09/02/2008
Sarah Palin: Experience vs Pregnancy vs the Female Vote vs the GOP
A note to all from Alaskan housewife Anne Kilkenny: "So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . ."
"Sarah Palin admitted yesterday her "beautiful daughter" Bristol was five months pregnant and would marry Levi. The baby is due in late December"....Self-described "f---in' redneck" Levi Johnston is baby's father...
McCain's lousy record on teen pregnancy: "Republican John McCain, whose running mate disclosed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, has opposed proposals to spend federal money on teen-pregnancy prevention programs and voted to require poor teen mothers to stay in school or lose their benefits."
Washington Post's Sally Quinn: "McCain claims he knew about the pregnancy, and was not at all concerned. Why not? Not only do we have a woman with five children, including an infant with special needs, but a woman whose 17-year-old child will need her even more in the coming months. Not to mention the grandchild. This would inevitably be an enormous distraction for a new vice president (or president) in a time of global turmoil. Not only in terms of her job, but from a media standpoint as well. McCain's cynical choice has created a dilemma for many women. For still-angry Hillary Clinton voters, they will have to decide if they want to vote against their concscience and political interests by voting to elect a Republican woman who's even more conservative than McCain."
POLITICO: New Palin details may help...
Baltimore Sun columnist: "So this is what being pandered to feels like..."
Palin sets off mommy wars: "When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska was introduced as a vice-presidential pick, she was presented as a magnet for female voters, the epitome of everymom appeal. But since then, as mothers across the country supervise the season’s final water fights and pack book bags, some have voiced the kind of doubts that few male pundits have dared raise on television. With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome and, as the country learned Monday, a pregnant 17-year-old, Ms. Palin has set off a fierce argument among women about whether there are enough hours in the day for her to take on the vice presidency, and whether she is right to try.
DailyKos: Palin candidacy 'Death Watch'...
Obama on Palin 'experience': "My understanding is that Gov. Palin’s town, Wassilla, has I think 50 employees. We've got 2500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year – we have a budget of about three times that just for the month...Our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the past couple of years and certainly in terms of the legislation I’ve passed in the past couple of years, post-Katrina."
Obama: Palin's family off-limits. "Let me be as clear as possible. I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president. How a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics, and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off-limits."
Republicans try to brush off pregnancy "tempest" at Convention: "Finally, Cindy McCain walked onstage Monday night in a yellow dress that looked like a rain slicker, to something of a hero's welcome from the crowd. (Her daughters, Meghan and Bridget, and her mother-in-law, Roberta McCain, watched from the VIP box just off the floor.) 'As John has been saying for the last several days,' McCain said, 'this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats.' It's an odd line for a party that claims to have the market cornered on patriotism; if they're not Americans when they're being Republicans, what are they? But if things work the way the McCain campaign hopes, the public will forget that Obama asked the 5 million-plus people on his own campaign's e-mail list to send money to the Gulf (and redirected his Web site's donation pages to the Red Cross)."
John McCain turns on the media, his onetime "base": " As the relationship has deteriorated, McCain has stopped hosting his once-famous 'straight talk' get-togethers on his campaign plane. He also has abandoned regular press conferences. Instead, he stops occasionally to read short written statements in front of cameras, like he did Aug. 31 in Jackson, Mississippi; then walks away from questions shouted by reporters. His campaign plane is custom configured with a lounge area designed for hosting question-and-answer sessions with the press. McCain inaugurated the lounge on one of the plane's first flights and hasn't used it since."
Posted 11:42 AM EST by Andy in Barack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, News, Republican Party, Sarah Palin | Permalink
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This can't be true. The Republicans are f...king hilarious this year. Oh, my God.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Sep 2, 2008 11:52:49 AM
Ok -- President Palin is pretty ridiculous, but gotta admit Levi is a some hot white-trash jock trade
Posted by: nick | Sep 2, 2008 11:54:40 AM
2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire
3. Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
Sarah Palin: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.
http://eagleforumalaska.blogspot.com/2006/07/2006-gubernatorial-candidate.html
Posted by: John C | Sep 2, 2008 12:07:43 PM
I think this clearly illuminates the fact that faith based abstinance programs DO NOT WORK and funding for sex ed, pregnancy prevention programs and in school condom distribution should be increased and not cut like the Republicans have a history of.
I just looooove this shit.
Posted by: Derek | Sep 2, 2008 12:09:45 PM
With gay boys coming out in High School now, this highlights the need for AIDS education in school. Every candidate should be asked about that, though it is more of a state issue than federal.
