Katrina vanden heuvel is talking BOUT Palin on Bill Moyers here in Maine.

Called Palin ferocious

Katrina!!

Well, it’s a Bold And Exciting pick, in much the same way that punting on first down is a Bold And Exciting football strategy.

hahahahha
good one Eli

Basically, she’s the Same Old Conservatism in a shiny new wrapper.

Hi Eli!

people need to be talkin about Carol Mosely Braun and Palin comparison??

or going for a safety….”g”

her fracas w/the attempted firing of her ex-brother-in-law from the state troopers prove that, tho she may have more “executive” experience than obama (as the hardly-ever-right is suggesting), she is quite incompetent in that role. my editorial at skippy.

worse, rumor has it that her youngest baby is actually her daughter’s child. her daughter was pulled out of school for 5 months before the baby was born. see the moderate voice for details.

(granted, that’s just a nasty rumor, but seeing as how she’s a ‘values’ candidate, i think it appropriate to explore. if i offend anyone by bringing it up, i apologize in advance.)

“how white Palin’s crowd was” Katrina sez

A party of whitei america

ooooo

i wanna know if Katrina vanden heuvel dies her hair

Republicans are very big on safety.

Eli, the repiglicans have just written off 2008.

Hi Eli!

Somewhere today I read that she fired everybody when she took office as either mayor or governator to test their loyalty.

Such a sweet thing.

Biden should clean her clock or whatever the saying is….because she’s mean.

Repulicans – the party of racists and white supremacists.

They exploit their token oreos like condi and colin… sellouts to their race… for money and power.

what channel are we watching?

“I guess he assumes that women will just blindly vote for anyone with a vagina” — nope..it’s not the vagina, Eli..it’s having ovaries AND a uterous and knowing how to use ‘em. That’s all that counts, obviously. And from McCain’s perspective, that is also what constitutes ‘being female’ – so since I had a hysterectomy last year, I’m not longer female. He also seems to believe that HRC’s passionate(and perhaps really pissed off)supporters only got on the bandwagon because she and they are female also. All that counts is the equipment…this has got to be the most insulting thing I’ve ever seen. Yes, part of what attracted people(men and women) to the HRC campaign was the excitement of supporting the first female presidential contender. But most of it, IMHO, had to do with the connection people felt with HRC herself(and yes I know that there are a lot of folks here on the beach who frankly would have burned HRC at the stake, with or without gasoline). AND that is something that McCain is not going to be able to generate for his campaign by dragging out ‘an empty bra’ and attaching it to his ticket. He’ll have better chances gaining supoprters from the far right religious groups(except for those who believe that women should stay home once they have kids).

I sure hope so. I always worry that there’s some kind of hidden stroke of genius or ratfuck strategy that I’m missing.

But I really do think it’s as simple as trying to appeal to the religious right, women, and the media.

she is the c***** he has been looking for

She is W…how the heck did Rove figure that out…the guy’s good.

Hey Eli, fine, funny piece once again. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Ah, but that’s only half the equation. The other half is that any time we attack one of their tokens, they launch into insincere hissy fits about what racist/sexist/homophobic hypocrites we are.

also…she didn’t really oppose the bridge to nowhere until it was obvious that it wasn’t going to get federal funding…the plank.

Because that is what they are…Rovian tactics.

Thanks, Quebecois! We’re good, hope you and yours are as well.

Thanks Eli. She sounds emminently qualified for the job (rethug tool). Monica Goodling’s qualifications were at least as strong.

I’m as confused as you are Eli maybe someone wiser than both of us can explain it.
Or at least explain the flawed logic behind the distorted Worldview/Zeitgeist that thought Palin as VP would help McCain.
After all McCain’s 30%ers really don’t think women should work outside the home, and never at a job that pays more than her husband.

she really sounds like she has ADD,mother governor ,canidate soccer mom,religious nutcase,fishes on the commercial boats…just tie a broom to her ass

With all those bullet points, Eli, one could be led to believe that McSFB picked her to take some of the heat of off his negatives. Even the local Rethug rubes, Prof Darrell Paulson of USF St Pete in particular, are locked onto the picking up the disgruntled Hillary supporters and PUMAs. I know these people are paying attention but they’re gonna hang onto that disgruntled Hillary voters meme forevah.

PBS in maine

bill moyers journal

and it’s pretty interesting

Geez — did you really need the “with boobs”? I get you’re being snarky, but some of us with boobs find that shorthand really off-puttng, and is that what you want for someone to take away?

Gee Why do you care?

Great post, Eli. Thanks for collecting all this.

Here’s another great quote from the article sadlyyes linked to in the last thread:

House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was also astonished at the news. He didn’t want to get into the issue of her qualifications.

“She’s old enough,” Harris said. “She’s a U.S. citizen.”

The whole article should be read. The quote from Green is just killer.

thanks for this info Eli, i sent it along to my dem employed daughter in her godforsaken red district in maine

How did she get past the GOP VP vetting process?

cause i’m basically a shallow person?

ya mean this

This is classic:

State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to tell her the news.

“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? said Green, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?”

http://www.adn.com/news/politics/story/510249.html

I don’t really see that working. She’s magnified the negative of McCain’s age, partially neutralized his bogus environmentalist cred, and almost totally neutralized the inexperience line of attack against Obama (although I expect they’ll continue using it anyway).

I guess he assumes that women will just blindly vote for anyone with a vagina

ooooooo – I’m telling Jaaaaaaaane!!!

Palin’s brother in law is a wife-beating-child-abuser, no one like that belongs in law enforcement. It should not have taken action on the part of the Gov to get someone like that fired. Any director of public safety who lacks the sense of decency to fire someone like that needs to be fired themselves.

If Obama or his blogger boyz make an issue out of this they will regret it. It is explosive and Democrats cannot stay far enough away from this. Gov. Palin did right. She may be an anti-science right wing nut, but that Dir of Public Safety urgently needed to lose that job.

I wasn’t offended.

I was looking at her election record and realized she has received in her political lifetime, a total of 188,125 votes. 909 votes for mayor, 21,076 as Lt. Governor, in the primary for Governor she got 51,443, and as Governor, 114,697. Thats some experience changing numbers there, certainly worthy of the second highest elected office in civilization dontcha think?. This woman is the Sally Fields of politics, she may start off strong, but she will end up with her foot in her mouth by the time its over.

Palin, in an interview in 2007, said she really wasn’t paying attention to Iraq. Said she was too busy with state business.

Yes, I didn’t want to steal your thunder. That one should be a full page ad in the WaPoo. Thanks for finding and sharing it.

her belief in creationism,totally disqualifys her for International politics imo

i think you’re right about that. she will put her foot in it eventually. inexperienced.

biden may do the same but folks will forgive him. they usually do

please…the more the merrier,feel free to pile on…”g”

Shuster is all over it….interviewing the public safety commissioner she fired….reminds me of Siegelman…

Hmmmmm.

Also, I personally think this has been in the plans for a long time.

Hmmmm…

Dots to connect.

couldn’t agree more. I’m looking forward to an intelligent, measured argument about that.

Also, I personally think this has been in the plans for a long time.

Plz explain.

she is a nasty barracuda

the McNasty Barracuddas ….has a ring to it

GE TV has Shuster reporting on the Palin-Troopergate caper.

So….why would Rove want McInsane to choose Palin….

Oil, oil, oil.

Who was in the way????

Was there a concocted story to get rid of him via the troopergate story???

There’s there there, I think.

can you imagine the possibilities……………..twisting my pearls and licking my lips

Can’t call someone a maverick who picks a running mate based on some list of extreme right-wing values deemed necessary by Grover Norquist and Karl Rove.

Way to cave to the far right again, McCain.

Cleanup on Aisle 39

puppet,puppet,puppet…Darth is the regent

Jumping in. Schuster is all over the Alaska Governor’s involvement in firing her ex-brother-in-law.

too late it pooooed on the floor

Hi, Eli. Good post. Yes, the part about the sexual harrasser and being a real republican is spot on. These days, whenever I meet new people, I’ll try to turn the conversation to the campaigns, to get a feel for the other person’s leanings. Then I’ll ask if they’re a Republican, I state that there are three branches of the party these days, and I ask which branch they’re in: the branch that sends other people’s children to die in wars based on lies; or the sexual pervert/deviant branch; or the child molester branch. That usually gets the conversation off to a good start.

i bet she wasnt vetted at all

How many divorced men have been accused of something similar by their wives calling in to work, school,friends, relatives, the police etc.
She is the Gov of Alaska if she had proof he would be doing serious time. But just making allegations can still affect things like child visits.
Palin went outside of the legal system to seek redress for her sister’s complaint which is something we have had enough of out of Darth’s VP ship.
Now if she had sent her husband to “talk” to the guy I would have no problem with her keeping the problem in the family.

Can I stand next to you at parties?

Does anyone know how many electoral votes Alaska has?

Ok there that makes sense.

THREE! Count ‘em Three.

But her husband meeting — privately in the governor’s office while she was out of town — with the director of public safety isn’t the way government should be conducted. This isn’t really about whatever charges were raised in a custody hearing. It’s about whether Governor Palin abused her power to fire someone who wouldn’t appropriately discipline a subordinate in a custody dispute with a family member.

MSNBC’s David Shuster is all over this; it won’t require any investigation by “the blogger boyz” or the Obama campaign.

