78 Comments

1. Pajamas Media » Actually, Mayor of Wasilla Counts:

[...] the entire story here [...]

Sep 12, 2008 - 3:11 pm 2. Senav:

I live in a small town and the Mayor hears it all the time wxcept in church.

Sep 12, 2008 - 3:23 pm 3. Sarah:

In the small town I lived in till recently, it took some people nearly everything they had to refrain from bringing things up to the city councilman who went to our church (it was typical for church members to pull out the local paper and talk about the latest quote from him, when visiting one another.) Even in the bigger city I live in now, people would shout policy comments at the mayor and other political types walking in the 4th of July parade. When was the last time a bus driver or a neighborhood association president got to stand up and say whatever he/she wanted before the US Senate? In my city, people like that get put on TV every Monday (except in August.)

Heck, this is how I interpreted the “actual responsibilities” line from Palin’s convention speech — a “community organizer” doesn’t have to deal with sunshine laws or elections or people depending on them to get the payroll done; the cost of failure is “shoot, now I have to go teach law or something, and maybe feel guilty about that asbestos stuff I never got around to.”

Sep 12, 2008 - 4:01 pm 4. McSame:

For actually running something important I will take editor of Harvard Law Review over Mayor of Mayberry every time. Wake up people we could have “nucular” war with Russia in less than 12 months!

Sep 12, 2008 - 4:46 pm 5. mike:

To our reform candidates – a kite flies highest when flying against the wind not with the wind.

Sarah – Don’t feel pressured to have to grant an interview with everybody, most are not good enough for the vultures to pick at. Go on Hannity, O’Reilly, Levin etc and tell the rest of them they aren’t experienced enough to interview you.

Sep 12, 2008 - 5:30 pm 6. Myno:

This is why the most egregious acts of socialism are rarely implemented at the local level. The implementer is too close to the ire of the afflicted.

Sep 12, 2008 - 5:53 pm 7. Philip Dhingra:

I recognize the buffer comment. But 8,000 people? That’s about how many people were in my High School. I don’t think being principal would qualify that much.

Sep 12, 2008 - 6:01 pm 8. mike:

Barack wrote nothing for the Harvard Law Review. It is as radical as he is. Did you forget Governor of Alaska with 29000 employees and $10 billion budget? Beats hammering notices on telephone poles. Mc Cain is a Commander in Chief and Obama is a Commander of his ego.

Sep 12, 2008 - 6:20 pm 9. Macgawd:

Why are we still arguing over Sarah Palin, as if she is running for president, and not merely the VP pick of the one who actually IS running for president? I find it rather disconcerting that people already have John McCain one foot in the grave, and he hasn’t even won the election yet. Granted, McCain would be our oldest president, but bear in mind that Ronald Reagan was 70 when he took office, and he managed to survive 8 years as Commander in Chief–there’s no reason to assume that McCain, who survived the brutal wounds of 5 1/2 years of imprisonment and torture, could not weather two terms as our President.

But even assuming that he did die in office, how precisely is Sarah Palin less qualified to take over the position than Barack Obama, who is running for the office itself? People are berating her for her “inexperience” in foreign policy, but what experience does Obama have in this regard? None at all. Come to think of it, what foreign policy experience did Bill Clinton have when he took office? The notion that a VP candidate must have more foreign policy experience than the candidate for the highest office of our nation is ridiculous, and I cannot believe that people of any level of intelligence are even considering the argument as valid. All it really is a red herring to distract from the real underlying motive for the criticism of Sarah Palin: She is a woman who holds to Conservative Christian values, and is therefore unfit to lead what the MSM mistakenly believes is a Liberal-minded nation.

P.S.–for the obligatory Obama shill “McSame”, your argument (if one may even call it that) is ignorant in the extreme, demonstrating that you, like all other Liberal idiots, haven’t the foggiest notion of the responsibilities of a mayor or governor. Though the importance of it will likely be lost on you, it might interest others with a modicum of intelligence to note that a good portion of our Presidents were governors, including Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and even the Liberal hero Bill Clinton. In fact, this race will be the first since John F. Kennedy to elect a Senator.

Sep 12, 2008 - 6:35 pm 10. Sharon Johnson:

Go Governor Palen. She rocks. But Obama and Biden don’t think so. These two men keep talking about how they are for the poor. When given the chance to vote to send money to New Orleans after Katrina money that was taken from the bridge to nowhere Listen!

Obama and Biden voted NO. No to New Orleans to send money to help rebuild No to the citizens who had been devastated No to the citizens who had lost everything NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

So I say NO NO NO NO NO Obama/Biden

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:05 pm 11. Bill Bradley:

Really, Rich?

OK, then.

I accomplished more as a local government official, before the age of 18, than Sarah Palin did as a local government official before the age of 42.

I’ve met Gorbachev, Blair, Putin, Schmidt (Helmut, not Steve, though I know him very well) and a bunch of other foreign heads of government.

Palin hasn’t met anybody. She hasn’t been anywhere. You see where this is going …

And, unlike Palin, I was a member of Veterans for McCain in 2000.

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:19 pm 12. Bill Bradley:

Sarah Palin won the mayoralty of Wasilla with 651 votes. It was a landslide victory, with over 60% of the vote.

Wasilla, incidentally, is the methamphetamine capital of Alaska.

