PARADE Magazine Knows "Best"

And who's on the cover??



The Best & Worst of 2008
Publication Date: 12/28/2008
We've gathered the year's top news, political events and breakthroughs. Plus, the quirkiest stories of '08.

Obama Gives Jews a Hannukkah Gift (NOT!)

Imagine all those Jews who blindly supported the Obamessiah's "change:"

Report: Obama Team Planning Iranian Outreach Post
The Washington Times reports that Barack Obama's administration will probably include a newly created post meant to reach out to Iran.

Barack Obama is planning to create a new administration post meant to reach out to Iran, The Washington Times reported Friday.

Such a move would support the president-elect's pledge during the campaign to engage the rogue nation.

The Times quoted a State Department official who said Obama's team discussed naming a senior Iranian outreach coordinator in early meetings with Hillary Clinton, Obama's pick for secretary of state.

Iranian specialists also said the position was in the works. Obama's team has made no official announcement on the creation of such a post.

Obama drew criticism from his GOP rival John McCain during the presidential campaign for saying he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Though the Bush administration has traditionally refused to negotiate with Iran without preconditions, Undersecretary of State William Burns attended a meeting in Switzerland over the summer with an Iranian nuclear official.

Click here to read the full story in The Washington Times.

The TrekMedic thinks:

Not only is the Obamistake bringing back every Clintonian loser alive, he's bringing back the same ol' "talk, accept at face value, but DON'T verify, act shocked when we get stabbed in the back" Clintonian foreign policies, too!

From TheStreet.com:


This post originally appeared on RealMoney Silver on Dec. 16.

When I understudied for Doug Kass in The Edge, his RealMoney Silver trading diary, way back in February, my theme was "That '70s Show," with the concern at that time being surging inflation caused by the Fed's massive money creation in the second half of 2007.

Well, Fonzie, those certainly were "Happy Days," being pre-Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae Lehman Brothers, American International Group, General Motors and Madoff. Inflation did surge in the first half of 2008, but the financial crisis subsequently intervened, and now we are plunging into what could be the worst recession of the post-War era.

The following quote effectively sums up the feeling:

Not for many years has a Christmas season begun with so many tidings of spreading discomfort and lack of joy about the U.S. economy.... The nation is now also plunging deeper into a recession that seems sure to be the longest and could be the most severe since World War II.... For many Americans, the Yuletide will be a time of less elaborate meals, infrequent parties, fewer and cheaper presents.

Obama - A Seasoned, Professional, Class Act?

Cast of Characters
One More Question...

Incoming Obama administration director of speechwriting Jon Favreau (L) and a friend pose with a cardboard cutout of incoming Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a party. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

Updated 9:22 p.m.
By Al Kamen
Question No. 58 in the transition team vetting document for the Obama White House asks that applicants: "Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)"

Question No. 63 asks that applicants "please provide any other information ... that could ... be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect."

For a while there this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama's immensely talented chief speechwriter, 27-year-old Jon Favreau, might have been pondering how to address that question.

That's when some interesting photos of a recent party he attended -- including one where he's dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another where he's placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady's chest while a friend is offering her lips a beer -- popped up on Facebook for about two hours. The photos were quickly taken down -- along with every other photo Favreau had of himself on the popular social networking site, save for one profile headshot.

Asked about the photos, Favreau, who was recently appointed director of speechwriting for the White House, declined comment. A transition official said that Favreau had "reached out to Senator Clinton to offer an apology."

Favreau is not the first campaign aide whose online presence has proved awkward. Last March, John McCain aide Soren Dayton forwarded an anti-Obama YouTube video to his private Twitter feed linking Obama with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, leading to his suspension from the campaign. And in 2007, two bloggers hired by former North Carolina senator John Edwards stepped down after blog posts they had written before he hired them became a subject of controversy.

Favreau's case seems unlikely to be so dire; Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines cast the photos as evidence of increased bonhomie between the formerly rival camps.

"Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application," he said in an e-mail.

From the "McSame?" Files,...

The more things change, the more they stay the same?

Obama to Nominate Clinton Secretary of State Monday
Obama plans to announce the New York senator and former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination as part of his national security team at a press conference in Chicago on Monday.

President-elect Barack Obama planned to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state on Monday, transforming a once-bitter political rivalry into a high-level strategic and diplomatic partnership.

Obama will name the New York senator to his national security team at a news conference in Chicago, a person close to Clinton confirmed to FOX News.

Democratic officials said Saturday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

To clear the way for his wife to take the job, former President Bill Clinton agreed to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997. He'll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding CGI meetings overseas.

Bill Clinton's business deals and global charitable endeavors were expected to create problems for the former first lady's nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to his post-presidential work.

The Clinton pick was an extraordinary gesture of goodwill after a year in which the two rivals competed for the Democratic nomination in a long, bitter primary battle.

The two clashed repeatedly on foreign affairs during the 50-state contest, with Obama criticizing Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq war and Clinton saying that Obama lacked the experience to be president. She also chided him for saying he would meet with leaders of rogue nations like Iran and Cuba without preconditions.

The bitterness began melting away in June after Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. She went on to campaign for him in his general election contest against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama's downtown transition office.

Clinton was said to be interested and then to waver, concerned about relinquishing her Senate seat and the political independence it conferred. Those concerns were largely ameliorated after Obama assured her she would be able to choose a staff and have direct access to him, advisers said.

Remaining in the Senate also may not have been an attractive choice for Clinton. Despite her political celebrity, she is a relatively junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.

Some Democrats and government insiders have questioned whether Clinton is too independent and politically ambitious to serve Obama as secretary of state. But a senior Obama adviser has said the president-elect had been enthusiastic about naming Clinton to the position from the start, believing she would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations and the advantages to her serving far outweigh potential downsides.

The TrekMedic ponders:
Experience? Who needs experience when you just hire every Clinton re-tread from those mistake-ridden 8 years to prop up your persona?

A Call to Arms!

ALL NEW POSTS WILL APPEAR BELOW THIS ONE,.....

Now is the time to counter the Democratic machine with a few grassroots of our own!

Serious conservative bloggers can contact me at DAFOSSIL-AT-HOTMAIL-DOT-COM for more details on how to join the Red November Initiative!

Just a Reminder,....

A Palin Home Run!

Biden kicked to curb by Palin!



The whole thing can be viewed at PAWaterCooler!

FWIW,...Home run for Sarah!

Another Weatherman Terrorist A Player in Obama Campaign?

Marie offers her Two Cents on this:


Communists, Socialists, Anarchists Also Part Of Political Organization

One of the main founders of the Weathermen terrorist organization is a signatory to an independent organization acting to ensure the election of Sen. Barack Obama.

The group in question, Progressives for Obama, also includes among its ranks many former members of the 1960s radical organization Students for a Democratic Society, from which the Weathermen splintered, as well as current and former members of other radical organizations, such as the Communist Party USA and the Black Radical Congress.

