McCain picks woman for VP slot

[jefferiah]

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

Well, duh. The point I am trying to make is its such a minor issue. Who cares? You don't. Neither does American Woman. The only reason this is so scandalous to her is that Palin said it. The more one points that out, the more we see American Woman shrieking things like "grow a brain, ignoramus, etc".

Am I wrong? Maybe.

Do you suppose we'll see American Woman chewing out Obama over statements like:

“Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”

or

“There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.” (Note: Obama was born in 1961, Selma Alabama March 1965)

Edited September 7, 2008 by jefferiah

[Guest American Woman]

Well, duh. The point I am trying to make is its such a minor issue. Who cares? You don't. Neither does American Woman. The only reason this is so scandalous to her is that Palin said it.

Try to at least keep some honesty in your posts, will you???

I never even commented on what Palin said except to verify that she said it, so I sure as hell never so much as insinusated that I find it "scandalous."

This is the second lie you've posted about me regarding this incident, so lay off. :angry:

[jefferiah]

Try to at least keep some honesty in your posts, will you???

I never even commented on what Palin said except to verify that she said it, so I sure as hell never so much as insinusated that I find it "scandalous."

This is the second lie you've posted about me regarding this incident, so lay off. :angry:

Ah, on this point I must say to you American Woman, that I was not attempting to lie about you. I may have been mistaken about your intentions. I actually thought you were trying to go somewhere with that article about Palin's little gaffe rather than simply be informative. Maybe I was a bit too presumptious in assuming that you were posting this article as an attack on Palin. After all, what evidence do I even have that you dislike Palin? Re-reading your posts of late it seems you are quite a full-blown fan.

Edited September 7, 2008 by jefferiah

[Pliny]

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.

It's a different experience. Being a Senator one would definitely learn how the system works and how to get votes. I don't think it is a recipe to bring "change" except for who sits where. The system itself; and bigger is not change, it's the same old socialist march, won't change under Obama.

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.

I think tackling the business-as-usual political environment in Alaska and coming out the winner is a big political accomplishment to an advocate for change. It won't be her job as Vice-President to stare down Vladimir Putin but if you are suggesting that McCain will not last the term and Palin fills the slot perhaps Putin and other political figures will indeed think like you and will attempt to take advantage of her. She has already demonstrated she is a woman of principle through her efforts to arrive as Governor of Alaska and if there are a majority of people that will agree with her principles and would like their government to, as they did in Alaska, embody them then she will be the next VP.

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.

Of course they have. They may as well have said it is a nothing town and a nothing State, that is precisely what they insinuate in claiming Palin's lack of experience for the job of VP. Isn't it a nothing town and a nothing State, far from a place that builds the political experience necessary to tackle national and international issues, unlike Chicago where tough crowds make politics a rough game -or is it politicians that make politics a rough game?

[CANADIEN]

One spokesman for the Democrats certainly did mention Wasilla's size in casting doubt on Palin's credentials, and many Obama-supporting journalists and bloggers have ridiculed the size of the town.

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.

Obama has less than a full term in the US senate, and spent over a year of that time basically campaigning full-time to become President. People who never thought experience was an issue before are all over it now that Palin is on the ticket. The "do you really want someone this inexperienced one heartbeat away?" stuff rings kind of hollow coming from people who are firmly committed to having somebody that inexperienced in the big chair on day one.

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.

[CANADIEN]

It's a different experience. Being a Senator one would definitely learn how the system works and how to get votes. I don't think it is a recipe to bring "change" except for who sits where. The system itself; and bigger is not change, it's the same old socialist march, won't change under Obama.

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.

I think tackling the business-as-usual political environment in Alaska and coming out the winner is a big political accomplishment to an advocate for change. She has already demonstrated she is a woman of principle through her efforts to arrive as Governor of Alaska and if there are a majority of people that will agree with her principles and would like their government to, as they did in Alaska, embody them then she will be the next VP.

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.

It won't be her job as Vice-President to stare down Vladimir Putin but if you are suggesting that McCain will not last the term and Palin fills the slot perhaps Putin and other political figures will indeed think like you and will attempt to take advantage of her.

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.

Of course they have. They may as well have said it is a nothing town and a nothing State, that is precisely what they insinuate in claiming Palin's lack of experience for the job of VP. Isn't it a nothing town and a nothing State, far from a place that builds the political experience necessary to tackle national and international issues, unlike Chicago where tough crowds make politics a rough game -or is it politicians that make politics a rough game?

