Fannie/Freddie.

Get ready for re-education camps, silencing of talk radio and Fox news, elimination of dissenters of leftist business bashing and when the ball drops in Tianenmen Square…I mean Times Square this January 1st…it will land with a crash on Wall Street AND Main Street.

The defense budget will be cut…since we don’t NEED “protection” from our “enemies”…since YOU and Wall Street are the new enemy, after all.

The investigation into ACORN, Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, Herb Moses will be crushed…as the cooked books for Fannie/Freddie will no longer be “on our regularly scheduled programming”…please listen to our state run music channel.

9 new judges will be appointed to the Supreme Soviet…I mean, Supreme Court…where the “law” will change daily as federal and state judges are free to make it up as they go along.

A new seal will be introduced, since the old one was used by mortal men…the new one is fit for a deity. No flag waving or pins will be allowed…4th of July has been cancelled…and our national holiday will be moved to exactly one month later, August 4th. Since this is the date of the birth of our “real savior”…Christmas will be cancelled as well.

In fact, all religion is “unnecessary” as a ritual to “cling to”…so, all religious icons, references, and celebrations will be forbidden in any “state regulated or affiliated” site. Including the internet. And ESPECIALLY Jewish traditions…which offend the folks we wish to speak with under no preconditions. References to support of Israel will be taken as a hate crime against the rest of the world.

We need to learn to expect LESS and to “volunteer” more. President for life Papa Doc Barack will not ALLOW you to be slothful, greedy, mean and you have no need for those guns, mister…or you…soldier.

The government has a job for you…if you are not a greedy, mean, gun clinging, religion believing middle class white rube. Of course, that’s all there are…government jobs. Usually for patronage leftists, run by patronage leftists…books cooked by patronage leftists…money stolen by patronage leftists…but, don’t worry….the state-controlled media and our film industry will cover the embezzlement and fraud “for the good of the party”.

The 1st Amendment will be abolished, since its not necessary to give freedom of speech to a people who are demanded to speak in whispers if they want to dissent. Attacking the 1st Amendment is easy, since Academia, alphabet newsrooms, newspapers, magazines and Hollywood all march in goosestep/lockstep already.

The 2nd Amendment is next, since you don’t need guns…there are no OUTSIDE enemies…only you, Wall Street and “rich people”.

Soldiers for the New Age of Obama will be quartered in McMansions stolen by the crooks at Fannie/Freddie and given to these New Age Brown Shirts…as the 3rd Amendment is repealed.

We make our way through the Constitution and Bill of Rights…tearing it up page by page. These protections are no longer necessary. This is the “change” we have been waiting for.

I’m bidin’ my time, cause the change is a comin’
What I seen so far
Is merely the drums they a drummin’
When the fixes are in and the results they’re a stunnin’

We all got blamed for their mess
Then we all get stuck with the bill
Our taxes get raised and get raised higher still
They take my money, my God, my job and the rest
If I can keep my prayers silent, they’ll be put to the test

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:20 am 30. Therese:

I also think that if Sarah Palin can show the link between foreign policy and oil, she will win. Behind many of our foreign policy problems is oil because we are so dependent on it internationally. We need to drill in our own country and Governor Palin has been advocating this for years. Moreover, she is from the state that is reported to have to biggest oil reserves in our country. If we become more energy independent, we will dramatically change the dynamics of our foreign policy. We will also help ourselves economically.

The media has really overblown the need for foreign policy credentials. I don’t ever recall seeing Al Gore or Dick Cheney going over to another country to negotiate a foreign policy decision. But I have seen Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice do this. The most important foreign policy advisor to the President will be the Secretary of State. But if you listen to the media, it sounds like Governor Palin is going to be Secretary of State and the Vice President all at once. How ridiculous!

Yes, Governor Palin needs to have some understanding of world leaders and our positions and relationships with their countries, but she is not going to be the major foreign policy expert for our nation. The Secretary of State has a very important and vital role in this matter.

Moreover, the entire foreign policy landscape changes if we can provide our own oil and become more energy independent. If anything, we should be talking about Oil more and Governor Palin’s role in this vital area.

I hope that in the debate she will be able to bring this important point out.

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:26 am 31. DD:

Sarah Palin should come out at the outset and admit that she is still learning about foreign policy (but from a master – JSM) and if the moderator wants to probe to find out what she doesn’t know, it will just be a waste of time. On the other hand, she should go on the attack and point out that with all his decades of experience, Biden still got it wrong on Iraq, failed on the two FMs, is best known for legislation that loosened regulations for credit companies, is up there with the worst of them on earmarks – oh and somehow placed Roosevelt in the white house in 1929. LOL.

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:45 am 32. Fred:

Sandra M says:
“Do you remember Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric asking her about them? No. They were playing gotcha politics so they could win kudos from their journalist buddies. ”

Can you name the newspapers you read? “I read all of them…” Such as? “…”
GOTCHA!!!
Can you name any other Supreme Court cases you disagree with? “…”
GOTCHA!!!
Can you explain your OWN words concerning Russia as a neighbor as applied to foreign policy? “When Putin rears his…”
GOTCHA!!!

You got to be kidding!

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:52 am 33. Jephnol:

Just recieved this in an email:

“You couldn’t get a job at McDonalds and become district manager after
143 days of experience.
You couldn’t become chief of surgery after 143 days of experience of
being a surgeon.
You couldn’t get a job as a teacher and be the superintendent after
143 days of experience.
You couldn’t join the military and become a colonel after 143 days of
experience.
You couldn’t get a job as a reporter and become the nightly news
anchor after 143 days of experience.
You couldn’t get a job as a nurse and become director of nursing after
143 days of experience.
BUT….

‘From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate.
That’s how many days the Senate was actually in session and working.
After 143 days of work experience, Obama believed he was ready to be
Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World, and fill the shoes of
Abraham Lincoln,FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan. 143 days?
We all have to start somewhere. The senate is a good start, but after 143 days, that’s all it is – a start.

AND, sadly, a large sector of the American public seems to feel comfortable with this and campaigning for him.

We wouldn’t accept this in our own line of work, yet some are OK with this for the President of the United States of America ?

Come on folks, we are not voting for the next American Idol.”