In its creed, first published in March in the Nation magazine, the Progressives for Obama founders state their organization descended from the "proud tradition of independent social movements that have made America a more just and democratic country."

Weatherman Mark Rudd Terrorist


Progressives for Obama stated it can help the Illinois senator's ascent to highest office by contributing funds, using the Internet to reach "millions of swing voters;" defending Obama against negative attacks and making its agenda known at the Democratic National Convention.

"Progressives can make a difference in close primary races like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon and Puerto Rico, and in the November general election," the founders state.

The founders stress it is crucial to form a grassroots leftist movement to ensure Obama does not stray too far to the center, claiming other grassroots liberal movements have successfully pressured U.S. presidents into creating new policy:

It was the industrial strikes and radical organizers in the 1930s who pushed Roosevelt to support the New Deal. It was the civil rights and student movements that brought about voting rights legislation under Lyndon Johnson and propelled Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy's antiwar campaigns. It was the original Earth Day that led Richard Nixon to sign environmental laws.

Weatherman William Ayres Terrorist


And it will be the Obama movement that will make it necessary and possible to end the war in Iraq, renew our economy with a populist emphasis, and confront the challenge of global warming. We should not only keep the pressure on [Obama] but also connect the issues that Obama has made central to his campaign into an overarching progressive vision."
Among the signatories and endorsers to Progressives for Obama is Mark Rudd, one of the main founders of the Weathermen terrorist organization. Rudd worked closely for years with Weathermen terrorist William Ayers, whose association with Obama has generated controversy for the presidential candidate.

Rudd originally was a top member of the Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, leading the famed 1968 Columbia University strikes in which hundreds of students seized several university buildings. He also served as spokesman for the strikes, attracting international media attention.

In 1968, Rudd traveled with the SDS to Cuba, defying U.S. travel bans, where he says he was heavily influenced by the legacy of Che Guevara and by Cuban-style revolution. When he returned to the U.S., Rudd advocated for Columbia's chapter of the SDS to carry out militant, aggressive action, but he was turned down.

Picture Of Che Guevara Hanging On Wall At Barack Obama Campaign Headquarters In Texas


A bio published on his own website explains Rudd worked to form the Weathermen as a radical alternative to the SDS and for white Americans to eject their "white skin privilege" and begin "armed struggle" against the U.S. government.

The Weathermen took responsibility for bombing U.S. governmental buildings in the 1970s.

Rudd went underground in 1970, when a bomb exploded in a townhouse in Greenwich Village in New York City, killing three of his comrades. He lived for seven and a half years in hiding as a fugitive, finally surrendering in 1977, facing only low-level state charges after federal charges against Weathermen leaders had been dropped. He resurfaced as a teacher in New Mexico.

Tom Hayden Anti-American


As late as 2005, Rudd wrote an editorial in the Los Angeles Times lamenting the state of the antiwar movement in the U.S.

"What's hard to understand – given the revelations about the rush to war, the use of torture and the loss of more than 2,000 soldiers – is why the antiwar movement isn't further along than it is. Given that President Bush is now talking about Iraq as only one skirmish in an unlimited struggle against a global Islamic enemy, a struggle comparable to the titanic, 40-year Cold War against communism, shouldn't a massive critique of the global war on terrorism already be underway?" he wrote.

Rudd condemned the Weathermen's decision to embark on an "armed-struggle," calling it "stupid" since the violent acts led to the group's demise.

William Ayres Terrorist


Rudd didn't condemn the terrorism itself, only its contribution to the downfall of the Weathermen.

Rudd declined to speak on the record to WND, explaining an interview may spark more Weathermen controversy for Obama.

Rudd is just one of scores of radicals involved with Progressives for Obama.

The group was founded by four individuals with ties to extremist groups:

Tom Hayden, a former state senator who was a founder and principal organizer of the SDS. Discover the Networks notes Hayden, previously married to actress Jane Fonda, traveled many times to North Vietnam, Czechoslovakia and Paris to strategize with communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong leaders on how to defeat America's anti-communist efforts.

Bill Fletcher, a former Maoist and current leader of Democratic Socialists of America or DSA. The New Zeal blog notes Fletcher was also a founder of the Black Radical Congress, closely linked to the Communist Party USA, which advocated for "progressive social justice, racial equality and economic justice goals within the U.S.

Barbara Ehenreich, an honorary chairman of DSA who was formerly active in antiwar movements in which some notorious radicals took part.

Actor Danny Glover, a member of the Black Students Union, who has visited Venezuela, making guest appearances on President Hugo Chavez's television and radio talk show. He reportedly has accepted loans of about $20 million from the Venezuelan government to make a movie about a Haitian revolutionary leader.
The Progressives for Obama webmaster is Carl Davidson, a former vice president of the Students for a Democratic Society, who has traveled to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro.

Danny Glover And Hugo Chavez


The signatories and endorsers of the Obama activist group, listed on the Progressives website, include scores of well known communist, socialist and anarchist activists and former SDS members.

The Obama campaign was not prepared to comment on the links to Rudd and other extremists in the allied organization.

Anarchist For Obama


Story Here
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Holy Cow! Just how many terrorist's are on Obama's Payroll? I think it's time we all start finding out! There is NO way Obama should be elected President! Cant you see it? William Ayres, all his terrorist buddies coming up to visit the White House they hate? Not to mention the Black Panthers, Louis Farrakhan, and the entire Nation of Islam? OH NO WAY!

McCain Making NY Blush!

Blush is a shade of red,....as opposed to the usual NY Blue:

HT to Isophrone:


Poll: McCain Winning the New York Jewish Vote


Hat tip: SWAC Girl

I was absolutely shocked to read an article in the New York Post that said that not only had John McCain cut Barack Obama’s lead in New York to five points, but also that McCain was actually polling with a majority of the Jewish vote.


Obama has had a reversal of fortunes among Jewish voters. His support has plummeted 35 points, from a lead of 50-37 to a 54-32 deficit in the new poll.

This must be the first time since before the Great Depression that a majority of the Jewish vote has gone Republican. My guess is that a combination of factors are at work:

1) The New Deal generation (whose who came of voting age in 1932) has pretty much died out

2) Security concerns for the U.S. and Israel greatly influence the vote, and Obama’s weaknesses in this area are hurting him badly

3) Tolerance of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish bigotry within the Democratic Party is finally starting to have negative repercussions

4) The proportion of Orthodox Jewish voters has grown, and like morally conservative Christians, they are pro-life and favor the Republican candidates

5) Like many voters (particularly in high cost of living areas like New York), Jewish voters are concerned about the economy and particularly Obama’s plans to raise taxes on income, investments, and estates.

6) The scandals and mismanagement brought about on the local level by Democrats like Eliot Spitzer and Jon Corzine are also reflecting badly on the national Democrats.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is reporting that Florida Democrats are seeing increasing resistance to Obama among the normally reliably Democratic Jewish elderly. Maybe this explains McCain's expanding lead in Florida as well.