Posted by: anon | Sep 2, 2008 12:14:38 PM
My respect for President Barack Obama only grows. He is so classy. I am glad that he said Palin's family and daughter is off-limits. I expected him to act in this manner. I am glad he continues to be a man of great integrity.
Posted by: Ty A. Allison | Sep 2, 2008 12:16:03 PM
while i find little redeeming about palin, two things puzzle me. one, if this was either obama's or biden's daughter the christian right would be screaming it's head off about the lack of morality and supervision at home. were is this outrage, a double standard? secondly, why is the left doing the moaning, groaning, complaining about palin not staying at home to care for her family. i thought it was one of their key points on the rights of a woman to have both a family and a career. is it because she does not march lock, stock and barrel with their views? another double standard? of course not.
Posted by: titus | Sep 2, 2008 12:17:00 PM
Hmmm...
Cindy McSame's mother and daughters (who knew she had kids?) were just "watching" from the VIP box? Not cheering wildly? Not even applauding? Just "watching..."
>Yawn<
Posted by: MikeinSanJose | Sep 2, 2008 12:17:16 PM
Hmmm...
Cindy McSame's mother and daughters (who knew she had kids?) were just "watching" from the VIP box? Not cheering wildly? Not even applauding? Just "watching..."
>Yawn<
Posted by: MikeinSanJose | Sep 2, 2008 12:18:02 PM
Derrick From Philly: your comment is so lame. Go back to watching that gay tv channel and let people with real thoughts comment.
Posted by: me | Sep 2, 2008 12:18:26 PM
ah i've just returned from a fabulous weekend in palm springs, my husband surprised me with this treat-- he's such a dear.. so i was off the internet all weekend and come back to find all this scandal about la palin and yet don't ask me why but i still like her and feel she is a tough cookie and will emerged unscathed... i still say we will have a republican president no matter what... we shall see... toodles, dahlings...
Posted by: the queen | Sep 2, 2008 12:20:58 PM
Smart move by Obama for his "family is off-limits" stance. No doubt he realizes that take the higher road and letting this all play out by itself he'll come up smelling like a rose. Diplomatic and savvy...traits I like to see in my presidential candidate.
I think that arguments about her ability to do a job and raise a family should be off-limits, even though she's opened the door with her anti-feminist stance.
Posted by: Mark in NYC | Sep 2, 2008 12:22:19 PM
Whow this is Andy again, Right? I'm askign because it is properly posted....and seems he came back with a vengeance...lol
Well, I'm glad palin is with McCain because now the eyes are on them and it isn't pretty....I feel for Bristol, though. I know we are talking about her...but the fact it isnt about her it is about the candidates and their policies...hipocrites!~
IF it had been a democrat...they weren't be as nice as they are to the palins.
SOOO....nothing off the table! SORRY bristol....but I'm sure in your heart you knew this was coming soon or later...is this her 2nd child, then?
Posted by: Bosie | Sep 2, 2008 12:23:08 PM
@Nick
LOL. Simmer down boy. Levi's hot, indeed, and who doesn't love chewing on some frozen mulleted foreskin. But unless you're a NAMBLA member, you might wait a few more months.
Sarah Palin might be into the "old enough to bleed, old enough to breed (and marry)" philosophy, but that dog just don't hunt in normal Amuricah.
Posted by: MikeinSanJose | Sep 2, 2008 12:26:10 PM
In a sane world, wouldn't this event mark the official death of the abstinence-only education movement?
Posted by: paul | Sep 2, 2008 12:38:17 PM
Let's not forget Obama was an "oops" when his mom went slutty and let the man put in more than "just the tip"
Posted by: obama no daddy | Sep 2, 2008 12:39:24 PM
"A Republican president" ? Queen, please. And as for Anon, Anon are you saying or implying that STRAIGHT boys don't get AIDS?
Posted by: SONNIE | Sep 2, 2008 12:50:10 PM
"...let people with real thoughts comment."
OK, what you want to talk about? Abstinence for right-wing Republicans' kids?
"go back to watching that gay tv channel"
Oh, no, darlin', I'm too busy enjoying this "John McCain & the Republicans meet Jerry Springer" TV channel.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Sep 2, 2008 12:52:01 PM
I think like Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Governor Palin's unwed, teenage daughter's (second?) pregnancy is a private matter.
