Sometimes the whining from the GOP gets to an all-time idiotic level that makes most of the American public throw up their hands in disgust. This is one of those times.
The GOP could have taken this opportunity to claim they helped America by not passing this bill. 95 Democrats could have joined them in this cause. Democrats could have said the legislation did not contain enough regulation or enough punishment for Wall Street executives that got us into this mess. The GOP could have said their constituents were upset and did not want them to vote for it. This didn't happen.
Instead, the GOP blamed the Democrats for the bill not passing.
What? Did I hear that right? I did.
The GOP is blaming the Democrats for this bill not passing because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi giving a speech telling the TRUTH?
Partisan Politics Aside:
Now we've heard from both sides that they want partisan politics & presidential politics off the table when voting for this bill. Because of this stance by the American people, John McCain suffered his worst poll numbers in a long time after the debate. Now, because of the bailout not succeeding, it is fair to say that he can re-stable his white horse. This is the fault of the GOP, hands down.
Most GOP & Democrats have resisted this bill since it's inception, as they should have. The lack of oversight and regulation by the original Paulson legislation was horrific, irresponsible and downright wrong. The Democrats knew this and immediately pounced on it. Good for them and for the fiscal Conservatives in the GOP that did as well. Though they did it for different reasons, the end result was the same.
Working Together:
I hate the term "Bi Partisan" as it has been an oxymoron of stupendous proportions in the last 8 years (sorta like Military Intelligence). This wasn't about bipartisanship, it was about political posturing during an election year. This is why so many democrats said no to the bill. Nancy Pelosi did not want the democrats owning this bill, period. I don't blame her. She wanted 2/3 of Democrats and 2/3 of Republicans to vote for this bill. There is VERY GOOD reasoning for this. She wants the Democrats AND the Republicans to own this equally. The way it was setup was to show that not everyone agreed with it, but that it was agreed upon on both sides of the aisle.
The Republicans did not vote NO to this bill because their feelings got hurt. But, stupidly, they are saying they did! What a crock! They have now taken a giant foot and inserted it directly in their asses because of this. Their original plan did not work so now they are crying foul on the Democrats. I cry foul on the GOP!
The Plan & Political Posturing:
The original plan of the GOP was to get Democrats to vote for this bill and then have the Republicans not show up so that later they could say, "We have nothing to do with this bill that George W. Bush and the Democrats have signed on for." A clever tactic that Nancy Pelosi saw right through. Nancy Pelosi saw that the only way for this bill to not cost the election for either party was to have bi-partisan support as well as bi-partisan negativity. This would create a political environment that would not only allow the bill to pass, but would also make it so that neither Presidential candidate was affected.
It worked perfectly.
Pelosi did her job on the phone with this one. She knew exactly how many FOR and how many AGAINST we had on the Democratic side. She knew this and adjusted where necessary. She knew the possible plan of the GOP and made sure the numbers on the Democratic side were right. The Democrats would not own this bill alone, PERIOD.
The Speech:
The day of the vote was like any other vote day in Congress with something a little bit different. It seemed the Republicans and Democrats were actually on board with what was happening. There was no feeling of smugness permeating the hall of Congress. There was no stink of ill feelings towards one another. This was all smoke and mirrors.
The GOP had never planned on signing off on this bill, and all they needed was an excuse. Nancy Pelosi gave them one.
Nancy Pelosi got up to give a speech that was full of truth. She let Congress know exactly why we got into this mess and that we should never let it happen again. She attempted to shame congress into doing the right thing. Unfortunately, thinking she could shame a Republican into understanding the truth was a mistake.
The Republicans saw their excuse and used it. They still voted JUST enough to lure American into believing it was Pelosi's fault it didn't pass. Thanks to Barney Franks (who happens to be one of my favorite congressmen), it didn't work.
Barney Franks, an outwardly gay congressman, has been at the forefront of the financial crisis for quite sometime. He is one of the first to dismiss Henry Paulson's plan and has fought diligently to get a bill passed that would keep Americans from losing jobs in the next few months. He's smart, funny and angry. His reputation as a hardball is only outweighed by his knowledge of the facts in any debate. This man knows what he is doing
Thursday:
Not only are we having a historic debate on Thursday, but we may see another version of the bailout plan up for a vote. Watch for major political posturing and for the Democrats to cave in as usual. Watch for the Democrats balls to shrink, voices go squeaky and dicks go limp.
They may have won this round...but the GOP knows how to be angry...and right now they are angry. If Democrats perform as they normally do when the GOP is angry...I expect them to give in to whatever they want.
The debate last night was one of anger vs. level headedness. Many times it was also a debate on lies vs. the truth. While I feel Obama had a better night in terms of truth, McCain showed his strength on Foreign Policy in a haughty and, according to some, in a disrespectful way. McCain seemed to force himself to not look Obama in the eye even once the entire debate. I doubt any Republican out there will feel that McCain was too haughty and dismissive of actual facts. On the other hand, I am a Democrat who feels Obama could have done so much more, and didn't.
The polls showObama winning by at least 1% amongst all the ones performed. I disagree with the polls.
Obama vs. McCain Round One:
While I was hoping to give this debate three rounds, it simply wasn't meant to be. As the debate begins Obama comes out strong on the bailout plan:
"No. 1, we've got to make sure that we've got oversight over this whole process; $700 billion, potentially, is a lot of money.
No. 2, we've got to make sure that taxpayers, when they are putting their money at risk, have the possibility of getting that money back and gains, if the market -- and when the market returns.
No. 3, we've got to make sure that none of that money is going to pad CEO bank accounts or to promote golden parachutes.
And, No. 4, we've got to make sure that we're helping homeowners, because the root problem here has to do with the foreclosures that are taking place all across the country. Read more about the expectations"
With McCain siding with the House Republicans' initial plan for less regulation, less corporate taxes and lowering the capital gains tax it is apparent he doesn't realize that that is the exact recipe that got us in this mess in the first place.
