Quick Thoughts on Palin's Performance.
And let's be clear : It was indeed a performance. These things always are.
She did well. Very well.
Now, I can disagree with a lot of what she said and for various reasons and still acknowledge that.
First of all, I disagree with her foreign policy tone. And no amount of rhetoric is going to change that. Not so sure how that plays with vast majority of undecided voters who are at best part-time status quo political spectators.
Beyond that, I rolled my eyes at many of the notions she peddled which are just flatly wrong: energy independence, "OUR" oil, foreign threats "STEALING" oil or using it as "a weapon" and all that stuff is simply sophistic BS. I would assume she knows this and is just playing the rubes. If she really does believe it, well then that's embarrassing for her.
This stuff, however, plays very, very well with simplistically tribalistic nationalism. Score one for Palin.
But in general, she did very, very well by appealing to the buttons in voters that get them to like politicians and vote for them. These, of course, are not qualities that have much bearing in real life policy but they are devastatingly effective. She made voters feel comfortable with her and relate to her. Reaching out to moms and parents and speaking their language and voicing their concerns is always effective.
Also,
She bashed cultural elitism and she attacked powerful interests: universal appeal.
She made elitists and snobs look bad by effectively attacking their lame foppishness and insensitivity for Middle America. Very effective.
She attacked powerful interests and lobbyists, like the oil companies, as being entrenched powers that like special treatment and want things to stay as they are. It just dripped with an anti-corruption streak and a strident sense of fairness and a refusal to grant political privilege at the expense of powerless. She talked about saving taxpayers money from pork spending and lowering taxes. Again, a very effective package that appeals to most people...including moderate, middle class Democrats with families.
And all the while, she remained positive about people while being negative about politicians (except for McCain).
I think Palin put some Hillary voters in the GOP camp last night as well as some disaffected centrists.
Like I said, good performance.
Dems could learn a lot from her rhetoric.
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Comments :
Focus groups seem
to suggest both positive and negative
reactions. I'm not at all sure that she connected with Hillary voters, and if Hillary herself critiques Palin's remarks I would expect there to be basically no gain for the McCain ticket from that block. Not a surprise, it's not like the speech was chasing those votes -- it was *extremely* light on the issues Hillary supporters say are important to them.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
It would have nice to see the results with
undecided and independent women who expressed some sympathy for Hillary.
Being that the focus group was made of Hillary-"SUPPORTERS", it's safe to say they were mostly Dems.
Ben Stein is
ready to jump out the window. She knows nothing about economics or foreign policy.
Not Sleeping Well
FactCheck sees much of her speech to be upside down
on the facts.
What we learn from this is that you can take an attractive Republican woman and put on a good show.
Amidst cries of sexism on the part of the media, Republican men wear buttons that say "Hottie for VP"
Can they put her in front of a microphone and let her speak on her own.
I think she delivered her speech well and has a good stage presence.
For me this whole roll out is a great big distraction from what the past eight years have been and it worked.
The question is for how long.
I'm only half stupid
Added Hillary voters? PUMA's maybe, but they are repubs
who are faking that they were considering voting for a Democrat.
Why do you gloss over the lies that she put out? Yea, the lies sound better to a red meat audience, but when those lies are eventually pointed out, then how do you think she'll stack up with the average American?
I'm sorry to disagree with you, but I don't think it played out to Ma & Pa American the way you saw it.
I don't gloss over the lies
They simply weren't part of my point. I could have thrown in a line about her claims that fell apart upon fact-checking. Fine. But it wouldn't change what I was getting at.
As for not playing out to Ma and Pa America,
well, I think it did much more than you do. I also don't have rose-colored partisan glasses on. We'll see.
I know quite a few centrist Democrats from Middle America who said they may vote for McCain now that Hillary is out. Palin might have just shoved them a little further in that direction.
They aren't centrist Democrats then.
Sorry John, you are unusually rational & consistent but to suggest that someone who supported Hillary and is a centrist Democrat would now vote for McCain stands reason on it's head.
There is no there there.
it does make sense
you forget a lot of people support Hillary for fairly shallow reasons, not because of deep agreement, OR KNOWLEDGE of what she stands for (or an understanding if she will really fight for what she stands for in a campaign)... In general a lot of so call centrist or conservative Democrats don't know what a prick McCain really is.