But what about the branch that believes in sacrificing the country and the world’s well-being to make a quick buck? Or the branch that believes that only straight married people should have sex, and even then only for procreation not recreation?

he met her once,who did the vetting?

The nicest man I ever knew was accused by his wife & mother of their severely ADD child of molesting their son. Not even close to true; she did it just to get more dough using the poor child as the pawn.

i bet she wasnt vetted at all

Republicans have never cared about vets.

I’m guessing that Bushco told her to get rid of the Public Safety Commissioner (like Siegelman) in order to make way for “something” they wanted to do…so they concocted the trooper crappola….

Then, they promised her the VP slot…

Something like that….

Something stinks.

Skippy, that is really bizarre. I hope for all their sakes that it isn’t true. I expect if that’s true they’re hoping that there’s never any call for genetic testing such as what would be needed for organ or bone marrow donation.

I’m also forcibly reminded that Ted Bundy, the serial killer, spent the first few years of his life thinking that his grandparents were his mother and father, and that his mother was his sister.

This may be one of the first times that Rove and I agree. Just replace Kaine with Palin, and see if you don’t agree too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..215;177694

Heh..only if you leave a little room for me.

you are in good form tonight …..huzzzzzzzzzah

Perhaps I should have used a snark tag. The second part, however, is telling. Three local people, the aforementioned Paulson, a Rethug strategist and a member of the Tampa Tribune editorial board all brought up the disgruntled Hillary supporters. This on our local PBS “Florida This Week” program. Granted, there are some of those out there but I don’t think the number is significant in regards to the general. None of the usual Rethug gushing or that nonsense. Just the picking up the disgruntled HRC supporters meme. All three did, however, say how powerful, great, etc, Obama’s speech was. They see the writing on the wall. It’s about time.

3

Eric Clapton too. His sister was his mother.

That works for me. Upward and onward, McC !

you so smart
and made McDummy swallow

What if the puppy gets sick?

See, that’s where Venn diagrams come in handy.

Yes they do… They want to make as many as they can, Eli! ‘Course once they make ‘em, they leave ‘em high and dry…! ;-)

I think it would be totally hilarious if McCain made a disastrous VP pick based on his own party’s invention.

The more I hear about Troopergate the more it becomes obvious that McCain did not vet her. She lied in her public statements (as she lied today about the bridge to nowhere) about the matter so who knows what she is covering up.

I am even thinking that McCain may wind up having to revoke her nomination.

Oh, baby, oh, baby. *g*

I am even thinking that McCain may wind up having to revoke her nomination.

Got popcorn??

Nah, they’re Republicans, they’ll try to brazen it out like they always do.

Reminds me a bit of when Delay called the FAA to find out where the dem state congress people went, when they were trying to push through the redistricting, and then had the state troopers go get them back. I agree, something stinks. I hate feeling like there’s always some devious underlying reason why they do things. But, usually there is some devious underlying reason. ’sigh’

It kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

It’s like Eli says: McCain and his people are such cynical dorks that they figure all women, especially Hillary supporters, will mindlessly vote for anyone with a vagina – even if that person has openly mocked Hillary and accused her of ‘whining’.
Speaking as a woman, this really ticks me off.

ok if she is preggers here ,it was a babby Panda

http://themoderatevoice.com/wo…..Months.jpg

But that would be bad for Obama, the MSM would report.

Yup. Mr. LS just said the same thing.

Dig, dig, dig…there’s there there.

So who would be behind door #2?

that pic was Feb,she gave birth a month and a half later

i cry bullllllllllkakkkkky

OT: Waht do you make of Charlie Crist picking (4) Florida Supreme Ct. Justices? The first one’s claim to fame is that he was instrumental in the Bill Clinton Take down. Three more picks to go. Its an outrage and nobody seems to be batting an eye.

the biggest concern for the alaskan governor now seems to be the fact that, while her aide frank bailey insists he was acting w/o her knowledge when he called the public safety commission to get palin’s ex-brother-in-law, mike wooten, fired from the state troopers, palin has only suspended bailey, with pay, as a result.

http://xnerg.blogspot.com/2008…..ooten.html

Palin can’t claim she was acting to protect her sister when her aid is taking the blame with pay.
But the Public Safety Commissioner however is gone not suspended with pay.
If Palin’s story is she is protecting her sister she should admit it take the blame and move on.
Trying to avoid blame but use her sister as an excuse is the worse of both worlds.

I’m still convinced the whole PUMA schtick is just phase two of Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos. He sent lots of rethugs to vote for Clinton in the primaries and now they can “claim” to be so upset about how things turned out that they will vote for McCain. They were just gaming the primary and found a way to keep the game going. These people were going to vote for the rethug nominee all along. None of them were real Democrats and that’s why nobody could find a real PUMA in Denver.

And there are no legal ways to deal with a wife-beating child abuser? Most people don’t have the option of phoning a family member for a high-level political favor.

I liked Rachael Maddow’s take on Countdown. She also explains how the investigation of Palin’s actions came about and that it’s costing the States millions of dollars.

Frankly, if the McBush surrogates want to keep dragging out Rezko, Palin is more than fair game.

FunnyD

cant…if she was lying about the pregnancy

A pick that might not survive until the convention opens, if the investigations into her corruption bear any fruit. The media isn’t gonna let this slide this weekend; they are bitter about getting blindsided. And their favorites weren’t chosen. They wouldn’t mind taking Palin down.

Hmmmm….via wiretap….we know what’s going on Governor…it would be very embarrassing to everyone….here’s what we want you to do, and there will be a great reward for you…

my opine…
the Denver dem convention…FREAKED THEIR ASSES OUT

ELI …they punted Mittens and Pawlenty

She wouldn’t lie, he was a POW.

from the story that pic is attached to:

the oldest girl is rumored to have actually been the one who had the last baby, the one with Down’s Syndrome. She was taken out of school the last 4 or 5 months of her mother’s pregnancy. On March 5th, 2008 Alaska’s Republican Governor, Sarah Palin, announced to the media that she was 7 months pregnant with her 5th child. She is currently 44. Palin’s daughter Bristol is 16 and attends an Anchorage high school. Students who have attended class with her report that she has been out of school for months, claiming a prolonged case of mono. Palin does not appear pregnant in any recent photographs. The announcement came as quite a shock to people who had worked closely with her, and have been quoted as saying that she did not appear pregnant whatsoever during the prior 7 months. While this is debatable, you can judge for yourself here: http://gov.state.ak.us/photos.php

That’s right. He had a really messed-up life, the details of which he lays out in unflinching prose. His autobiography is harrowing.

did you see her Feb.photo…..physical impossibility that she was 6 month pregnant….IMPOSSIBLE

You got that right.

I must say that I’m intrigued with the choice of Palin.
I’ve been ruminating on Robert Dreyfus’s article in The Nation pondering whether McCain is the Antichrist according to scholarly religious study.
If he is the McAntichrist…is she the female counterpart as a wolf killing,polar bear killing,moose killing, pristine environment killing accessory?! A mother so hell bent that she’d compromise her newborn for the Glory of the Nation?
Yowser!!!
Too bad Monica Goodling has been compromised. She would have made an awesome assistant…and cute, with a feminine voice as well,…

I must tell happy stories about the obama speech, sorry to go a smidge off topic

most people know I had an uncomfortable expeience with my childhood friends, most democtats, who “had to see a debate” and were “afraid of obama”

as I explained in the past, that ws bigotry plain and simple, they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the black guy and they didn’t want to admit even to themselves that is the reason they were even considering mccain

I have to say, everyone of these friends who saw that obama speech is now back to being a democrat

kudos to obama, very very nice

this is just BIZZARO

Do you think GE, Viacom, Disney and Murdoch would begin to take Palin down without receiving Rove’s order first? I don’t.

Do you actually think the MSM would take a Repug down…? C’mon, Teddy! Although they might be disgruntled, surely they’ll get over it since IOKIYAR mentality still pervades…

Shuster said Little Boots will be too busy to speak at the convention
how conveinent

Shuster says they are so worried about the hurricane that they may cancel Bush’s speech at gooperville!

And I wouldn’t mind them taking Palin down. Backtracking on the running mate would be an unrecoverable error, IMHO.

Do you have a link for that quote?

That would be devastating.

Divorce brings out lots of crazy in both people. Until the courts go through the facts in the sisters divorce I’m treating everything reported as iffy.

I was reading a right wing blog where the guy claimed he took a page from a clinton supporters web site and the comments were ALL pro mccain for his girly pick

will try to get that link

Teddy and Betsy, campaign Obama has got to be laughing about the electoral votes she would bring. I realize that the fundy-uneducated types might like her too, but please…

Could it possibly bring team McCane any more electoral votes?

Does anyone know for how long the Crist marriage was put on hold?

Actually, I thought the empty bra (instead of empty suit)comment was a good ‘un.

But as David Bender said on Rachael’s show, “if this was Sam Palin, we’d still be taking apart this VP pick.” So….I dunno, maybe tomorrow we can rein in the cattiness and bash on the issues without reference to gender. There sure seems to be plenty there.

FunnyD
Not trying to scold anyone.

Begala on Larry King says you put some one you really trust to take care of your estate when you die, and McCain in entrusting the care of the American people’s govt with some one he has only met once.

What do we know about this blog?
http://themoderatevoice.com/

Anyone follow it? Know the authors?