"And (I) have no doubt about the magnitude of this crisis. And we're not talking about failure of institutions on Wall Street. We're talking about failures on Main Street"
It is obvious how out of touch McCain is with a statement like this. While "Main Street" can take some of the blame for our crisis, it is, in the end, the investment banks & lending institutions that approve loans. The crisis roots in their inability (thanks to no regulation) to vet the borrowers' ability to pay timely as well as passing around debt with far too little care on what happens in the long run. It is also failures of the Bush Administration to put taxes on shipping jobs overseas to encourage more growth at home. Adding to this the investment banks lack of oversight and extreme corporate greed, you have a recipe for the disaster we currently have. These three factors played a roll in our current crisis and McCain just doesn't get it. While he claims he wants oversight, his actions speak to the opposite. Let's not forget that McCain didn't even bother to read the 2 and a 1/2 page Paulson document until Wednesday of last week. He was making opinions on the crisis situation as if he had read it, but when pressed admitted he would have to get back to the reporter.
It is also important to note that in the opening question McCain decides to tell his first lie of many:
But there's also the issue of responsibility. You've mentioned President Dwight David Eisenhower. President Eisenhower, on the night before the Normandy invasion, went into his room, and he wrote out two letters.
One of them was a letter congratulating the great members of the military and allies that had conducted and succeeded in the greatest invasion in history, still to this day, and forever.
And he wrote out another letter, and that was a letter of resignation from the United States Army for the failure of the landings at Normandy.
Not only is this a bold faced LIE...but it is so widely known to be a false claim, that this, once again, shows how out of touch with the truth John McCain is.
It is also important to note that McCain claiming move oversight on Wall Street prompted Obama's first invocation that John McCain is "absolutely right." While I know some debate analysts will claim this is a bad debate tactic, I disagree. I think one candidate showing that they have the ability to think the other is right on some issues is noble and NORMAL. John McCain, I believe, did not claim Obama was right on ANYTHING the entire night. Not only is this the "Old Boys" way of thinking, it speaks volumes on his current stance on bi-partisanship. This is a different McCain from 2000. This McCain continues to scare me.
After a few minutes of all talk and no substance by both candidates, McCain had this gem to lay out to the American people:
"You know, we spent $3 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don't know if that was a criminal issue or a paternal issue, but the fact is that it was $3 million of our taxpayers' money. And it has got to be brought under control."
Now, I don't know if the bears needed their DNA studied or not, but what I do know is that John McCain himself voted FOR the legislation containing this study. Again this shows that McCain continues to use poor judgement in his attacks against the 'system.' A clear point that needs to be made is the change in John McCain since the year 2000. He is no longer the maverick voting against his party. He has gotten more conservative as he's gotten older, not less. John McCain outright panders to the "evangelical right" (as an example) even though he's made direct attacks against them years ago. My real fear is, "Which John McCain do we get, old John McCain or the older John McCain?"
Obama: Let's just be clear. What I do is I close corporate loopholes, stop providing tax cuts to corporations that are shipping jobs overseas so that we're giving tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States. I make sure that we have a health care system that allows for everyone to have basic coverage. I think those are pretty important priorities. And I pay for every dime of it. Now let me be clear on this one. The plan Obama currently has for public view does NOT appear to "pay for every dime of it." Obama did an excellent job of fending off the "Raise your taxes" attacks from Mr. McCain. He did so without admitting he is raising taxes (on the rich). Great debate tactic and kept the lie of earlier at even. While Obama DOES pay for the new projects that he proposes he fails to let the public know that he is inheriting a $700+ billion dollar deficit (thanks to Bush, the former rubber stamp congress and Iraq) and Obama needs to update his plan to account for the deficit.
Don't get me wrong, I feel Mr. Obama will do this but he needs to get more specific on spending cuts, capital gains tax increases, and more importantly, taxing companies who ship jobs overseas. This worker tariff tax could very well solve our national debt over the next few years. And if it didn't, it would create a huge amount of new American jobs, give us a better sense of national pride in our own products and give the world the view that we can still do it on our own now and then! Allowing companies like former CEO, Dick Cheney's Halliburton, to move their home base to Dubai just to avoid taxes should NOT BE ALLOWED. Especially when this company was given NO BID CONTRACTS in Iraq to do work on behalf of the American people.
McCain wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent and his tax plan actually rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas. McCain's tax plan gives all corporate players tax cuts without any stipulations that give punishment to corporations for shipping jobs overseas. I'm not an accountant, but I'm pretty sure that giving Corporations tax cuts should come with stipulations. If the government is scratching YOUR back...then you should be scratching the American people's backs in return.
Debate Tracker: Round 1 on Economics goes to BarackObama.
McCain vs. Obama Round Two:
I ended up having to split this debate up into two rounds instead of the three I originally wanted. It was a little less than halfway through that the debate shifted to Foreign Policy. This is where McCain gets angry and nasty and Obama is too timid on some responses.
I think the lessons of Iraq are very clear that you cannot have a failed strategy that will then cause you to nearly lose a conflict. Our initial military success, we went in to Baghdad and everybody celebrated. And then the war was very badly mishandled. I went to Iraq in 2003 and came back and said, we've got to change this strategy. This strategy requires additional troops, it requires a fundamental change in strategy and I fought for it. And finally, we came up with a great general and a strategy that has succeeded.
While McCain centered his Iraq policy around the Surge, Obama maintains the position that it was the poor judgement of leaders in Congress, like John McCain, that got us into a war based on lies in the first place. Unfortunately, the presentation by McCain was sharper and I think resonated a good knowledge on the subject.
Senator Obama said the surge could not work, said it would increase sectarian violence, said it was doomed to failure. Recently on a television program, he said it exceed our wildest expectations.
Let's be clear here. The surge was not and is not a complete success. While there was not an increase in sectarian violence, there was not a lessening of it, either. Never forget that we are paying off the Iraqis to not fight. A move that is politically motivated to help maintain peace until after the election. The sunnis and shi'a are still on the brink of a civil war. While I feel the surge was a great initial strategy, the list of goals originally proposed has still to be completed in a timely fashion. The Sunni Awakening has a lot to do with helping the short term success of the Surge appear to work. However, it hasn't. What it DID do was reduce U.S. troop death averages. I am totally glad it did, but we need to be thinking of the Iraqis as well as ourselves in this conflict. With over 100,000 Iraqi's dead and the countrymen and women still maintaining a 300-500 person death toll per month since the surge, a phased redeployment is obviously needed to get the Iraqis to stand on their own.
