The Next President of the USA will be?

[Del Zeppnile]

Del, YOU DO REALIZE YOU ALTERED EVERY QUOTE by putting my name in them. THEY WERE ALL SAID BY SOMEONE ELSE (appears they are from your conversations with Lake of Shadows).

Do you have no dignity?

Sorry about that Tangerine. I must have had one of your quote tags already "loaded" in my edit/copy/paste thingy before responding to Lakey. I would go back and fix the quote tags, but the software on this forum only allows that up to so many hours after a post has been made. It used to be that you could edit any of your posts at any point.

But anyway, you should be happy about the mistake; since having your name on Lakey's quotes automatically appears to raise your I.Q. up at least 70 points.

I'm kinda curious... did you attribute pieces of my post to Tangerine DELiberately or were you just having a "Del moment"?

Obviously a "DEL moment" from the resident "BlunderCHIEF"

FWIW, yeah, I think I'd rather listen to Michelle 'ramble on and on' than to Cindy drone on... at least I'd be able to stay awake.

I don't want to listen to Cindy, I just want a couple of hours to spank and potty train her.

[Del Zeppnile]

Sarah Palin's lead.. erm, I mean..

John McCain's lead over Barack Obama.. continues to dwindle. RCP shows

McCain's lead has gone from 3% on 9/8, to 2.3% on 9/13, to 1.6% today.

The bump Palin gave McCain has run it's course. The "Anything But

Straight Talk Express" is on a downhill trajectory and about to crash.

The impending McCain campaign crash apparently has Johnny Mac feeling a bit reflective today. At a stump speech he said.. "Can I tell you a story, my friends, about the time I was flying over Corpus Christi Bay back in 1958?.."

But check out Colorado polls today. McCain is winning among "likely voters" there. In another few days he will have a good lead based on the trending there.

If Obama were to win Colorado, then McCain would need to pick up New Hampshire just to tie him 269/269 (what a wild ride that would be). And that is why Colorado is very important this year to the Republicans. I'm not worried about Florida or Ohio (crossing my fingers on Ohio). And obviously McCain is not doing well in Iowa and New Mexico (two states that Bush carried in 2004). But keep an eye on Michigan and Wisconsin this year. Some of the polls among white women are looking very promising for McCain since the Sarah Palin announcment in those two States. Something to keep an eye on.

BUT...

We'll need to see how the stock market drop today might help Obama in the polls. If Obama takes any advise from the Clinton/Carvelll playbook, he will stop attacking McCain and just dwell on the economy. Although, I'm not sure Obama is bright enough to listen to Clinton on strategy. Same as Al Gore and John Kerrry weren't.

[~tangerine~]

..you guys are funny.

Of course Palin is "Constitutionally qualified", KB. That's a no brainer.

Obviously all four candidates in this race are "Constitutionally qualified".

They wouldn't otherwise be candidates,.. now would they, my friend?

But,.. ummmmmmm.. PipeboyDerigable is "Constitutionally qualified" too.

So is srplane, Del Zeppnile, Rosie O'Donnell and millions of other Americans.

Being "Constitutionally qualified" does not mean one is ready to serve as POTUS.

Duh.

Obama has been thoroughly vetted. He WON his party's nomination.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS.

Biden has been thoroughly vetted before being chosen as Obama's running mate.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS if need be.

McCain has been thoroughly vetted. He WON his party's nomination.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS.

Palin? Yes, she is "Constitutionally qualified", but that doesn't tell us much anything meaningful about her actual readiness to serve as POTUS. She was not nationally vetted before being "tapped" to be McCain's running mate; she's just now being nationally vetted; her record is being reviewed and scrutinized; her social, religious, and political ideological positions are being reviewed, questioned, and scrutinized. So far I've seen no evidence whatsoever that convinces me she's ready to step in as POTUS should McCain win the election and then become incapacitated. And I've yet to hear anyone from the right put forth a convincing case suggesting that Palin IS actually ready to serve as POTUS if need be.

Get it.. (yet)?

The question remains the same:

What is it that makes Palin ready to step in as POTUS?

PTA.. mayor of Podunk.. half-term governor. Is that all you got?

C'mon, McCain-Palin supporters! Step up and put forth a convincing

argument for what it is that makes Palin ready to serve as POTUS.

This oughta be entertaining!

We may never know her qualifications, she's not talking, lol. This is ludicrous already. No other nominee would get away with such ignorance towards the press and citizens of the country she wants to runner-up, i mean assist in leading (into the ground more i presume).

Biden challenges Palin to take questions

By MIKE ALLEN | 9/7/08 10:10 AM EST Text Size:

Biden aides say that his longtime view is that life begins at conception.

Photo: AP

Joe Biden is accusing the McCain campaign of sequestering Sarah Palin, his counterpart on the Republican ticket, and challenged her Sunday to sit for network interviews.

“She's a smart, tough politician,” Biden told Tom Brokaw in a “Meet the Press” interview live from Wilmington, Del. “So I think she's going to be formidable. Eventually, she's going to have to sit in front of you like I'm doing and have done. Eventually, she's going to have to answer questions and not be sequestered. Eventually, she's going to have to answer on the record.”

The McCain campaign says Palin will eventually do interviews, but none are scheduled.

Biden, too, took a weekend off from the Sunday shows after he was named as running mate for Barack Obama, although Biden appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes."

