The Sarah Palin Show

As the much-anticipated debut of The Sarah Palin Show crept closer in the Xcel Center last night, the overwhelmingly white and well-heeled Republicans rose to their feet, cheering, to dance and sing along to the infectious strains of Sly Stone's Everyday People--demonstrating not only a giddy lack of self-awareness (or irony), but also showing that the folks in the hall had gotten the alerts from GOP Message Central: Palin, the woman they'd come tonight to celebrate and cheer, is above all else Everyday People.

I'd been hearing it all week from the delegates. "She's relatable," a Florida fellow said. "I think what Gov. Palin's able to offer is the perspective of any everyday American," a Mississippi delegate told me. "She's real--real people. Wow!" a Texas delegate chimed in. Her family troubles, which have fueled a feeding frenzy among the dimwits who blog on the Huffington Post, only testified all the more powerfully to her everydayness. "If anything, it just kind of shows what a normal American she is. Family crises and situations like this arise in families all across the country, and I think she's doing the best with the situation. I think it will make Gov. Palin all the more strong," said another Texan.

You might not think that averageness would qualify a person for the second-highest office in the land. But if you might not think that, you haven't been paying attention to the way Republicans have won presidential elections for the last forty years. Palin is the logical extension of the cultural populism that has warped our politics--and for which the Democrats have, as yet, found no good answer.

The "one of us" quality--and her talent at projecting it--is clearly what got Palin on the ticket (silly chatter about Hillary voters aside). With his underrated grasp of the kind of substance-free emotional symbolism that wins national elections, John McCain sniffed out in Palin a kind of Hollywood fairy tale: homegirl from small town, reluctant beauty queen, plucky point guard, deadly shot and mother of five, suddenly--magically--plucked from obscurity and thrust into the national spotlight.

Come to think of it, even Julia Roberts might have turned down this half-baked script (though the chance to sport a beehive and have a movie hubby as hunky as Todd would surely have been a temptation). But Palin--who replied to her first shouted reporter's question about her readiness for the job with a crisp, Alaskan "Sure, yup, yup"--showed no such scruples. She'd made it refreshingly clear, early in the "vetting" process, that she had no notion of what a vice president does--another big plus, no doubt, in McCain's view.

Because Palin is not on the ticket to do anything. She's on the ticket to be something. It's all about firing up the non-ideological center--which can only be done by drowning the economic sufferings of average Americans once again under a wave of whitebred, flag-waving, faux populism. And it has rarely been put across more effectively than she did Thursday night.

This tough politician is hardly "just your average hockey mom who signed up for the PTA," by a long stretch, but that doesn't make a damn bit of difference in American politics. Palin is certainly an extremist--but she doesn't come across like one, so the label is going to be tough to stick on her. All that matters, in our twisted and media-soaked politics, is that you play the part well. Palin's apparently got the knack. No matter how the plot might strain credulity, the performance was Oscar-worthy. And the Democrats have got themselves a whole new set of worries.

When Palin cracked wise about Barack Obama or the media, she delivered the lines like a snarky neighbor leaning over the fence, complaining about the elitists--or the "good old boys"--to her next-door neighbor. Her dandiest line of the night, equally well delivered, was directed at Obama's stupid comment about the bitterness of struggling Americans: "We tend to prefer a candidate," she said, "who doesn't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco." This, more than anything, made me cringe. However much I admire Obama, it carried the ring of home truth--delivered by someone who can make such lines hit home.

It's all pure-T bullshit, of course: another "everyday" politician who's going to put the screws to every working person in America if she gets the chance. But so was Nixon's populism, and Reagan's, and Bush's. Americans fully expect bullshit from their politicians. It only matters that it's the right kind. And Sarah Palin, as we learned last night, is frighteningly full of it.

Comments (99)

1. Clearly, the divine Sarah is overqualified for VP.

   Sec of Defense would be more appropriate, where she could put her moose-gutting expertise to good use, terrifying Russkies away from the homeland.

   The debate with Biden should prove good clean fun.

   Posted by sloper at 09/04/2008 @ 02:20am

2. Posted by sloper at 09/04/2008 @ 02:20am

   So I suppose that you are for the left side of the ledger of genocidal maniacs?

   Posted by POSEIDON at 09/04/2008 @ 03:14am

3. No matter how the blowhards spin it, the flag waving, rooty-toot, us Americans you not baloney ain't going to cut it this time. Palin will be a dead-weight on the ticket and the contradictions, caprice, flip-flops and reversals of John McCain will do them both in. The wingers have control and there is no one to throw a bucket of cold water on them. More of the same with attitude is a losing bet this time.

   Posted by Demtothebone at 09/04/2008 @ 03:32am

4. Here's a thought as to how the Dems might respond to the GOP's highly successful populism of the last generation or so--the Democrats should think about becoming Democrats once again. What happened to the party that once could win the vast majority of working-class votes, including white ones? What happened to the party of Woody Guthrie, Harry Truman, even JFK? (This is of course not to advocate a return to the Southern wing of the old Democrats with their system of apartheid preceded by full embrace of slavery and civil war.) What happened to the party that once genuinely cared about bread-and-butter, kitchen-table issues rather than the "culture wars"? Somewhere along the line, the noble farmer-labor train was hijacked by extremist special interests. While contorting one's party in obeisance to every arch-radical pressure group may well be politically correct and perhaps helps party elites sleep at night, it has a marked inability to win elections.

   Posted by feinfein at 09/04/2008 @ 03:34am

5. Posted by feinfein at 09/04/2008 @ 03:34am

   Where are the Democrats of old you ask? Why those Democrats are long dead and buried. Barack Obama is not in the same mold as Paul Wellstone and should Obama-Biden be elected, you will see the Bush-Cheney agenda put into effect, but at a slightly slower pace..............

   Posted by POSEIDON at 09/04/2008 @ 04:13am

6. ignore palin she is a pawn.

   barack obama wants to end the war in Iraq so he can give tax cuts to the middle class.

   the mccains are slave owners responsible for the selective service and multigenerational warriors for the global dissemination of the prison-military-industrial complex. mccain/palin = 4 more years of global war

   Posted by tskinner at 09/04/2008 @ 04:57am

7. Posted by POSEIDON at 09/04/2008 @ 04:13am

   So you are positing that Barack-Biden are more likely to continue the failed Bush-Cheney policies than "Please kiss my forehead, George" McCain and the proudly, wildly right wing Palin?

   Oh, please......

   Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 05:07am

8. BTW she may be one of "you", but she isn't one of us. I can't even relate to her as a woman.

   If she wanted a big family more power to her, but being anti-abortion, anti-sex ed she should have adopted like we did. I think people who claim to love children and then have five or six or twelve while thousands languish in foster care are the worst sort of liars and hypocrites.

   Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 05:13am

9. I tried to listen to all the publican jabber with a fair ear. About midway through Judy Riuliani's speech I actually got physically ill and felt the urge to vomit. Such a visceral reaction reminded me of being at school when I was young and having that same reaction at all the sophomoric bullshit that went on in grade school. When Palin started speaking it got worse. All the smarmy dirty and dishonest crap that was oozing from her piehole almost spun me into an Existential Crisis. Whew.. I gotta stop watching this crap.

   Posted by chaoszen at 09/04/2008 @ 05:35am

10. The narrative of this election should be straightforward and simple:

    Barack Obama wants to end the mistake in Iraq and tax the oil company Bush/McCain/Cheney/Palin cronies so he can give everyone $1000

    Bush/McCain/Cheney/Palin/Rove/Gonzalez are war mongers and corporate enablers who are deliberately and systematically destroying the fabric of our society to pad the pockets of the rich

    We cannot afford 4 more years of the same imperialist ideology. There are many wonderful reasons why Barack Obama is a better choice than Bush/McCain/Cheney/Palin. Let us focus on why.

    Posted by tskinner at 09/04/2008 @ 05:39am

11. Oh, please......

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 05:07am

    Perhaps Oh, thanks might be more appropriate with the prospect of the inexperienced Obama allowing the defence savvy Biden to take him (and the rest of you) into Pakistan. (perhaps to test out its nuclear weaponry).

    In the mean time love your gal aka The Sarah Palin Show. Didn't think you made them like that over there since you got that feminist politician assembly line into production. Would gladly trade her for our left leaning, bumbling, nerdish PM.