Senator Obama is the chairperson of a committee that oversights NATO that's in Afghanistan. To this day, he has never had a hearing.
Despite the truth being on Obama's side throughout much of the debate, John McCain still came off better when it came to foreign policy. Unfortunately, the McCain lies appeared to be truth and the likelihood of normal America researching the truth is very low.
Because of his haughty and almost angry debate style John McCain lost the economic battle against BarackObama. Ironically, the very same debate style is what led Mr. McCain to win the second round of the debate. Mr. Obama came off as cerebral, but he was not tough enough to call out McCain's lies and didn't have enough substance to offer himself.
Debate Tracker: Round 2 on Foreign Policy goes to John McCain
Conclusion:
In my opinion, last night's debate was a tie.
Obama showed his strength on the economy and silenced the critics who felt he would be severely beaten on Foreign Policy. While Mr. Obama did not win the debate on foreign policy, he showed that he has a plan and will make sure it gets executed. Mr. Obama did a far better job at telling the truth than his opponent. While some figures were off and "families" should have been used instead of "people," the list was very minor. Due to this, I believe Mr. Obama showed himself to be very presidential and maintaining a presidential sense of integrity and gave him Round 1.
John McCain showed his strength with several harsh and haughty responses. A lack of direct contact with Mr. Obama, which some may have seen as disrespectful, I saw as a smart move to keep Mr. Obama on the defensive during the entire foreign policy segment. It was this harshness 'street fighter' mentality that helped him in the end. Most of the American people will likely see him winning the debate on Foreign Policy. While I do not feel his tactics are right for (bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb) Iran & the rest of the world, there is no doubt he is driven in his desire to resolve foreign affairs. Mr. McCain did an excellent job of making Mr. Obama seem almost too reserved at a few key moments later in the debate. Mr. Obama needed to win at the podium, not in the fact check later. This is why I give John McCain round 2.
Congratulations on both Candidates for winning a round. I have major policy differences with John McCain, but I'm not so blind that I cannot see where he performed well.
What's next?
On Thursday, October 2nd, 2008, VP candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will participate in a debate that will likely cover a large amount of topics. While most of the country is anticipating a blood bath, I am not. Sarah Palin will show up poised, knowledgable, and confident thanks to McCain's strong finish last night.
Do not be fooled into believing she will mess up. Instead, focus on her policies and the way she could shape the country. It doesn't take long to realize that Sarah Palin is more like George W. Bush than even McCain is. Her lack of experience is real, but she will be trying to hide that the entire evening. I feel Palin will be successful unless the moderator actually follows up on questions and encourages answering the question with something other than the memorized responses.
The problem with that is that Biden will be put into the same spot. While I like Joe Biden and feel he is the most qualified of the entire bunch to be President, he has gaffe issues and sometimes doesn't think before answering.
Here's the list of lies and how much they weigh:
McCain's Debate Lies, Half Truths and Exaggerations Lie: 1 McCain Obama said McCain adviser Henry Kissinger backs talks with Iran “without preconditions,” but McCain disputed that. In fact, Kissinger did recently call for “high level” talks with Iran starting at the secretary of state level and said, “I do not believe that we can make conditions.” After the debate the McCain campaign issued a statement quoting Kissinger as saying he didn’t favor presidential talks with Iran.
Lie: 2 McCain McCain and Obama contradicted each other on what Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said about troop withdrawals. Mullen said a time line for withdrawal could be “very dangerous” but was not talking specifically about “Obama’s plan,” as McCain maintained.
Lie: 3 McCain McCain tripped up on one of his signature issues – special appropriation “earmarks.” He said they had “tripled in the last five years,” when in fact they have decreased sharply.
Lie: 3.5 McCain (McCain's healthcare gaffe is only worth 1/2 point) McCain misrepresented Obama's plan by claiming he'd be "handing the health care system over to the federal government." Obama would expand some government programs but would allow people to keep their current plans or chose from private ones, as well.
Lie: 4.5 McCain (here's where a simple Google search would have prevented) McCain claimed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had drafted a letter of resignation from the Army to be sent in case the 1944 D-Day landing at Normandy turned out to be a failure. Ike prepared a letter taking responsibility, but he didn’t mention resigning.
Lie: 5.5 McCain McCain claimed that Admiral Mullen suggests that "Senator Obama's plan is dangerous for America." It is important to note that this was a particularly heated exchange between the two and McCain appeared to win the exchange with an outright falsity.
Lie: 6.5 McCain McCain brought up that he went against President Bush when it came to torture. This is not true. While McCain was outwardly spoken against torture, in the end he voted AGAINST the bill that would ban waterboarding as an interrogation tactic.
Lie: 7.5 McCain McCain again repeated the claim that we send "$700 billion to foreign country's that don't like us very much." The number is actually $536 billion. Normally I would let this go as a 1/2 point, except one third of that money is sent to the U.K. (ally), Canada (ally) and Mexico (ally). A slap in the face to our 3 best allies.
Lie: 8 McCain (Would have not counted it at all, except he's repeating lies that have already been debunked a while back - 1/2 point) McCain repeated the false insinuation that Obama opposed naming Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Lie 9 McCain McCain was went too far when he said, "I saved the taxpayers $6.8 billion by fighting a contract that was negotiated between Boeing and DOD that was completely wrong. And we fixed it and we killed it." McCain did lead a fight to kill the contract, and the effort ended in prison sentences for defense contractors. But the contract isn't exactly "fixed" yet. In fact, questions have been raised about the role McCain has played in helping a Boeing rival secure the new contract.
Lie 10 McCain McCain said Obama was against storing nuclear waste. That's very obviously not his position. Obama's official position has always been that he does support safe storage of nuclear waste.
Lie 11 McCain McCain stated, "I have voted for alternate fuel all of my time. ... No one can be opposed to alternate energy." But McCain's record says differently. He has voted against funding for alternative energy on 11 occasions. He may be in favor of alternative energy in theory, but he has declined opportunities to support it.
