So we go from the neighbour-we'd-like-to-drink-a-beer-with to a mother-we'd-like-to-f*ck as a principle for picking a president? Yikes.

So we go from the neighbour-we'd-like-to-drink-a-beer-with to a mother-we'd-like-to-f*ck as a principle for picking a president? Yikes.

LOOK at whom YOU're talking to---THE HEAD REPUBLICAN of an oil producing state. SURELY YOU don't expect the truth on the first try?

This is the person I want as head of the US! We're in great hands! You are all mean sexists for doubting that she is Best Qualified to be President!

you are confusing features with bugs.

all that you describe is completely at par for a typical repub leader.

Palin-drome. Backwards or forwards the numbers just don't add up.

That's Just What I Said

So the Republicans are close to mangling their convention AND losing their VP pick. Damn! Suddenly I feel like singing "The Star Spangled Banner".

I'd say it's in the can, kids.

Caravan to DC in January anyone?

Good morning! Look, I've said it before and apparently it's a meme that doesn't fly (if memes, like pigs, fly), but look at the pieces of the puzzle: In addition to the fact that Republicans are (we now know from tragic evidence over the last eight years) incompetent, Schmidt who is now managing McCain's campaign is a Rove protege, and the Republicans now have (what a surprise) the perfect ticket for the Right Wing Wannabe Permanent Shadow Government -- not one, but two puppets who are by temperament and lack of curiosity easily manipulated into saying and doing whatever they are told. They've been pulling the strings via Cheney for eight years; this is just a different way to do it. Remember, Rove bragged about the permanent Republican majority; this ticket, if elected, would be a neo con dream come true even if the Dems (who have not really done what they were supposed to do so far) win even heftier majorities in Congres.

If this retarded, trainwreck ticket gets anywhere close to being voted in, we're out. Like I mispelled poorly in a previous post:

I'm giving pseudo-progressive/pseudo-democracy exactly one last chance in this country.

You're going about this all wrong. The Republican Trolls have explained it all clearly:

Vote Palin/McCain - because she has the experience to help McCain grow into the job!

since mid-morning on friday, i've been saying that there's a 10% chance she withdraws.

given that she appears to like the new status and that mccain is a very stubborn guy, i'm lowering the odds, but i still think there's a shot.

the alternative, after all, is a guaranteed 10 weeks of on-the-trail snafus and blunders and lack of coordination.

Well, something smells very fishy indeed about the baby. It appears to be the child of the daughter, not Sarah.

Who is the daddy, huh??? Could it be Daddy?

George Will likes her because apparently he has a Down Syndrome child, too.

I have a Down Syndrome brother, and I am just cringing at how the Republican'ts will be using this genetic defect for maudlin political purposes.

The number one thing to know about Down Syndrome is that the mental retardation that comes with it can be mitigated by intensive EARLY intervention, a continuing, daily therapy usually done by the child's family. Of course they can hire someone to do it or use a volunteer outside the family.

But it MUST be done, and as a Down family member, I want assurance that it WILL be done for Palin's son regardless of her nomination.

Palin was not McCain's first, second, or third choice. In fact, she was the choice of the right wing base of the party who would not show up for the election if there was no Hillary to vote against.

No. McCain, for all his bluster about being a maverick, caved to the electoral blackmail of the right wing.

We've had eight years of the White House pandering to the rightwingers. Look where it has got us. An economy circling the drain, a Treasury emptied on a no-win occupation in the middle east, Al-queda still out there and growing stronger. Feel free to add to the list.

Palin's single biggest qualification for this nomination is that the religious right wants her on the ticket.

That's the entire story, right there.

Oh, and William the trollop calling the ReThug ticket "retarded" just doesn't help one single bit.

I suggest anyone who wants to see the Greedy Old Plutocrats OUT of the White House put that word away for the next couple of months.

One thing that stands out with Sara - she pretty much says and does what she thinks/wants to do. Now that the McCain campaign has gotten hold of her it's going to be interesting to see if she will tow the line. After all she has no clue of what life/politics is like outside of Alaska!

The first reality show I've been intersted in!!

Obama-Biden 08

When you actually look at policies, Palin shows a lot better judgment than John McCain.
Palin asked about an Iraq exit strategy. McCain plans a long occupation.
Palin supported SCHIP. McCain voted against SCHIP.
Palin supported and signed into law additional taxes on Big Oil. McCain is against a windfall profits tax.
Palin has executive experience in state government. The circus that is the John McCain presidential campaign with getting the staff wrong multiple times and starting from scratch suggests that Palin beats McCain in her executive skills.
McCain does show better judgment about drilling in ANWAR.

Palin is at least as prepared in foreign policy as Governor Bush was when he took office. I remember reading how Condoleeza Rice tutored Bush so he could be up to speed by the time he took office. It is hard to imagine Governor Palin actually have worse foreign policy results than Bush/Cheney or "Bomb Bomb Iran" McCain. Experience is easily trumped by bad judgment as demonstrated daily by Bush and Cheney.
For a lot of reasons, Palin might make a better president than McCain.