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?

Edited September 8, 2008 by CANADIEN

[Moonlight Graham]

Yes...Sen Biden did a fine job, but he is a seasoned politician. He didn't have nearly the newcomer (in many ways) burdens of Sarah Palin. John McCain bet his candidacy on a virtual unknown, and she scored a hat trick for him.

The Obama camp is busy figuring out how to wrest the momentum back, and I'm not sure that Joe Biden can do it for a traditional Veep role in the general campaign. The news media are comparing Palin to Obama, not Biden.

I agree.

I have to give credit to McCain, he took a massive risk & Palin came up huge for him. Funny how when the VP pick was announced many (including I) thought McCain had gone bonkers & had virtually sealed the deal for Obama, then a week later Palin is a freakin superstar & McCain is back in the game.

Unfortunately, i still think Palin is more style than substance as a VP. She's hot, she's funny, she's a great speaker, and she's likeable (especially if u share her old-school conservative values & hobbies). However, the experience factor is still a major concern for her. But i suppose everything i just said could be said the same for Obama.

Palin = the female/conservative Obama. Definately a new political superstar in the U.S. and potential Presidential candidate material down the line.

Even though i disagree with her on most issues, i offer congrats to you & all other conservatives/Republican voters. She's a great find politically, and has totally changed the face of this election.

[August1991]

And as the teen pregnancy rate rises, programs to help teen mothers are declining thanks to budget cuts-- as clinics that provide birth control are also closing down due to budget cuts.

Sixty-seven percent of teenage girls who give birth don't graduate from high school, and less than 2% get a university degree by age 30.

Bristol Palin is not your "average pregnant teen" from an "average American home" the way it's being marketed. She has the support, money, and advantages that most don't have.

I suppose Ann Dunham was not an "average pregnant teen" when she, unwed, conceived Barack at the age of seventeen.

This election, and this thread, are all over the map when it comes to ironies and inconsistencies.

----

And AW, surely you have heard the expresssion "correlation does not imply causation". It is not obvious that if these teenaged girls avoided pregancies that they would go on to university.

Edited September 8, 2008 by August1991

[jefferiah]

Since the Republican party - and John McCain, believe that sex education should consist of abstinence until marriage and ONLY abstinence until marriage, any information about the mechanics of sex would probably be considered explicit. The federal government in the US has spent over $1 billion on abstinence only education for their children since 1996.

Unsurprisingly, the US teen pregnancy rate is the highest in the western world, and after years of decline is now starting to rise again.

Sarah Palin has specifically said she has nothing against talking about and explaining the use of condoms in schools, but she doesn't believe in the school handing them out.

That actually sounds pretty sane to me. Why should a school hand them out? "We think it's best not to smoke marijuana children, but in case you do we are handing out these pot pipes because they are the safest variety." Maybe you don't agree, but its certainly not such a radical thing. It's not like condoms are not accessible a million other places.

So it seems that the "Sarah Palin is against sex ed" thing has been greatly exaggerated.

However, didn't Barack specifically say he supports teaching sex ed to kindergartners?

Edited September 8, 2008 by jefferiah

[sharkman]

Don't look now, but the Drudge Report claims USAToday has a poll result (in its Monday edition) for likely voters, and McCain has a ten point lead. I'm not sure if "likely voters" is more telling than regular polls, but it looks like more than a convention bounce.

[kimmy]

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.

It wasn't just "some people", it was Bill Burton, Obama's chief spokesman (yes, I had to research that to figure out who it came from.)

The Republicans did focus their attacks on the "community organizer" portion of his resume rather than his time as a law professor or a State Senator or part-term US Senator. Why did the Republicans focus their attention on that part of his resume?

Because the Democrats focused on that part of his resume during their convention: (link) (Link) (Link) (Link) (etc)

The morning after 4 straight days of the Democrats talking up Obama's experience as a community organizer, the campaign's chief spokesman dismissed Palin's experience as a mayor of a town of 9000.

That absolutely begs people to make the comparison of "community organizer" to "mayor", and if the Democrats are unhappy that people took them up on it, they can only blame Bill Burton. Sorry.

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.

I read an interesting comment on this earlier. Statistically, there's about a 14.5% chance that a man John McCain's age will die between now and election day 2012. There's only about a 1.5% chance that a man Obama's age will die during that span.

So if Americans elect John McCain, there's a 14.5% chance they'll have an underqualified president when the 2012 election arrives.

