CANADIEN

You got something right, for once. The Democratic campaign dismissed Palin's past experience as a mayor because it was irrelevant to the job at hand. The Republican campaign did not just dismiss Obama's experience; they insulted every person who has worked and is working tp help people and communities better their lot in life, by saying they didn't have responsibilities. As for the little "we are so offended" Republican whimpering... seeing the pot call the kettle black is amusing only for a while; it's already getting boring.

Less we forget. McCain who voted for Bush initiatives "90% of the time" is an agent of change, but Obama who has opposed most of the current government's initiative will continue to do things the way they have been done for the past eight years. During her election campaign, Palin supported a $300 million bridge project to link the continent to an island with a small airport and a population of about 50. She started denouncing the project as a waste of money only after the US Congress started denouncing it as wasteful and cut founding to it. Yet, she managed to keep some of the money and use it to start building on a road that leads to only one place... where the bridge would have started. Nice principles. When Karl Rowe dismissed a possible Democratic VP candidate on the ground he was only the former mayor of the 105th biggest city in the US, not a big city (his words), he was setting the stage for linking competency with place of residence. The Democrats should not be playing that game, but the Republicans are in no position to complain that their opponents are doing what they have been doing. The straw-grasping is done by them when they lament that the Democrats has sunk as low as them.

So, it is just an illusion that the Republican machine has been repeating the mantra "he is not qualified, he is not qualified, he is not qualified" month after month after month, only to play cry foul when they get a taste of their medecine. As for the Democrats mentioning Obama's past experience as head of a community organization, it gets from me the same reaction as the Republican praising Palin for being a former mayor: "And?"

It is not a receipe for change except when we are talking about John McCain who has been part of the system for years. And we shall forget which party has been in power for the last 8 years, with as an agenda the same kind of social conservativism and fiscal "prudence" they now advocate as change. Principles such as being a favour of wasteful project, then denouncing it when it makes her look bad, while pocketting the money for an almost equally wasteful project. Her number one job if she gets elected will be to be ready if something happens to the President. And I haven't said she wouldn't be ready. I have said that she hasn't shown whether or not she was qualified. You mean the way the Republicans have been dissing Chicago by arguing that a few years of community work and more than ten years as State and US Senator from that town doesn't count since Chicago is not good enough? Or the way Republican strategists were dissing Richmond and the state of Virginia when arguing that a former mayor of that city and governor of that state should not be Obama's running mate?

I will stand corrected. Some people have made the size of Wasilla and Alaska the measure of whether or not she has what it takes to do the job. And they are wrong, since what she did as mayor says nothing as to whether or not she can do the job of Vice-presdent or, if needed, President of the United states. They also should do know better than copying from the Republican strategy book. People who have said before "you need at least one or two terms on the US Senate to qualify for the job" now say "as long as she shares our view world, it doesn't matter that she hasn't spent a day as a US Senator". It doesn't ring hollow, it rings of double standard. The Republican camp is the last one who can lecture anybody for doing what they have been doing since the day they figured out Obama was outwitting Clinton.

Every time I hear about how Bush pray for God's guidance, I am tempted to say: "next time God speaks to you, LISTEN."

And once again. Neither Barack Obama or the Democratic has cast stone at Sarah Pallin for having been the mayor of a small community, no matter the size. But they are asking, and rightly, how come the Republican party is dismissing the same criteria - "you must be like Senator McCain, or Senator Clinton, and have been a US Senator for at least a full term" they are still using to say Obama is not qualified. As for Mayor Palin's relying on lobbying to provide much needed funding for her community, far from me to blame her for that, or to make any cnnection between that and her fitness to the job she's applying for. But it is fair to wonder how important she and McCain view their difference of opinion on earmakrs (one of McCain's peves for years). And as far as disparaging lobbying goes, who started it on this thread? yes, that was YOU. opponents of Obama and supporters of Palin want to set the rules of engagement. Fine, then they should not complain when the other side follows them.

The issue is whether or not she knows what she is talking about.

Thanks for the link. Until now, I had a hard time believing someone with such level of ignorance could claim she can become VP of her country. On the other hand, it didn't prevent her from becoming Governor

Jay, No matter what the language is, anyone who tells you "You must learn my language but how do you dare not learn mine" is an idiot and hypocrite... unless he//she is a client and you are a service provider (or civil servant) or you are an immigrant.

Education is only a path to knowledge. It is not in itself a proof of knowledge, or intelligence. So, why I am the first one to say that the job of a mayor of a suburb has nothing to do with the job of President or Vice-President of the United States, I am not ready to say that Sarah Palin knows nothing about the issues until she's actually asked about them. That being said, it is not a good sign that she is not seating down with journalists and answer the tough question. And, if true, the bit about "the Pledge of Alleigence was good enough for the Founding Fathers" is not a good beginning.