But it is happening
Personal experience may only count for so much but one of my employees was for Hillary and is now solidly for McCain as of this morning.
Several of my liberal Democrat GF's colleagues (teachers!) were for Hillary but were leaning McCain when Hillary lost while others were disillusioned with Obama but not ready to jump ship....yet.
My mom leaned toward Hillary and is not crazy about Obama and may now cement her vote for the GOP.
My uncle and his son liked Hillary but were now leaning toward McCain. This will only embolden that sentiment.
Again, just examples from immediate circle...but they all count for something. Surly it's indicative of people of similar tastes and feelings elsewhere in middle America.
(BTW, all of the Above voted for Kerry...every single one of them)
I think John has it here
I recall polls from 2004 where people had a difficult time matching the politician with their platform.
We think about politics daily. Most people don't. When it was time to vote in 2004, my then girlfriend asked me who she should vote for -- the day of the election. I mentioned that I was voting for Badnarik because he was against the war. Kerry and the Democrats were responsible for throwing Nader of countless ballot and were still for the war in Iraq. To that she said "yeah, I wouldn't vote for someone for the war". At that point I cautioned her that Badnarik is also militantly against any government assistance, but he was also for drug legalization. "Ok" she said.
The point here is that more people are like my ex than are like us. They don't think carefully about for whom they will vote. They make a decision based largely on bad information (Obama is a Muslim) or on emotion (Palin is the same gender as me).
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
sadly
lies win elections.
In general, winning elections seem usually based on some set of logical fallacies mixed with lies.
IN her own words....
The Reformer
mmmmm, not so much.
"lies win elections'
Let's hope for the sake of the country, not this time.
I'm only half stupid
What? I mean what does this mean?
Out of what budget does this come, do you have any facts surrounding this, does being a reformer you never take Federal funding for anything?
Try to rise above the bottom of the barrel.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
That document is well-known
That document is well-known to detail the earmarks for Wasilla while Palin was mayor. In fact, the handwritten passage is Palin's writing.
Everyone is for earmark reform (save 2 of the 3 Alaskan congressmen, Sen. Byrd, and some others), but so long as earmarks exist, everyone wants their piece of the pie. There needs to be a mutual disarmament of sorts if we're ever going to get true reform on pork.
I'll grant that being against pork doesn't necessarily mean you can't take it, but it is difficult to make pork reform a centerpiece of one's electoral strategy and still take it.
Not at all, but it'd certainly make that politician more credible in my eyes if they didn't. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) doesn't take pork for his district. I like him plenty.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
Reform -- Palin style
Apparently she's against earmarks
for other states.
in her first year as governor she sought 52 earmarks worth $256 million. This year her office asked for 31 earmarks worth $197 million.
So maybe she's against earmarks that total more than $200 million. Ya think?
qui tacet consentire
You seem to always confuse facts with...
...your wish list?
The Puma's are Puma's..
What lies?
She knocked it out of the park, 37 million people watched! And it has been a incredibly positive response with the exception of the liberal pundits...and psuedo pundits like you.
She resonates with Americans, that much is obvious - you hate that - I understand - But the only person you're fooling by acting naive to that fact is yourself.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
An interesting comment from Jonah Goldberg
Link
qui tacet consentire
All true, but they missed this one, huh! n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Community Organizers are Bad?
I was a bit astonished at how working in your community without leaning on the government was so frowned upon and ridiculed in the Republican Party, yet I'm supposed to seriously accept the fact that sharing a border/being near a country you've never visited gives you foreign policy/national security experience. I can't wait for this reality show to come out on DVD.
http://wealthweekly.blogspot.com
Wii FC:2805-8311-8040-2678 Brawl: 2277-7051-2186
What they seem to have forgotten
was that a certain itinerant carpenter from Nazareth was also a "community organizer."
qui tacet consentire
Service
I don't think any kind of public service should be denigrated.
I'm only half stupid
I think she said what she said about community organizers
in response to Democratic attacks on her mayoral role in a small town as being something akin to being a community organizer and not a real executive.
At least, that's the impression I got.
it was two fold
It did address that, she very aptly and not entirely incorrectly characterized beltway opposition to her (e.g. Noonan's negative remarks in the (oops not) off mic episode are an example, since Noonan in public has to say something quite different). But it was also a dig at Barack's history, laudable, as a community organizer.
