McCain chooses Sarah Palin (AK) for VP

[themadscientist]

I am still researching her as I think most people are. It is not a well known name. So far I like a lot of what I see. I am not tracking with her pro-life stance but the fact that she stands for it makes me respect her even if I disagree. I like the way she sold the governors jet. She took a good line on the bridge to nowhere. Her fights over, safety, environmental and corruption issues with oil interests in Alaska while being for drilling is so multidimentional it almost looks like is not watching polls and playing politics but doing what she thinks is right. Oh my, what is this thing? That won't play at the DNC; sticking to your guns, certainly not, we must meander with the polls. How else can we turn on a dime when we lose and pretend all the time we were slamming Obama on th campaign we were really enamoured with him? Watching the Clintons and Biden flip the script and pretend all the things they said about Obama, the 100% right things, never happened is typical of the dems.

On the topic of guns; she owns them, she shoots them and isn't afraid for people to know it. Again indicative of a real person with her own opinions and no fear of doing what she thinks is right. I respect that in itself and then it jumps exponentially as I feel the same way.

I agree with her opposition to same sex marriage as well, more points for her. I am a darwinist and would not like to see us go back to the days of the scopes trail. I am not patently against teaching both as "ideas" though if they are treated as ideas and the students are left to reflect on what they and their family beleives. I do not fear different ideas being presented equally as militants of both opinions seem to be.

Inexperience? This from the party that crys foul when Obama's glaring inexperience is cited, most loudly by two key speakers at the DNC rally where they sold their souls to the cult of that very charlatin for feeble handouts. It must have made Biden violently ill to have to have to bow down to an inferior candidate for the privelage of possibly standing in his shadow if the rest of America loses its senses on a level equivalent to the Democratic party.

Palin has been governor of a state, what has Obama done? I don't mean what jobs has he held, WHAT HAS HE ACTUALLY DONE!? Nothing. This is someone here who has done things, things of substance, things of character, things that matter. I would stack McCain's VP against Obama, she is that much more significant of a person than he. Biden would be an actual viable contender for president, Obama is an oddity, a sideshow with no resume to be the most powerful man in the world.

I would remind the people that suggest her 2 years as governor mean nothing. Woodrow Wilson stepped directly into the presidency after a similar stint as governor of New Jersey. She has a good grounding of executive eperience that four years as VP should develop into a substantial sum. Presidents do things senators don't, they run things, governors run things, it is directly scalable.

I wanted McCain to go Colin Powell to distance himself from the suggestions of his administration being 4 more years of Bush but I am very impressed so far with Miss Palin. I will continue to look up facts on her but so far I have been very pleased with what I find and think it will turn out to be a very good choice and just fired the killing blow to any hopes of the sham Obama slithering into the White House.

[szh]

And she was pointing it at the cameraman if I remember correctly. And you wonder why I don't want guns in the hands of the untrained.

You did not watch it correctly. She did not point it at the camera-man in the pictures I saw.

She is better trained to handle weapons than most people here and in the country.

Z

[szh]

So far I like a lot of what I see. ... is not watching polls and playing politics but doing what she thinks is right.

I like that a lot too.

Doing true things for change the past two years, instead of blathering about it.

If she can keep that moral and personal stand going, then I think she will do better than all politicians who pander to the latest fads.

Z

[themadscientist]

I dare say if all I find remains consistent we could see her as the first woman president. I hated Hillary with a passion, scum like that doesn't grow naturally, it must be cultivated. I do think even though I detest her and would likely hate her administration she could handle it and it would do things of substance. For this reason if she broke the gender barrier I would be agreeable with it. Obama is a complete con job. It would anger me if the man to break the color barrier were such a trumped up hollow shell; it would cheapen the milestone. The feeling people get when they think about Barry Bonds. Yeah, he broke the record but are you happy about it?Powell immediatly comes to mind as a highly accomplished man of substance and charachter that would be an outstanding candidate first and foremost and break the color barrier almost as an afterthought.

Now if miss Palin passes through the fire of scrutiny, the ticket wins and she serves with distinction as VP for 4 or 8 years I see no reason why she would not go on to break the gender barrier as the first woman president. Look out for Air Force One to pop up on E-bay!

[AZhitman]

Sen. Obama commets...(2008-08-29) — Sen. Barack Obama today slammed his Republic opponent John McCain as “a sexist who sees women as subordinate to men and who intentionally puts them in his shadow,” just minutes after Sen. McCain announced he had selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

“What could be more denigrating to women?” Sen. Obama asked a crowd of supporters in western Pennsylvania. “I think it’s shameful that Mrs. Palin’s name will always be mentioned after McCain’s and that she’ll earn less money than he will. American women are tired of being put in their place by men — treated as second-class citizens.”