Ha! I think that’s great! Maybe some of you good folks on the left could get my nephew a job in government? He’s sixteen and looking for a part-time job.

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:53 am 34. David H:

“WRONG! Leaders need to have knowledge, intelligence, and the ability to know when they are clearly “out of their league” and defer to others with expertise”

Well you just picked yourself up didn’t you, as far as I understand about your government you employ a vast range of experts who prepare reports and papers to pass on to the President and his staff to make decisions with highly paid experts to give their views on questions, now I have seen nothing to say that Mrs Palin would be unable to handle that, on the contrary, I see someone who seems very able to handle that.

Looking at Palins record as governor, I see someone who seems to be able to shake things up and sort out mess.

I will repeat what I said to another left wing moonbat, some people thought that a grocers daughter would not make a good PM, and I refer you to Margret Thatcher, you most probably don’t think much of her, but I thought she turned around a country that had accepted decline into one that started to believe in itself again. So do you think that a Grocers daughter could make a good PM?

Oct 2, 2008 - 7:56 am 35. David H:

cfbleachers. wow that is what we have in Europe!!! If Obama gets in that is exactly where you are heading.

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:01 am 36. Ex-fetus:

“The McCain team is in need of a lift. McCain is clearly behind and could use a conversation changer ”

I disagree. If you had added “in the polls” you would have been almost correct. As it is, you are writing propaganda.
Most of the polls have a Margin of Error (MOE) of 4 to 5 points. So for Ohhhh….BAMA to be ahead, he has to be beyond that MOE.
Not that the polls really matter yet. We are in trend line time. It will be another 3 weeks before the polls settle down and get accurate. The trend line has Obama bin Biden running within the MOE for the last few weeks. They skirt the edge of breaking thru, but never quite get there.
The Obama bin Biden camp has to be worried. They need to put some distance between them and McCain/Palin, since there is a historic + 5 bias for the Democrats in all these polls. Plus there will be a Bradly effect of some sort, nobody has the faintest idea how big that will be. So the Demonrats need a double digit cushion in the polls by the end of October.
Rigging the vote in Ohio was a good idea and it looks like they will get away with it. Not sure if it will be enough.
If you want to see what the final EV will be, go thru the RCP map and turn any state where Obama bin Biden has less then an 8 point ( 5 for the bias, 3 for the Bradley effect) lead red.
Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The youngsters haven’t learned that lesson of life yet, but they will.

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:04 am 37. Rosemarie Young:

Could anyone explain how and by whom the moderators for the debates are chosen? It seems to me if what has been written about Gwen Ifill and the book she is writing is correct Sarah Palin is not going to have it easy. Why we send American politicians like Carter to check if foreign elections are fair and we don’t check ours?

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:05 am 38. Matt:

Palin is a puppet. She mirrors the homespun image of the red state voter so the Republicans can get that vote again. Once elected, since she’s from Alaska, the oil regime will be able to drill in the natural preserves. After McCain dies in office she’ll be president and do whatever the corporate/oil/neocon dictatorship tells her to. You are SUCKERS!!

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:52 am 39. bear:

Fred, so you support interviews by journalists with stupid irrelevant questions? I don’t think she’s a rocket scientist, but I also don’t need to know what magazines she reads either. Call it whatever you want.

Not everyone that ends up as a politician has a law or history degree.

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:54 am 40. bear:

The question people should be asking is who will these candidates surround themselves with (once elected). Personally I’m tired of selecting none of the above for president.

Oct 2, 2008 - 8:57 am 41. Cap'n Rusty:

Palin disagrees with McCain on some issues, i.e., Anwar. Those who favor drilling in Anwar support the ticket because they expect Palin’s influence as VP to bring McCain around. This presents a great opportunity.

Seventy percent of Americans voiciferously oppose the pork-laden Senate version of the bailout of Wall Street and K Street. While McCain has already voted for it (his bad), Palin can still come out very strongly against any bailout of irresponsible lenders or borrowers. She can say “Let the chips fall where they may,” which will resonate with a great majority of voters whose anger today is white-hot.

Oct 2, 2008 - 9:03 am 42. John Dubya:

cfbleachers:

Awesome post~!

Oct 2, 2008 - 9:14 am 43. Spacemonkey:

Free Sarah Palin!

Oct 2, 2008 - 9:47 am 44. JMS2008:

I agree with lots of comments above. Sarah Palin has the chops to go after the democratic ticket. Let her! Let her level those guys. She can do it. I hope that this is the McCain campaign’s secret weapon. Hide her from the media until the debate, and then let her at it full force. The country has been so wrapped up in the economy, that tonight can be Palin’s real coming out party. Let’s unleash our pit bull!!

I also echo the thoughts of Mike from atl when he says he gets a sick feeling thinking about Obama. I do, too. I just read an article about his campaign donations. Half of his $400+ million dollars has been donated by people he will not disclose. Also, many donations are well over the limit, and his campaign only started paying a portion of the money back (not enough to get each donation back down to the limit) when the FEC caught him taking (and keeping) the money. McCain, meanwhile, has made every donation available to the public on line, even the ones under the $200 disclosure limit. Talk about transparency. Obama is a frightening prospect. I feel physically sick as I write this. I live in California, so I don’t think my vote will do much (though I will definitely vote, of course), but if you’re in a swing state, please don’t let the MSM convince you it’s a lost cause with polls. That’s what they tried to do 4 years ago. It didn’t work then. Hopefully, our amazing swing-state voters who helped us avoid a Kerry presidency are still out there. We’re counting on you.

Oct 2, 2008 - 9:58 am 45. cfbleachers:

I agree that people who are not being taken in my the inexorable march toward Euro-Socialism…are indeed suckers. I mean it.

If you are not a fan of social engineering and bureaucratic strangulation by red tape, you are a sucker…just as one of the above comments suggests.

YOU are most likely to be in the upper 25% of taxpayers in this country…and you have no voice in academia, you have no voice in Hollywood, you have no voice in pop culture, you have no voice in large metropolitan deadwood newsprint, you have no voice in magazines, you have no voice in alphabet newsrooms, you have no voice in the wire services.

