Palin pick an insult to our intelligence

[Astronuc]

Maybe we need a geography test for President.

 

[Evo]

Maybe we need a geography test for President.

In this case it's not geography, he didn't know who the President of Spain was. He seemed to think it was the leader of some South American country and wasn't sure if we had a good relationship with them. I think he should at least know who the heads of major European countries are.

 

[LowlyPion]

In this case it's not geography, he didn't know who the President of Spain was. He seemed to think it was the leader of some South American country and wasn't sure if we had a good relationship with them. I think he should at least know who the heads of major European countries are.

What I find stunning is that the reporter prefaced her question with "Senator, finally, let's talk about Spain ...".

She didn't exactly sandbag him. The first time I heard it excerpted on TV I was thinking, well it's a long campaign and he forgot what country Zapatero was President of. But now that I hear the actual lead in and he was even told what country she was asking about ... it's an unfortunate smack at Spain.

I've seen Zapatero's response and he sounded gracious in reiterating that he would want to meet with the next administration. I can't imagine though that this will play all that well among Hispanic voters.

 

[russ_watters]

I don't understand how the "first dude" goes on "official" State of Alaska business trips for his wife.

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. Spouses of politicians are often part of their teams, depending on what else they have going on in their lives, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The most noteable, of course, is First Lady, which was all-but a cabinet position for Hillary.

 

[LowlyPion]

Maybe we need a geography test for President.

Maybe we need to quiz the candidates about who's leading their tickets?

Palin was shown tonight talking about the next "Palin McCain administration". Egads.

Not a good day for McCain.

 

[Evo]

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. Spouses of politicians are often part of their teams, depending on what else they have going on in their lives, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The most noteable, of course, is First Lady, which was all-but a cabinet position for Hillary.

Do they get flown places by private companies for no explicable reason? I don't know, maybe they do.

 

[LowlyPion]

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. Spouses of politicians are often part of their teams, depending on what else they have going on in their lives, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The most noteable, of course, is First Lady, which was all-but a cabinet position for Hillary.

Wait a minute. Having private companies pick up spousal expenses is a gray area. Certainly it was reported as a gift. But gifts by companies that have business before the state is a slippery slope.

I'd think the last thing the Palins need in light of her stonewalling on the subpoenas investigating her alleged ethical lapses using her office to illegally seek retribution against her sister's ex-husband, would be more evidence of further ethical blurring.

 

[lisab]

I think the notion that Palin got her Passport in 2006 is frightening! She knows nothing of the world but from the media and reading?

This doesn't surprise me much, Greg. When I lived in Alaska I was astounded at the level of insulation of the people up there (no pun intended!). It'a a wonderful place, but it is NOT like the rest of the US.

After a couple of years up there, I came back to the lower 48 to find that the highway speed limit was no longer 55 mph (I hadn't heard!) and there were these fanciful things that sent documents over phone lines, called "faxes". And there were dozens of other little things like that.

Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Alaska. It's like no where else I've lived - the people are so great - I haven't met people so decent and open (and a bit odd), ever. But it is VERY insulated and separate from the rest of the world.

 

[LowlyPion]

The Palin-McCain Administration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZKQDyL5gzc

 

[Math Is Hard]

The Palin-McCain Administration

.. Whoops!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Maybe we need a geography test for President.

Seems a little bit mean for Barack since he's still just learning the U.S. states.

 

[jaap de vries]

Seems a little bit mean for Barack since he's still just learning the U.S. states.

Since Barack has a degree from the #1 University in the country, maybe world (Harvard), I am sure he would accept any intellectual challange against a man who thinks Spain is in Latin America, Iraq borders Afghanistan, and the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

with me being from Czechoslovakia it really is important to see people understand world geography!

I know you think "math is hard" but its seems that for the republicans logic is hard, intelligence is hard, science is hard (or false).

I actually really liked Mccain until he said, and I quote: "Hillary is a big fat pig" I thought that was uncalled for.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Since Barack has a degree from the #1 University in the country, maybe world (Harvard), I am sure he would accept any intellectual challange against a man who thinks Spain is in Latin America, Iraq borders Afghanistan, and the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

with me being from Czechoslovakia it really is important to see people understand world geography!

I know you think "math is hard" but its seems that for the republicans logic is hard, intelligence is hard, science is hard (or false).

1) Astute readers will note from my posts that I poke fun at both sides.
2) You might be reading a little too much into my screen name.

