Who would have thought that McCain/Palin are followers of Lenin?

“A lie told often enough becomes truth� Vladimir Lenin.

Yeah, but she's a hockey mom. She can kill and field dress a moose. She's a reformer with results. She wears cool glasses and looks smokin' hot, a true milf.

American people: don't bother me with facts.

Facts as a basis for decision making are Sooooo 20th Century.

"John McCain is the is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being America has ever known."

They lie because they know the corporate media will let them. The media will tear down a good man like Gore, but they won't do anything to endanger their tax cuts.

Live by the Rove, (hopefully) die by the Rove.

It's not just that candidates who lie are being disrespectful of voters, it's the fact that voters themselves, by not doing an appropriate amount of research into the candidates' positions, are being disrespectful of the voting process itself.

That's why they can be lied to, and why campaigns are perfectly happy to play fast and loose with the truth. They know how lazy many voters are and that if they repeat their lies often enough, many voters will come to accept their lies are being the truth.

Sarah was for "The Bridge to Nowhere" in 2006 and then was opposed to it. Unlike most people politicians change there minds as well. Keep blowing this thing up all you want. All you prove is you have nothing on her.

I do not hear her promising to give save foreclosed homes, give money to all college students, free healthcare, end the war on terrorism etc. without any idea how to go about it. Who is the real liar in this whole thing.

Republicans these days HAVE no respect for the democratic process, only the exercise of raw, naked power.

They just want to WIN, not actually do what's best for the nation.

They don't want to govern, and in fact see it as a waste of time.

The religious wing that has hijacked their party sees it as a waste of time as well, since their belief says these are the last days and it's just about over due to impending rapture.

That people have been expecting rapture for 2000+ years doesn't change anything...to them there is no point in planning for the future since it's all in God's hands anyway.

Their motivation is simply to gain power so they can keep the godless away from the reins, basically. To that end they will do any manner of lies and other dirty tricks. They simply don't care and have more loyalty to their God than their Nation.

The Obama campaign and the rest of us should keep repeating that they are a bunch of liars and have a problem with the truth and don't trust or respect the American people. How can they say they are mavericks and reformers when they lie again and again?

All of that is true. So sit down and write a letter to a newspaper today. If you're in or from a swing state, those are the best choices. Keep in mind that they need not be large papers. It's more likely that a small or medium circulation paper will publish your letter and lots of voters read them.

The campaign also doesn't have much respect for Palin's record, or the team would point to her actual accomplishments, instead of obvious lies.

Five second TV commercials are probably pretty cheap, too.

It's called the big lie. Wikipedia quotes the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) "people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it." And we all know who they were talking about.

Unfortunately, the strategy works. Particularly when people don't read papers and television news is a joke. Then throw in the fact that the Republicans have used another big lie - that the press is liberal - to strip it of any credibility.

The right has trashed the media to the point that few think they have credibility.

manny, if sarah palin said "i used to favor the bridge to nowhere but then i realized that it was a waste," that would justify your remarks.

since she didn't, obviously you're a dumbfuck.

@Manny

Only Palin's retarded son could have posted anything as stupid as what you just pecked out with your keyboard.

Oh please tell me that there is video of her supporting the bridge. Or better yet a campaign video from her gubanetorial run with promises about it.

A hugely effective commercial for Obama would show her convention line about "thanks to no-thanks" followed by the old video of her saying how important that bridge is. Close simply with a question like "Straight talk or double talk" or better "Just how stupid does she think you are?"

They lie because they know the corporate media will let them.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

Take CNN, for example. They've just written an article about this matter. What does the article's headline say?

"Palin stays firm on Bridge to Nowhere claim"

That's right, she "stays firm". As if this were a matter of principle, instead of a damnable lie.

And that, my friends, is all you need to know about the corporate media.

McCain's top, most annoying strategist-- Nancy Ploffffer-er-something -- just said that Sarah Palin was for the bridge BUT put a stop to it after she realized that it was going to be too expensive and that she wanted to cut government waste. So they're covering up a lie with MORE LIES.