During the interview, Biden also repeated his previous view that “life begins at the moment of conception,” the same position as John McCain.

“For me, as a Roman Catholic, I’m prepared to accept the teachings of my church,” Biden told Brokaw. “I’m prepared, as a matter of faith, to accept that life begins at the moment of conception.

“But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else, who is equally — and maybe even more — devout than I am, seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society.”

Aides said that is Biden’s longtime position — the answer he always gives.

Brokaw asked Biden how he could have that view and also vote for abortion rights.

“No … I have voted against curtailing the right — criminalizing abortion,” Biden replied. “I have voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it’s a moment of conception."

See Also

Sarah Palin has yet to meet the press

GOP ticket makes its Western debut

Pre-Palin, a VP pick judged on looks

Biden also said:

• Iraq will only be stable under Obama, not under McCain.

Brokaw asked: “Five years from now, do you think Iraq will have relative stability and democratic principles in the central government?”

Biden replied: “If there is an Obama-Biden administration, yeah. If there is a John McCain administration and Sarah Palin, I think it's probably not going to happen. Because John does not view this in terms of the region. I never heard him speak about how he's going to integrate Iraq into the region, where you have these competing interests that exist.”

• McCain’s claim to being a change agent is “malarkey.”

“I heard Sarah Palin and John McCain talk about change,” Biden said. “Tell me one single thing they’re going to do — on the economy, foreign policy, taxes, that is going to be change. Name me one! This is such malarkey — 90 percent of the time, John votes with the president.”

• Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), a former Democratic ticketmate who is now a vocal McCain supporter, is going to have a tough choice about which party to caucus with in January.

“Every time I see Joe these days, I walk up and I say, ‘Say it ain’t so, Joe — say it ain’t so,’” Biden said. “Look, Joe has made a judgment. Joe is going to have to make a tougher judgment when this election is over.”

www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13218.html

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and from the more average people:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics...ons_sarah_p.php

Eight Debate Questions Sarah Palin Does Not Want Asked of Her

Democrats and Barack Obama supporters made the grave mistake of attacking the experience (and competence) of GOP Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin too soon out of the gate last week. Beginning just a few days after McCain’s announcement that Palin would be his running mate, the left (and some in the center) criticized the pick so harshly that expectations for Palin were quite low when she gave her speech before the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.

As such, her performance was largely seen as a rousing success – but not because it addressed any of the policy (or experience) concerns raised by Obama supporters. Because Obama surrogates and supporters had criticized and, in truth, mocked Palin so greatly for half a week (e.g. her beauty pageant past, her motherhood decisions), they essentially put into question whether she could walk and chew gum at the same time. Palin, a smart politician, could not help but far exceed these low-ball expectations with her well-delivered speech – a speech that also gave a surprising amount of red meat to the crowd.

But while Palin’s speech wisely introduced herself to America by focusing on her personal life, it did little to answer questions about many of the economic and policy concerns that America will continue to face in the next four years.

The extent to which Palin is introduced to the nation through more challenging press appearances on programs like Meet the Press is unclear. What is known is that Palin will participate in the 2008 vice-presidential debate on October 2nd at Washington University in St. Louis.

Smart Politics has assembled a list of the eight questions Palin probably would rather not want asked of her at that forum:

1. Do you believe sex before marriage is immoral? (For Palin to answer that question directly she would either have to implicitly call her daughter immoral or show vulnerability on how consistent she is in her religious/family beliefs).

2. Do you believe government should force a woman who has been impregnated through rape to carry the baby to term? (Palin’s anti-abortion stance with few exceptions is out of the mainstream and could force non-political women who are intrigued by her candidacy to face her policy positions head on).

3. Who is the president of…? (George W. Bush struggled with this question in his 2000 presidential campaign, though it did not occur during the debates).

4. Do you think our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would be safer if more Americans prayed to God for the success of their mission? (Many Americans, though certainly far from all, had problems when George W. Bush ‘talked to God’ in his foreign policy decision-making).

5. Why have you never taken a public position on the issue of immigration? (This question would highlight the fact that she is the governor of a state that might be out of the mainstream in terms of the problems it faces; i.e. Alaska does not face any significant immigration problems).

6. Do you think Alaskan gun laws should be adopted in New York City? (Again, highlighting Alaskan exceptionalism).

7. (Any question relating to the pending investigation of her in Alaska).

8. Who do you support in the 2008 Alaskan U.S. Senate race? (She does not want to be tied to Ted Stevens, the scandal-plagued Republican, Mark Begich, who is a Democrat, or Bob Bird of the very right-wing Alaskan Independence Party (of which her husband Todd was once a member)).

Posted by Eric Ostermeier on September 7, 2008 10:11 AM | Permalink ¤

Comments

what is a vp job, what does she mean define her abstinence to sex education plateform? WHAT DID SHE MEAN THAT THE IRAQ WAR WAS A TASK FROM GOD? what is her education qualification ? what kind of diversity and what has she done to promote diversity in alaska? what are her thought on global problems facing america ? what her position on foreigh policy and issues and i do not hink it sexeist to ask her after all mother have been the foe front and bear most of child care these days ALL OVER THE WORALD WELTHER YOU LIKE IT ARE NOT IS HER HUSBAND PREPARE TO BE MR. MOM ARE A HOUSE HUSBAND TO YOUR CLAIM WHEN YOUR OUT SWOLING THE WORLDS PROBLEMS WE LOOK AT OBAMA WHO HAS TWO HEALTHY KIDS HIS WONDERFUL WIFE IS THEIR AND MOTHER LIKE HILLARY WHO WAITED UNTIL THEIR ONE HEALTHY CHILD GROW UP FULLY TO RUN FOR OFFICE THIS IS A 100 PERCENT DEMANDING ALL JOB OUR RACE GENDER AND LIVE DPEND ON THESE VOTE NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE A WHITE WOMEN.