Actually, I think the main problem for conservatives is that Barack Obama appears to be fundamentally a socialist.

I actually really liked Mccain until he said, and I quote: "Hillary is a big fat pig" I thought that was uncalled for.

I have problems with McCain, too. McCain got on my bad side when he tried to push an amnesty bill. I have no idea what you are talking about as far as the Hillary comment.

 

[WheelsRCool]

Since Barack has a degree from the #1 University in the country, maybe world (Harvard), I am sure he would accept any intellectual challange against a man who thinks Spain is in Latin America, Iraq borders Afghanistan, and the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

So why has he consistently refused to debate McCain? He said he would debate McCain "anytime, anywhere," and continues to refuse to do so. Obama never has given any kind of speech with any real substance the entire time he has been running for President, has refused to debate McCain at all thus far despite repeated requests from McCain, and when he had a tough time debating Hillary in the ABC debate, he canceled all debates with her afterwards.

As for what school a candidate went to, I think that means little. Our current President George W. Bush graduated from Yale and Harvard Business School, for example.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

So why has he consistently refused to debate McCain? He said he would debate McCain "anytime, anywhere," and continues to refuse to do so.

Considering that we have three Presidential debates coming up, may we assume that you have no idea what you're talking about?

October 15, 2008 Presidential Debate in Hempstead, New York
October 7, 2008 Presidential Debate in Nashville, TN
September 26, 2008 Presidential Debate in Oxford, Mississippi
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/debates.php

 

[WheelsRCool]

I'm talking about the town hall debates that Senator McCain has challenged Senator Obama to. Moderated debates with selected questions and pre-set times to answer them are a whole different animal.

 

[jaap de vries]

1)
I have problems with McCain, too. McCain got on my bad side when he tried to push an amnesty bill. I have no idea what you are talking about as far as the Hillary comment.

He said that Hillary's economic plans were like lipstick on a pig. By republican reasoning, he called Hillary effectively... a pig. ()

 

[jaap de vries]

I'm talking about the town hall debates that Senator McCain has challenged Senator Obama to. Moderated debates with selected questions and pre-set times to answer them are a whole different animal.

And according to Mccain this, for some reason, justified spreading lies and sleasy attack ads as hilariously summarized by Colbert here.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/185017/september-17-2008/mccain-attacks-obama

 

[Math Is Hard]

He said that Hillary's economic plans were like lipstick on a pig. By republican reasoning, he called Hillary effectively... a pig. ()

Wasn't that the biggest load of crap? I think that one probably backfired on them. No one (hopefully) believed the mock indignation. I don't think that incident demonstrates that republicans are bad at reasoning so much as it demostrates that certain leaders in the republican party think that the American public are bad at reasoning. I don't think democrat leaders are much better in this regard. I'm thinking about Bill Clinton saying "I did not have sex with that woman."

 

[WheelsRCool]

Wasn't that the biggest load of crap? I think that one probably backfired on them. No one (hopefully) believed the mock indignation. I don't think that incident demonstrates that republicans are bad at reasoning so much as it demostrates that certain leaders in the republican party think that the American public are bad at reasoning. I don't think democrat leaders are much better in this regard. I'm thinking about Bill Clinton saying "I did not have sex with that woman."

The thing is, when McCain said it, he was clearly referencing Hillary's healthcare plan. When Senator Obama said it, he was saying it not too long after Governor Palin had made her speech with the "lipstick-pitbull" joke.

Now, I don't know if he actually meant to reference Governor Palin or not, I mean the campaigning can get tiring and people can make speaking gaffes (Carly Fiorina making a stupid one just recently for example), but it was a strange coincidence and the crowd clearly took it as a reference to Governor Palin.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wasn't that the biggest load of crap? I think that one probably backfired on them. No one (hopefully) believed the mock indignation.

Esp coming from a man who publically called Chelsea Clinton ugly when she was only eighteen years old.

"I'm thinking about Bill Clinton saying "I did not have sex with that woman."

What do you mean by "sex"? That could mean anything.

 

[Gokul43201]

Seems a little bit mean for Barack since he's still just learning the U.S. states.

Is this about the "57 states" thing?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/57states.asp

The actual intent behind Senator Obama's misstatement is easy to discern without the need to invoke an obscure international organization. He was trying to express the thought that in all the time he had spent on the campaign trail so far in 2007-08, he had visited all (48) of the states in the continental U.S. save for one (i.e., "one left to go," excluding Alaska and Hawaii), but in his weariness he slipped up and started off with "fifty" instead of "forty." (Note the long pause in the video clip between the words "fifty" and "seven.")

