Can you believe I agree with Newt

It may be one of the most unbelieveable statements I've made in a long time, but "I agree with Newt Gingrich" when he tells the RNC to take down their latest video.

When will the republican party stop the pure witch hunts. We had 8 years of it with the Clintons' for every single thing they did or said. Are we destined for it again for another 4 or 8 years? It's things like this that have destroyed their party. It's become the party that cried wolf. If the RNC ever wants to go after Obama for anything real, no one will believe them. It's a hunt before he ever takes office. I was so hoping this wouldn't happen again.

You'd think that by now, especially after the last election, the Republican brass would realize that the American people have minds of their own. If Obama had done anything illegal with the Governor, the tapes wouldn't have had Gov. Blagojevich slamming Obama... he'd be praising him.

I was sure when Senator McCain slammed the party for trying to tie Obama to Blagojevich, they'd dismiss him as irrelevant to the party and not care what he had to say. But now that Newt has chimed in too, and hopefully others will as well, maybe they'll wake up before it's way too late for their party to get back into the game. OTOH... maybe I should just let them self-destruct.

What you can say on the way out

It's amazing what a president can say on the way out of office, that would have made him loose if he'd said it while running. Apparently, President Bush really doesn't have to worry about the Christian Evangelical base any longer. And boy, they aren't very happy either.

Much ado about several things

We've all been hearing far too much about what President Bush might do in his last remaining days in office. He appears to be cooperating nicely with President Elect Obama, which while it surprises me a bit, makes me a little nervous too. I'm sure he's worried about his legacy and since there is not much else that's very good in it, maybe he'll slip under the radar if he appears to be playing nice.

However, there is the notion of how many folks (and who they are) that he'll be pardoning on his way out of town. That in itself isn't new, President Clinton had his fair share of pardons as he departed as well. But there is also the notion of what type of legislation he's going to enact on his way out. He did give a deadline for all new requests that has since past, but that isn't stopping this one new rule that he would like to see enacted. The rule is to protect health providers from having to perform abortions, be in any way related to those performing abortions, be involved in dispensing contraceptives, etc. if it is against their religious or moral beliefs.

The argument is that this is already covered and these folks are already protected under the equal employment rules. If they try to take this further, it will be very difficult for woman to get the services they might need (and I don't just mean abortion) if every place they try to go someone is screaming it's against their beliefs to service them. There are lots of things in everyone's jobs that they don't like to do, but we do get paid for what we were hired for. I would believe that if anyone has a huge objection, they've probably already worked that out, and are already protected. So the question is... why is this new rule important enough for Bush to care about now? My guess is that he has to further his agenda to squash the rights of women before he leaves because we have an incoming President who appears to actually care about our rights, even if he himself doesn't have the same beliefs about them. That's what we need in office. I'm glad there is only 64 days left.

Ladies weekend

I spent this past weekend with 4 other ladies in Albany. They were friends from High School 26 years ago. We talked and laughed and shopped and laughed and drank and laughed and ate and laughed (you get the idea). So much has changed in everyones lives since then. But one thing hasn't changed... we can obviously just pick up with the same conversation and laughter that was always there no matter what we were going through.

It also amazed me how a couple of them have still kept up with so much of the comings/goings of our other classmates. I think they know where most everyone is and what they've been up to all these years, with one exception. None of us can still seem to locate Todd. But we all agree we really want to know what's happened to him. He was one of my really fun friends in class. In fact, my girls have even heard stories about him. Maybe by our next large class reunion, we'll track him down.

Even though you plan these things so that you can spend a lot of time catching up with everyone that doesn't live close by, it's hard to not spend much of the time talking about what we all did "back then". It seems like it was all so long ago. We as a group have made it through (and are still going thru) so much... marriages, divorces, kids, infertility, cancer, parents dying, kids having brain tumors, partners having brain tumors... the list goes on. But in all that we went thru as a group... the best part is that we did it as a group. We all had the other four to lean on thru our issues in varying degress. It makes it all so much easier to know that you still have people that know "way too much" about you, to help ease the pain and share the laughter through the good and bad times. I love them all and am so happy they are still in my life. I hope this trip truly does turn out to be an annual thing. If nothing else, it's great stomach exercise to laugh that much (:-)

Thanks ladies... it was a great weekend.

This one's for Tyler...