Obama's Debate Lies, Half Truths and Exaggerations Lie: 0.5 Obama (no such increase is in Obama's current plan and the legislation voted for would not actually tax the single taxpayer without further legislation being written, so as it stood the taxing of that bracket did not take place in that particular vote - 1/2 point) Obama denied voting for increased taxes on “people” making as little as $42,000 a year, as McCain accused him of doing. McCain was right, though only for single taxpayers. A married couple would have had to make $83,000 to be affected by the vote, and anyway no such increase is in Obama’s tax plan.
Lie: 1 Obama (a dumb mistake that was true not long ago - 1/2 point) Obama claimed Iraq “has” a $79 billion surplus. It once was projected to be as high as that. It’s now down to less than $60 billion.
Lie: 2 Obama Obama said 95 percent of “the American people” would see a tax cut under his proposal. The actual figure is 81 percent of households.
Lie: 2.5 Obama (saying employers instead of employees is more of a gaffe than a lie and since McCain made his own 'gaffe' on healthcare we will call it even) Obamamischaracterized an aspect of McCain’s health care plan, saying “employers” would be taxed on the value of health benefits provided to workers. Employers wouldn’t, but the workers would. McCain also would grant workers up to a $5,000 tax credit per family to cover health insurance.
Lie: 3.5 Obama Obama said that McCain had voted 23 times against alternative energy.
I saw this and HAD to share it. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on if the below "bailout plan" could actually work.
---------------------------------------- The Birk Economic Recovery Plan
Hi Pals,
I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
-Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. -Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads -Put away money for college - it'll be there -Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. -Buy a new car - create jobs -Invest in the market - capital drives growth -Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves -Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.'
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh....I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic -----------------------------------------
Why do we need to drill offshore when 31 of the 50 states already produce oil? Our National Seashore is under protection for a reason. I thought the idea of becoming more GREEN is to look for more alternative fuel and energy sources. I do not want to hear someone tell me again that the technology is too new and un-researched because that would be a LIE. Research into solar, steam, water, wind, air, and bio-fuels has been ongoing for over a hundred years for some and others for more than twenty years. If you truly looked at the polution to the waters where offshore drilling occurs, such as the Gulf of Mexico, you would know that we would be headed for disaster. Not only would our migratory birds, turtles, and crabs be effected, but our fish, oyster, clam, and mussels would also take a blow from our digging offshore. Polution is a very real problem. Even Alaska, Lousiana, and other offshore drilling sites report some form of damage to the natural environment, but they think it is minimal enough to not cause major concern. I have a problem with that. As the levels of Mercury are rising in our fish and more and more shellfish are becoming contaminated, it will only be a matter of time, no matter how distant in the future, before our food supply is so tainted with polutants that we will have a serious problem on our hands. I am very passionate about using alternatives to oil and I know that if we can start weaning ourselves off of oil as a major source of energy and start using more GREEN alternatives that the U.S. will make a major impression upon the world that if we can change, so can any other country. I believe it is worth it to our children both now and in the future to start changing over to more GREENER methods of energy and, in turn, help to slow down the current damage already unfolding in our atmosphere, our waters, our land, and our world. If all you can think about is the here and now, then I feel sorry for you and your children and your children's children, for it is their future that we are destroying.
"If the campaign has nothing to hide....why are they hiding so much?"
The lack of original thought process by Sarah Palin is mind boggling and very worrisome to me. The repeating of talking points over and over when asked the same question is an interview style that seems full of ignorance and disdain for the interviewer. Katie was as nice as she could be but it's still apparent she lacks confidence in the Gov. from Alaska. This is likely due to the fact that she hasn't had a real interview (including her own) where she answered any REAL questions with original answers that could show the ability to formulate her own opinion.
The Karl Rove Plan:
While Palin is doing the best she can to learned the canned answers from the McCain campaign, Karl Rove has a different plan. Karl Rove is a genius. He may be an EVIL genius, but an evil genius is still a genius.
Karl Rove has plans and then backup plans. His plan to keep Palin giving softball interviews and still coming up with ignorant responses is just that, a plan. He is lowering the American public's expectations of Sarah Palin. He is doing so in hopes that she comes out in the debates and does a really fine job. Karl Rove's plan may work. This would lead to the thinking, "Wow, she's not as stupid as she appears to be" to take hold of the American public.
Karl Rove's backup plan is being seen this week. He is preempting the possibility of postponing the debate with Mr. Obama on Sept. 26th, 2008. He did this in hopes that Obama would give in and they could use the VP debate slot and give Palin extra time to do her homework. While this backup plan appears to be backfiring, the main plan is still in effect.
The debates:
The debates are upon us and soon we will learn what kind of men & woman Obama, Biden, Palin & McCain really are. I am satisfied with the moderators and feel we can learn a lot. Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer and Gwen Ifill (VP debate) are all excellent and fair moderators. I do not believe this will be an issue this year. The lack of follow-up may still be.
It will be interesting to see how each moderator handles the follow up issue. We all know that the lack of follow up has taken us down a dark road in the past with Iraq and even the Sarah Palin pick itself. Will these moderators make the tough choice of being TOUGH? I doubt it. We will likely see the same old cherry picking of questions and lingering responses that plagued the last 3 election cycle debates. Sure there's a timer...but it won't be used.
I certainly hope that each moderator makes appropriate follow up questions and calls each candidate out if they don't answer the question. Don't let them get away with talking points! This goes for Obama/Biden as well! I want real answers from real people about real issues.
The "I get to meet Obama" Update:
My wife, my mother and myself will be volunteering at the Obama/Biden rally in Greensboro, NC this weekend. I will have the greatest honor of meeting Mr. Obama and shaking his hand. I look forward to this and hope to see any of you NC readers there!
The event is free to the public on a first come/first serve basis so BE THERE EARLY!
236 E. Washington Street - In front of the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot Greensboro, NC Saturday, September 27th Gates Open: 10:00 a.m. Program Begins: 12:15 p.m.