Posted by: John | Sep 2, 2008 1:06:07 PM
I know many of you idealists like to see Obama as being above all this by not commenting on the pregnancy. If the roles were reversed frankly I would see McCain doing the same thing. First, this is a political minefield of huge proportions.
At the crux all of you want to see this as some sort of proof that abstinence only education doesn't (which frankly I agree with you). Obama doesn't need to comment because plenty of other people will do it for him. The same tactics the right would use as well by having other "mouthpieces" do the dirty work. However there are some really much more deeper themes that could be brought out and cause many more problems if Obama were to jump in.
Such as, it could be pointed out that Ms. Palin, like her mother, would never think to terminate a pregnancy. Where if this were Chelsea Clinton, mama would have dragged her down to planned parenthood and had those cells sucked right out of her. So now abortion would be on the table and frankly the last thing EITHER side wants is to spend the next two months rehashing issues with Roe V. Wade.
The age of consent in Alaska is 16. There were no laws broken here either. So the statuatory rape whistle can't be blown either.
So what's left with all of this? Her daughter slept with someone and there is a baby and they are getting married. The father is stepping up and taking responsibility for his actions, the whole family is supporting the girl, and there is no governmental support being given (such as WIC or Welfare).
As much as most of you would love to beat the drum and say shame on you Sarah Palin for raising a slutty daughter you should have been a better mother. The reality of the situation is that this girl is taking a responsible route and not asking for a hand out...if more people took this route the "gimme gimme" people who look to Santa Obama for more presents would not be such a big voting bloc for the Democrats.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Sep 2, 2008 1:08:16 PM
I think the Daily KOS has nailed it; Palin is only on the ticket to make women think "Oh, McCain is progressive", then she will drop out before the nomination. She is to McCain what Harriet Meyers was to Bush. I just cannot see any momentum for her developing as the stories, the FACTS filtering through the media, are just too horrific for even the smug and hypocritical GOP to rally behind.
She'll be gone before the week is over.
Though the thought of having Levi being in the spot light... Mmmmm....
Rad
Posted by: Rad | Sep 2, 2008 1:11:14 PM
Political mess aside...
Hockey HAWT!
Posted by: Andy | Sep 2, 2008 1:28:42 PM
Rad
If you think this is going to knock her off the ticket then you are living in a dream world.
Ms. Palin has done the one thing that McCain could not. Energize the Republican base. Even with the daughter issue this has given the COnservative base a reason to smile again.
So here is a sample of what will probaby be said about this issue through Conservative radio and media.
One of the reasons Ms. Palin is pregnant is a direct result on the attack on the family by the liberals. The constant drum beat of liberal teachers in school and he media to have sex and be free has taken it's toll on this Conservative family. Certainly by removing a moral basis in education, perpetuated by the liberal NEA, children now have to be subjected to a value system that is not matching what they are getting at home and/or church.
This is not something to take Sarah Palin down. This will be spun into a battle cry that liberals are ruining the children of America.
I've been waiting for something like this for weeks to happen and get the Conservatives going. If the Conservative base gets it's steam up and going then Obama is in for a rough ride and a tough fight.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Sep 2, 2008 1:29:44 PM
How come liberals end up being the most sexist (see Sarah Palin attacks) and most racist (see Condoleeza Rice attacks) in politics?
Have we forgotten what we are fighting for? Hit Palin hard on inexperience but leave her fucking family alone.
I need to take a shower.
Posted by: Thorsen | Sep 2, 2008 1:34:07 PM
No we haven't forgotten what we're fighting for -- THE END OF THE LIKES OF YOU!!!!
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Sep 2, 2008 2:01:43 PM
Las Vegas, Thorsen, you an fools. Please stick to posting at Wing Nut Daily. That people like you are even here shows how truly scared the reich-wingers are.
All polls are showing a McCain DROP because of this idiotic selection. And her family is open to investigation when the way she has run it reveals her incredible hypocrisy. If Biden had a 17 year old daughter who got knocked up, Rush would probably have gotten so heated up inveighing about his "moral failure as a father" the big pig would have gone into cardiac arrest!
Posted by: St. Theresa of Avila | Sep 2, 2008 2:11:34 PM
I would hope that AIDS education would help all students avoid the disease, but given the statistics, young gay males are more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-80's. The odds of a str8 male getting AIDS from vaginal intercourse is very, very low.
Posted by: anon | Sep 2, 2008 2:28:01 PM
I gotta post this excellent comment from Reddit:
"I agree with the Repubs, Palin's daughter's pregnancy is private, just as abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, and recreational drug use are private matters that should be beyond government and politics."
