"Bored, Anonymous, Pathetic Bloggers Who Lie"

Yikes. Sarah Palin sticks her foot in her mouth again. Will she ever stop? Perhaps not, so she'll keep me laughing my @ss off. ;-)

Obama Meets Palin

Oh, jeez! This should be fun! I wonder what their first words to each other will be. ;-)

The Diva Drama Continues

The comedy just doesn't end. Hilarious! And this is who so many wacko fundie wingnuts want to be the Rethuglican Presidential Nominee in 2012?

If only more in the GOP really knew how to say "Thanks, but no thanks." But hey, I guess they'd rather give us the the comical gift that keeps on giving! :-D

Sarah the Socialist

So who's been putting "spread the wealth around" into practice as Governor of a rural, oil-rich state? Barack Obama? Nope. Try Sarah Palin!

Ah, the putrid stench of Republican hypocrisy!

At Least She'll Have a Job After the Election

Well, we need not worry about Sarah Palin's well being after the election. SNL Creator Lorne Michaels has the solution: Give Sarah Palin her own sitcom! Yeah, how about having her star in a spin-off of "30 Rock"? Or better yet, how about getting ABC to add her to the line-up of "Desperate Housewives"?

I think Sarah Palin will be a perfect fit for Wisteria Lane. :-D

Even Republicans Are Running Away from Failin'

Hehe. You gotta love them when they eat their own! I guess it's the rotting stench of a failed GOP that has the Beltway crowd going nuts. ;-)

OK, John & Sarah, Have It Your Way!

So McBush & Failin' don't want to talk about economic solutions? They'd rather talk about "ties to terrorists"? OK, then... Why is Sarah Palin tied to a party that has willingly accepted help from IRAN??!!

Yes, that's right... Iran! The very same Iran that McBush wants to "bomb, bomb, bomb" is the Iran that sponsored the founder of the Alaska Independence Party to go to the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 to denounce the US. Hmmm, Alaska Independence Party... Isn't that the same party Todd Palin has been a long-time member of and the same party that Sarah Palin "welcomed" JUST THIS YEAR??!!

So if McBush & Failin' want to talk about "terrorist ties", why don't they start out with THEIR OWN?

Ugly Inside, Ugly Outside

Thank you, John McCain & Sarah Palin! You both have just unleashed the worst kind of hatred that I sometimes forget can be in us humans. Who knew there are still some in this country that are being consumed by such vile hate? Well, I guess the Republican Party knew.

Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."

For the sake of our nation's well being, we can NOT allow this hate to win! If the McCain-Palin GOP operation intends to resort to this kind of ugly racism to win, then they don't deserve to win. America is better than this.

Palin's Reagan Quote from Last Night

Did she know that Ronald Reagan was talking about Medicare supposedly leading to totalitarianism? Does she agree with Reagan on that? Is universal health care a "threat to our freedom"?

Oh, well. I guess that doesn't matter. As long as Failin' can sound all "folksy" and "warm", McBush & his GOP are happy.

First Post-Debate Poll Numbers

Here are the first post-debate polls out:

Who won the debate?

CBS News:
Biden (D) 46%
Palin (R) 21%
They Tied 33%

CNN-Opinion Research:
Biden (D) 51%
Palin (R) 36%

Of course, things can change as the media spin changes. But if this holds up, then McCain's latest attempt at a "game changer" has fallen flat. Perhaps Sarah Palin didn't bomb too badly, but that still doesn't change the fact that Joe Biden gave his BEST. DEBATE. PERFORMANCE. EVER! ;-)

Taylor's Take & My Take on the VP Debate

First, I'll defer to Taylor Marsh. She may be a good Democrat, but she's also a great, truth-telling, no-bullsh*t political analyst. She calls 'em as she sees 'em, so I trust what she says.

Palin got a passing grade tonight. Good for her. It wasn't near enough. She was clearly in over her head. Out of her league.

Biden simply soared.

If you want someone who is ready to be president tomorrow, that isn't Sarah Palin.

