Showing posts with label Veepstakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veepstakes. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
McCain Surrogate Eagleburger: Palin Not Ready
This from McCain supporter Lawrence Eagleburger:
A former Republican Secretary of State and one of John McCain's most prominent supporters offered a stunningly frank and remarkably bleak assessment of Sarah Palin's capacity to handle the presidency should such a scenario arise.
Lawrence Eagleburger, who served as Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush and whose endorsement is often trumpeted by McCain, said on Thursday that the Alaska governor is not only unprepared to take over the job on a moment's notice but, even after some time in office, would only amount to an "adequate" commander in chief.
"And I devoutly hope that [she] would never be tested," he added for good measure -- referring both to Palin's policy dexterity and the idea of McCain not making it through his time in office.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Palin Unqualified? Blame McCain's Judgment
When we I correctly criticize Sarah Palin for being an unprepared, bumbling buffoon, what I think can get lost in the weeds is the key concern that this should raise in people's minds.
It is not enough to dismiss Palin as an ineducable wingnut with zero understanding of serious domestic or foreign policy as many in McCain campaign and Republican Party are doing right now; e.g.:
"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."
Get beyond the immediate travesty that Sarah Palin embodies -- seriously ponder what this says about McCain's poor judgment in picking her as his running mate without doing any serious vetting.
As Steve Benen puts it:
[I]f Palin was hopelessly ignorant and unable to learn the basics, why on earth did McCain pick her? If the McCain/Bush aides hope to gain an edge by preemptively blaming Palin for a defeat, it doesn't exactly clear their boss -- McCain chose Palin to be one 72-year-old heartbeat from the presidency. If she's the disaster who gets the blame, it's still McCain who bears responsibility for the fiasco.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Schwarzenegger: Sarah Palin Isn't Qualified
In an interview with CNN's Campbell Brown, California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed that he doesn't think Sarah Palin is qualified to be President... yet (?):
BROWN: Do you think [Palin is] qualified to be president?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I think that she will get to be qualified.
BROWN: She will get there? What do you mean? She's not ready yet?
SCHWARZENEGGER: By the time that she is sworn in I think she will be ready.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Troopergate: Sarah Palin Broke the Law - Period.
As expected, the McCain campaign is out there today claiming that the recently released report of the independent investigator looking into Sarah Palin's Troopergate scandal concluded that Palin didn't break the law. Here's a campaign hack today:
"If you read the report, you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member," Palin said as boarded her campaign bus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "You got to read the report."
THIS IS A LIE.
There were two laws in question in the investigation. One had to do with the Governor's authority to fire a department head, and on this account, the report found that her firing of Walt Monegan didn't break the law.
HOWEVER, the report also found that Sarah Palin broke an Alaska state ethics law that prohibits state officials from abusing their office:
For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
So, to sum it up, Palin broke one law but not the other. She is a criminal. They can argue about whether Palin actually did break the ethics law but they are LYING when they say that "there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member."
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Quote of the Month: Palin a 'Fatal Cancer'
Conservative writer and perennial McCain apologist David Brooks recently called Sarah Palin a "fatal cancer":
[Palin] represents a fatal cancer to the republican party. When I first started in journalism, I worked at the National Review for Bill Buckley. And Buckley famously said he'd rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. But he didn't think those were the only two options. He thought it was important to have people on the conservative side who celebrated ideas, who celebrated learning. And his whole life was based on that, and that was also true for a lot of the other conservatives in the Reagan era. Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices.
Biden Condemns Palin for Not Denouncing Hate
Right on, Joe. Speaking on Good Morning America, Joe Biden condemned Sarah Palin for not immediately reacting to the vast upwelling of hatred unleashed in recent days among the Republican party faithful, brought on in large part by McCain and Palin's attempt to paint Obama as some kind of scary, foreign terrorist sympathizer:
Sarah Palin: Palling Around with Secessionists
This video is pretty disturbing. Apparently, the secessionist American Independence Party that Sarah Palin and her husband have been palling around with for years sees Sarah Palin as their very own Manchurian candidate. As a guy at the top of the clip says: "Put the Republican label on it to get elected. That's all there is to it."