Obama just did a pretty great press conference this am on Bush's annoucement about the small pull-out planned in Iraq. Obama also took press questions-- I think one of his many strategies at this point is to make himself as available to the press as possible. McCain/Palin are only doing big speeches before large crowds now-- sort of ironic, eh?

Obama also attacked the "golden parachutes" that have been offered to the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie-- each is receiving MILLIONS in severance. Obama said he just wrote a letter to Paulson yesterday and that the CEOs should not receive payment for such amazing failure.

Anyways, he's on the stump now talking about education-- his plans and McCain's decades of inaction. Nice! Change the subject to actual issues already, get the press's focus off of Gramps and his Puppy Killer. (Refernece to her love of shooting wolves for bogus reasons-- I think people are cool with shooting moose and caribou. But wolves are a little too close to dogs, don't you think?)

McCain the old soldier and naval academy grad seems to have forgotten the first thing all officer candidates are taught. It's the officer's honor code which says "I will not lie, cheat, or steal, not tolerate those who do." McCain's whole campaign is built on lies; he's shown he's willing to cheat or steal to win this election, and he not only tolerates Palin's lies, he repeats and embellishes them.

Breathtaking. The good news is that once the verbiage "LIE" is mainstreamed, it will stick. Even "low information voters" don't want to be lied to. Well at least some of them, and that will be enough.

The best part is that once the "lie verbiage" has been accepted by the press, once McAce mimics it in the same way they stole (that's another sin against His Commandments) the Change Theme and begins to call Obama a liar, Obama's campaign can say,"see, they're lying again"

Why doesn't someone from the obama camp start asking the public when lying became a Christen value, and if it's not, why are these Christians lying, and why isn't the Christian Right not calling them on it?

One wonders if Team McCain is even aware of the possibility of pushing this lie too far.

The facts really are not in Governor Palin's favor on this score. At best, she opposed it at the 11th hour, and only after accepting the funds from Congress anyway. That's not change we can believe in.

So, why repeat a lie that's already been exposed?

Because they think Americans are stupid.

I don't think I've seen as much contempt for the intelligence of the average American ever. I thought we'd hit a high-water mark in 2000 but McCain's campaign this year is even more contemptuous of the American voter than Bush's campaign was in 2000.

Why repeat a lie already exposed? Because they (many Republicans) have gotten away with this many times before. Any prominent examples come to mind? If it fits their narrative, they'll say it, with or without regard to the facts, to advance the agenda.

Continuing the verboten feeding of the troll...

Manny - she was finally opposed to it, since the state would have to pay. Congress would not give any more money - and had eliminated the direction of the money for the bridge.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/680/

She/Alaska kept the money, but used it elsewhere.
She/Alaska killed the bridge project,since she would have to pay.

I can't take credit for finding this info directly, got to from TPM post:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_piling_up_the.php

...at the same posting, one of the best one-liner comments I've seen: The reality is that "she was for it until she had to pay for it."

Kudos to Dr.Toast at TPM for this one-liner.

The crowds she's telling this lie to are obviously drunk on GOD or they'd boo her right off of the stage. It can't be that only the top 5% of earners in this country are at each of her rallies. There aren't that many of them.

Hell, Bush and Cheney are still in office, tell me you've seen anything crazier than that!

As I and others have said repeatedly, modern Republicanism is not a political philosophy but a mental disease. And every time Sarah Palin and John Bush open their mouths they just confirm that belief.

Note to Obama campaign: Calling a liar a liar isn't enough. For the low-info voter the filter that charge passes thru is the same one: All pols lie. Big deal.

To make lying truly scandalous you have to link it to a conclusion. Like it or not you must educate the American public in basic ethics. For example check out Steve Benen's final remarks:

...the disdain [this gang shows] for the democratic process becomes a little more breathtaking.

See how that is done?
She is showing disdain for American values.

Got it? Good. Hammer it. VALUES!

On the lying front, props to McClatchy for calling a spade a spade in this headline.

