Ironic, isn't it?

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Hitler Finds Out that Palin has Resigned

This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found it amusing.

Is the Anger Seen at McCain/Palin Rallies Racist?

When John McCain and Sarah Palin began their personally attacks against Obama, they unleashed a torrent of invective that surprised even them. They have tried, not always successfully, to reign in their audiences.

My question is how much of the visceral invective at these events is motivated by racism and the fear of having America's first black president elected in a little over 3 weeks. I bring in evidence the following photoshopped picture which appeared on the right wing online message board "The Free Republic."
Caption: Shoeshine Boy
The picture appears among the subscribers reaction to a discussion on the possibility of McCain getting some post in an Obama administration. The picture is accompanied with the text, "Back at ya, Obama. Palin has a job for you as well when she is in the white house:". The poster goes by the name "spodefly," and while his posting privileges seem to have been revoked, The Free Republic has yet to take down this piece of racist garbage as of this writing.

Other postings on the web site a full of lies and smears that seem to be creeping into McCain and Palin's rhetoric and advertisements.

I do not believe that Sen. John McCain or Sarah Palin are racists, but they bear some responsibility for feeding the hatred of racists who support them.

Let's See Them Put Lipstick on This

Note: The legislative committee was made up of 10 Republicans and 4 Democrats.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.

The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor.

I think this sinks the McCain campaign.

Who is Concerned Most About the Middle Class?

According to the New York Times, in the 3 debates held thus far, Obama and Biden have used the phrase "middle class" a total of 21 times. McCain/Palin have used it twice.

Virginia GOP Leader Writes Anti-Obama Racist Screed

One test of character involves how one behaves when the going gets tough. By that measure, Bobby May, the McCain campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia and correspondence secretary for the Buchanan County Republican Party, has failed his test of character. Virginia may quite possibly gives its 13 Electoral Votes the Democratic nominee for president for the first time since 1964. May reacted to this possibility by publishing the following racist commentary in The Voice, a local newspaper:

"FREEDOM OF RELIGION: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes taught in all churches - raise taxes to pay for this mandate. Put Rev. Jeremiah Wright in charge...."

"DRUG CRISIS: Raise taxes to pay for free drugs for Obama’s inner-city political base...."

"2ND AMENDMENT: Under Obama will only apply to gang-bangers, illegal aliens,
Islamo-Fascist terrorists, and Senator Jim Webb’s aide...."

"FOREIGN RELATIONS: Appoint Rev. Al Sharpton as Secretary of State, Jesse Jackson as UN Representative, and let Bill Clinton handle all other "foreign relations" ... As long as Hillary doesn't find out...!"

"THE WHITE HOUSE: Hire rapper Ludacris to “paint it black.” Taxes to be increased to buy enough paint for the job plus spray-paint forgraffiti...."

"THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: Raise taxes to send $845 billion, most of it to Africa so the Obama family there can skim off enough for them to free their goats and live the American Dream...."

"NATIONAL ANTHEM: Change to the "Black National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson...."

"US CURRENCY: Update photos to reflect US diversity; include pictures of "great Americans" such as Oprah Winfrey, Ludacris, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Paris Hilton, and
Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson (Obama's new Secretary of the Treasury - 50 Cent refused position after learning that he would lose his crazy check if he accepted the nomination)...."

"US FLAG: Replace 50 stars with a star and crescent logo; red stripes changed to green to represent Obama’s tree-hugging radical environmentalism and his lack of experience. Flag lapel pins, having become a substitute for “real patriotism,” will henceforth be banned...."

There are times when attacking someone else's character, reveals more about your own lack of character. I hope that Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin take a lesson from this. They should at the very least condemn and censure Mr. May for this vile attack.
Source: TPM: Cafe Talk

Poll Finds VP Debate Moves Voters Toward Obama/Biden

WASHINGTON — Undecided voters who watched Thursday's vice presidential debate really like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin but they're not certain she's ready to lead the country, according to the findings of a new Ipsos/McClatchy online poll.

If they had to vote immediately after watching the debate between Republican Palin and the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, 52 percent of the 456 undecided voters who were surveyed would vote the Obama/Biden ticket, the poll found.

It also found that Palin's performance in the debate did nothing to clinch undecided votes for her running mate, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Before the debate, those same undecided voters were leaning 56 percent to 44 percent for McCain. The day after the debate, the numbers tilted 52 percent to 48 percent for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
McClatchy Newspapers: "Poll: Palin more likeable, but Obama/Biden gets the votes" by Erika Bolstad

Election Trains

from The Daily Kos

Palin Lied About McCain's Position on Bankruptcy Policy

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Sarah Palin's main strategy was to stick to her set of "talking points" even when they had no relevance to the questions she was asked. It's a common, if deplorable, tactic that allows the responder to stay off areas where she doesn't have a clue.

It can get you into trouble, though, if your attempt to turn the discussion gets you caught in a lie, which is what happened when the topic turned to federal bankruptcy laws. Biden stated that he believed that homeowners facing foreclosures on their first homes should have the right to petition for relief from the principals they owe. He stated:

"[W]e should be allowing bankruptcy courts to be able to re-adjust not just the interest rate you're paying on your mortgage to be able to stay in your home, but be able to adjust the principal that you owe, the principal that you owe," said Biden. "That would keep people in their homes, actually help banks by keeping it from going under.