    Lucky devils you, with the next Maggie Thatcher (though in a much more visually attractive package).

    Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 05:40am

12. Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 05:07am

    Don't think Obama-Biden =(equals) four more years of Bush-Cheney at 10 MPH slower than rightwing lunacy at full speed ahead? Let's go through the list shall we?

    Bush=Pro Free Trade which makes American jobs run overseas and as a result poorer/Obama=Pro Free Trade and reaps Bush's consequences

    Bush=Pro FISA spying on Americans without warrants/Obama=Voted in favor of new FISA Bill that allows the gov't to spy on Americans without warrants

    Bush=Eternal War in Afghanistan and Iraq and new Cold War with Russia/Obama=Insert more troops in Afghanistan, attack Pakistan without country's approval or provocation and continue Iraq war because he would only withdraw "COMBAT" TROOPS and agrees that Russia started war with Georgia which is patenly false. America's puppet in Georgia started the war with Russia.

    Bush=Money for Credit Card industry/Obama voted in favor of new bankruptcy law which puts the screws to people and gives credit card lobby more cash from your pocket

    Bush=Continues American Empire by increased military spending/Obama=60-100 thousand more marines and soldiers which equals more out of control military spending and more soldiers means the empire will not be scaled back but remain in its current form or increased

    Bush=More drilling for oil/Obama=More drilling for oil

    Need I continue? If you seriously think that an Obama-Biden administration is not a slower version of Bush/Cheney, then I have some Oceanfront Property in Yuma Arizona to sell you. Remain in denial all you want, but Obama-Biden is the Democrats version of Bush-Cheney.

    Posted by POSEIDON at 09/04/2008 @ 05:52am

13. Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 05:40am

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008

    Yes, lrjones4, let's test out Pakistan's nuclear weaponry! Sounds cool dude!

    Pogge, as for you, Obama's declaration for attacking Pakistan without approval or provocation, Bush has a two word term for that, called PREVENTIVE WAR. Since Obama clearly believes in Bush's doctrine of Preventive War, only a fool would now think that his administration would not be continuation of said policies of the last 8 years.

    ----------------------------------------

    Bush=Eternal War in Afghanistan and Iraq and new Cold War with Russia/Obama=Insert more troops in Afghanistan, attack Pakistan without country's approval or provocation and continue Iraq war because he would only withdraw "COMBAT" TROOPS and agrees that Russia started war with Georgia which is patenly false. America's puppet in Georgia started the war with Russia.

    Posted by POSEIDON at 09/04/2008 @ 06:00am

14. Now explain to me how McCain/Palin differs so greatly?

    You should have actually listened to Obama's speeches. It is what we blue collar "elites" call nuance. There are compromises, sure, but item by item I agree with McCain rarely and Obama frequently. I can't find anything I agree with Palin on, period. Sending the happy greeting to the seccesionist loonies was just the icing on that cake.

    Besides, you darn well know Obama won't pre-emptively bomb anybody and has NEVER said so. There is a difference in preventing a true threat from developing into an all out attack and just bombing the snot out of a sovereign nation-however screwed up it is-because God gave you a mission of spreading Democracy. GWB is a quiet lunatic and Dick Cheney is an evil, greedy athiest who enables him.

    I would never vote for McCain, but would feel safer if he chose a running mate who was not a born-again religious nut case since we all live with the choice he makes if he dies on duty.

    A BS in Communications-Journalism? Isn't that the degree all the not terribly bright athletes get so they can practice instead of study and still get good enough grades to stay eligible?

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 06:40am

15. Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 05:40am

    Don't blame me for Sarah Palin. She is a loathsome hypocrite.

    I repeat: I think people who claim to love children and then have five or six or twelve while thousands languish in foster care are the worst sort of liars and hypocrites.

    Even Maggie Thatcher believed her own BS. Sarah Palin clearly just spews it for the benefit of the "Fetus First" crowd who give a damn about kids once they are born and breathing.

    And her foreign policy experience. I'm far more widely traveled and apparently a hell of a lot better educated on everything outside of Alaskan politics than Palin. Yet I would never be arrogant enough to assume I could just step into the presidency and out perform.....well, actually I definitely made better calls than Bush on virtually everything so I won't go there.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 06:50am

16. Somewhere along the line, the noble farmer-labor train was hijacked by extremist special interests. While contorting one's party in obeisance to every arch-radical pressure group may well be politically correct and perhaps helps party elites sleep at night, it has a marked inability to win elections.

    Posted by feinfein at 09/04/2008 @ 03:34am

    I think a couple of things have happened to cause the problem. 1) The democratic party took an extreme turn to the right when it chose Bill Clinton as it's presidential nominee. I recalled being horrified at Clinton winning the nod over the likes of Harkin of Iowa.

    2) The people of this country have been dumbed down. They buy into this 30 second sound bite bullshit. I guess if you lie constantly to people and they know you are lying to them, if you do it frequently enough, they'll start believing the lie. Here's one the rethugs just hatched. They claim that Palin now sees the evil in earmarks even though she was a big user of them as a mayor and of course on the bridge to nowhere as governor. But now, she's better even though she's in her first term.? So, is this like McCain's about face on the abortion issue? This is nothing but pandering to the right wing wackos who would like to go back to the witch burning days.

    3) Most of people in this country don't give a rip who is president one way or the other and won't care until they lose everything they have and are out in the cold. Short sighted stupidity is the norm around here. I guess people have to have fate kick their asses over their heads before they will take notice.......and even then there will idiots who still will wave the flag, thump their bibles and screw the working folks of this country to the end.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 06:55am

17. I think people who claim to love children and then have five or six or twelve while thousands languish in foster care are the worst sort of liars and hypocrites.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 05:13am

    Agreed. My wife and I adopted two girls as well and would adopt more if we had the financial means to do so. I grow so tired of listening to right wing conservatives lecture me about values, family, and blah blah blah while the only motivation for them is greed, keeping that extra 30% of the taxable income so they can buy more stuff. Eff em!!

    But, instead, nutcases like this bible thumping moron Palin start pushing their abstinence only, no sex education to teens crap to try to draw that 28% of the vote that are barely able to chew gum and breath at the same time. Like I said earlier, the politics of this country has been dumbed down to the lowest common denomiator. The southern baptist voter with a high school education or less who votes the way his / her minister tell them to vote.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 07:01am

18. I thought this was in interesting article:

    By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 3, 11:48 PM ET

    ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

    Some examples:

    PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

    THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

    PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform -- not even in the state senate."

    THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Rep

    Posted by k330k at 09/04/2008 @ 07:13am

19. From a contact in AK

    "Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.   During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.   Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.   The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved!

    Posted by crabwalk at 09/04/2008 @ 07:13am

20. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 07:01am

    Wish I could stay and chat but need to feed my charming child and get him on the bus before I head out. A couple of days ago (I think) Frankgrits or someone much like him made some comments about how there were no white kids available for adoption while inferring that this was because there are more non-white babie...what? Abandoned? I don't know what his point was exactly, but it is another thing that peeves me about so many wingers. They will spend a hundred thousand dollars on in vitro because there are no white babies available. Do they want a kid or a pair of shoes?

    My Aunt and Uncle adopted a Korean orphan during the airlift(my way too cute cousin-we were soooo jealous) not knowing the health, background or even the gender of the baby they would be taking home. Now they were a couple of real pro-lifers. And Democrats.

    God bless you and your girls. Have a great day!

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 07:14am

21. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

    PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

    THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

    Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

    He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

    MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep ma

    Posted by k330k at 09/04/2008 @ 07:16am

22. Sarah Palin's address to the RNC was a mocking, sarcastic, messianic exercise of vituperate proportions that offered little but her own ultra-fundamentalist angst ridden philosophy. John McCain has found his own "Cheney." IVAN LADIZINSKY Delray Beach, FL

    Posted by ladizinsky at 09/04/2008 @ 07:16am

23. Continued...

    "While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.   Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).   As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.  

    Posted by crabwalk at 09/04/2008 @ 07:17am

24. There's more:

    MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

    THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state -- by population.

    MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

    THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

    Posted by k330k at 09/04/2008 @ 07:17am

25. This is the rest of the article:

    FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

    THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

    FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right -- change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington -- throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

    THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

    ___

    Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report.