Need a shovel to dig yourself even further?

Money to help Canadian artists travel overseas... bad. Commemorating a UFO sighting, good. Whatever.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. For over a year, the rallying cry of the anti-Obama clan has been "he has been a member of the US Senate for less than a term, that's not enough qualification to be US President". If that's not qualification enough, neither is having been the Governor of ANY state of ANY size for less than two years. If I was from Alaska, what I would find offensive is the idea that Governor Palin should be dispensed from the same standards that have beenj set by those who are now supporting her. And as somebody who grew up in a town smaller than Wasilla, what I find offensive is your "they're dissing small towns" argument. Let's face it. The challenges facing municipal politicians, no matter the municipality's size or location, have nothing to do with the challenges facing the President of the United States. There is nothing to be ashamed of in dealing with the construction of a local sports centre, or the running of the local police department, or the choice of books for the local library (although the way Mayor Palin dealt with those issues may be debatable). But success in those responsibilities does not mean that one will be able to stare down Vladimir Putin, respond adequately to a major terrorist attack or deal with global warming. So far, nothing coming from Palin's mouth tells me whether or not she will be able to do that. The Democrats have not dissed Alaska, they have not dissed Wasilla, they have not dissed small towns, and they have not said anything about experience that has not been said by Republicans.

So... lobbying for an affordable housing project is one of the things Obama did as the head of a community organization. Hiring a Washington lobbyist to get the town of Wasilla one of the highest ratio of earmark dollars to pppulation in the US was a landmark of Mayor Palin's tenure.

While the term "community organizers" is indeed a bizarre one, the type of activity it covers is most definitely not. Setting-up training programs for laid off people, helping to find mentors for youths at risk, supporting the formation of tenant groups and organizing voter registration drives is not irrelevant work. And it is done by people at all ends of the political spectrum. Governor Palin's remarks hit a nerve because it dismissed not just Barack Obama, but people who are doing their best to help people improve their lives while she was running a small municpal government in such a way than an administrator had to be hired to take over day to day operations. People are free to think that past experience as the head of community organisations is no preparation to become Preseident of a country of more than 300 million people, but neither is a so-so work as mayor of a town of about 7000 inhabitants. So, if Governor Palin wants to use her slur as a campaign slogan, fine. The reply should be "Somebody had to be hired to make the decisions for Palin".

Actually you are right. Doesn't matter anyway, he was born in the US.

In two court case, miller vs Albright and Nguyen vs INS, the Courts have found that children born overseas to unmarried parents, one being American and one not being an American citizen,is not himself/herself an American citizen unless paternity is established beofre a certain age (which various depending on which paent is the US citizen) the Nguyen vs IRS decision Mind you, Obama was born in the US.

The roots of this country date back to well before 1867. Respect for the facts and logic, and respect to the British contribution demands that his fact be acknowledged. But don't worry, I know you are to clueless to undertand that. The illegal Manitoba laws were overturned in 1986. French was banned from Ontario school in the early 1900's and the full right to secondary education was not recognized until the 1980's. The Acadians were deported in the 1700's and returned in the 1800's. The only thing that dates back to the dinosaur era is your ignorant B.S. You mean "Why are all Ontario tawpayers?" Because it is in the Constitution, because it is the right thing to do, and because this province is not ruled by your brand of bigotry. ]]No need. I know the reasons, I know the excuse, and I know the real objective of preventing people from using languages other than English as much as possible. They are not supposed to, and since they are not whipping post to anyone except in your mind, this can be easily dismissed as another non-sense from you.

May not be necessarily the case if the parents were not married, but since he was born in Hawai, that's as irrelevant as the rest of the stupid lawsuit.

We'll ignore the fact that nobody in their right mind, at any end of the spectrum, and includiing the authors of that farce can claim with a straight face that this qualify as sex-ed, explicit or otherwise.

If I ever need a lawyer in the US, remind me not to hire that one. Frankly... Obama was born in the US,a US citizen, from an American mother. That he may have had other citizenships would not nullify his US citizenship. Nothing in the US Constitution says anything about dual citizens being barred from the Presidency. And the lawyer launching this farce of a lawsuit also launched in the past a lawsuit against Bush, Cheney, Rice and Co. for alledgedly being the ones who committed the 9/11 attacks.

He must has been a very bad student then, based on his memoirs and his speeches. This while McCain and Palin enjoy the kudos of all those right-wing pundits who have spent their entire adult life loathing Americans.

She just convinced me she is a very good politician. She knows the fine political art of being clear and unclear at the same time. I wonder if she will mention the "discussions of condoms are relatively benign" when talking to her Evangelical supporters.

Even when attempting to deny the racist intent of the residential school system, you cannot avoid racist epithets. Central to the government policy was making First Nations dependant in order to facilitate their assimilation. It is almost funny that assimilation was later presented as the solution to the dependancy.