Joe Biden had the toughest job tonight and he respected Palin while driving hard into the facts, using experience and a lifetime of learning to rebut Sarah Palin's carefully scripted sentences, winking and nodding. She did her best, but it was clearly not enough.

Personally, I agree with Taylor. Did Palin meet my expectations? Frankly, yes. She didn't make too many gaffes, and she sold her product (the McCain-Palin ticket) like a good host on Home Shopping Network (HSN) or QVC.

But when I have to choose between the HSN host and the scrappy working-class fighter from Scranton who also knows a thing or two about handling an international crisis (aka Biden), I'll choose the guy from Scranton. Biden has what it takes to clean up the damage Dick Cheney will be leaving behind. And as for Sarah Palin, well... All I'll say is that she can keep putting lipstick on a pig, but a pig is a pig is a pig.

Pre-debate Chat

Are you nervous about tonight's debate? Honestly I am, too. But hey, let's not worry too much.

Why not?

Let's see... Joe Biden is a good debater. Joe Biden knows his foreign policy. Joe Biden can actually name multiple Supreme Court cases. Oh yes, and Joe Biden has real-life, real-world experience in making laws that help people.

And what does Sarah Palin have? Well crafted "zingers"? Lowered expectations? Interesting stories of hunting moose?

Yes, I know some in the "Netroots" are making a mistake by trying to set the bar so low tonight that Sarah Palin can just walk over it. Personally, I'd like for it to be just low enough that she bumps into it. But hey, I guess I'm just that way! ;-)

So really, what are your expectations for tonight's debate? Is Sarah Palin scaring you? Is Joe Biden reassuring you? Or would you just rather forget it all and veg out to "Grey's Anatomy" tonight?

Consider this a pre-debate open thread. Chat away now. Then, let's all watch the debate later. Just call me when you want me to start the popcorn. :-D

Pre Debate Jitters ...

(Proudly Cross-Posted at ComputerQueen.Net)

I found this both interesting, and comforting, going into tomorrow's VP Debate:

From CBS13

Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin have put in some very long days preparing for their Thursday night debate. To give voters a better sense of who these candidate are, and where they stand on a number of issues, CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked Biden and Palin some "Vice Presidential Questions." This installment tackles Roe v. Wade and Supreme Court decisions.

We'll start with Sen. Biden:

Katie Couric: Why do you think Roe v. Wade was a good decision?

Joe Biden: Because it's as close to a consensus that can exist in a society as heterogeneous as ours. What does it say? It says in the first three months that decision should be left to the woman. And the second three months, where Roe v. Wade says, well then the state, the government has a role, along with the women's health, they have a right to have some impact on that. And the third three months they say the weight of the government's input is on the fetus being carried.

And so that's sort of reflected as close as anybody is ever going to get in this heterogeneous, this multicultural society of religious people as to some sort of, not consensus, but as close it gets.

I think the liberty clause of the 14th Amendment … offers a right to privacy. Now that's one of the big debates that I have with my conservative scholar friends, that they say, you know, unless a right is enumerated - unless it's actually, unless [it] uses the word "privacy" in the Constitution - then no such "constitutional right" exists. Well, I think people have an inherent right.

Couric: Are there Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?

Biden: You know, I'm the guy who wrote the Violence Against Women Act. And I said that every woman in America, if they are beaten and abused by a man, should be able to take that person to court - meaning you should be able to go to federal court and sue in federal court the man who abused you if you can prove that abuse. But they said, "No, that a woman, there's no federal jurisdiction." And I held, they acknowledged, I held about 1,000 hours of hearings proving that there's an effect in interstate commerce.
Women who are abused and beaten and beaten are women who are not able to be in the work force. And the Supreme Court said, "Well, there is an impact on commerce, but this is federalizing a private crime and we're not going to allow it." I think the Supreme Court was wrong about that decision.

Notice how organized his responses are, and how engaged he appears to be. This is what one would expect ... short of having 10 words ...

Then Katie Couric turned to Gov. Palin:

Couric: Why, in your view, is Roe v. Wade a bad decision?