 

[LowlyPion]

The thing is, when McCain said it, he was clearly referencing Hillary's healthcare plan. When Senator Obama said it, he was saying it not too long after Governor Palin had made her speech with the "lipstick-pitbull" joke.

Now, I don't know if he actually meant to reference Governor Palin or not, I mean the campaigning can get tiring and people can make speaking gaffes (Carly Fiorina making a stupid one just recently for example), but it was a strange coincidence and the crowd clearly took it as a reference to Governor Palin.

And this is exactly what Obama was referencing in respect to MCCain being a Bush, Jr. The full meaning of his comments in context fairly convey exactly that meaning. Governor Huckabee even observed that there was no intent that could be drawn from his remarks. The whole thing demonstrated that Obama handled the Republican attacks with dignity, and the Republicans merely demonstrated their readiness to distract with manufactured issues,when the substantive issues are stacked so severely against them.

Heaven forbid that the debate ever turn to the more serious issues like unregulated banking markets that are this morning alone about to cost taxpayers 1/2 a trillion dollars or more to begin to straighten out. Heaven forbid that people remember McCain's drinking from the trough of banking interest lobbies or his association with Charles Keating and the Savings and Loan mess that cost taxpayers a truck load back in the late 80's. Heaven forbid that the public begin to examine McCain's voting records with respect to eliminating regulation, including the repeal of Glass Steagall, a bill sponsored by his good buddy Phil "America is a nation of whiners" Graham, that may lay at the root of some of the mess that we are paying the bill on today.

No, let's blitz the media cycles with manufactured issues serendipitously linking lipstick with sexism.

 

[LowlyPion]

Esp coming from a man who publically called Chelsea Clinton ugly when she was only eighteen years old.

And that was in the context of inferring that Janet Reno was her father let's not forget. Forgetting the injudiciousness of the remarks, it looks to me to show a mean spirit that belies the projected inner man that claims to have found meaning in captivity.

 

[LowlyPion]

I see now that the reason that Palin is stonewalling the subpoenas is because it has become a partisan issue.

HELLO. It's her own party that she is thumbing her nose at as well. It's a bipartisan commission.

The Governor that said she had nothing to hide, now is in hiding on the issue?

Alleged misuse of office now compounded by obstruction? How can the truth be worse than the cover-up? She represents no reform so much as she represents more of the same, but with no horsepower in the engine.

 

[Evo]

Wow, everyone in my office is very religious, one is even a minister, and all (except the Young Earth Creationist) are now voting for Obama BECAUSE OF PALIN!.

They say she's dishonest & abused power and is now obstructing the investigation of her abuse of power.

 

[LowlyPion]

They say she's dishonest & abused power and is now obstructing the investigation of her abuse of power.

You won't catch me arguing with them on those points.

In the final analysis, Obama is not a dis-religious man. His embrace looks to guide him, but not to impose his religion on others, but rather to guide him in the conduct of his life's work. That should not disqualify him among those that say they are religious.

 

[WheelsRCool]

And this is exactly what Obama was referencing in respect to MCCain being a Bush, Jr. The full meaning of his comments in context fairly convey exactly that meaning. Governor Huckabee even observed that there was no intent that could be drawn from his remarks. The whole thing demonstrated that Obama handled the Republican attacks with dignity, and the Republicans merely demonstrated their readiness to distract with manufactured issues,when the substantive issues are stacked so severely against them.

Heaven forbid that the debate ever turn to the more serious issues like unregulated banking markets that are this morning alone about to cost taxpayers 1/2 a trillion dollars or more to begin to straighten out. Heaven forbid that people remember McCain's drinking from the trough of banking interest lobbies or his association with Charles Keating and the Savings and Loan mess that cost taxpayers a truck load back in the late 80's. Heaven forbid that the public begin to examine McCain's voting records with respect to eliminating regulation, including the repeal of Glass Steagall, a bill sponsored by his good buddy Phil "America is a nation of whiners" Graham, that may lay at the root of some of the mess that we are paying the bill on today.

No, let's blitz the media cycles with manufactured issues serendipitously linking lipstick with sexism.