Posted by: JohnT | Sep 2, 2008 2:37:29 PM
Dear Theresa,
I know it's hard to believe that there is some diversity in the GLBT community and not everyone bows at the altar of the Democrats. However, a little objectivity and tolerance goes a long way.
P.S. just because you use anal beads for your rosary does not mean you're a saint.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Sep 2, 2008 2:47:20 PM
I know it's hard to believe that there is some diversity in the GLBT community and not everyone bows at the altar of the Democrats. However, a little objectivity and tolerance goes a long way.
P.S. just because you use anal beads for your rosary does not mean you're a saint.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Sep 2, 2008 2:47:20 PM
---------------------------
'a little objectivity and tolerance goes a long way?'
Man you GOP trolls are such fucking douche bags. Isn't Rush or one of those assholes on, so you can stop writing your crap, that no one listens to?
Posted by: patrick nyc | Sep 2, 2008 3:13:17 PM
I think we (and particularly Derrick) can agree that the Republicans somehow made their convention more exciting than the Democrats! Way to go, Johnny!
Posted by: anon | Sep 2, 2008 3:27:54 PM
Patty from NYV
Because I don't really like him very much..he's as bad as most of the left wing kool aid drinkers on here...by the way I write my "crap" because sometimes another view point may make people stop and think. Thinking for someone like you is very hard. I mean it must take hours for you to come up with such gems as troll and douche bag.
I always find it interesting that all that people like can do is hurtle insults when presented with an argument you can't win or understand. Mostly I see that sort of behavior in spoiled children but some little boys never grow up I guess.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Sep 2, 2008 3:30:53 PM
..by the way I write my "crap" because sometimes another view point may make people stop and think.
---------------
That is true, they stop and think 'what a fucking tool'.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Sep 2, 2008 3:35:32 PM
@Las Vegas
Diversity in the gay community does not include diversity of opinions. You will be castigated and ostracized for having opinions that are not in concert with liberal conventional "wisdom."
Unfortunately, there is no room for dissent.
Posted by: Rik | Sep 2, 2008 4:04:54 PM
I think it's a ruse. I think Palin will "gracefully back out to spend more time with the family." This way they get to claim they wanted a woman on the ticket and then they get to put another old, rich, white guy up there. I can't imagine they are this stupid to not vet her properly. Okay, they are, but I still think Karl Rove has his evil little claws in there somewhere
Posted by: Chris | Sep 2, 2008 4:33:51 PM
All this outrage about Palin and the ridiculous attacks I read over the weekend on HuffPo and Daily Kos--Palin's baby is actually the daughter's child, etc.--is nothing but liberal conspiracy theory hysteria at this point. It's serving to whip the Left up into a rabid frenzy about this apparent monster of a hockey-mom governor, but its ugliness has the potential to fuel a huge backlash by moderate Dems, Independents, and formerly dispirited conservatives who find Palin appealing. Palin's politics are on the whole not my politics, but I find her likeable as a person, and I appreciate her successes in governing Alaska despite the fact that the Republican powers that be in that state pretty much hate her.
I grew up in a Catholic Republican family in the heartland of the Reagan democrats, Macomb County, Michigan, in the suburbs of Detroit. Palin and her family are a lot like the family friends I grew up around—hockey moms, hunters, snowmobilers, boisterous kids, blue collar people—so I can no more see her as the monster the blogs on the left have made her out to be than I could think the same thing about friends and family I've known all of life who simply happen to have political ideas I think are wrongheaded—and there are a lot of those people in my life. That's why the ferocity of these attacks has appalled me. When I read the hate and venom directed at this family from the bloggers, I feel outrage and sympathy—and I'm a liberal gay man living in West Hollywood. How do you think Middle America is feeling? They're going to feel that one of their own is being attacked. Also, they're going to feel that the Left is finally verbalizing what the common folk on the right have always suspected they believe: that there is a caste system in place and that candidates can't come from among the common people; they have to have attended Harvard or Yale or come from the moneyed ruling class—that the common people are too stupid to participate in higher levels of government; they need to be tended and herded like cattle.