In the event of an Obama/Biden victory in November…you will have no voice in Congress, no voice in the White House…and coming soon to a Supreme Court near you…no voice in the highest court in the land….and in the cascading falls of the lower courts as well.

That top 1% of earners pay 39.89% of all the federal individual income taxes. The bottom 50% of earners pay just 2.99% of those taxes.

The top 25% of earners pay 86% of the taxes. So you “rich” people who make over $65,000 each year…pay nearly 9 out of every 10 tax dollars….and it’s about to go up from there.

But, you don’t have a voice in media, Hollywood, academia, print, or wire service “news”. In fact, you stand by helplessly while your country is slandered by half-truths, intentional omissions, photoshopped photographs, and a general portrayal of you as greedy, stupid, religously fanatical and out of touch with reality, warmongering, racist, lazy, slothful, mean and gut toting imbeciles.

And THAT’S about to increase as well. You carry the bottom half of this country on your back and you are slapped in the face for the privilege. Repeatedly.

Your voice is drowned out, shouted down, marginalized and distorted. You are disinvited to apply for professorships, media roles, journalism positions, or Hollywood moviemaking oopportunities. If it appears as a cog in the main information stream machinery…non-leftists need not apply.

You are ridiculed and lampooned, caricatured and parodied. You are the insult joke…with the plug-in punchline. You have no voice in comedy, you have no voice in drama, you have no voice in reporting or recording of facts in large part.

You have…essentially…taxation without representation. You are a human ATM machine, from which all federal projects and most state projects stem. When social engineering is imposed…YOU pay the bill. When it fails…you pay the repair bill.

More government, bigger government, more special social engineering projects…and more slander about you while you pay for it. More slander about your country…about your countrymen, about our motives, …and you can’t do a damn thing about it. You are silenced…while your wallet is being taken out yet again.

Taxation without representation. In modern day politics…if your “news” is being distorted, if the “facts” you are given are intentionally slanted and misrepresent the truth, if you are being hoodwinked into believing falsehoods…you don’t have an information stream you can trust. And if YOU are being slandered daily…you don’t have a voice in your own representation. Having an elected official from your neighborhood who is just as powerless against the tidal wave of lies and omissions as you are…you don’t have equal representation…and you don’t have fair taxation…you are second class citizen.

Taxation without representation. That’s what the facts show.

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:07 am 46. Lynn:

MOTHER
It seems to me the ONLY people bringing up “race” is the left. why is it not considered racist when 97% of all black voters are voting for Obama? Stop talking trash. There will always be some who will think that way, black and white, but the majority do not. You insult your own intelligence by generalizing.

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:12 am 47. Therese:

Cap’n Rusty:
I agree with you. People are really angry about the bailout and this is an opportunity for Palin to speak to them. Obama, Biden and McCain voted for it. She didn’t.

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:23 am 48. Self-hating boomer:

Therese hits it right on the head. And here’s something else to consider: energy independence isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. If we can move from importing 70% of our oil to 50% or 30%, that will take the wind out of the sails of bad guys like Achmedinejad and Chavez.

It’s absolutely inexcusable on any grounds whatsoever to sequester our energy resources, when the result is that much money going to people that evil (and don’t tell me it’s for the earth; the environmental damage that’s done in those countries by oil production is far, far worse than what would be possible here).

That’s where the donkeys are vulnerable. Kick ‘em hard with your stilettos, Sarah.

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:24 am 49. Dave J:

We need people who have leadership skill and decent characters in the Presidency and Vice Presidency. It matters not whether they are great scholars since others provide expert insight in the Executive Branch. Having academic credentials has not always benefited the country–highly idealistic presidents like Wilson were no more successful than earthy Presidents with general good sense like Truman. Both Palin and McCain have the more important leadership and character traits that are the more important ingredients in a good executive.

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:36 am 50. RE:

Great post, cfbleachers!

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:42 am 51. bear:

cfbleachers, you’re depressing me. Being in a Blue state, I guess I’ll make another staement vote this year

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:47 am 52. jerry:

Boy, this thread has brought out the Obama stormtroopers fully primed by Kos and the DU.

Let’s get it straight. Obama has always been someone elses tool. He was on Tony Rezko’s payroll, Bill Ayers, Fannie Mae and much more.

Biden doesn’t even know whe FDR took office and when television was invented.

You can always tell when Obama is lying. His lips are moving.

Ein volk!
Ein Reich!
Ein Obama!

Uns auf Sieg!

Oct 2, 2008 - 10:56 am 53. fred:

I am intensely interested in the debate, but I am not going to watch it. I am boycotting it because the journalism field no longer has honest ethics. In any decent and fair society a moderator like Gwen Ifill would either be removed or she would recuse herself because of the huge conflict of interest involved. Obonga and his media lackeys continue to perpetrate their fraud on Americans who do not know a lot about Obonga’s Marxist and terrorist background.

The journalism profession has already thrown out all standards for objectivity. Now they are even shelving the most basic ethics of fair play.

I’ve had it with these people.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:00 am 54. Marc Malone:

You guys are kidding yourselves if you think Palin can “win” this debate. As usual, the questions will play to her weaknesses and not her strengths. Even if she re-diredts them to her strengths and the other guy’s weaknesses, it won’t matter. She coul knock it out of the park, and it won’t matter.

The MSM controls the spin afterwards. Over the next several weeks, they’ll parse whatever she says, and harp on any mistakes. They’ll spin away any bad points, and eventually the stupid people of America will come around to the MSM point of view.

This is why McCain is so angry lately. He realizes finally that the fix is in. He was doing well enough, then the Meltdown happened, and somehow he’s getting hung with it, because he tried to do something to fix it. Obama did nothing but blow up the one meeting he was involved in. Somehow, he gets a free pass. McCain gets blamed for “interdering”… by Barney Frank! The MSM goes with that meme!

The Obama camp controls the MSM. It may as well be a state-run organization, just like in any tyrrany. It doesn’t matter what you do. They will change the message. It is foolish to believe otherwise.