Obama is a boob.

Today, he's backpedaling on his harsh (and idiotic) remarks.

Seriously, this guy needs to THINK before he SPEAKS.

It's become a common thread with him, lipping off and then having to retract / revise / reverse.

Here's a bit of advice for you, Senator Obama: "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."

Your big mouth makes great speeches, but it's gonna get you in hot water.

[rn79870]

Sarah is taking a pretty strong hit from female bloggers. Quoting MoJo

John McCain may think that Alaska governor Sarah Palin will help him pick off the Hillary voters, but the fact that she went back to work in April three days after giving birth to a premature baby with Downs' Syndrome has already got women buzzing on the web with questions about her judgment and priorities. Obviously 2008 is a lot different from 1992, when Hillary, who wasn't even running for office, was heavily criticized for her decision to pursue a career after having a child. But even in these more enlightened times, women on both sides of the political spectrum may frown on Palin's decision to hit the national campaign trail at this particular time of her life. (And of course, we'll all be wondering: will she bring her breast pump?)

Maybe not in the best taste, but go read some of the blogs. This is already taking a toll on McCain's campaign. Comments like "McCain thinks we wanted a women when backing Hillary. He doesn't understand that we wanted Hillary." The truely unfortunite thing is that stuff like this keeps the issues on the backburner.

[spngr311]

Well said themadscientist (on both previous posts - you added one as I was typing!). You have articulated many of the arguements and sentiment that I agree with. I always thought Colin Powell would have been good, but he is smarter than most politicians - he's keeping himself out of them! LOL! I always like Condoleza Rice as well (so smart and articulate), but she is too close to Bush to even be mentioned...

One thing we can all agree on, the next few months will be very interesting - and I'm sure many of us are looking forward to it. I wish the parties could attack eachother on issues, but alas, it's politics.

[themadscientist]

I am looking at a lot of the Liberal blogs and I think the amount of venom spewed is indicative of how good a choice she is. The mistake would be to think McCain is pandering to hillary voters.Palin, again, so far in my research is a strong candidate first, woman candidate second. I think women who vote for McCain based on her being VP will do so more because they like her and her views on issues relavent to them rather than the fact that she also shops in the women's department. Militantly liberal women do not make that leap.

I am actually thinking about voting. Look at my previous posts on my voting habits and you will see the significance in that statement. More research must be don but I am liking her more and more. If I vote this go around it will not be to put McCain in office, sorry John. It will be two-fold. First Obama must never be president, he would drive this country into a tree. As of this morning the second reason would be to get this interesting and exciting lady on her way to a 2012 or 2016 run.

[AZhitman]

Five kids

Poor family planning

Her hair needs a do over

Squeeky voice, very annoying

Birth control

She should be on it

I hate to break my own rule and get personal, but you are a moron, Howie.

So, someone who's had 5 kids is a "poor planner"?

What would people say if I brought up Obama's "nappy hair" and "prominent lips"?

Not only are you a closeted gay-basher, and a narrow-minded puppet who places more importance on the "Republican" label than one's policies, but now you're a misogynist.

She should be on birth control?

What the hell is wrong with you?

Idiot. Self-absorbed, pompous wannabe intellectual idiot.

[rn79870]

Obama is a boob.

Today, he's backpedaling on his harsh (and idiotic) remarks.

Seriously, this guy needs to THINK before he SPEAKS.

It's become a common thread with him, lipping off and then having to retract / revise / reverse.

Here's a bit of advice for you, Senator Obama: "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."

Your big mouth makes great speeches, but it's gonna get you in hot water.

That's funny. Wolf Blitzer called Obama's acceptance speech the turning point in the campaign, the point where Obama pulled ahead for good.

And of course, Cafferty had a field day with Palin. And Obama has come out with the Republican party is panicking. Priceless stuff out there today.

[AZhitman]

BTW, apparently Palin is strongly supported by several Feminist groups. So, Bob's assumption goes away.

She's an elected public official who's actually ACCOMPLISHED things in that role. BO has not.

Obama is still all sizzle, no steak. All hat, no horse.

p.s. He's going to go through the Federal budget "line-by-line" to cut programs that don't work?



Line by line, huh?

Cut the ones that don't work? By whose measure?