Being a governor requires a minimum amount of competence. She was able to run a successful insurgent campaign against a sitting governor (as did Jesse "The Body" Ventura) and gained the endorsement of the party establishment including Senator Stevens.
She is able to govern and pass policies.
She shows a sense of humor
She showed the necessary toughness and ruthlessness in firing her obstinate public safety director.
She is willing to speak positively about Hillary Clinton in spite of boos from the Republican faithful.
She is a finger in the eye of the religious right who think that mothers of young children should stay at home.
She would be much more dependent on Congress and the "permanent government staff" and less likely to shoot from the hip than McCain.
McCain actually picked a VP that would make a better president that McCain.

Good one, Dale.

Here's my effort at defining the opposition before they can define themselves:

Sarah "Only I can solve the national Moose Problem" Palin.

In Ohio, the Republicans are still running their ad quoting Hillary about Obama being too inexperienced. They have no shame, nor any sense of irony.

Former House Speaker Gail Phillips, a Republican political leader who has clashed with Palin in the past

Don't forget, Palin has a record of clashing with corruption, and Republicans are all corrupt. So we can't expect to find any Reps or Dems who like her, just people who got $1200 oil rebates.

Palin/McCain - because competence is only required of Democratic tickets!

McCain actually picked a VP that would make a better president that McCain.

Based on fRightwing talking points she is better qualified. And God knows she's a lot more photogenic. In a couple of weeks McPOW will stop fidgeting with his wedding ring, realize there's more to her than TnA and start wondering about the return policy on vice presidential picks.

Alaska = Saudi Arabia with caribou

It's basically a frozen wasteland full of antigovernment fanatics and wingnuts, who nonetheless live off of the federal dole.

Compare and contrast.

NYT:
Over the course of two months, as the dynamics of the presidential campaign and world events shifted quickly, Mr. Biden’s stock rose through one of the most rigorous vice-presidential vetting processes that Democrats could recall. It was a process in which Mr. Obama applied intense secrecy, careful pragmatism and political input from a team of internal and external advisers that have guided his campaign from the start.

What a difference.
We've joked about getting adults back in power...
It's no joke anymore.

Palin is no palimpsest. You don't have to x-ray her to see what she truly believes in. Just listen to the audio. Mean and dumb and tone deaf. George Bush with a vagina. That gets it exactly.

Off topic somewhat, but a good read from William Rivers Pitt: The Hollow Man

He abandoned these things because he wants to live in the White House, period... For men who have neither character, nor integrity, nor honor, nor shame, for men like John McCain, that kind of wanting is all that remains in their heart, and is all that really matters to them anymore. Men like this, men like John McCain, are entirely hollow inside, empty, and truly dead in every way that once counted them human. They are skin, bones, emptiness, and nothing else besides.

Really? More commentary on Palin?

If I could make a suggestion, I think we might be taking our eye off the ball here. I get all the reasons why this is such a disturbing choice for VP and I get that this choice was obviously made by McCain under the assumption that American votes are stupid enough to fall for his little gimmick here. But the other benefit seems to be that it has put the left blogosphere in a bit of a frenzy.

We are overreacting. Yes, this was an incredibly cynical and potentially dangerous move by McCain but that is on par with just about everything he says and does. It doesn't have to consume us with such intensity.

While we have all been laser focused on this very few have been following the case of protestors being harassed by police and feds in Minnesota. Greenwald is on it.

I don't think it's a big deal to focus on this for a couple days after she was chosen, and I hardly think we're taking our eyes off the prize.
Besides, it's not our fault that she's under investigation. Just further evidence of McLame's poor judgment and decision making.

Don't forget, Palin has a record of clashing with corruption, and Republicans are all corrupt.

1. Republicans are all corrupt;
2. Palin is a Republican;
3. Ergo, Palin is corrupt.
QED

POed Lib, re parenthood of Trig: I read the same thing, and there is a family photo that shows the daughter with a swolen belly. Don't know the date or if it was photoshopped. It is a nasty assertion and if untrue, very cruel. OTOH, did Sarah actually become pregnant by choice and after she was elected to state office, Governor, at the age of 43? How old are her other children? Is this a "Love Child"? Did her preferred form of BC, abstinence, fail? As CalGal pointed out, who is caring for this child and providing the daily and special care required? What responsible parent, whether father or mother, "plans" a pregnancy when just starting a new, highly time/energy-intensive job, then accepts a nomination as VP, which will necessitate extensive travel away from home and family? These are all questions I'd like to hear asked and answered, before too much time passes.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

Re: vetting of palin by mcain staffers:

Perhaps they cut and pasted some of Monica Goodlings google searchs to vet Ms. Palin. If it's good enough for the Justice Dept its good enough for Mcains handlers I suppose. Or perhaps Rush Limbaugh's recommendation was enough?