Posted by: dweetta adams | September 7, 2008 11:52 AM

There are several more she'd have difficulty with as well, in spite of the fact that she is excellent with double-speak.

How about adding these?

9) How would drilling in Alaska help the middle class in the lower 48?

10) What impact would drilling in Alaska have on global warming and the environment in general?

11) Where do you go for information and with whom do you converse when making high-impact decisions?

12) Name one decision you have made as an executive that was as important as speaking to the president of another country.

13) Name one thing you've done as governor that helped the middle class and did not involve your personal interests, such as sports.

14) Why are you against libraries for children? Why do you want books censored?

15) List your top 10 values. Where would you place "ambition" and "money" in them?

16) What is your understanding of global warming and what agencies would you work with internationally to resolve it?

17) You've stated that global warming "isn't caused by man." Where did you get this information and why do you think it outweighs all the information to the contrary from the scientific community?

so many more....

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and just to show NOT all Alaskan women have a celebrity crush on this person:

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/a...-rally-is-huge/

‘Alaska Women Reject Palin’ Rally is HUGE!

14

09

2008

I attended the Welcome Home rally for Sarah Palin this morning. Hooo. It was an experience. About a thousand (maybe) hard-core Palin supporters showed up to hear her speak at the new Dena’ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage.

After shaking it off with a good double shot of espresso, and a brisk walk back to my car, it was time to head to the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally. It was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.

The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots”, and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received many nasty, harassing and threatening messages.

So, as I jettisoned myself from the jaws of the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ crowd and toward the mystery rally at the library, I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage, if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 people there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.

Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.

Then, the infamous Eddie Burke showed up. He tried to talk to the media, and was instantly surrounded by a group of 20 people who started shouting O-BA-MA so loud he couldn’t be heard. Then passing cars started honking in a rhythmic pattern of 3, like the Obama chant, while the crowd cheered, hooted and waved their signs high.

So, if you’ve been doing the math… Yes. The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin’s rally that got all the national media coverage! So take heart, sit back, and enjoy the photo gallery. Feel free to spread the pictures around (links are appreciated) to anyone who needs to know that Sarah Palin most definitely does not speak for all Alaskans. The citizens of Alaska, who know her best, have things to say.

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and by now everyone must have heard about her being uncooperative in the "Troopergate" investigation. This woman has too much to hide. and please, no "conspiracy" theories, lol.

[Del Zeppnile]

and by now everyone must have heard about her being uncooperative in the "Troopergate" investigation. This woman has too much to hide. and please, no "conspiracy" theories, lol.

[~tangerine~]

Sorry about that Tangerine. I must have had one of your quote tags already "loaded" in my edit/copy/paste thingy before responding to Lakey. I would go back and fix the quote tags, but the software on this forum only allows that up to so many hours after a post has been made. It used to be that you could edit any of your posts at any point.

But anyway, you should be happy about the mistake; since having your name on Lakey's quotes automatically appears to raise your I.Q. up at least 70 points.

Obviously a "DEL moment" from the resident "BlunderCHIEF"

I don't want to listen to Cindy, I just want a couple of hours to spank and potty train her.

I accept your (what seems to be) apology. My thought was you were trying to make me look like i agree with you, lol.

As for the snide comment, well i will say, LOS is very wise and certainly intelligent. I consider myself to have "average" intelligence, but i can certainly think freely and see clearly (even with thick lenses).

[Del Zeppnile]

I accept your (what seems to be) apology. My thought was you were trying to make me look like i agree with you, lol.

That would probably not be possible...

unless of course my brain fell out.

As for the snide comment, well i will say, LOS is very wise and certainly intelligent. I consider myself to have "average" intelligence, but i can certainly think freely and see clearly (even with thick lenses).

Lakey is a great gal, except when she is has been drinking too much.

I once saw her pull a 7/11 clerk over the counter by his collar because they were out of her brand of cigarettes. (She smokes Pall Mall menthol)

Of course she didn't remember the incident the next morning.

[~tangerine~]

That would probably not be possible...

unless of course my brain fell out.

Lakey is a great gal, except when she is has been drinking too much.

I once saw her pull a 7/11 clerk over the counter by his collar because they were out of her brand of cigarettes. (She smokes Pall Mall menthol)

Of course she didn't remember the incident the next morning.

I bet we could find something to agree on. I know we both love Led Zeppelin. (did it work, did your brain fall out?)

anyway, like you my feelings on who runs our country are very passionate. I admire you trying to get people to see your views, unfortunately your views won't improve the problems we are facing. Today is the best and one of the most unfortunate examples i can think of. You can blame whoever you think is to blame, but the economy in this country has been under the watch of The Bush Administration, and we are in sorry shape. Worst stock market crash since 1987. Ugh...makes me feel sick thinking about it. I won't post any links on this or Karl Rove criticizing John McCain's campaign (though that really shocked me, and should open some of your eyes). I thought Rove was the epitome of evil (getting Bush elected more than once), but to my surprise he showed integrity in speaking the truth in the case of McCain.

goodnight, it's 4:35am here.

