210 Comments

1. programmer:

Anyone who has ever read Terry Pratchett understands the power of narrative. The narrative will warp time, space and people to bend reality to fit, the narrative will not bend for anything or any one.

As I look at this election, I only have one word to say, taken, of course, from one of Terry Pratchett’s strongest characters, “Ook!”.

Aug 28, 2008 - 5:02 pm 2. JFSanders:

I think this is a test of the Blogoshpere. To see if they can push this into the face of the average american. The MSM will no doubt pay only cursory attention or attack the messenger as it doesn’t fit the template.

Jim

Aug 28, 2008 - 6:09 pm 3. John Samford:

The blogosphere is NOT a single entity and cannot speak with a single voice, so the chance of winning a pissing contest with the MSM is slim to none. If enough bloggers pick a spot and hit it hard, they will see results. But first you have to get traction on an issue.
Not sure this is the issue. I say that because the Obamanics will not change their opinions ( they don’t have minds to change) over it and the Anti-Obamacons will just say, “see, I told you.” which accomplishes nothing. So I think it would be pretty much a waste of energy.
Besides, the demographics are against Obama bin Biden. So long as Big Mac doesn’t screw the pooch by selecting another white male as VP, He will be sitting in the White House come late January. If he selects a white male, it will be a close race. In a close race a few votes from dead Democrats and rigged Diebold machines could give Obama bin Biden the win. Considering the Chicago political machine specializes in fixing elections, it’s important that the election not be close. Remember who was algore’s advisor in 2000.

“An executive is a person who always decides; sometimes he decides correctly, but he always decides.”
John H. Patterson

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:01 pm 4. Peterike:

John Samford, I agree with you. So long as Big Mac doesn’t screw the pooch by selecting another white male as VP, He will be sitting in the White House come late January. If he selects a white male, it will be a close race.

But it’s looking like that pooch is howling.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain decided on a running mate early Thursday, and one top prospect, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, abruptly canceled numerous public appearances…

Without explanation, Pawlenty called off an Associated Press interview at the last minute, as well as other media interviews in Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention.

** sigh **

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:15 pm 5. fred:

What exactly would Gov. Pawlenty bring to Sen. McCain’s ticket? I mean no insult to the Minnesota governor, who may be a fine man in his own right.

And what is wrong with a “white male?” Have we so devolved as a society that “identity politics” has become decisive? In other words, people voting for Obama because he’s black, or Hillary Clinton because of her sex are strongly indicating that our people are unable to make decisions based upon the issues, voting records, and character of political candidates. This does not portend well for us. It seems to confirm one suspicion that logically follows from the “identity politics” aspect: we have been shattered into social fragments where petty resentments form the basis of political decisions. How tragic for our Republic.

Tactically, however, I would select a qualified female as my running mate. For the simple reason that such an expediency is a minor thing in comparison with the great harm that would be done to the nation should Obama and the Democrats take it all in November. It may surely cost humanity millions of lives, perhaps some of that ghastly toll American lives as well.

#1 Ballistic Missile Defense
#2 Foreign policy – Iran and Russia
#3 Taxes, the economy, and energy policy

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:30 pm 6. Say What?:

“Besides, the demographics are against Obama bin Biden.” John Samford

Maybe it’s just because I’m trapped in Obamaland here in the West but I see nothing but a ground swell of enthusiasm for this guy….who says absolutely nothing! I’m deeply concerned to see that the fans are so smitten as to be blind to the fact that there are serious problems with their candidate. Just the DNC attempts to squelch the First Amendment should be enough…oh, but there’s so much more evidence. It’s a sad time in history. I guess I’m just another hateful American who has worked hard for my modest belongings but will be called names so that a guy who has no accomplishments in government can ruin our free country.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:36 pm 7. wretchard:

Maybe it’s just because I’m trapped in Obamaland here in the West but I see nothing but a ground swell of enthusiasm for this guy….who says absolutely nothing!

Obama has a lot of support. Check the polls and the prediction markets. The support may be irrational, he may be a fad, there may be regrets later on. But for the moment the hard fact is that Obama will get a lot of votes. People eventually hated Jimmy Carter. But they voted for him first.

And there’s a lot invested in Obama. Fortunes, political and otherwise, are riding on his accession to power. Those who have bought into him will not idly aside and watch their stake turn to ashes. This is a fight to the finish and Obama will turn the knife however he needs to in order to grasp power. His critics have already learned that. Nothing must stand in his way.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:43 pm 8. Peterike:

Fred, I agree with you completely. It is shameful and sad that the nation is shattering into just such “social fragments” as you put it. I have nothing against white males either, goodness knows, and would be fine with Romney, Thompson or Giuliani as the VP. But all three would probably increase the likelihood of McCain losing.

We agree that a female running mate is tactically smart for McCain. Sadly, he needs to “sexy” up his campaign to garner a certain percentage of stupid people who will vote based on novelty or some kind of absurd gender allegiance.

In any case, even if McCain wins, I suspect this is the last time Republicans will take the Presidency. The country has bolted to the Left these past eight years. Unless McCain can somehow be a Reagan-style revitalizing figure, I think the future is ever Leftward. Of course, the media is a huge part of this. No matter what happens in the economy, for example, it will be painted as terrible if McCain wins. If Obama wins, before he’s even sworn in the economic news will magically be rosy.

My biggest hope about a President McCain is that he can be an ornery bastard, and I don’t think he’ll sit back and let the Left demolish him with lies they way they’ve done to Bush. He will kick back. My McCain fantasy has him prosecute the press the next time it leaks government info on his watch. My fantasy also has McCain cleaning house at CIA and State and the other Lefty bastions in DC the first time they cross him (which will be about a month before he takes office).

On the other hand, it’s far more likely he will run after the press adulation he’s so used to, and he will move ever Leftward himself. Needless to say, the press will hate him no matter how much he offers them. Trying to placate them as a Republican is a fool’s game, but it’s a game too many Republicans are addicted to. McCain I fear is among them.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:46 pm 9. wretchard:

CNN reports:

“They will have more than 85,000 people, perhaps more than 90,000 people, in this stadium by the time Barack Obama speaks,” Chief National Correspondent John King said Thursday evening. “There is a concern that the Obama campaign may have issued as many as 20,000 more tickets for this event” than the stadium can hold.

Local authorities say they are working with the Secret Service to get as many people into the stadium as possible. But there is a concern that several thousand people could be turned away.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:46 pm 10. neolex:

Two possible picks that I think would really improve McCain’s chances would be Condi Rice and Joe Lieberman (if nothing else to tease c4).

Rice, though a bad sec of state, might make a half-decent VP and would bring a lot of minority/female votes. Lieberman, despite scaring some of the base, would have a lot of appeal to centrist democrats, independents, and Hilary loyalists. Base that would be turned off by Lieberman probably wouldn’t have voted at all, as they consider McCain too liberal.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:46 pm 11. JFSanders:

@John,

I agree they are not a single entity. They are a choir. And if they all start singing the same hymn. You will see the angels descend and shine the light of truth upon Obama.

I believe this is THE issue. The vast majority of Americans feel strongly about the 1st. Amendment. For many it is the only one they know. It will cross ideological boundaries to unite the middle class.

McCain has a ton of ammo. And the guts to use it. He knows he has one shot at this. I think he will leave it all on the field.

But it will take a concerted effort from the Blogosphere to combat the MSM. Although if the DNC keeps having their reporters arrested we might see a weather change.

Jim

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:56 pm 12. Peterike:

The latest Democrat meme is picking up steam.

[Tonight] Gore said Bush’s leadership has spelled calamity and Republican John McCain would bring more of the same.

Ahh yes, the “calamity” of the Bush years. Yet somehow, you still have to wait months to get a reservation in the best New York restaurants.

I find this theme amusing for its overreach, but unfortunately much of the nation has been hypnotized (or brow-beaten) into believing it.

Ok, let’s grant that the Bush years have been a “calamity.” Now please tell me something that has been “calamitous”?

I can name any number of things (immigration, government spending, Medicare drug plan), but they are all violations of what a Republican should be, and a Democrat would make them ten times worse. (My take is that, like Nixon, Bush has been a remarkably successful Democrat on the domestic scene.)

The things that are supposed to be a Bush calamity — the economy, the war, the lack of movement on “global warming” — are actually Bush successes.

Through the Looking Glass.

Aug 28, 2008 - 7:57 pm 13. fred:

neolex and Peterike,

Sadly, because the nation has moved to the Left (and has been moving this way, I think, since the Bush I presidency)picking a conservative, while very palatable to me, is maybe the kiss of death. I do think that when people can focus their minds on hearing what conservatism really is, and patiently hear out its advocate, that they will find that most of their lives do indeed conform to how conservatives live. And they would realize that, as Michael Savage describes it, liberalism is a mental disorder. But we are a long way from that moment.

Sadly, the Left was not discredited by the Carter presidency. Only Carter and his party were discredited, while socialist intellectuals tirelessly worked in the trenches of education and media. It is now coming to fruition. It frustrates me to see this, because I was once a part of this Gramscian march through the institutions when I was a seminarian. I eventually saw how deeply false and flawed the intellectual basis of socialism is. I saw just how completely education and media have been infected with the virus. I try to warn people that this is not me being paranoid, but those who have not been exposed to this process and do not understand what has been happening sort of brush it off as partisan posturing and rhetorical exaggeration.

What can one do?

Ideas have consequences. They also involve a narrative/discursive process. Ideas are generally not rejected by most people until their practical ramifications have been experienced and witnessed as disastrous. I fear that this is how it is going to play out, and it will cost millions of lives and severely disrupt economies.

Aug 28, 2008 - 8:05 pm 14. E. Nigma:

The followers of Senator Obama have that evanescent quality that is necessary in any successful political campaign; they believe in the righteousness of their cause.

However, righteousness is like a strong night of drinking. While the euphoria is grand, the headache and hangover the next morning tends to make you say “never again”. If Senator Obama is elected in 2008, I think by 2012, we may have a large part of a new generation saying to themselves, “Never again”.

As has been said somewhere before, we seem to read the lessons of history better after we have fallen on our faces.

It would be unfortunate for Sen. McCain to die on that hill so that the country learns a lesson by electing someone as green and unqualified as Sen. Obama, but someother candidate in 2012 will probably benefit from this.

Aug 28, 2008 - 8:11 pm 15. Peterike:

Fred, agree with you 100%.

I’ve been reading BHO’s speech. I can’t stand the sight of him, so I won’t watch. But man, what a load of howlers, fantasies, ignorance and cant. I love this line.

“As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.”

Damn, he’s going to single handedly safely harness nuclear power! Lucky for him that was figured out forty years ago.

And I like this one.

“Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism.”

Why bother challenging their patriotism when you can just threaten to have them put in prison if they don’t shut up? That’s the Obama way!

Man, I’ve read three of the four pages posted by ABC, and I can save you the trouble by summing it up thusly: “America under Bush is hell on earth. I will make it heaven.”

What a ghastly creature.

Aug 28, 2008 - 8:11 pm 16. OneDatAtATime:

McCain is not the best guy to be pointing at somebody else’s 1st amendment problems:

“He [Michael Graham] also mentioned my abridgement of First Amendment rights, i.e. talking about campaign finance reform….I know that money corrupts….I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government.” – John McCain

http://archive.redstate.com/story/2006/4/29/111841/988

Aug 28, 2008 - 8:14 pm 17. Mike Sylwester:

Wretchard:
“… where the MSM has been in all of this. The major parties and the press are large components of the quality control process of the political system. ”
————

Journalists looking into this part of Obama’s life have interviewed people who were involved in the events. I’m curious whether anyone has interviewed Ayers critically and whether he answered such questions.

It is true that no journalist has taken on the task of studying 70 linear feet of files. Study of that kind usually is done by historians at a leasurely pace.

Until just a few weeks ago, it was not certain that Obama would win the Democratic nomination. Any journalist who might have decided, say, six months ago to study 70 linear feet of files in order to write an article certainly would have been taking an enormous professional risk. He might have finished reading through, say, 50 feet of files, and then it might have turned out that Hillary Clinton was the nomination. Then where would such a journalist have sold his article?

Aug 28, 2008 - 9:21 pm 18. Alexis:

I think the public has a moral right to know about Senator Obama’s executive experience with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Every time the Challenge restricts access, it raises serious questions over Senator Obama’s commitment to open government. If Senator Obama were serious about promoting open government, he would have championed Mr. Kurtz’s cause many months ago.

In a previous posting, I questioned the relevance of Percy Sutton’s reminiscence. I have a few more comments. His reminiscence is historically important, not for what it says about Senator Obama, but for what it says about Obama’s followers. Historically speaking, recollections from followers of a leader are not necessarily any more accurate than recollections from detractors. Loyalists of a religion often seek to embellish the image of their leader to the point of inventing details that don’t exist. Anybody who is aware of unauthorized Harry Potter novels, the accretion of stories about Santa Claus, and noncanonical infancy gospels of Jesus Christ would understand how embellishment clouds the historical record.