[themadscientist]

I can counter Obama in one move; turn off the teleprompter and just stare at him. Hilarity always ensues.

I don't say this to suggest public speaking is tops of the lists of political virtues. Honestly my fondest memories of G W were his verbal fumblings and the obvious fact he was thinking "WTF did I just say"? along with us. Rather when the script runs out Obama is stripped of his cloaking device of platitudes and prepared statements and is exposed for what he is; a man of few if any redeeming qualities or abilities. I would'nt trust him with planning a familiy reunion based upon his past performance.

If Palin is a poor speaker she always just talk about things she has accomplished, why? Because she has accomplished things. She has a body of work, Obama does not.She could also talk about how she would go about changing things. How can she do this? Because she has done it in Alaska, within days of taking office the scythe came out and people started getting cut, money started getting freed up. Line by line huh Obama? Call Palin, she knows how to do that and most importantly has actually done so.She could could also speak fearlessly about her views on the issues. How can she so cavalier about what she beleives? Because she ACTUALLY BELEIVES IT! The thing about lieing and BSing is you have to remember what you said. If you speak from the heart it comes naturally. It must scare the **** out of the Obamites.

[rn79870]

I can counter Obama in one move; turn off the teleprompter and just stare at him. Hilarity always ensues.

I watched both speeches. Obama watched the audience has he spoke. McCain read from notes on his lectern, rarely looking at his audience. Watch the last two speeches and you'll see.

[rn79870]

So, someone who's had 5 kids is a "poor planner"?

Not necessarily, maybe they don't have TVs in Alaska.

BTW, apparently Palin is strongly supported by several Feminist groups. So, Bob's assumption goes away.

I've searched the blogs for several hours today, and I've found just the opposite, probably 70% were not favorable to Palin. 20% had not decided and were waiting for this all to unfold and 10% were pro Palin. Dividing the undecided in half, then it's 80/20 and that's not a winning formula for JM.

[Cold_Zero]

Most of the former Hillary Clinton supporters who are women that support John McCain probably do so because of John McCain. I dont think the rest are going to be wooed to the McCain camp over a gimmick candidate. Sarah Palin was selected to appeal to voters like me who aren't 'warm and fuzzy' to John McCain because he is not conservative. And give me a break, nor is Rudy or Romney. bud

[themadscientist]

This is important, I want you all to look back through this thread and check all the blogs. How much comparison has there been between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin? After all HE is the VP canidate, not Obama. But, in most of the discussions I have been looking at it seems to be people comparing the records and attributes of Palin -vs- Obama. THAT is very very interesting. What does that say? To me it says that the presidential candidates are both weak, I think most of us can agree with that. It then says to me that Biden has not brought Obama the strength that was hoped, he is not nearly as controvertial a choice as Palin has been. Palin has pissed off a lot of people and Obama goes out of his way to take shots at his opponent's VP? Hello, does anybody else see that as an act of fear? I do. And he has a right to be afraid. He would be hard pressed to beat her if she was the GOP nominee instead of McCain. Her resume alone would sink him. Add that to her positions, her consistent positions and Obama would fold in a substantative debate against her. One britsh site called her "the barracuda". You have to be pretty agressive to ean a name like that.

Palin is such a good choice she is stealing press time from not just the Democratic VP candidate but the presidential candidate as well and moreso. I said back at the beginning that this race was going to be about the VP selection. Obama went for the punt, McCain chose the 4th and long and Palin has the ball and is running it in with Biden flat on his back.

[AZhitman]

I watched both speeches. Obama watched the audience has he spoke. McCain read from notes on his lectern, rarely looking at his audience. Watch the last two speeches and you'll see.

You've obviously never USED a Teleprompter.

If you had, you'd know they're positioned in such a way as to allow eye contact wih the audience.

Some folks (myself included) can't use them because I can't see one very well.

If you're one of the fooled people who thinks that speech wasn't canned and read, you're the perfect BO voter. Naive and easily impressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleprompter

Sorry Bob.

[Cold_Zero]

Actually, I have been comparing Palin to McCain.

Palin appears to be a stark contrast to Joe Biden.

Palin- NRA lifetime member and hunter.Biden- Helped write the infamous "Assault Weapons Ban" and other gun grabbing legislation, looks down on people who support the 2nd Amendment.

Biden- Washington Insider, can be perceived as part of the problem with Washington.Palin- Outsider to Washington.

Biden- Pompous and arrogant man that picks fights with intellectuals because he is compensating for something? BTW, did someone tell Michelle Obama that Joe Biden doesn't like Princeton University? The guy has been known for ragging on Princeton. Palin- Seems to me (from limited exposure) that she is humble. We will find out more as time goes on and we get use to her.