[Del Zeppnile]

I bet we could find something to agree on. I know we both love Led Zeppelin. (did it work, did your brain fall out?)

I don't love Led Zeppelin, I just like their music.

anyway, like you my feelings on who runs our country are very passionate. I admire you trying to get people to see your views, unfortunately your views won't improve the problems we are facing. Today is the best and one of the most unfortunate examples i can think of. You can blame whoever you think is to blame, but the economy in this country has been under the watch of The Bush Administration, and we are in sorry shape. Worst stock market crash since 1987. Ugh...makes me feel sick thinking about it.

And let's keep today's market drop in perspective. In 1987 the market lost 22% in one day. Today's drop was only 4%.

I've been watching the Asian markets, and they are dropping too (some people will always panic everytime these things happen). But I'm really not too worried about what happened today. We'll see what happens when the market opens -- I'm sure there will more selling. But I always use these oppourtunities to buy... and I'm not selling ANYTHING right now either.

I just hope that in this election season both canidates don't start talking about bailing any more companies out. This is just a market correction. Don't panic.

I won't post any links on this or Karl Rove criticizing John McCain's campaign (though that really shocked me, and should open some of your eyes). I thought Rove was the epitome of evil (getting Bush elected more than once), but to my surprise he showed integrity in speaking the truth in the case of McCain.

Karl Rove has always had a lot of integrity. I heard what he said today, and he felt that the McCain campaign had "gone one step too far over the line" with at least one of these ads. And Karl is right about that when it comes to negative ads. Any canidate has to be very careful because they tend to have the effect of turning voters off at some point. There is a tipping point of course --- canidates would not use these ads if they did not work. But there is always the chance for a backlash.

But speaking of political campaign gurus like Rove; did you see what James Carvell said about the negative campaign ad on Obama's education bill by McCain?

[I have got a horsey]

Joe Klein, TIME Magazine:

How McCain Makes Obama Conservative

Both the major-party candidates for President have now made their first major decision — on a running mate — and I can't remember a year when the selections were more revealing about the character of the candidates. What we have is a choice between a conservative and a radical.

The conservative is Barack Obama. He is a careful man, perhaps to a fault. His vice-presidential selection process was quiet, orderly and comprehensive. The selection of Joe Biden was no great surprise — he added experience to the ticket, a reliable loyalist and gleeful attack dog, a working-class Roman Catholic with a terrific personal story. The process was in keeping with the rest of Obama's candidacy: he has taken no great risks. His policy positions are carefully thought out and eminently reasonable, reflecting the solid middle ground of a Democratic Party that is more united on substance than I've ever seen it.

This small-c conservatism is, in part, a calculation. Obama doesn't want to seem angry or threatening, for obvious reasons. But it is also a reflection of who he really is: a fellow who does not like to disappoint anyone, who is obsessed with finding common ground. That may be a great advantage in a President at this ugly moment in our history — but I would feel more comfortable with Obama if he took an occasional play from John McCain's book of partisan transgressions and gored some Democratic oxen. It would be nice if he, say, challenged the teachers' unions, which didn't support him anyway and whose work rules choke out any chance of creative experimentation in the public-school system. Or if he stood against the atrocious Farm Bill, which spreads unnecessary fiscal fertilizer upon an already profitable industry. Or if he didn't feel the need to promise a tax cut to 95% of American families.

But Obama's weakness for undue prudence seems downright virtuous compared with the recklessness that McCain showed in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. He had months to make this choice, but he allowed it to come down to a chaotic scramble in the last week — a reaction, it seems, to the fact that the Republican Party elders had vetoed his first two choices, Senator Joe Lieberman and former governor Tom Ridge. McCain wasn't going to give the bosses the choice they wanted — Mitt Romney — and he cast about, deciding on Palin, an occasional maverick, at the last minute. He had never worked with the governor. He had spoken to her a few times. His team, it now seems clear, had not vetted her very well. In her first appearance alongside McCain, she claimed to oppose the "bridge to nowhere," that Alaskan icon of pork mythology, but she had supported the bridge until it was clear that the hullabaloo would prevent it from being built.

As the week progressed, it became apparent that Palin stood diametrically opposed to McCain on issues large and small. She passed a windfall-profits tax on the oil companies — the very sort of tax that McCain excoriated Obama for favoring — which successfully swelled the coffers of the Alaskan treasury. She didn't believe global warming was a man-made phenomenon; McCain had confronted Republican orthodoxy on that issue — boldly, at first, and timidly more recently.

Palin was a blatant porker when she was mayor of Wasilla, hiring a lobbying firm to rake in the projects; she was close to the corrupt megaporker Senator Ted Stevens, a frequent McCain adversary and champion of the mythic bridge. Rather than putting "country first," her husband had been a member of a local secessionist fringe group called the Alaskan Independence Party, whose slogan is "Alaska first," and Palin apparently attended or spoke at several of the group's meetings. Her lack of interest in foreign policy and national security was the opposite of McCain's obsession with such issues. She called the Iraq war a "task that is from God."