Is there a strategy within the context of this now obvious lie? I'm kind of doubtful of the super-duper double twist approach to campaigning, but the McCain team must know that they are lying about this, there are not stupid people, the GOP has consistently proved that they can win elections (actually running the country is another matter). So what is they twist to this tactic of theirs?

My theory is that they figure it will fall into that puddle of "all politicians do it" and the overarching theme of Palin being a reformer will be implanted subliminal style in the swing voters mind. So "Sarah Palin has reformed white into black" turns into us forgetting the part about black and white and remembering the part about reform.

She should have been a "condom mom" instead of a "ice hockey mom."

Any chance of a Lie Watch counter ticking over at the top left corner of this page every time they repeat this lie?

In the first episode of the final season of The Wire, Detective Bunk says to another detective, after duping a suspect with a phony lie detector gimmick, "The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it."

They keep lying because they know their most die-hard supporters are complete starry eyed idiots who don't care one bit about things like facts. They just love the fact that she's pro-life, and everything else doesn't matter. She passed the Jesus litmus test with the bible humpers, everything else falls by the wayside.

The Republican use of Heart's Barracuda as Palin's theme is perfect:

If the real thing don't do the trick,
You better make up something quick.

Someone needs to make an ad spot using Palin's "Thanks, but no thanks" quote with that bit of the song.

I'm disgusted with the Republicans - but if the tactics work, and they are elected, I'm never going to feel an ounce of sympathy for anyone who voted for McCain and now, say, has lost their house due to healthcare costs. I will just respond, "you voted for him".

Now, it's obvious she's lying. She knows she's lying. She knows that we know she's lying. But she just doesn't give a damn. At this point, it's bordering on pathological.

Hey, it's FAKE BUT ACCURATE! That's something folks here ought to be able to get behind.

Maybe people should start showing up at their campaign appearances and as soon as she repeats thet line (we all know she seems capable of delivering only one speech) hold up signs with one word: LIAR. Dog them wherever they go.

Depends on how you interpret "Thanks, but no thanks"...

Running for governor - "Thanks!"

Later, when the feds say they're pulling the plug, and Alaska will have to pay the rest out of pocket - "No Thanks!"

She's just compressing the time frame.

And "the state" didn't want the bridge, just some people in the state. See, you just have to look at it the right way!

Michael Kinsley has an interesting take on why Governor Palin remains popular with all Alaskans, not just the secessionists:

Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 21/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook.

Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC. It has four different taxes on oil, which produce more than 89% of the state's unrestricted revenue. On average, three-quarters of the value of a barrel of oil is taken by the state government before that oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaska residents each get a yearly check for about $2,000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1,200 pushed through by Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. Any sympathy the governor of Alaska expresses for folks in the lower 48 who are suffering from high gas prices or can't afford to heat their homes is strictly crocodile tears...

...As if it couldn't support itself, Alaska also ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. In 2005 (the most recent figures), according to the Tax Foundation, Alaska ranked 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950). Its ratio of federal spending received to federal taxes paid ranks third among the 50 states, and in the absolute amount it receives from Washington over and above the amount it sends to Washington, Alaska ranks No. 1.

More detail at the link.

At this point, it doesn't matter what Sarah Palin says or doesn't say. Emotions are now running the election. You can bet that ABC's Charlie Gibson will give her a relatively friendly questions with friendly and soft questions. I predict that she will not make any major gaff in the VP debate and as a result she will be declared the winner of the VP debate by the media and viewed as such by a majority of the American voting public. When emotions dictates voting, Republicans simply win, and now despite everything, the poor economy, rising unemployment, and the Wars, emotions and not logic/thinking are resonating with the voters.

Sadly, the election is already over in my opinion.
The Obama campaign clearly lost its major domo post the Palin annoucement. His campaign went on snooze mode during August, and it was then when they allowed the Republicans to paint the picture and tell a story which was listened to the public. Obama's first declines actually started in August and only accelerated after Palin was announced McCain's VP choice. Obama's gaff in last weekend's interview with ABC's George Stephanoupolis, saying "my muslim faith" will cost him dearly in states that absolutely need to be in the Democratic column like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. You can now kiss swing states like Missouri, Colorado, Virgina, and maybe New Mexico good bye.