Parking Information: Attendees are recommended to park in City of Greensboro parking garages which are free on Saturdays and are located at:
Greene Street at Washington Street Davie Street at Market Street Bellmeade Street at Greene Street N. Church Street between Friendly and East Lindsay
Street Closures: Event participants should enter through gates off of Elm Street. Streets will be closed surrounding the Depot starting Friday, September 27th, at 6:00 p.m. Additional street closures will begin Saturday morning, September 27th, at 6:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m., and will affect the blocks of:
Davie and McGee Davie and Washington Davie Street to Market Washington Street from Davie to Lyndell Street Church Street from Washington to Market Lyndell Street to Market Hughes from Church to Lyndell
Closures should affect traffic patterns from 6:00 am Saturday September 27th, through 3:00 p.m. Traffic may be congested in the area through 6:00 p.m.
The quote below is history making and shows conservatives for what they truly are, de-regulators with such large egos that they feel they will never mess up and can always "get one over" on their customers. Well guess what? Now that translates to the entire American people.
This is a sad time for America and it's currently elected administration. Even while America is hurting the economics of the Bush administration are looking for less oversight and regulation even while calling for more oversight and regulation. Do not be fooled. McCain will bring forth the SAME policies as Bush, keep the SAME tax cuts as Bush, appoint a SIMILAR de-regulator like Lindsay "America is in a mental recession and are a nation of whiners" Graham who keeps with the same policies of Mr. Paulson.
We need a free market with regulation. PERIOD. None of this "Just let them have it and the market will work itself out" bullsh*t. People are corrupt. People need oversight. We must not sign our life away WITHOUT OVERSIGHT! Period! Don't believe me? Check out what Paulson's legislation said below. I don't care what you conservatives say. This is PROOF that socialism (larger Government for the people, BY the people) MUST be involved in capitalism. PERIOD.
The days of the Republic are almost over and yet many Americans still cling to the illusion that their President, the Congress, and the democratic institutions created to protect them are functioning correctly even as the Government moves to use taxpayer funds to bail out the thieves in the banking industry. So that we are clear about just one implication of this legislation and the powers Paulson has taken to himself, Paulson has served notice to his banker buddies around the world that your tax dollars are also available to buy the toxic debt of floundering foreign banks as well as fraudulent debts accumulated on the balance sheets of the toppling pyramid of US banks and insurance companies!
From the legislation:
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."
In the future Paulson or whoever takes over his post in the new administration will be able to use taxpayer money to do whatever he chooses, whenever he chooses and Congress will have no say in the matter. Mike Whitney gets into the jaw-dropping details of the impending legislation and how it describes very clearly an end to the US Republic as we have known it.
Those who want to put a stop to this bailout and the transfer of power over the economy from long-standing democratic institutions to one man go to Vote No To the Bailout, read, register and get too work. I don't think it is to strong a statement to say the future of every US taxpayer hangs in the balance and the window for your action is closing fast.
These are dark times. While you were sleeping the cockroaches were busy about their work, rummaging through the US Constitution, and putting the finishing touches on a scheme to assert absolute power over the nation's financial markets and the country's economic future.
Industry representative Henry Paulson has submitted legislation to congress that will finally end the pretense that Bush controls anything more than reading the lines from a 4' by 6' teleprompter situated just inches from his lifeless pupils. Paulson is in charge now, and the coronation is set for sometime early next week. He rose to power in a stealthily-executed Bankster's Coup in which he, and his coterie of dodgy friends, declared martial law on the US economy while elevating himself to supreme leader.
"All Hail Caesar!" The days of the republic are over.
Section 8 of the proposed legislation says it all (A necessary REPEAT):
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."
Right; "non-reviewable" supremacy.
Congress, of course, is more than eager to abdicate whatever little authority they have left. They're infinitely grateful for their purely ceremonial role, the equivalent of Caligula's horse, albeit, with considerably less dignity. Has even one senator spoken out against this madness, which--according to informal internet polls--is resoundingly rejected by the voters? Does it concern the members of congress at all, that the present financial crisis was brought on by the proliferation and sale of trillions of dollars of mortgage-banked garbage which were fraudulently represented as Triple A rated bonds by the very same people who now claim to need unprecedented and dictatorial powers to fix the problem? Or are they more worried that the steady torrent of contributions which flows from Wall Street to congressional campaign coffers will be inconveniently disrupted if they fail to ratify this latest assault on democratic governance? The House of Representatives is one big steaming dungheap that should be leveled and turned into an amusement park instead of a taxpayer-funded knocking shop. What a pathetic collection of cowards and scumbags.
Bloomberg News:
"The Bush administration sought unchecked power from Congress to buy $700 billion in bad mortgage investments from financial companies in what would be an unprecedented government intrusion into the markets. Through his plan, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson aims to avert a credit freeze that would bring the financial system and the world's largest economy to a standstill. The bill would prevent courts from reviewing actions taken under its authority.
by Moonwolf September 22, 2008 at 02:30 pm ----------------------------------------------------------- Couldn't have said it better myself, Moonwolf.
What can YOU do? Contact your congressman! I did and so can you!
Redwing's recent troubles and the culmination of long running financial collapses have got me pondering, "How did we get here?" As you read, please do some pondering of your own. Do you agree? Do you think I'm off base? How do we fix this? What's my role?
Are we kidding ourselves when we think that the world is a better place today than it was 100 years ago? Have we really made progress? I mean the kind of progress that REALLY matters! Sure, science and invention has brought us the automobile and airplanes, electricity and plumbing, the Internet and blogs, and the list goes on. But are we better off? Has this put an end to racism? Has it made our lives simpler? Are we having more fun?
I love technology and all the wonders that come with it, but now I wonder if it has come with too high a cost. This post is not about technology or modern wonders. Have we lost focus on what living is all about. This post is about: have we changed the racist, bigoted, selfish, ignorant, callous, covetous, apathetic nature of being human?
Regardless if you're religious, spiritual, or agnostic, I remember stories adults used to tell when I was a kid, and of stories I've read from ages past, there used to be a sense that people cared for each other. I grew up in poverty; was the minority in a 90% black neighborhood; was the only non-black kid in my class. I was reared to respect my elders and look out for my neighbor. I know that other kids were taught similarly. There were squabbles, fights, and riots in my neighborhood; it wasn't Eden by any means. But at the end of the day, we knew what was right and usually learned from it.