Indeed, it seemed Palin and McCain held common ground on only two high-profile issues — an admirable rebelliousness when it came to their party's hierarchy and their opposition to abortion rights. Given the fact that McCain's top two choices for Vice President, Lieberman and Ridge, favored abortion rights, it would not be unfair to conclude that McCain's devotion to this issue was more political than personal.

The Palin selection — peremptory, petulant — was another example of McCain's preference for the politics of gesture over the politics of substance, as is his sudden fondness for oil exploration ("Drill here, drill now.") and hair-trigger bellicosity abroad (Syria, Iran, Russia). His lack of interest in actual governance is disappointing; his aversion to contemplation seems truly alarming. He has done us all a favor with this pick: he has shown us exactly what sort of President he would be.

[JimmyPage1977]

Of course Palin is "Constitutionally qualified", KB. That's a no brainer.

Obviously all four candidates in this race are "Constitutionally qualified".

They wouldn't otherwise be candidates,.. now would they, my friend?

Obama has been thoroughly vetted. He WON his party's nomination.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS.

Biden has been thoroughly vetted before being chosen as Obama's running mate.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS if need be.

McCain has been thoroughly vetted. He WON his party's nomination.

He's not just "Constitutionally qualified", he's actually ready to be POTUS.

Palin? Yes, she is "Constitutionally qualified", but that doesn't tell us much anything meaningful about her actual readiness to serve as POTUS. She was not nationally vetted before being "tapped" to be McCain's running mate; she's just now being nationally vetted; her record is being reviewed and scrutinized; her social, religious, and political ideological positions are being reviewed, questioned, and scrutinized. So far I've seen no evidence whatsoever that convinces me she's ready to step in as POTUS should McCain win the election and then become incapacitated. And I've yet to hear anyone from the right put forth a convincing case suggesting that Palin IS actually ready to serve as POTUS if need be.

The question remains the same:

What is it that makes Palin ready to step in as POTUS?

PTA.. mayor of Podunk.. half-term governor. Is that all you got?

C'mon, McCain-Palin supporters! Step up and put forth a convincing

argument for what it is that makes Palin ready to serve as POTUS.

Obama has less executive experience than Palin. They are running for executive office.

Regardless of the populations involved:

A small town mayor still has the responsibilities of an elected EXECUTIVE OFFICIAL.

A governor is an elected EXECUTIVE OFFICIAL. She has more time than Obama in office that involves executive duties. She was elected by the people in her constituencies to perform those tasks. I guess that she is locally "vetted".

By your argument, Joe, Barack Obama is not qualified, by lack of experience, to perform the duties of the Executive Office of POTUS. He has no public office executive experience....PERIOD! ZERO!

To compare him with Biden and McCain, experience-wise is just plain silly...

Nice day....you out getting a tan?

[Suz]

Yeah it was so awesome how the Rove machine treated McCain in 2000......"did you know that John McCain has an illegitimate BLACK child????!!!" Remember that? That's what they told voters on the phone, in regards to McCain's adopted daughter (who isn't black). Apparently there are a lot of voters in this country who could be swayed by something like that How 'bout when they called people and told them they couldn't vote if they had unpaid parking tickets? Nice. Well, they got what they wanted. I said it before: they banked on people's stupidity and won. The only problem is...who the hell are all these stupid people??? I only see them in here (and on tv when I need comedy). I feel like I should be making notes in a journal for future generations. Then my grandkids could read it and shake their heads.

[cryingbluerain]

McCain Has the Advantage Over Obama in Post-Convention Polls

September 16, 2008 02:49 PM ET | Michael Barone | Permanent Link

The post-convention national polls mostly show John McCain with a small lead over Barack Obama. But what's been happening in the states? I've been looking at the post-convention state polls at realclearpolitics.com, pollster.com, and fivethirtyeight.com and find some significant differences from pre-convention polls. They tend to suggest that the battlefield is shifting, with more states within McCain's reach and fewer within Obama's.

Some caution is in order: We're talking about only one or two polls in some states but as many as eight in ultracritical Ohio. I haven't included the Zogby Internet polls in my analysis. I've rounded off the averages in each state to full percentages (and rounded 0.5s downwards for both candidates), and I'm reporting the difference between the McCain percentage and Obama percentage. Here's my analysis:

The big industrial states. Michigan and Pennsylvania are Obama +2, Ohio is McCain +3. In each case, McCain is 1 point better than Bush's final percentage against Kerry in each state. An old rule of American politics is that economic distress moves voters toward Democrats. Michigan, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania are in economic distress. But they haven't moved toward the Democratic nominee, as compared with 2004. The old rule isn't operating. Here's another possible rule. When voters see that tax increases aren't producing a better economy, they don't move toward a Democratic nominee who is proposing higher taxes, even though he says they'll hit only the rich. In Michigan, the Democrats (with a few turncoat Republicans) raised taxes in 2007; in Ohio, the Republicans (with some Democratic support) raised taxes before 2006. Those tax increases haven't helped those states' economies, not so as you'd notice, though they've helped members of public employees unions. McCain was running much worse than this in pre-convention polls in Pennsylvania and somewhat worse in Michigan. His convention bounce gives him a good chance to win the electoral votes of Pennsylvania (21) and Michigan (17), while leaving him in pretty good shape in Ohio (20).