The big Democratic gains in the Congress which media/punditry talked about and which the Democrats expected also is beginning to look like it is not going to happen.

Who would ever have thought with all the enormous problems this country is facing in this alleged "Democratic year" that the very fast moving events of the past ten days would turn against the Obama campaign at such a critical time?

Looks like this could be a comfortable McCain win of 5 to 10 points after all.

The Democrats have a history (Kerry, and Gore) of employing highly overpaid consultants in their campaigns who proved to be damagingly mediocre.

I've resigned myself already again to a repeat of 2004, 2000, and 1988.

Hey, Manny from miami, haven't seen you since the primary days back on TCR! How ya doin'? You sure haven't gotten any smarter.

Everyone, lay off Manny. He's upset about the bridge not being built because he needed a place to live and collect tolls.

I've resigned myself already again to a repeat of 2004, 2000, and 1988.
Posted by: John

Loser

lol @ doubtful

Regarding this from Dr. Toons:

The Republican use of Heart's Barracuda as Palin's theme is perfect:

If the real thing don't do the trick,
You better make up something quick.

Someone needs to make an ad spot using Palin's "Thanks, but no thanks" quote with that bit of the song.

Brilliant. That's called weakening the enemy at their perceived center of strength. The only thing that I might add to such an ad: We are Heart, owners of the lyrics, and we approve this message.

I'd like to see a campaign ad that screams, "Sarah Palin, a bridge to nowhere ....!"
And McAint walking on it. Where's the 527 crew?

The Obama campaign has found an effective way to counter the lies. Obama continually points out the lie and then ties it to something bigger. "They think YOU'RE stupid..." "They think the American public is stupid..."

Democrats have been successfully portrayed as whiners for complaining about GOP tactics, but this approach is a winning one. Instead of personally expressing offense, Obama is showing leadership by expressing offense on behalf of all Americans. In other words, it's not about the lies and slime affecting him and his campaign. Instead, he is exposing a tactic that harms all of us.

When Obama wins, the GOP will have a tough time recovering until they find some issues that they can run on with integrity and passion. That may take a while, they don't seem to realize they have lost their integrity yet.

Seconded Brilliant:

Brilliant. That's called weakening the enemy at their perceived center of strength. The only thing that I might add to such an ad: We are Heart, owners of the lyrics, and we approve this message.

This is the best ad idea evar.

The Corporate media is pointing out the lie, which is encouraging. In today's the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Headline: Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims
"Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government "thanks but no thanks" to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state.

"But Gov. Palin's claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere."

My advice to Palin: go ahead and keep repeating your stump speech. Make our day. (Even O'Lielly complained about the stump speech last night and wondered if Palin would ever come on his show like Obama has.)

Why keep lying? "The illusion-of-truth effect states that a person is more likely to believe a familiar statement than an unfamiliar one. In a 1977 experiment participants were asked to read 60 plausible statements every two weeks and to rate them based on their validity. A few of those statements (some of them true, others false) were presented more than once in different sessions. Results showed that participants were more likely to rate as true statements they had previously heard (even if they didn't consciously remember having heard them), regardless of the actual validity of the statement.
As the illusion-of-truth effect occurs even without explicit knowledge, it is a direct result of implicit memory. Some participants rated previously heard sentences as true even when they were previously told that they were false The illusion-of-truth effect shows in some ways the potential dangers of implicit memory as it can lead to unconscious decisions about a statement's veracity. Or, as Lenin said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." sduffys leadout

"Who knows" why Sarah Palin repeats a big lie, already exposed?

C'mon, Steve, the GOP has done this a little more brazenly each election cycle.

They've just shifted into a new gear of shamelessness with Palin.