John nailed it...Nothing more/Nothing less... n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
As quoted elsewhere: Jesus Christ was a Community Organizer,
Ponchas Pilate was a Governor.
Careful what bed you choose to sleep in Red_Wing.
Pilate gave the people their choice... Think about it...
But equating JC to a...LOL! "Community Organizer" on your part somehow doesn't surprise me, considering how you see Barry as being "The One"! LOL!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Is that what you think Barry was doing? LOL!
He was using the Alinsky method to agitate the community, create division and ranker, and what that ultimately results in is millions of federal dollars in entitlements being applied for.
I think she can handle the foreign policy every bit if not better than Barry the appeaser would have! LOL! Wht do you see Barry doing for foreign policy experience, running down to See if Joe's on the Amtrak yet?
Our ticket is well balanced and as it should be!
Your ticket is the babysitting model of POTUS politics!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Yeah, and Alaska is "the largest state in the Union"...
...I guess that would be relevant if a square mile of open tundra required as much administration as a square mile of a city...
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Sure makes the job no easier...
..24K employees, 11 Billion dollar budget, CIC of a nuclear wing of the National Guard, responsible for every office in the State of Alaska, 15 years of elected office experience, and you can't even give her a modicum of credit?
It just makes your comment that much harder to take seriously.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
That "11 billion dollar budget" is up from 9.8 billion in FY2008
The New Republican Party: where spending like a drunken sailor a qualification for higher office! Hilarious!
Sarah Palin's budget
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
There's nothing wrong with growing an economy!
Legitimate spending is different than Entitlements, etc.
She has lost the Jet- sold it on ebay, She drives to work, She dismissed the Gubernatorial Chef and staff...etc.
Can you imagine how she cut the rest of the budget?
But here you are making absurd generic allegations you have no evidence of and can not support...
But there it is? Why?
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I give you the actual budget numbers
...you give me back her superficial brag points about cutting the Governor's chef! Don't tell me how she saved a few thousand in a political move designed to make favorable headlines and expect me to be too impressed.
Of course we all have to "imagine how she cut the rest of the budget"... since she didn't cut the budget, she grew it! You do have an active imagination, I will grant you that.
And I'm not making absurd allegations with no evidence, I linked to the Alaska State budget. The numbers are right there, not that I'd expect you to be able to comprehend them.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Misleading...
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I give you facts...
And you give me back perception-- someone else's perception at that, not even your own thoughts. Must be because you can't figure out a way to get around the plain facts in black and white in the Alaska state budget. Nothing in this excerpt (which I have no clue of the source, no link from you as usual) refutes the plain fact that she has grown the Alaska budget at a healthy pace, none of this shows that anything that I have said is misleading.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
She has to by necessity
I'd hope so. Most people do drive to work if they live in the same city as their job.
And she'd almost be required to live in Juneau because the city is only accessible by sea or air. A daily commute via the Alaska Marine Highway System or via jet would be incredibly expensive and time consuming.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
...as opposed to having a car and driver on standby.. n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
So what?
Just about every politician makes a show of some symbolic but essentially meaningless gesture at the start of their term. But you don't demonstrate sincere and responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds by merely firing one cook or one driver. In fact, I get suspicious when a politician consistently speaks of such a minor thing in such a self-satisfied manner-- I wonder why they don't have more important achievements of fiscal responsibilty to tout.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Ok you have your unmovable opinion, so lets move on... n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
The National Guard doesn't have any nuclear weapons buddy.
Also, you are aware that the Alaska legislature is only in session 90 days a year aren't you?
I really like this site because it allow folks who don't agree to talk to one another on a respectable level. Even when you passionately don't agree. You seem to prefer flame wars & making stuff up.
For the umpty dumpth time - YOU ARE DEAD WRONG!
Increase the current capability and structure of the
Army and Air National Guard by continuing acquisition of new
missions of space surveillance and security at Clear Air Station; a
role in the Alaska North American Aerospace
Defense Command (NORAD) operations center; missile defense; and
domestic preparedness against weapons
of mass destruction.