I owe ya a beverage…! ;-)

I guess if “they” knew (via spying on her) that she had a personal situation, they could blackmail her to pass things that are detrimental to her state…like the Bristol Bay mining….or oil drilling…or whatever…

I’m sure this is just my imagination…but, I don’t put anything past these thugs.

Do you have a link for that quote?

here ya go

Palin a huge hit at the Clinton Forum.–
You would not believe how the Sarah Palin pick is playing out at the Hillary Clinton Forum (tip to a VC commenter). In order, these are all the posts on the first (and only) page I’ve looked at (page 8 of the Palin thread; this link may not point to exactly the same posts). I cut out headers and footers only.

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Wow, Thanks so much to this Sarah Palin who never forgot us. She is a fighter. She paid her respects to our Hillary and Geraldine . They now no more think women in this country are 2nd class. You go girl and thank you for a refreshing pick Sen. McCain.

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
i wish i could see the look on obamas face when he heard this vp pick

Or Michelles. “Why’d he go and do that!”

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
I am going over to John McCain’s website and thank her for acknowledging the glass ceiling and our struggles. She needs to know that there are LOTS of us behind her fight.

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Maybe those 18 million cracks will help her shatter the ceiling!

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
You can bet that BO did not see this coming.

I’m listening to his acolyte now on MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell. The tone of her voice and this almost choking quality of her words tells me that she sees this as a real problem for her guy, BO. (I’m gleeful.)

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
gave John McCain a standing ovation and a 10 minute claps. It did not matter that there was no one around except my dog to share that.

Hats off! Bigtime!!

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Sarah visiting a wounded soldier in Germany.

Remember just a short while ago Obama would not visit the wounded soldiers in Germany but he would take take to play the rock idol there.

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Geraldine Ferraro is a very astute woman!

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
obama made the biggest mistake of his career not choosing Hillary. The Democrats got behind obama so much they didn’t even realize what they were doing trying to push Hillary out of the picture. I’m sure Hillary is not happy obama did not make her but she is probably laughing now and preparing for 2012 campaign with the slogan “I told you so”

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
I am thrilled her speech was genuine, and promising!!!!! Let’s go Forum, we have a mission.

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Obama did not see that coming! I’m sure a lot of people didn’t see it coming. Great job by the McCain campaign to keep things very hush hush!

McCAIN / PALIN ‘08

+++++++++++++++
________________________________________
Wow. I’ve been listening to 98.7 Kluv, and they keep cranking out songs about women. They’re really celebrating, too! The last one I heard was, “Treat her like a Lady!” TOOOOOOOOOO cool.

These are the only Clinton Forum comments I’ve read so far — no cherry-picking. Incredible!

UPDATE: In the comments below, someone is so stunned by this outpouring that he thinks the Clinton Forum is a Republican site. It’s a real site for die-hard Clinton supporters. I’ve now read posts going back to March (the forum started in February).

If the McCain Campaign had such brilliant and energetic grassroots supporters that they could plant 300,000 pro-Hillary comments on one website starting in February, selling Hillary merchandize, and raising money for Hillary — all the while knowing that Hillary would lose nonetheless, I would be very impressed (and more than a bit frightened). Can the McCain campaign even get 300,000 comments on their OWN campaign website, let alone a fake one?

No, it’s a real site, and many recent posters are longtime members of it. That some of you doubted it just proves my point: this outpouring is amazing.

TMV Authors

hey CT! You missed the beach house’s first sports thread last week!

Maybe the Rovians are controlling McInsane because of Iseman.

For starters I think we can all agree that the choice was probably made for him. If it did lead to TwinpeaksnikkiSF’s comment @ 85 “…that McCain may wind up having to revoke her nomination,” that would be rolling in the aisle, running down the street funny.

But her husband meeting — privately in the governor’s office while she was out of town — with the director of public safety isn’t the way government should be conducted.

Her Husband is not an elected official now unless he was dropping off the Public Safety official a note from his wife he can’t fire anyone.
All terminations at that level are done in writing to avoid legal hassles I believe even patronage positions its the elected official not the husband who must do the firing.

RE: the pregnancy picture, agreed, she can’t be seven months pregnant, not in my book but why is the other woman wearing a chandelier as a hat?

I agree. Very weird.

There is a talker going around on several networks that Palin has foreign policy experience because Alaska is near Russia. It was on FOX and it was on MSNBC…

Yep, even Nicole Kidman, who is really very tall and very thin, had a bigger stomach at 7 months than this picture shows.

LOL!

the latest fad

Eh? I agree on a domestic/education front. Not sure how the creationism is disqualifying on an international level. Other science-denying, bone-headed, Christianist positions would surely be far more problematic.

Especially since McCain won’t be trying to make nice with many Muslim leaders, where the creationism would actually provide some common ground.

Just looking for an explanation. Sure as He** not defending her know-nothingness vis a vis science!

FunnyD

They really do seem to have forsaken their normal laissez-faire attitude towards GOP wrongdoing in her case.

I’ll bet that some of the jilted and used also-fans have been doing heavy-duty opposition research on her.

OK …assuming an “Eagleton”, who is plan B?

we must nail down when that photo was taken

You can bet that BO did not see this coming.

I’m listening to his acolyte now on MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell.

That is a mind numbingly asinine statement… I do agree that Obama was caught flat-footed tho…!

Nothing anybody can do. Crist is not well liked by the reichwingnuts and this is a sop to them. We’ll have to wait and see who the other picks are.

McCain chooses the anti-Hillary in a desperate covetous grasp for Hillary’s supposed 18 million living in limbo supporters.

Reckless endangerment because in McCain Country, it’s always McCain First.

He picked a running mate he’d spent all of two hours with.

That’s scary. George W. Bush scary. We don’t need another president who operates so thoughtlessly.

creationist= closed minded and …STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPIT

McCain didn’t want “the safe pick.” McCain’s Veep pick won’t keep America safe. It’s not an honorable choice:

McCain wanted to shake up the ticket.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s name was in the mix as an unconventional choice for months, but she had not been considered a front-runner. So, over the next few days, with McCain continuing to believe he needed someone who had more of a maverick streak than his other choices, lawyers reviewed her vetting information. They kept their activities from even some in McCain’s most senior inner circle.

Pawlenty had been the youthful pick advisers believed would represent a fresh direction — and one they could use to argue the Republican VP pick was more experienced than the Democratic presidential nominee. But Pawlenty’s flaw — what cost him the VP — was that he would not have stirred things up. He was safe, and McCain was not inclined to take the safe route.

Maybe the GOP will revoke McCain’s

Could not possibly be more than three months pregnant. The other photos have already been taken off the tubes. PAlin appears to be hiding her 16 year old daughter’s pregnancy by claiming it as her own. Daughter missed five months of school (with mono). Mono is typically good for a month or two at the most.

Howdy, Ma’am! Ya’ll never struck me as the sporting type…! You maybe, but certainly not the Spookster…! ;-)

She doesn’t look 7 months pregnant with a baby that was born at 6 plus pounds.

(I guess he assumes that women will just blindly vote for anyone with a vagina)

well, if the polls opened at 2:00 A.M., right outside the local watering hole, I might “vote”, so to speak… —

never mind.

geez Eli, I got to thinking that hey – it’s time for Eli’s post, and in 50 minutes, there’s already 135 comments?

Must suck to not be able to strike up a good conversation. /s

amen

My favorite site for the dead-end HRC supporters is thrilled with Palin. The comments are just fabulous. Here’s one from the blogmaster, egalia:

All true. I blame Barack. If he’d picked Hillary, this would not be a problem. The Democratic Party brought this on themselves. A pox on both their houses.

I’ll go along with that.

Off to watch Moyers. bbl.

Namaste

Bum link. I think everything has been taken down.

I work in a HS. I have to say that when I first saw the Palin girl holding the baby, my first thought was that it was hers and she hadn’t yet shed the pregnancy pounds. Pregnancy weight looks different than regular heavyset teen weight.

mans a freak
gambles in 14 hr sessions in Vegas….he is gambling with America

Aloha, SD! I’ll have a new post up for ya in the morn! 8-)

by by

I thought something similar…

You have a favorite site for Hillary dead-enders?

The chance of having a Down Syndrome baby increases tremendously after the age of forty. So, I think it could be the mother’s.

where ya been CTut?

omg …i thought that was “the nanny”

Of course it could be, but it can occur at any age.

Me for certain, but this was Lea’s thread. Baseball. It’s very cool —- Lea & Madmommy doing the sports threads and Al the Spook & Larue on the cooking threads. But it’s still the girls on the crafting threads so we haven’t completely broken through the stereotypes.

Perris, I smell a rat. I say that having spent the last 2 months literally reclaiming a neglected house from rodents.
Something’s not right with that site.

Very cool!

The chance of having a Down Syndrome baby increases tremendously after the age of forty. So, I think it could be the mother’s.

yep. That was my first thought too.

Very Strange…Hillary PUMAS voting for forced-births in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency just to spite Obama and get a woman Veep? Its Rove.

So you think its her daughters child? Just who is vetting VPs for the GOP stories like this are a little hard to ignore.
We need Edward Tellar’s Alaskan opinion here.

1 in a thousand,in young woman…and what if its just ordinary brain damage?

Has no idea “what is it exactly that a VP does.”
That’s probably considered a plus among a not-negligible segment of conservative voters, in whose eyes the less a government actually governs, the better.

Thanks for that observation. It flitted across my mind that the daughter was holding the baby today, and to ask how that appeared to other pups.