    Sorry for the breaks. I didn't realize there was a set number of characters one could post until after the first part was posted. My bad.

    Posted by k330k at 09/04/2008 @ 07:19am

26. All of the facts in the world will mean nothing to the cons. One; they don't believe in facts, two; they have their expectation meter set even lower than they had it set for chimpy.

    Take the VP debate for example, all she will have to do is how up and get through it, Biden will have to hit 8 home runs and not "bully" the barracuda.

    Posted by crabwalk at 09/04/2008 @ 07:37am

27. God bless you and your girls. Have a great day!

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 07:14am

    Thanks Pogge. People like you are a lighthouse in a bad fog.

    I can't imagine someone preferring "white babies". These un-attached folks have evidently never been to an orphanage nor seen the sadness of children with no one to really care for or about them. Like you said, they think of adopting a baby like ordering a hamburger or a pair of shoes.

    Most of the church going right wingers would be just as happy wiping out entire populations where these orphaned children come from for political clout and expediency. Talk about lost souls.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 07:38am

28. stop the bush/mccain/cheney/palin military-prison-industrial complex!

    Posted by tskinner at 09/04/2008 @ 07:58am

29. Comments about the upcoming Palin-Biden debate:

    sloper said "The debate with Biden should prove good clean fun."

    MY COMMENT: Yes, but not for Joe Biden. Vice-President elect Palin will mop the floor with him.

    crabwalk said "Take the VP debate for example, all she will have to do is how up and get through it, Biden will have to hit 8 home runs and not "bully" the barracuda."

    MY COMMENTS:

    1 - The moderator of the debate will get frustrated having to continually remind Biden his allotted time is out, as he keeps bloviating.

    2 - Biden will be too busy being struck out, caught off base, being thrown out at first, and caught stealing (in baseball it is stealing, when Joe Biden does it they call it plagarism) to be able to hit any home runs!

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 08:17am

30. Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 08:17am

    No evidence for that....just...

    "truthiness"!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 08:40am

31. BTW, Biden isn't stupid and he knows he cannot sound condescending to Palin.

    More than likely, he'll employ a "give her plenty of rope and let her hang herself" strategy...not harshly or even strongly criticizing her on some position...

    merely letting her run with it, until her Far Right ideology swamps her good sense and she says something like "We need to use EVERY weapon in our arsenal to stop Iran from getting a nuke"...and then the McCain/Palin Campaign has to come out the next day and say "No, no...Gov. Palin was NOT talking about nuking Iran" after 12-24 hours of the news cycle has Sarah vaporizing Teheran.

    Biden will simply sound deliberate, steadfast, and SANE in comparison....with nary a glove laid on the Governor.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 08:45am

32. "Oil Mom", slick but not slick enough!

    Let's face it Alaska has oil and a population of under 700,000 in a space 1/3 the size of the USA. We have been fighting a war for oil in Iraq for almost eight years. It's unreasonable to think that the oil companies would let Alaska be out of their control at all.They control the politics of Alaska and this "oil mom" is just another puppet front for them like Reagan, Bush and John McCain.Her view of the world has to be like looking at it through a keyhole. It's a perfect pick for them.

    Posted by linwood at 09/04/2008 @ 08:50am

33. First Impressions of Palin: Sledgehammer Sarah Palin had her coming out party last night. She wasted no time establishing herself as the right-wing's attack dog.

    Another word that comes to mind is "sledgehammer." It is clear that she is being set up to run the domestic agenda and deliver on the right wing issues of education, judges, and abortion. Perhaps she can bully her way into Congress and get some action from the weak-spined members will cow to. But how would she approach international scene?

    I have not yet seen a comment on her diplomatic skills, but what I saw last night tells me she has none. She slammed diplomacy. Walk softly and carry a big stick?

    Well we have seen her big schtick.

    It is the last thing we need to improve our role in leading important changes and partnerships in the world.

    Posted by snseattle at 09/04/2008 @ 09:05am

34. First Impressions of Palin: Sledgehammer Sarah Palin had her coming out party last night. She wasted no time establishing herself as the right-wing's attack dog.

    Another word that comes to mind is "sledgehammer." It is clear that she is being set up to run the domestic agenda and deliver on the right wing issues of education, judges, and abortion. Perhaps she can bully her way into Congress and get some action from the weak-spined members will cow to. But how would she approach international scene?

    I have not yet seen a comment on her diplomatic skills, but what I saw last night tells me she has none. She slammed diplomacy. Walk softly and carry a big stick?

    Well we have seen her big schtick.

    It is the last thing we need to improve our role in leading important changes and partnerships in the world.

    Posted by snseattle at 09/04/2008 @ 09:05am

35. First Impressions of Palin: Sledgehammer Sarah Palin had her coming out party last night. She wasted no time establishing herself as the right-wing's attack dog.

    Another word that comes to mind is "sledgehammer." It is clear that she is being set up to run the domestic agenda and deliver on the right wing issues of education, judges, and abortion. Perhaps she can bully her way into Congress and get some action from the weak-spined members will cow to. But how would she approach international scene?

    I have not yet seen a comment on her diplomatic skills, but what I saw last night tells me she has none. She slammed diplomacy. Walk softly and carry a big stick?

    Well we have seen her big schtick.

    It is the last thing we need to improve our role in leading important changes and partnerships in the world.

    Posted by snseattle at 09/04/2008 @ 09:08am

36. "one of us" being upper class WHITE person..and her heil salute on the front page of Communist News Network didn't help...either....

    repugnicants have lowest number of black delegates in the last eight years...didn't even mention hispanics or asians...they have token black sec of state and token asian labor sec helen chao....colin powell couldn't take the s h i t anymore so he deserves respect...

    the grand old nazi party needs to get das boot..........

    Posted by jrs112 at 09/04/2008 @ 09:20am

37. if you can find one non-white delegate at RNC you should win a prize, under 60 get a gold star....female besides token VP a sneering bush sticker.....

    Posted by jrs112 at 09/04/2008 @ 09:22am

38. Unfortunately, I have to agree with Mr. Moser on this one. There were numerous occasions last night, where I cringed just as he did. Guiliani and Palin's speeches again made it apparent to me that the Republicans have a knack for being critical of the Dems without sounding snooty or patronizing. While many of their critiques are ad hominem or even "pure-T bullshit," they never seem to play that way. Palin delivered the elitist line quite well and in a forceful and believable way. And I think it is the one area where Obama is especially vulnerable. His comment about guns and religion is particularly haunting for even though we might want to focus on the economy and more tangible policy issues, the Right Turn in this country has made cultural issues and values central to presidential campaigning. And Moser is right, the Dems seem to have been weak in their response to this shift.

    While Palin's "ordinary-ness" might not jibe with her policies, I wonder to what degree the Dems are going to be able to counter-act the perception of her as a"hockey mom." They must tread lightly over the next few weeks in responding to this new life that the Republicans seem to have. They must choose their words carefully in responding to this hockey mom. And they must emphasize their own everyday-ness in a way that keeps discussion on the failed policies and real troubles of everyday Americans.

    And above all else, they must keep from sounding condescending, while remaining critical.

    Posted by scott_d at 09/04/2008 @ 09:22am

39. this is all total b.s.

    wtf?

    please.

    please.

    please.

    YOU ENQUIRE WHERE I NOW STAND. THAT IS A DISPUTED POINT. I THINK I AM A WHIG; BUT OTHERS SAY THERE ARE NO WHIGS, AND THAT I AM AN ABOLITIONIST. WHEN I WAS AT WASHINGTON I VOTED FOR THE WILMOT PROVISO AS GOOD AS FORTY TIMES, AND I NEVER HEARD OF ANY ONE ATTEMPTING TO UNWHIG ME FOR THAT. I NOW DO MORE THAN OPPOSE THE EXTENSION OF SLAVERY.