It is a testament to Senator Obama’s popularity that men like Percy Sutton would now take credit for his success. With that popularity comes responsibility, responsibility for each political candidate to respect majority rule and minority rights. Senator Obama has raised expectations of his supporters, which means his supporters may be setting themselves up for frustration, disappointment, and dashed hopes. Are the efforts of his supporters merely about empowering Obama’s faction or are they about more than that? Working tirelessly for a cause can be good. Yet, all that effort we put into politics must also be channeled into civility with those we disagree with. When any political campaign condones death threats, that undermines our social fabric. When a political campaign stays silent while its supporters chant death threats against those who dissent, those who would uphold our Constitution must not be silent. So why does Senator Obama fall silent when P Diddy calls out death threats against his foes? When the chant rings out from Obama supporters, “OBAMA OR DIE!” the time comes when Americans must say NO!

“CHANGE” ought to mean something other than “Barack Obama gets to do whatever he wants”. “HOPE” ought to mean something other than politics as usual in Chicago. “PROGRESS” ought to mean something other than marching in lockstep and doing whatever we are told, and living in fear of ever walking alone. Must words mean whatever Barack Obama chooses them to mean? Isn’t there some definition of “CHANGE” that doesn’t correspond to Barack Obama’s political agenda? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. There is a time in life to say NO!

Aug 28, 2008 - 9:41 pm 19. Elroy Jetson:

Mike S.
Obama has been an major candidate since the beginning of the year. You would have thought someone would have looked at the period 1995-2001, a time when Obama served on the board of the CAC and started asking him questions about it. A few evasive answers, and then it would be time to go to the files. This should have occured in February and Obama would have been properly vetted by his own party.
This did not happen, so it’s up to Kurtz, Diamond and the media to report when Obama’s campaign uses strongarm tactics against those who want to investigate.

Aug 28, 2008 - 9:56 pm 20. cjm:

condi rice probably wouldn’t even vote for herself, much less draw any other black votes. blacks vote dem regardless of the candidate’s color, and won’t vote gop regardless of the candidate’s color.

Aug 28, 2008 - 9:56 pm 21. neolex:

@cjm

Condi also has a vagina

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:01 pm 22. cjm:

i’ll believe when i see it

i doubt any of hillary’s old dears would vote mccain even if hillary herself was on the ticket.

if America elects obama then America will get what it deserves; that’s just the way the system works. i lived through carter and i can live through the myriad disasters obama will bring upon the country. but i am not counting mccain out yet.

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:08 pm 23. fred:

I believe the reason why Obama was not properly vetted by his own party is because the people who run the party wanted him to be THE candidate. That means Soros, Dean, Pariser, Moulitsas, Huffington, et al. Once he was off and running, they didn’t want it to stop.

The only way to get a candidate who is a socialist/Marxist elected to the Presidency is to do it by stealth, which they are in the process of trying to make happen. Unfortunately for them, it is not going to be completely by stealth, as in the blogosphere many of us have had access to information and reporting that is factual, if not covered by the mainstream media. By the latter’s connivance Obama’s campaign and candidacy remains partly stealthy.

If I were McCain I would campaign as if I’m the underdog and take nothing for granted. Leave no stone unturned, because right now the Left is stronger in its appeal than it has ever been. I think it is lapping its high water mark, so I would not underestimate those people at all.

It is entirely fair that all of Obama’s past be put under a microscope and examined. He has been less than forthright about so much that to not do a searing examination of him, his activities, and his associations is severely remiss.

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:11 pm 24. hdgreene:

MSM agrees, Obama gave a great speech — greatly aided by the fact that he can say anything as long as is sounds good.

The “One” of the McCain Campaign “attack ads” has become the Great Obama “I” of the acceptance speech. The “I” will do this (treat the sick and not pander to insurance companies) and the “I” will do that (stand up to tyrants and make our alliances strong again). The “I” will make our schools excellent and the “I” will ask that teachers do a few things, too — but only ask. But there is a “we,” too. There is a “we” who should realize that “we” are a nation of schlubs who will make it very hard on the “I” who wants to help the “we” and at the same time make the nation less schlubbish — give it some je ne sais quoi. Though of course the “I” does sais quoi what to give it. And so do his adoring fans, whose very look said, “You are right Barack, I can’t tie my shoes without your help!”

Me thinks Sen. Obama broke one of the basic rules of influencing others, as taught back in, say, 1964. And that is: Avoid using the word “I” and try using the word “You.” Try to make people feel central to the project, and not like schlub spear carriers in a biblical epic starring “Me, Myself, and, of course, I.”

But outsized egos are in style these days.

Sen. Obama sees two Americas: the Politicians and the schlubs. And he’s not too sure about the politicians, but you work with what you got. All and all, it sounded to me like he wants to get America cheap by selling it short. You won’t hear that from the MSM, of course.

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:17 pm 25. whiskey:

John Samford — McCain SHOULD pick a white guy.

Obama is the diversity candidate, which means in practice punishing white guys. Who are, frankly, sick of it.

And … blue collar Whites make up the largest demographic slice of the electorate, at 25%. More than gays, Blacks, even Latinos, or single mothers.

Wretchard — I am less than impressed by Obama. He has done little to demonstrate he knows how to win nationally. Heck he’s never run against any Republican opposition. He’s South Side Chicago meets Red Diaper babies. A tin ear for what the white majority of this country wants. Which is safety and stability, not fads.

Apple is all over the place in ads. They sell about 4-6% of the computers sold. Obama’s polling support is of all voters, not likely voters (who are registered, and voted last election).

Youth vote at 50%, or less, while Seniors vote 75% or more.

Thinking you need the “cool, sexy” pick of a woman, or a non-white, or a Lesbian, or what have you is dumb, dumb, dumb politics. Whites make up the OVERWHELMING majority of the population, still. To the regret of the media. Blacks are 13% of the population. Identity politics begets identity politics, which ALL break in McCain’s favor.

Pick a straight white guy, win. It’s that simple.

Playing diversity politics is playing the hype and buzz game. Consider this — the most buzz-hype show in recent memory is “Gossip Girl” on CW. Pulling in 2 million viewers a show. The lowest rated EVER renewed show. The whole CW network may be cancelled.

Reality check: there are more White Guys than Black Guys by a factor of 4. Regardless of what you see on TV commercials. And no, almost all whites don’t know any Blacks, care one way or the other, and don’t crave an imaginary hip black friend to make them cool.

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:43 pm 26. OldSalt:

One would expect that had BHO’s work with the “Chicago School Reform Collaborative” garnered positive results, there would be breathless reports from the MSM and political ads by his campaign illustrating his every executive action. It is his primary executive experience. That neither has occurred is interesting.

Aug 28, 2008 - 10:50 pm 27. RAH:

Really all you need to know about the Annenberg Challenge is look at the current Chicago schools. Any better? No Then the guys doing this were failures. Simple.

I remember all they hype back then and then nothing. That told me all I needed to know. If successful it would have begotten more and it did not.

As to a VP Pawlenty is unknown and green. McCain is 72 years old. I want a possible president, not an affirmative action woman or guy.

Condi Rice is a failure at State; she got rolled by Hezbolla believing their propaganda during the last conflict with Israel. If she can’t see through the illusion then I would not trust her as President. Plus she never had the executive skills to clean the Clintonistas and Carterites at State.

Lastly she does not want to be President. If Carly wants to be VP, she needs start to learn the craft by getting elected at a lower level first. Hutchison is good and I like her but we do not need to get more Senators to be elected. We need as many GOP senators that we have. The best training is being Governor, since they have to learn to be an executive. After all the White House is the Executive branch of government.

McCain has not exhibited good executive skills and that is one of his major faults. But I have no choice with Obama as the alternative. So as VP, I want a seasoned person because if you thought the Democrats were vicious the last two years, that is nothing if their ONE does not win. The Democrats will be worse than ever and McCain is not capable of fighting Democrats. Too many years of Senatorial Courtesy has infected him and that courtesy will not follow him to the White House.

That leaves Romney. Romney is smart, has oodles of executive skill and can fight. He really understands in his bones about the necessity of private markets in a way that McCain does not. McCain supports markets but he is a government guy that is all he has known his adult life, so he can be swayed to a government solution. The best of McCain is that he is Laissaz Faire toward economics. McCain does not really understand the BOR or he would never have done McCain Feingold, which restricts the first amendment. He agreement with the “so called gun show loophole” means he does not understand that that is a device to remove the ability of private transactions of guns to only Authorized Federal dealers. The ability to get guns privately is one of the safeguards against tyranny by the state. Criminals who get guns are one of the costs of liberty. That has to be accepted. Go after criminals in other ways. CCW people have been doing a good job cutting down their numbers. Stand My Ground laws have enable citizens to fight back at crime at the actual point of crime. That is more effective then any good police work, when the people stop crime when it happens.

Romney does not really understand that now, but is willing to be convinced on gun issues. Romney understands foreign policy since he is an extremely smart man and a policy wonk. He devours information. Also Romney is a man of decent character he is not a person to abuse his power and that attribute is important in any person that could be President.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:17 am 28. Tim:

Hmm saw this a LGF.

Looks like it might be Palin.

I’m not sure what to think of this. Maybe it’s just noise.

I think she would make an acceptable choice. But someone with more years of executive experience might be better. But then that person might outshine all the the other candidates.

Link: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N222GY/history

N222GY (registration) (photos) GYPSY TWO LLC KIRKLAND WA Aircraft Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream IV (twin-jet) (GLF4/Q) Origin Anchorage Intl (PANC) Destination Hook Field Muni (KMWO)

Date Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 Duration 5 hours 53 minutes Status Arrived over 4 hours ago (track log) Scheduled Actual/Estimated Departure 12:14PM YDT 12:14PM YDT Arrival 10:18PM EDT 10:07PM EDT Speed Altitude Unspecified

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:29 am 29. RAH:

Whiskey is absolutely right that this is a numbers game. Despite the endless MSM narrative about the horrible Bush administration he was voted in twice and in 2004 the Democrats ran against the Iraq war and lost big time. The 2006 election was about fiscal responsibility that the GOP failed at when they were in power at both houses, so the electorate punished the GOP, But the left believes that was a vote against Bush, not Congress, as it was. I never saw an election misanalyzed as 2006.

But the GOP electorate will not sit out this election, they have seen the light and the “One” scares them worse than Hillary. So the GOP electorate will turn out and vote for McCain. The white disenfranchised guns and god democrats will vote for McCain not Obama.

Obama’s negatives are very high. Let me count the ways.

1) Pastor of 20 years is a black Marxist racist
2) Constant association with the worst of the 1960’s radicals.
3) Classic Chicagoan politician with all the associated corruption of Chicago- Rezko.
4) Standard Liberal pacifist foreign policy. Voted for defeated and still would.
5) The next decade is a very dangerous world with Russia rearing its head.
6) Obama who believes he can talk someone to his side yet could not convince the Hillary Democratic voters to his side.
7) His massive ego –the Messianic cult scares people.
He scares the white folk.
9) No experience at doing anything he is all PR- empty shirt.

The loony left is very vocal but the silent majority has not spoken. The MSM has bought into the loony left but the American electorate has not.

Obama only got 50% of the Democratic vote that is only 25 % of the electorate.

This election is McCain’s not Obama’s. He has been shown to be empty of substance. The spotlight that MSM has shown on him has aptly demonstrated to Americans that he is not presidential material. Just the affirmative action candidate

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:48 am 30. ledger:

“85,000 people” – CNN

I think MSM has over stated the situation. It was a fair night at best.

Obama is the new “Pet Rock” to be sold to audience (Maybe with considerable outside investment).

The MSM stacked the deck with more people than expected via a rock concert after Obama’s diatribe.

I am not sure what the people will remember more: a snake oil speech by Obama or, the voice of Cheryl Crow and loud music.

[Pawn of the Oppressor notes]

“Y’all know Cheryl Crow was putting on a free concert at the stadium tonight? After the Big O finished up one of the show hosts on whatever channel I happened to have on, pointed out there were something like 84,000 people at the stadium tonight! I thought “hhmmmm, that is an impressive number” and started to compare it with numbers I remember from various rock concerts I had attended…”

See post 285 Pawn of the Oppressor

[Pet Rock Fad]

“The first Pet Rocks were ordinary gray pebbles bought at a builder’s supply store and marketed as if they were live pets. The fad lasted about six months, ending with the Christmas season in December 1975. During its short run, the Pet Rock made Dahl a millionaire.”

See: Pet Rock sales

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:25 am 31. ledger:

The “85,000 people” reported by CNN is an illusion.

There is a Cheryl Crow Rock Concert there. I would guess half of the people came to see the rock concert.

[This post is just in case my first post doesn’t make through the filters]

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:34 am 32. Peter Boston:

I see little compelling evidence to suggest optimism for the fate of our nation or the advancement of personal liberty. The simple fact that Obama has gone this far without any meaningful opposition from within the Democrat Party and without any meaningful scrutiny from the so called free press speaks for itself.

How does a 47 year old man who self describes as a “community organizer” get this close to the Presidency without even a murmur of public discussion about what a community organizer actually is, or what this particular community organizer actually did during his adult life?

Obama had primary responsiblity for distributing $100 million as the director of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge but only one individual, Stanley Kurtz, has even exhibited any curiosity about where that money went. Would not the history of how Obama exercised his responsibility spending that much money be perhaps the best single indicator of how how he might exercise his executive responsibily as POTUS?

We know nothing about this person. Nothing. And nobody with the means to find out and tell us cares a whit. Kurtz’s investigation will be ignored and the man pilloried. Two years into an Obama term and he will be prosecuted for hate speech a la the Canadian “Human Rights” Commissions.

Maybe I’ve read too much Dostoyevsky and Solzhenitsyn. The human spirit may be inextinguishable but it still gets crushed by the machine.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:01 am 33. 2164th:

Smiley faces at the Belmont Club?