Salon article by Mark Benjamin.

FDL is mine!

*ducks, runs from room*

add me to that instinctive first impression

Long story, bro… I’ll mention why in my post later…! ;-)

I did enjoy all the keynote speakers at the DNC convention and I thought Hillary and Bill are on board for Obama/Biden!

It has been? Too freaking obvious!

Possibly broader than that, since it does signal that she’s less likely to pull a Cheney.

On the other hand, she says she’s worried that she wouldn’t have enough to do if she were veep…

Unfortunately i know a LOT of teenage moms. Several who’ve had 2 or 3.

My 181 was for ya, Jay! ;-)

the woman has ADD,after she spoke,im sure of it

Or it could be petrochemicals.

Sumgayit had one of the highest morbidity rates during the Soviet Era and the legacy of illness and death persist. A study jointly conducted by the UNDP, WHO, Azerbaijan Republic Ministry of Health and the University of Alberta demonstrated that residents of Sumgayit experience intensely high levels of both cancer morbidity and mortality. Cancer rates in Sumgayit are 22-51% higher than average incidence rates in the rest of Azerbaijan. Mortality rates from cancer are 8% higher. Evidence suggests that lower reported cancer rates are flawed as a result of underreporting.

A high percentage of babies are born premature, stillborn, and with genetic defects like Mongolism, anencephaly, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, bone disease, and mutations such as club feet, cleft palate, and four or six fingers or toes.

Link

http://www.boingboing.net/2007…..llute.html

Mongolism is the old term for Downs syndrome.

What a Veep does? He runs the country. The President is simply a dimwitted front man. Every Republican should know this by now.

Who needs vetting when you can whine about how meeeeeeeeean everyone is being to this brave, brave, brave mother of five and re-direct the whole narrative?

FunnyD

Dang…Can’t keep up with y’all tonight. Must be out of practice. Or trying to watch TV at the same time…

Anybody else seein’ flashbacks to Idaho Congresswoman Helen Chenowith today?

Dugg it!

the governor of alaska’s credentials Pale in comparison to those of the senator from Deleware, who has been Biden’ his time for decades.

thought a nanny was carrying the baby ……….

You can run but you can’t hide for very long! ;)

“Genetically abnormal pregnancies are more common as well with an incidence of 1/38 at age 40.”

http://www.socalfertility.com/…..ility.html

I vetted her.

She was OK.

*rimshot*

The Palin pregnancy discussion is interesting. After looking at the pictures, it’s doubtful she was six or seven months pregnant. If the child is actually the daughters, the repubs would turn it around and make her sound like a martyr. It’s okay to lie if you are a repub.

How come your google ads are at the very bottom of your site, Tex? Do ya have a linky to the sports thread?

yes i know however one in a thousand is NOT that rare,and mebbe,they are lying about the downs syndrome

you got it

But falls down on the “personal rsponsibility” ethos of the Rethugs.

they spin better than my whirlpool washer

http://www.relaxedpolitics.com/?p=1424

but the girl/mom didn’t abort, so it’s all OK if they lied. after all, no abortion is on the commandment top 10 list and don’t bear false witness …. oh ….. never mind.

It’s okay to lie if you are a repub.

Actually, it’s required – but Palin still has that week-long “How You Too can Become A Lying Republican Sack-o-Shit” beginner’s course to get outta the way…

Rachel Maddow has at least part of the story and talked about it on MSNBC today. She mentioned that Palin was at a National Governors’ Conference in Texas when her water broke, that she went ahead and made the speech scheduled for that day, then flew home on Alaska Airlines and delivered her baby the next day.

In business, I’ve known pregnant women who stopped flying at four months. Does anyone find Governor Palin’s story even remotely possible? I’ll keep an open mind, since I saw her doctor quoted elsewhere saying she did not object to her patient flying, but if they already knew it was a Downs syndrome baby, would she have been permitted to fly?

Does that sound pro-life to you?

This seems to me to be the best way “into” the lies about the baby, if they are lies. And I think they are.

Great post Eli, she has great curb appeal to the Uncle Fester vote. One thing we must all remember–the choice of the Vice-President is the ONLY Presidential decision a candidate makes. This decision firmly states that McCain is a rigid captive of the far right and cannot wiggle free to appeal to the only people in Presidential politics that really matter–the slim sliver of independents and undecided.

The reason this distasteful metric is even in play is our fault.

I once again, during this campaign pledge that I will register and get to the polls three people.

I urge everyone here to do the same and challenge friends and neighbors to do this as well. Republicans vote.

For the record I got nine people registered and to the polls in 2006. Set a goal that is very easy, achieve that goal, and if time allows, move the goal.

Hey,
I think we should slow down here. We are talking about children. We don’t need to brand them with our dark thoughts.

An awful lot of Americans without direct personal experience with this kind of family values have seen it play out on Desperate Housewives the last two seasons, by the way.

Have to admit it would be great story if true!

Well, wouldn’t this be the penultimate lack of vetting (if the baby is truly the daughter’s)?

How could this be spun? Surely Palin would have to leave the ticket?

There are many men in law enforcement all over this country who are not choir boys. We can’t fire them all. This matter was investigated through the proper channels and the brother-in-law was disciplined. If that wasn’t enough for Gov. Palin, she could have fired the Public Safety Commissioner publicly, making it clear what she was doing (and running the risk of being justly accused of using her office to settle a personal score). Instead, she lied about the reasons for the firing, as is now becoming clear under the legislature’s investigation.

Repubs don’t have to have personal responsibility. I don’t think that abuse of power will come back to bite the dems but the baby with special needs would. She needs to be defined by her extreme views on choice and creationism quickly, imo.

No woman with sound judgment would fly after the water broke. And no pilot with good judgment would let her.

free speech zone

Super Muffin…? You promoted yourself? It is your blog, I suppose… ;-)

How close McCain came to picking RGJoe:

ABC’s Jan Crawford Greenburg reports: It wasn’t until Sunday night that John McCain, after meeting with his four top advisers, finally decided he could not tap independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to be his running mate. One adviser, tasked with taking the temperature of the conservative base, had strongly made the case to McCain that it would be a disaster for the party and that the base would revolt. McCain concluded he could not go that route.

The next day, McCain studied the three men at the top of his shortlist: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. All had different strengths and negatives, but McCain was not satisfied. None of them had what McCain believed he needed to do — and would have done — with Lieberman.

i agree with both statements

Sorry, didn’t mean to sound all preachy and shit.

Of course not! The commenters promoted me. I even got a cape for dumpster diving and comment modding purposes.

August 29, 2008 3:08 PM

ABC’s Jan Crawford Greenburg reports: It wasn’t until Sunday night that John McCain, after meeting with his four top advisers, finally decided he could not tap independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to be his running mate. One adviser, tasked with taking the temperature of the conservative base, had strongly made the case to McCain that it would be a disaster for the party and that the base would revolt. McCain concluded he could not go that route.

The next day, McCain studied the three men at the top of his shortlist: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. All had different strengths and negatives, but McCain was not satisfied. None of them had what McCain believed he needed to do — and would have done — with Lieberman.

McCain wanted to shake up the ticket.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s name was in the mix as an unconventional choice for months,

http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit…..-came.html

This story rings true Palin was a last minute choice and was not vetted.
Also McCain makes big decisions without due consideration even if he has the time to do so, that fits his pattern.
Granted Palin was not vetted but McCain had plenty of time to so after he won his primary so what was he doing instead?
Do we want a President who puts off tough decisions until the last minute and then does a rush job?

Don’t know why you addressed that comment to me, when I was merely asking others on the thread if they had any observation about whether the daughter was holding the baby, and if so how they looked together. I think that does not qualify as branding anyone with dark thoughts.

And as for the general subject, it’s Palin who is using the baby as a campaign prop, which is about the darkest use I can think of for an infant. Having brought him into the midddle of the fray, it’s perfectly OK for us to probe, IMO.

One adviser, tasked with taking the temperature of the conservative base, had strongly made the case to McCain that it would be a disaster for the party and that the base would revolt. McCain concluded he could not go that route.

———-
Rove

Astounding no one in the MSM has found this!

http://www.adn.com/front/story/336402.html

Eli-

Thanks for the footwork. I don’t know if this was cited… Tomasky from the Guardian… about what an “insane choice” it is.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm…..johnmccain

Normally you can fly unless there is a medical reason that might cause the child to be born early. My youngest is 29 so they might have changed the guidelines but I doubt it.

“I guess he assumes that women will just blindly vote for anyone with a vagina” — nope..it’s not the vagina, Eli..it’s having ovaries AND a uterous and knowing how to use ‘em. That’s all that counts, obviously.

Hello? You are really oversimplifying here. I mean, you completely forgot about boobs.

SEVEN MONTHS ALONG: Even her staff was unaware that the first family was expecting a fifth child.

By WESLEY LOY
wloy@adn.com

Published: March 6th, 2008 12:02 AM
Last Modified: March 6th, 2008 03:38 PM

JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin shocked and awed just about everybody around the Capitol on Wednesday when she announced she’s expecting her fifth child.
Click to enlarge

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“I thought it was becoming obvious,” Gov. Sarah Palin said. “You know, clothes getting snugger and snugger.”

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The governor, who recently turned 44, told a handful of reporters as she was leaving work to expect a new member of the first family, then headed to a reception at the Baranof Hotel to feast on king crab.