    I AM NOT A KNOW-NOTHING. THAT IS CERTAIN. HOW COULD I BE? HOW CAN ANY ONE WHO ABHORS THE OPPRESSION OF NEGROES, BE IN FAVOR OF DEGRADING CLASSES OF WHITE PEOPLE? OUR PROGRESS IN DEGENERACY APPEARS TO ME TO BE PRETTY RAPID. AS A NATION, WE BEGAN BY DECLARING THAT "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL." WE NOW PRACTICALLY READ IT "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, EXCEPT NEGROES." WHEN THE KNOW-NOTHINGS GET CONTROL, IT WILL READ "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, EXCEPT NEGROES, AND FOREIGNERS, AND CATHOLICS." WHEN IT COMES TO THIS I SHOULD PREFER EMIGRATING TO SOME COUNTRY WHERE THEY MAKE NO PRETENCE OF LOVING LIBERTY -- TO RUSSIA, FOR INSTANCE, WHERE DESPOTISM CAN BE TAKE PURE, AND WITHOUT THE BASE ALLOY OF HYPOCRACY [SIC].

    go get 'em abe!

    fuck this bullshit.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/04/2008 @ 09:33am

40. Horrible piece of political fluff. The other guy is bad. the news media is terrible. There is my great dysfunctional family. I'm so great because I've had five kids. They, the media, are picking on me because I'm, sob, sob, a women. We have, all of us, great values, let's overturn Roe v. Wade. Let's turn Alaska into an oil field. Let's ship the rest of the jobs to China. Let's reduce the taxes of big business so it will be cheaper for them to move off shore. I'm going to keep my down syndrome child, because I'm a republican, the democrats would not.

    Posted by lachatte at 09/04/2008 @ 09:35am

41. "The tough mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false. The tough-minded individual is astute and discerning. He has a strong austere quality that makes for firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment. Who doubts that this toughness is one of man's greatest needs? Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."

    please.

    not again.

    think.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/04/2008 @ 09:46am

42. In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, -- if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people, if well administered; and I believe, farther, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/04/2008 @ 09:51am

43. That speech by Palin last night was not delivered to the readers of The Nation. And I think Democrats often fail to portray themselves as empathetic or understanding of people who have different beliefs or values. While the GOP is much better at delivering empathy, even if it is empty upon further analysis of their policies.

    The one thing the Dems have going for them is that the character candidate is the VP this time. From my point of view, McCain better hope that football game goes to overtime so the television public misses his speech. At this point, McCain can only ruin the momentum created last night. Something I see as a positive for Obama-Biden

    Posted by scott_d at 09/04/2008 @ 09:52am

44. Posted by crabwalk at 09/04/2008 @ 07:13am

    Come on Crabs I know, along with everyone else, you are greatly impressed with the lovely Sarah who is not only highly fertile but obviously also has high intelligence. (And yippee, she's not a lawyer...they're the ones whose stock in trade is lying; for their clients of course but it seems it's a habit that's sort of hard for them to break. A good rule of thumb it seems to me if you want an honest pollie, or P/VP for that matter, is not to choose a lawyer).

    One thing I've discovered about you Americans is that you never let the truth get in the way of a good story. That of course is not limited to one side of politics but I know that would never happen on these sacred pages.

    I did notice somewhere though, and while I'm prepared to accept its a right wing lie, her state budget was $13.2 billion and I haven't noticed that lie repeated in your post modernist approach to story telling. You could buy a lot of bass guitars with that sort of loot but that's another story.

    Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 09:52am

45. TORONTO -- Canadian scientists are sounding another environmental alarm with word that a massive Arctic ice shelf has broken free and is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.

    The 50-square-kilometre Markham Ice Shelf broke away in early August, researchers say, and two large sections representing 60 per cent of the Serson Ice Shelf have also become detached.

    That means some 214-square-kilometres of Arctic ice shelves have been lost this summer, or about a quarter of what was left. It's the equivalent of more than three times the area of the Manhattan island.

    <<<<>>>>

    FACTS - TRUTH '08

    please.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/04/2008 @ 09:56am

46. I guess Alaska approval ratings mean nothing. If Palin is such a lousy candidate, then liberals have nothing to worry about. This gamble VP pick is going to win the election for McCain.

    Posted by 95Nautique at 09/04/2008 @ 10:14am

47. I guess Alaska approval ratings mean nothing.---Posted by 95Nautique at 09/04/2008 @ 10:14am

    Actually...they don't.

    Alaskans occupy a unique and non-repeatable demographic/political zone of the United States.

    They are "rugged individualist/conservatives"....who get a yearly pay-out from the Government.

    Most are more libertarian than social cons, and Palin won them over by downplaying her "pro-life" stances over her "cut wasteful spending" stances.

    Plus, remember Palin actually RAISED taxes, a windfall profits tax on Big Oil on the fields in AK....something her devotees here seem to forget...and something that WILL BE ASKED OF HER this Fall and why she would oppose that nationally.

    But no....being popular in Alaska has little relevance outside of the base of the Republican Party on the whole.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 10:36am

48. JOMAMMA, I think you and many others are grossly overestimating the breadth of Sarah Palin's appeal, and underestimating the voters' ability to smell great steaming heaps of political bullshit when they're plopped right in their laps. She's smarmy, sneering, condescending, and thoroughly full of it, and you'd be surprised how many non-ideologues are likely to agree. Sarah Barracuda is neither as good as you think, nor as good as she thinks. It's taken them awhile, but American swing voters have finally gotten wise to the GOP's same-old, same-old, phony-baloney schtick. They've seen and heard this same fraudulent bilge for years, and they've had their fill of it. Don't panic, people! Take it right to them!

    Posted by dfreyleue at 09/04/2008 @ 10:38am

49. Hello Maskdelta

    Time for me to throw a penalty flag!

    You said in your post above, about my comment on the pending debate between Vice President Elect Palin and Mr. PlagarizerP:

    " No evidence for that....just... "truthiness"! "

    I thought you on the left were enlightened! You don't recognize my opinion when you see it.

    You can't tell opinion from fact because:

    1. You believe your opinion to be truth, no matter what. People from time to time express opinions, provide information, and list facts. When you post a comment, it all blends together for you. You view it all to be one and the same.

    2. As a lib, you appoint yourself the referee and judge of non-liberal postings. You, as the lib referee, determine the validity of and "truthiness" of all comments. Of course, if the comments are not lib, they are not truth, nor fact!

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 10:45am

50. Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 09:52am

    I don't know how small your country is-I thought you were from GB, but maybe not, eh-but a budget of 13.2 billion isn't really all that impressive to a nation whose DEBT is $9,671,093,841,907.76 as of this am.

    No one, not McCain, Obama, Biden or Palin can wrap their head entirely around that number nor retire the astronomical debt this insane administration is leaving behind like dung behind the ox cart, but the Democrats-no matter what "small government" LIES the GOPPERS tell, have balanced the budget and are far more likely to do it again.

    Clinton=Surplus with props to G.H.W. Bush who was intelligent enough to break his "NO new taxes" pledge when he saw that Reagan's VOODOO ECONOMICS weren't working. Pity the Republicans didn't listen to him in 1980.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 10:49am

51. Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 10:45am

    SJ, sure...people are free to offer opinions. But they USUALLY back them up with SOME evidentiary facts and then (a la the scientific method) extrapolate on those facts and data to come up with a theory.

    You just SAY something...even if it's totally unsupported ("teach a man to fish...from the Bible") and then expect it to be taken as having some authority or valid basis.

    Most of what you say is what you FEEL.....ergo "truthiness"

    check it out-

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSE_saVX_2A

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 10:55am

52. Posted by lrjones4 at 09/04/2008 @ 09:52am

    We spend about $13.2 billion a month in Iraq, the war that-according to the GOPPERS-isn't having a negative effect on our economy. Just ask John McCain-if we may get off Palin for a moment and discuss the ACTUAL Candidate.

    I think the base is excited because they are praying McCain will die in office and Palin will give them everything their hearts desire. That's sick, but in recent years the wingers have prayed for a lot of death. Just google a little. They are the most death friendly Christians since the Inquisition if you believe all the rhetoric.(I personally think most of them are weenies who hide behind our military, but again, just one woman's opinion).

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 11:01am

53. from article on msn: "Palin opposed a state ballot initiative to increase protection of salmon streams from mining operations. It was defeated.

    _She also opposed a ballot initiative barring the shooting of wolves and bears from aircraft except in biological emergencies. It was also defeated.

    Under Palin, the state Board of Game authorized for the first time in 20 years the shooting of wolves by state wildlife officials from helicopters. The order resulted in the controversial shooting this summer of 14 one-month-old wolf pups taken from dens on a remote peninsula 800 miles southwest of Anchorage -- an act that environmentalists claim was illegal.