Friday, October 3, 2008
Holiday Gift Ideas: 'Talking Points' Caribou Barbie™
Just in time for the holidays, pick up the new 'Talking Points' Caribou Barbie for your little tyke:
New "Talking Points" Caribou Barbie™ repeats phrases at random--you never know what she'll say next! Doll really talks with eyes that move.* Includes hunting rifle, moose carcass, Bible and every single newspaper--Caribou Barbie™ reads them all! Rape kit sold separately. By GOP.
"Talking Points" Caribou Barbie™ from antichrista on Vimeo.
Sarah Palin Debate Flowchart Leaked!
Now we can understand how Sarah Palin got through last night's debate:
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Palin/Biden Debate Reactions
I am too emotionally drained to write much of anything myself right now. The long and the short of it is this. Palin didn't implode. She avoided nearly every question the moderator put to her. She read off notecards repeatedly. She repeated platitudes and forced her way into folksiness too many times. She explicitly argued for the expansion of the powers of the Vice Presidency. Seriously. The moderator was terrible and had no fortitude to keep Palin to the issues. I think Joe Biden gave a solid performance and caught himself before he could embellish or exaggerate. Ultimately, she didn't fail as tremendously as most expected (I didn't think she would). In the final analysis, I think she did fine by her base but my educated guess is that she did poorly with average run-off-the-mill undecideds.
Here is a debate reaction roundup from Andrew Sullivan:
Ifill, moderator: Terrible. Yes, she was constrained by the agreed debate rules. But she gave not the slightest sign of chafing against them or looking for ways to follow up the many unanswered questions or self-contradictory answers. This was the big news of the evening. Katie Couric, and for that matter Jim Lehrer, have never looked so good.
Palin is reading off cue-cards that, one assumes, have complete answers written out. Not, of course, the answers to the questions she is being asked but, indubitably, answers nonetheless.
Palin wins on domestic; Biden wins on foreign policy. But Palin’s relative strength here can’t do much, I don’t think, to help McCain’s basic disadvantage on the main domestic issue — the economy.
Any conservative who was white-knuckled going into this is relaxing by now. There were some points where she was a bit more platitudinous than one would ideally want, but overall--she's cleaning up. Biden is sighing more as the night goes on, and I can see why.
Palin: people aren’t looking for more of the same. Does she know which side she’s on? Biden: McCain’s not a real maverick! As they start to wrap up, I will admit that Palin has avoided disaster. Biden has put in a pretty successful performance. My guess is that Biden will come off as the clear winner in the eyes of viewers, but it will not be as lopsided as her critics expected.
Seems that Palin kept talking about General McLellan when she meant General McKiernan. That's the sort of thing that might stick. Meanwhile, Palin says she loved being able to get up here and answer these tough questions without the "filter of the mainstream media." Weird that she used her closing statement so defensively. But whatever: Good for her. She should give up on politics and get a talkshow. Otherwise, she should learn how to answer the press's questions.
I think a visitor from Mars watching this debate would have been struck by the fact that Sarah Palin could barely get a paragraph out without mangling what she was trying to say. Conversely, a veteran of the Katie Couric Interviews would be struck by the fact that Palin’s errors weren’t so egregious that you were left totally baffled as to what she was trying to say. But I don’t actually think this stuff is all about expectations. If Palin had some kind of substantial record on or background in national issues, I don’t think anyone would find this performance especially terrifying. But if you already had some serious doubts about her, I think she scarcely put those doubts away.
My quick take is that Palin passed a pass-fail test, though she flagged as the debate went on. Though she was chosen for her emotion connection, she was the drier of the two candidates. But if the central worry was that she'd be a drag on the ticket, she likely returned herself to the same status as Biden and every other running mate in memory: Not, ultimately, a major factor at the polls.
I think Palin is giving a cosmetically strong performance so far, but on the substance it's a horrorshow.
Meanwhile, note her extremely heavy reliance on notes--up to three or more glances per answer. At moments during her Afghanistan exchange she seemed to be reading directly from them.
I can't tell you who won. I thought, though, as the debate wore on Biden really put on the pressure. They seemed even early, I guess with an edge to Palin. But you can't keep repeating the same talking points.
After running ahead for most of the debate, the Sarah Palin has now fallen narrowly behind on most of the analyst scoring. Suspect last impressions are most important. I sure can't remember what we were talking about an hour ago.
Sarah Palin just field dressed Joe Biden like a moose. She was awesome. She connected with the people. She had fun. She was relaxed. She was awesome.