>Philip Dhingra:

I recognize the buffer comment. But 8,000 people? That’s about how many people were in my High School. I don’t think being principal would qualify that much.
Sep 12, 2008 – 6:01 pm

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:21 pm 13. Bill Bradley:

One final fact thingy.

The population of Wasilla is not 9,000.

According to the city itself, it is 6,715.

Most of the time Palin was in office, it was around 5000.

>How many times have we heard that the population is just 9,000?

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:22 pm 14. Nancy:

First, a Mayor is nothing like a high school principle.

Secondly, Wasilla, though a small population is the 5th largest town in Alaska and as Mayor, she had considerable power in the state.

Thirdly, she is now a Governor in addition to having been a Mayor.

The power of a governor is NOT measured by their population.

Excerpt: From the Wall Street Journal
Running Alaska ==September 10, 2008; Page A14

Excerpt:
On the other hand, it turns out that the Governor’s office in Alaska is one of the country’s most powerful.

2008 rate Alaska at 4.1 on a scale of 5. The national average is 3.5.

California Governor rates as below-average (3.2) in executive authority.

The lowest rating goes to Vermont (2.5), (remember Howard Dean)

In 1992, the year Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected President, his state budget was $2 billion and among the smallest in the country. Compared to that, Sarah Palin is an executive giant.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122100776282517559.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:32 pm 15. Rob:

Are we just going to forget that McCain himself said:

“I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I’ve been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism,” the Senator declared. “I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time.”

But I understand that that shouldn’t matter, because that was during the Republican Primary, and now he needs votes to win.

Sep 12, 2008 - 7:46 pm 16. PJ:

“For actually running something important I will take editor of Harvard Law Review over Mayor of Mayberry every time.”

Except he didnt do anything with that position.

” Wake up people we could have “nucular” war with Russia in less than 12 months!”

Really? Reason #1 to have a steady hand like McCain at the helm.

If this is the claim that Palin is inciting war, lets correct the record – she simple restated NATO policy, which Obama has done as well. We protect NATO allies, period.
You’ve got to be an idiot to desire Obama during an intl crisis. The man cant even get simple decisions like his VP pick right – much will go wrong!!

Sep 12, 2008 - 8:11 pm 17. PJ:

“I recognize the buffer comment. But 8,000 people? That’s about how many people were in my High School. I don’t think being principal would qualify that much.”

A High School principal would indeed have more executive experience than Barack Obama.

Governor Palin OTOH did a bit more than that as Governor of the geographically largest state in the nation.

Sep 12, 2008 - 8:14 pm 18. Akatsukami:

“Sarah Palin won the mayoralty of Wasilla with 651 votes. It was a landslide victory, with over 60% of the vote.”

What a coincidence. She’ll be winning another landslide victory, with over 60% of the vote, in November.

Sep 12, 2008 - 8:20 pm 19. DennisSC:

There are no small towns, just small mayors.

Sep 12, 2008 - 8:53 pm 20. trangbang68:

8000 people at your high school. I doubt that.A large High School is generally about 3000. Minor point. Hopefully they weren’t all insufferable buffoons like you.
Charley Gibson came off in the ABC interview like an arrogant clown. He seemed to relish looking down his nose at Palin. She came off very well in contrast. I think she’ll sell in Middle America where people can tell authenticity from stuffed shirt self important scolds and empty suits like Obama.

Sep 12, 2008 - 10:12 pm 21. Rachel Peepers:

Although Sarah Palin is no longer the mayor of Wasilla, I hear she’s still pretty popular up there.

But not if Saturday Night Live has anything to say or do about it.

You see, on Saturday, Sept. 13, the show that ran out of good material about a year or two after Reggie Jackson hit his three home runs in one game, and won another world title for the Yankees, will be doing its best to elect Barack Obama President. Weather permitting, BO will be hosting it.

If you think the mainstream media tries hard to carry Barack’s water, just wait’ll you see the SNL/BO hatchet job on Palin. The oceans will each recede about a foot.

The same mindset writing talent that whines there’s nothing funny about Barack Obama (from ears to snarly wife, to middle finger speeches, to cotton stuffed ears during Wright church services, to bomb throwing Ayres pals, to racist grandmama, to Rezko savings plans, to middle Americans clinging to guns and religion and hating any people not like them, to Michelle’s feelings about America, to Barack’s religion before Christianity, to laughing at Fr. Flager’s mocking of Hillary, to Barack’s mysogynist, “be there in a minute sweetie” remark to his lipstick on a pig joke ad infinitum.

Yeah, I guess there’s nothing funny about Obama, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE TRYING TO ELECT HIM PRESIDENT.

But when it comes to Sarah Palin, well, there’s tons of stuff. She’s a hoot and a hollar. Her beauty contests, her lipstick, her hair, her looks, her husband, her hunting, her children, her experience. You name it, Sarah’s a veritable laugh factory, a deep well of hate humor for the boys and girls who followed in fat Al Franken’s footsteps.

They weren’t quite able to elect Al Gore so they’re gonna try to make it up with Sarah.

You know, there are few things in America that I truly detest. Even Marxist Whoopie and hate-mongering Joy I can take with a grain of salt. But the holier than thou SNL bunch I reserve a special place of derision in my mostly hopeful little mind.