Sarah Palin: I think it should be a states' issue not a federal government-mandated, mandating yes or no on such an important issue. I'm, in that sense, a federalist, where I believe that states should have more say in the laws of their lands and individual areas. Now, foundationally, also, though, it's no secret that I'm pro-life that I believe in a culture of life is very important for this country. Personally that's what I would like to see, um, further embraced by America.

Couric: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?

Palin: I do. Yeah, I do.

Couric: The cornerstone of Roe v. Wade.

Palin: I do. And I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that.

Couric: What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?

Palin: Well, let's see. There's, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but …

Couric: Can you think of any?

Palin: Well, I could think of … any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

OMG! She fumbled the football ... this is one of the crown jewels in her personal political platform, and she fumbles!!!

Make your own judgements, but I'm expecting her to get creamed tomorrow night.

Just my 2 cents!

The Palin Trainwreck Express Continues!

OMG, it's for real! Palinpalooza just gets worser & worser for McBush. This trainwreck just keeps getting more entertaining! :-D

Here's some of tonight's excerpt of Katie Couric's interview with The Failinator.

COURIC: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?

PALIN: I do. Yeah, I do.

COURIC: the cornerstone of Roe v Wade

PALIN: I do. And I believe that --individual states can handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in in an issue like that.

COURIC: What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?

PALIN: Well, let's see. There's --of course --in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are--those issues, again, like Roe v Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know--going through the history of America, there would be others but--

COURIC: Can you think of any?

PALIN: Well, I could think of--of any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a Vice President, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

They've Got the Fear

(cross-posted at Motley Moose, MyDD, & Daily Kos)

That's right, the GOP is terrified. They're skittish, they're nervous, they're running scared. Not from Obama, of course.

No.

They're afraid of Sarah Palin.

Honestly, can we blame them? Her record is sad enough, but her performance in interviews is abysmal. Anything unscripted, and she's in trouble. Here we have Ms. Palin seeming none too sure about what that mysterious "Bush Doctrine" might be:



At first I thought they were just a trifle nervous, but since the Couric interview their reaction to her seems to more closely resemble outright horror. And her performance was unquestionably both horrible and terror-inducing. If John McCain reaches the White House, a woman who thinks living near Russia gives her foreign policy experience is going to be a mere heartbeat (and a 72-year-old heartbeat at that) away from the Presidency. McCain is frightening, but Palin far more so. From the environment to healthcare, her positions are about as offensive as they come. Her position on abortion, a repudiation of it even in cases of rape and incest, is one which nauseates most staunch conservatives. If we think think Roe is in danger under the assault of a McCain administration, more unsettling still is the thought of the all-out crusade Palin will wage against it. If we're nervous about the prospect of having a president who doesn't know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites without Joe Lieberman whispering in his ear, we should be doubly terrified by the prospect of having a president who seems to believe that trade missions to Russia qualify as a form of negotiation with a foreign power.



CBS News reports that skittish conservatives are now asking Palin to bow out.

Palin, new to national politics, boosted Republican presidential nominee John McCain in polls and excited the party's core conservatives when he chose the first-term governor for his ticket.

Some of that shine has since worn off in polls.

And no plea has been louder or stronger than that of conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, who has desperately begged Palin to exit the race gracefully for the sake of her country. Once an enthusiastic supporter of the young governor from Alaska, Parker now writes:

When Palin first emerged as John McCain’s running mate, I confess I was delighted. She was the antithesis and nemesis of the hirsute, Birkenstock-wearing sisterhood — a refreshing feminist of a different order who personified the modern successful working mother.

[. . .]

It was fun while it lasted.

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.

[. . .]

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

What to do?

McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability.

[. . .]

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

Laughable though it is that Ms. Parker should describe the ultimate anti-feminist as a charasmatic feminist icon, she makes a number of good points (even a broken clock is right twice a day). Another conservative columnist Kathryn Jean Lopez, who could still be described as a Palin supporter, seems almost as disturbed by her party's nominee for vice president as her peers, writing:

But I also watch these interviews and I cringe a little. That Russia answer with Couric. Oy. It was a loaded question to be sure. But I thought a certain governor of Alaska had told us this was a time for no blinking. For (Uncle) Sam’s sake. You’re Sarah Palin. You’re governor of Alaska. You’re the mom of five. You’re married to a tough guy. You can handle America’s Former Sweetheart. And yet, you didn’t. She may have come off catty, but you came off hesitant and unprepared. What happened to the pitbull? I see the lipstick.