These days it seems everybody is looking for ways to ridicule people who are visually different. They are looking for ways to make a billion bucks. And they don't care who it hurts. Actually, it seems that sometimes it's better if they've stepped on someone to get there. Why does someone have to be subjected to such ignorance and denigration just because they support a black presidential candidate? Why are so many companies allowed to make tons of money off other people but, when they can't balance their own check book the government has to bail them out?
If I'm not making my point, I'll make it simple: what happened to our sense of responsibility? Why don't we look out for our neighbor? If we knew we could rely on each other in hard times, we wouldn't have worry about... anything else. Everybody does their part to make society better.
I don't have The Answer, but I do think this is one of the ways to get there.
WARNING: This blog entry is graphic in nature; please read with caution!!!
Sevierville anyone?
Finally, I've made it back to the mainland of North Carolina and away from the hickville they call Pigeon Forge & Sevierville (Gatlinburg was great!), Tennessee. Our largest mistake for our vacation was that we went on Muscle Car week. I'm not sure if that was the official title of the week longredneckapalooza but it sure made for some exciting moments.
Dr. Jekyll, so nice, so sweet...
My wife and I had a great time during the day, visiting museums, shopping for baby stuff, visiting an awesome aquarium and even going through a mirror maze that we solved entirely too quickly. What a blast! The people were nice, the weather was perfect and everything was going our way! That is until day turned to night and we were stuck on a 3 mile stretch of road between Gatlinburg and Sevierville with bumper to bumper traffic filled with muscle cars, drinking WHILE driving and confederate flags as big as the trucks carrying them. A redneck's dream! An Obama supporter's nightmare.
Mr. Hyde, so rude, so scary, so ignorant...
My wife and I had gone to a nice Murder Mystery dinner show that had it's moments, but was overall a letdown when compared to The Egg & I restaurant show in Las Vegas. We had taken a shortcut there that bypassed all the traffic lights but decided to take the long way so we could see all the activity going on in Pigeon Forge on a Saturday night. That would soon turn into the mistake of the evening and could have been much worse had my wife not been driving.
The Right Lane:
As we were putting along at a nice 0.5mph pace a small truck with the exhaust pipes moved from the rear to inside the bed (to run diesel and resemble an 18 wheeler) flew past us and all of a sudden what looked like a Bojangles 32oz tea smashed against our window scaring the crap out of us. They were moving fast but we both swore it looked like a mullet-ridden man was leaning out the window and giving us the finger. We both chalked it up to the drinking WHILE driving that I mentioned earlier and kept putting along listening to music and talking about the less than stellar performance from the Murder Mystery dinner cast earlier. It was no less than five minutes later that we heard muffled yelling outside the driver's side window. We both turned and saw a couple of men yelling at us from their truck. My wife rolled down the window and believe me, we both regretted it immediately. "F*ck Obama! F*ck Obama! F*ck that Muslim n*gger!" I'm not sure if that's the exact context but it's the same words and darn close. We were both in shock and and didn't know what to say. Thankfully, the traffic moved on and so did the truck. Stunned, we just sat there for a few seconds and finally moved on, in silence. It was then that it came to me. I realized that we had become targets because I have an Obama '08 sticker on my car. Surely that wasn't it, was it? Maybe they were yelling at the people next to us? Maybe this was a one time thing coming from young punk kids who had not yet learned how to consume alcohol in appropriate quantities? I sure hoped so.
My wife and I sat in silence for the next few minutes while we went through light after light of traffic. She was scared to get in the left lane (which was obviously moving faster) because she didn't want to catch up to the hate filled confederate kids. To be honest, I didn't want her to either. I prayed that the same person would stay behind us for the entire trip home and hoped we would not be bothered again. Sadly, the worst was yet to come.
The Middle Lane, The WRONG Lane:
With my wife and I both nervous and scared we hesitated to get into the middle lane to the left of us, but could no longer see the vehicles that had been a burden to us. She moved to the middle looking in all mirrors and very clearly scared. I, myself, had become VERY aware of my surroundings and had begun to notice every single police car I could find. Unfortunately, they were far and few between. The middle lane, while moving at a steadier pace, was still slow and agonizing as our terrible experience made every second seem like an eternity. I'm positive we were both praying to ourselves and our unborn child who has still yet to learn what a nasty world we live in. Then it happened...
It happened so fast all we could do was stare in shock and fear. A truck whose entire back window had been covered with a confederate flag and proudly displaying it's 2 bumper stickers, "Sportsmen for Dole" and "Sportsmen for McCain" screeched its tires, whipped out from behind us and then back in front of us and then slammed on the brakes. A middle aged man wearing flannel and jeans jumped out of the car and ran towards us. He then stopped, grabbed his crotch and yelled at what I considered the top of his lungs, "F*CK OBAMA! F*CK OBAMA!" He went from his crotch to giving us the finger and back to his crotch again. "F*CK OBAMA! F*CK OBAMA!" Then something strange happened as we looked around for a friendly face or a police officer. Other people were rolling down their windows around us...but not to tell the obvious drunk to get back in his car. No...they were...surely not... they were cheering? CHEERING? Some of them in this brief 45 seconds actually chimed in on his chant, "F*CK OBAMA! F*CK OBAMA!" After what had to be the longest 45 seconds to a minute of our life, the man ran back to his car, got in, and sped off.
I was looking all around us now, ready to fight if I had to. Looking in all directions to make sure nobody was coming at us from another angle or from another car. I saw windows rolling back up with frightening grins and happy smiles. I even saw an old couple, who seemed as scared as we were shrug their shoulders and drive on. What were we supposed to do? Getting out of there was the best plan we could come up with. We forced our way back to the right and got off on a side street and fumbled our way back to home base, confused, hurt, scared and reeling from the worst thing that's ever happened in our lifetime.
I went to the front desk of our vacation resort after insisting to my scared wife that she would be okay in the room by herself. I asked if there was something I could do. I was told to "take the Obama sticker off my car." I asked if the police could do something. She asked if we remembered the license plate numbers. I didn't. Stupid. Very stupid of me. I wasn't even thinking about that and didn't even glance at the license plate. She said again, "If I were you I would take that Obama sticker off. People don't like him much around here." "REALLY!?!" "Ya think?" I could have smacked her right then, but knew it would make me no better than the ignorant rednecks I had already dealt with. I walked out angry, confused and feeling like I there was nothing I can do.
