McCain's Hubris and Stupidity on display

The pettiness and the absolute stupidity of the GOP is just unbelievable. I think they need to take a good long look in the mirror and just see what they have become. Even Richard Cohen, the conservative journalist, is ashamed of what mockery the Republicans are making of the whole Republican Election, with the nomination of Sarah Palin. He can not believe how ridiculous the Republicans are with the claims for why Sarah Palin is their most qualified VP nominee. We are truly witnessing the unfolding of the Emperor has No Clothes!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090101715.html

The Republican Party are absolutely pathetic in their attempts to blame the negative attention on the Obama Campaign, when clearly he has told the nation in no uncertain terms, that there should not be any attacks or negative comments made on Palin’s children or family, and that he wants to focus on the issues.

The BIG difference between the Republican and the Democratic pundits and surrogates is that at least the Democratic supporters tell the truth. The Republicans just LIE and they feel insulted when you question them or point it out to them. Rovian Republicans are so ruthless in smearing and attacking successfully, they don’t care if it’s true or if it’s a lie, as long as they can attack negatively, people will believe it. This is why Democrats are sometimes considered wimpy, because we don’t stoop to their level.

NEVER have I heard McCain say that he would fire anyone on his staff for spreading false rumors about the candidate’s family, but here we have Obama setting the example. He was that exasperated that the tone of the campaign has come down to a soap opera, he made it very clear that if he had knowledge of anyone taking part in this in his campaign, they would be fired. We have SERIOUS issues in this nation to deal with, and the fact that we can’t focus on them because of the media circus surrounding McCain’s poor selection of Palin as the VP nominee is just ridiculous.

It’s just shocking to me that the McCain Campaign can’t take responsibility for the picking a terrible VP, and instead they are blaming everyone. I am fed up with the Republican Party’s inability to take accountability for their actions. This is happening time and time again. It happened with Iraq, it happened in Katrina, and it happened with the financial crisis. If they had properly done their job, and vetted this woman, they would have seen that she was unqualified. But they made a horrible decision, and now the truth is coming out. So they are desperately trying to spin this anyway they can, and blame everyone for being unfair. Where was their sense of fairness when they let the rumors fly about Obama being a Muslim, and the jokes that Fox News made when they commented that Michelle and Barack shared a “terrorist” jab. All of these statements made by the Republicans and Fox news were FALSE. The McCain campaign makes ridiculous commercials linking Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to Obama, and McCain just stupidly smirks and says “we are just having a little fun”.

Well it’s not funny when you attack someone’s character, particularly when it is NOT true. Senator McCain blatantly participates in character assassination, and he gets away with it. But when questioned about his judgment in picking Palin, all of a sudden the world is against him. America should demand more from their leaders. With Barack, he has tried to run a decent campaign, and has only responded negatively when McCain attacks him, to set the record straight. With Obama, he clearly takes responsibility for his actions, and ensures everyone is clear what his principles and values are. When Obama makes negative comments, it’s always about the issue or policy NEVER about the person or the character of that person.

But hey, where is their sense of humor with all the fun the liberal bloggers are having about the absolute disaster and stupidity that is Sarah Palin - at least when they have fun, it’s with the truth!

They are whining about the fact that the media is unfair. Of course the Republicans as usual can only dish it out, they can’t take it.

Everything that is coming out about Palin is true:

• She was a member of the Alaska Independent Party – a group whose sole mission is Alaska first and to secede from the United States. So I guess McCain’s ridiculous “Country First” logo doesn’t apply for her.
• She was a major of a small town, and left them in debt by $20 million dollars.
• She did request pork projects for her town and for the state. She was for the Bridge to Nowhere. Although she later abandoned it, she still kept the money for other projects. I wonder if Congress should demand that money back from Alaska?
• She was only governor for 18 months, and this is a state which has NO budget issues, no natural disasters, and has made no decisions regarding the National Guard deployment in Iraq or in Alaska. Futhermore, she is governor of a state that has less people than the state of Delaware!
• She only received her passport recently.
• She has no Foreign Policy experience.
• She has no national government experience.
• The ONLY domestic policy that we are aware that she supports is overturning Roe v. Wade, preaching abstinence, teaching creationism in schools (denying evolution), and wanting to burn books.
• She has demonstrated her vindictive and unchristian personality, by her callous laughing at an interview on a radio show with the DJ’s calling her Republican State Senator, Lydia Greene, a “bitch” and “a cancer” for the State of Alaska. This is a State senator who is a cancer survivor.
• Palin is CUT from the exact same mold as George W. Bush, she demands loyalty tests from her administration, and if she feels crossed, she fires them.
  