The Air Force has a substantial nuclear assets in Alaska, and the Alaskan Air National Guard is a critical component of the mission
I was a Captain in the Air Force "Buddy", and I can tell you unequivocally the Alaskan Air National Guard plays a significant role in our nuclear programs.
You are the only one that's making stuff up!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
How does that list of responsibilities...
...add up to ther being "a nuclear wing of the Alaska Air National Guard" which was commanded by Sarah Plain? It doesn't add up.
Which wing is the nuclear wing? I see two wings on the Alask Air National Guard website, the 176th Wing
, whose peacetime mission seems centered on search and rescue, and the 168th Air Refueling wing 
.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
What part of...
...acquisition of new missions of space surveillance and security at Clear Air Station; a role in the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) operations center; missile defense; and domestic preparedness against weapons of mass destruction.
Is not clear?
There are many, many functions, of the National Guard working with and around nuclear assets, here is the 49th Missile Defense - Army National Guard
(Page 9 bottom Right)
There are so many more examples too!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
You mean page the part of the page....
...where it mentions absolutely nothing about nuclear anything?
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Try this, read slo w l y....
During a recent visit to Fort
Bureau staff were
Greely, Alaska, Col. Renwick Payne, Chief of Staff, Army National
Guard and Col. Thom Besch, Director, Missile
Defense Agency, Alaska Region, peer at a silo on the Missile Defense
Complex. Following their descent into the Silo Interface Vault,
Payne and other members of the Army National Guard
able to tour the facility charged with defense of the United States
in the event of an intercontinental ballistic missile attack. (Photo
by Sgt. Jack W. Carlson III, Unit Reporter, 49th Missile Defense
Battalion.)
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
LOL why don't you read it slower yourself?
1.) The national guardsmen were "[touring] the facility".
2.) Those missile defense interceptors aren't nuclear.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Missing the boat that kindness is on
Previously calling her the "CIC of a nuclear wing of the National Guard" is disingenuous. As Palin lacks the authority to use the nukes.
In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,
Am I....
This is what so called "Kindness" Said; "The National Guard doesn't have any nuclear weapons buddy."
Dead wrong!
And she is the CIC of the AA&ANG, as such she is responsible for those installations ran by it.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Nope
Any installations in Alaska that have nuclear weapons will be Federal installations. So any Alaska National Guardsmen at those installations will have become federalized and therefore under control of the President, not the Governor. Thank God, by the way. Would you really want state governors in charge of nuclear facilities!
Governors only get involved in actually commanding the National Guard in the case of a state emergency, like rioting or natural disasters. There is at least one report
out there that Palin has never given a single command to the Alaska National Guard. That sounds unlikely, but one would think that the service commander of the Alaska National Guard would know. I heard elsewhere that she has commanded them in response to forest fires, and that seems likely, though I can't find any actual proof of this anywhere.
We are the environment. There is no distinction. What we do to the earth we do to ourselves. —David Suzuki
Ok, I am done, I surrender, if what I've posted...
...nuclear or not is not evidence of her executive experience in that capacity I don't know what is?
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Laughable, yet a little sad
LOL! Why can't you just admit you were DEAD WRONG about your Palin nuclear claims? You made a false claim, your bluff got called, and now you're "surrendering" but still acting as if the nuclear point is in dispute?! Hilarious...
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Look dude, I said...
Ok, I am done, I surrender? Then continued to say that if her resume, nukes or not, does not qualify her....
I mean WTF...
Oh I know..
Here..
Oh wise and powerful sky mutt, oh dog of the heavens, you are the enlightened one, oh please , throw me a bone, I beseech thee, forgive my trespass, for I knew not what I had said was wrong, I beg thee oh SC local deity, excuse me.
Better?
Why don't you use your powers to debunk the total crap that has been posted re: Sarah Palin?
Oh Space Hound, are you not a fair and just god?
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I've been busy debunking Palin myths, haven't you noticed?
Well, I debunked the myth that Sarah Palin is a budget hawk by showing how she is growing the Alaska government's budget, and then now I participated in exposing this myth that Sarah Palin commanded a nuclear wing of the Alaska National Guard. So I'd say I've done a great job of debunking the total crap that's been posted re: Sarah Palin on this site. I'm willing to do more, but you've been keeping me busy!