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:12 am 34. 2164th:

I forgot to say “Have nice day.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:14 am 35. RattlerGator:

RAH, you’re right about Romney but you are wildly ignoring the politics that would devastate the two of them. You can try to stay above it as much as possible but only fools ignore the politics.

Whiskey, by and large, is right but this is the year for a white female in the V.P. slot. What everyone insists on forgetting is that this is a weird year. When BHO gets this close to the Presidency, concerns about lack of experience in the V.P. slot are absolutely irrelevant.

Sarah Palin is the smart pick. Fine, she’ll go back to being the traditional V.P. More a placeholder than Dick Cheney. Fine. She’s solid, attractive, not goofy, and the mother of five with a young son in the Army. Remember the politics. I hope John McCain does.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:38 am 36. Peterike:

Whiskey, the white conservative male forms the “thin white line” that keeps America from tyranny. But they aren’t enough to win this for McCain.

Granted, youth don’t vote in large numbers historically, but it’s never been this “cool” to vote for a candidate. Blacks don’t vote much either, but they will turn out in droves, enough to push some close states to Obama. As usual, they will vote against their own self interest. ACORN and others will have unprecedented levels of get-out-the-vote, get-out-the-fraud going on.

The male population is more metrosexualized every year. These past eight years of endless MSM propaganda + Jon Stewart + Colbert + Hollywood have turned many a young man to the Democrats. You’ll have a lot of 20-somethings voting for the first time in their lives, and voting for Obama.

RAH provides a very good list of Obama negatives. Now if only people knew them. Most don’t. The folks here at Belmont don’t represent anything. They know way more than the average schmuck that will vote for Obama. Even folks like Benj are much more informed than the average voter, though Benj lets his cheap romance with Obama distort his mind (he is hardly alone in that).

And now the Republicans might delay their convention because of not one but two pending hurricanes. Can you imagine what the media will do with this? It will be non-stop Katrina coverage all over again. And yes, people here know the real story, how a combination of an ignorant, black Democrat mayor and an duplicitious white female Democrat governor and a city that was a Socialist welfare state were at the heart of the problem. But probably 90% of the country thinks the Katrina mess was Bush’s fault, and now they’ll get to hear it all over again.

The Republicans have somewhat escaped the lies about Iraq. They have never escaped the lies about Katrina.

Oh, I have to go to work now.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:49 am 37. Doug:

The conventional wisdom is we don’t know this guy.

The truth, imo, is we know him better than most candidates.
(thanks to his books, which can be parsed, and his openly anti-American associates)

It’s just that the Dems and MSM do not acknowledge most of what we know to be true, given that it is almost all unflattering.
To put it mildly.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:54 am 38. Wadeusaf:

If the files were related to Vice President Richard Nixon, the MSM would have had seventy interns Qued overnight. Each intern would review one foot of the file and filter the best most damaging parts for dissection and discussion by on the morning news shows, all paid for by groups such as the woods foundation.

It is one more of life’s ironies.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:15 am 39. fred:

I think for many of us the mood we experience, with respect to Obama’s ascendancy, is a function of where we live. I live in a blue state that used to be a red state. I’m surrounded by a lot of Democrats – and left-of-center ones at that. Some right-of-center people sprinkled in too, but they are not the majority. So many Bush haters around and the press beats on him until he’s beyond a dead dog.

I see most of the young people enthusiastic about Obama and the socialist agenda, and this reminds me of what is going on in the schools and universities. I know that I am not alone in being a refugee from the academic Left, but there are not enough of us. Most remained true believers in whatever variants of Marxism they latched on to, even after it is a failed and discredited ideological constellation.

I agree with you, Doug. We DO know plenty about the background of that long-legged mack daddy (I just love Rev. Manning’s description of Obama). It’s very clear that the MSM is in the tank for this guy and the honest journalists are up against the tide.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:53 am 40. Buck Smith:

Wretchard had a post a few weeks back about deterrence in war against extremist Islam. It started with a premise that while it may be true that the jihadis cannot be deterred, prehaps the society which produces them can be. I hope this subject comes up in the race. It would be helpful to hear both candidates speak on this. Especially if the dynamics of the race bring both to the same point – a clear and convincing retaliatory threat.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:55 am 41. 3Case:

“i lived through carter and i can live through the myriad disasters obama will bring upon the country.”

I REALLY do NOT want to do THAT again. Every little 20-something dip@-*t to whom I explain the Carter years just gets glassy-eyed; they have no frame of reference for what a disaster that man’s term was. Sometimes I suggest we can start playing Carter Years right now and that I’ll be “inflation” and all they need to do is give me 15% of their paycheck right off the top. Haven’t had any takers for that one, but it does evince a look of panic.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:03 am 42. Mark:

Wrichard writes:

“The major parties and the press are large components of the quality control process of the political system. They are supposed to weed out the obviously inept, mentally distrubed, or treasonable candidates before they get too far . . . .”

But Programmer writes:

“The narrative will warp time, space and people to bend reality to fit, the narrative will not bend for anything or any one.”

Rational inquiry is good. But people are also narrative creatures. And furthermore, the golden rule generally prevails: whoever has the gold makes the rules.

The confidence man/parasite/politician always knows how to tell a good story. And the news/tabloid industry is always looking for the good narratives to sell the celebrity hungry/narrative-needing public. And the big money/owners of the media decide in part what meme they get to present.

If Palin knows how to fight, and how to change the meme to “it’s always the same old boys club,” McCain could have a new meme to complement the Maverick meme. We’ll know in a few hours.

Sen. Obama’s speech? Cotton candy spun on a crooked cone of misinformation.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:34 am 43. Wadeusaf:

Even before we know what is there to be revealed from the Chicago Annenburg Challenge, we are being given a glimpse of what an Obama administration will bring.

Smears intended to kill the messenger, and stifle the message. I have visions of the Movie “The Godfather” standing for the baptismal sacrament on behalf of a family newborn, while assassins and hit men strike. Yeah I know maybe it is more like an SNL script than a real mafia hit, but that is what I at least have come to expect from the “OH” campaign.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:36 am 44. slade:

CNBC reports that McCain insider told John Harwood that Palin is the VP selection. Unconfirmed.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:36 am 45. TmjUtah:

Romney or Palin and I’m onboard. Lieberman or Ridge and I sit out.

We’ll party like it’s 1979, baby.

I cried when I watched the wall go down. All those hot days in San Diego, the years overseas, experiencing nations where freedom never was… they were worth it.

Now, in 2008, I see the very real possibility that that wall, or something very much like it, will be back in my life time.

We get the government we deserve. Just don’t let this election be the LAST election.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:11 am 46. Lifeofthemind:

Hope America wakes up today, swallows an aspirin, and forgets the binge that swept over the media in the last week. Sober people will be able to examine the concoction of assertions, lies and dreams that was spun last night so it melts in the dawn like a fog. My favorite bit was when he actually had the nerve to say “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:14 am 47. Teresita:

Rattlegator: When BHO gets this close to the Presidency, concerns about lack of experience in the V.P. slot are absolutely irrelevant.

If he picks Palin (and this post could be made irrelevant in just an hour or two), she’s so young and pretty she will invoke some really funny defensive psychology in white male voters, even your 20-something metrosexualized ones, when Barack starts in on his attacks. And I suspect McCain, as a career politician, understands that instinctively. And if Barack the boot camp politician doesn’t understand that, then he’s a goner.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:14 am 48. Doug:

A Gulfstream IV from Anchorage, Alaska, flew into Middletown Regional Airport in Butler County near Cincinnati about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, said Rich Bevis, airport manager. He said several people came off the plane, including a woman and two teens, but there was no confirmation of who was aboard.

“They were pretty much hustled off. They came right down the ramp, jumped in some vans here and off they went,” Bevis said. “It was all hush, hush.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:18 am 49. Salt Lick:

Two months ahead in which the American public will start paying attention. RAH effectively lists the reasons why Obama is going to look like Dukakis by Nov. 4.

With regard to the MSM “shaping the narrative,” don’t forget that Bill Clinton, far less threatening and left-wing than Obama, never got 50% of the vote, even with the media’s help.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:24 am 50. Peter Boston:

Not quite an exact match but I’ll take a pair of cowboys over a pair of flesh-eating lawyers anyday.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:26 am 51. Doug:

Nickname in Highschool:
Sarah Barracuda.
Don’t Pee on Me
—
Palin’s oldest son headed for Iraq.
Sarah Hunts, Fishes, Pro Snowmobiler.
Has no limos, no Mansion, “We Fish!”
Defeated Bridge to nowhere.
Choice:
Not a question when baby found to be Downs.
—
Palin’s oldest son headed for Iraq.
She Hunts, Fishes, Pro Snowmobiler. Has no limos, no Mansion, “We Fish!”

McCain Vp – Google News
—
ANWAR!
—
Liability:
Collaboration between Slo Joe and MSM could embarass her on Foreign Policy.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:28 am 52. Doug:

Disaffected Hillary Voters:
“All Bets are Off“

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:31 am 53. Doug:

Choice,
Baby determined to be Downs:
No Question.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:38 am 54. Peterike:

With regard to the MSM “shaping the narrative,” don’t forget that Bill Clinton, far less threatening and left-wing than Obama, never got 50% of the vote, even with the media’s help.

True, but the level of hagiography for Obama is way beyond the level for Bill. What the media did for Bill was remain silent on the real damage he did (desimation of the military, technology to China, etc) while romping along with the sleaze and relentlessly pushing the “it’s only about sex” line. And demonizing Ken Starr and the Republicans. But Clinton was never painted as the Messiah.

As for Palin, the buzz all seems to be in that direction. Granted, she is light in experience for a VP, but the media can’t beat on her for that without reminding everyone how the top of the Dem ticket is far more lightweight. If Biden tries to bully her in a debate he will look like a lout. Besides, I’m sure she can more than compete with Biden in smarts, assuming the media glare doesn’t overwhelm her. That’s my biggest fear, that she will get that wide-eyed Quayle look and get labled a dummy by the MSM.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:39 am 55. Doug:

The magnitude of Joe’s Charisma will render her incapable of fear, Peterike.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:47 am 56. Peterike:

Fox News confirms Palin!

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:53 am 57. Peter Boston:

I don’t think you run for governor -and win- in a good ol’ boy state like Alaska without being willing, able, to kick a few opponents in the nuts.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:54 am 58. slade:

What did I hear – half the AK legislature under indictment and a third of them going to jail?

I think that was tongue-in-cheek but it is a Ted Stevens kind of place.

How does Palin debate Biden? I can’t imagine. Maybe she and her staff do some homework, research and study the issues and policy positions. But maybe I’m old school. That’s how I remember doing it.

The other thing I dimly recall is the concept of appointed advisers and cabinet. We still have that don’t we?

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:03 am 59. David M:

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 08/29/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:05 am 60. hdgreene:

Did the McCain campaign see my comment from last week? OK, maybe not but I stand by it!

“McCain should pick the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. They say she still lacks experience but if Biden is Mr. Experience there is something to say for a lack of it. A Ms. Outside would contrast nicely with all these Mr. Insides (and Chicago Machine/Marxists connections).”

I think this would work for the GOP base because it sets up a future contender. The Hill/Sarah rumble in the Political Jungle — 2012! But we shall see.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:05 am 61. Doug:

slade said,
“What did I hear – half the AK legislature under indictment and a third of them going to jail?”
—
Palin defeated the bridge to nowhere.
Does not use a limo, nor the Mansion.
Husband fishes for a living.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:13 am 62. Peterike:

Glenn Reynolds just noted “The Insta-Wife is ecstatic, which may bode well for that demographic.”

I think McCain just swung a BIG bunch of Hillary voters. If he promised Hill a cabinet position, it’s game over. But she may have ruined her chance at that by coming out for Obama the other day.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:15 am 63. Peterike:

If anybody can stand to, it would be worth watching “The View” to see how those nitwits respond to Palin. Their attitudes mirror those of many women.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:16 am 64. Roderick Reilly:

It’s Palin. Confirmed. I love the choice, yet feel some trepidation — perhaps from the sheer newness of the idea.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:22 am 65. Doug:

FOX News reported the jet flew to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Thursday before heading landing in Middletown, Ohio.

Palin is considered a rising star in the Republican Party. She is the state’s first female governor, the mother of five — and at 44 is its youngest chief executive.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:23 am 66. Doug:

“Glenn Reynolds just noted “The Insta-Wife is ecstatic, which may bode well for that demographic.””
—
The View?
Beyond Hope.
…unless The Messiah Stokes It.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:26 am 67. slade:

Doug – I was referring to Palin’s ability to handle of group of thugs.

The Little Lady Thing.

She is more than adequate as a fighter.

To emerge from that environment.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:26 am 68. Peter Boston:

Who knows…maybe Palin can be the spark to purge some of the dead weight, country club Republicans.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:29 am 69. slade:

Amen. I’ll go out on a line. I have a good feeling about Palin.

Mark Haynes: Her resume reads like a woman who knows her own mind.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:31 am 70. Doug:

@ 44 w/5 kids,
she looks better than I did
@ 44 w/a fifth.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:32 am 71. oMan:

Go Palin! I think she adds big value on several dimensions: (1) youth/gender (2) “the new frontier” (I lived in the Yukon and like Alaska it is rough and tough; 2 years of exec experience in AK might be worth a dozen in the cube farms of DC) (3) OIL (Palin appears to be both a pro-development type and a person who cares about the environment (again from living in the North, do you have any idea how BIG it is? I could walk out my back door and not see another soul for 3,000 miles) (4) family values and life-balance.