Palin said she’s already about seven months along, with the baby due to arrive in mid-May.

That the pregnancy is so advanced astonished all who heard the news. The governor, a runner who’s always been trim, simply doesn’t look pregnant.

Even close members of her staff said they only learned this week their boss was expecting.

Duly noted… My Bad!!! 8-)

WTF!!!!!
Will you all read the comments building up to vitriol against the innocent and explain to me how that makes “us’” better than “them”.
Stop. This. Now.

Her water broke, but she “wasn’t showing much:”

Gov. Palin’s opted to board a jet from Dallas in April while about to deliver a child. Gov. Palin, who was eight months pregnant, says she felt a few contractions shortly before she was to give a keynote speech to an energy summit of governors in Dallas. But she says she went ahead with it after her doctor in Alaska advised her to put her feet up to rest. “I was not going to miss that speech,” she says.

She rushed so quickly from the podium afterwards that Texas Gov. Rick Perry nervously asked if she was about to deliver the baby then. She made it to the airport, and gave birth hours after landing in Anchorage to Trig, who is diagnosed with Down Syndrome. “Maybe they shouldn’t have let me fly, but I wasn’t showing much so they didn’t know,” she says.

What does it mean if both parties hate your guts?

So One, Palin doesn’t have sound judgement or two, she is a friggin’ liar.

I keep thinking one of these days she will actually consider paying FDL to advertise her blog of the month.

I didn’t think you sounded preachy. It’s time to get busy, and your register-three-then-register-three-more is the best way I know of to get busy right now.

yeah,he was her talking point,about he is as perfect as anybody else,whatever that means…sick

Now that part is true. When I was pregnant for my first, I could not fly because I had started dilating.

Are the hospitals in Texas that bad that she had to fly to Alaska to give birth? I did not know that Alaska had better Doctors than the lower 48 states.

This story rings true Palin was a last minute choice and was not vetted.

I think she was ideologically vetted by the religious right.

He won’t have to. She’ll withdraw her nomination “to spend more time with her family.”

I’m betting that it happens before the Gooper convention.

Bob in HI

I’m going to wait before I say someting like the campaign was caught flat footed. I think they will unleash the fem dems on her. If the men do it, the repugs will spin it as bullying or condescending.

Goodnight. May we regain our better selves tomorrow. If not then, surely by Monday.

Did I miss something?Maybe McInsane thought it was April Fool’s Day today!

Sounds pretty responsible to me

Three of my favorite subjects.

Probably both but it is important to catch her in lies about substance. Just today she lied about the bridge to no where in her speech.

Heh, She does seem to have a new blog every month or so, but, she does adhere to the one blog whore per nite rule for the most part… ;-)

But the stories say she knew in December the baby was Downs syndrome. Or does that not possibly complicate a pregnancy? And isn’t any pregnancy higher risk for over-40?

Really just asking, cuz I don’t know…..

Or (3) all of the above.

George Bush scary yes…. and low info voter scary.

Tonight I met a Hispanic man at my job who is so thrilled with the choice of Palin. Who loved Hillary. Who stubbornly stamps his foot and proclaims, “I don’t like OBAMA!!!” Blue collar worker. Absolutely closed mind… went from Hillary to McCain and … that is that.

I keep thinking McCain saw Palin as his answer to Bush’s Condi. Oy vey.

Hey there OFG,

Thought of you this week when I saw Ned on TV. How goes it?

Mods–something ate my last comment. Do you have it, or should I give it up for lost & just redo it?

Sorry, didn’t mean to sound all preachy and shit.

You are wrong-not preachy. But folks may think about voting with a paper ballot. Keep up the good work.

oh yes,she is a quick if not GOOD liar

yes to all…does not compute in my haiiiiiiiiid

LOL

If you are over 40 the pregnancy is normally higher risk.

I mean, you completely forgot about boobs.

I’m betting he didn’t. Or hasn’t.

Sarah Palin wants to control the reproductive choices of American women, including those who are raped or victims of incest. She is campaigning on “family values.” When you do that, your own “family values” are at issue. I’m sorry that you don’t think her behavior, and possible lies, about her own high-risk pregnancy and her parading of her Downs syndrome child — a dogwhistle to the anti-choice fundies — is an issue, but it is.

Republicans are under the mistaken belief that a maverick is one who without conpunction breaks the law and tramples principles that stand in the way of looting the public treasury in behalf of big business.

There is no vitriol against an innocent. There is a woman who has been chosen to be VP and “in a minute” the POTUS of the USA. The story is from Alaskan news. It is a story that makes the candidate vulnerable to pressure from those who might want to control the candidate for legislative actions and or deals that satisfy the administration, it also makes the candidate a little suspect, when the people that worked with her were astounded by her “news”. Most likely, it is the Governor’s son. Most likely there is nothing there at all. The presumptive Republican presidential candidate “suddenly” disses qualified candidates, and chooses this woman…after having met her one time. One time. One time. Hellllooooo.

The chosen candidate is wrapped up in an active investigation where the Public Service Commissioner was fired…..Helloooooo…..

How do you get somebody to fire somebody who is in the way of what you want to accomplish in off shore drilling or any kind of oil drilling????? You have something on them. The entire Republican Congress stayed in DC to push for off shore drilling this entire summer. Helloooooo….

That is what is being explored here.

Why Palin?

Jack Nicholson, too? Why his Chinatown movie was especially ironic.

Here we go again.

Here’s the YouTube of today’s speech. The daughter is sitting directly behind McCain, so you can’t see her. And when they stand up at the very end, her head is above the frame, so can’t tell much. On my computer, the CSPAN version is even more inscruitable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npPJAN5MvJk

Thanks Teddy.

Bringing in new voters is very easy. First find someone in your circle of friends that doesn’t vote and ask them to. Tell them you are not asking them to march in a protest or face firehoses and attack dogs, even though this has probably happened in our lifetimes within waling distance from where we sit. They paid a heavy price and left us a great country to live in. The very least we should do is pay the utility bills. Immediately take them to register and then drive them to the polls on election day.

No is not an option.

Well, you can probably cross off all the old A-listers, who are feeling insulted on having been passed over. They’re probably content to let McLame and his advisers stew in their own juices.

Bob in HI

I think he/she was objecting to the discussion of the pregnancy and the possibility of the 16 yr old teen mom.

Cindy looks like she is at a wake

I too was stunned by your post, until I checked out the site. I agree with you that it’s unlikely this is connected to the McCain campaign. But if you look at a number of the posts, you will see that it is as much an Obama-bashing site as a Hillary fan site. There are plenty of attacks on Michell as well. The posters all seem hateful and barely articulate, and they routinely repeat right-wing talking points. One post I saw copied in a long Rush Limbaugh transcript in which he spewed venom at the Obamas. These people don’t believe in anything HRC stands for, they just have some kind of cult for her. And they have a deep and irrational hatred for anything that stands in her way. I don’t think there is much point in worrying about the loss of the votes of such people.

a delicate fleur ,no?

Couldn’t tell but I liked the “thank you and I God bless you” part at the end.

Yep…my thoughts exactly. This is the ultimate “Hail Mary” and there’s virtually nobody left on the bench after this peculiar choice.

I love he color scheme: blue sleeveless dress and a shocking pink soft cast on her arm. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

A self hating woman?

her voice made me shut off volume,saw the girl walk on stage this afternoon…she must not be a jogger like her mom..”g”

Or Bush’s Harriet Miers.

I am terribly tired, supplying an addicted nation. I haven’t been home for three weeks. I have been all over the map on the Presidential election, smug, worried and now slightly confident. Obama is getting ready to be hit by the 3 million decibel slimedozer owned and operated by the Republican party.

Our only hope is to bring in more voters.

My husband, the guy that voted for Bush twice (don’t ask), thought the Palin choice was stupid. McCain’s choice, continues to reinforce my husband’s intent to vote for Obama in November.

I bet Mittens is pissed.

McCain met with her for all of two hours, got the hots for her, and made a snap decision.

That’s all there is to it. They led her into the room, he was smitten.

What a lech that guy is.

Personally I think, her behavior is odd at best and abusive at worse. Having the baby on stage today for show was sickening. I also think that it is not an issue you can attack.

I realize that. I also realize that discussion about whether the mom is really the mom is very sensitive. Ordinarily, I would never ever discuss such a thing, but if someone is going to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world should the president become incapacitated….I want to know that if those rumors are lies, then I want to know that they are lies and not something that our currently corrupt administration could use to control events in the State that the Governor is in control of…especially concerning energy issues.

I hope that makes sense.

she got it,she flaunts it,but looks miserably unhappy…pass the Vicos

The study also found instances of birth defects, such as Down Syndrome, that occur at about the same rate in Alaska as they do in the rest of the U.S. (There were 15 cases of Down Syndrome per 10,000 live births in Alaska between 1996 and 2002, compared to 14 cases per 10,000 live births in the U.S.)

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/466924.html

And I don’t know how in the world a responsible parent can properly care for a child /or grandchild with Downs Syndrome while being a Gov. or VP? Is that question not fair?

good on him……and you

I mentioned on another site that Cindy reminds me of Bianca in Lars and the Real Girl. Of course we all know that Bianca was sweeter. For those who haven’t seen the movie, rent it.

scrutinize,not attack

I was thinking the same thing. It’s Meiers all over again.

Especially with both parents working.

Oh, gawd… Perky makes me gag. Biden will eat her lunch in the debate.