I don’t know Sarah Palin. Having missed the last cruise to Alaska, I’ve actually never met her. National Review wasn’t on her list of stops this week in New York. So I can’t pretend to know what her wiring is all about. But I know I like a lot of what I’ve heard her say. I also know a lot of what I like about her could be projection. I’m not where my friend Kathleen Parker is — wanting her to step aside to spend more time with her family and Alaska — but that’s not a crazy suggestion. She's right to say that something’s gotta change.

My personal disgust for Palin is off the charts. As a former (and current) Clinton supporter, my vision momentarily went red when she attempted to compare herself to Hillary. Using her "18 million cracks" line and asserting that she could prove capable of breaking the glass ceiling herself -- after doing nothing, accomplishing less, and offending the sensibilities of every reasonable American -- infuriated me. One would be hard pressed to find someone more opposed to Palin as a candidate and as a person than I am. Still, even I cringe watching her interviews. A great deal of cringing followed by a greater amount of laughter. But I almost feel sorry for the people who feel obligated to support this woman. Even my mother, once a Palin fan herself and a proud Republican, admitted after seeing clips of the Couric interview that she's terrified of the idea of Palin running the nation.

So how does the GOP respond?

As everyone will recall, first they managed to harass the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates until it was agreed that the vice presidential debate format would allow for shorter answer segments, their hope being that Governor Palin would have less time to embarrass herself, her state, her party, her running mate, and her nation. From the New York Times:

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.

McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

Now it seems that the McCain campaign has shipped Palin off to Arizona for "debate camp", apparently a more intensive exercise than the usual debate prep a candidate typically receives. Meanwhile the Obama camp is wisely playing the expectations game with the media, touting Palin's (undoubtedly formidable) debate skills and anticipating a lively, spirited debate between Palin and Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden. With current expectations for Palin's performance being set so low in the wake of three painful interviews, we have legitimate reason to fear that a mediocre performance would be lauded by the MSM as outstanding. At this point, the Obama campaign building her up as a talented debater is a skillful move.

"We've looked at tapes of Gov. Palin's debates, and she's a terrific debater," Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. "She has performed very, very well. She's obviously a skilled speaker. We expect she'll give a great performance next Thursday." [...]

"She's obviously prepping this weekend in Pennsylvania," Plouffe continued. "Anyone who watches any of her previous debates would be impressed by her debating skills."

There was a time when I was afraid of Sarah Palin. She fired up the lethargic conservative base (though she fired ours up as well) and got the sort of positive media coverage Barack and Hillary could only dream of. But her star has fallen, the MSM and the country are onto her. She'll do more to sink McCain's campaign than he will (and he's currently doing his utmost). So thank you, Governor Palin. Stay in the race. Make a fool of yourself Thursday night as we watch and laugh.

Do it for your country.

No "Suspension" of Palin Campaign

Whoops! I guess Sarah Palin didn't get the memo. While the McCain campaign has supposedly been "suspended", what is Sarah Palin doing? Oh, just CAMPAIGNING!

Cheese louise, the hypocrisy.

Stars Against Palin

(cross-posted at Motley Moose and MyDD)

You almost have to laugh watching this much outrage coming out of Hollywood. I've never been one to pay much attention to the sleazy tabloids or the innumerable useless factoids about celebrities, but I have to admit, I'm enjoying the smackdown they're giving Sarah Palin. Since the primaries ended, Hollywood has remained relatively quiet about the presidential race -- until, of course, John McCain decided to put Palin in the spotlight. She is anathema to everything our liberal stars hold dear: her political ideology is positively prehistoric, the sort of positions born of nightmares. So naturally, our stars are reacting accordingly.

Here we have Gina Gershon toting a gun and wearing some kind of bathing suit. Clearly a devastating blow to the McCain campaign.