It's over

I couldn't be prouder tonight. In my opinion, the right team won, and won big. No team will ever be perfect, and they've been left with an enormous mess to clean up. My hope is that everyone will now stop being so divided and rally as a country to get us all back on track. So, pray hard for guidance and courage for President Obama and VP Biden, and patience for all of us.

from freshman to jv... for my sake

Gone are the days of the junior cheer teams for my daughter as she is now on Freshman. However, she (we) had to work at a junior cheer competition this morning and they apparently hand out the jobs based on what team you are on. Freshman (or I should say Freshman parents) "get to" run concessions. So, I did my part and worked the stand for 3 hours. The ladies I worked with were very nice and everyone that came in was very nice, polite, patient, etc. I was in charge of money. How hard can that be, right?

Despite the fact that there were things on the menu that ended in 50 cents, no one really thought of getting quarters for the money box. So, being moms, several of them were able to dig many dollars worth out of their own purses to help out. All went very smoothly with the exception of the fact that you should never put someone with OCD in charge of the money box at a function like this. It's really unbelievable to me how some people keep their money. It was given to me by adults in the smallest wrinkled up balls of bills you could imagine. Others were throwing money into the box in every which way you could think of. For someone like me, that was a disaster. Money is supposed to not only be sorted by amount, but also must all be facing the same direction. One of my girls completely understands this as her wallet looks like mine and stacked as I stated above. The other one... not so much. But all in time. So, my biggest thought when I left was... will my daughter please be on the JV team next year, so my volunteer position will not cause me so much concern.

BTW... when I left. All money was separated by value, faced forward and standing up-right. Ahhh. I felt better.

the last bit of integrity gone...

In the past...

"Sen. John McCain repeatedly said he does not believe Obama's relationship to Wright should be an issue -- to the ire of some Republicans who feel it raises questions about the Illinois senator's judgment."

Today...

I guess that very last bit of integrity is gone based on this article. Apparently, when the last minute surprise didn't work, McCain will just go back on this issue to see if it will help him win the election. Enough already. We've beaten this one to death during the primaries. Not to just defend Obama, but I've sat in churches where I haven't agreed with what a pastor is saying. I would be ashamed of the rest of the parisheners if they did agree. But, I don't think I'd condemn all of them and claim they are just like him for continuing to sit there. (For full disclosure, I've also gotten up during a service and left based on the things that were being said by pastors).

Now, maybe McCain will come out and "repudiate" the PA GOPs behavior for putting this out, as he says he's "repudiated" all the terrible outcries at his rallies (by the way he hasn't done that either). But, somehow it won't matter if he does. It will be a little late as the ad is out, and he knows that. He may say it's bad, but he'll love that it's been done.

I will stand by what I've said in the past. I'll pray for whomever wins so that they can lead us through all the wrongs that have been done in the last 8 years, but boy... I'll also pray it isn't someone as hypocritical as McCain/Palin seem to be. I don't think, as a nation, that we can handle 4 years of this.

Is this the October surprise...really?

There is a story that started circulating yesterday stating that Obama's Kenyan Aunt is in the U.S. illegally. It states that she should have been deported 4 years ago and is still here living in public housing. My question is this...

Is this the best that the Republicans can come up with as their October surprise. If she is here illegally, can't the republicans handle it as they want to handle all of the illegals here... let them stay and have a path to citizenship? Or... do they just want to handle her differently simply because she's Obama's Aunt and the election is in a couple of days?

The other note worthy portion of this story is that this is the Aunt of Obama's father that he met once for a month when he was 10 years old. Did he even know she was here? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. We don't really know much of anything yet, including whether or not it is really even the Aunt that he's spoke about in his book. All we do know is that it is now... 4 years later... finally a story. That's kind of convenient.

If it does turn out that she is his Aunt, it's a legislative issue, not a criminal one. But if McCain wins on Tuesday, maybe Obama can just pay that fine for her and help her with that path to citizenship that McCain supports. Then, all will be settled.

Oh boy... only 3 more days. I can't wait until this is over. Oh yeah... the other big story is will Biden and McCain still be friends after all the lies and smears are over. My suggestion to Mr. Biden... no matter who wins, realize that the way McCain has treated you, he was NEVER really your friend. His campaign has proven that.

I’m trying...