    State officials characterized the killings as humanitarian, saying the pups would have suffered and eventually died without the care of their parents. Environmentalists argued they were killed to boost caribou populations to the benefit of hunters."

    she is pro-life, anti sex education, anti women's right to choose, anti-environmentalist, global warming denialist even when today's headlines showing another glacier larger than manhattan disappeared...virtually overnight while the killa from wasilla was speaking.....

    christ, the choices couldn't be more clear to any level-headed person....

    btw: did ANYBODY see any non white attendee at any time during GOP convention?????

    if you are female, white, gay/lesbian, pro choice, any minority, not in top 1%, vote democratic to benefit your own life...instead of further enriching these disconnected morons.....they are all pukes....liars, and cheats....after a week of civil discourse by dems, GOP a holes immediately began attacking by NAME democrats, Obama, etc.like kindergarten bullies..biden needs to kick this beyotche's ass ASAP..Obama needs to rip into mcsame ASAP

    Posted by jrs112 at 09/04/2008 @ 11:12am

54. Not since Reese Witherspoon created the character Tracy Flick in the 1999 Matthew Broderick comedy "Election" have I had such a good laugh.

    The legally brunette VP candidate, Sarah Palin, intoned her nom accept speech at the Republican Convention with all the fire and brimstone of a hard-shell Baptist at the funeral of a rich reprobate whose estate she seeks. Implicitly, she comes to praise George Bush, as well as to bury him. If John McCain steps too close to the edge of the grave and falls in, so be it.

    But there she is, calling on the bonds of race and blood ("small town America"), "always" proud of America (that abstraction which can do no wrong). If Obama were to have a renditioned al Qaeda suspect thrown into his hands, he'd "read him his rights" rather than field dress him. Look at all the ones who got away! Can't have that!

    By the way, on the day she was praised for being able to field dress a moose, I was cutting down a strip steak (rather small, I admit - only enough to feed a dozen people). I thought of my childhood swingset, which buzzed with flies as a deer dripped hung from it. Meat is meat.

    But men are not meat.

    Posted by musings at 09/04/2008 @ 11:18am

55. Biden will simply sound deliberate, steadfast, and SANE in comparison....with nary a glove laid on the Governor.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 08:45am

    Mask, What you say is true, but there are two problems. 1) Unless Biden directly points out here stupidity and nails her to the cross, most people watching the debates evidently don't have the capacity to understand that she's hung herself....proof in the pudding would be the Bush / Kerry debates as well as the Bush / Gore debates. Bush got his ass handed to him and look how the elections turned out.

    The other problem is the weenie heads moderating the debates as well as the networks. After the debate is over we'll hear from different sides how the other side won the debate. The substance of the debate won't count, and they'll make it look like it's a 50/50 outcome.

    This boils down to the American people being able to see through bullshit. Given the last 8 years, it's looking like not only can we not see through bullshit, but evidently we loved to be lied to in a rather blatant manner I might add.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 11:28am

56. Progressives and liberals should not lose sight of the accomplishment last night for Gov. Palin whether liberals agree with her views or not.

    She is a testament to the meritocracy long advocated by the left. Palin did not come from a wealthy family or attend elite schools and colleges. She developed an interest in politics as an adult.

    How one communicates and presents him or herself is critical. Obama does not come across as Sharpton or Jackson. Palin may be conservative but does not come across like Pat Buchanan. Palin is no underachieving rich kid like Dan Quayle.

    Now we see why Hillary is a joke and why Obama beat her and did not select her. Hillary unlike Obama retains the sharp edge of the 1960s culture wars. It is hard to admire Hillary who remained married to a sexual predator and using his status to become a U.S. Senator in a Democratic friendly state.

    In Obama and Palin we thankfully see that Americans -- whether on the right or left -- can rise to any level at any time of their life with hard work and talent.

    Progressives and liberals may disagree with Palin but in five days the right is objecting to sexism and supporting special needs children. The right tact may be for progressives to support Palin as the leader of the opposition in the minority.

    Posted by pacerdhs at 09/04/2008 @ 11:51am

57. Posted by pacerdhs at 09/04/2008 @ 11:51

    Palin is a large fish in a small pond. In the big bright ocean of the world stage her merit is negligible and she will be eaten alive. Justifiably so.

    GWB is a perfect example of The Peter Principle squared and an embarrassment to the Ivy League so now we are going to let a very interesting, moderately talented, adequately educated poorly qualified middle class Republican make the same mistakes? Oh, I don't think so.

    A meritocracy lets the cream rise to the top no matter where it starts out.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 12:24pm

58. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 09/04/2008 @ 11:28am

    Oh Biden can be tough, be he has to be careful.

    The Right OBVIOUSLY will accuse him of being "sexist and condescending" unless he agrees with everything Palin says.

    I'm just saying SHE will be her own worst enemy.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 12:27pm

59. Maskdelta:

    Regarding your earlier posts:

    You are starting in with the Bible quote again that I made. This item has appeared in the public domain more times that I can count, and a lot of people are aware of it.

    But on your command, I am supposed to cite the specific reference, else you declare it has not been proven.

    At some point, one can get absurd. You passed that point long time ago.

    I have better things to do with my time than provide a citation to prove something to you that countless number of people know about.

    In other words, no point in wasting time with a lib (you) that is playing games.

    To illustrate, here is an excerpt from another thread:

    ====================

    http://www.thenation.com/blogs/ campaignmatters/353407/ roll_over_rockefeller

    No doubt our local right-wingers will claim that "pro-choice Repubs are TINY minority, nothing to even consider"....

    good.

    Hope they do, because FIRST they will have to provide polling data that shows that Sarah Palin is "in the mainstream" on the issue of abortion

    Maskdelta 09/03/2008

    =====================

    What is this nonsense? You are some kind of judge who sets rules on what one is to provide in a blog comment, and if the comment does not meet requirements YOU set down it is invalid??

    You are pompous, eh? (I don't have to cite anything to prove that, YOUR own postings do it for me!)

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 12:52pm

60. I am going to say this from now until the elections, as my own life and those of my children depend on it.

    I am a single mother raising 2 children with no health insurance. I work hard and have been paying taxes for the past 15 years. Last night, Sarah Palin DID NOT speak to me, for me or about me. There was not one mention about me and the millions like me.

    What exactly does that make us?

    Refugees in our own country?

    Posted by nerakami at 09/04/2008 @ 1:12pm

61. After reading all the preceding comments, I can hear Death March music playing in the background for liberalism is finished and Hilary will never be President. The majority of the comments posted here are done by losers that are slowly realizing that the failed philosophy of the 1960 Marxist is dead. There attacks are half-hearted attempts to slow a dying hope of socialism. The war in Iraq has been won, the Conservatives are showing more diversity and character with their story is one of hope and prosperity instead of the hate and depression of the Left. Obama is a loser with a loser's philosophy of stealing money from the winners and wasting in on losers. The future is clear be a loser victim and be a Democrat or give up the victim status and join with the winners and go with McCain-Palin.

    Posted by Exton1 at 09/04/2008 @ 1:24pm

62. "You are starting in with the Bible quote again that I made. This item has appeared in the public domain more times that I can count, and a lot of people are aware of it."

    You claimed the passage came from the Bible, your claim was deflated and, typically, you don't have the intellectual honesty to admit it. Sniffing around on Google I find some entries that attribute the phrase to Lao Tzu.

    Incidentally, I found a searchable online Bible and the quote doesn't come up in any searches under "fish". http://www.biblegateway.com/ quicksearch/?quicksearch=Fish&qs_version=31

    But I'm sure you'll come up with some lame-ass excuse for that as well.

    "What is this nonsense? You are some kind of judge who sets rules on what one is to provide in a blog comment, and if the comment does not meet requirements YOU set down it is invalid?? "

    Wrong again, he is making an assertion that your argument has a prerequisite.

    Perhaps you need a time-out.

    Posted by brunowe at 09/04/2008 @ 1:51pm

63. ignore palin/cheney/mccain/bush as the corporate war machine self destructs

    Posted by tskinner at 09/04/2008 @ 2:00pm

64. Posted by nerakami at 09/04/2008 @ 1:12

    If it's any comfort-and it's a small one at best-those of us with kick butt health coverage are working overtime to see that it is made available to every American.