To educate myself about Palin and get through the hype, I watched a long interview with her on Newseek.com in which she showed herself to be sharp, knowledgeable, passionate, and personable. She seemed less committed to imposing her social agenda than handling economic and political issues. So the concept of her as a Creationist theocrat seems to have been cobbled together out of religious bigotry and quotes taken out of context. And this is a big part of what bothers me: we're supposed to be the good guys, the ones who tell the truth and never smear the other side. We're supposed to succeed by the superiority of our ideas, not by lies and distortions. The "anything goes" and "the ends justify the means" attitudes that have predominated among Democrats this election season have really shocked and disappointed me. I guess I'm a naïve idealist, but I though the politics of personal destruction was the weapon of the bad guys—especially considering that one of the targets is a child, who like a fair number of other girls her age—from good families and not-so-good families—finds herself pregnant.
There's a lot of mocking laughter from bloggers like Andy Ostroy and Chris Kelly over at HuffPo (Kelly: I also think big families like the Palins are great. Hitler was the fourth child in a run of eight..."), but I think there's a greater than 50-50 chance that this kind of superior gloating laughter from the pundits of the left will turn to howls of agony when they provoke a huge backlash and we end up with yet another Republican in the White House because they couldn't shut their f*cking traps and refrain from these immoderate attacks.
Posted by: Tom | Sep 2, 2008 4:37:05 PM
Of course the Republicans are now screaming (lying) that the Obama team is "smearing" their poor VP choice! Obama has stayed admirably above the fray. The Republicans smeared themselves with this one, and I love seeing them in complete disarray going into their convention (the storm couldn't save them forever).
As for the teen pregnancy. No, it shouldn't disqualify Palin. (There are plenty of other reasons for that.) But it is not smearing to point out that her teenage daughter might have benefited from real sex-ed, the kind her mother and McCain oppose. And it's fair game to highlight McCain's teen pregnancy prevention record and the hypocrisy of so-called Republican "family values" that pretend it is perfectly ok for a knocked up teen to marry her boyfriend of the moment but not ok to recognize in any way much longer-term gay relationships or the validity of gay families with children. It's not the Springer antics that are the problem but rather the Republican way of dealing with them.
Posted by: Ernie | Sep 2, 2008 4:37:22 PM
If the GOP Platform and it's candidates McCain/Palin think that the government has every right to regulate adoption, marriage, morality, sex, then I as HELL can call them on their HYPOCRASY!
Nothing new...Charlie Crist, Mark Foley, Larry Craig.
What about all those evangelical ministers and their followers who believed that women need to be subjegated to their men --in ALL WAYS?! are they on board with a mother of 5 still at home and the youngest with serious medical problems forgoing the family---er sorry this is what they must mean by COUNTRY FIRST.
And I remember all the crap the Edwards took when Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer. All the hand-wringing on how could be run for president and put her through it.
G-O-P equals HY-PO-CRACY.
Posted by: MCnNYC | Sep 2, 2008 4:45:44 PM
"Diversity in the gay community does not include diversity of opinions."
Apparently it does, though! There are even gay people who want to collaborate in their own oppression! Just look at that wonderful platform! The only good thing the LCR has to say about McCain on gay issues is that he voted against the gay marriage amendment -- but they don't mention that he lobbied FOR it in his own state! (It's sort of like Palin's opposing the bridge to nowhere, only when she realized that being for it was an unpopular position)
Palin may energize the religious right "base," but she will definitely alienate all the independents and former Hillary supporters. The Repubs were hoping Gustav would be the storm of the century and distract attention from the real disaster that is their party.
Resignation on the horizon.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Sep 2, 2008 4:50:12 PM
PS: Cindy will go ballistic if she sees that pic of hubby embracing Palin! It reminds me of slow-dancing at a Catholic HS prom, when the chaperones required you to keep a hand's distance away from your partner. But I guess that's a warm Alaskan embrace?
Posted by: kevinvt | Sep 2, 2008 4:55:47 PM
Las Vegas writes:
*One of the reasons Ms. Palin is pregnant is a direct result on the attack on the family by the liberals. The constant drum beat of liberal teachers in school and he media to have sex and be free has taken it's toll on this Conservative family. Certainly by removing a moral basis in education, perpetuated by the liberal NEA, children now have to be subjected to a value system that is not matching what they are getting at home and/or church.*
SERIOUSLY!!??
Liberal teachers are telling teens to have sex and THAT's why Palin's daughter got knocked up? SERIOUSLY? Liberal teachers in conservative Alaska?
This doesn't even deserve a reply, but I would ask that you actually do some RESEARCH on the subject before forming and then spouting such an ignorant opinion.