Don’t know if she can hold her own debating snakes like Biden and Obama, but I wouldn’t bet against it. And if they get ugly, it will backfire.

I am totally OK with this. Not as if it makes McCain an easy win, but it doesn’t hurt at all. He is working inside his adversaries’ OODA loop, just like good fighter pilots do.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:40 am 72. Peterike:

The Powerline guys are mopeing about her “lacking in foreign policy and national security background” for someone “a heartbeat away from the Presidency.”

Me, I think “experience” is HUGELY over-rated, especially when talking about Washington DC experience. World-view, philosophy, integrity and wisdom are what matter. The President has access to all the information in the world. What you need is someone who understands conceptually how the world works (i.e. someone not pumped full of Leftist disinformation), who can make a sound decision based on information provided, and who has the interests of America foremost in mind. I have no doubt that Palin’s heart is with America, not with the “World” (Obama) or her own ego (Biden).

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:41 am 73. Doug:

Peterike:
Agreed.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:43 am 74. Doug:

The Powerline Guys are LAWYERS.
Like Hugh Hewitt.
(Romney)

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:44 am 75. Doug:

Ready to Ride
—
Courtesy of Deuce @ the Elephant Bar.
(no link to avoid filter, I hope)

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:49 am 76. Doug:

Third try for the filter:
Video: Palin discusses energy policy in July appearance on CNBC

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:58 am 77. buddy larsen:

Doesn’t that make Palin, of the four, the only one with executive experience?

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:59 am 78. Doug:

And the next link:
Video: Palin talks about oil drilling in June appearnce on CNBC.

I think it’s a one link Max, to get by Homeland Security.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:59 am 79. Doug:

She’s also the ONLY ONE w/common sense, Buddy!

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:00 am 80. buddy larsen:

co-owner of commercial fishing boat and a four-wheeler rental biz on the side. Strictly small business. Wants to drill, wants Big Oil to pay more to local areas (not in Big Oil pocket). Pro-life.

The marx bros are in deep doo doo.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:03 am 81. Peter Boston:

Who do you want as the OJT guy – POTUS or the VP?

Palin has almost two years executive experience as a governor. Obama’s executive experience is a secret but a good bet that he handed out millions to Chicago’s commies and political gangsters.

Even with the MSM in the tank the Obamatons will have a difficult time squashing public enthusiasm for Palin. Obama says it’s OK to kill your unborn kids so they don’t interfere with your recreational sex – Palin raises a kid she knew had Down’s Syndrome in utero. Which is the person most Americans will admire?

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:04 am 82. buddy larsen:

got into office via whistle-blowing crooked republicans. that is, republicans. can you say REFORM ?

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:06 am 83. trangbang68:

Sweet pick. I think she’ll do very well debating a blowhard like Biden, especially if he starts trying to step on her lines, he’ll look like the egomaniac he is. All she has to do is appear genuine.
I like two western candidates. That is one of the endearing myths of America; the big frontier, the endless skies, the boundless possibilities. Compared to two Washington lawyers celebrating more bureaucracy, more government intervention in every aspect of life.
McCain with this pick and his edgy funny mocking ads is coming across much more impressive than I would have thought.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:08 am 84. buddy larsen:

Re ANWR vs Alaska, came up with visual “It’s like a postage stamp on a tennis court”. She hunts–game, not other people.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:09 am 85. Doug:

“so they don’t interfere with your recreational sex”
—
He’s got a bunch more of ALMOST equally sick votes.
…but I can’t remember.
Because they’re SICK.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:10 am 86. Doug:

“All she has to do is appear genuine.”
Palin:
Situation, normal.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:12 am 87. buddy larsen:

Trang –yes –canny to wait until he sniffed the atmosphere from Denver.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:12 am 88. Peter Boston:

The MSM will send an army of reporters to Alaska to find out if Palin’s husband ever got a cup of free coffee after she was elected governor, but they will not send a single swinging richard to UIC to go through Obama’s documented dealings.

I may subscribe to the NYT just so I can cancel it again.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:17 am 89. buddy larsen:

McCain trying to speak –crowd roaring and will not stop –

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:20 am 90. Doug:

The Fist Bump vs the Real Person.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:21 am 91. Doug:

She did fire her ex-bro in law, or some such, Boston.
Did well on her trial by TV.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:23 am 92. Lifeofthemind:

She governs an area larger than most countries in Nato and has personal control over a Regiment sized force plus reserves paramilitaries and air power.

Her enemies, and they really hate her guts, in both parties are the business as usual, corruptocrats and we work for government so you can’t fire us crowd. They will desperately try to smear her because she threatens the root of the tree for hacks in either party. A standadard get along to go along politician, like Biden or Ridge (one for either party) may have disagreements but they are not seen as dangerous. McCain/Palin threatens real change, expect torrents of slime to be thrown at them.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:32 am 93. Doug:

Also has Ballistic Missile Interceptors, Lifeofthemind!

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:36 am 94. Lifeofthemind:

How does she handle the tried to fire her brother in law smear?

Look right in the camera and say, “When a law enforcement officer loses his control and uses a weapon on a child during a personal domestic dispute then he loses his job. Full Stop!”

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:36 am 95. Lifeofthemind:

@Doug,
Those aren’t under her command. Don’t want to exaggerate.

@buddy larsen,
McCain did run the Navy’s largest squadron, executive experience.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:38 am 96. Doug:

Great NY Times Frontpage Headline, Submerging the Barackopolis & etc:
McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate
Surprise Pick of Alaska’s Governor

In choosing Gov. Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign reached far outside the Beltway and selected the Republicans’ first female candidate for vice president.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:45 am 97. Peter Boston:

Those aren’t under her command.

Beg to differ. The Governor is Commander in Chief of the National Guard.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:48 am 98. buddy larsen:

Acceptance speech in Dayton OH just concluding, and i’m damn near crying it was so good. Jeeeeez. incredible.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:50 am 99. Peter Boston:

I just saw Palin on TV.

This is one sharp cookie. The only thing running down Matthews leg now is yellow and pooling.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:52 am 100. Eggplant:

Sarah Pallin was a reasonable choice. IMHO, Bobby Jindal would have been the best choice and Joe Lieberman the most “interesting” choice. I admire Lieberman’s courage and morals but making him VP would have alienated the few remaining conservatives that weren’t already alienated by McCain himself. Selecting Pallin was a good slap in B. Hussein’s face vis-à-vis his treatment of Hillary. I anticipate that many of Hillary’s supportors will now vote for McCain because of Pallin. Also Pallin’s youth mitigates McCain’s age. The best news of all is that McCain did not commit political suicide by selecting Romney. Once again, McCain’s judgement has been shown to be sound.

B. Hussein’s Real Clear Politic’s average poll is only 3.5% over McCain’s, i.e. Hussein’s post-convention bounce was negligible. I’m pretty sure that Hussein has jumped-the-shark. Now that Hussein has been annointed, we can bring out the dirty laundry and start pulling him down. Watching the messiah’s political destruction will be very entertaining. The shrieks of despair from the moonbats and MSM hyenas will bring joy to my heart.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:53 am 101. Peter Boston:

buddy

I felt the same way. First time I had some admiration for and connected with a politician since…I don’t remember when

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:54 am 102. hdgreene:

Wow. She did good. She was on broadcast TV, too.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:56 am 103. buddy larsen:

lifeof –yep –that, and running a senate seat is also exec work admin-wise. But the headline is, she alone of the four has served in an exec branch of gov.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:57 am 104. Wadeusaf:

Oh yeah, I can’t wait for the debate. I can just see Senator Biden talking down to the Governor. He won’t know what hit him.

Since when are mavericks seen as anyone bucking the party line? In Palin’s case that would be standing for what the Party line should be.

The only question now is…, how does she look on a Harley?

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:03 am 105. Doug:

It all balances out.
Matthew’s leg is chapped.

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:03 am 106. buddy larsen:

She’d look GREAT on a Harley –that’s one good-lookin’ brainiac–

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:09 am 107. buddy larsen:

Nicole Petallini interviewing floor traders –the working folks of Wall Street –and they’re flippin’ out –thrilled is the word –McCain sure deflated the Denver boom –not bad, Johnny boy, not bad at all –

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:12 am 108. Lifeofthemind:

When some MSM windbag tries to nail her on foreign policy experience she can look right at them and start her answer like this, “As the Governor of the only state that borders two foreign countries, and as the only Governor who has personally worked on negotiating a multi-billion dollar energy pipeline with a foreign country, and as the Governor of a state that has a direct border with the Russian Empire that has just invaded one of its neighboring states I am very glad that you asked me about that.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:14 am 109. Triton'sPolarTiger:

@Buddy
“McCain sure deflated the Denver boom ”

My thoughts exactly! I think this is a truly inspired choice.

Now, to address the foreign policy experience question:

John O’Sullivan at The Corner offers the following re foreign policy experience & Margaret Thatcher…

(Sorry, forgot html)

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzVmMGJlY2E5NmJlN2EwZTcwZmZjOTY2ZWIzNzk0NGY=

I agree, the key will be who the advisers are – if McCain selects a good crop of foreign policy advisers, then even in the event that he drops dead, Palin will then have those advisers advising her…

No problem – mountain outta a molehill.

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:18 am 110. Peterike:

Just watched an MSNBC clip (forgive me, Lord). That ghastly talking horse old hack Lefty Andrea Mitchell looked like she wanted to die from misery (a good sign). While the outside correspondent, some young pretty woman I never saw before, seemed extremely excited when she first came on, and then she toned it down in response to Mitchell’s death groan.

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:21 am 111. Lifeofthemind:

Now what we need, beginning this weekend, is an attack team “The Maverick Pack” of Fiorina, Lieberman, Cohen, Romney and Whitman going to key states, especially Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virgiania.

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:26 am 112. hdgreene:

I’ve been listening to Rush who’s pumped by the choice, of course.

He did a montage of Sen. Obama’s “I’s” from last nights speech, “I,I,I,I,I…,” ending with “this election is not about me.” It was funny. Per my comment above: The “One” morphed into the “I.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:48 am 113. cjm:

she is irresistible bait to the goofs running obama’s campaign. if they attack her they piss off woman even more than they have already. if they go after her “lack of experience” it invites comparisons with obama and biden never having any executive experience. leaving mccain to direct fire on obama from a relatively unmolested position.

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:51 am 114. John Samford:

Have we so devolved as a society that “identity politics” has become decisive?

Not sure why this is considered devolving.
Idenity politics has ALWAYS been decisive. Once in a blue moon a politician come along that wants to do an issues onlt election. After the election he returns to what ever LaLa land he came from.
There is this guy named Zaller. Google him and get his book if you are really interested in politics. I think Zaller politics are on the way out. The WWW has changed the playing field. If the MSM can co-opt bloggers, then Zaller politics will still rule, Blogs becoming just another tool for the gatekeepers to control the data.
People voted for George Washington because he was a war hero , father of the country, etc. NOT because of his position on public horse troughs.
Do you really think any of the Obamanics will vote for Ohhhh…..BAAMA because of his position on anything? What IS his position on anything? See?
No, White Males has dominated politics in America pretty much since day one. This is the 21st century and it is a matter of national interest that the grip of old white men be loosened. It is fitting that the Republican party do that. Republicans ended slavery and started the long journey to universal sufferage. Why not finish that journey? McCain will be a 1 term President, IF he lives thru this term. Age and unreal stress levels will make his VP the natural choice for the ‘12 Republican candidate. Palin will make one ‘ell of a president.
Pro Choice, Pro guns, anti-corruption and not bad looking either. The sort of girl everybody wants their daughter to be.
Obama bin Biden is toast.

“I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”
Michael J. Fox, quoted by Lorne A. Adrain in ‘The Most Important Thing I Know’
US (Canadian-born) actor (1961 – )

BTW, as far as experience goes, Palin has the most executive experience of the 4 candidates. McCain is second.
Exceutives make decisions. Senators don’t. Senators vote on other people’s decisions.

They still there? 21 days now.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:05 am 115. buddy larsen:

Palin’s speech –there was no code, no sign language sending “this is our propaganda line” signals. She played each note clearly and head-on. And with a smile. No mush. No symphonic wall of synthetic sound as in Denver. A concert piano recital instead. No place to hide, no need to hide, nothing to hide.

2012, Palin/Jindal –radical, radical, not a male caucasion in sight. Like the American system of government –radically renewable.

And both of them brainy, non-celebrity, highly practical policy people who are GOP because that’s what –as conservative intellectuals –they should be in a two-party system. Palin/Jindal can retrieve the ‘forward America’ image –and the substance –lost (in truth or in perception), or buried by BDS, in the years since Reagan.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:10 am 116. Peter Boston:

It’s probably crazy to start predicting linear trends from a single data point, but I get a sense that Palin will be the center of gravity of American politics for the next 12 years. John McCain just made himself a placeholder for the 2012 election.

As “American as mothers and apple pie” is more than a trite expression. When the Olbermanns and the other cheap shot artists start on her I suspect there will be a visceral reaction that may shock more than a few MSM executives back to earth. The Obamatons must be getting these vibes, too. Interesting to see the initial reaction. Polite smiles and faint praise is my guess.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:13 am 117. mark_b:

What strikes me is how they behave when they think no one is watching.