    Don't believe all the "You're a Marxist" whiners. We lived in Europe and many countries have universal or single payer coverage NOT socialized medicine. What is missing from all the other systems are obscene profits by HMOs and the insurance industry. Europe, Japan, Canada et al treat healthcare like police or fire protection-as a human right.

    Our country is the one out of step and trust me, no one wants our system no matter how much they dislike their own.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 2:29pm

65. As Harry Carry would say:

    LIBS WIN! LIBS WIN! Holy Cow!

    QUOTATION: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. ATTRIBUTION: Chinese proverb.--The International Thesaurus of Quotations, ed. Rhoda Thomas Tripp, p. 76, no. 3 (1970).

    brunowe and maskdelta are the font of brilliance!

    The fish quote did not come from the Bible. I was wrong! It is a chinese proverb.

    I had thought it came from the Bible, I had heard people refer to it that way.

    During my internet search I found others believed it also.

    I believe I used this reference to illustrate the difference between liberalism and conservativism. The quote still illustrates that difference.

    However, that doesn't matter. I did not cite the correct source, so the quote is totally INVALID.

    And also, my not knowing the exact source of the quote shows complete ignorance.

    This is the difference between libs and conservatives. Libs know everything, and everything they believe and say is backed up with facts and proof, that the libs have complete awareness of at all times.

    People like me are robots, led around by wicked chickenhawk neocons.

    We need to start getting enlightenment, like liberals have, so we know this country must:

    1. Disband the military so there will be world peace.

    2. Impeach all chickenhawk neocons.

    3. Free the captives from Gitmo.

    4. Send Jimmy Carter on a world tour to apologize to whoever he think wants it.

    5. Capitulate and surrender in Iraq.

    6. Ban all religion from public school, execpt the Holy Koran and Islam.

    7. Nationalize all companies, establish socialism here at home, and take all money from the wealthy and give it to the workers and the people.

    LIBS WIN! LIBS WIN!

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 2:36pm

66. "However, that doesn't matter. I did not cite the correct source, so the quote is totally INVALID.

    And also, my not knowing the exact source of the quote shows complete ignorance."

    What it shows is that you will say things without really caring if you get your facts straight and then, when asked to do so, you have a hissy-fit.

    "brunowe and maskdelta are the font of brilliance!"

    Well, really only compared to you.

    Posted by brunowe at 09/04/2008 @ 2:43pm

67. brunowe,

    And of course, and I admit now, that certainly you and maskdelta, and acutally all libs on this website and on any other site and anywhere in the public domain, ALWAYS have their facts straight.

    You say you are brilliant compared to me. You are brilliant compared to ANY other conservative anywhere.

    You are only less brilliant compared to other liberals.

    Liberals NEVER,EVERY say anything ANYWHERE that is not backed up totally 100% with absolute facts and proof. Libs are like walking encyclopedias. And libs have truth on their side since liberalism is the 100% correct political philosophy.

    It is only ignorant neocons like me who stand in the way of implementation of a 100% Progressive society where all people will never have to want for anything again, for which everything will be perfect and beautiful in every way.

    Barack Obama promises us this. How can we not vote for Barack Obama?

    A new law needs to be implemented immediately, perhaps it can be found by a judge in our living breathing constitution, that in order to protect the workers and the people and help bring about change, that Neocons like me be prohibited from voting on the charge that we are too ignorant to vote.

    That would be for the greater good, then the workers and the people would triupmph and Barack Obama will be elected president, and then the air will be purer, the sky bluer, the water will taste sweeter, and everything will be absolutely perfect in every way!

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 2:55pm

68. Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 2:55pm

    There is a difference between sarcasm and irony and the former is much, much more amusing than the latter.

    Practice, practice, practice and you too can be one of us grasshopper.

    Only to a winger can a former single mom who pulled herself out of welfare by her bootstraps be considered an out of touch liberal elite. I guess we should thank you.

    Posted by Pogge at 09/04/2008 @ 3:04pm

69. In a donation email the McCain campaign put out this day, it attributed this statement to Palin: "Friends, there is a time for politics and a time for leadership. There is a time to campaign and a time to put our country first. John McCain and I are putting our country first, because it's what true leaders do. Unfortunately, as you've seen this week, the Obama/Biden Democrats have been vicious in their attacks directed toward me, my family and John McCain. The misinformation and flat-out lies must be corrected."

    This people are little proto-fascists. With America in the deepening grip of economic recession, these Robber Barons are now fixing the mud pits for a full campaign of distortion and hate. How ironic that McCain, a so-called true American hero, would participate in the final throws of corporate destruction not only of America...but also of the global environment. Arm yourself well.

    Posted by tobalito49 at 09/04/2008 @ 3:09pm

70. Brunowe and Maskdelta,

    About the quote, though:

    "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime"

    On a couple of concise sentences, the quote illustrates the difference between conservatism and liberalism, and also the total failure of liberalism.

    Libs advocate giving a man a fish. Libs continually remaind people how wrong it is if they are not given fish, how the wealthy have all the fish, and then vote for the libs and you will be given fish. Then, later on, after people vote for libs and still don't have fish, the cycle repeats itself.

    Conservatives advocate teaching people how to fish, thus they will then be able to feed themselves and they will grow and be self-sufficient and have dignity.

    You, of course, will demand proof. The Great Society was enacted in the 1960's. That, we were told, would cure poverty. Poverty is no better today. How do you explain this?

    The two of you wrap yourselves around the minutae of my supposed intellectual dishonesty and "not caring", and thus you avoid having to confront the main point behind the quote.

    Because, as far as the main point of the quote goes, it illustrates that your leftist ideas do not work. You can not prove that they do.

    I can prove that they don't. See Society, Great, 1964-2008, etc.

    When push comes to shove, you can not defend your points, so you avoid them by making a circus out of these blogs.

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:11pm

71. When push comes to shove, you can not defend your points, so you avoid them by making a circus out of these blogs.

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:11pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    Gee, I think the circus accusation would appropriate go to the person who talks in nothing but dittohead cliches.

    "You, of course, will demand proof. The Great Society was enacted in the 1960's. That, we were told, would cure poverty. Poverty is no better today. How do you explain this?"

    But simply pointing out that you're full of it. http://www.census.gov/ hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov13.xls

    According to the Census Bureau, the poverty rate in 1959-64 ranged from 15% to 18.5%. In the 1970s, it was below 10$ for 8 of those ten years. It was also as low as 8.7% during the last years of Clinton's stay in office and even after the several years of mediocre growth during the Bush administration it's only gone up to 9.8%.

    Last I checked, a poverty rate of 9.8% is still better than a poverty rate of 15%.

    Of of curiousity, is some lefty actually paying you to argue the dittohead talking points as badly as possible?

    Posted by brunowe at 09/04/2008 @ 3:37pm

72. Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:11pm

    "truthiness"

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 3:38pm

73. Posted by Exton1 at 09/04/2008 @ 1:24pm

    Taxing the rich (fairly) is socialism...? wtf???

    Is it evil socialism that pays for Police and Fire Fighters to protect your precious property? So the money "stolen" from taxpayers to pay for public roads, schools, and other socialistic services, is "wasted on losers?" I hope your kids are in private school, your private helicopter never lands on public property, and your private police force protects you (Walmart has one why shouldn't everyone else?)

    Let me get this perfectly clear... If my grandpa has to choose between his medicine and food after a long life of playing by the rules and working hard... he's a loser?

    Posted by ADHD at 09/04/2008 @ 3:39pm

74. Republican economic policy has never been effective (at least for those to whom money is supposed to "trickle down"). Why would the same old ideas suddenly become effective in 2008? Now is not the time for ideologically-driven, faith-based economics. I, for one, am not willing to give it one more try.

    Posted by Be Good at 09/04/2008 @ 3:44pm

75. You, of course, will demand proof. The Great Society was enacted in the 1960's. That, we were told, would cure poverty. Poverty is no better today. How do you explain this?

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:11pm

    I wasn't alive during the 60's, but I'm pretty sure the 80's happened somewhere between the 60's and now...