Mickster

Aren't there any grownups in the Republican party anymore? Why isn't McCain being persuaded to drop his disastrous choice? Should this vacuous, vindictive woman who allegedly abused her power as governor of Alaska be provided the opportunity to abuse infinitely more power as the vice president of the nation?

Why do I get the feeling that the Palin pick is really a run-up to a Fall reality TV show? "Vice President - Who Me?" Tuesdays at nine.

I think it's great that there's so much scrutiny being applied right here and now to the Palin pick. This pick certainly deserves it, and it has created a whole new impetus behind questioning the judgment and temperament that John McCain has.

The Obama speech was seen by 38 million people - we can trust that the viewers can judge for themselves as to the quality and meaning of it, without having days and days of media yammering about it. The Palin picks allows this to happen - what a godsend! Instead, we can have several days of distinctly negative discussion regarding something involving McCain, which hadn't heretofore really occurred yet. Now's the time, especially right before the GOP convention! Anything to amplify the meme of Republican incompetence and malfeasance is a good thing.

I wonder if this happened:

McCain really wanted to show his wild and mavericky streak, and he liked the highly secretive way in which Cheney was picked.

So the first order of business was to keep the pick extremely secretive. He let Romney and Pawlenty et al. dangle out on a string so that he could keep his intentions silent. Then, WHAM! Like a buckaroo storming out of a dust devil in Death Valley, he would spring his big secret on everyone.

Here's the problem: Palin was never _publicly_ vetted. She never underwent the scrutiny of the press and, notably, the hundreds (or thousands) of "amateur" bloggers and sleuths. And she probably underwent some polling, but none of that polling was compared with polling outside the campaign, essentially eliminating any kind of "peer review".

In the end, McCain's desire to feel like a big buckaroo a la Bush and Cheney overcame what little judgment he had left. Openly vetting is not just good for a country that desires transparency from its leaders. In this case, it's good politics. Trial balloons are critically important for testing out any risky decision, and the whole VP Vetting Progress is the ultimate parade of trial balloons. This is why campaigns release the lists. They _want_ the press and the opposition running these people through the grinder too. Again, it's a kind of peer review, to make sure that group think hasn't poisoned your opinions and to make sure you aren't missing any critical facts.

Using these VP lists (of Romney, Pawlenty, etc.) to hide your position, rather than clarify your position is to profoundly misunderstand the purpose of the process.

McCain just isn't just an incompetent statesman. He's an incompetent politician. Bush at least had the politics bit down ...

And that Palin-as-Eagleton meme began right here from yours truly.

Part 2 here (including link to talk about her baby issue) with a final tie-up later.

She has plenty of governing credential. She's a Republican and she knows how to fire a gun! Stick a flag pin on that woman and she'll be ready to bomb Iran into Kingdom Come.

Who in the hell is interested in Gov. Palin anyway? Where is the focus on Sen Obama's speech? Where is the harranguing of Sen. McCain regarding his lack of anything of substance thus far?

This garbage about some lesser light from Venus..er..Alaska is without social redemption! Stay focused upon the prize, the election of Sen. Obama!! The Governor and the Senator from Maryland are also-rans. Go for the gold, Obama!!!

"[Palin's] administration had the appearance of paying absolutely no attention to any of the rest of the unglamorous side of government, whether it be dealing with human services, public services, highways, all the routine aspects."

If this means she let the professionals get on with their jobs, that's a good thing. If it means she got in their way, that isn't so good.

In any event, if this post accurately describes her temperment she'll be a very frustrated VP.

PS: "buckets'" post at the top is unworthy of this board, which is usally pretty civil and thoughtful.

Forget about who they put in front of the camera, the "events" that will decide are in place.
The dick man has his nightmare to complete.
Droppings from rovaroo are everywhere.
The spun-fluff media will not attemp to step in with truth.
Look, dickman has to have people who do what they are told.When you don't know what's going on you become perfect.
You see this in action now don't you?

anon: She has plenty of governing credential. She's a Republican and she knows how to fire a gun! Stick a flag pin on that woman and she'll be ready to bomb Iran into Kingdom Come.

mccain wasn't wearing a flag pin at the palin announcement...

check out the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5uGQZWeiM

why does mccain hate america?

anon: She has plenty of governing credential. She's a Republican and she knows how to fire a gun! Stick a flag pin on that woman and she'll be ready to bomb Iran into Kingdom Come.

mccain wasn't wearing a flag pin at the palin announcement...

check out the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5uGQZWeiM

why does mccain hate america?

country first....lol

anon: She has plenty of governing credential. She's a Republican and she knows how to fire a gun! Stick a flag pin on that woman and she'll be ready to bomb Iran into Kingdom Come.

mccain wasn't wearing a flag pin at the palin announcement...

check out the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5uGQZWeiM

why does mccain hate america?

country first....lol

This ticket may be worse than what we currently have. McPain and Pailing BOTH will do and say anything to get you to believe they are anything but what they really are.

Fake. Fake. Fake.