Or Heaven forbid the debate turn to issues such as what Senator Obama's spending proposals could do to this nation in the future, what his minimum wage and tax increases will do, his foreign policy proposals, etc...you also need to take a look at some of Senator Obama economic advisors and what institutions they come from.

They say she's dishonest & abused power and is now obstructing the investigation of her abuse of power.

They need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid.

 

[turbo]

They need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid.

The committee that is investigating Palin's alleged abuse of power is composed of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats, and she said that she would cooperate fully with them. The investigator hired by the committee is a Republican appointee who is specializing in victim's rights. Now that Palin is the GOP VP candidate, she has done a 180, and claims that the investigation into her actions is "partisan". I guess it is, since 2/3 of the committee members are Republicans. Somebody has been drinking the Kool-Aid but it's not Palin's critics in this matter - it's the people who believe the McCain campaign's disinformation on the investigation.

 

[LowlyPion]

Or Heaven forbid the debate turn to issues ...

Issues is what Obama has been addressing from the beginning.

It's clear the McCain campaign is out of ammunition and desperate to trow firebombs at anything that doesn't remind the public of his SHAMEFUL life long support of deregulation - 26 years worth. Now he is trying to turn around and create some Mortgage Funding entity to commit a TRILLION DOLLARS of the country's funds to bail out the mess that he has in large part been to blame for?

He expects that the country should not only pay the bill for his 26 years worth of supporting the very thing that he has helped cause, but that the country should now elect him to give him more power to savage the economy further?

Or what about this issue? Let's talk about McCain's plan to privatize Social Security how about? He says that the Stock Market is a Casino? And his plan would put at risk something like 25% of the trillions needed to properly fund Social Security?

But, oh I see you want to talk about Obama consultants? You want to throw out ridiculous accusations like McCain did today while he stands there saddled with his own Phil Graham stink - calling Americans whiners - while McCain opines on the soundness of the fundamentals - playing the part of Herbert Hoover - head in the sand - as the economy teeters on freefall? That's not leadership. That's desperation at falling further behind in the polls.

 

[WheelsRCool]

The committee that is investigating Palin's alleged abuse of power is composed of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats, and she said that she would cooperate fully with them. The investigator hired by the committee is a Republican appointee who is specializing in victim's rights. Now that Palin is the GOP VP candidate, she has done a 180, and claims that the investigation into her actions is "partisan". I guess it is, since 2/3 of the committee members are Republicans. Somebody has been drinking the Kool-Aid but it's not Palin's critics in this matter - it's the people who believe the McCain campaign's disinformation on the investigation.

What you forget is that Governor Palin discovered corruption in Alaska and went against her own party (Republican) and really stuck it to some of the politicians there. The Republican establishment in Alaska does not like Governor Palin. Neither does the oil industry since she raised their royalty rate.

Issues is what Obama has been addressing from the beginning.

With rhetoric. If he wants to really address the issues, he needs to stop traveling around giving grand speeches with a teleprompter and take McCain up on his townhall debate challenges. That would give people a true comparison of the candidates and their policies. If Senator Obama knows what he is talking about, he could say, "...but Senator McCain, your idea is not going to work, and here's why..."

It's clear the McCain campaign is out of ammunition and desperate to trow firebombs at anything that doesn't remind the public of his SHAMEFUL life long support of deregulation - 26 years worth. Now he is trying to turn around and create some Mortgage Funding entity to commit a TRILLION DOLLARS of the country's funds to bail out the mess that he has in large part been to blame for?

Deregulation was not shameful; as a matter of fact, it was essential for opening up Wall Street to minorities and ending the strict reign of the good 'ole boys club on Wall Street, along with allowing American corporations to become the most efficient in the world and allowing for an enormous amount of wealth and job creation.

One other thing to keep in mind: the financial institutions that have collapsed as of late were all very highly regulated, such as the investment banks, Fannie, Freddie, etc...the institutions that are pretty unregulated, such as hedge funds, have seen few, if any, blowups.

He expects that the country should not only pay the bill for his 26 years worth of supporting the very thing that he has helped cause, but that the country should now elect him to give him more power to savage the economy further?

Senator McCain saw this problem coming back in 2005 and tried to do something about it with the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, but was stonewalled on the issue by both Republicans and Democrats. He is not like Senator Obama who has taken a tremendous amount of money from Fannie and Freddie.

And prior to de-regulation, the economy used to perform far more poorly. One of the main things believed to have caused the current crises was the failure of the Fed to raise interest rates as well. Extensive regulation is not some magical method for keeping things under control.