    Posted by ADHD at 09/04/2008 @ 3:46pm

76. exton1 - You say the war in Iraq has been won. I guess that's why Sarah Palin's boy is headed there. If as you said the war was won, would that make it right? Does might, in the end, make right? Did the Germans win whenever they invaded a country? Not permanently, no.

    Those who attack liberalism usually take comfort in assaulting the constitution too. They dislike due process (reading someone his rights - what Obama would do, says Sarah Palin), they prefer the gut and faith and stuff like that over the difficulties of negotiating with others. If they have the whip hand, they use it without hesitation, even if they are coming down on a slave or a suspect or a person with a different religious belief. Liberals are ones who understand that facts are not always visible immediately, in a flash of revelation, but require patient unraveling (look at the way those stories have unravelled in Iraq and Afghanistan -- no wonder the gut-thinkers are upset -- people that is, who while calling themselves conservatives, are at times dangerously close to fascists).

    Liberalism predates Karl Marx by many centuries. It was not present under communism, as I could see with my own eyes when I happened to visit Hungary. No, liberals there would have welcomed the freedoms Americans enjoy, and they do now that Hungary is free. Liberalism arose in a world of abundance and entrepreneurial activity, a world rich with possibilities. The possibility that someone might actually be innocent of witchcraft, though an atheist, is one of those many rich possibilities.

    There is nothing magically wonderful about being a small town American. Sometimes the town is just small because of a runaway business which went abroad and because of the lack of educational opportunities.

    Posted by musings at 09/04/2008 @ 3:52pm

77. ADHD,

    You, of course, are overdoing it.

    I am not talking about basic services, nor am I saying people are losers.

    I am talking about libs demanding people be dependent right off of the bat whether they need to be dependent or not.

    Libs want what they have in Europe, government everything. People dependent on government. There was a lib one time on this site or on The Progressive that wanted parents of children to receive cash payments for help in raising children UNTIL THE CHILD REACHED AGE 27!!!!

    You on the left say that "tax cuts for the rich", that grew the economy, put more money in the treasury, and helped create jobs for all people, was "stealing money from the poor."

    Your solution to situations like poverty is just to re-distribute money, with no thought to where the money goes and whether it helps the people who need help.

    After all this time of the Great Society, why is there hardly any poverty at all, if your ideas work?

    Your answer to health insurance is always to have socialized medicine, like in Cuba, Canada and Europe. You pay no attention to stories about shoddy conditions in the NHS in the UK, or inordinate wait times for tests in Canada, or how Canadians, even with socialized medicine, come over here to the U.S. for medical care oftentimes.

    You are the ones letting everybody know how lousy life in this country is, and that you have a better approach, but your approach just makes things worse.

    Lib approach to crime in the 60's caused an increase in crime, which devestated poor neighborhoods.

    People are not losers unless they let libs convince them that libs are their answer, then they are made losers by libs.

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:56pm

78. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecxj1C1xJWA

    Posted by KyHillbilly at 09/04/2008 @ 4:39pm

79. Just your regular folks next door... here's Vanity Fair's assessment of two outfits of earlier:

    Laura Bush Oscar de la Renta suit: $2,500 Stuart Weitzman heels: $325 Pearl stud earrings: $600–$1,500 Total: Between $3,425 and $4,325

    Cindy McCain Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000 Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500 Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000 Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000 Shoes, designer unknown: $600 Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

    (All prices except Laura's shoes and Cindy's watch are estimates, and the jewelry prices are based on the assumption that the pieces are real.)

    Posted by cassamandra at 09/04/2008 @ 4:43pm

80. Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 3:56pm

    You say you support "basic services"...okay...

    define that.....specifically.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/04/2008 @ 4:56pm

81. So....let's just see how she does in the media frenzy without a 3 day rehersal and script. Can't wait for her to open that mouth and cut loose with all the extremist, right wing s---. Should be a field day for the press.

    Posted by fiona33 at 09/04/2008 @ 4:57pm

82. So....let's just see how she does in the media frenzy without a 3 day rehearsal and script. Can't wait for her to open that mouth and cut loose with all the extremist, right wing s---. Should be a field day for the press. Maybe McCain can take back his campaign tonight, and at least look like the presidential candidate he is supposed to be. fyi: didn't see anyone of color in that place last night - I believe they and the younger folks were actually out in the streets demonstrating and getting their collective heads bashed in by the Minn/St Paul cops.

    Posted by fiona33 at 09/04/2008 @ 4:59pm

83. I am a former community organizer who was highly insulted by the beauty queen's snide remarks about us not having "real" responsibilities. Try working for no pay and no benefits, trying to help people who don't earn enough to pay for basic living expenses to get fair pay and benefits. Try giving free economic literacy and housing workshops and then have 50 people come over and ask how they can find housing for their families in a market where rents have tripled and right wing government has decided "to get out of the housing business". How soon they forget how Senator Obama turned down a white shoe law firm job where he could write his own ticket to go back and organized displaced workers in Chicago. Of course Ms. Palin the good old girl could never possibly understand community organizing because it involves selflessness, a term absent from her vocabulary. If she was selfless she would be caring for her little disabled son and dedicating herself to providing him with a good quality of life instead of stumping for a job she isn't qualified to perform.

    Posted by macdon1 at 09/04/2008 @ 5:08pm

84. Nice of John McCain to put "America First" with this looney tunes candidate from the frozen tundra. So much for protecting us from terrorists being his number one priority for selecting a VP candidate. And what is all this hoopla about her speech last night. She would not have made the cut among the top Democratic Party speech's last week. It was a paint-by-the-numbers hatchet job taken from the Richard Nixon archives circa 1968, the start of the culture wars. It's amazing how dumb these politicians think we are, like we're going to forget the last eight years because they didn't mention George W. Bush last night.

    Posted by Bobzmcishl at 09/04/2008 @ 5:29pm

85. I posted a civics lesson for Sarah Palin on community organizing at the CA NOW blog: http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2008/09/a-civics-lesson.html

    Posted by canow at 09/04/2008 @ 5:39pm

86. Not that anybody will read this but last night was all attacks and no policy substance. Iraq? Afghanistan? Iran? Pakistan? Georgia? Not mentioned.

    Social Security? I don't recall hearing that. Healthcare either.

    Economy and its condition? Energy crisis and pivotal moment in history? Don't recall hearing that.

    But I did hear a lot of personal attacks.

    Well, 9 weeks is a long campaign and if the right questions get asked by the PRESS and in the VP debate, we'll soon find out if there's anything behind the pit bull's lipstick besides white, very white shiny teeth.

    Posted by MT_Guy at 09/04/2008 @ 5:54pm

87. Palin is a miracle worker sent by God himself, can't you see? The Governor turned all that oil into money! Reality check, Palin took over a state with a population about the same as the city of San Francisco, and with relatively no racial diversity; a state with no major problems. The only state doing well off the pain of the rest of the nations energy woes. Balancing the Alaska budget should be easy even for a pimple faced paperboy. The pipeline? It would have been done with or without the new Gov; with the high price of gas the time was right. The republican base love her for one reason only, she is a religious extremist. She would even force a rape victim to have the rapist's offspring. That is rape in it's self.

    Posted by bayhuntr at 09/04/2008 @ 6:42pm

88. Didn't I read that the republican convention was produced by Max Byalistock?

    It was a comedic hit!

    "Springtime for Hitler"

    in both style and content.

    So many hilarious highlights. I couldn't stop laughing, and it still gives me the giggles, just thinking about it.

    Then, as bonus feature, we get a glimpse "behind the curtain" into the opinion of a major Rethuglitard Intellectual - the Peggy (the prude) Noonan & company's off-stage take on the Really Big Shew :

    "bullshit"

    Oh My Goodness, I haven't laughed so hard or felt so good in - well, maybe never.

    I have to thank them all for their "Service."

    Laughter is so good for the soul. Oh boy, can't wait for ACT II.

    Posted by helist at 09/04/2008 @ 7:38pm

89. Maskdelta,

    You asked the following " You say you support "basic services"...okay... define that.....specifically. "

    Services:

    1. Civil Protection and Service - Police, Fire, DPW, Road maintenance and construction, trash collection, water, sewer, Civil Defense and Homeland Security. Border patrol and protection including discontinuance of illegal immigration.