If Americans elect Barack Obama, there's a 98.5% chance they'll have an underqualified president when the 2012 election arrives.

-k

[Pliny]

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.

Many conservatives in America, after McCain knocked everyone out of the running, were ready to vote with the Democrats. He was not the favoured Republican by quite a few Conservatives, like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. He was considered a maverick so how is that like "the same kind of social conservatism and fiscal prudence of the last 8 years"? I am certain Bush would never have picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.

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.

A wasteful project made her look bad? And then she started another wasteful project? How does denouncing a wasteful project make one look bad? What happened to the other wasteful project? Is it still going?

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.

Ok. I don't disagree.

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?

Wasilla and Alaska were quite well referenced by the Democrats as being political wastelands. Chicago or Richmond were never implied to be different politically than any other large American metropolitan cities. You are simply grasping at straws in attempting to make that equation - it's not even close - never did I think the thought that Obama's home town of Chicago was no place to gain political experience however, according to Democrats, I am supposed to think that of Alaska.

[Pliny]

Don't look now, but the Drudge Report claims USAToday has a poll result (in its Monday edition) for likely voters, and McCain has a ten point lead. I'm not sure if "likely voters" is more telling than regular polls, but it looks like more than a convention bounce.

I like Moonlight Graham thought that McCain had lost it but Obama isn't getting a lot of press these days. Someone's hogging the political headlines. Maybe O'Reilly will pickup his lack of exposure of late. The only friend Barack has that will give him equal air time. Isn't it ironic.

[CANADIEN]

It wasn't just "some people", it was Bill Burton, Obama's chief spokesman (yes, I had to research that to figure out who it came from.)

The Republicans did focus their attacks on the "community organizer" portion of his resume rather than his time as a law professor or a State Senator or part-term US Senator. Why did the Republicans focus their attention on that part of his resume?

Because the Democrats focused on that part of his resume during their convention: (link) (Link) (Link) (Link) (etc)

The morning after 4 straight days of the Democrats talking up Obama's experience as a community organizer, the campaign's chief spokesman dismissed Palin's experience as a mayor of a town of 9000.

That absolutely begs people to make the comparison of "community organizer" to "mayor", and if the Democrats are unhappy that people took them up on it, they can only blame Bill Burton. Sorry.

I read an interesting comment on this earlier. Statistically, there's about a 14.5% chance that a man John McCain's age will die between now and election day 2012. There's only about a 1.5% chance that a man Obama's age will die during that span.

So if Americans elect John McCain, there's a 14.5% chance they'll have an underqualified president when the 2012 election arrives.

If Americans elect Barack Obama, there's a 98.5% chance they'll have an underqualified president when the 2012 election arrives.

-k

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?"

[CANADIEN]

Many conservatives in America, after McCain knocked everyone out of the running, were ready to vote with the Democrats. He was not the favoured Republican by quite a few Conservatives, like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. He was considered a maverick so how is that like "the same kind of social conservatism and fiscal prudence of the last 8 years"? I am certain Bush would never have picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.

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.

A wasteful project made her look bad? And then she started another wasteful project? How does denouncing a wasteful project make one look bad? What happened to the other wasteful project? Is it still going?

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.

Wasilla and Alaska were quite well referenced by the Democrats as being political wastelands. Chicago or Richmond were never implied to be different politically than any other large American metropolitan cities. You are simply grasping at straws in attempting to make that equation - it's not even close - never did I think the thought that Obama's home town of Chicago was no place to gain political experience however, according to Democrats, I am supposed to think that of Alaska.

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.

[betsy]

Don't look now, but the Drudge Report claims USAToday has a poll result (in its Monday edition) for likely voters, and McCain has a ten point lead. I'm not sure if "likely voters" is more telling than regular polls, but it looks like more than a convention bounce.

I never knew about McCain before the Convention. His story being a POW, and how he had refused to be released from capture as a propaganda is quite a remarkable story. The heroism of McCain gives sound credibility to his now-famous "Country First!"

[August1991]

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?"

There is a difference between a mayor and a community organizer.

To start with, mayors have been around for a long, long time. The existence of "community organizers" is decades old at most.

The fact that many leftists don't understand all this noise about "community organizers" just shows me how clueless they are about the ordinary people they claim to represent.

I know where "wedding organizers" get their money. I even know where mayors get theirs. Where do community organizers get their money?

Sheesh.

[bush_cheney2004]

There is a difference between a mayor and a community organizer.