Senator Obama expects us to elect him when he essentially wants to take us back to the same policies that plagued the economy with problems prior to deregulation.

Or what about this issue? Let's talk about McCain's plan to privatize Social Security how about? He says that the Stock Market is a Casino? And his plan would put at risk something like 25% of the trillions needed to properly fund Social Security?

No one is going to "privatize" Social Security, what they are talking about is working out a way to give the system the benefits of privatization with the security of the government.

And if it was not for the Democrats, Social Security never would have ended up in any financial trouble in the first place. You need to read about the history of Social Security and how the government robbed it.

But, oh I see you want to talk about Obama consultants? You want to throw out ridiculous accusations like McCain did today while he stands there saddled with his own Phil Graham stink - calling Americans whiners - while McCain opines on the soundness of the fundamentals - playing the part of Herbert Hoover - head in the sand - as the economy teeters on freefall? That's not leadership.

The fundamentals of the economy are fine; as for Gramm, that was a stupid comment, but no different really than Senator Obama's pastor saying vile and hateful comments about America either. As for Herbert Hoover, he did not have his head in the sand. He was correct during the 1929 crash that the economy would correct itself. What he did not realize (and no one would until years later) was that the Federal Reserve system did not keep the banking system solvent, which caused the economy to implode, and spiral down into a depression.

 

[turbo]

What you forget is that Governor Palin discovered corruption in Alaska and went against her own party (Republican) and really stuck it to some of the politicians there. The Republican establishment in Alaska does not like Governor Palin. Neither does the oil industry since she raised their royalty rate.

Are you serious?! Palin "discovered" corruption? She ran a 527 group for Ted Stevens, the most corrupt Senator in living history, and she came to the governor's post with his substantial support. Please do some investigation and fact-checking.

 

[LowlyPion]

What you forget is that Governor Palin discovered corruption in Alaska and went against her own party (Republican) and really stuck it to some of the politicians there. The Republican establishment in Alaska does not like Governor Palin. Neither does the oil industry since she raised their royalty rate.

Ethics is ethics.

The issue is her abuse of office.

The evidence is apparently credible and clear that she turned a private matter into a governmental one.

The investigation was initiated well before her consideration for VP.

She vowed to cooperate.

Now she is stonewalling.

Facts are facts. Whatever the politics, it doesn't excuse her poor behavior.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Is this about the "57 states" thing?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/57states.asp

The actual intent behind Senator Obama's misstatement is easy to discern without the need to invoke an obscure international organization. He was trying to express the thought that in all the time he had spent on the campaign trail so far in 2007-08, he had visited all (48) of the states in the continental U.S. save for one (i.e., "one left to go," excluding Alaska and Hawaii), but in his weariness he slipped up and started off with "fifty" instead of "forty." (Note the long pause in the video clip between the words "fifty" and "seven.")

So, if McCain goofs up he gets crucified, but if Obama goofs, it's just "aww.. poor thing was so weary..."

Not that I really care about either one of those guys. I'm moving to Bora Bora.

 

[Evo]

What you forget is that Governor Palin discovered corruption in Alaska and went against her own party (Republican) and really stuck it to some of the politicians there.

Yes, I read about how she complained that one of her co-workers was using his government e-mail account for party business.

Sarah Palin was involved in an investigation of Randy Ruedrich for mixing his political job with his state duties. At the "behest" of the attorney general's office Sarah Palin "hacked" into Mr. Ruedrich's computer seeking information from his email.

Has the attorney general's office been involved in any other investigations or situations where it has ordered members of another government agency or department - such as the AOGCC - to hack into a government computer to retrieve email?

Regarding the use of personal email accounts not on the government server to do government business -- does the attorney general's office deem that acceptable and legal?

In the current investigation of Governor Palin, will the attorney general's office participate in an effort to retrieve and disclose the emails of Governor Palin in the same manner that it did with the Randy Ruedrich investigation?

When there is an investigation involving a state of Alaska employee, is there a standard procedure for how that employee's computer will be accessed to retrieve information? Is the computer removed from the office of the employee? Is the employee informed that the computer and email address he was assigned by the state is being accessed and investigated? What are the steps and who is involved? How is the event documented?

This letter has the links to the articles on the instance of her and a tech hacking into Reudrich's computer to get to his e-mail.

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/131533