Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Palin is no Obama
An excerpt from a really strong post by Coates (I hadn't heard of him before he replaced Yglesias on The Atlantic, but I'm becoming a fan):
For weeks we heard this ridiculous line of argument that Palin brought the same "excitement" and "energy" to the table as Obama, thus equalizing the race. That is exactly the sort of fatal underestimation that is going to get John McCain murked in November.
Obama isn't Obama because he is more "exciting" or had me more "heat" or "energy." He's Obama because his handlers had a deft understanding of caucus rules, because they understood the promise of the Dean/Trippi internet strategy, because they understood the ground game. Fuck all the rhetorical flourishes, all the talk of "exotic" lineage, all Ivy League pedigree, all the hoary meditation on the impact of a black president. It's all bullshit. If Obama doesn't hang eleven straight on Team Clinton in February then we'd all be talking about the dream of Susan B. Anthony. If Hillary Clinton's people understood the rules the way Obama's people did, then McCain would be running ads attacking The Restoration.
The point is that Palin brings "excitement" and "energy" but nothing else. It's all hot-sauce but no catfish. And now the jig is up.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Crazy Pastors
Obama's pastor believes that white racism exists. One of Palin's favorite pastors is an African evangelical who believed it necessary to rid a Kenyan town of witchcraft. Clearly, Obama hangs out with nutjobs and Palin is just an All-American girl.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Why I Hate Republicans...
in under 6 minutes (I know this video has already made the rounds, but it really is classic):
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palin's Convention Speech
Give me a break? Is this all the Republican Party is now? Sneering contempt in a culture war against celebrities and elites? Are they dragging out that bitter crap, again?
They act like it's been another party running the country into the ground for the last 8 years.
After Obama and Biden showed tremendous class towards Palin the past few days, she comes out obnoxiously attacking them with total condenscension for Obama. I'm sorry, what the hell have you done, Palin? Please.
If she wants to play hardball, that's fine. I hope Obama and Biden take the f'ing gloves off now. When they do it, I don't want to hear any more sexist crap from the "liberal media" about how Biden needs to be careful not to bully poor little Sarah.
Oh, and if the family is off-limits, don't parade around the Downs Syndrome baby and talk about how much Sarah's and Bristol's pregnancies confirm their pro-life values.
They act like it's been another party running the country into the ground for the last 8 years.
After Obama and Biden showed tremendous class towards Palin the past few days, she comes out obnoxiously attacking them with total condenscension for Obama. I'm sorry, what the hell have you done, Palin? Please.
If she wants to play hardball, that's fine. I hope Obama and Biden take the f'ing gloves off now. When they do it, I don't want to hear any more sexist crap from the "liberal media" about how Biden needs to be careful not to bully poor little Sarah.
Oh, and if the family is off-limits, don't parade around the Downs Syndrome baby and talk about how much Sarah's and Bristol's pregnancies confirm their pro-life values.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Palin Defends Us From Russia
Cindy McCain reminds us that Alaska is close to Russia.
And the McCain campaign points out that Palin is commander of the Alaska National Guard.
Thank goodness for Sarah Palin. She is the only thing preventing Russia from marching down through defenseless Canada and kidnapping Mariner Moose.
And the McCain campaign points out that Palin is commander of the Alaska National Guard.
Thank goodness for Sarah Palin. She is the only thing preventing Russia from marching down through defenseless Canada and kidnapping Mariner Moose.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sarah Palin?
She seems like a generally decent person, but she's not experienced and perhaps not the reformer she has been made out to be. My main thoughts are below. For more on Palin from up close, see this blog. There's also the potential issue of the suspicious pregnancy. And she's not gonna be as strong with women as McCain probably thinks.
Foreign Policy Experience
For months, McCain has been saying that, not only is Obama less experienced than he is, Obama is dangerously inexperienced in a time of terrorism and global conflict. Of course, McCain people will argue that Obama is inexperienced, too. Anybody that says that Obama is no more qualified to be president than Sarah Palin is just being dense.
First, Obama just has more experience. Palin was a city council member and mayor in a town of 5000 for a decade before becoming Governor of Alaska. She has been Governor for less than 2 years. In contrast, Obama represented part of the third largest city in the nation in the Illinois state legislature for eight years before being elected to the U.S. Senate. Republicans like to end Obama's experience in January of 2007, the moment he began his presidential campaign. But the fact remains that Obama had already been in the Senate for 2 years when Palin took office as Governor. Since that time, Obama has been serving in the Senate and on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
More importantly, Obama has spent the past year and a half explaining to a skeptical public why he should be commander-in-chief. During that time, he has studied foreign policy issues thoroughly, traveled abroad, taken questions from reporters and voters, and participated in more than 20 debates against candidates including Biden, Clinton, and Richardson. He earned the confidence of the Democratic party during the course of that campaign. There is no evidence that Palin has even thought about foreign policy.
Some will point out that Palin's experience as Governor is executive experience. Hilzoy explains why any doubts about Obama's executive skills have been put to rest by his stunningly well-run campaign. Meanwhile, Palin has managed a tiny population flush with oil revenues.
Government Reform
McCain is touting Palin as a fighter for honesty and accountability in government. However, there is currently an investigation into the firing of a public safety official as part of a personal vendetta against a state trooper. Even if the investigation reveals no wrongdoing, some of her denials have been proven false. Here is a rundown of the story and Palin's trouble with the truth:
Previously, as mayor, she fired a police chief for what appeared to be purely political reasons. That action nearly led to a recall.
McCain likes to claim that she killed the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, she was a very strong supporter of the project until it became unpopular.