....I know where "wedding organizers" get their money. I even know where mayors get theirs. Where do community organizers get their money?

Indeed....especially in Chicago. The term "community organizer" is the politically correct cousin of "community activist". I mean hell, Al Qaeda is also a "community organizer"!

[kimmy]

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.

It is John McCain, not Sarah Palin, who is running for president.

If the Democrats want to argue the experience of the woman who'd be "one heartbeat away" against the experience of the man who'd be in the big chair on day one, that's their perogative, I suppose, but that comparison is not actually as compelling to most voters as Obama boosters think:

"Forty-four percent (44%) of voters say Palin has the better experience while 48% say Obama has the edge. Among unaffiliated voters, 45% say Obama has better experience while 42% say Palin."

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?"

And? Both of them have gone on to other things since.

But again, the Democrats themselves were the ones who begged the comparison between Palin's experience as mayor (by dismissing it) and Obama's experience as a community organizer (by hyping it up for 4 days at their convention.) I am a little weary of the moaning that it was mean of Palin to compare her experience as mayor to Obama's experience as community organizer, when it was Obama's own spokesman who put it forward.

-k

[Pliny]

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.

Correction....Obama will do things the way Democrats have been doing them over the last 8 decades.... growing a bigger welfare state...and that is not change. The system must change. McCain knows it and it is my understanding he wishes to end partisanship politics in favor of what is best for the country. He may have voted for Bush 90% of the time but that isn't the point. He is not primarily about changing policy but about how government is fundamentally run in the US. That is the change he is talking about. What is the change Obama is talking about? Replacing who is sitting in the White House with the same old democratic policies and the same old party lines.

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.

She did mention that bridge to nowhere in her Vice-Presidential address. It wasn't originally her project though was it? It was a Federal initiative. She may have supported it initially but who started calling it wasteful? Someone not in Alaska, I'm sure. A road got built. Is that the damage? What principle did she sacrifice?

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.

Karl "Rowe" said that did he? And the republican party picked it up and ran with it. It was all over the media and a hot topic for weeks. Funny, I don't remember it.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Pliny

[Black Dog]

Pliny

Correction....Obama will do things the way Democrats have been doing them over the last 8 decades.... growing a bigger welfare state...and that is not change. The system must change. McCain knows it and it is my understanding he wishes to end partisanship politics in favor of what is best for the country. He may have voted for Bush 90% of the time but that isn't the point. He is not primarily about changing policy but about how government is fundamentally run in the US. That is the change he is talking about. What is the change Obama is talking about? Replacing who is sitting in the White House with the same old democratic policies and the same old party lines.

If you believe McCain will be an agent of fundamental and systemic change, I've got a bridge in Alaska to sell, cheap.

August

The fact that many leftists don't understand all this noise about "community organizers" just shows me how clueless they are about the ordinary people they claim to represent.

Prior to Obamamania, I doubt many people would be familiar with the term. For most, it would conjure images of Little League coaches, neighbourhood watch block captains and the like. Your chin-stroking about community organizers being objects of scorn and derision is, like so much of your output, fatuous, unsupported, empty blather.

[bush_cheney2004]

August

Prior to Obamamania, I doubt many people would be familiar with the term. For most, it would conjure images of Little League coaches, neighbourhood watch block captains and the like. Your chin-stroking about community organizers being objects of scorn and derision is, like so much of your output, fatuous, unsupported, empty blather.

Nonsense....you are forgiven for not having a clue about a "community organization" factory called ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Smarty pants Canucks are so cute when they proudly toot their Americanki knowledge horns.

Edited September 8, 2008 by bush_cheney2004

[August1991]

Pliny

If you believe McCain will be an agent of fundamental and systemic change, I've got a bridge in Alaska to sell, cheap.

I'd call that the 64,000$ question of the campaign or a McCain presidency.

Here's a quote from a good, concise January 2008 NYT article on McCain's economic views/policies:

During his campaign, Mr. McCain has focused much more on spending than on taxes. He has called for the end of earmarks, which are pet projects inserted into spending bills by legislators.

They are “a very small part of the budget,” he said, “but so symbolic” — because they prevent politicians from having any credibility when they try to persuade the public about other budget cuts. The campaign has also said Mr. McCain would consider cutting the programs that the White House has identified as ineffective, which together make up 10 percent of the budget. The campaign has not specified which ones it would cut. In addition to Amtrak, the list includes various programs dealing with Defense Department communications, veterans’ disability and low-income heating assistance.