Btw, cfbleachers, nice post on the “suckers”. First time I’ve agreed with you, I think.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:11 am 55. SoldierInIraq:

Matt:
“Palin is a puppet. She mirrors the homespun image of the red state voter so the Republicans can get that vote again. Once elected, since she’s from Alaska, the oil regime will be able to drill in the natural preserves. After McCain dies in office she’ll be president and do whatever the corporate/oil/neocon dictatorship tells her to. You are SUCKERS!!”

reply to matt: puppet? that doesnt even make sense. now to the red juicy meat: i could only wish thats what will happen!!! Oh, wait you’re worried because of global warming right? ROTFLMAO!! If you liberals would only get out there and RESEARCH instead of KNEEJERKING, everything would be start being clearer; oh, wait, YOU DONT WANT THAT! sorry, forgot you’re trying to forget away God and pretend you dont need to feel guilty about anything in your life because God doesnt exist right?

If you have no clue how all of this is part of the same subject, just read it again and ponder.

Oh darn, there goes the conscience alarm ringing in your head, you want to skip ahead and ignore what just read, but you can’t, your conscience is not allowing it, so right now you’re fumming red. Take a deep breath, relax…

…ok, better now? it’s ok if you are not perfect, it’s ok if you made huge mistakes in your life, turn to God and He can show you how to let that stop bothering you: If you ACCEPT THE TRUTH (you know what the truth is, don’t go sidetracking on me now), and admit He is God, and that you know Jesus is His perfect Son and the only REAL Messiah, He’s ready to give you real peace. Accept it! you know you’re tired of all that hatred and anger in your heart and life.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:14 am 56. SoldierInIraq:

oh btw guys, dont boycott the debate, prove to the MuckStreamMedia how much Palin really matters, besides, think of how freaked they are going to be by those numbers!!!!! they were desperate, now they managed to get confident everything’s not lost for them, but wait!! OH NO! look at her numbers!!! whadawegonnado?!?!?!?!?!? PANIC AT THE LEFT SIDE YEAH!! DRILL BABY DRILL!!!

why?

DRILL BABY DRILL!!

WHY?!?!?!?

because oil is the BLOOD of our global economy, remember those nutcase doctors back in the day that drained “bad” blood to “save” their patients?

need i say more?

ok, fine, i will!

how many lives were saved by draining their “impure” “malignant” blood?

now for facts:

you know… we might not have had half the foreclosures we have now, if gas didnt go from US$1.00 (2003) right before i left for iraq the first time, to over US$4.00 recently. “Well, how could we have kept it there?!?!?” says the skeptic. how about, hmm… if we had been going after our own darn oil 10 years ago? or maybe even better… after that 70’s disgraceful incident.

but what about “climate change”, “global warming”, poor little polar bears? aw c’mon! The truth is out there, you “Scully”! go find it! i’ll give you a hint…LIES, DECEIT, LIBERALS, they’re all one and the same and all those sorry missinformed conformists, if you accept the premise you have lost the battle, there is no half truth, either it’s a lie or its the truth, so what is it?!?!

please dont say truth, i wouldnt want you to embarass yourself here.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:36 am 57. Sandy:

Jephnol–EXACTLY!!!! This is not hard. Once people know that BHO has only 143 days of service–and lots of “Present” votes, they have to just choose to not care about that. So what exactly DOES qualify him, if not his experience? His nice suits, Crest-white smile, eloquent speaking and ability to read a prompter like nobody’s business??? I don’t get it? We are at war and have an economic crisis and we’re willing to hand the reins over to a guy with absolutely no executive experience. That’s the most potential crisis of all.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:42 am 58. Matt:

cfbleachers: First of all, you assume that because I don’t support your ideology I must be a rich, arrogant elitist who wants communism. This is the prejudice and fear your politicians give you so you vote for them. I make $14/hour working 3 jobs, 7 days a week and some days 24 hours a day. I was a member of the Republican students in my High School and voted for Bush Sr. in 1988. I worked on Wall Street and for large corporations for 20 years. I’ve learned and changed a lot since then.

Consider that the USA has become the Soviet Union:

Torture of prisoners – Abu Gharab
Imprisonment without trial – Guantanamo
Government seizure of finances – Henry Paulson
Spying on citizens – Patriot Act
Wealth concentrated in a few – corporations, wealthy, oil, military
Military bases all over the world – Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe
Warmongering – Iraq
Longest work hours in the Western World, least vacation time
Stagnant wages – working poor increasing
Environmental destruction and disrespect – Alaska drilling, Kyoto rejection
Ideology – exporting McLife around the world
Workers being held over a barrel – mortgages, health costs, debt
FATTEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD

We spend more money on weapons than the rest of the world COMBINED
Your politicians sucker in red-state voters with Patriotic slogans and down-home images but then they use their power to make the world safe for oil, corporations, and the wealthy at YOUR EXPENSE. They reduce labor, environmental and market protections for the large corporations, reduce taxes for the wealthy and all YOU GET in return is a lousy $600 tax refund to go shopping and keep quiet.
You need to let go of your “Patriotic” jujube and only then can we defeat Mc’Merica and create a REAL AMERICA.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:49 am 59. BC:

mike in atl wrote: “Obama is a flat out embarrassment to AMERICA” !?!

What planet are you from? Seriously. Even the most clueless of right wing posters know that the rest of the world, especially our allies are hoping/praying for an Obama victory. They think we were hick morons for reelecting Bush in 2004, and if we elect McCain/Palin, they will truly believe that Bible belting, science hating, gun toting, nasty playing, uncomprehending, dimwitted rednecks have completely taken over the country, which will mean more wars, more widespread economic uncertainty, and in general more delays in getting anything constructive and positive done on global issues.

And in regards to cfbleachers points:

1) Right wingers have no voice in academia because they distrust or even hate science and research.

2) Right wingers have no voice in Hollywood because they lack imagination.

3) Right wingers have no voice in pop culture because they lack creativity.

4) Right wingers have no voice in large metropolitan deadwood newsprint because they lack the critical thinking skills that journalism requires.

5) Right wingers have no voice in magazines because they lack literate, insightful, and creative writing skills.

6) Right wingers actually *do* unfortunately now have a voice in alphabet newsrooms despite lacking the ability to be truly fair and balanced, do decent fact checking (on a regular basis, occasional screw-ups aside), and to put things in proper context.