The new marginals. Obama has been running consistently better than John Kerry or Al Gore in Colorado and Virginia, states that have had comparatively vibrant economies and have also seen influxes of young voters, who tend to be heavily pro-Obama. Just look at all those singles rental apartments and loft-like condos in Arlington and Alexandria and LoDo in Denver. Colorado comes out of the conventions as +1 Obama, Virginia as +1 McCain. In both cases, the average is depressed by one poll that shows the state going the other way. Colorado (9 electoral votes) and Virginia (13) are still very hotly contested ground.

The northern tier. The Obama campaign had hoped to be competitive in some northern tier states: the Dakotas, Montana, and Alaska. Pre-convention polls provided some reasonable basis for this hope. Post-convention polls don't. Alaska, unsurprisingly, is McCain-Palin +27. Montana is McCain +11, North Dakota McCain +14, South Dakota +17. More importantly, Minnesota is just Obama +1, Wisconsin Obama +3, Washington Obama +4, Oregon Obama +7. So scratch 12 electoral votes as plausible Obama targets and add 38 electoral votes as plausible McCain targets (or, excluding Oregon, 31 electoral votes). This is a big change, and it remains to be seen if later polls will show these states to be as close as the relatively few polls we've seen so far do.

The western odd ducks. Nevada is McCain +2. New Mexico, in a shift from pre-convention polls, is McCain +2 (but that's only one poll). These states were seriously contested in 2000 and 2004 and look to be again in 2008.

The South. Florida is McCain +5; it was Bush +5 in 2004. North Carolina is McCain +11; it was Bush +12 in 2004 (despite the presence on the Democratic ticket of the now happily forgotten John Edwards). But two North Carolina polls show McCain way ahead (+17 and +20); two others show him, as did most pre-convention polls, narrowly ahead (+3 and +4). I have more respect for the polling firms showing the big McCain margins, but this state still bears watching. Georgia, where Obama has sent scads of organizers, is McCain +16.

The Northeast. One poll shows New Hampshire Obama +6 (Zogby Interactive has McCain ahead there): inconclusive. Three polls show New Jersey as Obama +6; it was Kerry +7 in 2004. Astonishingly, one poll shows New York as Obama +5, but this is Siena, which seems to have a lot more undecideds than other New York polls, which have shown Obama well above 50 percent. The New Jersey and New York numbers may tempt the McCain campaign to start advertising on New York City media. I suspect this is a temptation that will and should be resisted, for the time being.

There are a lot of states with no post-convention polls, including interesting ones like Indiana and (if only because of its 55 electoral votes) California. My overall conclusion is that the playing field has shifted in favor of McCain. He seems competitive now, where he arguably wasn't before the conventions, in Pennsylvania (21 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10), Minnesota (10), Washington (11), and maybe Oregon (7): a total of 59 electoral votes, all carried by John Kerry and Al Gore. Obama no longer seems competitive in North Dakota (3), Montana (3), and Alaska (3): a total of 9 electoral votes.

Or to look at it another way, from Bush's 2004 electoral vote total of 286, you now have to subtract Iowa (7), which is Obama +12 in the latest Des Moines Register poll, and maybe Colorado (9), Virginia (13), and New Mexico (5), which gets the Republican total down to 252. Or to 247, if you include Nevada (5). But in the northern tier there are 63 more electoral votes within reasonable reach of McCain in the northern tier and New Hampshire. And maybe he wants to start looking at New Jersey (15). I see Obama as competitive or leading in states with 338 electoral votes (granting him the 27 in Florida, which looks to me increasingly unlikely). I see McCain as competitive or leading in states with 342 electoral votes. Advantage shifting toward McCain.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2008/09...tion-polls.html

[dpat]

Want to elect another Republican for U.S. President?

Are you INSANE?!!!

The middle class in the U.S. has been getting the shaft for decades. Hard work and education no longer guarantee a decent job in this country. Move to India or China for steady work.

And the lower middle class continues to buy into the fear mongerers ... ooooh, we're gonna all git blown up by the terr'ists ... oh George Bush, please protect us!! Here, take my rights away! Please suspend habeas corpus. Feel free to snoop on our internet searches or listen to our private phone conversations. TAKE MY LIBERTY AWAY!!

McCain says Obama teaching sex ed to kindergarten students ... THE TRUTH IS Obama helped pass a bill in Illinois to help little children recognize inappropriate touching from pedeophiles (too lazy to look up the spelling). McCain also took a Katie Curic quote (about Hillary Clinton) about sexism in the campaign and made it applied to Sarah "Yee Haw" Palin until Katie Curic demanded they withdraw the quote used out of context. And don't get me started about Palin's supposed "bridge to nowhere" nonsense... she said "thank you" to the federal money.

Oh yeah, and how about how McCain twisted the "lipstick on a pig" quote?

McCain has turned into a LIAR.

[JimmyPage1977]

Want to elect another Republican for U.S. President?

Are you INSANE?!!!

The middle class in the U.S. has been getting the shaft for decades. Hard work and education no longer guarantee a decent job in this country. Move to India or China for steady work.

And the lower middle class continues to buy into the fear mongerers ... ooooh, we're gonna all git blown up by the terr'ists ... oh George Bush, please protect us!! Here, take my rights away! Please suspend habeas corpus. Feel free to snoop on our internet searches or listen to our private phone conversations. TAKE MY LIBERTY AWAY!!