Gov. Palin Visits the Injured

Gov. Sarah Palin visits Army Private James Pattison during a morale tour at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl , Germany, July 26, 2007. Private Pattison is being treated at LRMC for injuries he suffered while downrange.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:16 am 118. mark_b:

Contrast Gov Palin’s visit with:

Obama scraps visit to wounded troops

“Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military,” said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

Obama’s decision raised a number of questions because the visit, which had been scheduled for Friday, never appeared on the schedule of events distributed to reporters who are accompanying him on his travels.

The first word from the campaign about its existence was Gibbs’ statement.

Obama had been planning to go to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany before a flight to Paris. Gibbs said the stop was canceled because Obama decided “it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:17 am 119. Benj:

“the goofs running Obama’s campaign” ? – In the middle of O’s speech last night Alex C. – longtime republican political consultant, Mac man now – former biggie in Romney’s campaign – turned to Carl Bernstein – fellow CNN “analyst” – and said – “Glad I’m not advising a republican candidate this year.” Bernstein asked him if he could quote his line…Castellanos sheepishly said ok. Followed up that one after the speech by allowing that the pub(s) who did NOT get picked as VP for this ticket will likely turn out to be the lucky one…- Alex C. wasn’t in the stadium – he was removed from the collective glow that seemed to have everybody in that extraordinarily integrated crowd shining at the realization of MLK’s promise. He just saw the images and and heard O’s masterful speech…One nice touch. I was worried that the “goofs” (dream on guys!)running O’s campaign would forget to go Country at some point during the eve. (Got no use for Will I Am!) But the eve ended witb Brooks and Dunn. Same song Bush used in 2004…Brilliant. Here’s Andrew Sullivan’s short take on the speech…

It was a deeply substantive speech, full of policy detail, full of people other than the candidate, centered overwhelmingly on domestic economic anxiety. It was a liberal speech, more unabashedly, unashamedly liberal than any Democratic acceptance speech since the great era of American liberalism. But it made the case for that liberalism – in the context of the decline of the American dream, and the rise of cynicism and the collapse of cultural unity. His ability to portray that liberalism as a patriotic, unifying, ennobling tradition makes him the most lethal and remarkable Democratic figure since John F Kennedy.
What he didn’t do was give an airy, abstract, dreamy confection of rhetoric. The McCain campaign set Obama up as a celebrity airhead, a Paris Hilton of wealth and elitism. And he let them portray him that way, and let them over-reach, and let them punch him again and again … and then he turned around and destroyed them. If the Rove Republicans thought they were playing with a patsy, they just got a reality check.

He took every assault on him and turned them around. He showed not just that he understood the experience of many middle class Americans, but that he understood how the Republicans have succeeded in smearing him. And he didn’t shrink from the personal charges; he rebutted them. Whoever else this was, it was not Adlai Stevenson. It was not Jimmy Carter. And it was less afraid and less calculating than Bill Clinton.
Above all, he took on national security – face on, full-throttle, enraged, as we should all be, at how disastrously American power has been handled these past eight years. He owned this issue in a way that no Democrat has owned it since Kennedy. That’s a transformative event. To my mind, it is vital that both parties get to own the war on Jihadist terror and that we escape this awful Rove-Morris trap that poisons the discourse into narrow and petty partisan abuse of patriotism. Obama did this tonight. We are in his debt.

Look: I’m biased at this point. I’m one of those people, deeply distressed at what has happened to America, deeply ashamed of my own misjudgments, who has shifted out of my ideological comfort zone because this man seems different to me, and this moment in history seems different to me. I’m not sure we have many more chances to get off the addiction to foreign oil, to prevent a calamitous terrorist attack, to restore constitutional balance in the hurricane of a terror war.
I’ve said it before – months and months ago. I should say it again tonight. This is a remarkable man at a vital moment. America would be crazy to throw this opportunity away. America must not throw this opportunity away.

Know hope.

Sullivan is right re O as the reviver of Liberalism. That’s exactly what he’s been up too. Libs have been Out of Time since the late 60s. A function of History I think – They just weren’t quite up to the moment. Too removed from everyday people. Especially after Bobby & MLK…Nobody was around who could formulate/articulate the lessons of the American Organizing tradition – And then it became too hard for anyone with an imagination on the Left to dial back on race-based rage (in particular). Doubt there was a way for the ”liberal-minded” to get traction in an Age when the rhythm of the times gave us George Wallace & Spiro & Eldridge Cleaver calling out Thurgood Marshall as a “Tonto, bootlicker & nigger pig” – So the politics of empathy/solidarity faded. The best you could do was Donahue-ism – “I feel your pain.” But, get real, it’s all about ME. I’ll fuck you but don’t expect me to remember your name…Kiddo – Unless you’re good for a Sister Souljah moment. Obama has an imagination that takes him out of his self – as per Sullivani below – a speech ‘full of people other than the candidate” – people evoked not as stand-ins for issues but as the End.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:17 am 120. Lifeofthemind:

Some of Obama’s Hollywood advisors are running around for a copy of North to Alaska but will end up with Abbot and Costello’s Lost in Alaska. Another is interviewing the production team from Northern Exposure. The arts graduate learns from The Edge that they are all crazy up there and finally some old guy assures them he remembers Jimmy Stewart in the Far Country and all that goes into Alaska is bacon and whiskey and all that comes out of Alaska is gold and dance hall floozies.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:20 am 121. Teresita:

Hallelujia! Praise the Lord and pass the ballots, no plugging of noses when we pull that lever now. And Palin will pull just enough PUMA Hillary voters to the GOP ticket to assure wins in the key states. McCain is a genius. Any attacks on her lack of foreign policy credentials by Obama or Biden will rebound right back on Obama. Who’s worried about someone being inexperienced who’s a “heartbeat away from the Presidency” when the President wannabe himself is a greenhorn? Besides, Palin has two more years of executive experience than any of the other three candidates. And if they try to ding her on her opposition to gay marriage, we have this from Wikipedia:

“Palin’s first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples.”

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:26 am 122. cjm:

jeez but obama droids do run on at the mouth. blah blah blah blah blah. drum circles and circle jerks.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:30 am 123. buddy larsen:

She & hub are both union members. Not sure which she, but he, United Steelworkers. YEAH, baby!

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:32 am 124. cjm:

time to come home, to mccain country.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:36 am 125. buddy larsen:

benj is blowing on that balloon as hard as he can –but it’s already busted. Expect hyperventilation.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:38 am 126. Peterike:

Palin and McCain can make hay with their storyline of being the anti-Republican Republicans. Which is to say, getting back to fiscally responsible Republicans with a tough foreign policy, not the disgraceful whores that have polluted the Republican party these past eight years. McCain’s bona fides on fiscal responsibility are rock solid (one area of his Maverick-hood I agree with).

Andrew Sullivan’s little love-fest (thank you Benj, sort of) is laughably rediculous and not worth the bother of responding. As the saying goes, it’s not right. It’s not even wrong. It’s an opium dreamscape.

And I’m not sure, but I think Benj is making the argument that BHO is NOT “too removed from everyday people”? What? There is no one iota of his background that has anything to do with “regular people,” unless Hyde Park millionaire Leftists fit your idea of “regular.”

And Benj closes with classic Benj. Obama has an imagination that takes him out of his self… – a speech ‘full of people other than the candidate” – people evoked not as stand-ins for issues but as the End.

Benj and that Obama “imagination.” Yes, O’s imagination does take him out of himself, right up to the Left Hand of God, in fact. Other people are merely the bureaucratic fodder for Obama to burn on his way to power.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:41 am 127. cjm:

a grown person shouldn’t be so emotionally enamored of a politician. it reeks of stunted growth, of retardation, a hunger to shut down mentally and let some one else make all your decisions. in a word, pathetic.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:43 am 128. Peterike:

Palin speech if you want to watch.

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/163813.html

Seen a few minutes and so far, she dazzles, without a whiff of hot air bloviating like O. A smart, sassy, confident woman.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:45 am 129. Teresita:

I hope Barack bounces like a dead cat from his speech. This announcement ought to do it. She’s going to shine next week in the Twin Cities, and when she brings her family out, there won’t be the stench of phoniness like we got from Michelle Obama when she traded in her Maoist Falange army green fatigues for a pastel green dress.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:48 am 130. Mark:

Peter Boston writes:

“As “American as mothers and apple pie” is more than a trite expression.”

Just so. I learned in a church committee a fundamental rule of life. Moms rule. Never misunderestimate their influence and tenacity.

I suspect Palin is sending kinds of messages to women—via clothes, gestures, eye movements, etc.—that men cannot even begin to understand. Note, for instance, her businesslike and restrained embrace of McCain. Compare that to Sen Obama’s kiss on the mouth of Mrs. Biden (and on the mouth of his daughter). Very different messages.

What do women commenters, ye few, have to say about the Palin woman-to-woman messages?

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:53 am 131. Benj:

Maybe you’re right BUddy but here’s the word From Election Projection – Basic conservative world-view – Called the last presidential election right – pretty trustworthy on the #’s (as per Hugh H.) – If you want a counterweight to Sullivan – Try Peggy Noonan. She points out the best way for MaCain to go – pump up the humor – make it fun…That’s the one note that O strains to hit…But Bush has probably blown that one for Mac. Bush could be funny/charming – Problem is – look what happened on the watch of the Big Easy…

Democratic National Convention: The pep rallies are over, the festivities are done, and the nominee has spoken. Unlike some folks who criticize the way the Democrats conducted the convention, I felt it was effective, setting reasonable goals and meeting them. A Democratic friend I work with said that each day they had a message and each day they conveyed that message loud and clear. I think he’s right.

Last night it ended with Obama’s acceptance speech. Like the one he gave four years earlier on the same stage, this one was electrifying. Unlike in 2004, Obama is no longer an unknown. So, will this speech have the same impact? Chance are, it won’t. But it should help him ease tension about his readiness for the top job. How effective the GOP can be in re-raising that tension in the coming weeks will in large part determine how serious John McCain can threatened the frontrunner’s chances to win the White House.

Once thing I will say about the Democratic National Convention: After last night’s speech, this conservative is glad it’s over. Now, on to Minneapolis to see if the GOP can recover from the bashing it took in Denver – especially over the last two days.

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:54 am 132. ledger:

I think Palin is a good pick both politically and ethically.

Look, even if McCain were to killed Palin would have more “experience” than Obama.

Obama is a tax and spend appeasenick. Palin is just the opposite.

Sure she will be in shadow of McCain but she can come out anytime she is needed.

McCain made a good choice.

Obama made a bad choice – unless one expects Obama to lose the race (If Obama loses, then Show Joe will go back to being a talking head and everything will be equal – except Hillary being mad).

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:59 am 133. trangbang68:

Benj, Appreciate the Sullivan ode to the Messiah. Do you have Katha Pollit’s take at “The Nation” or Sean Penn’s feverish reaction? Give it a rest, homeboy. There’s a new morning in America.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:01 pm 134. buddy larsen:

Teresita, it was subtle, but when she was introducing her family, she got to the baby, and i think was about to mention the Downs Syndrome as a matter of introduction –but applause interrupted her at that point and forced her to pause –and she instantly checked, realizing that to mention the Downs after the applause pause would overweight it’s place in the narrative, and she instead just closed with saying the child’s name. Quick, adept, agile, improvisational, empathetic.

I know, i sound like benj. i’ll quit gushing.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:04 pm 135. Peter Boston:

I’m gushing too Buddy. And it’s not just because Palin is female. She’s just so damned accomplished and so easy to like and to identify with.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:14 pm 136. buddy larsen:

One more thing –the message is her, what she is, though she tries to throw it to her resume. With Obama it’s exactly the opposite –the message is his resume, though he tries to throw it to him, to what he is.

i know, that’s a #2 vs a #1 on the ticket. But still.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:20 pm 137. buddy larsen:

Marfk –i too caught that hug –in fact that’s when i dropped everything & zero’d in.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:23 pm 138. Triton'sPolarTiger:

Seems like a boatload of substance there… and (heaven help me) wouldn’t she be far better to look at for the next 4 years as opposed to the Queen of the Traveling Pantsuit?

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:27 pm 139. Peter Boston:

Obama was making me see Hillary as a real person deserving of my respect and empathy. Yikes. I have been saved from – myself.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:32 pm 140. Teresita:

She acknowledged the pioneering role of Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton (and the crowd replied with surprising enthusiasm), which set up the best line of her speech: “It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all!” That’s assured to win over at least 20 percent of Hillary’s voters, and the other 20 percent will vote for the GOP ticket just to make a point not to discount their influence next time. Stick a fork in the Obamination and Slow Joe Biden, they’re done.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:36 pm 141. whiskey:

History/Discovery Channels have been running various Alaska themed stuff, Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, Tougher in Alaska, Ax Men, etc. for several years.

There is a huge appetite for blue collar, “tough” jobs most can’t handle, that actually do things (instead of the “Office Space” meaningless stuff the hip-ocracy of the terminally trendy create).

Smart Play.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:36 pm 142. Wadeusaf:

“This is a remarkable man at a vital moment. America would be crazy to throw this opportunity away. America must not throw this opportunity away.”

I couldn’t agree more Benj!

Just like Governor Palin said,

“But we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.