Well it's a good thing Sara Palin's not in Sharia-run countries, she'd have her tongue cut out. We, get to hear this broken record baldfaced lie ( debunked several times by her OWN words) over and over...

Sara Palin, thanks but no thanks!

I am patiently waiting for Rush Limbaugh to roll out his renowned "Feminazi" meme against Palin. When that happens, we'll know for certain that Palin/McCain are toast---and yes, I think Rush'll finally grow some cojones and do it, if for no other reason than the thought of what will happen to his secular empire if "the bible-thumping howler monkey and her septuagenarian sock-puppet" win in November....

Maybe people should start showing up at their campaign appearances and as soon as she repeats thet line (we all know she seems capable of delivering only one speech) hold up signs with one word: LIAR. Dog them wherever they go.

Posted by: Saint Zak on September 9, 2008 at 1:15 PM | PERMALINK

Wouldn't work. They'd just get faux Secret Service agents to Gitmotize you until the dog and pony show, er, McSenile/Caribou Barbie, leave town.

I just heard that they finally figured out what Palin did with that bridge....she sold IT on eBay too!

Seems that someone in Brooklyn bought it using "Buy It Now".....they needed one to sell...

Steve @ 2:05, Rush loves Palin, he was pushing for her to be VP.

Bridge to nowhere is a non starter as an issue with leaners because its too complicated and arcane.

Portray Palin for what she is, a evangelical fundamentalist xtain and all that goes with that. No choice about abortion even in the case of rape or incest. Christ, even a Wal Mart mom can understand that.

And as a hockey mom (some would say redneck)a heart bead away from the olderest elected President ever. Even men over 50 can see the implications of that. She will be president of the Senate, has she ever even been there? Never been out the country and she is supposed to handle our foreign policy. Putin would eat her for dinner and so would every other aggressive leader out there for, Christs sake.

Really, the GOP has gone over and the country has gone mad if this lady (and a nice lady too, apparently) becomes the second most powerful human being on the face of the planet. The GOP will do anything to get elected.

Set aside partisanship for a second and look at the situation with a level head.

The reason liberals like us are puzzled by McCain and Palin's lack of concern over truth-telling, is that liberals think the election is about picking the best person to govern the nation and Republicans know its not about governance at all.

As we are seeing from the weirdly illogical McCain campaign, conservatives perpetuate themselves in power according to a very simple formula which they can use again and again regardless of the year or the issues that dominate it. And it all begins from Ronald Reagan's professed contempt for the very idea of government, which is now part of the Republican Party's DNA.

First, conservatives use their considerable public relations skills (and bought and paid for media like FOX) to deny there are any problems at all. The economy is always great. Wars are always being won. America always reigns supreme. Suggestions to the contrary are the fault of the liberally biased press.

When this absurdity manages to break through, conservatives adapt a fallback position.
Conditions may indeed be dreadful but there isn't a damned thing we can do about it.

For two reasons:

First, to admit there are problems is sacrilege and tantamount to blasphemy against that Virgin Goddess – the Good Old US of A.

Second, to suggest there are problems in need of solutions risks turning to government for help. And that must never, ever happen.

Under conservative rule it is permissible for government to be incompetent. It is permissible for the government to be corrupt. It is permissible for government to be expensive, wasteful, and big. What is never permissible is for government to actually work.

Whatever problems we confront are solvable in one of two ways: One is by prayer to our God. The second is through the power of the free market, which, to conservatives, is pretty much the same thing.

Talk of real issues, public accountability, responsibility, good governance, bi-partisanship, national leadership and vision, even national unity fall on deaf ears.

For among conservative true believers, government is never the solution to our problems. Government IS the problem, always and in every way.

I still think pursuing the Bridge issue is a losing proposition for Dems.

After the NYTimes, USA Today and The Alaska Dem Party (on their website) ran stories in 2007 reporting that she DID stop the Bridge, trying to match off one report against another (media flip-flops?) likely won't be swaying the voters. Add in the issue now circulating that Obama and Biden voted FOR funding the Bridge, and this whole attack plan starts to weaken. That's the stuff that will no doubt come out when Palin gets pushed on the issue during the debate or during an interview.