7) Right wingers have no voice in the wire services because, well, that would mean getting out of their pajamas to go to unfamiliar and possibly hostile places to ask questions that may not want to be answered….

To be fair, though, right wingers are pretty good at shooting things, fixing plumbing and cars, taking over their dad’s business, and using other people’s money to make money.

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:51 am 60. Sean Delgado, Los Angeles:

First off Sarah should not accept an Obama representative as moderator! Right there Sarah has lost. The headlines are already set. Its over. McCain’s accepting this moderator is shameful.

All of this info about Obama’s past and record and Biden and his unbelievable goofiness will never be covered by the main stream press. Most people never heard of Rezko or Annenberg or Acorn. These debates are THE ONLY way this info can be let out into the air. THE ONLY WAY.

McCain lost the first debate because he did not expose and attack, nor did he even defend himself! This is a typical GOP trait it seems. Bush is a great example, he never once defended himself or confronted his critics. He let the criticisms grow and grow until press and people were outright hoping for assassination! A rumor becomes a myth becomes a fact.

If Sarah does not shoot this man down, and I am pretty sure she won’t, its over and welcome the beginnings of state controlled socialism. McCain didn’t stick a steak into the messiahs heart and now he’s 10 points back in some polls with Obama faking like he’s a moderate `I agree with you John; you’re right’

If Sarah does not defend herself, and she won’t, if she doesn’t ignore this moderator (who will not give her a chance, if you think she will you’re an outright fool) and smash Biden and settle for nothing less than the extinction of any ember of Bidens credibility. Then it is over.

McCain was rousing when he said to stand up and fight. Where is the fight? All I see is the GOP getting rolled and being blamed for it and worst of all, not defending themselves in the ONLY forum they have left!

I’m not even going to watch this sham tonight. Because I know, in the spirit of `fairness’ Sarah is going to let them make her look like a fool and an ignoramus and she will not defend herself. She’ll say let the voters decide on nov 4. And they will. Long live emperor Obama! Hail the ministry of truth and the ministry of love and the ministry of peace, which is the scariest of all…

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:56 am 61. Gwen Ifill’s “brilliant baby cousin” « The Right Daily:

[...] Oh, well.  The fix is in, I guess.  Can we hope for a “fully even-handed” moderator for the debate tonight for this important debate? [...]

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:03 pm 62. Chespirito:

Ed Wallis – 6:00 am:

INCAPACITATED…as in “incapable of carrying out the responsibilities of President”…as Obama is, I presume you mean.

No, I meant like McCain having a stroke and having Peg Bundy for President . . .

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:12 pm 63. USAF Captain:

McSame writes:

“I have noticed every time Sarah Palin squints and leans in she is lying. Something to watch for, it’s her poker tell. Just like when McCain shrugs and gives his super fake smile, he’s lying.. watch they do it a lot.”

..you mean like whenever Obama flaps his lips?

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:16 pm 64. fred:

The stealth of the Gramscian Marxists for four decades is finally paying off for them. Total and thorough penetration of education and the media is now the rich harvest of the under-30 votes, especially the females.

As for “SoldierInIraq” all I can say is that he is definitely not representative of the men in uniform. Based on my knowledge and personal experience of these men. Are there Obonga supporters among the military rank and file? Yes, there are. No doubt about it. But are they even a large minority? No. My hope is that “SoldierInIraq,” if he is who he says he is, has the professionalism to carry forward the successful mission he is a part of, even if he does not believe in that mission.

And the fruits of that mission, which are stabilization in Mesopotamia and a government that will not sponsor Islamic terror along side of and straddling the biggest sponsor of state terror, Iran, put us in a strategically advantageous position. And Iran knows it, which is why Iran is desperate to get Obonga elected. In this they are going to succeed.

But there is something else which Obonga and his allies will not tell all of you, which he has openly spoken about inside meetings with people he does not want you to know about: he promises to get rid of the ballistic missile defense program. THAT IS THE BIG PRIZE THAT TEHRAN, MOSCOW, BEIJING, PYONGYANG, AND CARACAS do not want you to know about. It all begins in January when this Manchurian Candidate takes office. Senator Joe Biden was opposed to it when it was merely a concept that President Ronald Reagan pledged to support and fund. He still opposes it. Senator Biden was selected to be on the ticket for other things as well, but his opposition to ballistic missile defense was the major reason.

So, when people like “SoldierInIraq” flip their supposedly funny and witty cannards at you about oil, understand that he has less than a full grasp of the big picture. He supports policies that put us and our allies at greater risk.

My hope is that we can somehow escape the next four years unscathed by this perfidious administration about to have the reigns of power. A man who would never be given a security clearance if he applied for sensitive federal jobs is about to have his hands on it all. I pray to God that we and our allies somehow dodge a bullet, but I know that God cannot work that kind of miracle. We are about to get the government we deserve because of our stupidity and our willful blindness. I only hope that the dopes who voted in this man will learn the same lesson we learned from the Carter years, and make the right adjustments.

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:26 pm 65. USAF Captain:

cfbleachers, your sterling comments are getting clipped out, put in my wallet, and, should Obama ghet elected, it will be read daily as an inspiration do everything I can to see that he and his ilk are thrown out.

I am willing to bet that I will not be alone.

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:28 pm 66. Matt:

The more I see people defending Sarah Palin and begging the McCain camp to “free her,” the more utterly shocked I am by the depths of delusion people are capable of.

I hope they “free” Sarah, too. There is no better source for comedy than a freed Sarah Palin.

However, I do think Palin will “win” the debate. Because all she has to do in order to do so is not mispronounce a few words. There are no kidgloves soft enough for Joe Biden to possibly wear against such an opponent.

If John McCain is your “team” then Sarah Palin is your shortstop batting .120 By all means, send her in to pinch-hit!

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:33 pm 67. cfbleachers:

BC

You are the product of Mao media. That’s what you WANT to believe…but really…non-leftists are more likely to run major corporations, have advanced degrees, hold a higher IQ and be more rational than leftists.

Non-leftists are less jingoistic, less irrational, less knee-jerk than leftists.

Non-leftists are MORE likely to be involved in science and engineering than leftists.

Your rationale is really just regurgitated media tripe.