I was just having lunch with Tim and saying that I've been listening to a lot of people talk about how John McCain never really answers questions in interviews. So I decided that maybe I should see for myself if that's still true (I had stopped watching so much lately). I know that he does his same old stump speech all the time... not much new in there... but what about in interviews where he can be asked pointed questions. So, I watched two McCain interviews last night. The one he did on CNN and the one with Brian Williams. In both of those interviews, when asked a question, he never answered it. He simply reiterated the question and then quickly turned the question to how he could slam Obama on the topic. But never answered the questions at all. I even watched Wolf Blitzer throw his hands up in surrender when he tried for the 4th or 5th time to get him to answer a question on his belief that we should have privatized social security. Wolf kept trying and McCain kept ducking. It was a lost cause for all of us.

However, the one thing he keeps going back to is how experienced he is and how that relates to his favorite line in stump speeches and interviews... "I know how to get Bin Ladin, I know. I know how to fix the economy... I know how to fix Medicaid and Medicare. I know and I'll do it".

Well Mr. McCain, if I was your interviewer, here is how I'd follow up to that well rehearsed line...

"if you know how to do all this stuff, why aren't you sharing that information? If you truly are putting country first, why wouldn't you use that information to help people now... be safe, be secure, etc. If you shared that information and it was helpful and worked, wouldn't that make you look good and you could win this election? If you know... why are you sitting on that information if it could truly help this country you love so much?"

My guess is it's because he doesn't know at all. It's just a stump speech line to win voters... and we all know it (with the exception of him and his running mate). We aren't that stupid. At least some of us aren't.

Interesting...

Interesting...

If Sarah Palin really believes this, what will she think if God doesn't come thru for her on November 4th. Will that shake her faith in God? because I'm not sure she could ever admit that the people didn't want her or that Obama/Biden are what God really wanted. Hmmmm..

FINDLAY, Ohio (CNN) –- In an interview posted online Wednesday, Sarah Palin told Dr. James Dobson of "Focus on the Family" that she is confident God will do "the right thing for America" on Nov. 4.

Dobson asked the vice presidential hopeful if she is concerned about John McCain's sagging poll numbers, but Palin stressed that she was "not discouraged at all."

"To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder," she told the influential Christian leader, whose radio show reaches millions of listeners daily. "And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God's hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4."

Dobson praised Palin's opposition to abortion rights, to which the governor affirmed that she is "hardcore pro-life."

She said giving birth to her son Trig, who has Down syndrome, has given her the opportunity "to be walking the walk and not just talking the talk" in her long-standing opposition to abortion.

Dobson — who has never been warm to McCain — asked Palin if her "private conversations" with the GOP nominee had revealed a true commitment to the Republican party's pro-life platform, which calls for a constitutional amendment banning abortions.

"I do, from the bottom of my heart," Palin assured Dobson. "John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America."

She also thanked her supporters — including Dobson, who said he and his wife were asking "for God's intervention" on election day — for their prayers of support.

"It is that intercession that is so needed," she said. "And so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power of prayer, and that strength that is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation. And I so appreciate it."

The interview was taped on Monday by phone while Palin was campaigning in Colorado Springs, where "Focus on the Family" is headquartered.

a non-political blog

I've been so disgusted since the last blog I wrote, that I'm no longer really paying any attention to the election. I won't be changing my mind about my vote at this point, so watching one side just come up with more hate to spew rather than talking about issues is a waste of my time. I'll be anxious for this election to be over. As I said before, I'll be praying for whomever wins, but if America really chooses wrongly, they'll only have themselves to blame for "nothing" when that's what they get.

So... This is a much more interesting subject. My little one is a cheerleader. Has been for several years now on a Jr. team. She now cheers for the Freshman team and they had two competitions this week. Her team took 1st place in both of them. So, this season is off to a great start just as her past years cheering were. She's been on winning teams now for a long time. It should be old hat for her, but to watch how nervous and excited she gets during the awards ceremonies, you'd never know she'd even been to a competition before. It's fun to see her like that. It reminds me of the days when I used to march in Winter Color Guard. The feeling of doing so well and being rewarded for it was incredible. For me, watching her is almost like being back in those days myself. The thrill of the competition was always a good one. I'm glad to see she's enjoying it as much as I always did. Mom is very proud...

And both my girls play instruments, which I did also. And they are both quite good at them. We are way since past the "twinkle twinkle little star" songs and on to music that is very engaging. I think part of the thrill for parents watching all these events, is that it brings us back to our youth... if only in our minds. At this point in my life, just in my mind is good enough. And, it's all my older self can handle (:-)

the most unbelievable...

the most unbelievable...