So should the symbol for excited Jewish Republicans should be called the KVELLephant?

More Palin-Bashing

Marie offers her Two Cents on the internet mud-slinging at Sarah Palin:



I pulled the following from Newsweek and Fact Check.org This is truly stunning how this crap is flying across the internet!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We've been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain's running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading.

Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn't cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.

She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin's first term.

She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United States. She's been registered as a Republican since May 1982.

Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once wore a Buchanan button as a "courtesy" when he visited Wasilla, but shortly afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in the state.

Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."

We'll be looking into other charges in an e-mail by a woman named Anne Kilkenny for a future story. For more explanation of the bullet points above, please read the Analysis.

Analysis
Since Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, information about Palin's past has been zipping around the Internet. Several claims are not true, and other rumors are misleading.

No Cut for "Special Needs" Kids
It's not true, as widely reported in mass e-mails, Web postings and at least one mainstream news source, that Palin slashed the special education budget in Alaska by 62 percent. CNN's Soledad O'Brien made the claim on Sept. 4 in an interview with Nicolle Wallace, a senior adviser to the McCain campaign:

O'Brien, Sept. 4: One are that has gotten certainly people sending to me a lot of e-mails is the question about as governor what she did with the special needs budget, which I'm sure you're aware, she cut significantly, 62 percent I think is the number from when she came into office. As a woman who is now a mother to a special needs child, and I think she actually has a nephew which is autistic as well. How much of a problem is this going to be as she tries to navigate both sides of that issue?

Such a move might have made Palin look heartless or hypocritical in view of her convention-speech pledge to be an advocate for special needs children and their families. But in fact, she increased special needs funding so dramatically that a representative of local school boards described the jump as "historic."

According to an April 2008 article in Education Week, Palin signed legislation in March 2008 that would increase public school funding considerably, including special needs funding. It would increase spending on what Alaska calls "intensive needs" students (students with high-cost special requirements) from $26,900 per student in 2008 to $73,840 per student in 2011. That almost triples the per-student spending in three fiscal years. Palin's original proposal, according to the Anchorage Daily News, would have increased funds slightly more, giving intensive needs students a $77,740 allotment by 2011.

Education Week: A second part of the measure raises spending for students with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

Unlike many other states, Alaska has relatively flush budget coffers, thanks to a rise in oil and gas revenues. Funding for schools will remain fairly level next year, however. Overall per-pupil funding across the state will rise by $100, to $5,480, in fiscal 2009. ...

Carl Rose, the executive director of the Association of Alaska School Boards, praised the changes in funding for rural schools and students with special needs as a "historic event," and said the finance overhaul would bring more stability to district budgets.

According to Eddy Jeans at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, funding for special needs and intensive needs students has increased every year since Palin entered office, from a total of $203 million in 2006 to a projected $276 million in 2009.

Those who claim that Palin cut special needs funding by 62 percent are looking in the wrong place and misinterpreting what they find there. They point to an apparent drop in the Department of Education and Early Development budget for special schools. But the special schools budget, despite the similar name, isn't the special needs budget. "I don't even consider the special schools component [part of] our special needs funding," Jeans told FactCheck.org. "The special needs funding is provided through our public school funding formula. The special schools is simply a budget component where we have funding set aside for special projects," such as the Alaska School for the Deaf and the Alaska Military Youth Academy. A different budget component, the Foundation Program, governs special needs programs in the public school system.

And in any case, the decrease in funding for special schools is illusory. Palin moved the Alaska Military Youth Academy's ChalleNGe program, a residential military school program that teaches job and life skills to students under 20, out of the budget line for "special schools" and into its own line. This resulted in an apparent drop of more than $5 million in the special schools budget with no actual decrease in funding for the programs.

Not a Book Burner
One false rumor accuses then-Mayor Palin of threatening to fire Wasilla's librarian for refusing to ban books from the town library. Some versions of the rumor come complete with a list of the books that Palin allegedly attempted to ban. The story is false on several fronts: Palin never asked that books be banned; the librarian continued to serve in that position; no books were actually banned; and many of the books on the list that Palin supposedly wanted to censor weren't even in print at the time, proving that the list is a fabrication.

It's true that Palin did raise the issue with Mary Ellen Emmons, Wasilla's librarian, on at least two occasions. Emmons flatly stated her opposition both times. But, as the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman (Wasilla's local paper) reported at the time, Palin asked general questions about what Emmons would say if Palin requested that a book be banned. According to Emmons, Palin "was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can't be in the library." Emmons reported that Palin pressed the issue, asking whether Emmons' position would change if residents were picketing the library. Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny, who was at the meeting, corroborates Emmons' story, telling the Chicago Tribune that "Sarah said to Mary Ellen, 'What would your response be if I asked you to remove some books from the collection?' "

Palin characterized the exchange differently, initially volunteering the episode as an example of discussions with city employees about following her administration's agenda. Palin described her questions to Emmons as "rhetorical," noting that her questions "were asked in the context of professionalism regarding the library policy that is in place in our city." Actually, true rhetorical questions have implied answers (e.g., "Who do you think you are?"), so Palin probably meant to describe her questions as hypothetical or theoretical. We can't read minds, so it is impossible for us to know whether or not Palin may actually have wanted to ban books from the library or whether she simply wanted to know how her new employees would respond to an instruction from their boss. It is worth noting that, in an update, the Frontiersman points out that no book was ever banned from the library's shelves.

Moreover, although Palin fired Emmons as part of a "loyalty" purge, she rehired Emmons the next day, and Emmons remained at her job for two-and-a-half more years. Actually, Palin initially requested Emmons' resignation in October 1996, four days before the public discussion of censorship. That was at the same time she requested that all four of Wasilla's department heads resign. Palin described the requests as a loyalty test and allowed all four department heads to retain their positions. But on Jan. 30, 1997, three months after the censorship discussion, Palin informed Emmons and Wasilla's police chief, Irv Stambaugh, that they would be fired. According to the Chicago Tribune, Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons' firing. Palin rehired Emmons the following day. Emmons continued to serve as librarian until August 1999, when the Chicago Tribune reports that she resigned.

So what about that list of books targeted for banning, which according to one widely e-mailed version was taken "from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library Board"? If it was, the library board should take up fortune telling. The list includes the first four Harry Potter books, none of which had been published at the time of the Palin-Emmons conversations. The first wasn't published until 1998. In fact, the list is a simple cut-and-paste job, snatched (complete with typos and the occasional incorrect title) from the Florida Institute of Technology library Web page, which presents the list as "Books banned at one time or another in the United States."

Closet Secessionist?
Palin was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party – which calls for a vote on whether Alaska should secede from the union or remain a state – despite mistaken reports to the contrary. But her husband was a member for years, and she attended at least one party convention, as mayor of the town in which it was held.

The party's chair originally told reporters that Palin had been a member, but the official later retracted that statement. Chairwoman Lynette Clark told the New York Times that false information had been given to her by another member of the party after she first told the Times and others that Palin joined the AIP in 1994. Clark issued an apology on the AIP Web site.

