Hard News: Awesome
405 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 17 Newer→ Last
-
And HuffPo is noting her quote from her second day ever in McCain's company, in exotic Pittsburgh: ''It's great to see another part of the country."
Wow.
But knowledge of the outside world doesn't seem to matter to a whole lot to Americans, remember poor Caitlin.
I recall reading that GW had not left the country until President... I recall this, but never verified it?
-
To be fair, almost every American from outside of the city will tell you that Pittsburgh is like nowhere else in the US.
They don't usually mean that in a good way. -
Samantha Bee was very funny on the Palin choice on Friday's Daily Show.
I'd link to just that part of the show, but the sucky Comedy Central website doesn't like my browser.
-
Samantha Bee was very funny on the Palin choice on Friday's Daily Show.
I'd link to just that part of the show, but the sucky Comedy Central website doesn't like my browser.
Mine either, but the clip is up at the Kos.
-
James, that was fantastic. I woke up and almost choked on my coffee it was so good. You got the instant (just add hockey mom) VP in a box memes down pat and repeated them without a pause or a thought as to how silly you might look.
Seriously, who do you think this choice is going to bring to the McCain camp that was earlier likely to vote Obama a day earlier..which of those, and your implication is that women are so profoundly dumb that they'll swing that easily, "25% of woman" will, in an instant, realise that they are now anti-choice creationists and vote McCain.
Those male / female figures Russell cites are interesting as the one thing that hit me when wandering through the blogsphere and the pundits in the past days was how overwhelmingly male those touting Palin's attributes were. There were a percentage of females to be sure but mostly it's male and a very large percentage of those seem to regard the fact that she is 'hot' as a major factor for gods sake. There are even (small) Facebook groups for those who want to 'do' her although my favourite is My Pet Rock Is More Qualified Than Sarah Palin To Be Vice President.
(But the group adds the qualifier: Although, my pet rock has never been mayor of Wasilla, Alaska)
But more than anything this choice simply unlines McCain's lack of judgement and unfitness to lead anything. It's almost pythoneseque in it's absurdity. Who in god's name reasonably asks or expects someone to grow into a job like VP of the US with all that entails and implies, especially when her only on the job training to date has been as short term boss of a state with a smaller population than the town of Denpasar here on Bali. Have you been to Alaska? It makes Wanganui look sophisticated.
Here is your link Russell
-
Mine either, but the clip is up at the Kos.
snap...
-
From David Rees:
Enough with the analyses and assumptions of "electoral tactics" playing a role in John McCain's vice-presidential pick.
John McCain said he would pick the most qualified candidate for the job of vice-president.
John McCain picked Sarah Palin.
Why?
Because John McCain believes Sarah Palin is the most qualified person in America for the job of vice-president.
Stop overanalyzing it.
The End.
-
To those who said they admired my enthusiasm for someone I only heard of yesterday, sorry, I first heard of Palin a several years ago when she ran against Murkowski (sp?), the incumbent Governor of Alaska, of her own party in a primary, and won. A bit of an eyebrow raiser, to say the least. Read about her a good number of times, she has been compared as a reformer with Jindal, our Governor here in Louisiana. Seen her on TV a couple of times over the last 6 months or so, CNBC I think, interviews with Maria Bartiromo and Larry Kudlow talking about energy ploicy. Very plausable and intelligent. So, no, I had sufficient prior knowledge on which to base my enthusiasm.
Another old boring white guy would have been a snoozer for McCain. He has been looking at people like Pawlenty and Jindal for a while, so it shouldn't have been a total surprise that he would go for someone outside the box like Palin.
McCain would have been stupid to ignore the 25% of women who are undecided, when only 5% of men are still undecided. And no, that is not to suggest the women's vote is monolythic, but just that it is politics after all. Obama has a problem with woman voters, McCain is smart to try to exploit it.
Everyday the discussion is about experience, is a happy day for McCain. Palin has 2 years as a successful Governor who got some stuff done which is more than Obama can say, and he is the top of the ticket, and Palin the bottom. Lack of experience is the last thing Obama wants to talk about.
So lets see how she does over the next 2 months and either I will be eating crow or a number of others here will. I really think she is an exciting political talent who is going to do well on the campaign trail. I can't wait for her to mix it up with Biden, he is a nice guy, but he cant stop sticking his foot in his mouth even in a no pressure situation, he is a ballsup waiting to happen. But Palin is the under card so there is only so much she can do. But if things are close, it might be the difference.Bloody Gustav's a cat 5 now. Shit. Not what we need. Hitting the road at dawn.
-
It makes me wonder what kind of deep research the McCain camp had that made them go this way.
More like I wonder how many people McCain sounded out, and not so politely said 'suicide is a sin in the eyes of God, and I'm not that keen on the political career variety either." :)
-
So, no, I had sufficient prior knowledge on which to base my enthusiasm.
To borrow from Steve Clemons:
What does she think about Cuba? Does she know the difference between America's relations with Brazil and Venezuela? Does she know what a balancing act we are walking in Asia between Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and more? Does she know anything about nuclear weapons and our defense posture?
What books has she read? Who are her inspirations as thought leaders? Has she written any serious articles or published anything we might see to get a sense of who she is?
What would she do with Iran? Can she name even five nations on the continent of Africa?
Unless you can answer this sort of thing, I think you are still spouting partisan twaddle to say "I had sufficient prior knowledge on which to base my enthusiasm".
Obama has a problem with woman voters, McCain is smart to try to exploit it.
You still don't get the offensively flawed equation here, do you James.
-
James, your enthusiasm for Palin is unsurprising. I get that as she's the candidate, every good Republican should get on board, but privately, surely you're wondering how America's Mayor lost out to a self-proclaimed Hockey Mom?
Lack of experience is the last thing Obama wants to talk about.
I've seen this line, that Obama can't criticise her for her inexperience, but that makes no sense to me at all not least of all because Obama won the nomination, won not wandered in at the eleventh hour, and beat out many experienced candidates in doing so.
If the arguments in her favour are only those from the last 48 hours then frankly it doesn't make any sense. Instead, I suspect McCain's choices were dwindling as the more serious candidates shifted their focus to 2012 and the prospect of being on a stronger team.
-
It's pretty hard to escape the conclusion of Shannen Coffen on that well-known far-left outlet, National Review:
And Rick Brookhiser &, more importantly David Frum, from the same publication, whose post includes:
I (and most NRO readers) will vote against Barack Obama because I oppose his ideas. He is (at best) an old-line Walter Mondale taxer, spender, and regulator possibly still under the influence (at worst) of the radical alienation from America preached in his church and expressed in his own early writings. I'd vote against a candidate like this even if he had previously served as CEO of Google, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Governor of California, with a Nobel prize on top of it all.
That said: Can we conservatives please stop kidding ourselves about Barack Obama's "qualifications"? Yes, if I had been a Democratic donor back in 2006, I'd sure worry about whether Barack Obama had what it took to be president. That was before he took on the toughest political operation in America, before he beat Bill and Hillary Clinton, before he won 18 million primary votes.
Obama's nomination was not handed to him. He fought hard for it and won against the odds. "Qualifications" predict achievement. Once you have achieved, it doesn't matter what your qualifications are. Who cares whether the guy who built a big company from nothing didn't have much of a resume when he started? But if you are applying to run a big company built by somebody else, the resume matters ...
-
Obama has a problem with woman voters, McCain is smart to try to exploit it.
<headdesk>
What Simon said.
'Golly gee, we both have tits! Let me vote for her!'
Meh.
-
but it's an utter hail mary pass
We may need a judges decision on this one, sounds like an Americanism to me.
(I believe hospital pass is the appropriate term in New Zealandese)
-
We may need a judges decision on this one, sounds like an Americanism to me.
(I believe hospital pass is the appropriate term in New Zealandese)
A hospital pass is a pass made to a player in a hopeless position, with a tackler all but upon him.
A hail mary pass is a risky play made in desperation -- the quarterback throws the ball in the hope of glory.
-
A hail mary pass is a risky play made in desperation
Or to gain a greater share of the Catholic vote.
-
A hail mary pass is a risky play made in desperation
Maureen Dowd uses the term exactly the same way in The New York Times.
Palinistas, as they are called, love Sarah’s spunky, relentlessly quirky “Northern Exposure” story from being a Miss Alaska runner-up, and winning Miss Congeniality, to being mayor and hockey mom in Wasilla, a rural Alaskan town of 6,715, to being governor for two years to being the first woman ever to run on a national Republican ticket. (Why do men only pick women as running mates when they need a Hail Mary pass? It’s a little insulting.)
-
Of course, if McCain really wanted a chick on the ticket that badly he could have gone absolutely nuts and gone for Senator Olympia Snowe -- who endorsed McCain early, won re-election in 2006 (for her third term) by a 54% margin; is a genuine fiscal conservative, has developed some views on foreign relations over the last fourteen years (hawkish but not on the flaming fringes), and socially on the center right (or "moderate" in Yank-speak). And as far as I can pick up, she's genuinely respected and has good contacts on the other side of aisle -- which would be useful in a Vice President who might have to wrangle some tricky relationships with a Democractic majority on Capitol Hill.
Which makes her totally unacceptable to the theo-con base, of course, but sure strikes me as a smarter choice if you really gave a shit about Putting Country First.
-
TPM has a good backgrounder on Palin's "Troopergate" problems.
She seems to have unabashedly used her power as Governor to pursue a family feud, and lied about it.
-
TPM has a good backgrounder on Palin's "Troopergate" problems.
Oh. My. God. Question for Today: Even if that is only half true, I think we've got to start asking who the hell vetted Palin, and will their bodies ever be found? I'm just bewildered that McCain has taken what was - fairly or not - his most effective line of attack against Obama and squandered it on a remarkably maladroit piece of cynical identity politics.
McCain's internal polling better show he's at least getting a serious and sustained thaw from the Ann-droids and theo-cons who make up "the base", because I'm seeing precious little evidence that Palin is an asset with undecided and independent/moderate Democrat women.
-
Oh. My. God.
It gets truly wow.
Palin then ignored notice about the sexual harrassment problems of her replacement choice for Public Safety chief, appointed the guy the next day, then had to accept his resignation two weeks later.
-
Palin then ignored notice about the sexual harrassment problems of her replacement choice for Public Safety chief, appointed the guy the next day, then had to accept his resignation two weeks later.
And there go the people who might have voted for Bill Clinton, but wouldn't be encouraging their daughters to work overtime with him as a boss. Also has to raise second thoughts in "values voters" who might be ideologically right-of-center, but weren't inclined to vote for a party perceived as sleazy or (at best) enablers.
I stand by my view that Olympia Snowe would be a fine addition to a Republican presidential ticket -- if the GOP is going to be restored to sanity and competence in her lifetime. I'm becoming less and less certain that's even possible.
-
Bloody Gustav's a cat 5 now. Shit. Not what we need. Hitting the road at dawn.
Best of luck James, hope any damage is minor.
-
__Bloody Gustav's a cat 5 now. Shit. Not what we need. Hitting the road at dawn.__
Best of luck James, hope any damage is minor.
Yes, I hope the road out is smooth and your house is strong. We'll look forward to your return.
-
She seems to have unabashedly used her power as Governor to pursue a family feud, and lied about it.
So not only has McCain destroyed his "experience" card, he's also destroyed his long-running "corruption-fighter" card and handed fuel to Obama's "stop the self-serving, special-interest nature of Washington".
There must be SOMETHING in here that we just haven't noticed? I suppose it's possible their internal polling was picking up a bunch of no-vote ultra conservatives?
Post your response…
This topic is closed.