A New Hope

[gman]

She's got no experience. Based on the last election, I think that makes her qualified enough.


GMan

[CatNamedManny]

She's got no experience. Based on the last election, I think that makes her qualified enough.


GMan

Her mom almost was a heartbeat away from the presidency without deserving it. She almost won Dancing With the Stars without deserving it. I guess there's nothing in that narrative to suggest to her otherwise, other than the fact that common sense ultimately won out both times.

[knotodiswrld]

I find it fascinating to watch the visceral reactions people have to Sarah and Bristol Palin. In really surpasses any rational explanation. In fact, I dare say the reaction goes far, far deeper than any reasoned objection to another person could possibly go.

It reminds me of the reaction that extreme racists have when they see, say, a white girl and a black guy kissing. It comes from their gut, from primal instincts twisted by bigotry; from a place beyond any reason or logic. Or frankly, beyond any compassion or humanity.

I realize that some people have a negative reaction to Obama, but most Conservatives object to Obama's policies and political positions and philosophies, not to him as a person. Our reaction is appropriate considering the level of disagreement we have with his policies and positions.

But nearly all Liberals have the reaction to Palin that I have described. And it makes no sense whatsoever. Okay. You disagree with her. Fine. I get that. Of course you do. That's why you're Liberals. But Sweet Arctic Circle, what logic is there in attacking not just her, but her kids as well? Where's the sense in that? And what's with attacking her and not her policies or positions? It just isn't rational.

As far as her qualifications go, I think she was more qualified to be VP than Obama is to be President. With the exception of an aborted term in the Senate, what experience did he have, really? I would take the experience of any successful businessman or military officer over an unfinished Senate term any day. So while Sarah Palin admittedly did not have a great wealth of experience, I think hers was just as extensive as Obama's. But that's not saying much.

I'm sure Bristol's first run will be for something local. Town Council, maybe mayor. I'm sure she won't run for U.S. Senate right off the bat. Although, I think she ought to get out in the world and get a little real-life experience first as a private, adult citizen. But hey, if the people of her community want to put her in office, what business is that of ours?

[executioner]

She's got no experience. Based on the last election, I think that makes her qualified enough.


GMan

Her mom almost was a heartbeat away from the presidency without deserving it. She almost won Dancing With the Stars without deserving it. I guess there's nothing in that narrative to suggest to her otherwise, other than the fact that common sense ultimately won out both times.

So what your saying is Obama/Biden was the common sense approach to the election?

[executioner]

I find it fascinating to watch the visceral reactions people have to Sarah and Bristol Palin. In really surpasses any rational explanation. In fact, I dare say the reaction goes far, far deeper than any reasoned objection to another person could possibly go.

It reminds me of the reaction that extreme racists have when they see, say, a white girl and a black guy kissing. It comes from their gut, from primal instincts twisted by bigotry; from a place beyond any reason or logic. Or frankly, beyond any compassion or humanity.

I realize that some people have a negative reaction to Obama, but most Conservatives object to Obama's policies and political positions and philosophies, not to him as a person. Our reaction is appropriate considering the level of disagreement we have with his policies and positions.

But nearly all Liberals have the reaction to Palin that I have described. And it makes no sense whatsoever. Okay. You disagree with her. Fine. I get that. Of course you do. That's why you're Liberals. But Sweet Arctic Circle, what logic is there in attacking not just her, but her kids as well? Where's the sense in that? And what's with attacking her and not her policies or positions? It just isn't rational.

As far as her qualifications go, I think she was more qualified to be VP than Obama is to be President. With the exception of an aborted term in the Senate, what experience did he have, really? I would take the experience of any successful businessman or military officer over an unfinished Senate term any day. So while Sarah Palin admittedly did not have a great wealth of experience, I think hers was just as extensive as Obama's. But that's not saying much.

I'm sure Bristol's first run will be for something local. Town Council, maybe mayor. I'm sure she won't run for U.S. Senate right off the bat. Although, I think she ought to get out in the world and get a little real-life experience first as a private, adult citizen. But hey, if the people of her community want to put her in office, what business is that of ours?

Your comments hit at home. I'm tired of the liberals bringing her family down.
How in the world did Obama deserve what he got anymore than Palin?