I keep thinking that the kid’s going to grow up thinking the full-time live-in nanny’s his mom.

I was thinking that there may be some zealots who would have voted for HRC that will vote for McCrazy but IMO there will also be at least that many who were for Mittens and will not be happy with McCrazy’s poor judgment with this choice.

i was wondering that in the am..poor kid

Part 1 is a bit better, as they are standing. Still hard to tell anything, though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMbkFlfRTpQ

That would be better than the truth that her sister is really her mom.

First one I asked myself hearing her preliminary bio!

The Daughters year book pictures we need a last year as a before picture a this year as an after picture after all having a child there should have been some changes we can see I would think.

I like ‘em perky

oh jeeebus McDummy dont look thrilled either…looks like he sat on a tack

OFG,

Am not surprised to read of your fatigue/reactions but it’s people like you, and your efforts, who have rebuilt the Dem ground game.

Now the rest of us just must pitch in. We can do no less. I’m convinced our democracy rests on this election. “Holy Joe” revealed to me, and many others, how despicable our politicians can be and what desperate times we live in.

Kudos to you and keep the faith!

ps. I fretted about Edwards having enough time to support Elizabeth with her illness. Sigh.

These people never supported HRC. It is all part of Limbaugh Chaos Movement. I have seen these bogus HRC supporters at other forums as well.

…and apparently, so does McPOW

Should be an interesting debate… I’m sooo looking forward to seeing Obama against McSame though… Aloha, Marion! I just missed ya the other day for breakfast…! ;-)

I was discussing the fact that she could really help in small towns in PA and Ohio but I think they will lose the old Rockefeller repubs. Hopefully it will be a wash.

Sarah Palin — McCain’s Bride to Nowhere

It’s Meiers all over again.

In a way. But with Miers, it was the hard right that had a hissy fit and got her nomination withdrawn. Palin was chosen as a sop to the fundies who made up a large portion of those who got Miers withdrawn. I’m not sure which faction of the party will step up to demand Palin get withdrawn. In a normal party, it would be those who favor competence and hate corruption. Those people left the Republican Party a long time ago.

I think you’re giving them too much credit. I think they’re using Hillary as an excuse to bash Obama. I’d be amazed if most of them even voted for her.

Which is not to say ignore HIllary supporters who are looking to be convinced – they’re entitled, and they deserve the same consideration evangelicals and moderate Republicans and independents are getting.

But have you noticed that the primary became a marvellous excuse for our less-toilet-trained brethren and sistren on all sides of the aisle to be applauded for their bad behavior?

I think some of them are having a hard time letting it go.

Of course, others of them are McCain supporters throwing a cat amongst the pigeons.

Any which way, ignore them works for me.

I couldn’t get all the way through the YouTube. She sounded like she was just about to say “like, you know, he was a POW, and all… He’s so KEWL!”

How in the hell could she pull off this scam? (Fake pregnancy) Everyone was astounded when she announced her pregnancy at seven months. I am going to read stories about the birth.

The fact is that the R’s have the deep south because these “voters” are driven by their crazy religious and racist beliefs.

The R’s have gone way off to the right.. there are no moderates over there.

The dems need to cut loose their centrist blue dogs and move left and give us a completely new agenda… we don’t need “bipartisanship” with right wing whackos.

This woman is a whacko, McCain is a whacko… we are surrounded by whackos in the media as well.

And dad’s off snowmobiling and cross-training.

Flying while pregnant is a no-no. A mother poses a risk to the unborn child by flying. It is never recommended. As Larry Craig and others have proven – Republican Family Values are flexible.

I said on an earlier thread that a friend who had a colleague with a Downs baby told me that one key to a better outcome is intensive bonding: 5 or 6 hours per day, from infancy lasting several years (don’t hold me to details). That helps with development of social appropriateness & other coping skills in adulthood. Doesn’t have to be the mom putting in all that time, but she should be an important part of the process.

night all

she is a fast talker…hopes she screws up muchly

You have to admit that McC succeeded today. After that grand speech by Obama last night, the only discussion today is about McC’s choice. blegh

Has Edward Teller chimed in yet with his view of Palin? (He’s from Alaska, right?)

I just don’t think she is going to help as far as drawing in people who weren’t already going to vote for McCrazy.

“We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position-”

I gather she means “fruitful” in the Biblical sense? Not sure about other VPs but I suspect Cheney only uses the term “multi-ply” in reference to that extra cushiony executive toilet paper.

this is a valid question for the veep canidate

nite nite

Aloha, JP!

I’m still tryin’ to figure out how to pronounce:

“ZOMG!!11!!11!!1″

I know it’s got an “elebenty…sumthin”

;~P

Nice.

And we must add that Governor Palin stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgX7i0C-IK4

I am always amused at Dudes trying to decode the motivations of Dudettes.
“Chicks want to vote for chicks so let’s give them a chick to vote for.

I do not pretend to give advice on how to fathom the feminine psyche. I am a walking testament of personal failure in that regard.

But on those rare occasions where I have struck up a long-term meaningful relationship with not-men, it happens when gender is removed.

I like Jane and Jane likes me. We have common goals and which are genderless. In short, from the best I can tell, women are very similar to people.

The McCain gambit of trying to pick up Hillary supporters on the rebound by putting a women on the ticket is about as effective as trying to pick-up broads by telling them, “You don’t sweat much for a fat chick.”

That speed talking is bound to get her in trouble. But the MSM will make it as smooth as possible for the unqualified vendictive liar.

Thank goodness. I rasied the question on one of favorite local blogs this morning (very mixed crowd) and nobody seemed to get it.

That is true. Good point. Those moderates are now independents.

There is a photo of her at supposedly 6 months floating around will try to find it. There is no way the woman is pregnant.

That was the same point I made a lot earlier too… Upstaged Obama’s marvelous speech last nite…!

In short, from the best I can tell, women are very similar to people.

That’s my rule of thumb.

This is beginning to sound like a bad soap opera plot, the baby was a month premature, her labor began in Texas and the child was born on the plane in Anchorage!

WTF?

Any official airline policy on this? Also after her water breaking how long before she goes into labor? How long is the drive to the airport? Will any pilot take a woman in labor up when there are good Doctors on the ground?
Texas to Alaska is a long ride wouldn’t they drop her off when they refueled the plane if her labor stared on the plane?
Did Palin fly in a private plane? Can any plane private plane go from Texas to Alaska nonstop?

its way upthread

Jack Nicholson as well.

More about Palin

Palin doesn’t brandish her religion on the campaign trail, but that doesn’t prevent others from doing so. After she was first elected mayor, her predecessor, John Stein, objected that a Valley cable TV program had hailed her as Wasilla’s first “Christian mayor.” In a column for the local newspaper, he named eight previous mayors and added that he, too, was a Christian, despite a name that led some voters to suspect “I must be a non-Christian, have non-Christian blood or at least have sympathized with a non-Christian sometime in my career.”

http://images.google.com/imgre…..S%26sa%3DN

In short, from the best I can tell, women are very similar to people.

Aw, shucks! We do try… (I’m sitting here howling over that, because down here there are rafts of men who wouldn’t really agree with that statement!)

And I do believe you win the perfect analogy prize for today with the “You don’t sweat much for a fat chick.” A spew warning before something like that would be most appreciated!

oh jeeeeeeeeeeeeeebus

Let’s compare:
Kaine: Two terms as Mayor of a city of 200K, one term as Lt Gov of a state of 7Million, 2 plus years into term as Governor of state of 7Million

Palin: Two terms as Mayor of a town of 5.7K, Twenty months into term as Governor of state with less than 700k

Yep, that looks pretty much the same to me.

TCU, she flew commercial and there’s no need to refuel from Texas to Alaska, particularly when one can fly nonstop from Chicago to Honolulu…!

Child was born in a hospital. After inducing labor, it took another several hours before the baby was delivered. That’s what I remember from an article linked earlier but am too tired to find it.

When your water breaks you are officially in labor

We in the LS house are having a discussion…

1. Is it that Americans are so dumbed down that they will vote for more Bushco….

2. Are they spinning us into insanity, and will steal the elections again.

3. We are paranoid, and Obama and crew will prevail and get us out this mess.

4. No matter what happens, they always win, and we are doomed…

5. America has matured in the last 8 years and won’t buy the BS anymore.

6. America is full of superficial-oriented people, influenced by pretty, charismatic people and will bend in that direction.

7. We are being manipulated by powerful economic/media forces and will blow in that direction because of information pressure from the media.

8. We will be serfs soon.

9. We are in a movie.

10. We will wake up soon and laugh.

LOL

For the most part. It could possibly be a deal maker if Rove runs a good show and gets it within Diebold range in a key swing state or two. That is the Rove Doctrine.

McCain will do his best to fuck it up, but Rove is working the levers. Palin and abortion are Rove’s pet projects this time. Even Dubya is greasin up the slide. Birth Control pills are abortions now.

Has Palin’s daughter gone back to school if not maybe she is taking care of the child.

Okay, I can’t quite shut this discussion down because it’s hit a nerve.
Why is a female parent somehow more at risk to be labeled a bad parent for having ambitions in a 2 parent household?
I just don’t understand the technicalities. Is her husband a worse parent than all the “political” wives? Do we need to dig into family when it would be more appropriate for us to dig into Palin’s personal history as a candidate?
Fuck double standards!!

And McCain looks and moves like a reanimated cadaver.

