The first thing I noticed about McCain’s VP pick Sarah Palin was her flag pin.
It was big and shiny and appeared to be covered with diamonds.
It screamed I LOVE AMERICA MORE THAN YOU in the gaudy and garish way only an oversized American flag brooch can.
Well folks, here’s the rub: those aren’t diamonds- they’re Czech rhinestones. Actually, the whole pin was made in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia to John McCain).
This may explain why it only has seven stripes and nine stars.
They are still available on ebay. Buy It Now Price: $4.99.
Specifically, he wanted them to pray for rain – “umbrella ain’t gonna help youâ€-type rain to be exact – and he wanted it for a very selfish and quite asshatish reason: to ruin Barack Obama’s planned outdoor convention speech.
The rain never came.
So now it’s the day before the Republican convention is supposed to start and, guess what… the rain is coming. This time in the form of a category 4 hurricane that is threatening to wipe New Orleans completely off the map and to, quite appropriately, blow away any chance of the Republican convention getting the same quality and quantity of news coverage given to the Dem convention last week.
If there is a God up there that actually cares about mankind and actually answers our prayers – then I can imagine She doesn’t take to kindly to people praying for bad things to happen to other people.
If there is a God up there – a God that actually listens to people like Stuart Shepard – then it might be a pretty damn good time for him to start praying for something positive.
You hear me Stuey?
I figure it will go something like this:
Dear Lord, I am REALLY sorry I prayed for bad things to happen to Barack Obama. I will never do it again. I promise. Seriously, I mean it this time.
If you can find it in your giant god-heart to forgive me then I’d like to ask you for a HUGE favor: please spare the people of New Orleans from hurricane Gustav. I don’t care what happens to the Republican convention. No, Seriously. I mean it. Just please save the people of NOLA from the coming hurricane.
Again, sorry I was such an ass. I’ll really try to work on it in the future.
Amen.
Here’s the original video- in case you wanted to see what a real tool this guy is…
For a Democrat I definitely fall on the moderate side of gun rights. Hell, I’m even open to concealed carry permits assuming they involve training and background checks.
But unlike the far-right folks who think concealed weapons should be allowed everywhere (e.g. school, office, government buildings, amusement parks, etc.)- I think the rights of property owners trump those of the gun owner. The last thing we need is a bunch of gun-toting wackjobs getting drunk at Cedar Point and accidentally shooting the guy in the Snoopy suit.
The official Republican position is kind of vague on this topic. A draft of this year’s GOP platform espouses gun ownership as “responsible citizenship” that allows Americans to “defend their homes and communities against violent individuals and the drug culture.” (note: drug culture = black people)
But it doesn’t mention anything about concealed carry or allowing guns in all public and/or private places.
I wonder: have the party moderates finally wrestled control of the GOP platform away from hard-right nutjobs?
The choice of this year’s convention venue does seem to support that theory.
That’s because the Xcel Energy Center specifically “bans guns on the premises”
Restrictions
In the interest of guest safety and enjoyment Xcel Energy Center reserves the right to prevent certain items from being carried into the arena. These include, but are not limited to, weapons or anything else that can be used as dangerous projectiles. Similarly, other items that may jeopardize the safety or viewing/listening enjoyment of the guests may be prohibited. Xcel Energy Center bans guns on the premises.
From McCain’s advisor Charlie Black, trying to address concerns about Sarah Palin’s complete lack of national security experience:
“She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long.”
I guess the ‘3am’/'ready on day one’ attacks are officially over.
You never know what you can find on there. Like Sarah Palin (nee Heath) doing the local sportscast. Nice burn on Lasorda!
Yeah, it doesn’t really tell us anything, unless you are one of those poeple who think being a local sportscaster is more relevant experience to being President or VP than being a community organizer, civil rights attorney, or president of the Harvard Law Review.
With hurricane Gustav ready to smash into New Orleans during the Republican convention, McCain is thinking about changing plans for the convention.
Probably a good idea.
The last thing voters need to see is a bunch of Republicans having a party while NOLA is ravaged by a hurricane AGAIN- bringing back memories of Katrina and the crappy job Bush et al did handling that one.
Here’s my suggestion: cancel all of your lobbyist-sponsored parties and donate the money, food, liquor, etc. to hurricane relief organizations.
“We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin’s historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate.â€
This could be fun. This is a pretty good overview of the trouble Sarah Palin may be in up in Alaska. Trouble that could indeed derail her as a VP candidate. If John McCain only ever met her once and talked to her on the phone once before picking her as his running mate, what are the chances they’ve fully vetted this matter?