[executioner]

I'm actually glad Obama won because one after one his liberal policies have failed and his healthcare bill will never make it anywhere. He has been a complete failure and will be a one term president. Anyone who voted for him was naive and got snowed.

[Jonathan]

[executioner]

At least we all know now your watching the right network.

[rexreed]

It reminds me of the reaction that extreme racists have when they see, say, a white girl and a black guy kissing. It comes from their gut, from primal instincts twisted by bigotry; from a place beyond any reason or logic. Or frankly, beyond any compassion or humanity.

I realize that some people have a negative reaction to Obama, but most Conservatives object to Obama's policies and political positions and philosophies, not to him as a person. Our reaction is appropriate considering the level of disagreement we have with his policies and positions.

For the life of me I can not understand the hatred spewed towards The President. For starters there are the birthers. They won't stop crying about a birth certificate. Funny thing is I've never seen any presidential candidate birth certificates. Did Ronald Reagan have to produce a birth certificate? And then there is the "he's a muslim" argument. There is a sizeable amount of Americans that believe the guy is Muslim. What gives? For a lot of people it might be a bit of racism, they may not have been ready to see a black (or in this case half black) President.

Palin on the other hand, sheesh. When she resigned as Governor of Alaska it told me that the job was more than she could handle, and that means no chance at the White House. For crying out loud- she wanted to give a concession speech on election night- she was the vice presidential candidate!!! Mcain's people rightfully shut her up.

[knotodiswrld]

It reminds me of the reaction that extreme racists have when they see, say, a white girl and a black guy kissing. It comes from their gut, from primal instincts twisted by bigotry; from a place beyond any reason or logic. Or frankly, beyond any compassion or humanity.

I realize that some people have a negative reaction to Obama, but most Conservatives object to Obama's policies and political positions and philosophies, not to him as a person. Our reaction is appropriate considering the level of disagreement we have with his policies and positions.

For the life of me I can not understand the hatred spewed towards The President. For starters there are the birthers. They won't stop crying about a birth certificate. Funny thing is I've never seen any presidential candidate birth certificates. Did Ronald Reagan have to produce a birth certificate? And then there is the "he's a muslim" argument. There is a sizeable amount of Americans that believe the guy is Muslim. What gives? For a lot of people it might be a bit of racism, they may not have been ready to see a black (or in this case half black) President.

Palin on the other hand, sheesh. When she resigned as Governor of Alaska it told me that the job was more than she could handle, and that means no chance at the White House. For crying out loud- she wanted to give a concession speech on election night- she was the vice presidential candidate!!! Mcain's people rightfully shut her up.

Wanting to see a birth certificate is not "hatred". You are of course aware that there were several people from Kenya claiming to have been present at Obama's birth ... in Kenya ... and to have seen his Kenyan birth certificate? Now, personally, I wouldn't have given much credence to such claims, but having such claims out there does make a request to see his U.S. birth certificate quite reasonable. What I don't understand is his reluctance to make it available. If I were running for the office of President of the United States, then I would certainly make my birth certificate available to the public should there be any question whatsoever.

Now, I realize that the Hawaiian Secretary of State has certified Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate. So, I'm 95% sure that he actually was born there. But it is not "hatred" to have some suspicions because the man won't show us something that should not be any big deal.

"Having some doubt" =/= "hatred".

As far as his being a Muslim ... well, you can't convince me that Barack Obama has any god other than Barack Obama. Being a true Muslim might actually be an improvement over where he is now. It would mean acknowledging that there is at least One Being in the universe greater than himself.

In addition, this well known clip provides reasonable cause for some people to at least suspect he is a Muslim. I think he just had a slip of the tongue, but can any one prove it was a slip of the tongue, and not something deeper? Again, it isn't proof. But it is reasonable cause for suspicion.



And again:

"Suspicion of Muslim Faith" =/= "hatred".

You see, when you equate thinking that Obama is a Muslim to hating Obama, to me that says that you believe being a Muslim is a good reason to hate someone. Personally, I would not hate him even if he were a Muslim. But those who equate thinking him to be a Muslim with hating him, it seems to me, must think we should hate Muslims.