Again, like Bush, she has lawyers who are trying to stonewall the Alaskan Legislative investigation over abuse of power. This is a REPUBLICAN controlled and led investigation, and her lawyers want to cite “governor’s privilege” to private documents. If Palin had done NOTHING WRONG, why are they so determined to keep her emails a secret? I find it ironic that Americans have no say to being wire-tapped, but Palin who is the great reformer won’t even be candid and honest about what happened with the State Commissioner being fired. If she has nothing to hide, then the investigation by the state legislature should find nothing wrong.

All in all, she is unprofessional, unqualified, and lacks any honest Christian charity and decency. Clearly she fits in with McCain, who made cruel jokes about Chelsea Clinton and laughed when a supporter asked him “how do we beat the bitch” when referring to Hillary Clinton. Yes, these are two candidates in a pod. Chelsea Clinton at the time was a minor, and couldn’t fight back, but yet he has the lack of decency and honor to make cruel jokes about her, and to make jokes about women being raped.

What I find difficult to swallow is that they are claiming she has Foreign Policy experience because Alaska is near Russia. In addition, she visits the troops in the hospital, and has her PHOTO taken with them! So basically she is using them for her own purposes. The fact that she visited Iraq ONCE, stopped by Germany, and landed in Ireland for a re-fueling purpose means that she is an expert on Irish, German, and Iraqi affairs.

SERIOUSLY????

If Obama had tried to make the claim, that he is a Foreign Policy expert, because Illinois bordered Canada, he would have been crucified by the Media and the Republican party. This is how insane it has become.

Just how stupid do they think we are? Well if I knew the bar was that low, I would say I should be the next Ambassador to the UN, having lived in Switzerland, and worked near by the UN in Geneva.

Now McCain in a temper tantrum is refusing to go on Larry King Live on CNN, because Campbell Brown had the unmitigated gall of doing her job, and asking Tucker Bounds why Sarah Palin should be considered qualified. He couldn’t answer the question, and he looked foolish and stupid. Just because they were the idiots to pick Palin, now they want to attack CNN for being unfair? It was a simple enough question, and if they had nothing to hide, they would be able to answer it without any issues.

I didn’t think it could happen, but it now has. I have completely LOST ALL RESPECT for John McCain. McCain can bring up the fact that he was a POW as many times as he wants, for me that well has now run dry. I have heard it one too many times as an excuse for why he has messed up, that I can’t dredge up any further sympathy. We have many Vietnam Vets who were once POWs, and have served many tours of duty, that doesn’t mean we need to make them all Presidents. In addition, his blatant lack of support for the Veterans is just too much hypocrisy for me to swallow. Americans really need to know that McCain has been given a grade of D- by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans AND the Disabled Veterans association, while Obama has been given a grade of B+. McCain conveniently says in all of his stump speeches that he supports the troops. Well he has voted against too many legislative bills AGAINST Veterans, more recently, he has spoken out against the improved bi-partisan GI Bill Sponsored by Senators Graham & Webb. He argued against it, and then when the vote was taking place, he didn’t even bother to show up to vote.

He doesn’t have any judgment, common sense, decency, or intelligence. He is a LIAR and makes it clear that he doesn’t put country first. He just wants to be President, and will do anything he can to get there. It’s clear that he put his campaign and election needs first, before the country. If McCain wants to be President, he needs to say full stop, the BUCK STOPS with me. But all we will ever get from him is temper if we question his judgment or excuses – that’s the reality.

I have had ENOUGH of this PATHETIC excuse for a Presidential Candidate.

Sarah Palin for VP is McCain's gamble

Chuck Todd couldn't keep reminding us how much McCain loves craps and to gamble. I think the American Voter would do well to keep this in mind.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The entire media world is a buzz and in shock over this announcement. I think there are various comments floating to how "cute" she is and about her inspiring family story. As a story, you can't deny the human interest story where she recently gave birth to a baby who has Down's Syndrome. However, I don't believe this warrants justification as qualification to be VP of the United States. Pundits and politicians alike are critiquing McCain's choice, and the opinions range from the ecstatic to the perplexed.

I think this is all a circus, and of course this acts like catnip for the MSM. So they will be discussing and analyzing this to death.