It could get ugly:
John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate is somewhat baffling given that Palin is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Alaska state Legislature for improper use of her office, and as recently as two weeks ago was forced to change her tune after the emergence of a potentially incriminating audiotape.
It’s inconceivable the McCain’s team was not aware of the investigation, so they must have concluded that it’s not a political liability for Palin—or McCain himself.
But that determination seems somewhat hasty considering that the probe is ongoing as we speak.
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was seen by more than 38 million people.
Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year. Obama talked before a live audience of 80,000 people in Denver.
The RNC will not have a moment like this. I was totally taken by surprise by how forceful he was. We were discussing in a live blog chat the The Chief Source that his speech could NOT be just like his other stump speeches. It was not:
John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls “a checkup from the neck up.”
In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, he is not thinking “outside the box,” as some have said. More like out of his mind.
Totally on fire:
Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain’s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.
John McCain on Friday announced a running mate whom he met only six months ago and with whom he spoke just once on the phone about the position before offering it in person earlier this week.
This pick is a judgment test for John McCain and he has failed miserably. It might feel right now to the wingnut base, but it’s going to feel mighty different in a week or two.
The more I think about this, the more I think how easy this is going to be. McCain essentially just handed the Obama campaign this election. I’ll say this again. Once the heat gets turned up on her she is going to become a gaffe machine. She’s simply going to be exposed for being in over her head here.
Alaska (the state she has been Governor of for less than 2 years) has a population of 670,000 roughly. The CITY of Columbus, Ohio has a population of over 700,000. Mike Coleman has been Mayor of this city more than 4 times longer than Sarah has been Governor of Alaska. Would anyone in their right mind argue that Mike is qualified to be Vice President?
OK, maybe I know some who might…but you get the idea.
Just as I’ve been saying (and will continue to say), the way to quash this Palin nonsense and completely pull the rug out from under the strategy is for Hillary to engage it head on. TPM’s Eric Kleefeld has a great idea:
It is practically certain that on the night of Palin’s speech on Wednesday, we will be treated to her repeating her praise of Hillary Clinton, and the talk about how women still have a chance to break the glass ceiling. This will be accompanied by the bizarre sight of the Republican convention cheering for Hillary Clinton, all in line with the gimmick.
And the Obama campaign should be prepared. Just as John McCain bought his ad time for right after Obama’s speech last night, they should get their own for right after Palin.
And here’s the ad: A one-minute spot featuring Hillary Clinton herself, talking to the camera and laying into Palin on the issues, her complete lack of qualifications, and the temerity of the McCain campaign to think they could get away with this. Then she urges anyone watching who might have supported her to get out there and support Barack Obama.
Then it closes simply with Obama walking on to the set to shake Hillary’s hand: “I’m Barack Obama, and I approved this message.”
That’s apparently the new rallying cry of the Republicans. CHANGE. Not just change we can believe in, but change we can REALLY believe in:
No really. For real. Like totally.
Anyone else see what’s wrong with these Palin/McCain graphics? They just look…um…wrong. She looks happy – and quite oblivious – while he looks like he’s trying desperately to pass gass (or is experiencing some consternation over having to pick her wingnut ass). One thing is for certain, I agree with my wife who said “just look at them together. they won’t win. they don’t look anything like a President/Vice President ticket”.
There are more user submitted slogans and they probably should be vetted better than the VP pick. Another is: “It Really Is Time For A Change”.
Ok- so I’m just going to throw this out there because it’s the first thing I thought when I saw the Palin family photo: Sarah Palin doesn’t look pregnant- but her daughter kind of does.
I have absolutely no proof of this. None whatsoever. But I did do a little research and found out I’m not the first person to come up with this theory.
Let’s start with the basics of my theory:
1. Sarah is 44 years old- pretty unlikely that she’d just get pregnant naturally.
2. She announced her pregnancy at 7 MONTHS and the general consensus was that Palin “simply doesn’t look pregnant.”
3. After supposedly going into labor in Texas, Sarah stuck around for awhile to give a speech and eventually hopped on a plane back to Alaska to give birth. When asked why the airline employees actually let her on the plane, she said: “I wasn’t showing much so they didn’t know.”
Now I don’t know about you, but personally I think I’d know if a woman was seven months pregnant- and I’m certain I’d know it at nine months – especially someone as fit and trim as Sarah Palin.
Also – there is NO WAY IN HELL any doctor is going to ok air travel for a 44 year old pregnant woman- especially one carrying a baby with down syndrome.
Now let me be clear: I don’t care if she wants to raise her daughter’s son. It’s actually a pretty honorable thing to do.
However, if it turns out she lied about it being her kid, then she is done. McCain is going to need a new running mate.