As for the “sister” holding the baby. Hmmm…looks awful maternal the way she is clutching that child to her breast and rocking it, doesn’t it?

I believe she also screwed up the replacement by putting into the office someone in the middle of a sexual harrassment law suit.

Seems to me I’ve read something along that line.

Ah but was it a non stop flight? Even from Seattle to Chicago thanks to hub airports Nonstop flights are getting harder and harder to find.

So Palin does not vet her choices either? She’s perfect for McCain.

The “window of opportunity” for a safe/normal delivery once one’s water breaks (especially if the mother has had multiple pregnancies) is short.

I do not buy the TX-AK flight/birth story for a nanosecond.

She can clear up the question of pregnancy by releasing her medical records.

If you want to get something done, find someone very busy to do it.

Three people folks, three brand new voters birthed by your hands. How good will you feel on November 5th when Obama wins by three votes? Or a 3 times multiple of fdl regulars?

You can do it. Look in the mirror in morning and tell yourself that today I am going to try to find one vote for Obama. Just one vote at a time.

I agree, they are getting rather scarce these days…! ;-)

That was it! It was in walking offstage and the way she rocked the baby against her shoulder/breast area. THAT was what looked so maternal. I’ve never seen anyone do that who was not a mother herself. Not always mother of that particular child, but a mom.

Sorry to be graphic, but amniotic sac can develop a leak without labor ensuing. Happened to me. They induced labor 2 days later, because when fluid can get out, germs can get in so it’s not good to let that situation go on for very long. According to the article that was linked earlier, that’s how Palin’s condition was described while in TX and in transit.

rude pundit sez it will come down to Voting public thinking: Do I want to look at the Cryptkeeper or Denzel Washington for the next four years?

She’s probably the mother but that story about flying home after her water broke is pure bullshit. Anyone who’s given birth knows that’s not something that a woman would do.

Dallas is a hub, but no idea if there are non-stops from there to Alaska.

My water broke and they wouldn’t let me leave the hospital before they induced 12 hrs later.

So how did she get on a plane and why does she hate Texas Doctors that much?
Texas to Alaska is a long trip without painkillers.

Probably home schooled so she can learn the truth about the world only being 6000 years old.

Especially with a fifth pregnancy. By that point most women’s bodies just say “here we go again” and balloon out.

I still want to see McSame’s VA medical records… Forget Palin’s…!

Palin’s story is getting even more flimsy. I hope some female front pagers will follow up on the angels we are covering.

Texas to Alaska is a long trip without painkillers.

Maybe she knew Cindy before John, in that case, no problem…

yup i know somebody that gave birth in the taxi,after water broke at home…this is teh weird

because she is the one looking to move across country..and asking for a job with extreme demands which guarantee a child with special needs will suffer because of it.. But that should not diminish the fathers role or lack of role..whatever the case may be.

They made a choice to have a fith kid…knowing what condition this child would be born with. A woman (or her spouse) who thinks rape and incest etc.. are not worthy reasons for considering aboortion needs to live up to her own standards and care for the kid no matter what.

Julia is upstairs!
With Gustav closing in, FEMA still broken

I am glad most people here know me and recognize my odd sense of humor or I would be in trouble. And thank you Jane for dismissing those pesky restraining orders.

Really, if the water breaks/leaks the baby is in danger..that is an emergency of sorts. No fluid…dry birth. Not what you want to risk.

Oh, and there is a picture here of the allegedly pregnant Palin.

I couldn’t help but think of this

Ooooh, There’s a new Daily Show on tonight.

Amen. There’s no way Palin was on her fifth pregnancy in those pics.

A slow leak is different from full water break. And different docs treat it differently. And mine was 27 years ago and yours was much more recent. Many variables.

My Democratic State Rep won with 4 votes.

Not exactly the time to take a long plane flight.

The ages of the world being created and destroyed is an Aztec thing is it a 6,000 years cycle? Also Hamlets Mill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet%27s_Mill

Friday?

It sucks. It alway does when they mock Ds, and that’s not a partisan comment. The Ds are just much more difficult to make commedy out of. The R stuff writes itself. Tuesday’s show will be a riot.

” The Palins’ five children are Track, 19; Bristol 17; Willow 14; Piper, 7, and baby Trig, 5 months” [Are those real names? American names?]

The thing about her having another child is just so odd. She claims that her husband wanted another BOY. Now I’ve heard of doing some odd things to have one son, and even that seems to me to be a bit degrading to the daughters…as if they were not “good enough”. But for #2? Isn’t that a tad insulting to #1?

“Sorry Track, we just raised you wrong…we want another shot at doing this “boy” thing correctly!”

But the timing is just so WRONG! Instead of trying for that second boy after Piper, while she was 37-38 and taking on the onerous task of Mayor of the 8000 population town…she defers it until she becomes Governor. Why wait so long if they were trying to have another boy? And why do it when she clearly was taking on a bigger job than Mayor? And at an age when it is reproductively far more difficult than 37 years old. The mid forties is a time when the probability of genetic issues increases (and having an older husband also increases that likelihood even more). Miscarriages are more common, as is maternal and perinatal infant death.

Then there is the whole thing of hiding the pregnancy for months…why do that? Especially if she believes that children are something to be proud of…a gift? But perhaps she really wasn’t hiding anything about her own maternity status?

But of course this is a woman who thinks that contraception should not be covered by health insurance plans. If McCain dies this is the type of woman who would bring about ” The Palins’ five children are Track, 19; Bristol 17; Willow 14; Piper, 7, and baby Trig, 5 months”

The thing about her having another child is just so odd. She claims that her husband wanted another BOY. Now I’ve heard of doing some odd things to have one son, and even that seems to me to be a bit degrading to the daughters…as if they were not “good enough”. But for #2? Isn’t that a tad insulting to #1?

“Sorry Track, we just raised you wrong…we want another shot at doing this “boy” thing correctly!”

But the timing is just so WRONG! Instead of trying for that second boy after Piper, while she was 37-38 and taking on the onerous task of Mayor of the 8000 population town…she defers it until she becomes Governor. Why wait so long if they were trying to have another boy? And why do it when she clearly was taking on a bigger job than Mayor? And at an age when it is reproductively far more difficult than 37 years old. The mid forties is a time when the probability of genetic issues increases (and having an older husband also increases that likelihood even more). Miscarriages are more common, as is maternal and perinatal infant death.

Then there is the whole thing of hiding the pregnancy for months…why do that? Especially if she believes that children are something to be proud of…a gift? But perhaps she really wasn’t hiding anything about her own maternity status?

But of course this is a woman who thinks that contraception should not be covered by health insurance plans. If McCain dies this is the type of woman who would bring about Margaret Atwood’s dystopia described in “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

Maybe Jon feels guilty about have more “off” days than Carson?

Thanks Skippy for helping us with the links at the start of the thread:)

For me, that’s too much work over Labor Day weekend *g*

nah. they took monday off instead.

707

I understand your discomfort with this but…we’re talking about someone who could potentially be the prez. Like any of the front runners, frankly, your life and all your choices are in a spotlight. I think many people cringe at the idea of someone returning to work three days after giving birth. Dire financial necessity aside, most people find more time to take a casual family vacation. I’m not saying she should let go of her political ambitions, but – what are her priorities? After all, as an evangelical, and as a rethuglican, she represents those who tout “family values”. So what are her family values? Where does a newborn fall on her list of priorities? I think it’s a fair question when trying to assess this person’s character; just as much as McInsane jilting his injured wife, or Big Dog having consensual sex with an intern.

Hi LS,
I live in a very Repub area. There are a lot of folks that voted for Bush and still are wondering why they were so stupid. If Obama plays it right, which I think he will (note: not a big Obama fan re: FISA), he will bring out McCain’s weaknesses for all to see. The folks that regret their Bush vote(s) will avoid doing the same thing in the coming election. With McCain’s quick no real thought decision on VP, a lot of folks are going to start really looking at him.

My husband, who the millisecond a political ad comes on, will change the channel or turn of the TV, actually watched part of Obama’s speech yesterday. You could have dropped me with a feather. He even liked it.

The last couple of days I have gotten a very strong feeling that Obama will win in November. When I get this feeling of who will win,I haven’t been wrong. Rest well.

Air Alaska with a layover in Seattle, I read somewhere today.

Air Alaska spokesperson claims the airline has no policy, and that employees at the gate did not notice her pregnancy. Of course, one wonders how she knew that they did not notice, if there is not a policy.

The story stinks.

Speaking as someone who has given birth, I cannot imagine being physically or emotionally in any shape to be at work three days later.

Are you in my house?

I have to assume you’re a man.
What could be easier than requiring a woman to release her birth records?
Fuck, our bodies are already controlled by the government. Our wages are already controlled by our sex organs. Our future is already dictated by our ability to reproduce.
Please, don’t sign up for the Women as Vessels theology. It takes male and female to create life. However, only women bleed.

If she gave birth very shortly after they landed, she would have been in serious labour by the time she was on that plane. The flight attendants would have noticed.

There we go!

Nah, me neither. Nor would I willingly have parted with my son at that point unless we were going to starve otherwise.

Palin’s UNCONSTITUTIONAL support for teaching creationism in Science classrooms came TWO years after the 1995 Dover, Pennsylvania case which declared that “intelligent design” was simply creationism in new bottles and did not deserve to be called science or taught at all in Science classrooms.