The director of Alaska's Division of Elections, Gail Fenumiai, confirms that Palin registered to vote in the state for the first time in May 1982 as a Republican and hasn't changed her party affiliation since. She also told FactCheck.org that Palin's husband, Todd, was registered with AIP from October 1995 to July 2000, and again from September 2000 until July 2002. (He has since been registered as undeclared.) However, the AIP says Todd Palin "never participated in any party activities aside from attending a convention in Wasilla at one time."

There is still some dispute as to whether Sarah Palin also attended the AIP's 1994 convention, held in Wasilla. Clark and another AIP official toldABC News' Jake Tapper that both Palins were there. Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla two years later. The McCain campaign says Sarah Palin went to the 2000 AIP convention, also held in Wasilla, "as a courtesy since she was mayor." As governor, Palin sent a video message to the 2008 convention, which is available on YouTube, and the AIP says she attended in 2006 when she was campaigning.

Didn't Endorse Pat Buchanan
Claims that Palin endorsed conservative Republican Pat Buchanan for president in the 2000 campaign are false. She worked for conservative Republican Steve Forbes.

The incorrect reports stem from an Associated Press story on July 17, 1999, that said Palin was "among those sporting Buchanan buttons" at a lunch for Buchanan attended by about 85 people, during a swing he took through Fairbanks and Wasilla. Buchanan didn't help matters when he told a reporter for the liberal publication The Nation on Aug. 29: "I'm pretty sure she's a Buchananite." But in fact, she wasn't.

Soon after The AP story appeared, Palin wrote in a letter to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News that she had merely worn a Buchanan button as a courtesy to her visitor and was not endorsing him. The letter, published July 26, 1999, said:

Palin, July 26, 1999: As mayor of Wasilla, I am proud to welcome all presidential candidates to our city. This is true regardless of their party, or the latest odds of their winning. When presidential candidates visit our community, I am always happy to meet them. I'll even put on their button when handed one as a polite gesture of respect.

Though no reporter interviewed me for the Associated Press article on the recent visit by a presidential candidate (Metro, July 17), the article may have left your readers with the perception that I am endorsing this candidate, as opposed to welcoming his visit to Wasilla. As mayor, I will welcome all the candidates in Wasilla.

Palin actually worked for Forbes. Less than a month after being spotted wearing the "courtesy" button for Buchanan, she was named to the state leadership committee of the Forbes effort. The Associated Press reported on Aug. 7, 1999:

The Associated Press, Aug. 7 1999: State Sen. Mike Miller of Fairbanks will head the Alaska campaign chairman for Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes, campaign officials said. Joining the Fairbanks Republican on the leadership committee will be Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin, and former state GOP chairman Pete Hallgren, who will serve as co-chairs.

Still, after nine years, the truth has yet to catch up completely.

No Creationism in Schools
On Aug. 29, the Boston Globe reported that Palin was open to teaching creationism in public schools. That's true. She supports teaching creationism alongside evolution, though she has not actively pursued such a policy as governor.

In an Oct. 25, 2006, debate, when asked about teaching alternatives to evolution, Palin replied:

Palin, Oct. 25, 2006: Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject – creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.

A couple of days later, Palin amended that statement in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, saying:

Palin, Oct. 2006: I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum.

After her election, Palin let the matter drop. The Associated Press reported Sept 3: "Palin's children attend public schools and Palin has made no push to have creationism taught in them. ... It reflects a hands-off attitude toward mixing government and religion by most Alaskans." The article was headlined, "Palin has not pushed creation science as governor." It was written by Dan Joling, who reports from Anchorage and has covered Alaska for 30 years.

That E-mail Author
Switching gears: Almost 100 readers have written to ask us if the many claims made about Palin in an e-mail written by someone named Anne Kilkenny are true. We can tell you that Kilkenny is a real person. (She was quoted by the Chicago Tribune, as we said above.) According to the New York Times, she's a Democrat. According to Kilkenny herself, Palin "has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship."

We're still analyzing Kilkenny's claims, and we will be posting something on this soon.

Republished with permission from factcheck.org.

Correction: In our original story, we incorrectly said that a few of the claims we examine here were included in the e-mail by Kilkenny. Only one of the claims – about the librarian's firing – was similar to an item in that e-mail. We regret the error.

Sources
Sutton, Anne. "Governor signs revamped education package into law." Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2008.

Holland, Megan. "Intensive needs funding examined." Anchorage Daily News, 12 Jan. 2008.

Cavanagh, Sean. "Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding." Education Week, 29 Apr. 2008.

Hawkins, John. "This Is The Sarah Palin Bikini Shot You Are Looking For And, No, It's Not Real." Right Wing News, 2 Sept. 2008.

Godel, Addison. "elizabeth - american flag bikini rifle." Posted on flickr Web site, accessed 8 Sept. 2008.

Joling, Dan. "Palin has not pushed creation science as governor." The Associated Press, 3 Sept. 2008.

Hayes, Christopher. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite." The Nation "Capitolism" Web site, 29 Aug. 2008.

Palin, Sarah. "Letters from the People." Anchorage Daily News. 26 July 1999; 5B.

The Associated Press: "Forbes sets Alaska leadership team," 7 Aug 1999.

Kizzia, Tom. "'Creation science' enters the race." Anchorage Daily News, 27 Oct. 2006.

Paulson, Michael. "Sarah Palin on faith, life and creation." The Boston Globe, 29 Aug. 2008.

Tapper, Jake. "Another AIP Official Says Palin Was at 1994 Convention." ABCNews.com, 2 Sept. 2008.

Tapper, Jake. "Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Incorrectly Say Palin Was a Member in 90s." ABCNews.Com, 1Sept. 2008.

Komarnitsky, S.J. "Wasilla Keeps Librarian, But Police Chief Is Out." 1 February 1997. The Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sept. 2008.

Stuart, Paul. "FROM THE ARCHIVE: Palin: Library Censorship Inquiries 'Rhetorical'." 18 December 1996. Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, 8 Sept. 2008.

White, Rindi. "Palin Asked City Librarian Whether She'd Ban Books." 7 September 2008. The Chicago Tribune, 8 Sept. 2008.

Read Entire Story Here
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Now! Can we put some of this crap to rest? Sweet Jesus you Liberal Lunatic's Have gone completely Insane!

UPDATE: Democrat's Put Sarah Palin's Baby Trig On Ebay, I FRIGGEN HATE LIBERALS!

Comments on (Future) VP Governor Sarah Palin, Part II

Marie drops her Two Cents with:

McCain Pick's Gov. Sarah Palin R-AK, Perfect Choice!

What a perfect choice this is! She's a gun totin Conservative from Alaska who stopped the "Bridge to Nowhere", Lifetime member of the NRA, Has 5 kids and one has down syndrome, Overhalled the Alaska government and got rid of corruption, Has 80% approval rating, and just a great Pick! Kudos Senator McCain!