Now, no leader in America has shown these qualities so clearly or present so clear a threat to business as usual in Washington as Senator John S. McCain.This is a moment when principles and that requires resolve and toughness, and strength of heart in the American president. And my running mate is a man who has shown those qualities in the darkest of places, and in the service of his country…,

…There is only one candidate who has truly fought for America, and that man is John McCain.”

Um, Glad your seeing the light, Benj,
no more business as usual,
real honest reform not just talk,

“Join our cause and help our country to elect a great man the next president of the United States”.

Imagine… President John S. McCain.

Sweet.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:44 pm 143. buddy larsen:

Introducing herself at the very front, she went to a very warm passage about her husband. i couldn’t help but imagine myself on the receiving end of that, and it was good. the lucky so-n-so, no wonder he was smiling.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:47 pm 144. Al_Batross:

“I think this is a truly inspired choice” – Triton’sPolarTiger

I agree.
As a Brit whose interest in politics of any kind is deeply reluctant, I am rather embarrassed by my enthusiasm, but McCain has made a brave, bold and exciting choice.
He has also addressed the “what if” concerns about his age and health by choosing Palin to be a real and energetic VP, and not just a spare wheel.
Between them, they probably understand more Americans more deeply than the opposition will ever do. As people, they have more depth, more content of character, and are both more normal and yet more exceptional than the opposition.
The politics will get dirty and spiteful before the end, but I do hope that McCain and Palin will come out on top.

Aug 29, 2008 - 12:52 pm 145. Benj:

Teresita – “the stench of phoniness like we got from Michelle Obama when she traded in her Maoist Falange army green fatigues for a pastel green dress.” – Realize you MEAN to go over the top- but still not worthy of you. Mock Michelle’s “sense of self” – Mock her (relatively) mundane way of underscoring what makes her Man matter. But it’s pretty pathetic to pretend she’s less “authentic” than Palin. Unless being black somehow makes you less real. Which is precisely the sort of notion that required Michelle/Dems to suggest O should get props for being…an anxious dad when he brought his first baby home from the hospital…If intelligent folks like you weren’t at the mercy of the sort of nonsense re “authenticity” that’s been promoted here (and by Johnny Mac) – the Dems wouldn’t have had to underscore the Obamas don’t hang upside down when they go to bed at night. Michelle is a self-made black professional woman with exceptional looks/poise – Yup – she benefited from Affirm action. And does it look to you like she’s dumber than W. who rolled by on a legacy admission? Not a Maoist bone in her body. (The tiny vogue for Maoism on American campuses was a decade before her time…and never took at Princeton anyway.)

Just watched Palin’s acceptance speech. Sounds like a nice woman. Not a Dan Q. but not exactly easy on this stage either. Her relative inexperience seemed very apparent. (She’s certainly not an orator.) Given Mac’s age and questions about his health – this seems like a less than morally serious pick. BTW – always thought Biden was a second-rater. When C-4 joked about his (non)”gravitas” a couple threads back, I nodded my head. But – on the basis of Ms. Palin’s first performance – I’d say Biden seems way more worldly and ready to be pres in case of a disaster than Ms. Palin. Maybe she’ll turn it around, maybe she’ll grow in the gig. But – compare her to, say, that first term Montana gov, Brian S., who got his 10 minnutes at the Dem Covention and got the house rocking. As he showed, you don’t have to come across as a conventional pol – but I doubt it will do in a national campaign if you sound like you’re an intelligent neighbor running for the local school board. BTW – The (ALL BOY) chours of “USA” cheers at the Rally were straight out of 70’s Young Repub playbook – Talk about inauthentic… HAve to say this feels like a desperate choice… Not a confident one.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:04 pm 146. cjm:

every nasty thing the dems say about sarah will cost them more votes. and there is no way for them to sneak things into the msm; obama will pay for every dirty thing his ball washers put out.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:04 pm 147. Peterike:

@Benj: The (ALL BOY) chours of “USA” cheers at the Rally were straight out of 70’s Young Repub playbook – Talk about inauthentic

Nuh huh. Dude, you want inauthentic, lets talk about the flags at the Democratic convention.

The USA cheers for Palin’s son shipping to Iraq next month are inauthentic?? That’s called people who love their country and are watching and cheering a woman who loves it as well.

The very notion of an Obama proudly seeing off his child into the Armed Services is laughable and absurd.

I understand it’s cryin’ time for the Left today, Benj, but your comment was shockingly small.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:15 pm 148. buddy larsen:

benj, you have to make a decision, if you want me to keep reading your words. No spin past a certain appropriate ‘hey, it’s politics’ level. The USA chants started as singles and doubles from all over the hall –it’s very clear on the tape –and as to ‘all boy’ –well, how do you know? There’s no way to tell. and so what anyway? You’re meme-launching, and you know it.

And as to amateurishness at the podium –i call it ‘naturalness’ –and a hugely refreshing contrast to Denver.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:22 pm 149. Peter Boston:

Regardless of their position on the ticket the real contrast is between Obama and Palin.

The Governor is the best that could have come from feminism. An authentic American story of grit and accomplishment. Mother. City Council. Mayor. Governor.

Obama is coming off as the black guy looking for an angle to get over on the man. Just like he did in Chicago.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:29 pm 150. neolex:

Interesting Q&A on Palin at WP:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/08/29/DI2008082902052.html

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:45 pm 151. Charles:

Dr Dobson has given a ringing endorsement of Palin.

That’s significant. It synchronizes McCain with christian conservatives.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:48 pm 152. buddy larsen:

Right –Hill is the wrong ‘first woman president’ and Obama is the wrong ‘first black president’ –and both for the same reason –to get elected, they have to hide from the great center what they really want to do. See, top-down social engineering via tax code, see Jimmy Carter policies, effect of on American people. There’s more, but that’s for starters.

Aug 29, 2008 - 1:50 pm 153. Peter Boston:

“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”

I was wrong about the Obamatons. There will be no graciousness. The above quote is the Obama campaigs’s opening barrage.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:32 pm 154. Triton'sPolarTiger:

Buddy Larsen writes:

“Right –Hill is the wrong ‘first woman president’ and Obama is the wrong ‘first black president’ –and both for the same reason –to get elected, they have to hide from the great center what they really want to do.”

Spot on, Buddy – you said what I’ve been thinking.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:38 pm 155. neolex:

McCain is a genius. This will get very very interesting.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:38 pm 156. Triton'sPolarTiger:

Charles writes:

“Dr Dobson has given a ringing endorsement of Palin.

That’s significant. It synchronizes McCain with christian conservatives.”

Correct, although I suspect that Obama’s position on infanticide has had a similar effect from the opposite direction.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:41 pm 157. Wadeusaf:

Today John McCain put a loving wife, mother, head of household, mayor and Governor with the guts to say “NO” to abortion, to waste and corruption and yes to ethical standards in personal and public conduct a heart beat away from the presidency.

Yesterday the Democrat Party nominated a first term Senator and a lifelong politician for those positions, neither with executive experience neither in fact that ever held a job which force them to be accountable to squat. Which had they been accountable would have made for a different tune to play and different dance altogether.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:45 pm 158. trangbang68:

Peter Boston, If that Obama Nation quote is verbatim, basically they’re conceding the election. He “put the former mayor of a town of 9000 ……a heartbeat away from the presidency”
No he just chose a running mate, but I’ll take her being a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Interesting one group of candidates has an adopted third world baby and allowed a Down’s Syndrome child to come to life. It must be the party of the bleeding hearts….no wait a minute.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:51 pm 159. cjm:

if obama thinks childish name calling will win him votes, then he is in for a rude awakening. i can’t wait to see mccain take him apart like a master vivisectionist, in the one debate they actually have. after that, obama will drop out of the other two debates.

i bet biden leaves the ticket before the election, in a desperate attempt to counter palin. either that or he starts wearing dress while campaigning.

Aug 29, 2008 - 2:57 pm 160. Fog of War:

Yah, the character issue. Actually Defense Intel will decide the US election by releasing satellite data that either confirms or denies Russian claims of Bush-Saakashvili deceit on the Caucasus War.

What do we know about Georgia? NATO exercises – “Immediate Response 2008″ – were completed in Georgia on July 31 (Russia’s 58th Army had completed exercises had mirrored the NATO operations). The Georgian President, Saakashvili, claimed that Russian tanks had commenced passing through the Rokia Tunnel at 10 PM on Aug. 7, and that he launched a long rocket and artillery and rocket pre-emption at 11:30 PM that evening. Georgian state TV almost immediately broadcast video of the barrage, with triumphal patriotic music in the background. Satellite damage data reveals that only civilians areas were targeted. A tank blitz followed, and half of Tskhinvali’s population was removed to Russia.

During the NATO exercise, over 1000 US troops participated. Only 137 remained at the time of the war. Russians claim that Georgian POWs admitted that they began moving north, at the same time that Saakasvhili was on TV promising “autonomy” to South Ossetia. Further, US regiment websites report training of Georgian troops in artillery and rocket fire; Russians claim – without support evidence – that US advisors controlled the barrage on Tskhinvali. Although the barrage commenced from outside the internal frontier with SO, the immediate US position was: Russians should return home, leaving barrage positions intact. Russians claim that Georgian POWs were told that they were conducting “Operation Clean Fields.”

OSCE observers – there were only 9 – have been ordered to maintain silence, but there have been leaks that they confirm Russian claims of Georgian ethnic cleansing. Georgian POWs report that they were told that they were part of “Operation Clean Fields.”

Then there is the Georgian tank attacks on Tskhinvali. These were indiscriminate, indicating a purpose other than securing the city. Then there is the fact that there are no recorded attacks on either the Rokia Tunnel or the Russian advance columns. US satellite data could either confirm or deny Russian claims that the first of their tanks entered at 8AM. Media reports record the first presence of same in Tskhinvali at 4PM. A Youtube video of an interview with Georgia’s Foreign Minister, reveals a claim of a Georgian attack on a bridge near the tunnel. Independent media reports prove that statement is false. Was the tunnel not attacked because it was needed to advance ethnic cleansing? US Defense Intelligence could effect the US presidential race, by releasing satellite data – or evidence.

Russian blogs are saying that evidence that will destroy the McCain presidency is being withheld pending the GOP’s confirmation of same.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:01 pm 161. trangbang68:

the Wapo link was hilarious. She has a 65% approval rating among the people, but according to the clown reporter it would only be in the teens-twenties among the media and legislators. Well Greg, try as the media might bend over for Obama; the people still do get to vote not just our intellectual betters in the media and the snakes in the legislature.
Who takes care of her children while she works. I bet my bottom dollar that was asked by some middle aged feminist who insisted for the last 40 years that women belonged in the workplace and deferred having children until her womb shriveled up.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:05 pm 162. Teresita:

FoW: Russian blogs are saying that evidence that will destroy the McCain presidency is being withheld pending the GOP’s confirmation of same.

Oh boy, Russian blogs say so. Is this the same sort of aerial reconnaissance that “proved” 435 buildings were flattened and 2,000 South Ossetians killed? And what does any of this have to do with McCain?

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:06 pm 163. trangbang68:

Hey Foggy, the Russians are claiming it. It must be true.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:07 pm 164. cjm:

a belief in magic is no way to run a modern country…but it will do fine for poor old russia.

putin made mccain’s presidency a reality, and that will come back to haunt putin and his associates.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:08 pm 165. Peterike:

Trangbang: She has a 65% approval rating among the people, but according to the clown reporter it would only be in the teens-twenties among the media and legislators.

Tbang, I was going to make the same point. Well of COURSE the pols don’t like her. She’s a reformer breaking up their cash skimming ways. I tried finding a bit on the clown reporter, and found this. “He is treasurer of the New York-based Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, an endowment dedicated to justice and economic efficiency in the distribution of land and resources.”

Uh boy, an endoment dedicated to “justice.” Sheesh. He also won some kind of award from the ACLU. Wonder what side he’s on?

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:17 pm 166. Peterike:

A nice Fred Barnes profile of Palin from a year ago:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp?pg=1

Some good clips.

* Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state’s proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, “may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history.”

* In the roughly three years since she quit as the state’s chief regulator of the oil industry, Palin has crushed the Republican hierarchy (virtually all male) and nearly every other foe or critic. Political analysts in Alaska refer to the “body count” of Palin’s rivals. “The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah,” says pollster Dave Dittman,

* Gov. Palin grew up in Wasilla, where as star of her high school basketball team she got the nickname “Sarah Barracuda”
for her fierce competitiveness. She led her underdog team to the state basketball championship.

* Palin’s tough spending cuts drew criticism from Republican legislators whose pet projects were vetoed.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:25 pm 167. fedya:

@everyone, y’all:
It is quite refreshing to see Georgia and the Russian grand slam play return to this blog.

Sarah Palin, however, is beyond refreshing. I don’t know about any one else here, but the simple fact that she has the guts and the skills to prevail two of the worst pork-gobbling “GOP” albatrosses is all I need to have some real enthusiasm for her candidacy.

So, in honor of her high school nick, here’s to Sarah “BARRACUDA” Palin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpkitLUbeEg&eurl=http://www.fivefeetoffury.com/

[BTW, saw it 1st on Kathy Shaidle's blog]:
http://www.fivefeetoffury.com/
God Bless Canada!

[AND, BTW, more good news, Kathy S. is the new Examiner "conservative politics" [!] blogatrix]:
http://www.examiner.com/x-722-Conservative-Politics-Examiner

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:41 pm 168. cjm:

with all the energy revenues that will be coming in, president mccain can fund enough weapons programs to give putin the night squirts.