Waste of valuable time.

Liar, liar, pantsuit on fire!

On NPR this morning, they had a bit of trouble with it, thanks to the hackery of Juan Williams. Renee Montagne was trying to point out that Palin wasn't telling the truth about The Bridge, and Juan kept trying to weasel it. I may have to stop listening to the news in the morning, it's not good to start swearing before 7 AM.

It's good to see that other media outlets are *finally* coming around. Maybe there are limits to IOKIYAR. Can you imagine the outcry if a Democrat tried to lie so brazenly?

You quote Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor: "On the same day that dozens of news organizations have exposed Governor Palin's phony Bridge to Nowhere claim as a 'naked lie,' she and John McCain continue to repeat the claim in their stump speeches. Maybe tomorrow she'll tell us she sold it on eBay."

MORE OF THIS! This should be a commercial. The key word is "lie/liar/lying"! Hammer them on this. Over and over and over again.

I really love the quoted phrase "NAKED LIE"! Great. Something about the word "naked" here. And the accompanying ridicule is icing on the cake. A twofer.

Democrats just may be ready to fight this year.

short fuse...I heard that story, too. Williams is so hopeless. He was asked something like, "Well, is it true?" and replied, "Well, they think it is." or something to that effect. I guess if someone believes something to be true, repeating it isn't a lie, even if it's false.

Here it goes again. Joe Biden opened his mouth and uttered a new problematic sound bite...

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) says that if Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) becomes the first female vice president it will be a "backward step for women."

Asked by a local television reporter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin if electing Palin would be a step forward for women, Biden said, "well look, I think the issue is what does Sarah Palin think? What does she believe?"

"I assume she thinks and agrees with the same policies that George Bush and John McCain think," Biden added. "And that's obviously a backward step for women."

So... which part of of this great interview is going to be blasted all over the airwaves and media??

this lie is still about further motivating that base.

they set it up with palin's convention speech -- essentially, "don't believe anything the press tells you."

they go on the trail and repeat a lie 23 times. the press reports that they have told a lie 23 times. the base looks at that and remembers being cautioned that the press hates her. by november 4 28% of the country will believe fervently that palin was done wrong and "those people" -- everyone not them -- are evil.

the scariest part of what mccain and the republicans are doing is the jacking up of the sense of victimization the christian right already has to the point where we are going to see many more columbines and murrow buildings.

so much for my dream of a retirement traveling the country.

What exactly is problematic about that Biden quote?

karen marie:

...the scariest part of what mccain and the republicans are doing is the jacking up of the sense of victimization the christian right already has...

A lot of sad truth in that.
But so be it.

Bottom line:

I'd rather pull them kicking an screaming into the 21st century, than have them drag me into the Middle Ages.

What's more disconcerting is that folks admire this so called 'persistence' instead of being disgusted by it. They are persistent alright--persistent with being infantile, playground bullies.

I find both Palin and McCain whole stance and style so repulsively adolescent bully-like.

I think that instead of directly attacking the content, the Dems ought to go after this style-- as it's one that is really and truly so immature, pathetic and dangerous.

Perhaps show a bunch of clips dissing the President and then ask: "Now let us ask you: Is this the kind of communication, the kind of message, tone and leadership that will help move America forward in the world"?

I mean, can anyone seriously imagine either Palin or McCain actually sitting down and trying to negotiate with countries re: the perilous issues we now face? I truly can't!

That's what the Obama/Biden folks need to focus on--somehow demonstrate that McCain/Palin are bullies with no substance who talk strong but have no real plan other than to keep shooting at people.

Uh, when I said 'dissing the President', I meant Obama (wishful thinking!).

I'm thrilled that Obama campaign came up with a retort so snarky.

Hey, Steve you put a positive spin on it. It takes alot of Chutzpah? No. It takes a lack of conscience.