Daniel Ruwe at Right Minds calls it "a perfect pick"


John McCain was to pick his running mate the day after the convention. To break Obama’s momentum, he needed a perfect pick, and a flawless announcement of that choice.

He got both. Sarah Palin is probably the best pick McCain could have made. She is brilliant—young, articulate, conservative—and female. Almost as importantly, McCain’s announcement of the pick was impeccable—he announced it twelve hours after Obama’s convention speech, pushing Obama’s excellent speech off the front page, ensuring that there will be little media coverage of it.

(snip)

Experience aside, Palin is literally a perfect choice. She is strongly pro-life (she refused to abort her fifth child, even after tests showed that the child would be born with Down Syndrome), pro-gun (how many other politicians have video of themselves firing an M-16?), pro-drilling, and anti-pork (she claims credit for shooting down corrupt Alaska Senator Ted Stevens’ infamous Bridge to Nowhere). In addition, she is good-looking and articulate, in stark contrast to Joe “Hair Plugs” Biden, who is seemingly always either shouting or getting ready to shout. (At least when he isn’t making embarrassing racial gaffes). Palin attract a great many conservatives, and will be a perfect counterpoint to Joe Biden.

In fact, most conservatives seem overjoyed at the news. Rush Limbaugh called the selection “a great pick,” while the conservative blogosphere (which was probably Palin’s most enthusiastic base of support) was ecstatic. A great many unenthusiastic conservatives, such as Mark Levin, seem to be coming back to the Republican party. Palin has brought the conservative movement into McCain’s corner.

And finally, Sarah Palin is a woman. A qualification for higher office? No. But will it help McCain a lot? Absolutely. Many former Hillary Clinton are angry that their candidate was never even vetted by Obama, and cannot support Barack Obama. Many more moderate female voters like the idea of voting for one of their sex. And Palin will blunt the idea of “making history” by voting for an African-American. The Republicans have their own “minority” on the ticket—history will be made either way. (Of course, women are not actually minorities—there are actually more women than men).

Comments on (Future) VP Governor Sarah Palin!

Robert at Conservative Commentary says:

Sarah Palin - What I've Been Waiting For!

BB, I tried for some time yesterday to post but for some reason I couldn't get signed in, so here goes:

Let me get this out of the way first: Sarah Palin is HOT...

I awoke yesterday with the rumors that Palin was going to be the GOP ticket for VP. A few hours later it was confirmed, and I was amazed and just outright giddy with the choice. Everyone has heard of her background, and I won't rehash it here except to say that this is the kind of person who was intended to lead our nation. Someone with conviction and purpose. Someone who understands the real world. Someone who has worked and toiled and prefers to serve the country over her personal gain.

As I watched and listened to her acceptance speech, it was the first time in my life, other than Ronald Reagan's speeches, that I felt a politician was being completely sincere and honest. I think with Palin we get what we see - a mother and someone who didn't set out to be a career politician, but someone who has become a leader at various levels and now is prepared to be a maverick like McCain.

I think Palin is a breath of fresh air into a party that has become stagnant and weak. I think she can provide some energy, and perhaps change the paradigm of elected politics and make us all look to new faces and new ideas and stop sending people to Washington for 30 years like Joe Biden.

I cant wait to see her in office. Won't it be something for it to be the GOP that provides the first woman in the White House?


Doug V. Gibbs - an early proponent of Palin's trumpets:

Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick for Vice President, a Masterful Stroke That Is No Surprise to This Blog!

The choice of Sarah Palin by John McCain to be his running mate shocked and stunned the mainstream media. They are calling her a relative unknown, and have been saying she may not be the best pick because of her inexperience.

Barack Obama, in response to the McCain VP pick, said, "Inexperience is now off the table."

Thanks, Obama, for finally admitting that you are too inexperienced. Second, she has much more experience than you, is in an executive governmental position of the likes you have never held, and you can't compare her experience to yours anyway because unlike you she is not the leader of the ticket.

What Palin brings to the race, however, is more than shock and awe. She is strong on energy, understanding the issue better than any of the four candidates. Palin is the most popular of all of the nation's state governors, maintaining the highest approval rating throughout her term of office. She understands the military mission we have engaged in as a nation, and her oldest son is currently enlisted in the Army and will soon be in Iraq to serve his nation. There are some questions regarding her position on abortion. Many have her listed as pro-choice, but I ask you this: If she is so staunchly pro-choice, then why didn't she abort her newest child well knowing while she was pregnant that he has down-syndrome?

The most important part of this choice, however, is that she is one of us. She came to politics after serving on the PTA for her children. She slowly moved up doing the things that you and I do - maintaining the household, and taking care of our families. Her husband is a working man. He is a commercial fisherman and oil pipeline worker. She isn't a career politician with lobbyists in her pocket, and corruption in her head from a life-long commitment to Washington. She does, however, have a lot of experience as a leader. She has been the mayor of her small town, and the governor of the great state of Alaska. That is executive leadership that both Biden and Obama lacks.

Some argue that Biden will tear her up in a debate because he is this rabid bulldog, and she is a quiet woman. Will he tear her up? Does she have a chance in a debate with Biden? Those that question her ability to stand tough on the issues and handle the Bidens of the world don't know Palin like I do. The fireworks will be fascinating indeed, and she will handle herself just fine in such a debate.

And the fact that she is a woman adds a lot to the ticket as well. Hillary supporters that are dissatisfied with Obama will now have another reason to consider a McCain Presidency.

When Sarah Palin stood before the American people in Ohio accepting the opportunity to join McCain, her speech was about America. It was about our men and women serving in the military, the importance of drilling for oil domestically (basic economics of supply and demand that the left seems not to understand), about ending corruption and excess spending in Washington, and about pride in the great nation of the United States of America.

When Obama spoke last night, standing there on his Greek palace in Denver, he talked about himself and about how terrible the United States is. He made no mention of the dangerous world we are facing (terrorism, Russia, China. . .). He preferred to continue the "Everything is Bush's Fault" tactic of the Democratic Party (even though Bush is not running for office and most of what they claim is wrong is a straight out lie). One thing he used was saying that all of the jobs are being shipped off to China. Most people forget that NAFTA and other programs that began long before "W" took office was the result of the Democrats ruling Washington for over 40 years, and it wasn't until 1994 when that changed - for a little while - It was the Democrats that created the failed policies, free trade agreements, and entitlement programs that are now falling apart before our eyes.

As an added note, I am not surprised that Sarah Palin was the choice. I indicated a year ago (September 20, 2007) that she would be a fine Vice President of the United States. My first mention of Palin on Political Pistachio was on July 28, 2007.