McCain says Obama teaching sex ed to kindergarten students ... THE TRUTH IS Obama helped pass a bill in Illinois to help little children recognize inappropriate touching from pedeophiles (too lazy to look up the spelling). McCain also took a Katie Curic quote (about Hillary Clinton) about sexism in the campaign and made it applied to Sarah "Yee Haw" Palin until Katie Curic demanded they withdraw the quote used out of context. And don't get me started about Palin's supposed "bridge to nowhere" nonsense... she said "thank you" to the federal money.

Oh yeah, and how about how McCain twisted the "lipstick on a pig" quote?

McCain has turned into a LIAR.

Funny stuff, man....

[~tangerine~]

Want to elect another Republican for U.S. President?

Are you INSANE?!!!

The middle class in the U.S. has been getting the shaft for decades. Hard work and education no longer guarantee a decent job in this country. Move to India or China for steady work.

And the lower middle class continues to buy into the fear mongerers ... ooooh, we're gonna all git blown up by the terr'ists ... oh George Bush, please protect us!! Here, take my rights away! Please suspend habeas corpus. Feel free to snoop on our internet searches or listen to our private phone conversations. TAKE MY LIBERTY AWAY!!

McCain says Obama teaching sex ed to kindergarten students ... THE TRUTH IS Obama helped pass a bill in Illinois to help little children recognize inappropriate touching from pedeophiles (too lazy to look up the spelling). McCain also took a Katie Curic quote (about Hillary Clinton) about sexism in the campaign and made it applied to Sarah "Yee Haw" Palin until Katie Curic demanded they withdraw the quote used out of context. And don't get me started about Palin's supposed "bridge to nowhere" nonsense... she said "thank you" to the federal money.

Oh yeah, and how about how McCain twisted the "lipstick on a pig" quote?

McCain has turned into a LIAR.

SADLY MANY ARE!!! It's true that Bush won on his "fear mongering" tactics, and i'm sure McCain is going to use the same slime to win over the stupid people. Lol, i personally know "a few" of them. You would think they have brains, but then when it comes to Politics (and they can't really explain why) they are Republican and that is just the way they will vote. If Tweety Bird was running on the Republican ticket, that is who they would pick At least Tweety Bird isn't a liar...and that's another thing McCain and Palin DO have in common.

[Pb Derigable]

Maybe the middle and lower class should get off there ass, sell their house they can't afford and get a better job.

The only reason the middle got shit from bush is because the middle class deserve nothing.

I am middle class and i relized the only one who can help me is me.

The dems passed a housing bill in the 90's so every one can get into a house.

It. started a new loan called NINJA No Income No Job No Assets NO problem.

So because some asshole could not read his home loan contract, and thought a house was an invesment, not a home, Obama is going to make me pay for it!f solved evert

The only thing Bush could of done was to build cheap apartments and kick people out of their house.

Of course Bush and some Repubs presented some reforms a few years ago, but as always the dems blocked that one.

NO drilling

No Nukes

No Reform

More of the same

Obama

[Pb Derigable]

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong."

~John McCain, in response to the stock market crisis.

~John McCain, in response to the mortgage crisis.

~John McCain, assessing the economy 14 other times during his campaign.

~John McCain, assessing the current US economy while at the same time parroting

...Hubert Hoover's assessement of the economy.. just prior to The Great Depression.

"There should be a 9/11-type commission to look into it."

~John McCain, 9/16/08, admitting he has no idea what's behind the stock market crisis.

"You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska -- from an island in Alaska."

~Sarah Palin, explaining her foreign affairs experience.

"I told Congress 'Thanks, but no thanks' ".

~Sarah Palin, lying about her support for the Bridge To Nowhere.

Tell me one drop, what is wrong about the economy. Can't say bush tax cuts because they increased investing.

Tell me whats wrong, not the effects. I know people can't afford homes they just could never afford. What make this economy bad. Is it because we are capitalist?

Lets raise some taxes

Lets prop up people

Lets see them fall

Lets blame Bush

More of the same

Obama

[allthekingshorses]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/1...en&psp=news

Is the McCain campaign trying to disenfranchise voters in Wisconsin?

It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

[JimmyPage1977]

McCain and Biden also have less executive experience than Palin, and they too are running for an executive office. Surely you're not suggesting that Palin is more qualified to serve as POTUS than McCain and Biden,.. are you?

I've never claimed that executive experience is the sole criteria/qualification for being POTUS, have I, Scotty? No, I haven't. My point has been that those assert that Palin's (undeniably limited) executive experience alone somehow qualifies her to be POTUS are making a bogus argument. What experience does she have working on national or international issues? NONE. What national or international vision does she have to offer? NONE (that we've heard of yet). How long has she been in office at the state level? 20 months.

Fwiw, I didn't compare Obama to Biden or McCain experience-wise.

In addition to his (bipartisan) legislative record at the state and national levels and his Senate Committee positions, Barack Obama has been the chief executive officer of one the largest, most-well run political campaigns in the history of US politics. He's effectively managed immense resources, both financial and in terms of man (and women) power. he has managed his campaign so effectively that he defeated a number of highly respected democratic primary opponents, including the Clinton political mega-machine, and he's currently in a position his republican political opponents said he could never be in: a dead-even race for POTUS with less 60 days to go in the campaign.