"But John McCain, as I understand it," he continued, "I'm not sure of this, but I believe John McCain and the governor don't support that. There are ways to help people now. And there -- ways that we're offering are not being supported by -- by the Bush administration nor do I believe by John McCain and Governor Palin."

PBS' Gwen Ifill turned to Palin and asked, "Governor Palin, is that so?"

"That is not so," said Palin, "but because that's just a quick answer."

The Alaska governor then quickly changed the subject to energy. (source: ABC News)

So, Governor Palin, in her haste to get away from a topic she was either unpreped to answer or just didn't want to answer, made a false statement about her campaigns position. When ABC asked the McCain campaign if the governor was right, they had to that Palin "misstated" McCain's position.

Occasionally, I would be caught in a position where I didn't want to get blamed for something I did. I would say whatever parents would want to hear to get me ought of trouble. Later, when the truth came out, my mother's term for my "misstatement" was "Lying."

Biden's Best Moment in the Debate

Palin tried to protray herself as somehow more in touch with average working families than Biden. His response really turned the debate in his favor.

David McKiernan v. George McClellan

I will comment on the Biden-Palin debate later, but I was interested in one thing Gov. Palin said. I know it was a minor gaffe, but it was still amusing. She called the NATO Commander in Afghanistan, General McClellan. He is in fact, General David McKiernan.

Just so there will be no confusion between the two generals, I have included their pictures.
General David D. McKiernan
General George B. McClellan
Let us hope that Gen. McKiernan has more success in Afghanistan than Gen. McClellan had with the Army of the Potomac.

Sarah Palin Took Gifts Got Special Considerations as Mayor

The former home of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Wasilla Lake in Wasilla, Alaska, is seen Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. Two months before Palin's tenure as mayor ended in 2002, she asked city planning officials to forgive zoning violations so she could sell the house.
(AP Photo/Al Grillo)
from the Associated Press

Though Sarah Palin depicts herself as a pit bull fighting good-old-boy politics, in her years as mayor she and her friends received special benefits more typical of small-town politics as usual, an Associated Press investigation shows.

When Palin needed to sell her house during her last year as Wasilla mayor, she got the city to sign off on a special zoning exception — and did so without keeping a promise to remove a potential fire hazard.

She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free "awesome facial" she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The "absolutely gorgeous flowers" she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.

Community Organizers vs Governors

"Wasn't Jesus a Community Organizer and Pilate a Governor?"--e-mail response on NPR's "Diane Rehm Show" to Palin's acceptance speech at the RNC in which she praised governors and mocked community organizers.
1st Century Community Organizer
First Century Governor

What's the Difference between Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney?

Lipstick.

the difference is merely cosmetic?

Palin attacks McCain?

In her speech at the RNC, Palin attacked the "Washington elite." I guess she had in mind the man who is running at the head of her ticket. I mean, really, who is the "elitist" in the presidential race this fall? A man raised by a single, working mother and her family who succeeded by his own talents and intelligence? Or is it the man who divorced a wife who remained faithful to him during his long absence and married into money? A man who owns more homes than he can remember? A man who believes that someone making $5 million a year is merely "middle class?" Come on. It's time that we realize who is a member of the "elite" and which party has been looking out for the elite for the past 8 years.

Sarah's Palin Husband, Todd, Long Time Member of Alaska Independence Party

The "Alaska Independence Party" advocates that Alaska ought to succeed from the United States and become an independent nation. There has been a rumor that Gov. Palin at one time was a member of the party, but that doesn't seem to be the case. She does have ties to the party through her husband, Todd who once belonged to the party for several years but is not registered as "independent" or "undeclared."
Todd Palin, Longtime Former AIP Member

Meet Sarah "Pork Barrel" Palin

More reports are coming in about Sarah Palin's past political activities. One of the more interesting ones is the fact that as mayor of a town of only 6,700 souls, she managed to get over $27 million from the Federal government. This dispite the her present claim that she abhors "Pork Barrel" spending by the Feds.

From the Washington Post:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage.

According to MSNBC:

As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.

Of course, in politics, if I get it, its "needed funding for the good of the community." If you get it, it's "Pork Barrel Politics."

Did Sarah Palin flip-flop on "The Bridge to Nowhere?"

In here introduction as McCain's pick as his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin had this to say about the infamous Alaska "Bridge to Nowhere" decried as an example of Pork Barrel spending at its worst. She claimed, "I told 'Congress thanks, but no thanks,' on that 'Bridge to Nowhere.' If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we'd build it ourselves."

But let's look at that claim. On August 29, 2008, she says she told Congress "no thanks" on money for the bridge. But what did she actually say at the time? It took a bit of digging, her office's press release from September 21, 2007 paints a much different picture.

"Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer," said Governor Palin. "Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island," Governor Palin added. Source of Quote

"Despite the work of our congressional delegation?"But didn't she tell "ongress no thanks!"Still, this could be interpreted as "he congressional delegation wanted it, but I didn't."So let's go earlier for a quote. October 22, 2006, Palin was asked:

Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?"

Her response was solid:

Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now - while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." Source of Quote

The implication is clear. Governor Palin wanted Alaska's congressional delegation to get Federal funding for the Bridge to Nowhere. When they were unable to secure full funding, she canceled the project, willing only to spend Federal money on the bridge, not State money.

(My thanks to Stan Simpson for this report.)