July 28, 2007 one of the supporters of Sarah Palin, Steve Maloney, came on Political Pistachio Radio to discuss his hopes Palin would become the next President of the United States, or at least Vice President. On October 17th of last year, Adam Brickley of the Palin For V.P. movement joined me to discuss why Sarah Palin should be the Vice President of the United States of America. Both of these gentlemen have been on my show a number of times since to discuss the possibility of Sarah Palin becoming the running mate of the Repubican Presidential Candidate (November 24 of last year, and in 2008 on February 25.

After these interviews I enthusiastically embraced the possibility of Sarah Palin as Vice President.

A Vote for McCain is a Defeat for Obama!

DD2 makes a compelling argument here:

The Number ONE Reason To Vote For John McCain Is To Beat Barack Obama!

Some Conservatives amaze me in their lack of ability to see what’s really at stake here, to see the real big picture. . Is this election about John McCain’s personalty and his so called "Hot Head" and that he is too old, and his lack of Conservative principals? Even if McCain was 10 years younger
the people that find fault with him now would find something else be whining about.
How is handing the whole country over to a far left liberal like Barack Obama a suitable alternative to McCain? I wish someone would tell me that.
I think that Conservative are fighting the wrong enemy the republicans are not their enemy the liberals are.
There is a vast and serious difference between John McCain and a ultra liberal like Barack Obama or Hillary who is hellbent determined to bring down all your conservative values. Did you ever consider that? They have already told us that they want to put an end to conservative Talk Shows, you know that. They have the determination to stop Rush and Hannity any way they can and Sean Hannity has said so many times.
Obama, is as liberal as they come. They say that he is the number one Liberal in the Senate .
Obama is leading in the polls right now, not by much but he is leading. For the Conservatives to sit home or to foolishly vote for a 3rd party nut case candidate is simply wrong. If that happens and Obama wins, we lose, it as simple as that.
Bickering and insulting our own candidate is dumb, dumb, dumb. That’s the way Hillary and Obama did it and we all laughed at that. Bickering over it again isn’t going to help us but it’s going to hurt us. And if we aren’t careful, they will through this country into third worldism.
There is no such thing as a quick recovery from 4 years of radical liberalism We may be facing damage for 4-8-12 years or more to undo. What’s more, who’s to say that it will ever be undone? Staying home on election day allows liberals a Free pass to gain all branches of Government. Don’t our kids deserve better out of us.
I’m not asking anyone to sacrifice their own belief or convictions, but we have a serious problem here that requires that we do everything we can to minimize the damage this election can cause to our great country. The Conservatives are fighting a losing war by fighting with the Republicans
The Left achieved their goal by unity, maybe we can lean by that?
Like they say, I’d rather have 50% to 75% of McCain being Right, than 0% of Obama being Right. . Staying home on election day merely demonstrates that we’re not willing to fight
Give it some thought, friends.
'Not conservative enough'? I guess it's just not popular to be a Republican anymore!

A McCain Moment

Cross-posting from Is This Life?




Received this by e-mail from the Grand Old Partisan:


On this day in 1967, one hundred and thirty-four men died and sixty-two were wounded in a fire on an aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal. Among the planes waited to take off, a missile misfired and hit another plane, sparking a massive inferno.

As bombs and fuel exploded, Lt. Commander John McCain jumped out of his own plane and ran toward the flames -- yes, toward the flames -- attempting to rescue another pilot. An exploding bomb then injured McCain in the chest and legs.


With his own ship out of commission, McCain volunteered for duty aboard the USS Oriskany. Three months later, he was shot down. He spent five and a half years in a communist prison, much of that time in solitary confinement.

Here is the video on YouTube.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view. Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics. See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

McCain's Race to Win or Lose

So says DD2 at "Our World As We See It:"




Obama, unsurprisingly, leads among liberals and Democrats, while McCain leads among conservatives and Republicans. Independents are nearly split, with 38 percent backing Obama and 35 percent backing McCain. Nearly one in 5 independents is undecided, and 33 percent of those who have chosen a candidate say they could change their mind.

It's John McCain 's Election To Win Or Lose.

Democratic nominee Barack Obama leads Republican counterpart John McCain 45 percent to 39 percent in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll of registered voters nationwide. The six percentage point spread is unchanged since June, when Obama led McCain 48 percent to 42 percent. But more than 1 in 10 voters now say they are undecided between the candidates - twice as many, percentage-wise, as last month

Ah, but, this is a CBS News/New York Times poll . So you know how much that really means!

So what’s the lesson here? If you want to believe a poll conducted by Crooks and Liars, than you can believe this one.
With all the news coverage for Obama and just about none for McCain and also every magazine cover with pictures and articles of Barry and Michelle the guy should be triple digits ahead of McCain. He's just barely ahead or a dead heat this tells you something!
The truly sad thing about this is that NY Times and CBS and the rest of the liberals would rather the US lose the war then to elect a Republican president.

Hillary's Supporters Turning to McCain & GOP?

Marie offers her Two Cents on this:

Hillary Clinton Supporters YOU Are Welcome In The GOP

Barack Obama tells Hillary Clinton supporters to 'get over it'
Senator Barack Obama has angered senior allies of his vanquished Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton by telling them to "get over it".
Barack Obama is trying to woo Hillary Clinton's supporters
At a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus last week, reported by ABC News, Mr Obama urged women who had backed Mrs Clinton to support him against John McCain, the Republican nominee.
"If women take a moment to realise that on every issue important to women, John McCain is not in their corner, that would help them get over it," he said, according to Congresswoman Yvette Clark. Yeah Right!
The phrase "get over it" was viewed as dismissive by some of those present. "Don't use that terminology," Congresswoman Diane Watson told him.
Such raw tension at the meeting underlined the difficulties Mr Obama has to overcome when wooing Mrs Clinton's supporters in advance of their first joint public appearance in New Hampshire on Friday.
The self-consciously symbolic venue for their show of togetherness will be the small town of Unity, where Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton each received 107 votes in the state's primary contest in January. They will have held a joint fundraising event at Washington's Mayflower Hotel the previous evening.
Some of Mr Obama's advisers believe that Mrs Clinton's supporters have been sore losers while the former First Lady's camp is frustrated that plans to help her repay campaign debts of more than $10 million have not yet ben finalised.

President Bill Clinton has yet to endorse Mr Obama and during a speech to the US Conference of Mayors on Sunday mentioned the Democratic nominee just once - to praise him for supporting a programme started during the Clinton administration.
At a Bronx high school graduation ceremony, the closest Mrs Clinton came to mentioning Mr Obama was when she said: "No one five years ago, or four years ago, could have conceived that an African-American and a woman would be competing for the president of the United States."
There are bruised feelings in the Obama camp too. At the Congressional Black Caucus meeting, he said pointedly that "there's healing on both sides" to be done.
He reminded the congressmen and women that he had held his tongue even when Clinton allies had falsely suggested he was a Muslim and when the candidate herself had said he was not ready to be commander-in-chief.
Mr Obama dispatched his wife Michelle to Washington at the weekend in an attempt to mend bridges. Mrs Obama spoke to the National Partnership for Women & Families, whose board members include the prominent Clinton supporters Ellen Malcolm, Judith Lichtman and Cheryl Mills.
Story Here
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Can you believe the audacity of this guy? Get Over It? I think Harriet up there in the video at the top of this page said it best. Well I'm here to welcome all you disenfranchized Hillay Clinton supporters a new home in the GOP. We are a big tent and Barack Obama isnt what you guy's are looking for in a President. You guy's need John McCain, Hillary's long time ally. Because I think you guy's know as well as we do that Barack Obama does NOT have the experience to run this Country especially while we are at war, Oil is at an outrageous price, and the stakes in this election are so high. So come on over and join us in defeating Barack Obama :-)

Obama Sleeping with the Communists, Too?