Sorry. Can't go there. Christians don't hate people because of their beliefs. And frankly, unless someone's beliefs involve harming others, Conservatives don't hate people because of their beliefs either. We may disapprove and/or disagree strongly. But we don't "hate" them for it.

"Disagreement with his religion" =/= "hatred"

And then there's the whole racism accusation again. Get over it. The only people who care what color his skin is are the people who voted for him just because of his skin color. The rest of us couldn't possibly care less.

Let me tell you something. If Condy Rice runs for the Republican nod in 2012, the other contenders may as well go home! True Conservatives don't care if a candidate is black or white, male or female. We care about ability, ideology, and achievement. Condy has all three.

Now, she would need to commit to a more pro-life stance than she has done in the past. That's the one issue on which many of us disagree with her. But she can get around that by saying that she thinks that whether abortion is homicide should be governed at the state, not the federal, level and that she does not plan to interfere with the states on the matter. (Which makes sense, as homicide is a state, not federal, matter.) I think that gives her the primary and maybe the election.

I defy you to offer any proof that there is any significant resentment linked to Obama's race among his detractors. Oh, I'm sure you can find something put out by the KKK or somebody, but I mean among more than 0.5% of his detractors.

Get over the race issue. Only Liberals still give a rip what color a person's skin is.

Now, I agree that Palin should not have resigned as Alaska governor. Frankly, I lost a lot of respect for her when she did that. She claimed that the publicity she was getting was not good for the office of the governor or the state of Alaska, and surely there is some truth to that. I wonder, though, if she wasn't just terribly disappointed with being on the loosing side of the Presidential election. It's enough to take the wind out of anyone's sails.

So, I agree that it was a mistake. But I don't think it proves she couldn't do the job.

On the other hand, if McCain's people had let her speak more openly before the election, I think they would have had a much better chance of winning. I don't know if Liberals realize just how many Conservatives stayed home or cast 3rd party votes rather than vote for John McCain. I was planning on voting Libertarian until Palin became the VP candidate. Palin was McCain's only chance, frankly, and his team blew it.

If Palin had been more in front during the campaign, I think you would have seen higher Conservative turn-out during the election. It is hard to say if it would have turned the election, but it would have definitely helped.

As far as wanting to make the concession speech, that just shows she's a smart woman. She knew that such things will give her a boost during any future runs for office. She was just looking out for her future political career. Can't blame her for that, since McCain's campaign had basically torpedoed the one she had.

[CatNamedManny]

It reminds me of the reaction that extreme racists have when they see, say, a white girl and a black guy kissing. It comes from their gut, from primal instincts twisted by bigotry; from a place beyond any reason or logic. Or frankly, beyond any compassion or humanity.

I realize that some people have a negative reaction to Obama, but most Conservatives object to Obama's policies and political positions and philosophies, not to him as a person. Our reaction is appropriate considering the level of disagreement we have with his policies and positions.

For the life of me I can not understand the hatred spewed towards The President. For starters there are the birthers. They won't stop crying about a birth certificate. Funny thing is I've never seen any presidential candidate birth certificates. Did Ronald Reagan have to produce a birth certificate? And then there is the "he's a muslim" argument. There is a sizeable amount of Americans that believe the guy is Muslim. What gives? For a lot of people it might be a bit of racism, they may not have been ready to see a black (or in this case half black) President.

Palin on the other hand, sheesh. When she resigned as Governor of Alaska it told me that the job was more than she could handle, and that means no chance at the White House. For crying out loud- she wanted to give a concession speech on election night- she was the vice presidential candidate!!! Mcain's people rightfully shut her up.

This.

The idea that conservative vitriol against the president is only about policy and not about personality made me laugh out loud in my office. People argue the man wasn't born here. They say he's a Muslim (despite the fact that he claims in his books and in speeches to be a born-again Christian, which brings up all sorts of questions about how we should talk about a fellow brother in Christ and his ideas). They argue that he's hell-bent on destroying America, which is an attack on his personal integrity and patriotism. They carry signs with not-so-veiled threats about revolution and assassination to rallies outside his speeches. There's a lot of personal venom out there that has very little to do with his policy choices.