Thanks for the compliments though, I've put them in my signature ;-)
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
very good performance indeed
Her speech was very good. She has a personality, and with such, brings something to the McCain ticket McCain sorely lacks.
All the democratic/blog attacks on her lower expectations as well, and allow her performance to seem all the better. Plus, though it may not have been obvious she showed how she would address the developing talking points about her and the responses are pretty effective I think.
(1) no experience ---> people are just mad because I'm from a small town and they are big city elitists (P. Diddy on youtube was vlogging about this saying, "Alaska doesn't even have crack heads or crime"... very much urban bias, this will work. Further, a debate on that becomes a debate between Obama and his oppenents VP, not a debate with good framing as it means a debate about if Obama is as good as his oppenents VP, which telegraphs that hes' not the equal of McCain.
(2) Family: I have a regular family, we face challenges and also get some of our greatest joy from that... shows Downs Syndrome baby. Effective given the American perspective.
She says the war is almost won, that's bullsh*t. A lot of what she said was bullsh*t on that level, but as far as I can see she's a serious adversary, helps McCain, can be of great service to McCain, having a personality and taking heat which keeps the heat of him.
Palin gives McCain a better chance I think. I also think people will like Palin even if they don't want to vote for her, and the more Democrats try to mud sling, the more likely they will say f*ck it, and vote for her in the end.
After watching her speech I rewatched Bidens. In the first few minutes he made an inside joke about the Senate, and turned the "how sweet" introduction of his mother into a story about how she told him to bloody people's noses and by god that's what he did.
Biden is a prick. I suspect Palin will let him look like a prick in the VP debates.
Hi pyrrho, long time no see
Good point about an Obama-vs-Palin debate on experience hurting Obama. His campaign has kept the focus mainly on McCain, which I think is smart. From a political perspective it will be necessary to avoid backlash from overt attacks on Palin. I'm hoping Biden is smart enough to sidestep the obvious traps in their debate but we'll see.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
consider
running up to the Palin pick we were running through a series of notable mistakes by McCain... don't know how many houses, the rich are those that make 5 million and more, etc... and McCain has a tendency to make a string of errors as he refuses to give up on whatever the first error was... if Democrats let McCain distract them with Palin the next few months, I think he wins. Can the Democrats resist making this a referendum on Palin?
Hope so, but
the media isn't really helping. The obsession with everything she's done, including trivial stuff that is irrelevant and family matters that should be off limits, just makes her more sympathetic to voters.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
reputation as pretty
I don't find her particularly pretty but she is in a country-beuaty-pagent way. And she has a country accent. And her reputation and more or less real (subtracting eye of the beholder...) attractiveness will mean that given a chance to run a story on her, they will.
Assuming someone knows how good an idea this is, I think it will be easy for McCain's camp to get the press to put it's attention on Palin whenever it needs to take the attention off McCain.
nice to see you too
I've been very burnt out on political blogging, political communication online... but my old addiction has surfaced now and I'm all in. Obama impresses me more, I'm maybe having a crush on Michelle Obama... but I just can't stand the shrill dkos-style approach to all this, the "The Enquirer is not credible" for the Edwards things, and "but it is now" for Palin, etc etc. So here is a natural place to spend some time.
You can cut the hypocrisy floating around
with a knife... on all sides.
The Kerry/McCain parallels alone
make for entertaining flip-flop watching.
Now the parallels between Palin and Obama are leading to contorted reversals of position on both sides. Funny stuff.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
if it were just a sport...
... this is a great and interesting game.
to bad we also have to live with actual results!
Don't worry...
...you won't have too, McCain / Palin will win and all will be just fine. ;-)
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
DKos? shrill?
hehehehe
I haven't posted there in ages.
Freaks.
I agree with Biden
her speech was Rovian.
I also think they have injected the ANWR issue, McCain will be pointing out Alaskan's want it, or rather, let Palin point that out.
She also addressed the jibe about her "I don't know what the VP does" and she looked like someone that can research something, someone that may admit when she has not yet researched something.
In contrast to a Biden who assumes he's credible on everything in exactly the way Palin is supposed to be non-credible.
Such is my dislike of Biden that though I want Obama to win this... I won't be able to not enjoy Biden struggling with her with his idiotic arrogant grin and "credentials" in foriegn policy which are based only on his willingness to endorse blowing people up.
one specific rovian aspect
Instead of defending her experience and leaving it at that, she's attacking Obama's experience, she's casting her's as grown up, if short, and his as juvenile, and short. Attack others for your weaknesses.