They joke about people they don’t like when they die knowing full well that these people have dads and moms and children and other family members hurt by their remarks, but if it’s some lefty close to them (excluding Whitey Ford), there’s nary a negative peep out of them. Conservatives dying equals funny. Liberals dying equals solemnity and the utmost dignity.

To me, the SNL family, inbred beyond belief, are repugnant, repulsive, creatures who deserve the kind of pain and suffering usually reserved for mass murderers who commit crimes against humanity.

SNL. They couldn’t even come up with their own name. They had to steal one from, of all people, Howard Cosell.

The entire cast deserves gold membership cards into the Witless Protection Program.

Sep 12, 2008 - 10:25 pm 22. ic:

Bradley, Poor you, what are you doing now with all those experience from meeting ex-foreign heads of state, and a dictator-wannabe? May I also ask of which unfortunate local government were you an official at age 18?

Btw, all your criticisms of Palin’s experience are valid and good. However, it’s awfully hard to make a case that a small town mayor’s experience worths less than a community organizer’s. I also have a gut feeling that the community was smaller than a small town of 5000, and a landslide of 600 votes was more than one vote that a community organizer garnered from his “boss”.

Sep 12, 2008 - 10:33 pm 23. Fred Zarguna:

When are Lefties going to learn that when a putdown line is inserted in a major political speech, it isn’t just some stupid throw-away line, but a challenge?

Palin threw her bait into the water at the RNC and now you dopes have swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker. Please keep talking about what a wonderful “community organizer” Barack Obama was — but tell me — why doesn’t The One HIMSELF want any part of that discussion?

Because the truth is that while his demurrals imply that he was a pretend social worker, the truth is that he was nothing more than a get-out-the-vote-fraud-activist for ACORN: a communist front organization and crime syndicate, under investigation, indictment, and fined in venues across the country. Please. Please. Please. Let’s DO compare being a Saul Alinksy “activist” with being the mayor of a small town. Let’s have that debate.

Rope-a-dope.
Rope-a-dope.
Rope-a-dope.

Sep 12, 2008 - 10:52 pm 24. Concerned Citizen:

Hello Bill Bradley….welcome to Pajamas…

People who come from small towns probably don’t know Gorby, you’re right…what’s he doing now anyway? Does that red mark on his forehead look as strange in person as it does in the newspaper photos? He’s probably shorter in person, right? I’ve never met him myself.

Sarah probably hasn’t met a lot of those kind of people, but I’ll bet Tony Rezko has a wall full of pictures of him standing next to a lot of famous and powerful politicians he’s met and donated money to. It’s impressive to see all those pictures in an office — I always thinK “Wow, that Tony Rezko is really an important person”. I’d bet it’s nice to know lots of rich and powerful people who run countries and large enterprises — it probably helps to drop those names at all the parties you get invited to in Washington, D.C. once you get elected, or get some tickets to the big game when you visit Moscow.

I’ve never personally been involved with government, other than voting and paying a few parking tickets, but one thing I noticed is that the people who work in local government get excellent experience running all aspects of an organization. They don’t have a “staff” to take care of everything and because things are small, there is no place to hide. You can’t vote “present” because the results or lack thereof are completely obvious to everyone. They tend to focus on results and accomplishments, not just doing the minimum to get elected to the next position.

One thing I can tell you is that I do understand and have experience with business. As far as qualifications go, I think you are confusing a resume with real accomplishments.

I asked a friend who is a die hard Obama supporter what Senator Obama’s accomplishments were. He told me “he wrote two books, was a community organizer, a state senator for 8 years and a U.S. senator for 3 years”.

Those aren’t accomplishments. Accomplishments are what you accomplish after you earn a position. An example would be “when a community organizer, Senator Obama raised funds to send 100 poor children from the neighborhood to college who were heading for a life in prison — the streets are now safe and clean, and there are people around to help old ladies cross the street, thanks to Senator Obama” or “while senator, he wrote legislation that saved the U.S. taxpayer $10 billion per year”. I’m still waiting for a list of any real accomplishments other than running for office (which is not an accomplishment).

Bill Bradley, can you please share any of Senator Obama’s accomplishments with the readers of this blog?

Governor Palin HAS real accomplishments, even though her resume may not be extensive. She’s cut spending without affecting services, returned money to Alaska citizens and gets things done for her constituents. As such, I feel like she will do a competent job representing me, Mr. Concerned Citizen, as our Vice President. I’d give someone like that my vote every time over someone who hasn’t been able to tell everyone about any REAL accomplishments or what he would do for me other than whine and raise my taxes.

Sep 12, 2008 - 11:48 pm 25. Charlie (Colorado):

For actually running something important I will take editor of Harvard Law Review over Mayor of Mayberry every time.

The more fool you, then.

Sep 12, 2008 - 11:53 pm 26. braininahat:

“For actually running something important I will take editor of Harvard Law Review over Mayor of Mayberry every time. ” — McSame

That’s right, genius, let it be known that you think being the editor of a Law Review — and not publish a single thing! — is more important than making important daily decisions for a city. You know, decisions that instantly effect the lives of the people whom she must answer to directly.

But I’m sure being a rabble rouser, er, community organizer qualifies you for the presidency of The United States of America. You know, those 143 days of experience acquiring more than ONE MILLION dollars in earmarks for each day in office sure puts being a mayor and governor to shame. Maybe voting the party line 97% of the time qualifies you as a reformer and agent of change?