He has spoken in detail about reducing Medicare costs, which budget experts say are the biggest long-term fiscal problem. He has proposed changing the way that Medicare reimburses hospitals and doctors so that it stops paying for care that fails to make people healthier.

Both Reagan and the current President Bush vowed to cut spending enough to reduce the deficit but failed to do so. Mr. McCain said he believed he could succeed, even if he had not yet explained all of the cuts he would make.

NYT

In modern democracies, cutting government spending is a Sisyphean task. McCain worked under Gramm/Kemp so he's seen it from the trenches. He might succeed where Reagan and Bush Jnr failed.

----

August

Prior to Obamamania, I doubt many people would be familiar with the term. For most, it would conjure images of Little League coaches, neighbourhood watch block captains and the like. Your chin-stroking about community organizers being objects of scorn and derision is, like so much of your output, fatuous, unsupported, empty blather.

Me? Fatuous? My mother always said I was too skinny for my age.

I think Steyn tagged the term "community organizer" best back in May 2008:

MS: Yes, and the thing about it is she somehow taught herself to be bitter about the terrific opportunities she’s had. How do you say…let’s say you’re a single mom, minimum wage waitress, working for tips in some diner. You’re listening to Michelle Obama talking about her problems. You would think this woman is nuts, that this woman has no understanding of what real misfortune and real tough choices are. And incidentally, I don’t think it’s tough to turn your back on hard jobs, and become a so-called community organizer. I don’t even know what a community organizer is. My own community manages to do without community organizers. I think it’s a rubbish profession, and it wouldn’t make any difference if they all went away tomorrow.

Link

-----

I think they call it a cultural war, BD. The words look the same but something gets lost in the translation.

Edited September 8, 2008 by August1991

[moderateamericain]

Then I expect you to go on Oreilly's and Limbaugh's forums to voice your discontent over their treatment of Jamie Spears and her parents for this crap:

OREILLY

“On the pinhead front, 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. The sister of Britney says she is shocked. I bet.

“Now most teens are pinheads in some ways. But here the blame falls primarily on the parents of the girl, who obviously have little control over her or even over Britney Spears. Look at the way she behaves,” O’Reilly declared.

LIMBAUGH

When a caller to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show asked about Spears’ parents, Limbaugh also rushed to blame them.

Caller: Would you tend to think that a family in this position, though, wouldn’t you think that there would be a more watchful eye as a parent to be watching over these kids so this doesn’t happen to them?

Limbaugh: I would certainly hope so, but it’s long past time for this to happen. The parents here are the culprits!

http://www.ajc.com/printedition/content/pr.../03/tucked.html

Most leftwingers are social libertarians, so you have no credibility accusing liberals and libertarians of being judgmental! The reason everyone outside of the religious right rubberroom is flagging this story is because of the shear HYPOCRISY of voices on the right who selectively offer absolution on sins, depending on the person's religious and political beliefs! Expect more of the same in the future until religiously-motivated busybodies start learning to mind their own business and shut up about the morals of others!

How am I being a hypocrite because of something Rush Limbaugh said? And where did i caste judgement on the spears family?

[GostHacked]

Pliny

She did mention that bridge to nowhere in her Vice-Presidential address. It wasn't originally her project though was it? It was a Federal initiative. She may have supported it initially but who started calling it wasteful? Someone not in Alaska, I'm sure. A road got built. Is that the damage? What principle did she sacrifice?

I beleive that was the case. It was the Repubilcan senator of Alaska Ted Stevens, that had made sure those earmarks went in for that Bridge to Nowhere. It was Congress who killed the bridge, not Palin, but yet she takes credit for it. Ted Stevens end

She sacraficed integrity and honesty right there and then, just like a true politician.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge

On October 21, 2006 Alaska gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin was quoted saying she would continue state funding for the bridge. "The window is now, while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist," she said.[15]

And the flip flop.

On August 29, 2008, when introduced as Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain's running mate, Palin told the crowd: "I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere" — a line that garnered big applause but upset political leaders in Ketchikan. Palin's campaign coordinator in the city, Republican Mike Elerding, remarked, "She said 'thanks but no thanks,' but they kept the money." Democratic Mayor Bob Weinstein also criticized Palin for using the very term 'bridge to nowhere' that she had said was insulting when she was in favor of the bridge.[27]

EDIT le.

I think she likes the shirts !!! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4...lin_nowhere.jpg

Edited September 8, 2008 by GostHacked