It was the medical equivalent of “the evil eye” causing disease. Even worse it’s dystopic to the real teaching of the spirit of science which says to seek out natural causes FOR the things that we don’t YET UNDERSTAND. Simply because something doesn’t yet have a known explanation doesn’t mean that it must be supernaturally caused. All great scientific discoveries were things that the day before were “inexplicable”…God suddenly didn’t give up the day that the scientific discovery was made.

“I’m tired of making my angels propel the planets and stars about space…maybe I’ll create something called gravity and allow those feeble-minded human creations of mine discover it”.

What a weird god this must be!

CarolynU, what I’m saying is leave her fucking family ALONE!!!!!!
There are plenty of issues we can address about her governing skills, or lack thereof.
We can choose to protect the innocent without compromising our Constitution. Take it to the Political Arena. Not the family. Period. The end.

Remember that McCain actually suggested that Chelsea was the daughter of Hillary’s union with Janet Reno! So pot would be calling kettle black if he said that such questions were off-limits.

Of course he was simply indulging in a little sexist, misogyny…he wasn’t serious!

I hear you, but I don’t agree. We’re looking at Cindy. We’re looking at Michelle. We looked at Hillary when it was Bill, and Bill when it was Hillary. We look at Chelsea. We look at Jenna and not Jenna.

Someone’s family, how they relate to them, how they treat them and are treated by them, how they raise their kids, or whether they strap the family dog to the roof of the car, are ways to understand what that person is like. We are looking beyond political decisions, to character.

Anyone who wants to remain private can choose to stay out of the public arena.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related

@ 4:58

Just an interesting shot of the big picture in Dayton today…

i am wondering that myself. if the vetting process is any indication of mcmuffin’s abilities at “executive” responsibilities, he’s worse than awol.

“Basically, she’s Tom Coburn with boobs.” — Eli

“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? said Green, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?”

I say leave her personal issues alone and just debate issues. The public will get that she’s inexperienced in national politics.

It might be of some use to have some more testimonials from Alaskans who have seen how she governed up there. Mostly the fight is Obama v. McCain.

palin’s brother in law is a wife-beating-child-abuser, no one like that belongs in law enforcement. it should not have taken action on the part of the gov to get someone like that fired. any director of public safety who lacks the sense of decency to fire someone like that needs to be fired themselves.

jesus, dude, read the frickin story you link to.

the union spokesman says all the accusations by the family turned out to be unfounded except the tasering of the 11 year old son and the shooting of the moose out of season.

granted, no one should taser an 11 year old, and the guy should probably have been fired. but the union rep says the guy was teaching his kid what it was like to be tasered.

i’m not endorsing such action. but a cop teaching his kid about weapons is certainly different than what you imply w/your “child abuser” remark.

it still stands that the gov’s office put pressure on the public safety director to fire a man who was going thru acrimonious child custody issues w/the gov’s sister.

yes, no one should taser an 11 year old. yes, he should have been fired. but as it was he was disciplined. the union and the office of public safety were satisfied. only the governor’s office was still upset.

and, monegan, the director of public safety, was not fired for cause. simply because the gov. wanted to the dept. to go “in a different direction.”

i say go ahead and investigate. bring it out. vet this woman.

mcmuffin certainly didn’t.

Yeah he is another Bush who looks into Putin’s eyes and trusts with his er gut.

I understand where you’re coming from but I disagree. We’ve never had the kind of personal scrutiny that we have now. It’s obscene.
The fact that a person is running for an incredibly important office does not give the public the right to delve into “what-if” scenarios for their own satisfaction.
We REALLY don’t need to know everything. We just think we do.
Some of the greatest minds were actually shitty parents. Shit happens.
When did we start judging Leadership by their ability to be good parents
I’m not saying that Palin is a good or bad choice. Personally, I couldn’t give a shit what McAntichrist thinks is the next smooth move.
Leave the family out of this.

Ted get the female front pagers to follow up on this.
I can’t bring a large tube of toothpaste on a flight anymore but the airlines who are all suppose to be extra vigilante of passengers since the shoebomber missed Palin giving birth after her water broke for the whole flight from Texas to Alaska?
Wasn’t the Lamaze breathing a giveaway?

Okay, I’m howling into the wind.
Point taken.

OK all this talk about Sarah Palin is killing my Obama buzz so I feel snarky. I think McCain’s VP interview probably went something like this:

What does a McSame VP do?

Hey dosido I may be the last to comment at this thread, so, don’t let anything kill your Obama buzz.
Palin does not warrant a dead buzz.
Buzzzzzzzzz on, baby…….

Never underestimate the INSANITY of and eyes-tightly-shut patriarch-loving-denial-addicted low info voters. Never underestimate the POWER of low info/high narcissism-kool aid drinking paid to look to the right MSM. Never underestimate the denial and soul-trading of lobby-beloved 90% maybe (???) politicians.

I appreciate your list. My mind one haunts me.

why “international politics” ? i think more like public office in general.

simple enough. but people would get all pissy because the boy has what? something. i just don’t like the word “handicapped” and forget the boy’s condition. under those circumstances she’ll cling to privacy and confidentiality.

didn’t anyone know her water broke?

But if the Dem males pile on her…. it will create a gender backlash. Gotta tread carefully…some guy on AirAmerica was WARNING against piling on and offending women general … as HE was crossing the line. Tread lightly about this one, men especially!

Family = fair game. Their rules. We’re dumb not to play by them while they do.

I don’t care so much about the gender backlash. But I do care about issues, and Palin is wrong, wrong, wrong on everything.

Campaign on that.

I wish we could differentiate between the players and the propaganda.
Must be because I was on scholarship to the University of Moscow[Idaho] -
Edward R. Murrows project/school.
The media IS the massage. Don’t go there. Go for the real guts of the story.

We’re NOT dumb. We’re above that crap!!!
Give peace a chance. Don’t attack the innocent, no matter WHO their vessel may be.

Basically, she’s Tom Coburn with boobs.

A lot happened in the last 24 hours, but you win “line of the day” for that gem!

And ISSUES have mattered since when…..?????? (present company, the choir, not included) …

Issues are how Senator Biden will humiliate draw a clear distinction from her with nary a cross or abusive word. Breadth and depth of knowledge on women’s reproductive freedom, domestic and finance issues, defense and foreign affairs…

He can afford to be deferential and polite, and slice her up with every answer.

Let the games begin!

Remember when Quayle was reminded he was no JFK.

I think someone on radio already said Palin no HRC!

Well. I’m bummed out.
I read the comments implying negatives about “homeschoolers” which defines our family, I gave up my career to stay at home and refuse to “educate” my children as the government saw fit. They are now thriving in our community as young adults who know how to actually WORK at the job they’ve been hired to do.
So, maybe my parenting skills are lacking in the general opinion at FDL.
There’s also the issue of vaccines. We’re against them. Unless we’re traveling to a country with malaria. But always updated on tetanus because it’s actually a decent vaccine that effects our lives.This has also been a negative lifestyle according to posters and some commenters on FDL. It left scars.
I’m probably a candidate for Bad Woman on those issues alone.
Dare I mention that I hauled 4 teenagers to protest Bush when he came to our region? I admit, I was pounding my fist in the air screaming” Fuck Bush” along with 2,000 other people.
Does that make me a bad mom? What exactly is the definitive term of “Bad Mom”?
When is a man a “Bad Dad”?

“But if the Dem males pile on her…. it will create a gender backlash. Gotta tread carefully…some guy on AirAmerica was WARNING against piling on and offending women general … as HE was crossing the line. Tread lightly about this one, men especially!”

Here’s the one chance McAin’t could have to make this VP pick work – if she continues to get razed by pundits,Democrats etc, and all the MILF comments, questioning her motherhood etc. will most certainly generate blowback reaction from women voters that the Dems cannot afford to have happen.
I would strongly suggest that people focus on her professional shortcomings, and leave the gender comments behind.

Sarah Palin=Redundant?

If McCain wanted
a former beauty queen
with no experience
and a
criminal investigation
on her record,
then why didn’t he
just pick his own wife?

There you go: she has something for everyone.

Per right wing noise machine policy, it is irresponsible not to speculate.

Hey openhope, we’re all on different pages here. As a parent, like you, I’m sure that there are parts of my parenting that some could criticize. Personally, home schooling? Good for you. Vaccines? Your call. Politcal activism? Excellent.

But unless your psuedomym is obscuring the fact that you are, say, Angelina Jolie or Hillary Clinton, I assume that you are a private person, which means that the only people who may disapprove of you or draw conclusions about you are your parents, your parents in law, and your next door neighbor.

But when and if you enter public life, things change. If someone was running for local sheriff and they had several arrests of domestic abuse? Public should know. If someone is running for mayor and it turns out that they are a slumlord? Public should know. A school principal has had multiple charges of pedophelia? Or child abuse? Cocaine addiction? People’s right to know.

Granted, I agree, that we have taken things to a ridiculous degree. However that was one of the reasons I was angry with John Edwards. Not that I thought his affair was anyone’s business but the parties involved; but that he didn’t realize that as a candidate every decision would be scrutinized and he would lose the election. That was a big risk to take.

Reality of our times, is that we do have access to information about people that folks in the past wouldn’t dream of – wouldn’t have wanted. And we do scrutinize every candidate – for better or worse. As the rethuglicans think of it: if you have nothing to hide you shouldn’t mind intense invasive scrutiny. And my corallary – if you have something to hide do not run for public office.