It's very effective against Democrats in particular, who will then start defending themselves and leaving it at that.
Palin
Sabre Rattlers always have me concerned, speaking softly and carrying a big stick will make one use the big stick less often.
So the "our" oil talk has you concerned. Reminds me that I'm looking forward to knowing the candidates newer and improved poll influenced views on tariffs, quotas, and subsidies. Methinks Palin would be pro-all 3 even if it violated WTO rules [but I haven't seen anything on that yet].
In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,
Never said it had me concerned
I said it made me roll my eyes.
It's disturbing
that the sabre rattling show the GOP put on last night wasn't to start a war abroad, it was a call to 'arms' for the social conservatives to start a war here, albiet a culture war. Why pit neighbor against neighbor in the US? It's shameless.
It is incredibly cynical and divisive.
Especially considering that more than half of what Palin laid claim to as her record was just out and out falsehoods.
When the media or others try to correct the record, conservatives can then conveniently play the martyr card and feel justified in their anger and hatred of those who aren't the 'true believers', otherwise known as the rest of us.
I'm only half stupid
Maybe if you would try to correct the record with legitamate...
...content and not with all the junk that has been debunked over the last few days!
The fact is, she's not a bad person, she is what she seems, and the left can't stand that because...and here's the kicker, just being that, is diametrically opposed to what the left wants for America, and the fact that she is appealing, articulate, pro life, with an 80% approval rating drives you crazy.
That's it. There is no more, and though you may consider some some obscure nit picking a barn burner, it is of little interest to regular Americans who have been having the lefts liberal rhetoric crammed down their throats.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Clarification?
What is the "that" referring to here? It sounds like you are saying that not being a bad person, and/or being genuine, is diametrically opposed to what the left wants for America. I hope that is not what you meant to say, is it?
We are the environment. There is no distinction. What we do to the earth we do to ourselves. —David Suzuki
;-) Naw, I was refering to...
...the example of which she is a walking talking monument.
A conservative woman, who is strong and articulate, who is a Christian, who believes in the right to life, who is for less government, less spending, and a strong national defense, and isn't shy about saying it. She is the antithesis of the lefts concept of what a woman should be.
In fact it really is appalling to watch as Sarah Palin's character and family are attacked for no other reason except that she is a woman, as in the question if she can really be a VP or shouldn't she be home nursing her baby!
That coming from the left!
So it seems feminists only like strong women if they are liberal strong women?
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Wow
I agree with the entire post.
Amazing!
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
HA! Glad you made it back - Fuel pump? n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Yep
A bit expensive, but it was necessary.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
She still pronounces "Iraq" wrong.
She was attacked by some on the left because those few couldn't match up the picture in their head of a what a social conservative woman should be, and Palin didn't fit their preconceived notions.
Maybe in the long run, but in the short run pork seemed to be ok with her in the past.
In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,
"Dems could learn a lot from her rhetoric"...
That's true, they could learn from this kind of negative sound bite attack style of politics, but they'd be learning the wrong lessons.
I have a low tolerance for this kind of sneering, gutter attack style of politics from either side, and i don't think I'm alone in that regard. If you've got one clever line to put down your opponent, fine. About one per speech is my limit on that kind of stuff (maybe two if your material is extremely fresh and clever), and if you want to criticize your opponent further, it better be serious and based on substance I'm going to get turned off pretty quickly. Use your clever line to set the audience up with a laugh and the deliver the goods later.
If don't mind smugness and you already didn't like Barack Obama, you probably enjoyed this relentlessly negative performance.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
It's just giving back what they've been given...
BO has no substance, he wouldn't meet up for town halls, he could hardly formulate answers at saddle back. That is a joke. She laid out clearly the choice for Americans!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I'll agree with that...
The choice is much clearer now, because any illusions that a McCain Administration would somehow bring an end to the extreme partisan politics in Washington can now be put to rest. He chose a partisan, polarizing attack dog as his running mate. I guess he wanted a woman because he thought he could pick up the Hillary vote and Kathleen Harris wasn't available :-p
Don't worry, there will be debates. I look forward to them with eager anticipation.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
You are being unusually dickheaded.