And this after McCain claimed in last nights debate to have not liked how negative the campaign has gone in the last two weeks. He is truely unbeliveable. And, I believe his exact words were "I don't care about a washed up old terrorist". Guess he was lying when he said that too. He apparently still cares a great deal. One can only hope that this is the last straw for many people and he goes down in flames in the election just to show him how low he's really gone.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republicans launched an enormous wave of phone calls Thursday blasting Barack Obama for "having worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers," party sources said.

The calls are part of a $70 million last Republican push to get out the vote for John McCain on November 4, using calls, mailings and door-knocking in battleground states.

"Hundreds of thousands" of calls are being made in at least half a dozen hard-fought states including Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio, the sources said.

Some are recorded "robocalls," while others are live to comply with relevant state laws. The calls are being paid for jointly by the Republican party and the McCain campaign, according to a script provided by the Republican party.

The "robocalls" criticize Obama national security, his opposition to an Illinois measure that called for doctors to provide medical care to babies who survive botched abortions, his connection with former '60s radical William Ayers and his response to the financial crisis.

An Obama spokesman said the "dishonorable, dishonest" calls were a desperate move.

"John McCain's campaign has admitted that the economy is a losing issue for them, so he's chosen to launch dishonorable and dishonest attacks like this," Obama national spokesman Bill Burton said.

The calls come a day after McCain and Obama accused each other of running negative campaigns.

Republicans have been hammering Obama for weeks for his association with Ayers, a key figure in the Weather Underground of the Vietnam War era. The radical group took credit for a number of bombings, including of the Pentagon. A case against Ayers was thrown out of court because of misconduct by investigators. He is now an education professor in Chicago and has served on a board with Obama.

McCain said he did not care about "an old washed-up terrorist" like Ayers Wednesday night at his debate with Obama.

Obama condemned Ayers' actions of 40 years ago, and said the former radical was not involved in his campaign and would not advise him as president.

(Script of the call after the jump)

Here is the text of the call referring to Ayers:

"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC (Republican National Committee) because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayres, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."

The only deaths positively attributed to Weathermen bombs were three members of the group itself who were killed when a bomb they were working on exploded prematurely. The Weathermen, along with the Black Panther organization, were investigated for another bombing that killed a San Francisco police officer, but that bombing remains unsolved.

The son of a New York State supreme court justice says that the Weathermen were also responsible for a bomb at his father's home in February 1970, basing his claim on a letter from Weather Underground member Bernadine Dohrn (Ayers' wife) sent to the Associated Press in November promising more bombings. Investigators, however, believe that letter was referring to the bombing of a New York courthouse in October.

The Weathermen claimed responsibility for the courthouse bombing, as they did other bombings attributed to them. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing of the judge's home, and the the case was never solved.

selective listening from the "angry american"

Well... luckily the final debate is over. I can say it was the most spirited of all of them... if spirited means attacking and having selective listening.

I found it very telling that at least 6 times I counted McCain refering to things Obama had "just said"... which he didn't just say at all. It's not as if he even tried twisting what Obama had said. He just out and out completely didn't hear or decided to just lie about what had just come out of Obama's mouth. It was incredible to watch. I just kept saying to my TV "he didn't say that". But, maybe it's an age thing. My hearing is going a bit now too, but geez... maybe he could turn up his hearing aid since he was sitting so closely, he should have know what was really said.

Clearly McCain's best moment of the night was when he tried to pull off the "I'm not Bush" comment. However, it kind of looses it's effect when you've voted just like him so many times. To me the most clear distancing of himself from the Bush administration didn't come in that comment, it came in his opening. McCain made sure to "give his thoughts and prayers" to Nancy Regan who was in the hospital. But you didn't see him say the same about Dick Cheney who is also in the hospital. Hmmmm.... I'm not a fan of Cheney's either, but I'd have wished him thoughts and prayers. But I digress.