And, yes, there's been a lot of personal venom that's been inappropriately directed toward Palin and her family. Let's not forget, however, that Palin has consistently used her family as props when it has suited her, and Bristol is an adult who has gone on major public speaking tours and used her fame as Palin's daughter to star in a highly rated, extremely popular television series. So declaring criticism of Palin's family off limits is trying to have it both ways -- she can use them to promote her stances on abortion and abstinence, for example, but she cannot be criticized for how her political ambitions may be affecting their ability to experience healthy childhoods.

Obama came into the 2008 election with a little public experience -- seven years in the Illinois state senate and three years as a U.S. senator. He subjected himself to media scrutiny by holding unscripted news conferences and appearing on countless news programs and talk shows. His policies were no secret (health care reform was his No. 1 campaign promise, don't forget), and he was tested repeatedly about his knowledge on the issues he would face as president.

Palin also came into the 2008 election with some public experience -- six years as mayor of Wasilla and two years as governor of Alaska. So even on a straight comparison of experience in the public sphere, Palin's pales in comparison to Obama's. Restrict it to experience in federal government, which I'll grant isn't strictly necessary, though I think it's helpful, and Obama's three years is three years more than Palin's.

Further, when Palin was tabbed to be the vice presidential nominee -- next in line to a 72-year-old cancer survivor, so perhaps a more important nomination than your typical vp pick -- she failed miserably to demonstrate any ability to understand or articulate the important issues in the campaign. That is likely because the McCain campaign spent essentially no time vetting her qualifications (just two days between when her name first came up and when she was offered the nomination), instead picking her because, frankly, she was female and attractive, an overtly cynical and briefly effective ploy to rejuvenate a flagging campaign that was struggling to make headway against a dynamic black man. If there are any other theories as to why she was selected over the likes of Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal or Tom Ridge, I'll be glad to hear them.

But Palin never did a news conference. She was restricted to one-on-one interviews, in which she bombed badly. She said she had foreign policy experience because Russia was close to Alaska, and that she had been involved in trade missions between the countries (which was false). Her answer about the pending bank bailout was simply nonsensical and showed no understanding about the single most important problem facing America at the time. And, of course, she famously couldn't name a single newspaper that she read.

So, yes, if we're talking strictly experience -- both textual, resume-style experience, and demonstrable real-world knowledge and experience -- Sarah Palin was the least experienced of the four principals on the ballot in 2008, and it's not even close. She is arguably one of the worst and most unprepared candidates for high office in the history of the country.

There are other reasons why she sparks such an angry response from the left, even among the vast majority whose responses stay strictly on policy disagreements. There's the celebration of ignorance in which she continuously engages, the angry sarcasm and demagoguery her speeches are laced with (an attitude that doesn't foster calm and reasonable dialogue), and the fact that she constantly pushes a distorted, untrue and counterfactual version of history and current events, as well as blatantly untrue statements about current policy discussions.

And there's the fact that she just makes stuff up. She said she rejected money for the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," but actually campaigned hard for it multiple times. She said her convention speech was delivered mostly from memory after the TelePrompTers stopped working, when this was flatly untrue. She said she asked her daughters to vote on whether she should accept the VP nomination, contradicting both her campaign and her husband. She said she rejected federal stimulus money, when she accepted it multiple times. She told the media she never held closed-door meetings as governor ... the day after she had held a closed-door meeting as governor. She denied her husband was a member of a political party that supports Alaskan secession and denied the party advocated for secession, but the McCain campaign said in fact it does and he is (something you'd figure they wouldn't be thrilled to admit). She told Oprah she wanted to go on SNL because it would be fun, and that she had to convince the McCain campaign to go along, but emails between her and the McCain campaign show she initially rejected the idea and had to be talked into it.

That's just a few of them. She lies to make herself look better, she lies to have better anecdotes to tell, and most damningly, she lies to obscure the public record. So it's a little frustrating that she continues to be deified by a (thankfully small and shrinking) minority as the paragon of conservative virtue, and that her comments on public policy are often reported at face value, including the biggest whopper of all: her propagation of the "death panels" myth that PolitiFact deemed 2009's Lie of the Year.

