Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Photograhic Evidence of an Obamacon
The ever-elusive species Obamacus Conservatigensus was spotted today in Texas:
National Review's Kathleen Parker Under Attack
As I wrote about last week, a steady stream of conservative writers and journalists have soured on Sarah Palin and have called for her replacement. One of the first to lead the charge is Kathleen Parker, a writer for the ultra-conservative National Review Online.
As a result of Ms. Parker's call for Sarah Palin to leave the McCain ticket, she has come under siege from the "no-brain-just-gut!" red meat Republican base:
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a Dumpster, but since she didn't, I should "off" myself.
Those are just a few nuggets randomly selected from thousands of e-mails written in response to my column suggesting that Sarah Palin is out of her league and should step down...
That we have become a partisan nation is no secret. This week has provided a vivid example of where rabid partisanship leads with the failure of Congress to pass a bailout bill vitally needed to keep our economy from unraveling...
Such extreme partisanship has a crippling effect on government, which may be desirable at times, but not now. More important in the long term is the less-tangible effect of stifling free speech. My mail paints an ugly picture and a bleak future if we do not soon correct ourselves.
The picture is this: Anyone who dares express an opinion that runs counter to the party line will be silenced. That doesn't sound American to me, but Stalin would approve. Readers have every right to reject my opinion. But when we decide that a person is a traitor and should die for having an opinion different than one's own, then we cross into territory that puts all freedoms at risk. (I hear you, Dixie Chicks.)
Our day of reckoning, indeed, may be upon us. Between war and economic collapse, we have enormous challenges. It will take the best of everyone to solve them. That process begins minimally with a commitment to engage in civil discourse and a cease-fire in the war against unwelcome ideas.
Although I appreciate the tenor of her sudden plea for rational nonpartisan dialogue (oh-so-conveniently put forth now that she has come under attack), I would ask Ms. Parker this: "How exactly do you feel you are holding to your ideals of 'civil discourse' when you continue to write for the rabidly ultraconservative National Review Online?" Further, "How about some words of calm and conciliation when your unhinged colleagues put out another frothing article about Barack Obama filled with lies, innuendo and thinly veiled racism?"
Leaving aside Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Fox News in general, National Review Online is one of the most consistently fact-free partisan "Democrat Attack" media outlets out there today. See for example a recent post from Ramesh Ponnuru personally attacking conservative Obama supporter Douglas Kmiec as a "silly and confused man".
Ms. Parker may suddenly be talking the conciliatory talk but she better start walking the walk. A good way to start would be to associate herself with a less batshit conservative publication. Until then, doesn't this inherent hypocrisy make her call for us to all ratchet down the partisanship sound just a little bit hollow?
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'One of Us' Palin Emblematic of Greater American Fallacy
Julian Sanchez encapsulates the entire Sarah Palin phenomenon in one of the most poignant (and damning) paragraphs I've read recently:
[I]t’s apparently embedded in our cultural DNA now that anyone can follow their dreams, achieve any goal… more or less by wishing, regardless of personal merit. Palin is the logical upshot of The Secret, reality TV, and a million goofy Hollywood comedies, all conspiring to tell us that utterly unremarkable folks can wake up to find themselves rich, famous, and successful more or less at random.
The myth of unmeritorious American achievement really needs to die. For all our sakes. Let Bush and Palin be the last ones to burn on its foolish pyre.
McCain Turns to Palin for Foreign Policy Advice
I really think the McCain campaign going to kill the parody industry. After all, how can you make this sh*t up?
During an interview with NPR, McCain claimed that he has turned to Sarah Palin for advice on foreign policy matters "many times in the past":
Seriously, I'm not making this up.NPR: Given what you've said, senator, is there an occasion where you could imagine turning to Gov. Palin for advice in a foreign policy crisis?
McCain: I've turned to her advice many times in the past. I can't imagine turning to Senator Obama or Senator Biden because they've been wrong. They were wrong about Iraq, wrong about Russia.
There are only two conclusions to draw from this exchange:
1. McCain doesn't give two figs about the truth. He just makes sh*t up on the fly.
or
2. McCain actually does consult Sarah Palin on foreign policy issues. Which should frighten the f*ck out of you.
Palin Endorses 'New Ideas' Over 'More of the Same'
Palin really is the gift that keeps on giving. In another Katie Couric excerpt, Palin endorses the idea that voters should choose "new ideas" over "more of the same". Does she even listen to herself?
[A]t the end of the day, though, it is -- it's so clear, again, what those choices are. Either new ideas, new energy and reform of Washington, D.C., or more of the same.
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Bush: Worst President in Last Century
The is a new article up on ABC News that highlights that Bush's disapproval rating is now at a record 70%, the lowest for any President in recorded history:
With the current economic situation, a record 70 percent of Americans disapprove of George W. Bush's job performance; a career-low 26 percent approve.Bush's Disapproval Rating Highest in History
Just two presidents have had lower approval (Richard Nixon and Harry Truman) than President Bush, and none has had higher disapproval in polls since 1938.
McCain's problem: Fifty-three percent of registered voters think he'd lead the country in the same direction as Bush, inching back up over a majority.
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