It's obvious on my blog whom I've decided our country needs this time around. I've blogged previously about the fact that two years ago I would have entertained voting McCain. But even if I thought they were anywhere near close in policies that are important to me, last nights demeanor itself would have swayed my vote. If you had watched with split screen the way I did, you'll know where I'm heading. Our country is in such poor standing around the world right now that the last thing we need is a President out negotiating for us, that looks as though he's going to blow a gasket at any moment. McCain's demeanor said it all. He's mean spirited, rude and condesending. He even tried to say that he's repudiated every bad comment in his stump speeches against Obama. Now I watch a lot of news... and NO McCain, you haven't. And your running mate certainly hasn't either. Your Fight fight fight... no matter what the fight is is NOT what this country needs right now. I'll take the calm and thoughtful person any time. Obama couldn't be shaken. He was on message because he knows what his message is. It doesn't change every time he speaks to try to get the votes. He just has ideas and is smart enough to articulate them without all the snarky rude comments.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big fan of Toby Keith. He has a song with the title "Angry American". Now, I know who that is.

wow... right in her own state...

And her campaign is the one that put this out... (thought that Energy was the one thing she claimed to be expert in). How would you miss this one? Guess her own people in Alaska don't even bother to keep her in the loop anymore.

The campaign of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said the Alaska governor was unaware of a visit by Russian oil officials to Anchorage on Monday.

Eight high-level officials from Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled oil conglomerate, traveled to Anchorage earlier this week to meet with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the chief executive of ConocoPhillips to discuss energy projects and the possibility of expanding into new markets.

The meeting on Alaskan soil comes at a time of chilly relations between Russia and the United States following Russia's invasion of Georgia in August. Both Palin and John McCain have been critical of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the campaign trail, and Palin raised eyebrows last month in an interview by saying that Putin "rears his head" by dispatching Russian jets into Alaska's airspace.

Palin has argued that her state's proximity to Russia, as well as trade missions between the between Alaska and Russia, have helped give her the foreign policy experience necessary to be Vice President. But the campaign said the governor did not know that the Gazprom delegation was meeting with the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, who is a Palin appointee.

Asked if Palin supports Gazprom doing business in Alaska, an aide to the governor said that "Alaska state officials routinely meet with government representatives from energy companies around the world."

"Alaska has been, and will remain, very selective about companies with whom they do business," said Palin spokesperson Tracey Schmitt.

hmmm...

The following quote came from Palin after the probe found "that she abused her power as Alaska's governor, and violated state ethics law by trying to get Wooten fired from the state police."

She's says:
"Well, I'm very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there," Palin said on a Saturday conference call with reporters from the Anchorage Daily News, KTVA-Channel 11 and KTUU-Channel 2. "Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."

Guess we now know what she reads and doesn't read. She can finally name some newspapers, but forgets to read the findings of her own probe. That seems convenient.

Gov. Todd Palin???

If this woman is that disengaged to not know what her
"best friend, advisor" of a husband is doing in HER administration....do we really need her in the Washington?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/09/politics/main4511568.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadlineccmm

Throw the husband under the bus to take the heat off? Even if that's the tactic, doesn't this bring up a lot of other issues about why he has so much connection in her administration? We already know he sits in on meetings in her office... maybe we now know why. Either way, this story just doesn't add up nor look good for the lady governor.

on to the ridiculous

Ok, we've taken things way too far now. Republicans are now screaming about a "less than flattering" (in their view) picture of Sarah Palin on the new cover of Newsweek. In their mind, Newsweek is such an elitest democratic magazine, they went out of their way to NOT retouch the picture in order to degrade Palin. There are so many things wrong with that I don't even know where to begin. Aren't we supposed to be happy with the way we look? Why do politicians "deserve" to be retouched to look good on the cover of news magazines? It's not like they are supermodels. And geez... I may not particularly think Palin is good for our country as a VP, but she's attractive even in this picture. Do these folks screaming about it think they are helping her? If I were Sarah, I'd be more offended that they are the ones talking about all my flaws in the picture. If they weren't... no one would probably be noticing them at all.


If you click on the picture, it gets bigger... but I still don't see what's wrong with it. Does it say something about how shallow these people are, that they all do?

I’m sick over this...

I just came home from work to the news that at Palin rallies today, while asking what people thought about Obama, that those great values based republican based folks were screaming things like "terrorist" and "kill him", etc. How low can those folks actually sink in this campaign season. There was even a confrontation with a reporting photographer where he was called such racial slurs that the anchors wouldn't even repeat them. Calls for Obama's secret service to be really vigilant too. Wouldn't surprise me if that is the republican's new strategy... to make folks worry about something happening to Obama to try to scare others away from voting for him. They are getting extremely desperate.