I’m still waiting for the media to vet Obama…..(I won’t hold my breath)

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:48 am 27. KansasGirl:

The libs are becoming caricatures. This election cycle is becoming quite fun.

Sep 13, 2008 - 3:58 am 28. RRmike:

Harvard Law Review trumps elective office? It seems odd to me we are comparing the #1 on one ticket to the #2 on another ticket, where does this leave Biden?
A law review position in school might look nice on a resume for the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem and Howe all it tells me, the voter is this guy know how to do is parse a nice phrase. Mean while being elected to ofiice as mayor and then as governor tells me this person able to govern.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:43 am 29. Broadsword:

“…weeding in his front yard to hear complaints about it?” There are no weeds whatsoever in Obama’s front yard, only swaths of arrugula. Heh.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:45 am 30. Ed Wallis:

I second “Concerned Citizen’s” comments.

In particular, those about one of PJM’s own, Bill Bradley.

Sure, all sorts of jerks post junk here, left and right. But a “PJM writer”?

SIGH.

His infantile comments above (7:19, 7:21, 7:22) belie the photo posted in his threads.

HEY PJM: Is THIS the sort of “thinking” you want represented on your site?!
…………

“CC” hits it with:

“I asked a friend who is a die hard Obama supporter what Senator Obama’s accomplishments were. He told me “he wrote two books, was a community organizer, a state senator for 8 years and a U.S. senator for 3 years”.

Those aren’t accomplishments. Accomplishments are what you accomplish after you earn a position. An example would be “when a community organizer, Senator Obama raised funds to send 100 poor children from the neighborhood to college who were heading for a life in prison — the streets are now safe and clean, and there are people around to help old ladies cross the street, thanks to Senator Obama” or “while senator, he wrote legislation that saved the U.S. taxpayer $10 billion per year”. I’m still waiting for a list of any real accomplishments other than running for office (which is not an accomplishment).

Bill Bradley, can you please share any of Senator Obama’s accomplishments with the readers of this blog?”

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:58 am 31. Barry Dauphin:

For actually running something important I will take editor of Harvard Law Review over Mayor of Mayberry every time.

Obama isn’t running for editor in chief.

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:11 am 32. Cindy:

In truth?…I think that Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden “think Sarah Palin” rocks, too! If they didn’t? they wouldn’t even be concerned, nor would the media find her and her family so interesting. I’m a mom, 56 years young, and a grandmother and there is something HUGE about the fact that a woman can handle all of the aspects of wife, and mother AND still work the people of AK. She is what most women wish they could be, or could accomplish, and still be stylish looking. She IS the woman that we all would like to see ourselves as. For years we grew up with the commercials about women being able to carry a job (bring home the bacon)and do the home (fry it up in a pan)and still look good. With a woman like Sarah, she can even hunt her own bacon!!! Tell me what’s wrong with that? not a thing! I think people are just small, petty and jealous.

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:21 am 33. Tom Dunham:

The fact that local office holders are more accountable to voters is a very good reason why less government should be at the federal level and more government should be at the local level.

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:26 am 34. lester tobias:

Miniter’s insight goes hand in hand with my position vis-a-vis taxation; while we shouldn’t necessarily reduce the current tax rates, we should “flip” them in terms of who gets what. Cities should get the greatest proportion, then states, then the feds. We, as a nation, would then have our money where our mouths are. I won’t have to elaborate, Y’all can figure out the rest…

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:55 am 35. coyotl:

Richard, what do you make of the fact that Sarah Palin left Wasilla $20 million in debt? Isn’t that an astoundingly poor record for a fiscal conservative in a small town?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12987.html

Sep 13, 2008 - 8:23 am 36. silviomossa:

If being a small-town mayor is good enough for VP, then Karl Rove shouldn’t have belittled Tim Kaine’s stint as a mid-size mayor. Nor should have John McCain, when he stated: “I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time,” – Senator John McCain, October, 2007.

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:05 am 37. mike:

Sarah will be on Sean Hannity Tuesday and Wednesday and I am sure she can come up with 3 accomplishments in her political career. Obama has attacked Hannity at least five times and the rhetoric appears to be Palin is running against Obama for President. I give Obama credit for going on O’Reilly but why is he afraid of Hannity or Mark Levin, Michael Reagan, Dennis Prager etc.? McCain has the judgment to select good people in his cabinet, actuarially there is an 85% chance he lives until the end of his first term. I heard John Bolton has been advising Palin on foreign policy, there is nobody better. Heaven help us if Obama wins and Madeline Albright or Warren Christopher show their faces again.
How gracious of Joe Biden to admit Hillary would make a better VP then himself. Hillary couldn’t hold Sarah’s hockey stick when it comes to experience. If Bill could juggle all his women while being President, Sarah can be VP and raise five kids.

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:34 am 38. j green:

I always thought that Obama supporters never addresse Obama’s insignificant political career, starting from his days as a venerable community organizer to his literally few days as a senator, because, politically they didn’t want to admit it. This grants them at least a level of intelligence to know the truth but they chose to defy it.

Now, after reading the uneducated blitherings of Bill Bradley (the person who must really think he’s. Wasted talent since he was the political genious at age 18 that no one heard of), I am starting to believe these people really don’t know. Gone are my assumptions that they’ve got to be smarter than this ad they’re just saying this for political gain. Now I’m thinking how disappointed I am that uneducated heathens will be able to cancel out my vote with votes of own.