Cross-posting from Is This Life?:


So says Little Green Footballs:

At the Official Barack Obama Blog Site: The Revolutionary Communist Party

Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 9:16:55 am PST

I think we have the jawdropper of the day, as the official web site of a candidate for president of the United States contains a blog posted by a follower of World Can’t Wait, linking to an article by the chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

And we know that Obama campaign administrators are monitoring the site. Notice that it’s been posted since May 26th.

Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | Miss Bunny’s Blog: Why Jeremiah Wright wasn’t talking about ‘The Past’.

If you want to read the rest of this hard core Stalinist propaganda, here it is. Keep a barf bag handy.

The TrekMedic adds:

"Barf bag," indeed. How will the MSM-anointed one wriggle away from this pile of Obamanure?

Obama Endorsed by Hamas?

So says Marie:

Hamas Endorses Obama

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has received an endorsement he might well wish he hadn’t — from the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas’ top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, delivered his endorsement in an interview with WorldNetDaily and WABC Radio in New York.



“We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections,” Yousuf said.

“I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle. And he has a vision to change America, to [put] it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance.”

The U.S. and Israel have been seeking to isolate Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June and is classified by the State Department as a terrorist group.

Obama, as well as presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain, have all referred to Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” according to WorldNetDaily.



Asked about Obama’s criticism of former President Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas during his Middle Eastern trip, Yousuf said:

“I understand American politics and this is the season for elections and everybody tries to sound like he’s a friend of Israel…

“I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse when one of them will be the president.”

Story Here
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Ok, Enough is enough with this crap. If a "Terrorist" Group is endorsing this man it's time for him to go. NO MORE BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!!

The Audacity of Barack Obama

Also posted at TrekMedic's "Is This Life?"

Cross-posting from PA's Number 1 blogger, Tony Phyrillas:


No amount of damage control is going to save the Barack Obama campaign over the candidate's latest condescending snipe at "bitter" working-class folks.

Maybe it was the fact that he was surrounded by "his kind of people," the social and economic elite in San Francisco that prompted Sen. Obama to insult so many people with one thoughtless remark. The "bitter" people Sen. Obama referred to includes about 85 percent of Americans who believe in God and the majority of Americans who understand that the Constitution protects the right to bear arms.

A true picture of Sen. Barack Obama is beginning to appear. It's not the color of his skin that is causing people to have second thoughts about Obama, it's the content of his character. Obama is nothing more than a rich, elitist snob who looks down on average Americans.

Three days after the comments, Obama is still claiming that his words were "twisted and mischaracterized." Just as his 20-year association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the American-hating preacher was twisted and mischaracterized? Just as his wife's comment about never being proud of this country until her husband started winning primary elections in 2008 was twisted and mischaracterized?

To borrow a phrase from John Edwards, there are two Americans. The one where liberal elitists like Barack and Michelle Obama live and the one where the rest of us live.

Here's a roundup of commentary compiled by the Republican National Committee about Sen. Obama's most recent misstep.

"A lot of people have been whispering, look this guy is just a charismatic Michael Dukakis. This was always the hit on Dukakis -- that he was always a bit of an elitist. An East Coast elitist who just doesn't relate to the common man very well. … There is that sense sometimes that [Obama] doesn't connect on a personal level to small town America." – Chuck Todd (MSNBC, 4/11/2008)

"The swipe at small-town voters hurts with the former Reagan Democrats, a promising voters group for Obama… Many Americans (especially potential "Obamacans," as he calls his Republican supporters) embrace religion not because they’re bitter but because they believe it, and because it brings them daily purpose and comfort. The comments could prolong the Democratic race as it heads into Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana." – Mike Allen (Politico, 4/12/2008)

"I think it's a big problem for Senator Obama politically. Regardless of what he really meant by it, the idea that you're calling unemployed people bitter does not come off so good. I think that he's going to spend a lot of time on this between now and however long the election goes on." – Jill Zuckman (MSNBC, 4/11/2008)

"But the politics are unquestionably dangerous for a candidate whose appeal depends on him transcending traditional political adjectives like 'liberal' or 'elite.' Despite his working class upbringing, Obama's hyperconfidence sometimes translates as holier-than-thou, elitist, aristocratic, Dukakis-esque." – Marc Ambinder (Atlantic, 4/11/08)

"That sentence will lose him the election. He just announced to rural America: 'I don't like you.' Now you can vote against that guy not because you don't like him. You can vote against him because he doesn't like you." – Grover Norquist (ABC News Sneak Peak, 4/11/2008)

"If he said it, it's bad. He was making some effort to go after union members and working class whites in Pennsylvania. I think this will damage that effort, most certainly." – Mort Kondracke (FOX News, 4/11/2008)

"It drips with condescension. This is latte liberal condescension. … This is incredibly disrespectful and it tells you about his character." – Charles Krauthammer (FOX News, 4/11/2008)

"To count the ways in which this is bad: It sounds condescending. It tells people you want to like you that you think they're "bitter" about their lot. It suggests that guns, which are a huge voting bloc in Pennsylvania, and religion, which is huge everywhere, are manifestations of bitterness." – John Riley (Spin City Blog, 4/11/2008)

"Nobody wants to be called bitter." – Chris Matthews (MSNBC, 4/11/2008)

Condemnations of Obama's comments are coming from the political left, right and center, as it should. Obama is running television ads and making speeches saying he will unite this country. It's hard to take anyone serious as a unity candidate when they show such disrespect for so many Americans.


The TrekMedic appends:

Gentle readers, make no mistake: Obama has clearly lost the moral high ground the MSM crowd has foisted upon him for months. No amount of spin will gain him the respect of middle America again.

The longer this Democratic fiasco drags out, the more likely Sen John McCain will emerge victorious in November!

Good News for McCain in Pennsylvania!

HT to Tony Phyrillas!

This is being cross-posted to the Red November 2008 blog, as well.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
That sinking feeling ... for Democrats

A new poll comes out every day, but the news is not good for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Rasmussen Reports – Sen. McCain continues to lead both potential Democrat opponents

McCain = 51%
Obama = 41%

McCain = 50%
Clinton = 43%

To read the full poll, click here.

And the longer the Democrats battle for the nomination, the bigger the split within the party.