[themadscientist]

Palin is a proven "agent of change" and definately a "washington outsider". What is an Obamite to do when the GOP VP candidate has actually proven she can do what their presidential candidate says he can do even though he has yet to demonstrate it in his politcal career thus far. It must suck Hillary Clinton must be strung out on anti-depressants at the moment. Even after she lost the race the discussion was all about "what will Hillary do" as Obama tried to solidify himself. She has to be ready to come unhinged watching this unfold. Couldn't happen to a nicer lady.Thank you Howard Dean for steering your party dead into the rocks.

[AZhitman]

Not necessarily, maybe they don't have TVs in Alaska.

According to telco, they don't have running water. Only New Jersey is blessed enough to be the center of Western Civilization....

BTW, nice job deflecting... I'm starting to wonder if you're the kind of person who makes judgements based on someone's personal characteristics as well. Maybe she and her husband CHOSE to have 5 kids.

Whatever happened to "it's none of our business" from the libbies? A woman and her husband get criticism for having 5 kids from the same people who defend, nay, PROMOTE gay marriage?

[themadscientist]

That sort of logical, critical thinking has no place in a political discussion.

[AZhitman]

What is an Obamite to do when the GOP VP candidate has actually proven she can do what their presidential candidate says he can do even though he has yet to demonstrate it in his politcal career thus far.

I'm lovin' it.

[AZhitman]

That sort of logical, critical thinking has no place in a political discussion.

As far as I'm concerned, this is more and more of the Obama style - Say outlandish stuff, make outrageous promises, and tell the people what they want to hear... with the HOPE they won't think critically or apply logic.

Remember, the left operates on emotion, not logic.

Now that we know that telco is a closet hatemongerer, and Bob's been fooled into thinking he was watching an off-the-cuff speech, this is like shooting fish in a barrel.

[themadscientist]

This lady is getting me excited about politics again. She shines that brightly in McCains shadow.

Now that I have gone on about her qualifications can I just say, Lookin good too!

I must close a notable political chapter in my life. Sorry Nancy Pelosi, I have a new #1 political babe. Sarah has got me sprung!

[OriginalWheelman]

At least Palin has experience in the Executive branch of the government. I don't get this "make legislators executors" thing. You don't promote a mechanic to head of the car salesmen, even if he is a damned good mechanic.

Furthermore, what qualifications do you really need to be vice president? Time as an ambassador?

[themadscientist]

Furthermore, what qualifications do you really need to be vice president? Time as an ambassador?

I don't know, ask him

[Cold_Zero]

Hey man, Dan Quayle did defeat Birch Bayh, the senior senator of Indiana and practically an Indiana institution.

Now his wife is an awesome woman. I have a lot of respect for Marilyn.

[AZhitman]

This lady is getting me excited about politics again. She shines that brightly in McCains shadow.

Now that I have gone on about her qualifications can I just say, Lookin good too!

Hell yeah, she's a cutie!

Hey, if the Obamallamas can be shallow and superficial, so can we!

[AZhitman]

She's also has a small scandal about a staffer pressuring a commissioner to get rid of the trooper who was beating Palin's sister. It didn't work - the trooper is still on the job, the staffer was suspended, and the Obama camp can now try to defend a wife-beater. Oh, it's rich!

Yep - Let's see them criticize this:

Palin faces an ongoing state investigation of accusations that she fired the state's public safety commissioner this year because he would not fire a state trooper who is her sister's ex-husband. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, Palin released recordings of a phone conversation between one of her aides and a state trooper lieutenant in which the aide said the governor was troubled that her ex-brother-in-law remained on the force.

The trooper, Mike Wooten, was reprimanded and suspended for five days in 2006 for allegedly drinking beer while on duty and driving his marked patrol car, illegally killing a moose and using his Taser on his 10-year-old stepson, state records show.

Looks like he needed to be fired, and lacking that, the public safety commissioner took the heat. Well-done, Ms. Palin.

[audtatious]

Whatever happened to "it's none of our business" from the libbies? A woman and her husband get criticism for having 5 kids from the same people who defend, nay, PROMOTE gay marriage?

It's easy, she's Republican. To Bob and the other Dems, everyone has the right to do what they want and live the lifestyle they want as long as they are not affiliated with the Republican party. I'm surprised they have not slapped her around for allowing the birth of a downs child because to them abortion would have been the most plausible answer.