You're not giving executive experience ANY merit, because it doesn't fit into your heavily biased argument.

You blindly put Obama's minimal Senate record and his college degree as being an equal to Biden and McCain.... ..... that's a knee slapper....

...especially after you use the same lame lack of experience argument to discredit Sarah Palin's executive experience. She is a proven leader in two different executive position ELECTED jobs.

Obama is the executive officer of his campaign? Talk about grasping at thin straws for an argument...if you put that on a resume (for executive experience), it would be called... A LIE! The only person Obama was serving in leading his campaign is himself....Sarah Palin was serving her CONSTITUENTS!! BIG DIFFERENCE, bud. Talk about a lame debate....

It took a panel of 11 advisers to pick Joe Biden as his running mate...and I think that they blew it!! He is spending a butt load of his followers money and that's exactly the kind of experience that you liberals like in a POTUS!!

Everything you are saying is just YOUR OPINION....

ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT?

...just nod your head up and down...

The point is that all of them are qualified and until they actually take office we won't know how well they will do.

You see Hermit, NONE OF THEM HAS EXPERIENCE AT BEING THE POTUS!!

I'm still voting for Obama, but I'm tired of the lame slander coming from the left.... ruthless, baseless and undignified. Your opinion means very little to me. My reasons for voting for Obama have not even been mentioned. Instead I get to read stupid speculation and silly comparisons that have little or no merit to me as a voter.

The problem with you libs is that you DO have a slam dunk on issues alone, but you are too vicious and nasty to stick to them. Yeah, I know that the Righties are playing nasty too...but you guys would win easily if you stayed out of the mud.

Why don't you just talk about:

Women's Rights

Foreign Policy

The Economy

Fair Labor Practices

Legalization Of Marijuana

Stem Cell Research

Cutting Off Tax Breaks For the Wealthy 2% (Oh yeah, Biden tried that today and went into some weird fantasy rant about common people being able to buy toasters)

Oh never mind you'll never understand anyway!

The clouds are going to roll in...enjoy your Wednesday!

[wanna be drummer]

That's probably been posted here 50 times. We know what he said

[Pb Derigable]

You're not giving executive experience ANY merit, because it doesn't fit into your heavily biased argument.

You blindly put Obama's minimal Senate record and his college degree as being an equal to Biden and McCain.... ..... that's a knee slapper....

...especially after you use the same lame lack of experience argument to discredit Sarah Palin's executive experience. She is a proven leader in two different executive position ELECTED jobs.

Obama is the executive officer of his campaign? Talk about grasping at thin straws for an argument...if you put that on a resume (for executive experience), it would be called... A LIE! The only person Obama was serving in leading his campaign is himself....Sarah Palin was serving her CONSTITUENTS!! BIG DIFFERENCE, bud. Talk about a lame debate....

It took a panel of 11 advisers to pick Joe Biden as his running mate...and I think that they blew it!! He is spending a butt load of his followers money and that's exactly the kind of experience that you liberals like in a POTUS!!

Everything you are saying is just YOUR OPINION....

ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT?

...just nod your head up and down...

The point is that all of them are qualified and until they actually take office we won't know how well they will do.

You see Hermit, NONE OF THEM HAS EXPERIENCE AT BEING THE POTUS!!

I'm still voting for Obama, but I'm tired of the lame slander coming from the left.... ruthless, baseless and undignified. Your opinion means very little to me. My reasons for voting for Obama have not even been mentioned. Instead I get to read stupid speculation and silly comparisons that have little or no merit to me as a voter.

The problem with you libs is that you DO have a slam dunk on issues alone, but you are too vicious and nasty to stick to them. Yeah, I know that the Righties are playing nasty too...but you guys would win easily if you stayed out of the mud.

Why don't you just talk about:

Women's Rights

Foreign Policy

The Economy

Fair Labor Practices

Legalization Of Marijuana

Stem Cell Research

Cutting Off Tax Breaks For the Wealthy 2% (Oh yeah, Biden tried that today and went into some weird fantasy rant about common people being able to buy toasters)

Oh never mind you'll never understand anyway!

The clouds are going to roll in...enjoy your Wednesday!

Good job.

[Electrophile]

I'm so happy that about half the people posting in this thread are on my ignore list. Cuts the bullshit.

[wanna be drummer]

I'm not on your ignore am I Liz

[Electrophile]

I'm not on your ignore am I Liz

No you're not. You're one of the few non-Democrats around here who can form coherent sentences and arguments without the use of lame non-sequitors, ad hominem attacks and basic asshattery. Frankly, the fact you don't ascribe to either party gives your opinion more weight because you're not looking at it from a partisan perspective. We don't always agree, but at least I can respect your opinion. Can't say the same for a lot of other people. And I'm sure they say the same of me, and that's fantastic.

[wanna be drummer]

No you're not. You're one of the few non-Democrats around here who can form coherent sentences and arguments without the use of lame non-sequitors, ad hominem attacks and basic asshattery. Frankly, the fact you don't ascribe to either party gives your opinion more weight because you're not looking at it from a partisan perspective. We don't always agree, but at least I can respect your opinion. Can't say the same for a lot of other people. And I'm sure they say the same of me, and that's fantastic.

Well thank you so much! I'll drink to that