"I am still thinking of leading this country," [Sarah] Palin said in front of a group of business leaders in New York, according to CNN. "I am still thinking about it. I haven't made up my mind."It could take her a while. It wasn't until halfway through her term that she decided she didn't want to be governor of Alaska, after all.
What kind of sick creep remembers the Sept. 11 attacks, and thinks, "ch-CHING!"? Oh, right. These two idiots, making money hand over ignorant fist.
Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are appearing together in Anchorage, Alaska Saturday to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tickets don't come cheap: The Ticketmaster page for the event lists regular adult tickets at between $73 and $130 and tickets plus a "meet & greet" at $225.
Well, I'm back from vacation, and checking up on the week's news. There's really only one thing to say:
Congratulations, Alaska!
Rob
VP candidate Sarah Palin came to Philadelphia to drop the puck at a Flyers game. Seems like a natural fit, right? Hockey mom, hockey game, attended by some of the six-packiest of Joe Sixpacks?
But this was Philadelphia. If there's one thing Philly sports fans know, it's how to express disapproval. They pelted Santa Claus with snowballs, for cryin' out loud.
Flyers fan Gina was there:
The announcer introduced Palin seconds later, and the crowd errupted into angry boos. Some fans around me were on their feet, cupping their hands around their mouths to be sure their boos were heard above all the others. It lasted for minutes (throughout the puck drop), these deafening jeers that ordered Palin off the ice. I wondered aloud to Mike if they would broadcast this incident on the news, and when I got home, I immediately turned on the news and Googled “Palin booed at Flyers game” to get the story. Of course, most places got it wrong. On NBC10, Sports Reporter Via Sikahema mentioned Palin’s appearence at the game, but not the boos. There are some other reports that say Palin was booed at first, but then welcomed with polite applause. I am here to tell you this didn’t happen. She was booed feverishly by Flyers fans, and it was all loud and clear. In the clips that appear on YouTube and elsewhere, it seems that the music was turned up in the arena to drown out the fan reaction. Hmpf. We didn’t hear that in the Wachovia Center. What we did hear was a unified expression of disapproval for the VP candidate, gosh darn it (insert wink here).I'm of mixed feelings about this. I've got some juvenile glee at seeing Palin booed, of course. But then, I can't help but noticing her daughters with her, happily waving and smiling through the jeers. (Congrats to whoever coached them; the girls did great.) I can't say I like booing a mom in front of her kids. It's rude and it's mean.
Watched the vice presidential debate tonight, and I have just a few (completely immaterial) observations.
1) I'd much rather watch Obama debate McCain again. This was a debate with three very fast talkers (including Gwen Ifil), and I'm not certain I could watch another with my heart exploding. Say what you will about McCain, but the man can pause. Sometimes even inexplicably.
2) Cutest moment of the debate? I'd have to say when Palin mistakenly called Biden "O'Biden," and then continued talking, slowly realizing what she'd done as Biden grinned from ear to ear. It was a really nice, human moment for both of them. (Not that she's the only one who flubbed words. I think Biden at one point referred to Israel as "Obama." Maybe I misheard.)
3) Filthiest talking point? Hands down, it was when Palin said, "In that arena, John McCain has already tapped me."
4) Sarah Palin's debating style seemed to be all about dodging questions and saying her talking points over and over again in all of her answers. It reminded me of the "death blossom" maneuver in The Last Starfighter, in which Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) initiates the special attack, in which his spaceship spins around and discharges all its weapons at the same time. Maverick, Small Town, Washington Outsider, Maverick, Lower Taxes, Maverick, Surge. It should be awesome:
But it's not. Maybe it was more impressive back in 1984 when Reagan did it.
Still, Palin kept it together and avoided any of the ridiculous moments she's been plagued with these past two weeks. Only one of her answers seemed laughable to me -- when she talked about global warming she threw so many disparate elements into one sentence that parts of my poor copy-editor brain nearly shot out my left eye.