One of the things shown by RESEARCH is that with abstinence-based education, the teens are MORE likely than those having more informative sex education to find themselves unprepared (for example, having a condom at hand) when that which is naturally bound to occur in relationships, namely attraction and sexual arousal, happens between, say, a high school hockey player and his girlfriend who happens to be the governor's daughter. WHICH MEANS UNWANTED, UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES! (See Waxman's study, I think from 2004, for the details).
Posted by: JT | Sep 2, 2008 6:09:44 PM
too many liberals are responding in such a way that will surely turn votes away from obama and towards mccain/palin.
further obama's ridiculous comments that his experience running his campaign is enough executive experience.
just everyone keep on belittling the woman and that will surely push people over the edge.
Posted by: tofer david | Sep 2, 2008 6:59:08 PM
"just everyone keep on belittling the woman and that will surely push people over the edge."
They don't need our help going over the edge. The Republicans are pushing themselves off of cliffs remarkably well on their own. I swear, it's becoming the Lemmings Convention. Grab a chair and watch them self-destruct.
Posted by: Ernie | Sep 2, 2008 8:37:36 PM
Tofer David writes:
*too many liberals are responding in such a way that will surely turn votes away from obama and towards mccain/palin.
further obama's ridiculous comments that his experience running his campaign is enough executive experience.
just everyone keep on belittling the woman and that will surely push people over the edge.*
In what way are "liberals" responding that assures votes will be turned towards McCain? The votes going to McCain now are from the conservative base, which could hardly have been expected to vote for Obama. Merely anecdotal info here, but in a conversation with someone today who spoke with several friends about Palin - friends who had been Hillary supporters and who were undecided - I was told that to a person, this Palin situation convinced them to vote for Obama and not McCain. Because of the lack of judgment on McCain's part.
To make more out of Palin's experience and less out of Obama's is a ridiculous. While it might not seem so at first glance, running a campaign is very much running a business. As for his other experience in government, I think his stints in state and federal government surely have given him exposure to all sides of government since one has to work with all sides as a senator. And the sophisticated nature of that exposure must surely compare more favorably and have more gravitas than the local shenanigans of small town government in Alaska, even at the state level. As someone who has lived in a big city (Phoenix) and now lives in a small town in Northern CA (although still at least 7 times bigger than the hamlet Palin was mayor of), I can tell you that there is no comparison. The complexity just isn't there. And I'll wager that Illinois is a heck of a lot more complicated than Alaska, any day of the week.
Finally, this "leave the poor little woman alone" stance is just ludicrous. Politics is a tough business. It's not for the faint of heart or tender of stomach. To question Palin's ability and experience is appropriate. Winning competitions in small ponds only goes so far. I want someone extraordinary a heartbeat away from the Presidency, not some small town pageant runner-up with delusions of grandeur. Obama has been scrutinized, criticized, and vilified, and still came out on top, in extraordinary fashion. Would I like more from him as a candidate? Probably. Would I accept either McCain or Palin as an alternative? Not in a heartbeat. I want more, not less.
Posted by: JT | Sep 2, 2008 9:29:59 PM
Someone should tell Laura that fondant goes on top of cakes, not first ladies.
Posted by: Chino | Sep 2, 2008 10:57:27 PM
Now, now, let's stop attacking one another and focus on the real issues.
Right now my biggest concern is, who's going to tell Cindy McCain that white people (especially blonde white people) should not wear that shade of yellow? Michelle Obama, on the other hand, would rock that dress.
Second, who's going to take care of the tiny 'tard? (I know, I'm just awful, and I hate myself for it.) Seriously, though, are they going to hire a nanny, or will daddy do it? Will "family values" be jettisoned when they're not convenient or expedient? Maybe Bristol can help, since her life is ruined anyway.
Third, what can we do to keep the comments on here short and snappy? Save your windy, insightful essays for the Daily Kos or something.
Posted by: Christopher | Sep 5, 2008 1:14:05 PM
Every time I see pictures of Palin holding up her baby, the horrifying scene of Martin Sheen holding up a baby as a human shield from "Dead Zone" leaps to mind.
Posted by: CanChuckle | Sep 7, 2008 4:24:16 PM
Christopher:
So sorry if some of us go over your acceptable word count. Could you now tell us what that is so that we don't risk boring you in the future?
Honestly, right now I'd tell you what I think of your vapid, shallow little mind that prefers sound bites over thought, but not only would that go past your word limit, as a good christian woman, I just can't.
Posted by: JT | Sep 8, 2008 1:26:21 AM