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:06 am 39. silviomossa:

By my math, if Obama was a senator for a “literally few days”, then Palin was governor for about 15 hours?

The only reason that people deliberately distort is because the truth isn’t a good enough case for their side.

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:17 am 40. Howard Ino:

The russians are coming… the Russians are coming! Per McSame: “Wake up people we could have “nucular” war with Russia in less than 12 months!”

Sir, she was not only a Mayor, she is a Governor. Ms. Palin DOES have far more experience than the trumped up “Obama experience”

That sir is the reason Obama is deflating… The is an empty suit and his suit has just been punctured.

Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttt

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:25 am 41. Gary Ogletree:

McSame: You embarrass yourself. I can see why you don’t have the guts to use your own name.

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:28 am 42. Richard Miniter:

coyotl:

Palin did not leave behind a $20 million deficit in Wasilla; she led a $20 million bond offering for permanent infrastructure improvements.

Richard Miniter

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:32 am 43. bottomfeeder:

I live in a the richest county in the country. I can’t even buy benadryl without asking the pharmacist to give it to me from behind te counter where it is hidden.

These people talk about meth labes in Wasilla as though Palin sponsored them and used the drug. Drugs are an unfortunate problem all over this country. Its not just in Alaska.

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:47 am 44. Lynn:

re Tom Dunham
exactly right!!

Sep 13, 2008 - 11:55 am 45. j green:

Why do people ignore the fact that she’s governor of a state and keep mentioning her mayoral experience as though its her only experience. Its not. Do we now refer to Bill Clinton’s experience solely by his governorship of Arkansas while ignoring his time as president? Do we talk about the brilliantly idiotic Carter’s experience as governor og Georgia or as president? The liberals purposefully don’t refer to her greater accomplishment and keep referring to her entry into politics as though its all she’s done. I don’t pretend that Clinton’s only got gubernatorial experience at this point in time, and the left is disingenuous for implying that the mayor of 9,000 is running for vice president. In fact, the GOP vice presidential nominee is a former mayor and currently the governor of the largest, most mineral and resource rich state which actually does have a foreign policy–contrary to most other states–as related to Russian waters and its border to Canada.

Palin’s vetoed over a half billion dollars worth of earmarks. What has Obama vetoed when he was the communnity organizer turned one-and-half year senator?

Palin commands and has deployed before the Alaska national guard. Of what military was Obama the commander-in-chief? That’s right, he was Rezko’s soldier.

The governorship is a more exclusive club than the Senate. There are fewer governors and they wield power individually. An individual senator has absolutely no authority whatsoever–zero. A senator only has some power when the Senate is in session and properly assembled with a quorum. Even then, the collective Senators have authority and the Senate is the unit taking actions. Again, not hte indivdual. In fact, if a senator did not even show up for a vote, it is would be inconsequential–assuming the quorum was established, the Senate’s job would continue completely unabated. Not so with a governor. A governor has to be there 24 hors a day.

This federal republic was built on the elements of the people and the states. The constitution was meant to guarantee that the states remained more powerful than the federal government. This is hard to do when he government simply ignores the constitution, but I digress. The creme de la creme were the people the citizens elected as their governors–not the beauracrats they sent to Capitol Hill.

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:22 pm 46. morton from vienna:

you people forget that Obama did nto go to wall street to be a lawyer and he deservs credit for that one!!! he stayed in his hood and worked to be the most effective he could be organizing his community and rooting out corruption to save Chicago. Obama coud have dione anyting with his life and he chose his community. If you ask any of those lawyers on wall st how they feel about obama healing his hood they are proud of him for it and thye know how much bigger a man he is than them for having done it. I want him to be in the white house as the community organizer in chief, to bring heakth care to the down-trodden, education to the uneducated, juvenille sports tot he misfits. Lets organize this country now, we can do it!

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:30 pm 47. Michael Lonie:

Obama didn’t “heal his hood”. He organized some people to protest about asbestos and got a little removed. Not much else. The project which he organized is now a crumbling dump. He was an outsider who came in to snooker people into furthering the Alinsky version of socialist revolution.

Later he was head of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a program intended to imporove public schools. Bill Ayers, the old Commie terrorist, was the head of the actual operation of the program. They cooperated closely on this for several years, spending almost $150 million and accomplishing next to nothing for school improvement, except giving handouts to some of their superannuated radical friends.

When Obama was elected to the US Senate his wife got a $195,000 per year raise from her employer, the University Hospital there in Chicago. In the first budget after that Obama inserted a $1 million earmark for that hospital in the budget. Now there is change we can believe in, bringing the corrupt Democratic Chicago political machine’s mores to the Senate. As if the Congress needed instruction in corruption.

Now there is an impressive resume indeed for a Presidential candidate.