McCain
The bottom line is that Palin is not a known quantity to McCain or anybody else. McCain has selected a person with no foreign policy credentials to be one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency. The decision was made impulsively and recklessly with, by all accounts, essentially no vetting. He claims to always put his country first, but this decision seems to put his political campaign ahead of the national interest. Either he does not believe what he says about the dangers of Obama's inexperience, or he is willing to jeopardize national security for political purposes. I'd rather have the judgment of Obama, who rejected attractive options in battleground states to select a VP ready to step in "on day one". Obama looks to be the careful, steady hand while McCain looks to be the unpredictable gambler. I'll take the former.
Finally, some claim that this is McCain showing his maverick tendencies. I think it is just the opposite. McCain's maverick image was created by taking on the right-wing of the GOP. Calling the religious right "agents of intolerance", opposing Bush's tax cuts, thwarting Bush's efforts on judges, and proposing amnesty-based immigration reform. Sure, there were government reform issues like campaign finance reform, earmarks, etc., where he took on both parties, but those were minor concerns. What really made McCain a maverick was his willingness to take on his own party on partisan issues. Insiders report that McCain wanted a more experienced person like Lieberman or Ridge. Even Romney, who McCain doesn't seem to get along with, would be more ready for VP. Unfortunately for McCain, the base would have vetoed a pro-choice candidate like Lieberman or Ridge, and the evangelicals would have been turned off by Romney. So he dodged and went with Palin, who is beloved by the base for her very conservative positions. This was not the maverick McCain I liked in 2000. It was more of the base pandering McCain that has cozied up to the right wing since 2000.
UPDATE: It looks like rumors that Sarah Palin's pregnancy was faked to pass of her 17-year-old daughter Bristol's child as her own have been put to rest with news that Bristol is actually now carrying a child conceived around the same time as the birth of Sarah Palin's son. I don't really care what Sarah Palin's daughter does, but was inviting this controversy into his campaign a wise decision by McCain?
Foreign Policy Experience
For months, McCain has been saying that, not only is Obama less experienced than he is, Obama is dangerously inexperienced in a time of terrorism and global conflict. Of course, McCain people will argue that Obama is inexperienced, too. Anybody that says that Obama is no more qualified to be president than Sarah Palin is just being dense.
First, Obama just has more experience. Palin was a city council member and mayor in a town of 5000 for a decade before becoming Governor of Alaska. She has been Governor for less than 2 years. In contrast, Obama represented part of the third largest city in the nation in the Illinois state legislature for eight years before being elected to the U.S. Senate. Republicans like to end Obama's experience in January of 2007, the moment he began his presidential campaign. But the fact remains that Obama had already been in the Senate for 2 years when Palin took office as Governor. Since that time, Obama has been serving in the Senate and on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
More importantly, Obama has spent the past year and a half explaining to a skeptical public why he should be commander-in-chief. During that time, he has studied foreign policy issues thoroughly, traveled abroad, taken questions from reporters and voters, and participated in more than 20 debates against candidates including Biden, Clinton, and Richardson. He earned the confidence of the Democratic party during the course of that campaign. There is no evidence that Palin has even thought about foreign policy.
Some will point out that Palin's experience as Governor is executive experience. Hilzoy explains why any doubts about Obama's executive skills have been put to rest by his stunningly well-run campaign. Meanwhile, Palin has managed a tiny population flush with oil revenues.
Government Reform
McCain is touting Palin as a fighter for honesty and accountability in government. However, there is currently an investigation into the firing of a public safety official as part of a personal vendetta against a state trooper. Even if the investigation reveals no wrongdoing, some of her denials have been proven false. Here is a rundown of the story and Palin's trouble with the truth:
Previously, as mayor, she fired a police chief for what appeared to be purely political reasons. That action nearly led to a recall.
McCain likes to claim that she killed the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, she was a very strong supporter of the project until it became unpopular.
McCain
The bottom line is that Palin is not a known quantity to McCain or anybody else. McCain has selected a person with no foreign policy credentials to be one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency. The decision was made impulsively and recklessly with, by all accounts, essentially no vetting. He claims to always put his country first, but this decision seems to put his political campaign ahead of the national interest. Either he does not believe what he says about the dangers of Obama's inexperience, or he is willing to jeopardize national security for political purposes. I'd rather have the judgment of Obama, who rejected attractive options in battleground states to select a VP ready to step in "on day one". Obama looks to be the careful, steady hand while McCain looks to be the unpredictable gambler. I'll take the former.
Finally, some claim that this is McCain showing his maverick tendencies. I think it is just the opposite. McCain's maverick image was created by taking on the right-wing of the GOP. Calling the religious right "agents of intolerance", opposing Bush's tax cuts, thwarting Bush's efforts on judges, and proposing amnesty-based immigration reform. Sure, there were government reform issues like campaign finance reform, earmarks, etc., where he took on both parties, but those were minor concerns. What really made McCain a maverick was his willingness to take on his own party on partisan issues. Insiders report that McCain wanted a more experienced person like Lieberman or Ridge. Even Romney, who McCain doesn't seem to get along with, would be more ready for VP. Unfortunately for McCain, the base would have vetoed a pro-choice candidate like Lieberman or Ridge, and the evangelicals would have been turned off by Romney. So he dodged and went with Palin, who is beloved by the base for her very conservative positions. This was not the maverick McCain I liked in 2000. It was more of the base pandering McCain that has cozied up to the right wing since 2000.
UPDATE: It looks like rumors that Sarah Palin's pregnancy was faked to pass of her 17-year-old daughter Bristol's child as her own have been put to rest with news that Bristol is actually now carrying a child conceived around the same time as the birth of Sarah Palin's son. I don't really care what Sarah Palin's daughter does, but was inviting this controversy into his campaign a wise decision by McCain?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)