I think the 'No Mavericks' did not do it right. It needs contrasting video to sway the low-information voter. As Howard Kurtz points out, the lie charge comes from a liberal magazine. They need to show video of her promising the bridge in 2006 to get elected and then her saying she said no today.

Sort of like this:
http://politiscope.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/fool-me-once-shame-on-you/

They're are a bunch of other lies too. The pipeline story is a lie. The deal is not done an they have not started it. In fact, Sarah needs Exxon more than ever to the pipeline built.

It's obvious why she keeps repeating the lie. Because she has no ability to go off script, and without the lies she has no script. I truly believe that it's really that simple.

I can't even believe how much this elevates my blood pressure. Is this what the end of a country looks like? A collective nervous breakdown, where the country is delusional?

How can the media just let these lies happen, standing by laughing? What can Obama say to break through on this? How about something like "The McCain camp is laughing at you..."

Candidate Biden: "My opponent is on record as having lobbied for the Bridge to Nowhere consistently, and on numerous occasions. During her brief time in this campaign, she has claimed more than twenty times that she opposed this same project. So, knowing that she supported it, I would like to ask my opponent if she felt that she was lying when, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "I..."

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Uh..."

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Look! A baby!"

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Jesus Saves!"

Candidate Biden: "My opponent is on record as having lobbied for the Bridge to Nowhere consistently, and on numerous occasions. During her brief time in this campaign, she has claimed more than twenty times that she opposed this same project. So, knowing that she supported it, I would like to ask my opponent if she felt that she was lying when, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "I..."

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Uh..."

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Look! A baby!"

Candidate Biden: "...And knowing that she supported it, did she feel that she was lying when again, on XXXX date, she intentionally told the American people the wrong thing."

Candidate Palin: "Jesus Saves!"

It's obvious why she keeps repeating the lie. Because she has no ability to go off script, and without the lies she has no script. I truly believe that it's really that simple.

That occurred to me, too, but I think it applies to McCain as well these days (he seems to have gotten markedly worse at extemporizing these past couple of months). Actually, I suspect she's not that bad at improvising--that is to say, she can probably chirpily spout a bunch of feel-good but vaguely hardass gooper generalisms in that god-awful accent of hers.

But it may be that now that McCainCo. has established The Narrative, which is built on shifting sands, everyone has been instructed to brazen it out whatever may come. Guess we'll find out if they ever let her go off script and talk to the press. Gibson's thing won't count; I fully expect that to be a rainbow of well-practiced one-liners.

"It's not just that candidates who lie are being disrespectful of voters, it's the fact that voters themselves, by not doing an appropriate amount of research into the candidates' positions, are being disrespectful of the voting process itself."

This may be true, and I don't mean to attack you, mfw13, but my guess is an awful lot of "low information voters" or those not doing an appropriate amount of research into the candidates simply do not have the time and energy to do so.

How much time to watch TV, access (or pay) for the internet, time to visit a public library do people have who are working overtime just to pay their bills, raise their kids or look for another job after just having been laid off?

My wife's income as an attorney puts us somewhere in the top 5% in the US so I don't have to work & can play on the internet all day. But my wife, working 60-70 hours and usually 7 days/week, certainly doesn't have the time to inform herself properly, nor does she necessarily want to watch a series of news shows after a long day of research and writing. And she's got it good. Really good.

Imagine working a full shift or more at a job you loathe which pays dogshit wages and requires you to be on your feet all day. You come home to kids who need dinner and god knows what other responsibilities. I'm guessing you'd rather be entertained and fall asleep on the couch than get depressed reading or watching on TV about the latest idiocy issuing forth from the campaign.

My point, obviously, is that not all, and maybe not even a majority of these people not doing their civic duty have very good reasons for not doing so. And putting the economy in the tank combined with rising prices across the board are just another Republican strategy to keep these people too tired & busy to be able to pay enough attention to make informed decisions at the voting booth.

The reason they keep repeating it was best summarized by Mark Twain, who said: "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth even puts on its shoes."

Hello. Great job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks!