Hard News: Weekend Warriors
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It's been interesting to see the different reactions from conservative pundits to the Palin nomination: while the religious base is plainly delighted and the majority of right-wing pundits have lined up to support Palin along tribal lines ('One of us! One of us!'), some pretty high calibre GOP stalwarts have been appalled by Senator McCains choice.
First of all The Economist, who were huge John McCain fans before last week - they've dubbed Palin the Woman from Nowhere. I wouldn't be surprised to see The Economist endorse Obama, despite his rhetoric on free trade.
Powerline - the quintessential GOP blog - is also unimpressed. And they quote Charles Krauthammer - a man I never thought I would ever agree with anything over, ever, who is also appalled at the recklessness of McCains appointment and what it might indicate about his decision making process as president.
And finally, former Bush speechwriter David Frum has been venting spleen in his blog at the National Review. Frum is also shocked, outraged ect and appears to feel personally betrayed.
I don't think I've ever seen this kind of disagreement between the GOP faithful about any other issue, ever.
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"Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only)."
Bugger, there goes that theory . . .
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Sue,
sue very annoyed at silly person who should have just STFU in the first place.
seems like the only reason she is sorry she wrote the article, is becuase she got called out on it.
and how dare she compare what's her 'experience' to rape
it's just not uncool and so wrong,and honestly i don't get angry much butthis is so not like being the victim of a violent sexual crime
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No one seems to have commented on the disability bit. I presume you are referring to the US. Obama has promised to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which is a hugely significantly step nationally and internationally as the US is not known for ratifying UN conventions. They also have policies for universal coverage for health care for disabled people, as in the US a lot is dependent on what insurance cover you have, and tough if have none or the wrong type.
By the way last week NZ passed the Disability Bill which clears the way for NZ to ratify the Convention as it ensures all our legislation is compliant. Incredibly important but passed at midnight without a journalist in sight.
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First of all The Economist, who were huge John McCain fans before last week - they've dubbed Palin the Woman from Nowhere. I wouldn't be surprised to see The Economist endorse Obama, despite his rhetoric on free trade.
I wouldn't go that far, because I think it's pretty fair comment to say The Economist has now, and always will have, issues with Obama and his party they won't pull any punches in voicing.
If my memory serves (and not having access to the mag's paywalled archives), The Economist endorsed Kerry "with a heavy heart" in 2004, but I don't think it would have been read by either campaign with much enthusiasm.
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it is teh awesome
Indeed. McCain may regret using that green screen background ...
here's another (remove NSFW)
NSFWwww.youtube.com/watch?v=skIlZflDs9Y&feature=userThis is SFW
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First of all The Economist, who were huge John McCain fans before last week - they've dubbed Palin the Woman from Nowhere. I wouldn't be surprised to see The Economist endorse Obama, despite his rhetoric on free trade.
The Economist has been steadily more disapproving of McCain for, oh, the last three or four months. Last week's cover was a desperate plea for the Real McCain to return, but it's not the first article to make that call. They're dubious about Obama, but given their generally socially secular/liberal approach, I don't see them endorsing McCain now that he's made such an obvious grab for the social hard-right conservative vote with Palin. More than anything, they don't like stupid.
I think my favourite quote so far of hers is the one where she announces that of course she supports keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, because it was "good enough for the Founding Fathers". Ouch.
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@Hilary
No one seems to have commented on the disability bit.
I'll probably post something fairly extensive to the Humans blog in the next day or two.
Short version: Obama's disabilities policies and the thoughtful, inclusive way they were formulated set new standards for political parties anywhere. Yup, that good.
But of course, the lady waving around the Down's baby gets all the good headlines ...
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it is teh awesome
Brilliantly so. I was in tears when I realised what was about to happen.
I don't think I've ever seen this kind of disagreement between the GOP faithful about any other issue, ever.
David Frum of the American Enterprise Institute, an intellectual bedrock of the American hard right, is doing deep soul searching of the type you would expect after a heavy loss, not before an election. His acknowledgement of the failures of capitalism and a coverage of class issues is of a type that has conspicuously absent in American public discourse for many years, until the last few months at least. It's kind of strange to see.
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Obama has promised to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which is a hugely significantly step nationally and internationally as the US is not known for ratifying UN conventions.
Has he also promised to get the required 67 votes in the US Senate needed to actually ratify this (or any other) UN Convention?
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Lou Dobbs today (after noting that neither campaign's election promises add up):
**Joe Biden**
"In the Senate, John[McCain] has voted with President Bush 95 percent. And that is very hard to believe."
The Democratic vice-presidential candidate is exaggerating McCain's support for the policies of President Bush. According to the Congressional Quarterly, which keeps score, McCain supported the Bush administration on 95 per cent of the votes in 2007. But his loyalty score for the first seven and a half years of the Bush presidency is significantly lower--90 per cent.
However, Bush is on 30% and McCain just hit 48% so that four more years stuff clearly ain't getting through.
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I think my favourite quote so far of hers is the one where she announces that of course she supports keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, because it was "good enough for the Founding Fathers". Ouch.
And sorry for sounding like a broken record, but when Palin says shit like that she's either 1) flat out ignorant to a degree that's rather disturbing in a candidate for high office. (Congress added the words to the PoA in 1954. A factoid it took me about 90 seconds to Google, and verify from multiple sources.) Or, 2) She know it's not true, but doesn't care. And I'm not talking about a difference of opinion, but simple objective fact.
When did the GOP start cribbing from those dirty pointy-headed cheese-eating surrender monkey elitists for whom meaning is entirely subjective and fluid?
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One thing for which I am grateful to McCain in delivering us this sideshow is that I had not been aware of an Alaskan secessionist movement. Are there many of these in the States?
Would make sense. Independent Republic of Alaska, Hawaii etc…
Florida’s probably big and strange enough to be its own country. Some Greater California going up the West Coast.
Texans have always been a bit different, so they can break off.
New England.
And then all the flyover states can unite in some Fundamentalist Heaven on Earth.
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And I'm not talking about a difference of opinion, but simple objective fact.
yeah but none of that or the banning of books matter. The folks who are offended or might be influenced by the fact that Palin is an unprepared, rather naive wacko (she is) are already in the Obama camp.
McCain=Bush is the core stuff they need to keep on banging home...it has legs and is a swinging vote winner especially as the Bush economy staggers again and again. Blue collar workers understand that..they really don't care about polar bears or troopers in Alaska..really.
And they really do want / need to win Ohio...
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McCain=Bush is the core stuff they need to keep on banging home...it has legs and is a swinging vote winner especially as the Bush economy staggers again and again. Blue collar workers understand that..they really don't care about polar bears or troopers in Alaska..really.
Both campaigns have gone on the attack over the economy this week, which signals that they both have a lot to lose from a debate over 'morality' and identity issues, but the Democrats a lot more, as Paul notes. If McCain wins, America looks set to become even further behind, and further divided along lines of culture and class.
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Florida’s probably big and strange enough to be its own country.
Florida'll be seabed in a few years.
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yeah but none of that or the banning of books matter. The folks who are offended or might be influenced by the fact that Palin is an unprepared, rather naive wacko (she is) are already in the Obama camp.
Well, that's precisely the kind of attitude that is going to throw the election to McCain - who doesn't actually deserve to win it. Then again, I guess if you're already wirtten off everyone who goes to church regularly, or is even slightly right-ish in their politics as psychotic loons there's no point in trying to convince them otherwise. They are the GOP's electoral slaves now, and ever shall be. I just don't think this is a battle that should be conceded quite yet.
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Well, that's precisely the kind of attitude that is going to throw the election to McCain - who doesn't actually deserve to win it. Then again, I guess if you're already wirtten off everyone who goes to church regularly
I might not agree with the core belief but going to church regularly does not = wacko.
But there are core constituents that both parties will always hold and then there are the folks inbetween who win or lose elections. Right now those folks want a reason to vote one way or another and the fact that Palin banned books and is a confirmed attendant at a nutty church ain't gonna do it. Quite the opposite..it pisses them off that people keep on going on about it and the media get the shit and they sympathise.
Everyone's been going on about this for days and McCain is now ten points ahead....
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Last week, Sarah Palin capably read a speech largely crafted (by Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully) before she was even chosen as a candidate -- it was and is a party speech. Clearly, it went down quite well, but it would seem extremely unwise to credit her personally for much of its content.
This paragraph got me wondering who Obama's speechwriter was. Here's a nice article about him that might be of interest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html
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Just to diverge from American politics to Coddington:
I'm a bit uncomfortable with regarding any use of hyperbole that involves Bad Stuff as being an implied attack on the victims of the real Bad Stuff. To me that's pegging back the use of language to avoid even seeming to give offence (I'm not going to use that unpleasant right-wing cliche here). It seems to be the same sort of thing as UK exam boards removing a poem involving knives from the syllabus.
Coddington's an unpleasant racist as far as I'm concerned, and she's using hyperbolic language to describe the fully justified opprobrium her racism brought on. But hyperbole's a common rhetorical tool, and I don't think it should be automatically condemned just because the Internet doesn't handle nuance well.
I mean, if I say "there's a real famine of good books at the moment", am I insulting starving Africans?
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Here's a good one.
Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just told Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace that McCain running mate Gov. Sarah Palin won't subject herself to any tough questions from reporters "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference."
Deference: "a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard".
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I might not agree with the core belief but going to church regularly does not = wacko.
Perhaps not, but you have to agree there is a strong correlation.
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Going back to an earlier page, I think that Sarah Palin is pretty. She looks really good, an unusual thing in a politician?
But if we judge her by the content of her character ... She is proud of sending her son to a war zone to fight a war many Americans consider unjust or unwise. Fighting for his country???
And she believes in teaching creationism!
And the moose stew ... and the guns ... the NRA.
Time for another Michael Moore doco.
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Time for another Michael Moore doco.
Er... the last one didn't bode terribly well. Not saying it's his fault, but I'd rather not jinx this election as well.
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Everyone's been going on about this for days and McCain is now ten points ahead....
(__holds out hand__) See me shake? You cut could a diamond on this thing </colbert>
It's four points among registered voters. Ten according to the rubbish metric of likely voters. And it's the convention bump, nothing to see here. I'll start worrying if and only if the swing state polls start turning
significantly. At the moment Obama has a lock on the electoral college.(And it's not just that I'm an old West Wing junkie who lives to say things like "so and so has a lock on the electoral college". Although I am that too.)
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