    2. Educational or Information - Public libraries, public schools and State University systems.

    3a. Public Assistance to those who will never be able to fend for themselves- assistance for those who are not capable due to mental or physical conditions to ever support themselves.

    3b. Public Assistance to those who are capable of supporting themselves - assistance in living while these individuals move towards capability of having self sufficiency through provided training in skills needed. The individual will achieve self-sufficiency. If the individual does not do this, assistance will end anyway.

    4. Laws to protect discrimination against people due to race, gender, etc. and to protect people against unsafe products and environmental practices. These laws will not go beyond that point and place undue restrictions on basic freedoms.

    I am going to run into the word limit so I will continue this in a second posting.

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 7:54pm

90. Maskdelta,

    services, continued:

    5. National Defense - staffing and equipment of a military designed to protect the United States of America and allies against aggression, including both immediate attacks and future threats that will develop into immediate aggression if not stopped in a timely manner.

    6. Maintenance of a court and judicial system to rule on both civil and criminal offenses brought before them, staffed by judges who adhere to the Constitutional requirement that they are limited to interpreting laws and the Constitution, and not perform de-facto law making.

    To do these things, the Government will be staffed and operated by employees who operate in the same kind of work environment as non-Government employees, and who maintain an efficient and cost effective Government.

    To do this, the following will be done:

    1. Immediate reduction of the federal civilian white collar workforce, and equivalent state government white collar workforces, by 25% with another 25% laid off by the end of the next year.

    2. Elimination of the Civil Service system for white collar government employees.

    3. Elimination of any due process rights white-collar government employees if they feel they have been wrongly terminated or wrongly treated on the job. Bring government workers in line with workers outside government, who can raise issues if they feel treatment or termination was due to racial or gender reasons, but who otherwise have no recourse other than to seek employment elsewhere.

    I will continue in the next posting (word limit again)

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 8:03pm

91. Maskdelta,

    staffing, continued:

    4. Elimination of all white collar unions for government workers, including teacher unions. Also, for teachers, elimination of tenure.

    5. Base pay increases and continuation of employment totally on merit.

    6. Introduce delegation of authority to government employment. Managers will have total hire/fire authority, along with the authority to determine pay increases and job continuance. Employees' job performance evaluation will be done by the employees' immediate supervisor, based on criteria established within the immediate organization. (for teachers, the local school or school district). Again, if an employees feels they are being treated unfairly by a supervisor, they have the option to seek employment elsewhere unless it is a case of racial or gender discrimination)

    7. Encourage managers to live within strict financial limits on operating budgets, by letting them know if they do not, their employment will be terminated.

    8. Encourage government employees to successfully perform the basic tasks, despite the reduced workforce, by letting them know if they do not, their employment will be terminated.

    9. Eliminate any overtime pay for white collar government employees. Pay an annual salary for 40 hours worked per week even if hours worked per week goes above 40, or even way above 40.

    These steps will enable government workers to concentrate on doing actual needed work, because they will not have time to create or perform unnecessary paper shuffling or paperwork creation, requirement and regulation creation, co-ordination, internal empire building, etc - i.e. government workers will not have time to waste money if they want to keep their jobs.

    How's that, Maskdelta?

    Posted by sjchermak at 09/04/2008 @ 8:15pm

92. Sjchermak - You just make everything up. The only place this "Liberal" you freaks describe is in your head. Pay people money until their kids are 27?! I don't even want to pay people a tax credit after the second child! It's the wing nuts that are always wanting more exemptions for breading like a rat! Seems like you hypocrites have no problem with socialism when it comes to paying for you kids school, now you want my tax dollar to send them to your private schools! You're such a fake. I'm a "Lib" as you say. I work my ass off, my family works their asses off and we don't expect anything for free. We will always help people in need, but expect them to help them selves and be humble. Liberals are honest people with character, you people are just self righteous. You know why Republicans tell you to hate Elitist? Because stupid people are so much easier to play.

    Posted by bayhuntr at 09/04/2008 @ 10:05pm

93. Never overestimate the intelligence of the American Voter.

    Posted by georgepweb at 09/04/2008 @ 11:06pm

94. fuck this bullshit.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/04/2008 @ 09:33am

    Amen! In a strange sort of way!!

    There is no difference between Palin and every other substanceless blogger that I have to endure. Sneer and Jeer; promote the fear.

    Palin is absolutely a mainstream Corruptlican. Beginning with her attempted abuse of power; her BORROW AND SPEND policies that left her "hometown" with 22 million dollars in debt when she took over her stewardship with a surplus; JUST LIKE BUSH. She is absolutely a mainstream Corruptlican because she is a mainstream hypocrite who talks about being a reformer who opposed the bridge to nowhere, while in fact she used that issue to get elected.

    There is nothing different about Sarah Palin and there is no change for America in promoting this newly manipulated puppet of the corporations.

    I just about puked through her speech and she did not say anything about the economy, she didn't say anything about social security, she didn't say anything about our infrastructure, she didn't say anything about any American issue except OIL AND WAR.

    She's no different--she's a CORRUPTLICAN. I cannot comprehend anyone even considering voting for this incompetent ticket.

    Obama/Biden '08

    PS I hope you are all watching Jon Stewart. He's kicking ass with his video evidence of Corruptlican hypocracy. It is the small joys in life that keep me from throwing a rock through my TV!

    Palin's just sailin' and flailin' and wailin'

    But just around the corner her sneerin' will be failin'

    Posted by PrairieDeb at 09/05/2008 @ 12:38am

95. Moser is exactly correct. This is dangerous. This Moose-ulini is convincing and very good at this..so far..but even if she screws up, her Fiorino harpies will work the sympathy button. Now we have the Nixon-Kennedy race for the modern era.

    Posted by hrayovac at 09/05/2008 @ 02:06am

96. There are so many things to observe about the speeches on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention. As a critic, I can say, Yes, Giuliani was entertaining and Sarah Palin was spunky and vital. But the thing that came through most for me was the overall resemblance to a Nazi torchlight parade. The hallmarks were bellicosity, the appeal to power, and the most fulsome jingoism -- all made mawkish by the enormous background visuals of the liberty bell and American flag, and the culminating blare of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance. Is this what passes for political debate in America? What about the runaway national debt? our imperial militarism and the need to reduce an obscenely large and costly defense establishment? the overwhelming influence of powerful corporations on our national policy? building a positive American image in the world? global warming? loose nukes? a feasible plan for reducing worldwide terrorism? development of new energy sources? eliminating poverty – here and around the world? rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure? generating good jobs at livable wages? creating a real universal health care system? All this -- ignored for the rapid fire of snide and fatuous zingers. Yet, today in the newspapers, all one reads is how Sarah Palin has galvanized the support of average "hard-working," conservative Americans who have the same values she does. Apparently, what really counts for millions -- maybe the majority -- of our countrymen is "belief in God," outrage at abortion, keeping gays in their place, having the power to bully the rest of the world, and putting guns in the hands of all Americans.

    Posted by anschuetz at 09/05/2008 @ 10:32am

97. McCain needed something to emulate the Decocrats' energy, expertise and actual straight talk. So they looked for a woman because that way, all of us Hillary supporters would jump right on the Republican bandwagon. (I cringe at the thought of Palin becoming president, if even for a few days of illness on McM's part.)

    Hate to tell ya this Mr. M., but although a Obama-Clinton ticket would have thrilled the socks off me, I wanted POLITICAL change, not just something (or someone) different.

    I would like NO deficit (in fact, the opposite), LOW unenployment, NO made-up war (to improve the failing economy as well as to best Bush's daddy), being assured that those who disagree with me would NOT call me "unpatriotic." And so much more.

    Heck, if it were possible, I'd re-elect Bill Clinton. Was I better off eight years ago? YOU BETCHA!!!

    You're for change, Mr. M. You've voted for it for eight years now. I'm so impressed. But not fooled.

    Posted by grandmasharon at 09/05/2008 @ 11:08am

98. "a wave of whitebred, flag-waving, faux populism" The term is "white-bread"; it is about consumerism, not genetics. And I have views about "pure-dee" vs "pure-t" bullshit, but either way its bullshit alright.

    Posted by BunnyWho at 09/05/2008 @ 1:43pm

99. Who said it?

    "The Republicans love this country but hate half the people in it."

    Posted by lastmarx at 09/06/2008 @ 9:45pm