Judged as a debate, with arguments backed up by logic and fact, Biden blew Palin out of the sky. But that's not how these things go, and overall, Palin easily stepped over the low bar that was set for her. I'd be surprised if it moved a lot of votes, though.
Rob
"One 72-year-old's heartbeat away..."
McCain should be ashamed. She's not ready. She's nowhere near ready. And in picking her to lead this country, John McCain has shown us that he's not worthy of the post he aspires to.
Rob
I was thinking about posting a parody of Palin's Charlie Gibson interview on this site. It's pretty funny, and more subtle than a lot of political humor, which tends to run toward the shrill side of the spectrum in these months, particularly. But instead, here's a piece of Palin's actual interview with Katie Couric, in which she breaks down exactly why Alaska being close to Russia gives her foreign policy experience.
She has foreign policy experience because Putin flies over Alaska sometimes. That's like saying NASA wants me for an astronaut because I can see the moon from my house.
I guess we'll know in November whether this is a comedy or a tragedy.
Rob
McCain's debate-bailout stunt might be used to postpone the Palin/Biden debate.
McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there's no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate, currently scheduled for next Thursday, October 2 in St. Louis.In this scenario, the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin would be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined, and take place in Oxford, Mississippi, currently slated to be the site of the first presidential faceoff this Friday.
She's not ready.
Since John McCain opposes meaningful enforcement of equal pay for women, could his choice of running mate be his way of cutting the Federal budget?
Just askin'.
Rob
She did award Craig Ferguson honorary citizenship. It was a great day for America.
Rob
If the Governor of Alaska is such a vital part of our national security, who will defend us while she's out campaigning? I don't want the terrorists to catch us with our national security Alaska-pants down.
Rob
Hear what Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan are saying behind Sarah Palin's back... but into a live mic.
Rob
Is John McCain throwing the presidential election?
That’s a mostly facetious question, but between the murmur of a Republican convention and his pick of Sarah Palin as his running mate, I’m not seeing a whole lot of enthusiasm for winning.
Granted, the Republicans pretty much had to board up the convention’s windows yesterday to prepare for Gustav. Katrina’s Public Enemy #1 was scheduled to speak that night, and with the odd outbreaks of spontaneous dancing, buttslaps, and chest-bumps the President has been exhibiting lately, who knows what he’d do? Maybe he’d have brought a fiddle. But even the most somber, sober of speeches would have begged the questions: Why is he here? Shouldn’t he be protecting us? I could be wrong, but I don't think Democrats would have had to run from the storm so much if it made landfall a week earlier; it would have been wise to set aside political attacks, but beyond that, the convention might have proceeded according to plan, largely because it was a Republican administration that mishandled Katrina and Rita. (Of course, hurricanes also tend to bring into focus the need for a federal government, a notion none too popular with small-government Republicans anyway.)
But beyond that accident of timing: What about Palin? A few days ago, I had no real idea who she is. But now I see that she is under investigation for allegedly pressuring a state official to fire her ex-brother-in-law, then firing the official when he wouldn’t do it. She was promoted as someone who opposed Ted Stevens' “Bridge to Nowhere,” when in reality, she supported it. The candidate of “experience” is touting her 18 months as commander and chief of the Alaska National Guard as foreign policy experience, but the campaign can’t even point to a decision she made that would have any FP relevance at all. And, oh yeah, she used to be a member of an Alaskan separatist movement.
Now, I know McCain isn’t really taking a dive. He didn’t knowingly choose someone so unsuited for the job so that he’d lose in November. But the fact remains: He chose someone who just isn’t up to the job... most likely because his team didn’t arrive in Alaska to vet her until the day before he announced her as his choice.
I don’t think it’s setting the bar too high to ask that a Presidential candidate actually bother to look into who’s going to replace him. Like most decisions a President faces, it requires research and careful consideration, not a gut feeling. Especially when that gut is so, so wrong.
Sheesh.
Rob