See more Gina Gershon videos at Funny or Die

Look! Even Ben Stein hates her! She scares him. And apparently feels like he's in a mental hospital. (I know that feeling.)





And who could forget the spectacular reaming provided by Matt Damon?



The best line being:

"I need to know if she really believes dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. I want to know, I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes."

Always liked the guy, but he won major points from me during this interview. (Should I give him favorite actor status?) He makes a good point, though. Palin's line of thinking isn't just archaic -- it borders on delusional. When I think of this woman potentially obtaining the power to set off a string of missiles, a shiver runs down my spine -- and not the good kind.

Even Pink is weighing in! It's not as if anyone cares what she has to say, of course, but frankly I'm just stymied that I'm finally nodding my head approvingly at something that came out of her mouth:

“If I were writing a letter to Sarah Palin, it would be a lot of whys and hows. Who are you? Do you know? Why do you hate animals? Please point out Iraq on a map...This woman hates women. She is not a feminist. She is not the woman that’s going to come behind Hillary Clinton and do anything that Hillary Clinton would’ve been capable of . . . The woman terrifies me.”

As she should, Pink. As she should. And yes, my dear, she does hate animals. Blasting animals with a high-powered weapon from a helicopter isn't half as awesome as the NRA, the NHA, and Sarah "lipsticked pitbull" Palin make it out to be. But you'd never know it from the following photograph, would you? Looks like a party!



Oh my. That looks painful. Well, at least the baby seems to be enjoying it.

And you have my word, that pic is legit. I know because I found it on the Internets. Unedited. I'm sure PhotoShop didn't come within 5,000 pixels of it.

So the celebrities are yammering as loudly as possible about what an... unfortunate sort of human being (I'm using the term loosely, give me a break) Sarah Palin is. Now the question is, should we be concerned about this? The MSM thinks we should. As it has so worriedly pointed out, the louder the celebrities are, the more it looks like Senator Obama is in cahoots with the all-terrifying "liberal elite". Maybe we should be worried about public perception? Should we be scared of another "Obama is a celebrity" ad forthcoming from the McSame/Failin campaign? Well, I'm thinking No. The likelihood that a bunch of raucous Hollywood types are going to affect the outcome of the race seems slim. The average person doesn't care about endorsements, particularly celebrity endorsements (except for Oprah's, of course), and I seriously doubt anyone is particularly fussed over what Meg Ryan and Ben Affleck have to say. Still, it's funny to watch. I almost feel bad for McCain and Palin having this much outrage and hilarity thrown in their direction.

But hey, at least McCain still has Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight, and Chuck Norris on his side. That's a formidable line-up right there. They could totally kick Pink's ass. Then again, McCain probably could too.

NOW PAC Endorses Obama

In case you haven't heard... Real feminists support Obama!

The 500,000-strong women's movement, which "very, very rarely endorses in a general election", broke with its tradition of neutrality after "the addition of Sarah Palin gave us a new sense of urgency," said Gandy.

"She is being portrayed as a supporter of women's rights ... as a feminist when in fact her positions on so many of the issues are really anathema to ours," Gandy said. [...]

"The idea that she opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest -- those kinds of positions are completely out of step with American women and once they find out about those positions, they get a little less excited about a woman running for vice president," Gandy said.

Well, it's the truth. McCain & Palin are anti-choice, anti pay-equity, and overall extremely anti-women's equality. How the hell is that "feminist"? No wonder why real feminists aren't buying their Bush*t.

No, It's Not a "Partisan Attack"

Apparently, the Rethuglicans are trying to spin away the recent McCain-Palin scandals as "partisan Democrat trickery"... Especially the continued revelations of Sarah Palin's abuses of power in Alaska. But apparently, a quick review of the facts says otherwise. Believe it or not, even REPUBLICANS in Alaska were horrified enough by the abuse of power to call on investigations.

No matter how much "McMaverick McBush McCain" tries to spin away all his problems, they're all catching up to him & his running mate now. ;-)

A Must Read

In case you haven't yet picked up your morning New York Times, please do so today. They give us some more insight on John McBush's running mate. And oh my, if you think Bush & Cheney were bad...