So I am reading Andrew Sullivan earlier and I discover a nifty post talking about the smear campaign about Sarah Palin that is running around the blogosphere. It seems that there are some bizarre circumstances surrounding Palin’s most recent pregnancy. It seems that she did not really show at all (more power to her) and that when her water broke while she was in Texas, she hopped on a roughly 8-10 hour commercial flight back to Alaska (with a layover in Seattle), and gave birth there?
So questioning whether or not she is the mother of her own child is definitely the point where we all cross the line in what is acceptable. However, if this were your neighbor and not your presumptive GOP VP nominee, people would gossip left and right.
Sarah Palin is clearly pregnant
Thankfully, this picture will hopefully bust the rumor.
Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, was asked on ABC’s This Week what Sarah Palin’s national security experience was. Mrs. McCain answered by saying that because Alaska is near Russia, she has national security experience.
You know, the experience that she comes from is, what she has done in government — and remember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia.
Larry Persily, who was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s associate director of the governor’s DC office, said that Palin is not qualified to be president and lacks the judgment required.
She’s not qualified, she doesn’t have the judgment, to be next in line to the president of the United States
Ordinarily, this one would be chalked up to being the words of a disgruntled former aide and we would not print it, but Palin publicly said that she was hoping to help Persily find a job back in Alaska.
Sarah Palin’s mother-in-law said in an interview that she does not know what Palin brings to the ticket and that she does not know if she will vote for John McCain or Barack Obama.
With Democrats seizing on reports that Sarah Palin supported Pat Buchanan in his 1996 presidential bid, McCain campaign spokesman issued the following statement:
Gov. Palin has never worked for any effort to elect Pat Buchanan — that assertion is completely false. As Mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin did attend an event with Mr. Buchanan in her hometown, where reports described her wearing a Buchanan for President button. She wore the button as a courtesy to Mr. Buchanan.
Politicians who attend events for a candidate do not wear campaign memorabilia if they have not endorsed the candidate.
Women who support Hillary Clinton are now moving to Barack Obama, even after the selection as Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. Many of them are even volunteering for the Obama campaign, which is a sign that McCain’s attempt to take upset Hillary backers from Obama with Palin is not working.
The Republican National Convention is expected to begin tomorrow, like normal, for now. With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on Louisiana, President Bush is now less likely to attend the convention. Also, there are reports that Senator McCain might give his acceptance speech via satellite.
Two top Alaskan newspapers have published editorials questioning Sarah Palin’s qualifications to be vice president. Writes the Anchorage Daily News:
And it’s stunning that someone with so little national and international experience might be heartbeat away from the presidency.
Gov. Palin is a classic Alaska story. She is an example of the opportunity our state offers to those with talent, initiative and determination…
McCain picked Palin despite a recent blemish on her ethically pure resume. While she was governor, members of her family and staff tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the Alaska State Troopers. Her public safety commissioner would not do so; she forced him out, supposedly for other reasons. While she runs for vice-president, the Legislature has an investigator on the case.
For all those advantages, Palin joins the ticket with one huge weakness: She’s a total beginner on national and international issues.
Gov. Palin will have to spend the next two months convincing Americans that she’s ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency….
Sen. John McCain’s selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate was a stunning decision that should make Alaskans proud, even while we wonder about the actual merits of the choice…. Alaskans and Americans must ask, though, whether she should become vice president and, more importantly, be placed first in line to become president.
In fact, as the governor herself acknowledged in her acceptance speech, she never set out to be involved in public affairs. She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?
Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it.
A rumor stating that Sarah Palin visited the Middle East before Barack Obama has rapidly gained traction in the blogosphere. Additionally, some versions of this rumor say that Palin visited Iraq before Obama.
It took one day before John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, was booed by a crowd. According to Marc Ambinder, Palin was booed by a crowd in Washington, Pennsylvania during her stump speech when she tried used a line that was designed to garner the support of Hillary Clinton supporters. As this report is just coming in, there is no way to tell whether the crowd was booing Clinton or Palin.
Update: The boos were for Hillary Clinton, not Governor Palin.
The selection of Sarah Palin caught many by surprise and when I heard about it, I must admit that my initial reaction was pleasant surprise. Perhaps it was due to our having ranked Palin as a legitimate running mate for Senator McCain back in May and been privately mentioning her as a possibility to friends after being plied with a few too many alcoholic beverages. Ok, enough with the tooting of our own horn.
As news of Sarah Palin’s selection began to sink in, our regular sources had two different reactions: the Republican sources said, “What a great pick!” and our Democratic sources said, “What a great pick!” However, their reactions were based on two different beliefs. Democrats on the whole believe Palin to be a weak pick. Republicans believe her to be a solid pick that holds a decent amount of risk. Read the rest of this entry »
Sarah Palin is already making an impact as John McCain’s running mate. Since announcing Palin as his running mate yesterday, John McCain has raised $7 million for his presidential campaign.
Update: The figure has been revised and the official word is that McCain raised $4 million in the first twenty-four hours since announcing Palin as his running mate.
In an August 14, 2008 interview with Time Magazine, just two weeks ago, Sarah Palin gave a rather incoherent answer about the Iraq War. The audio is below (apologies that it is in YouTube form):
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