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:48 pm 68. RE:

Biden has sat on a lot of committees is his 30 something years in the Senate. But what has he actually accomplished? Sitting on committees and pontificating is mopst unimpressive. In actuality, Biden strikes me as closer to being the consummate Washington slug bureaucrat.

Oct 2, 2008 - 12:48 pm 69. Matt:

Fred: If protecting America from the enemies you mention is so important, surely you must not be voting Republican:

1. Failure of W.Bush to forge an Gulf War II alliance
2. Military defeat in Iraq
3. Billions of dollars a day spent on a failed Iraq
4. Iran strengthened by U.S. Iraq invasion
5. Resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan
6. Failure to stop North Korea developing Nukes
7. Failure to stop Iran developing Nukes
8. Failure to neutralize Chavez
9. Republican appeasement of China to get factories built there
10.Ignoring Chinese crackdown in Tibet
9. Failure to stop 9/11
10.Failure to capture Bin Laden
11.Failure to promote democracy in Russia
12.Defeat of Georgian ally

You will believe anyone who waves a flag in your face.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:03 pm 70. Ron J:

Liberals are convinced Sarah Palin is a dummy but then, liberals believe a lot of garbage. Someone should tell Palin to “go out there and have fun!” And then on Friday morning we’ll all be talking about what a great President she’s going to make one day!

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:07 pm 71. Jackstothemax:

Sarah Palin will need to stay on her feet tonight as she enters the debate against Joe Biden. Biden, who has had a position in the senate for over three decades, is known to be a loquacious speaker. She obviously does not have the experience that Biden does in the political realm, but that does not mean that she will not be able to hold her own tonight.

Palin has been cramming for tonight’s debate for the past two days at John McCain’s Sedona, Arizona ranch home. Tucker Eskew, who is Palin’s advisor, told ABC News that the debate tonight will be an “opportunity.”

Americans will need to pay attention to this debate, contrary to what citizens believed in the past vice-presidential debates. It could be very likely that McCain will become incapacitated or die in office, (he is the second-oldest Presidential nominee) so Palin will need to show voters that she can step up to the job if there is a need to become the next President.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:08 pm 72. mofares:

These debates are a joke to begin with. It’s all calculated risk and most of it is just jabbing away at the issues we have heard for the past year. Palin is a complete joke and is already laughed at by leaders around the world. Pretty scary that she is a heart beat away from being the President of the United States should McCain win but I highly doubt that will happen unless Americans wnat to be poorer. If people want the same old Bush tactics, then by all means vote for her and her dad.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:08 pm 73. fred:

This thread has been almost completely stuffed with Obamabots.

Our military genius “Matt” is an example of this, providing me with a laundry list which is full of distorted views. Some of them are unattainable. One assertion is false (”Military defeat in Iraq”). We have no power of promoting democracy in Russia, and for five years the European Union was given the lead in negotiations with Iran to forestall Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The Mullahs used that time to stall the E.U. and us so that they could continue to develop the weaponization of nuclear fuel. The U.N.’s inspectors have admitted as much and former ambassador John Bolton has expounded on what exactly happened on numerous occasions.

The rest of what Matt has written is pure bullshit. He knows it too, but he has to run up the flag for Obama here.

The viciousness of the Obama campaign’s surrogates attacks on Sarah Palin should be a warning to everyone what is in store for us when Obama is sworn in come January. I’ll bet the farm that in four years at least a few of the Obamabots and lots of those young dopes who vote for him will regret their naivete.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:34 pm 74. Jeff:

This country is in big trouble if it believes that Sarah Palin, who has very little knowledge of the world around her, can in fact lead this country if anything happens to McCain while in office. This woman is looking at the world through a peephole. That is very dangerous because she has not seen the whole entire picture yet. It’s like looking at a painting and only be able to grasp what the small portion of that painting is trying to portray while overlooking what the whole entire painting is trying to portray.

She is also purposely kept at a distance from the press which further proves her inadequacies to lead the most powerful country in the world. When you only have a simple grasp of foreign affairs, national security, and economic policies; are you truly ready to lead the most powerful country in the world? Should America absolutely take that chance? Have we learned anything in these 8 years? Does America have the capacity to learn from its history?

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:35 pm 75. RE:

Jeff,

You forget that Obama is far less qualified than she.

Obama has no accomplishments and one big failure (CAC). He has made zero excecutive decisions, and shirks his legislative ones by voting ‘present’.

Everytime you question Palin’s experience, you shine a spotlight on Obama’s nothingness.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:43 pm 76. Jeff:

We all need to really look at this election objectively. Since the completion of the vetting process of both VP candidates, Biden has gone on to accommodate roughly about 84 interviews with the press while Palin has done less than 4 interviews with the press. That is a MAJOR unbalance in the two comparisons and it truly shows McCain’s apprehensiveness about her ability to speak on her own accord, without his physical presence. What does this portray, first and foremost? It portrays that this Presidential ticket does not have the full and utmost confidence in his VP ticket to fend for herself and answer any questions that the American public needs to know. It truly shows that his vetting process was not done in a wise manner but more so in a political manner. Here is a woman that exudes family values; taking care of 5 kids while being the Governor of Alaska, maintaining a healthy marriage, having decent morals and values, and is completely a Washington outsider. This is a classic profile of a candidate that has never been tainted, in the eyes of the American public that has lost faith in the judicial system. This pick was merely done to appeal to the American families with values and tradition but what else could be said about this VP ticket? Does it show the American public anything about her ability to make all the necessary decisions in regards to foreign affairs, national defense, economic legislation, and the overall ability to govern the most powerful country in the world?

We must keep in mind that McCain IS in fact 72 years old and if elected, he WILL be the oldest President to ever be elected. The last oldest elected President was Ronald Reagan at 69 years old, when he was elected in 1980, but he was in fairly good health. McCain, on the other hand, will be 3 years Reagan’s senior, if elected. He also does have a history of skin cancers which are not completely cured, among other ailments that he suffered during his years as a POW in Vietnam. Can we, as the American public, be completely confident that if anything happens to McCain while in office, that Palin will in fact be fully ready to tackle anything and everything that this country will have to face? America MUST search deep down and answer this question, honestly.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:44 pm 77. cedarford:

Rubin – Tonight will mark the most consequential vice-presidential debate in years.