Rasmussen Reports – Twenty-two percent of Democrats say Clinton or Obama should drop out

Democrats who believe Clinton should drop out = 22%

Democrats who believe Obama should drop out = 22%

Democrats who aren’t ready for the race to end = 62%

To read the full poll, click here.

Another polls finds 48 percent of voters have a negative image of Hillary Clinton. How do you win the presidency with just 42 percent of the vote?

Democrats appear to have done it to themselves again: Snatch defeat from the mouth of victory.


The TrekMedic adds:

A bit of Hill-arious schadenfreude here, huh? From the party that rails against the stereotypical "rich, white businessman" of the Republican Party, comes representatives from the two major Democratic demographics (a black man and a woman, in case people like Will Bunch or the Philly Progressives don't get it,..) and,..THEY STILL CAN'T GET IT RIGHT!!

A Call For Action Against Congressman Murtha

Doug Gibbs from Political Pistachio posts this:

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
How to Help William Russell Defeat John Murtha!

Many times I have stated that the Congressional races are very important, and they are not just local efforts in the districts or states, but national efforts. We all need to be involved to ensure Conservatives are elected into office - it is time for a new Contract With America.

William Russell is one such candidate that needs our help. He is running for office in the 12th district in Pennsylvania, and he is one of the Iraq War Veterans running for Congress.

William Russell is running for Congress in John Murtha's district, and has already been attacked by Murtha. John Murtha has no Democrat challengers, and William Russell is Murtha's only Republican challenger. In a low move even for Murtha, Russell's signatures were challenged in court and it resulted in Murtha's only GOP challenger being thrown off the ballot. Now, Murtha has no challengers, with the Primary in Pennsylvania coming up fast on April 22, 2008. But all hope is not lost. If a minimum of 1,000 people write William Russell in on the ballot on April 22nd, he will be back on the November ballot to challenge John Murtha. But William needs your help. Spread the word, and write the local papers in Pennsylvania demanding that they publish our letters, or at least do an article over Bill Russell's dilemma. Word needs to be spread. A Conservative going against the Number One Porker in Congress needs to be placed back on the ballot.

Be involved, stop the liberal left from destroying our country, and heading us into the direction of bondage through government dependency.

Here are links to some of those newspapers in William Russell's area.

The Herald.

Post Gazette.

The Leader-Herald.

The Tribune Democrat.

And as an added note, on Monday night, March 17, 2008 William Russell was my guest on Political Pistachio Radio. Give the show a listen, and learn why he is the man we need in Congress over Murtha. Listen Here.

Obama's Racist Pastor

Marie Drops Her Two Cents on This Ever-Growing Debacle:


Barack Obama's Pastor: The Epitome Of Racial Divisiveness

Oh This guy is nuts! Jeremiah Wright, Obama's Pastor is a RACIST!!! He blames America for getting attacked, he say's we have oppressed the Palestinians, blames Israel for them getting attacked and bombed every single day. These Videos are worth the watch! And they are short.

Jeremiah Wright


Louis Farrakhan


Jeremiah Wright/God D**m America


Do you want someone who has been preached to by this guy to be your next President? I think NOT!

The New McCain Commercial

Courtesy of Save the GOP:

McCain on Healthcare

Daniel Ruwe posts this opinion on McCain's healthcare platform:


Healthcare is one the major issues of this presidential campaign. Most people believe that health insurance is a problem—and they are right. According to Consumer Affairs magazine, America has the most expensive health care in the world. Some people (mostly conservatives) claim that America has the best healthcare in the world. Sadly, they are deluding themselves. The United States spends $5,300 per person on health care. In contrast, Canada spends around $2000 per person, Switzerland $3500 person, and Japan around $2000 per person. Even if we assume that America’s healthcare service is better than that of other countries, the amount of money spent is ridiculous.

Granted, conservatives aren’t the only ones deluding themselves about health care. Liberals do as well. They relentlessly repeat the statistic that “47 million Americans are without health insurance”. They don’t mention that many of those Americans can afford health insurance, but they simply don’t buy it because they do not believe that costs equal the benefits.

Another myth perpetuated by liberals is the idea that a lack of health insurance equals a lack of health care. Certainly, there are cases where Americans die due to a lack of health care. Just not very many. The cases Democrats use as examples of our desperate need for universal health insurance aren’t exactly cases of desperate need. Take, for example, John Edwards’ oft-repeated tale of a man with a cleft palate who couldn’t talk until he got an operation at age fifty. A sad story, certainly, and I do feel sorry for that individual. But it is not a life threatening illness. We are not turning dreadfully ill people away from hospitals en masse. Health insurance is a financial crisis for many. Health care is not. Most people, regardless of their financial position, receive some measure of health care when ill.

So both liberals and conservatives have erroneous views of our healthcare system. Which presidential candidate has the best grasp of health care?

Barack Obama supports the standard liberal solution of government provided universal healthcare. He will implement a national health plan that features guaranteed eligibility, affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles, and quality and efficiency.

He does not say how he will pay for all of this, but it is obvious that he will do say through tax hikes on the rich and on the middle class. His plan will also give the government massive control of our health care system. It will require employers who do not contribute to the healthcare of their workers to contribute a percentage of their payroll towards the national plan, would require that children have insurance coverage, and would control insurance price increases. Obama’s healthcare plan is European-style socialized medicine.

(On a slightly unrelated note, some of the claims made on Obama’s website seem a little suspect. Do 133 million Americans really suffer from a chronic disease? And does mental illness affect one in five American families? Those claims, in particular, sound unrealistic.)

On the Republican side, the “conservative” candidate, Mitt Romney, proposed a health care plan similar to the one he implemented in Massachutsets. He pushed employers to provide healthcare, expanded the ranks of Medicaid, and some subsities. (He figured out the need for subsities through an “econometric model” of the population, which sounds very much like a phrase Romney would use). Perhaps these innovations were not particularly conservative, but they were not completely intolerable either.

However, health insurance mandates, which Romney also proposed, are completely intolerable. The state should not have the right to force people to buy health insurance. One’s health should be a private matter, and one that the state should not micromanage. This idea is totally contrary to conservative principles.

John McCain’s healthcare plan is fairly good, which is surprising, given his rather liberal record. He focuses on promoting competition in the healthcare system by permitting providers to practice nationwide across state lines, and by letting people purchase health insurance through any organization they choose, whether it be through employers, individual purchases, churches, or any other organization. He would provide everyone with a $2,500 tax credit for insurance coverage to eliminate the bias towards employer coverage. He would also attempt to limit frivolous lawsuits and outrageous jury awards. There are, thankfully, no individual mandates in McCain’s plan.

McCain’s plan is far from perfect—it does expand the role of the federal government beyond what most libertarians consider proper. However, it is incalculably better than Barack Obama’s plan. It is also sounder than Mitt Romney’s (considered by Ann Coulter, among others, to be “manifestly the best candidate”) proposal. John McCain is weak on many issues—but healthcare is not one of them.