A Sad Conclusion:
I can never pretend to know what African Americans have gone through in the many years of rednecks like "Bojangles Billy Bob" or the "Sportsmen for McCain & Dole" tormenting their spirit, their drive and their willingness to ever trust again. I don't pretend to know what it was like. But I know something similar. I certainly got a dose of the worst medicine in my life. I will never forget this. My wife will never forget this. If I can help it, everyone I know and love will NEVER FORGET THIS.
I am still displaying my "Obama '08" bumper sticker, proudly. It is likely I will never take it off even if the "Sportsmen" get their way in November. My life has changed. My wife's life has changed. Our unborn child's life has changed. It's not good and it will never be the same again.
No matter who wins...this ignorance MUST STOP. This hatred MUST STOP. This racism and sexism MUST STOP NOW.
I leave you with this final thought, They want me to be quiet but instead I fought, She says Why does everybody keep pickin' on me, But how would she react to the governments overseas?
Nobody knows, but everyone cares Should we just trust her or perhaps be scared? No interviews, no talk shows but plenty of fuss, According to her the Media has thrown her under the bus.
If that were true then the bus moves ahead To every single person the media did spread Because all politicians come under the same light But the conservative media must not be too bright.
They keep saying "The media is unfair!" Yet the media is reacting with its NORMAL flair Because all politicians are scrutinized the same. The republicans just want someone to blame.
You can take a chance and vote based on fate. Not me my friends...I'm with Obama O'Eight.
I go to my Yahoo and what do I see, but Cindy McCain staring back at me...in a complete wardrobe worth an estimated $300K+? Why? If McCain/Palin want to convince me they are going to cut back on expenses, balance a budget, cut taxes, etc., etc., then they need to convince me on their own home front. Show me a real role model. I even have beefs with my own party when it comes to spending, but not nearly as bad as this! It is outrageous that she wore an outfit totaling more than most people's income and this was just one wardrobe pick. I understand some jewelry was figured into the price, but the designer outfit and jewelry for Laura Bush was around $4400 which is a more modest price. I know that people in politics have an image to uphold, but I would feel better about a person who just knows how to dress well without spending an arm and a leg to get the same designer looks. I see it done on Style TV's various shows all the time. I am sure some of it is posturing and some of it is just plain politics, but either way it is still too much. I know some of you will challenge me on this and that it is okay. If Obama's wife wore as expensive of an outfit as McCain's wife did, I did not hear any hoopla about it.
The two things I note are Palin's hard right persona, which according to pre-speech polls, at least, doesn't play as well as the McCain people assume, and the McCain camp's rocky relationship with the media, which deliberately got a lot worse to shield Palin and score political points with the GOP base.
Sarah Palin's speech, as expected, was well delivered (never doubted, really), very well received in the hall (never doubted), and not a game breaker. What wasn't said is far more important than what was. This is a candidate of the hard right social conservatives, and we saw why. Nonetheless, you can't win with social conservatives alone (ask the "feeling validated" Pat Buchanan how that goes down.)
This was an ugly, sarcastic speech, with a great delivery, but that's exactly who they are, so good that it's out in the open. She gave them what they wanted: a base election, from Mommy wars to cultural wars. We'll see if that's what the country wants. So far, the answer is no.
Roger Simon is right. If you bring up your family as a talking point, you can't get away with wanting two kids spotlighted and the others ignored. And now that Palin has brought up special needs kids, her record in Alaska for funding programs (see Hilzoy) should legitimately go under the media microscope. That includes her mayoral years.
You are looking at the next generation's Phyllis Schlafly.
In fact, if Sarah Palin fails in her bid for the VP slot, it will shine a cold light on the soap salesmen as well as the Buchananite pitchfork brigade.
I have never believed that McCain could get moderates and social conservatives at the same time. We'll see if I'm right, but I saw nothing at this convention to convince me I'm wrong.
Having Rudy lead off with terrible things about experience maybe wasn't the best idea. Nothing this candidate presented makes her more qualified for the job. And there are tremendous question about her, still. They have not been silenced by this convention. And having led off the convention with phony "service to Gustav", the Palin line about community organizers seems as petty as it makes the entire convention gimmicky.
Speaking of social conservatives, McCain has married them. His loss. When he had guts, he told Robertson and Falwell off as the agents of intolerance that they were. But that was a different McCain. This McCain gave up Ridge and Lieberman for one last cynical reach for the brass ring. All the POW references in the world can't change that aspect of his character.
Ridge and Lieberman, Olympia Snowe, Kay Baily Hutchinson, and Jodi Rell all remain more qualified than Palin. Of course they are pro-choice, and therefore persona non grata. But if I were they, or Pawlenty or Romney, I'd be mighty pissed.
And lest the "yeah, but Bush won with Quayle" refrain start, the competition on the other side is a bit different than Michael Dukakis, taking the summer off to govern in MA.
Numbers: More than 21.5 million people watched the second night of the 2008 Republican National Convention — a 17% decrease from the 26 million viewers who tuned in last week for day two of the Democratic National Convention. They'll have done better last night... we'll know around 3 pm EDT what the numbers look like.
Running against media elites when you're the Straight Talk Express is silly. What's more important is that the Republicans in general and Palin in particular are losing the tabloids. Having a dysfunctional family is interesting supermarket checkout material, not a qualification to lead America in the 21st century.
The media elites are showing deference McCain doesn't deserve. After botching and then lying about Palin's vetting, McCain deserves whatever he gets from the media.
Watching the lukewarm applause for Mike Huckabee's shout-out to Obama's historical candidacy reminds me how bizarre it is for the Republicans to be using Obama in their ads (Chris Shays, Gordon Smith) and Hillary in their speeches (drooped by Palin when she got booed for it.) Huckabee looked like an also-ran. Not his best speech, and not at all charming. That added to the hard-right feel of the night. How does that help McCain?