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:46 pm 169. Peter Boston:

Palin is the right choice. The Obamatons are apoplectic. Their argument is that Palin has no foreign policy experience. They argue that Obama does because he has been talking about foreign policy during the campaign. Got it?

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:55 pm 170. buddy larsen:

Fog of War, thank goodness that Russia was able to get that naval flotilla, 1000 tanks, an airborne divison, and 300 strike aircraft in between Moscow and that ramaging 80 tank 30 aircraft Georgian invasion!

Noble Red Army!

Have a triumphal parade in Red Square!

Invite your Global Alliance –Hamas and Hugo Chavez!

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:57 pm 171. buddy larsen:

…but Obama/Biden have great foreign policy ideas –they want to divide Iraq into three parts (Biden) so the parts can be friends with “tiny country” Iran (Obama).

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:03 pm 172. Benj:

Buddy – you gave me a shot way back when so I owe you a considered response to your last plaint – Though I’m I wanted to start memes, I wouldn’t spend much time arguing 1 against 100 at the Club. My posting here has been an experiment – what happens when someone with my politics makes an effort to connect with folks who don’t share a way of seeing. And though I’m way disappointed with Wretch’s angles on Obama/America – my trying here is a sort a tribute to the fact that I’ve LEARNED stuff from him re Iraq…So I owe HIM too. (Though my guess right now is that he probably thinks he’s been paid in full!) When I post I offer my best read on events (w/ a little help from what I read). Hope I’m right – May be wrong – but always give it to you straight. So…- at the risk of buying into the GOP tendency to make (as per O) “big elections about little things,” I went back to the video tape – The first one I’d seen began when Ms. Palin said what a surprise and honor it had been for her to be picked. I found a more extended one that started with MaC’s talk – including his big pause/smile when he said Ms. Palin’s parents had been…coaches! Have to say that felt clunky/elitist/DC-ist – Like John thought that the Palin fam’s history of athleticism might make a BIG diff to the rubes! (Since you bring up naturalness – Mac looked very clunky at that moment.)Paid special attention this time around to the improvisational moment you cited re Ms. Palin choosing NOT to announce her new son had Downs Syndrome. Not sure I saw everything you did there – but basically I’m with you – She does seem real and I can imagine her making the right, quick call there. She might even have a step on the O’s there. (I was a little queasy how they put their kids Out There.) My guess is that Palin is about a million miles from Cindi – Probaby sweeter than Mac or Biden too. (Though not sure re Mrs. Biden – she seems pretty genuine – as did Beau Biden). If you’re right re Ms. Palin, she’s a natural empath. Which underscores why OBama is something special. It don’t come natural to him. But he knows it’s EVERYTHING. He understand empathy should be the basis of a politics. Not just “women’s work.” Think of how he spoke so beautifully last night about his mom having to argue w/ insurance companies as she was dying or about Toot’s rise or about seeing his grandfather in the face of an Iraq war vet…Mac claims to FEEL the pain of the folks in Dayton – but he doesn’t give a damn about their dailiness (UNLESS their soldiering). Like you, Buddy, he doesn’t really believe working class people have any class-based plaints – If they’re not thrilled with the job or the boss or their insurance – there’s a simple solution…Right? – Resign. Move on. Find a millionairess…

…- Back to the Tape – the audience response still felt ginned up to me. Suprised you’d be suprised at that. We’re talking GOP politics. Spontaneity is not generally at a premium with pubs. Those full-throated – and they still sounded VERY boyish to me – cheers when Mac first touched on the week of the suffragettes felt calculated. For real – is there any basis for it in GOP history as compared to the Dems? Maybe I’m projecting falsity here because I’ve been reading all the speculation at the Club re the need not to pick another Rich White Guy but… RE the USA chant – I was listening on the computer – mebbe my sound wasn’t up to speed. But the first time I heard the chant it seemed to rise up not from individuals but from a chorus immediately – and again the voices sounded pretty manly – But you’re right, I can’t say for certain – it was an impression based on some knowledge of the GOP’s history. I’m not stuck on it. But maybe you might consider that first cheer when Mac invoked the suffragettes. Do you really think there’d been sudden influx of Emily’s List types into downtown Dayton?

I’m going to cut and paste a fine piece that underscores Pub’s history of condescension toward working class people. Dems aint done much better in recent generations. But I think that’s, ah, changing – OF course it may be that Johnny (w/ his heiress) can convince working and middle class Americans that he gets it more than O (w/ his girl from the South Side). We’ll see…

The following piece is by a clasic “scholarship boy” – working class Italian kid who mom was a waitress…Snuck into school and ended up being an English teacher …

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Mike Rose

There was a remarkable moment in former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s speech at the Republican National Convention [in 2004], a moment I keep turning over and over in my mind. It had to do with love. About half-way through the speech – after praising George Bush’s leadership in responding to 9/11 and before an affirmation of the Bush foreign policy doctrine – Giuliani offers the following scene.

Bush is visiting ground zero and is soon surrounded by “big, real big” construction workers. Their “arms are bigger than [Giuliani’s] legs, and their opinions are even bigger than their arms.” Using language that Giuliani “can’t repeat,” one of the men begins speaking with deep feeling about the attackers to Mr. Bush, and then “embraced the president and began hugging him enthusiastically.” Giuliani completes the moment by observing this was an act of love.

I don’t know this worker, so I can only imagine what feelings must have been churning inside him, seeking some kind of meaningful expression. And suddenly here before him stands the president of the United States. At ground zero. Overwhelming.

What troubles me, though, what I can’t shake, is the use of that moment by Giuliani – and similar moments by other Republican strategists and speechwriters – to certify George Bush’s deep bond with working people. Giuliani describes the construction worker with genial humor, but if you think about it, the portrait is pretty stereotypical: the big, patriotic hard hat. Joe Sixpack. The working men and women I grew up with were strong, yes, and loyal to country, but they were much more. Smart and skeptical, for starters. Think, for a moment, of all that you won’t see in these GOP portraits. You won’t see the female cannery worker with injured hands or the guys at bitter loose ends when the factory closes. You won’t see people, exhausted, shuttling between two (or more) jobs to make a living or the anxious scramble for minimal health care for their kids. And you sure won’t see people organizing to improve their working lives.

What a funny kind of love it is that undercuts unions, erodes workplace health and safety regulations, opposes increases in the minimum wage, changes overtime rules. The invocation of love at ground zero – and the replaying of the image – mystifies things terribly. Emotion trumps fact: the awful Republican record on working America. God forbid that the fellow embracing Bush develops, as so many have, serious respiratory disease. He won’t find the administration’s policies hospitable to his plight. He’d better seek instead the much-maligned trial lawyer.

American workers don’t need love from their government, especially this funky seduction. They need opportunity. They need an understanding of their struggles. They need an appreciation of the skill and intelligence they bring to their work. They need enough respect for that intelligence that they’re provided with facts rather than emotion. They need the protections of the secure workplace, of the fair wage, of the union contract. They don’t need a one-way romance, the administration taking the embrace, but returning a deadly kiss.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:03 pm 173. cjm:

what do obama and his legion of ball washers have in common with each other? they all love the sound of their own voices. and all have nothing of interest to say.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:11 pm 174. buddy larsen:

Kudlow show reporting Palin has 80% home-base approval (beats Napoleon Putin’s 70% in the USSR), and, McCain’s fundraising desks nationwide –sice Palin –are being engulfed with donations.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:13 pm 175. Triton'sPolarTiger:

The ladies over at HillaryClintonForumDotNet are almost uniformly celebrating Palin’s selection… I wondered if I was reading some kind of fake Clinton site, but I’ve been assured that it’s for real.

Tried to post the link, but got filtered…

The Volokh Conspiracy has some of the comments:

http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?s=7562ecfe7e5ff29b42d4e55aea7ec08b&t=26179

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:19 pm 176. NahnCee:

God.

Is there anything longer and more tedious than a “considered response” by Benj?

I *really* wish these encylopedic posters would set up their own blogs and diarrhea their puerile thoughts to their little heart’s content … someplace else.

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:27 pm 177. jeyi:

Oh wow —now having drunk the full draught of the Obamatron’s Kool-Aid— Benj is back with his purple prose and as if that wasn’t enough for the likes of us, the even purpler prose of Mike Rose.

Also, what business it it of ours how many million miles Cindi is from Sarah? Last I looked Mrs. McCain wasn’t running for public office? And who could have a heart so made of stone to keep from laughing at Rose’s injured cannery hands and embracing respiratory diseases as they’re flung onto capitalism’s dung heap by mustachioed rethuglicans!

Aug 29, 2008 - 4:28 pm 178. Eggplant:

Does anyone know anything about “PUMA” (refer to: http://blog.pumapac.org)? They appear to be pissed-off Hillary supporters. Are they simply a fringe group with a website?

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:02 pm 179. fedya:

Excuse me for indulging my lingering taste for conspiracy-theory, but isn’t this interesting?

It seems to me that birthday-man Senator McCain has accomplished some rather momentous things today (conspiracy theory follows):

1) He has not only redefined “feminism” in our country, he has hijacked the mainstream for the Republican ticket;

2) He has anchored his administration to an aggressively anti-pork and anti-corruption stance, something only half-believable until now, by signing up the [Alaskan Republican] who toppled the worst porkers: Bridge to Nowhere Alaskan Republicans.

3) He has put service — grass-roots and public service — at the heart of his message about America. This is going to reinvigorate grass roots community life and will no doubt energize the Repubican turnout, as a consequence.

4) He has secured the high ground in the fossil fuel debate by signing up the single most aggressive promoter of continental gas production and pipelines, Governor Sarah Palin.

Why, this is the BIG SHOW. Who needs next week’s convention? Right? Now for the conspiracy fun.

McCain has this week seriously disrupted the Dem’s Big Show, just by being a class act, too. Ergo, the Dem’s will plan payback. Today, too, we have received gobs of gooey neo-Czarist grumbling that McCain is bout to “get his” comeuppance at or after the convention. Oooh… Russkie black ops… AND Obamanian ops of no discernible hue…shudder…

NOT! Sorry guys, John McCain, aviator, may have learned a little something from John Boyd, another aviator. Certainly the good Senator seems to have gotten into Obama’s OODA loop so far he’s toying with him. [see Wikipedia on "OODA Loop"]

Personally, I feel much better about many things today.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:05 pm 180. fedya:

I sorta flubbed my point just now. The four accomplishments are secured because of Sarah Palin. They are believable because McCain has expended considerable effort on those issues in the past, but more so because Sarah Palin — once you listen to her stem-winding stump speech — is 100% believable and 100% already there.

Character wins.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:09 pm 181. buddy larsen:

Benj, back a few days i answered you on the ”heart” issue –but it didn’t post –shame, i got nearly as purple as you on it and now it’s gone.

Quickie recap, let’s look at ‘rust belt’ union workers. You mock me for mentioning that people have freedom to go to where the work is, but you leave it as a mock, so i have to fill in for you that yes, folks understandably are reluctant to leave where the extended family has lived for several generations. Ok, one for you on ‘heart’.

So, what, should Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama, bring the UAW down and organize the new open-shop auto industry? What if the workers would rather have a business model that doesn’t shrink the plant to where their kids can’t in the future work there too? That’s what UAW has done, you know, year by year, by adding costs that leave the company less able to compete, it has steadily shrunk the numbers of jobs, and made all positions less and less secure, and now the sons and daughters of several generations of auto workers have no jobs.

So, ‘heart’ is for those who already have a job, and for those that could have a job in a rationalized labor market, but don’t in the actual distorted market, well, not so much ‘heart’ for them.

Look at the states, benj –look at the labor migration map. Who has ‘heart’ really?

And I’m not blabbing theory –I’ve worked with my hands all my life –oilpatch, livestock, right down there in the mud & manure. No, no assembly-line experience –ya got me there.

Re McCain’s rich Mrs. –her dad was a B-17 pilot (just as was mine) who came out of the war into the postwar boom and made good –not as a rent-seeking Blue State lawyer or financier with webs of connections, but by hustling beer in the booming southwest, and being good enough to make a fortune at it. Now his dauhghter is to be mocked? Why?

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:35 pm 182. buddy larsen:

eggplant, no, PUMA is a heavy-hitter –their spokesfolks has been in all the channels for several weeks –being news-interviewed, not buying time.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:41 pm 183. Doug:

Peter Boston said,
“Palin is the right choice. The Obamatons are apoplectic. Their argument is that Palin has no foreign policy experience. They argue that Obama does because he has been talking about foreign policy during the campaign.
Got it?”
—
To be fair, Boston, on more substantive grounds earlier in the Campaign, he cited the class he took in International Relations.