This, in a rather large nutshell, is why the left freaks out over Sarah Palin. I welcome any refutation (but not refudiation, hehe) of these points, and I would like to know what about Barack Obama makes people on the right go berzerk. And if you tell me it's the health reform bill, I'm going to point to articles showing that the major tenets of the bill were created and advocated by Republicans and conservatives (Mitt Romney, Bob Dole and the Heritage Foundation, come on down!), so let's take that one off the table right now.

[CatNamedManny]

Wanting to see a birth certificate is not "hatred". You are of course aware that there were several people from Kenya claiming to have been present at Obama's birth ... in Kenya ... and to have seen his Kenyan birth certificate? Now, personally, I wouldn't have given much credence to such claims, but having such claims out there does make a request to see his U.S. birth certificate quite reasonable. What I don't understand is his reluctance to make it available. If I were running for the office of President of the United States, then I would certainly make my birth certificate available to the public should there be any question whatsoever.

Which is exactly what Obama did, and the copy provided was certified by the state of Hawaii as an actual copy of an actual Hawaiian birth certificate. So that leads me to believe that those who refuse to accept the proof he's provided are questioning his integrity and calling him a liar, as well as questioning his fitness for office. All of these things strike me as personal attacks born from an animosity that goes well beyond a simple policy dispute.

John McCain, meanwhile, was actually born outside the U.S. No calls to see his birth certificate, however. Interesting.

As far as his being a Muslim ... well, you can't convince me that Barack Obama has any god other than Barack Obama. Being a true Muslim might actually be an improvement over where he is now. It would mean acknowledging that there is at least One Being in the universe greater than himself.

I'm going to go ahead and put this one under "judge not." The man claims to be a born-again Christian. He describes being in church, responding to an altar call, going down front and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. There is no reason to doubt this, and you have no greater reason to say what you just did than I would in saying, "You can't convince me that knotodiswrld has any god other than knotodiswrld."

Frankly, you are out of line with these comments. They are not Christian in nature, and we should not be attacking brothers and sisters in Christ like that. The fact that you would so easily stoop this low to criticize someone who says he's a Christian does more to prove the point you're protesting than it does to refute it.[/quote]

"Suspicion of Muslim Faith" =/= "hatred".

Hmm, yes, because all those calling him a Muslim would be willing to vote for him in 2012, right? And I'm sure there's no overlap whatsoever between the people calling Obama a Muslim and those who call this a Christian nation, argue for restrictions to be placed on Muslims and conflate the millions of peaceful Muslims living here with the couple dozen terrorists involved in attacks or attempted attacks on our soil.

You see, when you equate thinking that Obama is a Muslim to hating Obama, to me that says that you believe being a Muslim is a good reason to hate someone. Personally, I would not hate him even if he were a Muslim. But those who equate thinking him to be a Muslim with hating him, it seems to me, must think we should hate Muslims.

This is a fun trick, but it requires ignoring the Islamophobia that has infected the far right and pretending that this is an entirely different group of people than those who claim the president practices Islam. I'm not willing to do either of those, even if you are.

Sorry. Can't go there. Christians don't hate people because of their beliefs. And frankly, unless someone's beliefs involve harming others, Conservatives don't hate people because of their beliefs either. We may disapprove and/or disagree strongly. But we don't "hate" them for it.

So "conservatives don't hate people for their beliefs." Good to know. So Pamela Geller, a conservative who appears frequently on Fox News says Obama is "a third worlder and a coward" who "is appeasing his Islamic overlords" isn't doing so from a place of hatred. Good to know. What about when she says Obama "wants jihad to win?" How about when she said "it is well known" that Obama "was involved with a crack whore in his youth." She also says Obama's birth certificate is a forgery and has frequently called Obama "the Muslim president."

Just one example, but it only takes one to disprove such a broad (and obviously false) assertion.

And then there's the whole racism accusation again. Get over it. The only people who care what color his skin is are the people who voted for him just because of his skin color. The rest of us couldn't possibly care less.

Let me tell you something. If Condy Rice runs for the Republican nod in 2012, the other contenders may as well go home! True Conservatives don't care if a candidate is black or white, male or female. We care about ability, ideology, and achievement. Condy has all three.