Sep 13, 2008 - 2:38 pm 48. Rubicon:

Health care is a significant issue in this election. Yet when I ask my friends in Great Britain about the system there, or my friends in Canada, all say, stay away from our type of health care. The waiting lines can be extremely long to even see a Doctor. A number of procedures, are not done there. In addition, many go to America for their health care, at their own expense, even if it means second & third mortgages.
I want easily accessible health care. But I also want health care where I & my Doctor make choices, as we do now. I do NOT want some bureaucrat in Washington deciding because I am over a certain age, or am a male, or whatever, they will not do the procedure. This is happening in Canada & Great Britain.
How will you feel if you are told one day, you are too old for us to waste our resources on you? Baby boomer’s, you are specifically targeted in the plans for socialized medicine. You will be the true losers as bureaucratic jerks say, you are no longer important since we have extracted as much as we think we can get out of you. Go away & die somewhere.

Sep 13, 2008 - 2:41 pm 49. Bill Bradley:

Actually, a little-known guy named Michael Phelps or something was announced as the host of SNL weeks ago.

>Rachel Peepers:

Although Sarah Palin is no longer the mayor of Wasilla, I hear she’s still pretty popular up there.

But not if Saturday Night Live has anything to say or do about it.

You see, on Saturday, Sept. 13, the show that ran out of good material about a year or two after Reggie Jackson hit his three home runs in one game, and won another world title for the Yankees, will be doing its best to elect Barack Obama President. Weather permitting, BO will be hosting it.

Sep 13, 2008 - 4:42 pm 50. Bill Bradley:

Having fun on a Friday night?

You are kind of missing the point here.

It is virtually impossible for any serious person in American politics to have never met a foreign head of government.

I’m not even trying, and obviously totally preoccupied with this campaign, and I’ve met a couple more this year alone.

Oh, and what am I doing? Writing for a huge audience, not here, appearing on international TV, serving as a senior fellow of the most prominent communciations school in the world, etc.

>ic:

Bradley, Poor you, what are you doing now with all those experience from meeting ex-foreign heads of state, and a dictator-wannabe? May I also ask of which unfortunate local government were you an official at age 18?

Sep 13, 2008 - 4:46 pm 51. silviomossa:

The health care comments are all scare. Other Western systems are rated much more highly than ours, in results, cost, and satisfaction. 22% middle management costs in the U.S. compared to around 6% in England and elsewhere. People would rather use that gap to pay for insurers than the poor, the uninsured, and the massive payments that many insured people make. And that is sad.

Sep 13, 2008 - 4:59 pm 52. cheryl b:

I lived in Chi Town during the time that Bill Ayres had began his career. Believe me that was not the place to be. Good neighborhoods were taken over, people lost money on their property just to get out,because it was no longer safe to live there. My aunt lost her life by being bludgened to death with a flash light, and raped. She was 62 yrs old. She taught Head Start in the inner city schools. Riots were the norm, not the exception.Organized gangs from one school district would go into another,and start beating on the students in school.People moved in droves away from the city. I think I will stay away from the community organizer, and his pal Bill. My vote goes to a Real Hero and the Govenor.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:23 pm 53. RE:

Of course being mayor of a small town counts. There’s far more accountability attached that job than with any pundit, columnist, or legislator. It’s not a bad place to start a career at all.

And as far meeting foreign leaders? Well, whoopdy-do! That’s all grandiosity and narcissism – important to people who are full of themselves – you know, the kind of self absorbed people that have a wall of pictures of themselves posing with celebrities to make themselves look more important than they really are.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:45 pm 54. RV:

I am not sure what is going on here. It has already been proven that executive experience cannot be used to tell how well a person will do the job of VP or Pres. See: 2001-2008

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:06 pm 55. Ed Wallis:

I thought DRUNKBLOGGING was almost exclusively for Vodka Pundit, until I read “Bill Bradley’s” posts of 4:42pm and 4:46pm.

Wassamadda U, Bwill Bwadley?! There, there…I can imagine how hard it is for you to cope with the fact that a Governor and ex-Mayor has ACCOMPLISHMENTS and EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE…I mean, OK…admittedly, Barack successfully scored cocaine at a REMARKABLY young age, but let’s limit it to things that QUALIFY – not DISQUALIFY – someone for the presidency.

And, by the way, Bwill…it’s SATURDAY night.

(as Maurice Chevalier once sang) POOR BOY….POOR BOY………….

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:21 pm 56. Terrence:

Come on? Would you say that someone who has run a dry cleaners would be a good candidate to run GE?

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:47 pm 57. silviomossa:

Being a the mayor of any town, large or small, didn’t count to McCain in his Oct. 2007 comment.

As for the attitude of other elected leaders, that’s pretty much the negative view that the current administration has, which is why no one wants to work with us anyone. More of the same.

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:01 pm 58. Concerned Citizen:

Hello Bill Bradley….

You still haven’t answered the Obama accomplishment question….I guess he must not have any.

Also, I’m personally OK with Sarah Palin not knowing everyone. I’m sure her boss, John McCain, will get her up to speed in eighteen months, after he becomes president. You’re right, it’s easy to meet those heads of state because they come by looking for handouts from Uncle Sam. I’m glad Sarah will be meeting and telling them NO!

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:06 pm 59. mike:

How many dumb idiotic reporters have met many Heads of State? Does that qualify Tom Brokenjaw, Morley Unsafer, the host of Deface the Nation, etc to be VP? How about Nancy (Leprosy) Pelosi? Hardly. The liberal biased media you don’t like the U S get out of here and go to Europe or Antarctica and interview your IQ equivalent- Penguins. And I’m sure you will encounter thousands of polar bears.