Watching Rudy reminds me why people from NYC disliked him so much (I'm a native NYer) in the latter part of his tenure. How does that help McCain?
So where's the meat? Where's the economic particulars? How is this convention accomplishing anything other than uniting a Republican minority party?
McCain has one more night to save this convention (if they actually intend to win) and make it reach the wider audience. I don't think he's up to the job. In fact, Palin actually made his job harder by setting a higher standard for speechifying. --This blog material brought to you by DemfromCT on the http://www.dailykos.com/ website.
It is important to note the outright lies that Sarah Palin will need to answer for. Just click here (she mentioned it AGAIN in her speech last night! and here (she should never have said she was not involved). Here is a video of what Sarah Palin thinks about the job of the Vice President.
Judgement has been a large topic in this campaign cycle and it rears it's head again in John McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin: Vetted with a fine tooth comb? I don't think so...
First, I want to start out saying that I do not think Sarah Palin is a bad person. I think she should be commended for the rise to power that she's orchestrated and she is a testament on how far we've come with allowing women to be in Government.
John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential nominee. He used his judgement when he picked her. He thought about this pick for Days, Weeks, maybe even months (at least we hope he did, right?). He vetted each nominee with a fine tooth comb. He weighed all of the pros, cons for each person on his "short list." Then he picked Sarah Palin?
John McCain only met Sarah Palin ONCE in person before picking her as his choice for Vice President! ONCE!? He vetted her with a fine tooth comb? I don't think so. Let me say some more on this because I want it hammered into every one's brains. John McCain met Sarah Palin ONCE before choosing her as his Vice President.
Wait a second... That's like me meeting someone for the first time, spending the day with them and then letting them watch my children for a week while I go away on vacation. All that after only having met the person one time. Would anyone in their right mind do that? Not a chance!!! Was Sarah Palin vetted with a fine tooth comb? I DON'T THINK SO.
But wait... then we found out that Sarah's teenage daughter was pregnant roughly 1 day after John McCain himself found out. Vetted with a fine tooth comb? I don't think so. That's right people, Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is pregnant. Does that show good judgement? Does that show that Sarah Palin is the type of parent that teaches her children good judgement? My personal opinion is NO. This re-enforces the idea that Sarah Palin was nothing but a Hail Mary pass that John McCain decided to throw in hopes his receivers (the American public) would catch it for him. I'm not catching that pass.
Sarah Palin: Under Investigation, good judgement? I don't think so...
Oh no...there's more? Sarah Palin is under investigation. That's right folks, John McCain picked a former beauty queen runner-up for VP that is also under investigation with her own state. You see, Mrs. Palin tried to use her position to have someone fired. Well wait...let's give her the benefit of the doubt on what she says. Let's just say that "one of her staffers" tried to have someone fired for not firing a State Trooper that was married to Palin's sister. So would you say that the "staffers" used proper Judgement?
Of course not!
So what does that mean? Well, let's see...if you're the boss and someone under you screws up, ultimately it's your fault for not guiding them properly. You see, Palin's boss is the entire state of Alaska (the one investigating her). In this case, her "staffers" (I still think Sarah Palin ordered this herself) screwed up and used POOR JUDGEMENT. However, that judgement was handed down through Sarah Palin (she picks her staff). It should be noted that apparently Sarah Palin used POOR JUDGEMENT in picking out her staff. This assumes that what she says is true...and that her staff were the ones trying to have people fired...not her.
Conclusion: Sarah Palin...BAD JUDGEMENT.
My final thought on this is clear. John McCain used bad judgement in picking Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin did not teach her daughter good judgement. Sarah Palin did not use good judgement when picking out her staff. Sarah Palin's staff did not use good judgement when trying to use the Governer's office to have people fired.
The crap trickles up people... and it trickles up to the top of the ticket.
John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP candidate has Karl Rove written all over it. It was never an attempt to reach out to disgruntled Hillary supporters, who can smell pandering a mile away. Republicans know they can't run on their record, they can't run on the war, the environment, the economy, most Americans are also coming to realize their drill-and-burn energy policy has no future in it; what happens when we use up all the oil in the off shore wells and the Arctic refuge? What Sarah Palin does is bring the "values" issues front and center. She is the Republican male's wet dream, a non-threatening beauty queen who likes to hang around and do guy stuff, she hunts and fishes, her husband is a roughneck, and races snowmobiles; a right religious woman, who kept her baby, even though he was diagnosed with Downs Syndrome. Hillary supporters aren't impressed, but look at how she is polling among working class men. Instead of following the red herring, Dems would do well to take a play out of the Rove book, and challenge Ms. Palin on her "strengths." Her weaknesses will manifest themselves. And there are weaknesses: lack of experience, lack of preparation, no foreign policy, a brewing abuse of power scandal to name a few.
She is a reformer, who took on corruption in her own party, big ouil, and the "old boys network?" Bravo! This is the minimum we expect out of our politicians: they govern competently, and keep their hands out of the till. She is a welcome change from the culture of corruption we have seen in Washington the last eight years, but is that really enough when she still supports the same failed policies of Bush/McCain. Praise her for her integrity, but keep her feet to the fire on the real issues.
Her son is in Iraq. Commendable. More politicians kids should be in the army. But does she have a plan for ending the war in Iraq? Or does she support the Republican policy of endless war?
She carried her Downs baby to term. Wonderful. She made the right choice for herself. She had lots of support while making this choice, from her family, her church. Pro-choice supporters never maintain it is an easy choice. Women agonize over this choice, which is as it should be. In addition to questions of faith and consciousness, women consider their financial and health care situations when faced with a Downs pregnancy. With five children, Sarah Palin was out of the work force for months at a time. I don't know what kind of health care she had as mayor of a small city (I assume she had coverage as governor) but one of the rocks she could rely on was her husband's good paying, union job, with a living wage and health care benefits. So, how does she feel about the Bush/McCain health care plan? Does she support their anti-family, anti-worker, anti-union agenda?
This challenge can be done without resorting to the Republican character assassination. Just hold her feet to the fire on these real issues, chip away at her neo-con cred, then let her fall on her face in a debate with Joe Biden, and she will be history.
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