If you have substance to offer, please do so, but your "zingers" are real dumb and they make you even less bearable.
I see others have been able to tune you out completely. I have to work on that.
Work very hard on that...
...at least as hard as it takes to dig up bogus left wing blogs that are debunked before you even post them!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
By the way, Intrade futures barely budged today
Obama is still a 60/40 favorite if the futures are to be believed; it was 61/39 before the speech. I think that's early indication that this speech isn't a game-changer. And now we get McCain tonight, hardly a dynamic speaker. So I've got to believe that Obama leaves the convention season and goes into the debate season with a small but significant advantage in the race. If the election were held today, he'd get 300+ electoral votes, and the voters opinions are now going to be more hardened now that they've seen Palin, who you can't argue is someone you're probably either going to like a lot or not like at all.
If i could get some money on Intrade today, I'd be a buyer of Obama.
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Would it be possible to short The Field? :-)
And thanks again for that ride offer. My friend couldn't believe someone from I know from a website would be willing to offer me a ride to Sandusky and back.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
Anytime on the ride
...I probably would have tried to talk you down off the Nader ledge, so it might not have actually been a "free" ride ;-)
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
That's still cheap
If you could convince me that my vote will cause a McCain presidency, I'd listen.
I never broke the law; I am the law! --
George W. BushJudge DreddI'm listening to...
Ya lol, Intrade sure got the Palin pick right? n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Well who knew that McCain would pick someone he met only once?
In this case, Intrade got Palin wrong because McCain chose Palin on a whim.
Personally, I think he's got a big old crush on her ;-) Judging by the stiff way she hugged him after her speech last night, the feeling is not mutual...
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
How politically astute...but wrong again!
He had her targeted for 6 months.
He did have Romney and Pawlenty too, but when Obama made one of the worst political decisions in history and did not even vet Hillary, the deal was sealed.
And we couldn't be happier. It has awakened the conservative base in a way that would have never happened otherwise.
You guys would have crucified Romney, Pawlenty is just another dude, but she has it all!
It was a brilliant decision, and illustrates the difference between the two candidates in and of itself;
Obama made what many see as the dumbest political decision of all time.
McCain's political astuteness facilitated the right call, and he made it.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
In all fairness
Plenty of people have said that McCain picking Palin was the dumbest political decision of all time, too. Thing is, there's not really any way of telling for sure, until we can view both decisions in hindsight. I understand why you enjoy cheerleading for Palin, but nobody knows how this will all play out, really.
We are the environment. There is no distinction. What we do to the earth we do to ourselves. —David Suzuki
Ok, but if he had picked Hillary it would have been over. n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I'm gonna have to sort of disagree here...
Obama picked Biden to appeal to moderates and independents -- the far left was less than pleased.
McCain picked Palin to appeal to the base.
Judging by the polls, there simply isn't enough of a GOP base right now to successfully run that kind of a campaign. McCain might have felt like he needed to solidify his support among Republicans, but it looks like he passed up a chance to reach out to undecideds.
So while I agree that his move "awakened the conservative base in a way that would have never happened otherwise" I personally doubt that it was the right call, or that Obama's selection of Biden was all that dumb (although it certainly wasn't my top choice). It's too soon to say, of course, but it looks like McCain is running a "50%+1" type campaign while Obama is reaching out to purple states and swing voters. I know who I'd put my money on to win in November, but we'll see.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
He targeted her for 6 months...
...and only met with her once?
How thorough of him ;-)
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
What was he supposed to do sleep with her first?
He had her in mind since Feb of this year.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
You said it, not me...
I think an appropriate level of familiarity with someone you want to hire on for the second most powerful office in the country would run somewhere above one phone call and one meeting in passing six months ago. What the heck was he doing with all his time after he won the nomination way back when?
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Oh brother...
Are you just doing this on purpose?
From that point they vetted her. What more should he have done?
I'm done with this nonsense, she's qualified, he liked her, they vetted her, she passed, and here we are.
No one questioned Jimmy Carter this way? He was the backward Governor of Georgia? Woopie!
Get over it and lets see what we can do to face reality and get onto the issues, and forget about how frightened the left is of her!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
If you could cite some referances for your statements
they might hold more water. I don't think you can for this one, especially being that several of the insiders have already said McCain wanted Lieberman but the controllers wouldn't let him have him.