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:06 pm 60. Maybe We Should Have Small Town Mayor A Pre-Req « Tai-Chi Policy:

[...] taoist in Politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin. trackback Pajamas Media has an explanation for why experience as the mayor of a small town would be beneficial at the federal level. They make some good points. I don’t think we’re ready for a presidential race [...]

Sep 13, 2008 - 9:33 pm 61. elixelx:

I was taught at school by head of state Lal Bahadur Shastri! I went to school with Bikram Shah, King of Nepal.

Please please choose me for VP:

Sep 14, 2008 - 6:24 am 62. RE:

elixelx,

Do not underestimate yourself – that resume qualifies for the number 1 spot on the Democrat ticket! And if you’ve voted ‘present’ over 100 times, they will swoon over you anf humiliate themselves in all sorts of ways on your behalf!

Unfortunately for you, that’s as far as unaccountability will get you.

Sep 14, 2008 - 7:09 am 63. bottomfeeder:

Bill Bradley claims to have a lot of accomplishments. Wouldn’t that make even Bill Bradley, a man I wouldn’t vote for dog catcher, more competent to run than Obama?

Bill Bradley: a legend in his own mind.

Sep 14, 2008 - 4:22 pm 64. bottomfeeder:

Incidentally Bill Bradley, you say Palin hasn’t met as many idiotic foreign leaders as you. Therefore, with what low standards those foreign leaders have in meeting with people of your stature, it should be easy for Palin to meet them. After all, you didn’t even try and met those bozos–I’m sure the threshold is sufficiently low (your level of accomplishment in this regard) that she will excel. Let not your heartt be troubled.

Sep 14, 2008 - 4:27 pm 65. coyotl:

Richard Miniter:

“Palin did not leave behind a $20 million deficit in Wasilla; she led a $20 million bond offering for permanent infrastructure improvements.”

Not quite, Richard. The bond was for $14.7million, and not just for mere “infrastructural improvements” but as a fat sports complex built by the city after private sector funding couldn’t be raised. And of course, to pay off this public pork barrel project, Palin RAISED TAXES. If liberals propose funding for inner-city basketball its socialism, but hockey rinks for white kids are “infrastructural improvements.”

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the Palin administration didn’t do its homework on this boondoggle, which is why it lead to cost over-runs:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122065537792905483.html

The small community of Wasilla will have to pay off this over-priced bond, and the remainder of the $20 million mark is debt incurred during her tenure as mayor.

In addition, Palin had a real taste for earmarks and other pork:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090103148.html?hpid=topnews

Some fiscal conservative. Clearly one dedicated to reform.

Sep 14, 2008 - 5:52 pm 66. Rachel Peepers:

Bill Bradley,

You’re right. I was wrong. Saturday Night Live, yesterday, had Mike Phelps host the show.

Ed Wallis, though, who always gives is good for a fresh angle on various issues, says Barack will be hosting it. At least, I think that’s what Ed meant.

Regardless, Bill, tell me what you think about something else.

I’m starting to get the feeling that PJM originally thought this would be predominately about comments on articles. Which was (is) fine with me. Incidentally, this is this is my favorite political website.

Now, though, as people kind of get to know one another, it’s sort of becoming a political chat room. Which for me is fun. Do you also see it as kind of a political chat room?

As the election grows nearer and nearer, people like me pretty much are full bore McCain/Palin supporters, but I like hearing well reasoned and written opposing viewpoints, too.

One of the enormous faults of Daily Kos, Moveon and the like is that, in communist states, opposing points of view are pretty much verbotten.

Sep 14, 2008 - 5:55 pm 67. Believer:

Well. This is precisely the thing that has me worried regarding BO’s ability to lead:

The man most likely can’t make a decision. Some people are just not good at it.

You know the kind of person. They think the darned thing through too much. Considering it from every angle. All the pros and cons. I think it’s the kind of person that does really well on essay exams, but not so well on multiple choice. (BTW, you can get away with alot of BS on essay exams.)

As BO’s kids can attest: “Daddy just talks and talks.” That was some time ago — before Team Obama got them (and his belle) to quit with the personal insights into our would-be messiah.

Anyhoo, added to the “thinking too much” problem, is a more than normal desire to please everybody (gotta get re-elected) and you have someone for whom a decision is pure agony. Lovely people, though.

I think BO needs to be tested. I think he should be put in a room with a bed and a phone. For several nights, he should be awakened at 3AM to the sound of that phone ringing. Each time, he should be given a hypothetical situation that requires immediate action.

I don’t know, folks. I’m thinking the crisis would be long over before our waffler finally made up his mind. And changed it again.

Sep 14, 2008 - 7:12 pm 68. ProgMeister:

A few problems here:

(a) as you note, Wasilla is SMALL .. actually, it’s REALLY SMALL

(b) Palin didn’t really manage it; she hired a professional manager

(c) she governed the way you claim leaders should not govern: like a Democrat .. raising taxes, putting the city in debt so the city could have a really cool sports complex

(d) frankly, who gives a shit how she governed Wasilla? let’s look at McCain’s record; he’s your Presidential candidate, in case you forgot … and the only thing he runs is off at the mouth

Sep 14, 2008 - 7:23 pm 69. mike:

I agree Barack will get a call at 3 am and it will take him until 3 PM to make a decision. All Biden has had to decide on in his life is where to sit on his choo choo rides. Palin has made thousands of decisions involving real people and real issues. The left should cut the crap with McCain’s age, he will be younger in 2012 than Reagan was at the end of his second term. Yeah Clinton was a great President the 25% of the time his pants were zipped. Meantime the world went to hell and the West may never recover. We are going Bankrupt and nobody seems to care or have an answer.