Maybe so. But then we'd have to explain why Fox News keeps talking about Obama's race. Why Rush Limbaugh keeps using incidents of black-on-white violence to describe "Barack Obama's America." Why Glenn Beck keeps talking about Obama's policies as "reparations." That race-related language isn't coming from the left. Question: If Obama were white, would people still be doubting the veracity of his birth certificate despite the mountains of proof that it is authentic? If he were white, would people be so quick to dismiss his claims of Christianity and assume he is a Muslim?

Get over the race issue. Only Liberals still give a rip what color a person's skin is.

Well, liberals and Fox News personalities. And Rush Limbaugh. But sure, other than them.

Now, I agree that Palin should not have resigned as Alaska governor. Frankly, I lost a lot of respect for her when she did that. She claimed that the publicity she was getting was not good for the office of the governor or the state of Alaska, and surely there is some truth to that. I wonder, though, if she wasn't just terribly disappointed with being on the loosing side of the Presidential election. It's enough to take the wind out of anyone's sails.

So, I agree that it was a mistake. But I don't think it proves she couldn't do the job.

Actually, it is definitive proof that, for whatever reason, she could not do the job. If she could have done the job, she wouldn't have resigned.

On the other hand, if McCain's people had let her speak more openly before the election, I think they would have had a much better chance of winning. I don't know if Liberals realize just how many Conservatives stayed home or cast 3rd party votes rather than vote for John McCain. I was planning on voting Libertarian until Palin became the VP candidate. Palin was McCain's only chance, frankly, and his team blew it.

This is certainly Palin's version. It is most definitely not one that comports well with reality (her few fully openly spoken moments were horrible failures, a la the Couric interview, whereas her best moment, the convention speech went through multiple layers of edits and approval, as all such speeches do), nor does it comport with the McCain campaign's version of events.

If Palin had been more in front during the campaign, I think you would have seen higher Conservative turn-out during the election. It is hard to say if it would have turned the election, but it would have definitely helped.

The conservative turnout was depressed because McCain was not a conservative candidate, because the liberal base was energized by Obama's candidacy and, most importantly, because eight years of Republican rule in the White House ended with the worst economic collapse in 70 years. That's going to keep supporters of the incumbent party home, regardless of the micro-level issues going on within the campaign. Palin cost McCain far more by leading to major defections from moderates and women, who did not want her anywhere near the White House -- and still don't, if her horrendous approval ratings are to be believed.

[CatNamedManny]

Exe sent me a PM asking for the links to back up some of my thoughts, so I figured I’d put them all in one post.

I apologize for not putting them out there while I was writing, but I tend to be able to recite a lot of it from memory, and I also don’t want to interrupt the flow of my thoughts with copying and pasting, so it takes a little work to track them all down.

Without further ado…

I of course used the Barack Obama and Sarah Palin Wiki pages for stuff like their specific number of years in public office. The Palin page also confirmed additional facts about her public availability (or lack thereof) and her horrible Couric interview (there’s actually a Wiki page dedicated to it, linked from the main Palin page.)

As for the making stuff up, I recommend the list of Palin lies compiled by Andrew Sullivan. I don’t endorse everything Sullivan writes about Palin, nor would I even go so far as to label as a lie all the things he does, but it’s a remarkable list, and it goes far more into the unethical, if not illegal, behavior in which Palin engaged as governor of Alaska – behavior determined to be unethical by an independent investigation. While Sullivan has gone overboard in criticizing Palin and her family, he does provide links and sources for his assertions about her trustworthiness, which is more than Palin tends to do.