I doubt it. Despite the oceans of ink wasted on Palin, the VP “battle” is a silly sideshow.

The real battle is who can best serve the American People, who, by the polls, are almost 80% angry and disgusted with how they have fared under Bush II and Congress since the last election.
Palin is entirely superfluous to that debate.

—————
News came that McCain has abandoned any hope of getting any Great Lakes states except Indiana/Ohio and is pulling his resources out of that region to make “stands” in Colorado, Virginia, Missouri. All the workers in Michigan left yesterday except those Michiganders left to work for local candidates.
————————
Sandra M – McCain is well-qualified to be Commander-In-Chief. Obama isn’t.

There is a reason why no top General but one has become President in the last 150 years. That is being President involves more than heading the military or some magical “SERVICE!!” in the lower ranks. That reason is that being President involves far more than having fighter jock swagger and knowing what enlisted grunts may feel like.

Many successful Presidents have no military experience, and many that did were in very minor spots with a very limited role or view of the military as a whole.
Arguing that THIS IS A TIME OF WAR!!!! doesn’t go very far either. We are in War-LITE, with very limited casualties against a very small foe, in a time with no Draft and even more tax cuts for the wealthy.

And just because McCain “SERVED!! and SUFFERED!!!” doesn’t automatically make him a superb Commander in Chief. He was passed over for Flag rank on matters of recklessness and temperment, for better qualified men. He may have been right on The Surge, but over the years, he has been wrong on many other military issues…and has displayed much bad temper, betrayal of assurances he made, and impulsiveness towards military leaders and civilians running the military.

Some of the better Commanders in Chief have been people with no, or rear ech, military experience. Wilson, FDR, Nixon, Reagan.

Obama has the least credentials of anyone that has ever been President…but since the Presidency is far more than being Commander in Chief of two minor conflicts now going on..and he will have people that know more about the present military capacities and strategies than McCain for instance does..he might do just fine.

There are matters that Bush II badly neglected in his Churchillian Crusade fixating his Presidency as primarily focused against the few thousand “Evildoers” threatening America and “Our Special Friend, Israel”. Jobs, health insurance, having a government freer of corruption and incompetent hacks, fiscal and diplomatic strength, widening disparities in wealth, increasing crime and alienation. A desire to see anti-science theocrats and neo-fascists and Neocons put under control again.

The decision between McCain and Obama has Obama pulling away now. And that is no credit to motormouth Biden or no discredit to the Right Wing popular, young, but inexperienced and “not ready for Primetime” Alaskan governor.

Enjoy the debate as an amusing distraction to watching the decline of America as a great power and peoples net wealth – now happening.

The Chinese Premier was interviewed saying China would do it’s best to not let America completely go down the tubes. He said that China always knew it would surpass America, but the failure of democratic capitalism is causing it to happen “faster than anyone wants” – And the “main thing” is to try and help stabilize the situation, “because America collapsing would not be beneficial to China” or the major economic powers of the world where “fates are interdependent.”

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:56 pm 78. RE:

Matt,

That’s not a list of failures. That’s simply dealing with the realities of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ dynamic world with both hands tied behind your back.

Obamabots argue as if the alternative is de facto perfection. They clearly are not up to the task of dealing with the realities of a very messy world. Indeed, an Obama presidency would go a long way towards making Jimmy Carter look like a strong decisive leader – in strictly relative terms, of course (Carter would remain an absolute disaster no matter what). That’s why virtually all the bad guys in the world – from Chavez to Ghadafi to Hamas and Putin endorse him. They see a pushover and are drooling at the potential that Obama wimpdom presents.

Oct 2, 2008 - 1:59 pm 79. heather:

Governor Palin should begin her speech by congratulating Ifill on her book, and asking her if Inauguration Day 2009 is the publication date (as rumour has said).

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:02 pm 80. Krusty:

Oh Ron J, aren’t you adorable. You watch Palin stumble like a brain-dead high school student and this elevates her in your opinion. That’s pretty scary. You sheep say ignorance is a virtue in Washington. Ignorance of political schemes, maybe, but ignorance of history, facts, geopolitical turmoil, economic theory? uh no. Plus if you’re being impartial it’s obvious she dissembles like any good politician. She’s certainly different…a dope, but different. By your logic, we should put a retarded illiterate in office who has never been to Washington and thinks the Constitution is “just a piece of paper”. Oh wait..you already did that with Dummy Bush. Give competence a chance, please.

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:09 pm 81. kabud:

one word:

DENY the BAILOUT-

YOU WILL WIN

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:10 pm 82. John the Libertarian:

Jeff said: while Palin has done less than 4 interviews with the press

She’s been all over talk-radio. But you wouldn’t know that, would you?

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:14 pm 83. susan:

“This woman is looking at the world through a peephole. That is very dangerous because she has not seen the whole entire picture yet. It’s like looking at a painting and only be able to grasp what the small portion of that painting is trying to portray while overlooking what the whole entire painting is trying to portray.”

much like obonga thinking there are 57 states in usa…

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:17 pm 84. fred:

Challenge to the Obamabots:

Going back to his election to the Senate in November of 1972 (I was a senior in high school back then), offer up for discussion any policy position in foreign policy or in defense policy that Sen. Biden has been correct about. One of his first was to vote with the House to cut off funding for South Vietnam right before the T-34 tanks rolled over the DMZ into South Vietnam, violating the Paris treaty and annexing a sovreign country into the Communist orbit. He was wrong about the Pershing II and cruise missiles in Western Europe. He was wrong all along about ballistic missile defense. Those are just a few.

Would Sarah Palin have taken contrary positions if she had been in Biden’s seat in the Senate (hypothetically)? I think not. She has the right instincts and has the brains for the job of being the understudy.

But why are you Obamabots so huffy about this the subject of this thread? Your man is going to win in November. Things pretty much broke this week and the demographic breakdown of Obama’s support plays to the larger demographics out there: the female vote and the under-30 vote. The Boomer demographic is a wash. The older Boomers tend to be more Leftist, while younger Boomers like me break the other way. GenX is very small and tends to be a wash.