Speaking of circus, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the forum at the Nutter Center, which is where my high school graduation took place. I think about when Obama made his VP announcement in Springfield, outside the steps where Lincoln once made great speeches, and was speechless to see McCain's pep rally to announce his VP choice. I kid you not, there were cheerleaders to get the crowd excited about McCain's arrival, as it did not start promptly at noon, unlike Obama's rally which did. I couldn't believe it, for a "historical" announcement, we might as well have been at a basketball game!

There are those who will say it's a great choice, and a gamble for McCain to pander to Hillary voters and answer the call of change. Clearly, McCain, like Hillary, has realized the argument for experience for Obama is not working, given the high caliber of his intelligence, and his fast rising experience on the national political stage. So now, McCain is on the "change" bandwagon.

The problem I see for McCain, is that this was never about change for change sake. Furthermore, if McCain thinks that sticking any woman to the VP slot is what women want, then he is seriously mistaken. To compare Sarah Palin as being more qualified than say Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Christine Whitman, or Hillary Clinton, is laughable.

The election has always been about the disgust of the American voter with the economy, and that "change" is required to bring about new leadership. If McCain wanted to regain his "maverick" brand, I would have respected him more if he had selected Lieberman. Palin does not represent change, rather she is just a female version of George W. Bush. So from my perspective, McCain STILL does not get it.

Both were relatively new comers to the political scene, very homey and western, loves hunting, and have very conservative social values. Neither are known for their keen intellect, although to be fair to Palin, I don't know how intelligent she is, so I guess I will have to see her in action. What I know of her, is that she has a B.S. in Journalism, so I assume she can write and speak publicly to some reasonable ability.

Sarah Palin, a former runner-up Miss Alaska, has NO experience on the national level, nor does she have any exposure to foreign policy. Now I am sure this self-professed "hockey" mom is a great family person, however, I am not confident of her leadership skills not knowing how her term as Governor has gone. In addition, prior to being a governor of only 18 months, she was a mayor of a small town with a population of less than 7,000. This is not to disparage small town mayors or governors, but I struggle to see how with her background and education, she will stand toe to toe against the likes of Putin or Chavez.


What's laughable is that they are trying to beef up her credentials by giving her Governor's title a make-over. They are saying she has Chief Executive experience. Chief Executive experience for all of 18 months??? This is supposed to reassure us that she can step in as President of the United States?

Ironically, the pundits and reports are asking for opinions about her, and saying "we should be fair". So wait, we are supposed to baby her because she's a woman?? How insulting, if she can't take the criticisms, and if she isn't tough enough to stand on her own merits, she has NO business being a VP Candidate.

For the Republican party who tried to paint Obama as risky, this is beyond the pale, and typically hypocritical of the party. And to try and compare Palin to Obama is insane. Obama had more experience and political awareness than Palin before he has even run for President of the United States. Four years ago, Obama was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and he has 6 years experience in the Senate, and voters have been aware of Obama for almost two years - about the same amount of time she has spent as Governor.

In addition, she herself is under legislative investigation for abuse of power. What is it with these Alaskan politicians who seem to think they are above the law? What's interesting is that the Anchorage Newspaper made this observation:

But there is something in Sarah Palin's personality that prohibits her from saying, "I screwed up." She seems to obsess on something and will do almost anything to get her way.

The sad part of it is if she would at any point just come clean, Alaskans would forgive her... But nobody likes someone who cannot admit when they are wrong. Sarah Palin is a classic example of that.

http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/fagan/story/496302.html

As a female voter, to select this woman who's political platform goes against every single modern woman's concern, I am in disbelief over McCain's out right patronization. After Obama's brilliant speech last night, which was seen by more than 38 Million Americans, those Independents and Hillary supporters who kept an open mind, clearly saw what's at stake, and for those I think Obama has been able to reach out to them.

For the few remaining die-hard PUMAs, this choice doesn't change anything for the Obama. If they were unwilling to vote for Obama after his speech, this VP announcement doesn't really take anything away from the voters that Obama was able to reach. However, the risk for McCain, is that the die-hard PUMAs may take a look at Palin's clear social conservative values, and realize that this is not for them.

The very fact that this VP Candidate is a heart-beat away from the Presidency, for a 72 year old candidate, disturbs me greatly.

Frankly, I don't mind if McCain goes to Vegas to gamble, I just prefer he does not do this with America's Future with a clearly inexperienced, untested, and unqualified candidate such as Palin.