Here’s one list of “The Odd Lies of Sarah Palin”: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/t ... undup.html. I pulled a few more from this search: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/t ... n&search=1

About Obama’s birth certificate, this is the best source for determining whether there is any shred of truth to the story: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter ... e-part-ii/

Don’t believe them? There’s also: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008 ... e_usa.html

As far as Obama’s religion, I’ll refer you to Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

There’s this post from a friend and former teacher of mine, religion columnist Terry Mattingly, discussing mostly Jeremiah Wright, but noting a Chicago Tribune story that says, “Before leaving for Harvard Law School in 1988, [Obama] responded to one of Wright’s altar calls and declared a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” http://www.getreligion.org/2007/01/fill ... -timeline/

About Pamela Geller, I refer you to Media Matters, a left-wing media watchdog group that nevertheless is fastidious in citing transcripts, providing links and including video and audio evidence of their various claims: http://mediamatters.org/research/201007140035

Regarding Fox News and race baiting, I provide you this link: http://mediamatters.org/research/201007270001

I pause here to say I don’t agree that all the examples Media Matters cites are necessarily examples of improper political debate or inappropriate use of race in a discussion, but there are plenty of them that fit the bill, especially if the counterargument is that “only liberals care about race.” I have a hard time seeing that, given how often the conservative stars on Fox News keep bringing it up, particularly in a way that seems designed to scare their mostly white audience from supporting a particular black politician they oppose.

For Rush Limbaugh’s long history of racially tinged discussion, visit here: http://mediamatters.org/columns/200909180052

Finally, discussing why McCain lost the ’08 election, here is a link to an academic paper determining that Palin cost McCain 2 percentage points, an enormous number compared to past vice presidential nominees, whose selections usually matter very little to a presidential campaign. http://www.everydaypoliticsblog.com/201 ... ffect.html

And, finally, my little jabs about Palin’s approval/disapproval rating. Here is the Pollster.com aggregate chart of polls: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/1 ... 25513.html And, for whatever it’s worth (which is not very much), Obama would have easily defeated Palin if the presidential election had been held last October (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43463.html). Since then, his approval numbers have improved while hers have sank.

For that matter, if current trends hold, I wouldn’t be counting on seeing a Republican in the White House until at least 2016: http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com ... tates.html

[gman]

I don't get much into the birther thing because there is so much else to focus on, but I was listening to a discussion about it on a local radio show the other day and it was interesting. Apparently what some people are hung up is that the official hospital birth certificate is not being released. That would be the definitive answer to this. I think it won't be released while BO is president because it benefits him politically to leave the controversy out there and have a bunch of people hung up on it. Basically, look at the birth certificate controversy in my left hand while my right hand does something else.

What they were discussing in depth on the radio show was the Certificate of Live Birth, which is what is shown on one of the links posted above. I don't know for certain, but several callers were saying that anyone can go to Hawaii, file for, and receive a Certificate of Live Birth, regardless of where they were born; that it amounts to a form of ID issued by the state of Hawaii, and is not the same as the birth certificate that would be issued by the hospital upon birth. They say the COLB doesn't prove that he was born in Hawaii, but it also doesn't prove that he wasn't. To say that he wasn't a U.S citizen at birth and the COLB was filed for after fact, knowing he would someday need it to game the system and run for President is too far down the conspiracy trail for me.
I'll stick to the stuff that's out in open. Single Payer, spread the wealth around, fundamental transformation, etc. I found it interesting that a number of leftist groups are aligning themselves with the Muslim Brotherhood and helping to drive what is happening in Egypt. My ears perked up when, in the midst of Mubarack stepping down, President Obama used the same sort of transformation language he used during his campaign to describe what is happening in Egypt. Pair that with the clips of people and protests here in the U.S. calling for the same type of revolution, and calling for a communist government. It's all very fascinating.

GMan

[brent]

At the end of the day, it does not matter who you vote for. This is a BUNCH of behind the scenes crap going on, prohibiting anyone from doing anything than what the machine is programmed to do. Teddy Kennedy told a kid in the 60s that this country will unravel by the time the kid was Teddy's age. This is like going to the hospital. It is just a matter pain control while dying. The next evolution of this country after the war will be isolationism. We are no longer going to be the last super power, policing peace. Our currency is being devalued. When the middle east adopts their breadbasket currency practice, the dollar will no longer be the standard. When this happens, the biggest oil user (USA) will find it hard to compete for supply. It is a matter of time before we become a weak nation, all orchestrated long ago, by the real movers and shakers on the planet. This is why nothing ever gets done the way these ignorant know-it-alls say it will. What about Obama posting links on the web so everyone can see what he is going to do, five days ahead of time. Riiiiight.