Why does Sarah Palin, the successful governor of our largest state, scare the elites, journalist, and policy wonks so much? The feeding frenzy over her seems to either convey panic or a sense of opportunity.

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:20 pm 85. William Malicoa:

i WILL TAKE SARAH PALIN OVER BIDEN ANY DAY. DOES SHE HAVE WORLDLY EXPERIENCE? NO. CAN SHE LEARN IT? ABSOLUTELY. DOES SHE OWN UP TO SOMETHING THAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW. IF THEY LET HER SPEAK SHE WILL. OBAMA AND BIDEN ARE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THAT TRY TO BAFFLE YOU WITH BULLSH*T WHEN THEY AREN’T ABLE TO DAZZLE YOU WITH BRILLIANCE. FRANKLY, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE BETTER THAN EITHER CANDIDATE, BUT WE WON’T GET ANYONE LIKE BLOOMBERG, OR BILL GATES BECAUSE NO SANE PERSON WOULD DRAG THEIR FAMILIES AND THEMSELVES THROUGH THE CRAPPER AND SPEND A BILLION DOLLARS, YES THAT FIGURE WILL BE CORRECT IF OBAMA SPENDS ALL OF HIS DONOR MANEY, TO GET A JOB THAT PAYS 400K A YEAR. DAVID BRINKLEY SAID TO ROGER AILES IN 2000 WHEN ASKED HOW THE PRESIDENTIAL RACES HAD CHANGED SINCE HE STARTED COVERING THEM IN 1952. “THE POLITICAL GAME HAS MORPHED INTO THIS DEMENTED PI**ING CONTEST THAT DICTATED IF A CANDIDATE IS WILLING TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY WIN THE ELECTION, THAT MAN OR WOMAN WOULD NOT BE MORALLY FIT FOR THE JOB”

Oct 2, 2008 - 2:33 pm 86. Believer:

I don’t think it matters how these debates go — this election is in the process of being stolen. They’ve been at it for some time now.

“conservativegrapevine.com” has a number of good suggested readings today. Not the least of which is one re Obama’s foreign contributions and his lack of openness versus McCain’s clear transparency.

Oct 2, 2008 - 3:06 pm 87. 888:

Matt has no understanding of the geo-political global environment that we live in so it’s useless to debate him.

He’s almost as sharp as Obama who’s proud of having visited 57 states.

Oct 2, 2008 - 3:16 pm 88. USAF Captain:

“THE POLITICAL GAME HAS MORPHED INTO THIS DEMENTED PI**ING CONTEST THAT DICTATED IF A CANDIDATE IS WILLING TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY WIN THE ELECTION, THAT MAN OR WOMAN WOULD NOT BE MORALLY FIT FOR THE JOB”

..which is why Colin Powell withdrew from considration some years ago. The more one thinks about it the more on reealizes that there are so many ways that Barak Obama will do harm.

In this case, by being the first black (oh, I can hear the libs warming up their “racist” mantras now) and by having the baggage he does and failing at the job (which he will do), he tars the scenario for a long time coming.

One wonders how civil and refined but interesting this election would be were it McCain verus Powell. For one, it would show that Democrats had thrown off the yokes of their Soros-Screaming masters.

..but I prattle.

Oct 2, 2008 - 3:58 pm 89. Jeff:

RE,

From your posts, your points are like that of an underage kid. Son, start reading more history books and also start backtracking the events of these 8 years. Then research into which candidate has been supporting the failures of these 8 years of foreign policies and economic policies and which candidate has been against it. You would be surprised. But until then, don’t just listen to mommy and daddy, son.

Oct 2, 2008 - 4:15 pm 90. Joshua II:

The most important VP debate ever? Not a chance. It could have been, if not for the meltdown on Wall Street. But for all intents and purposes this is a one-issue campaign now, and Palin doesn’t help McCain on that issue.

The debate is still interesting in that Palin could still salvage her chances for a run in 2012, but alas, the financial meltdown was an incredibly lucky break for the Obama campaign, and in all likelihood just way too big for McCain to overcome.

McCain-Palin = pair of Aces
Obama-Biden = Jack-five offsuit

The Wall Street meltdown = a flop of Jack-Jack-five

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:14 pm 91. AJ:

“The embarrassment is that America would rather vote for a very old confirmed racist like McCain who will be Bush’s replica for another four years, instead of overcoming their own racist ideologies and vote for a man who has dedicated his life to his community.

All I see in this election is the fear of racists that for the first time in American history the victor might actually win by character, not color”

Mother, can you prove ANY of this, or like a little child, do you just call names the media has told you to use?

The only racists are those voting FOR Obama b/c of his father’s race. He is totally unqualified. You know that. Grow up.

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:46 pm 92. Malinda:

VP Candidate Sarah Palin is in a great position. Not being in the Senate she is a Governor who is the Chief Executive of the largest state in the Continental USA–Alaska.

In this position, she has had the responsibility of dealing with every aspect of governing a State from the minutest detail to the largest detail——-whether it be oil and defense—-education, health issues, the Alaskan taxes and economy.

In such an illustrious position, Sarah Palin must work from the viewpoint of a generalist while understanding detail on a daily basis.

This intellectual acumen is desirable in a Vice President.

She has no lack of experience—–she brings valuable experience and skills to the office of the Vice President that any President would find desirable.

Time for the debate—-

Malinda

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:52 pm 93. Jules Crittenden » Car Crash Liveblog:

[...] Pajamas Preview, Jennifer Rubin: Will Biden Gaffe? Will Palin Be Set Free? [...]

Oct 2, 2008 - 5:55 pm 94. Marc Malone:

Matt – You’re hilarious! You are the poster boy for failed liberalism.

Let me get this right. You were a young Repub in H.S.? You worked in corporate world for 20 years? Then you wised up? Now, after wising up, you work 3 jobs 7 DAYS/WK for $14/hr? How is that wising up?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Oct 2, 2008 - 11:06 pm 95. think:

I don’t know why you are all in an uproar.

If everyone has faith & prays every night there is no way your God would ever allow anything but a Republican to hold this high of an office. Especially a descendant of Cain.

I would be surprised if any of you even watched the debate, unless there were no re-runs of Nascar.

Oct 3, 2008 - 8:15 am

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