Sep 14, 2008 - 7:48 pm 70. Jukin:

Why does Obama look to the future?

That’s where all of his accomplishment might be found.

Still no answers about his accomplishments in the past. Still no records from Columbia. Still no answers on why so many of his close associates have criminal and terrorist ties. Still no answers on his Pakistan trip. Still no MSM interest in any of this.

Sep 14, 2008 - 9:43 pm 71. coyotl:

“Still no answers about his accomplishments in the past.”

This line of inquiry has always puzzled me. I disagree with many of Obama’s accomplishments but the man has tons of them. In the Illinois State Senate he sponsored over 800 bills. The man was a legislative powerhouse and that record is easily accesible:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html

And

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

I mean, come on people, this material has been out for monts now. Dig into it, critique it, disagree with it, but it is most certainly there.

Sep 15, 2008 - 9:47 am 72. AdrianS:

Now that tens of millions of voters are learning the truth about Barack Obama, they have joined the supersonic, energetic excitement at the McCain + Palin side. They are on McCain’s side for good. No turning back. The Obama campaign is imploding due to overwhelming lack of experience at every level.

Obama is behind. After Hurricane Ike — a natural disaster. After Hurricane Sarah — tore down everything Obama.

Governor Sarah Palin’s executive experience trumps Obama “community organizer” experience every time, any day, every day, everywhere — no doubt!

Goodbye Obama. Long live America.

NARAL has Obama by the gonads:
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=56

On Governor Sarah Palin:
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=55

On Obama’s true past (or why is he lying?):
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=32

Sep 15, 2008 - 10:11 am 73. mike:

If Sarah Palin is qualified to only be mayor of Mayberry, what does Barack qualify for if any, Gomer Pyle, Deputy Fife, Goober, or Aunt Bee?

Sep 15, 2008 - 8:12 pm 74. Mike K:

You know Bill that is the great thing about the internet, you can be anything you want, from a firetruck to senior fellow of the most prominent communications school in the world. You are still just another poster on PJM no better no worse.

I was stationed in Anchorage and became an Alaska resident, I had the privilege of voting for Sara, and now I get to do it again.

Sep 16, 2008 - 8:26 am 75. chris:

No doubt that small-town government requires a lot of brains and hard work, maybe more than so than running the country (which seems to be what you are implying).

But the question is: does experience in one lead you to do an exceptional job in the other? Vice-president of the United States of America is a job that for someone able to deal with issues on a national and international scale, not meet and greet the locals.

I just think a better choice could have been made – Maybe not to help gain votes, but certainly to help run the most world’s powerful and influential country.

Sep 16, 2008 - 10:03 am 76. Dave II:

coyotl- a legislative “powerhouse” in the state senate???

Don’t make me laugh! He was a powerhouse at voting “present” THAT’S for sure!

As for all those bills with his name on them??? Google “Emil Jones” and look up what he did for Obama in the state senate. He PURPOSELY attached Barack’s name to bills with the intent of building up his “protege”. I suppose it worked…for Obama! Not so much for Emil Jones who now is in a bit of hot water himself.

Sep 16, 2008 - 11:18 am 77. SGT Ted:

The lefty trolls can’t get Obamessiahs record right, why would they be beleived in what they say about Sarah Palin.

Sep 16, 2008 - 11:33 am 78. Dar:

The mayor oversees a police department (ahem, Troopergate), the public works department(appointed a public works director who lacked engineering experience) , the parks and recreation department (Put a bounty on wolves), a planning office, a library, and a small history museum. When Palin was mayor, the population was just 5,500. Palin limited her duties by hiring a deputy administrator to handle much of the town’s management. Her top achievement as mayor was the construction of an ice rink, despite a lingering legal dispute over whether the city had ownership of the land (had to pay $1.3 million for the land). Firefighting and schools are handled by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. she won with 616 votes 58% of the total. She fired the museum director and demanded that the other department heads submit resignation letters, saying she would decide whether to accept them based on their loyalty. Palin also differed with the librarian. Palin asked three times in her first weeks in office whether she would agree to remove controversial books. The librarian said she would not. the town had a $4 million surplus, Palin cut the museum budget by $32,000, and the three older women who worked there quit, Palin dipped into the budget to create the deputy administrator slot. after hiring a Washington lobbyist for $38,000 a year, The town secured $27 million in earmarks, including $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs and $15 million for a rail project. My complaint is not that it’s a small town, but rather that she failed at a small job, save when she delegated duty to people who were more competent, and often as not she delegated to people who were not competent but were politically connected. I agree as vp it’s not such a big deal, as president it’s huge and I am afraid that McCain may have a family history of early death, and may have some cancer that could endanger his ability to be president, however I also am not a fan of McCain’s policies or his reckless nature. I do not like Obama’s wait and see attitude and am not a fan of Obama as the difference between either administration seems small compared to their similarities, Ie. Obama’s I Agree with Sen. McCain.

Oct 21, 2008 - 7:37 pm

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