Any of us can pull stuff out of our butts, but then the discussions become pretty stupid. Why bother?
You pull quite a bit out of that backside you're sport'in...
My thought is;
Lieberman was never a real contender, he had lost with Gore and was a non short list name.
It's nice the McCain camp can keep a secret.
He strongly considered Romney, but once the Biden pick was made, the obvious vulnerability of video from the primaries, combined with the snub of Hillary led him directly to Palin.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I forgot that you're such an insider
Did your sources who leaked to you that Pawlenty was the VP pick fill you in on who was on the short list too?
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Whatever...
I said it was my opinion jerk off!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
You set em up, I knock em down
No need to get huffy about it :-)
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Alright then... n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I totally picked that up
in their body language.
My intuition is telling me that she doesn't really like John McCain.
I'm only half stupid
Pffff...ROTFL! She adores him. n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Yeah...
It must have been a bit of heartburn or something that caused her to seize up like a rotisseried chicken when McCain swooped in for the tight squeeze ;-)
skymutt: accept no substitutes!
Your just making the case for me...
...You guys are so spun out it is the most comical thing I've see in a long time in politics... LOL!
And I wouldn't have expected it, but there's only one word for it, and it's a four letter word too... FEAR!
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
I had a lot of respect for John McCain at one time.
I mean, yea sure, he made a really boneheaded move getting involved with Keating like he did, but that one also caught up John Glenn & Alan Cranston who were good and honorable public officials.
When McCain buried his pre 2000 self to become an apparichnick to the Bush Administration, especially after what they did to him in the S. Carolina Primary it started changing for me. Now, he's hired on the very people that slandered him and made him lose. I don't see principle in that so much as crass opportunism.
I'm not saying he sold his soul for the chance to please the bush43 puppetmasters, but well, yea, he did just that. I can't say what he really stands for anymore because he just parrots what the masters tell him. I figured he was smarter but when I hear him repeat the rovian ridiculousness of "because it's near Russia she has foreign policy experience", well, I have to shake my head.
If the Democrats are able to run on issues, they'll win hands down. The Rovians have been doing a great job of making the race anything but policy. Glenn Greenwald had a post today where he thought the Dems were doing just what Kerry did in 2004
, expecting the American people to see through the smears & slander. I don't think Obama is going to let them do the full bore like the Swift Boat Liars did to Kerry, but they don't want to sink to the same level as the republicans. Honor is great and all but it's sometimes hard to win by giving the voters too much credit. It's much easier to get them all whipped up into a rabid frothing ball of anger and hate.
I think Bubba did it right when he had his rapid response team hit back the very same day with every charge. Of course, Bush41 and Dole had much more class and didn't sink nearly as low as the current puppet masters.
It's sadly funny in a way. here you have a bunch of folks who firmly believe that they are the pinnicle of human civilization and they really are just big Elementary School kids. I guess it's easy to fool yourself.
Even Lee Atwater lamented on his death bed and apologized. I don't ever expect to see such dignity from the current men behind the curtain. No, they love being kids playing a big game of King of the Hill. That's all it is to them.
Sarah has to hide from the media
Because the big, bad scary reporters might ask her hard questions.
I guess the McCain camp is worried some reporter might ask her a hard question like "Where is Mexico?"
Link
qui tacet consentire
Look, there's a Red Herring, isn't it beautiful
Nicole completely distorted a comment about when will Palin get down to the brass tacks on the issues [by the media asking her questions] and turned the debate into the media would just ask her questions about her family so she doesn't need to answer questions from the media, so Palin needs to continue giving her scripted speeches.
I would like to see a longer exchange to see Nicole Wallace at work some more and possibly make her comments actually be relevant to questions she is being asked.
In our society, people are rewarded for pretending to be certain about things they're clearly not certain about. -- Sam Harris,
Well I just saw someone from the campaign...
...say she would be out with JM next week, then head out on and stump on her own for a week or so, and then she would be making the news show rounds and doing interviews.
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman
Palin is a repulsive, albeit dangerous person.
Watch out for her!!
And it was your objectivity that I luved about you...? LOL! n/t
Underlying all arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. ~M. Friedman