Averaging expectations, style and points, it was a wash. Partisans have reason to be satisfied; I honestly have no idea how undecided voters will react (although CBS's panel of them gave Biden an edge.) ...To practiced ears, Palin memorized and repeated talking points and Biden responded to the questions and argued. Palin dodged questions and seemed vague; but then again, for those whose only impression of Palin has been the one Tina Fay performed on Saturday Night Live, she cleared the bar. Biden seemed a little unsure how tough to be at the beginning of the debate; by the beginning of the final third, he hit his stride. As the debate wound on, Palin seemed less agile when it came to constructing sentences and answers. Lots of key phrases, weird placement of conjunctions, so the gist of what she was saying was there, but it wasn't terribly clear.
Palin: Worst Thing Cheney Did Was Shoot Guy in Face
From the Greatest Hits Collection of the Palin/Couric interview, Sarah Palin thinks that the very worstest thing in the whole wide world that Dick Cheney did was shoot that guy in the face:
Katie Couric: What do you think is the best and worst thing that Dick Cheney has done as vice president?
Palin: Worst thing, I guess that would have been the duck-hunting accident, where you know, that was an accident. And that I think that was made into a caricature of him. And that was kind of unfortunate.
So, an accidental hunting mishap is the worst thing our law-breaking, ultrasecretive war criminal of a Vice President has done, eh?
Not shredding the Constitution?
Not crafting a sweeping illegal wiretapping program?
Not architecting the systematic torture of detainees?
Not leaking the identity of a CIA agent?
This woman isn't just unqualified, she's terrifying.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Video From Palin Debate Prep Leaked to Press
This video of Sarah Palin being prepped in Arizona for this Thursday's vice-presidential debate just got leaked out of the McCain campaign. Pretty remarkable stuff:
Palin Can't Name a NEWSPAPER That She Reads
You seriously can't make this sh*t up. The gaffes, bullsh*t, lies and embarrassments just seem to keep coming from Sarah Palin and her encounters with Katie Couric. In a recent impromptu Q&A, Palin couldn't even name a single NEWSPAPER that she reads!
Here's what was said:
Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Are we sure Palin and Bush weren't separated at birth?
Palin Debate Footage Leaked
Breaking news. The following video was leaked today and shows the prep work that Sarah Palin is undergoing before her debate this Thursday:
Monday, September 29, 2008
Palin Both Incompetent and a Liar
Reflecting on the Palin-Couric interview intellectual catastrophe, let us not forget that she is not only a bad interviewee but also a pathological liar. Andrew Sullivan sums up the state of her lies as of today:
Palin could not have asked her girls for permission to accept McCain's veep offer if she also says she accepted the offer unblinkingly and right away. Palin did fire a police chief even as she insisted to a reporter she hadn't. She did violate the confidential medical records of Mike Wooten. She hasn't met with any trade missions from Russia. She does not have any gay friends that anyone can find. She did not oppose the Bridge to Nowhere. She did not sell that plane on eBay. Her Teleprompter did not fail in her convention speech. Alaska's state scientists did not conclude that polar bears were in no danger. She did deny publicly that humans had anything to do with climate change.
Alaska does not provide "nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy," as she claimed. The gas pipeline she touts as her major "mission accomplished" has not broken ground and may never do so. She did not take a pay-cut as mayor of Wasilla. And on and on. Anyone with Google can check all of these out. Including reporters.
Interview Sarah Palin
Feeling down that Sarah Palin won't give press conferences and the few interviews she's given have been incoherent brain-melters on a colossal scale? A new website allows YOU to interview a virtual Sarah Palin!
Check it out here
Sunday, September 28, 2008
SNL Lampoons Sarah Palin Again - Video
Saturday Night Live last night was brilliant in lampooning Sarah Palin again. The funniest part about it is that much of the words coming out of Tina Fey's mouth were originally spoken by Sarah Palin!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Quote of the Day
Here's Fallows on the Palin-Couric interview fiasco:
George W. Bush is in a completely different and superior league to what we've seen from Palin. When people made fun of his inexpressiveness in the 2000 campaign (and onwards), it was because he mispronounced words or used cliches. It was nothing like the total inability to express any coherent thought on any issue outside "values politics" that Palin has revealed.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Cafferty: Palin Should 'Scare the Hell Out of You'
CNN's Jack Cafferty unloads on Sarah Palin in this clip, saying "if [the thought of Sarah Palin becoming President] doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should", and that her interview was "one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen for someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in the country." Ouch.
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