Aug 29, 2008 - 5:46 pm 184. Peter Boston:

Doug

I heard from some Obama insiders that The One is going to talk about pitching during September and start Game One for the Cubs in the NL playoffs.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:04 pm 185. buddy larsen:

benj, imo, your politics fails because it doesn’t look across time. The natural frame for human organization is not the individual but the several generations he is in. Historically we do best when we honor the gens on either side of us, our parents and our kids (or kids-to-be), worrying less about comparing our own frozen snapshots of time against someone else’s, and more about maintaining our own individual trend toward the better.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:13 pm 186. trangbang68:

Benjie, Your working class hero synopsis doesn’t fly particularly when it comes to Bush vs. the democratic Bigs.
What caused Bush to bond with the rescue workers at the World Trade Center was he has some regular guy/ working class in him. If you’ve ever been to Midland/ Odessa Texas; it is as working class as it gets. Bush scrapped there in the oil industry. Contrary to the liberal stereotyping, oilmen aren’t all fat cats smoking stogies in Dallas. The roustabouts and wildcat drillers in Odessa are real salt of the earth guys.
Contrast that with the Dems. Have Obama and Biden ever held a real job? Johnnie Edwards when he wasn’t shagging the New Age goofball was talking about his mill roots in a 50000 square foot house. Both Clintons were nothing but grifters,lawyers and politicians. Kerry a toy boy for two rich widows.
Sarah Palin and her husband are real middle class Americans not elitists lauding the lumpenproletariat.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:22 pm 187. Doug:

Roustabouts was one of the most dangerous jobs in the old days.
Now, AK Fishing is.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:45 pm 188. Lifeofthemind:

Benj,
We’ll take you at your word that you mean well so take it that I mean well when I tell you that you are doing this wrong. Long expository pieces are not to be posted in line except for very unusual circumstances. Think of it as a courtesy to our host who is paying for the bandwidth. Look at how other people do this. Try this; a proposition or comment, followed by a short list of bullet points. Then have an example or three to make a point and a conclusion. A link or two may be included to other material referenced or recommended. If you do that method people will engage your arguments. You may make a point or change someone’s opinion. At least you will build respect for yourself or your community from those who disagree with you on an issue. Any post that is wordier than this one (honestly I am pushing the limit myself) is likely to be ignored. Yes, I have violated this principle myself and regretted it.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:45 pm 189. Doug:

otoh, Trangbang:
Dorhn, her Scumbag husban, and the other Weatherpeople and SDS’rs were ALL about affecting a working class persona.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:48 pm 190. Peterike:

My last post today, I promise. (Sorry for it all, but dang this exuberance feels good.)

Despite this being from hideous Newsweek, these interview clips with Palin are outstanding.

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

She is completely on the ball and speaks directly to the point with no BS, no smarmy self-regard and no gaseous vaporizing. Utterly charming, yet she exudes can-do competency. Fantastic.

Aug 29, 2008 - 6:55 pm 191. onesimus:

An American Margaret Thatcher?

Oh I do hope

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:07 pm 192. Wadeusaf:

Contrast,

Biden in his 50 minutes of air, declared in as few words as possible, “Okay I accept the nomination” and then went on to praise his mom and dad and his kids too. Well done.

But it seems the lessons of his youth did not stick, were not applied by the Senator even early in his Senatorial career. The notion that if you get knocked down, you get up again, the idea that you better bloody the other guys nose and not give up, so you could walk down the street the next day with your head up, having earned some measure of respect but mainly that winning is okay losing is expected but giving up is never an option. That lesson is somehow was not applicable to our efforts (and those of our troops in 1974) and is not to be applied in the GWOT.

It is a contradiction of character and moral compass that struck me, listening to Joe Biden speak.

It is a contrast of character and moral compass that is evidenced by action on the record, action that includes tax cuts, ethics reform and saying no to pork. She and her family are living the dream, really, even with the risks of being a fisherman and challenges of a down syndrome child. God bless them, that child will be a handful but that child will mean so much to that family and can teach so much about love and more about character.

The contrast with Nancy Pelosi could not be greater, especially after the rebukes of Catholic Bishops, and the silence from other leaders of the Democrat party who claim to practice one faith, believe something else.

If the GOP Congressional and GOP Senatorial committees could make a statement of being willing to following the example of the presumptive VP, and somehow displaying that change is in fact real…, who knows what might happen in November.

My distaste for McCain involves his drafted legislative efforts, all touched by Democrat hands, include McCain-Feingold, and Comprehensive Immigration Immigration Reform. It is in Congress and in the Senate that real change has got to happen, We need a Republican Speaker in the house, Senate Majority leadership would be nice but it is not necessary. All the troubles with legislation and all the troubles with judicial vacancies can be laid at the feet of the democrat legislators.

How is McCain going to respond to a majority Democrat legislature? It is a huge question.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:10 pm 193. cjm:

whose to say pelosi and the dems will have a majority come January?

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:12 pm 194. Wadeusaf:

Arg, abouve post should read

It is a contrast of character and moral compass that is evidenced by Governor Palin’s action on the record, action that includes tax cuts, ethics reform and saying no to pork.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:16 pm 195. John Samford:

Chosen One, meet “The Natural”.
This is gonna be a fun election.
The best part is that McCain had his first major decision and it looks like a good choice was made.
The Chosen One, not so good. Unless, of course, you own stock in a hair plug company.
Which makes me wonder, can a Butthead use a butt plug in place of a hair plug? I checked WebMD but they said that was a political question, not a medical one. So I suppose I should check with the DNC next.
Random thought. How many foreign nations have already put in requests for a state visit from the VP? If they thought Condi was hot in her black leather mini and boots, wait ’till sweet Sarah shows up.

They still there? 21 days and counting.

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:30 pm 196. buddy larsen:

context made it clear, wadeusaf –sentence took two reads, but then it wuz clear –

Aug 29, 2008 - 7:46 pm 197. fred:

Doug,

Bernadine Dohrn is a sadistic, cruel human being who reportedly waxed eloquent enthusiasm for how Charlie Manson did up his victims. And her husband apparently, at least on one occasion (reportededly) engaged in date rape and forced a woman to have sex with his room mate and even with his brother (but his brother did not have it in him to go through with it). The woman he date raped in 1965 said in her account that he had a reputation as a charmer of all the young girls at U. Michigan.

It is filth like that which we must not allow to get into the government. Lord knows we’ve already had our share of those kinds of people in the Senate and Congress.

Could you guys imagine someone like Bill Ayers as Secretary of Education? I can’t bear the thought of that.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:34 pm 198. Benj:

Glad you came back with a less heartless response to me (and Marx!). I’m not suprised because I know you’re not a prick. Forgive me, though, if I scatch my head at the idea I suddenly need to be schooled about the fact that historical (and local) and generational context matters…You were the one – as you may recall – who offered up a conventional version of “economics” bereft of any social thickness – The very version which Marx blew up by focusing on those who are forced, largely by their historical circumstances, to sell their own time. It’s Marx who famously brought history to bear on what 19th century economists regarded as natural facts. Thus it was Marx who celebrated Lincoln’s war against slavery; Adam Smith who assured his readers that that the Brit anti-slavery movement was mad and that perculiar institution would never die…As for how to deal with deindustrialization. Who, in this race, has more experience thinking through that issue/subject – Barack Obama who chose to spend years organizing for the Industrial Areas Foundation or Johnny Mac?

Re Palin’s resistance to the and Bridge to Nowhere – That seems to be a shuck – See NR piece below, though the author also notes that Palin’s fiscal instincts are not appalling…

Did Palin Really Fight The “Bridge To Nowhere”?

Republicans have been heavily touting Sarah Palin’s reformist credentials, with her supposed opposition to Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere” as Exhibit A. But how hard did she really fight the project? Not very, it seems. Here’s what she told the Anchorage Daily News on October 22, 2006, during the race for the governor’s seat (via Nexis):

5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

“Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”

So she was very much for the bridge and insisted that Alaska had to act quickly—the party of Ted Stevens and Don Young might soon lose its majority, after all. By that point, the project was endangered for reasons that had nothing to do with Palin—the bridge had become a national laughingstock, Congress had stripped away the offending earmark, shifting the money back to the state’s general fund, and future federal support seemed unlikely. True, after Palin was sworn into office that fall, her first budget didn’t allocate any money for the bridge. But when the Daily News asked on December 16, 2006, if she now opposed the project, Palin demurred and said she was just trying to figure out where the bridge fit on the state’s list of transportation priorities, given the lack of support from Congress. Finally, on September 19, 2007, she decided to redirect funds away from the project altogether with this sorry-sounding statement:

“Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer,” said Governor Palin. “Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Governor Palin added. “Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.”

Maybe I’ve missed something, but it sure looks like she was fine with the bridge in principle, never had a problem with the earmarks, bristled at all the mockery, and only gave up on the project when it was clear that federal support wasn’t forthcoming. Now, Charles Homans, who knows Alaska well, says Palin’s anti-corruption instincts are fairly solid (she sold off the gubenatorial jet upon taking office, for one), and a casual Nexis search suggests that she’s fiscally conservative (insofar as that term makes sense in a quasi-socialist state like Alaska), but this hardly looks like the “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” moment everyone’s making it out to be.

P.S. Here’s a piece that Palin’s special counsel, John Katz, wrote in March of this year for the Juneau Empire, assuring the Alaskan public that Palin was still very much in favor of earmarks, but sadly needed to scale back her requests somewhat (to “only” 31 earmarks this year—down from 54 last year) in response to “unwanted attention” from Congress and the press.

–Bradford Plumer

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:49 pm 199. buddy larsen:

Alaska Party!

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:49 pm 200. buddy larsen:

read somewhere that she line-item vetoed 13% out of the current budget. I dunno, maybe the test of a reformer ought to be 14%, and if not that, then what the hell, back to the hog troff.

Aug 29, 2008 - 8:57 pm 201. Doug:

Life imitates art for Duchovny

LOS ANGELES — David Duchovny has entered a rehabilitation facility for sex addiction.

In a statement released yesterday by his lawyer, Stanton Stein, the actor said he did so voluntarily, adding: “I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family.”

Duchovny, 48, plays a sex-obsessed character on the Showtime Series “Californication.”
The show’s second season begins Sept. 28.

The actor appeared in the film “The X Files: I Want to Believe” earlier this summer. He has been married to actress Tea Leoni since 1997. They have two children.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:05 pm 202. buddy larsen:

Now that we done did Georgia, let’s us see if we can get Putin to invade Hollywood

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:19 pm 203. Lifeofthemind:

Both McCain and Bush believe that they are old fashioned Gentlemen. That is not a matter of policy. I’m sure there are Democrats who fit that description, certainly there used to be. It is not a matter simply of how a man behaves so much as how he believes he behaves. In other words it is how he believes his Father thinks he behaves. It is the code of Prescott Bush and Admiral McCain. They would be kind to women and children, they would pay a ten cent debt immediately, they would always make a guest feel welcome, they would kill you in a heart beat if they felt it was necessary. They were dinosaurs by current standards. Sometimes such men were committed to inclusion and tolerance and sometimes they were bigots but they all understood that code. The most important point in it is you do not tell a personal lie. That may get murky when it is a question in politics of whether Mr A is backing Mr B’s bill. Bush felt Linda Chavez had been economical with the truth to him and therefore she is out of his administration, no matter how much she agrees with the White House on policy. McCain is not a man I would want to promise things to and then forget.

McCain believes that he did not select Palin primarily because of her sex. He is no fool, he knows and welcomes the idea of exploiting the Hillary vs Obama politics. What he said was that he first was attracted to the idea of elevating Palin when he saw how she challenged corrupt Republicans in Alaska. His first target wasn’t Obama but Ted Stevens. McCain must have contempt for Stevens bordering on rage. He wants that seat to go to the Democrats in order to purify the Republican party. We can only hope that McCain can get in and craft a new majority in Congress that will take power away from Reid in the Senate and Pelosi in the House. It is a bold vision and it probably will fail but if it works this will be a different country.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:21 pm 204. Lifeofthemind:

@buddy larsen,
Look like nice people in the party photo. Takes a crowd with a sense of humor to carry off a horny helmet. Remember a man who gets the girls needs a Really Big Helmet.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:31 pm 205. Lifeofthemind:

Georgians break diplomatic relations with Russia. Nice to see someone knows how to observe the niceties and go through the checklist.

Aug 29, 2008 - 9:40 pm 206. buddy larsen:

CNBC –special on Palin –Maria barta whatchamacallit –the ”money honey” –intervws Palin in Alsaka sometimne back –on now just starting

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:01 pm 207. Doug:

How, or why in Heck did Stevens ever win this primary?

Aug 29, 2008 - 10:02 pm 208. buddy larsen:

home town boy under attack –

Aug 29, 2008 - 11:48 pm 209. Wadeusaf:

LOL, well not to split hairs much too thin Buddy, but I think that 13.768% is the definitive mark to shoot for and not a thousandth less.

Benj, Katz fails to mention that all but 4 of those 31 ear marks were repeat many more than once. Earmarks are not bad in and of themselves but everything is liable to abuse in DC’s CYA culture, EVERYTHING.

As far as “deindustrialization and Who, in this race, has more experience thinking through that issue/subject – Barack Obama who chose to spend years organizing for the Industrial Areas Foundation or Johnny Mac? Well if thinking about as issue is to be equated with actually getting something rational done, then “OH” ought to have tons of acccomplishments to point out…., ahhh?

IAF deals in political power and organizational change, I am sure “OH”s experience with the CAC and Woods foundation held him in good stead when dealing with the housing projects and other issues in de-industrialized Chicago. I’m thinking that “OH”s thinking wasn’t about the change, but about something else altogether, and I’m thinking that every time “OH” thinks he gets in trouble. But that’s just me.

Aug 30, 2008 - 11:49 am 210. buddy larsen:

The Chicago Way ripples out into the public service countryside –look at that Peterson guy –a cop getting freebies on wife-murder via The Chicago Way, until he finally went one too far and attracted outside media.

Aug 30, 2008 - 12:18 pm

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