There was just a McCain campaign spokes"woman" on and when asked why McCain has gone so negative and dirty this past weekend after saying he wouldn't do that, she actually stood there and said "I don't know what you're referring to". How do these folks look at themselves in the mirror. They must all be going a bit senile from just being around that man too much. So much for the party of unity and bi-partisanship. How do they ever think they'll reach across any isle after all they do is try to tear people apart.

Maybe they need Jon Stewart to bring out the tapes reminding McCain of what he said he would and wouldn't do during a campaign. They can't seem to remember from moment to moment. At least Obama is fighting back. I can't believe I ever considered voting for this party. It must have been a moment of stupidity on my part. No matter who wins this... I just want it over.

and so it begins...

The McCain campaign was right... they were going to try to change the subject since McCain was dropping in the polls. So, the attack dog (Palin) started it this weekend. She's bringing up all the old stuff that has been debunked already. But, as she said in the VP Debate, she's only been in this for 5 weeks. She made a mistake yesterday when answering a reporters question, when she said that these things that haven't been talked about before, should be out there. Guess in Alaska, she didn't hear all the talk of these things before. This has been tried already. Hopefully people will be as smart this time as they were last time, and not buy into this crap. Oh yeah, Fox News also had a show on last night that couldn't have just been made in last two days, but it practically had Obama as the head of Al Queda for pete's sake. They really have sunk pretty low, but that's nothing new. And they call themselves fair and balanced.

And so begins the part of campaign season that I hate... the personal attacks that are so desparate. The only thing I'm happy about (and I don't like that people have to do this) is that Obama is not letting it slide as John Kerry did. As soon as I heard all of this on Saturday, I said... "boy... McCain should be careful or Obama camp could do the Keating 5, Palin's troppergate, and Palin's own share of Rev. issues". Not sure about the rest of them, but there is already a reminder video on the web about Keating 5 as a reminder of the bank failing there, and how it relates to the same things that are happening in the banks now.

To bad you had to do it Obama... but good for you for not letting them walk all over you like they've tried to do to others in past elections. Shame on you McCain for not living up to your word of NOT doing this stuff since it was done to you in 2000. You've completely caved to everything for a win. I hope it's all worth it to you when you have to look in the mirror. What a hypocrit.

Very funny...

By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press WriterFri Oct 3, 3:08 PM ET

Joe Six-Pack is somewhere out there on the campaign trail, coveted and courted by the presidential candidates. He is the electorate, reduced to one guy. He would be really interesting to talk to if we could only find him. Nobody ever seems to say what he looks like or where he is, exactly.

Rumor has it he is, um, a he. The "Joe" is probably a dead giveaway, though Sarah Palin has referred to putting "government back on the side of the people of Joe Six-Pack like me." He probably wears a shirt with a blue collar and lives someplace on Main Street, or at least sometimes goes to Main Street, perhaps to pick up a six-pack.

He likely drinks that six-pack at his kitchen table, where, if he's still married, he and his wife, Soccer Mom, talk about how it feels to personify Middle America and how Washington insiders are out of touch.

But at least they're better off than Six-Pack's cousin, Joe Lunchbucket, a working stiff who has to pack his own lunch and can't even afford beer. Nobody seems to mention him much.

Another prominent resident of their town, Small Business Owner, has it tough, too. To be honest, these days even the guy in the McMansion one subdivision over, White-Collar Elite, faces hardships. He could get laid off anytime. When it comes to heavy mortgages, high gas prices and the other weighty issues of our time, he's starting to look an awful lot like Joe Six-Pack, even if his shirt is a different color.

Fact is, Joe Six-Pack knows a lot of so-called blue-collar types — plumbers, electricians, truck drivers, the guy who owns the local car-repair shop — who make more money than White-Collar Elite. In fact, if you catch them after they've taken off their white or blue collars and put on t-shirts to go watch football, they're awfully hard to tell apart.

Still, Joe Six-Pack is the one the politicians seem to like best. It is generally understood that he is a heckuva nice guy. He drinks, but he never drinks and drives. When he does drive, he would be the last person to tailgate or cut anybody off in traffic. He just Wants What is Best for America.

Maybe the reason Joe Six-Pack sounds so good is that he doesn't exist.

Tagging voters with cliches simplifies them to the point of caricature — and is far removed from reality. People are more complicated than that, whether their employment status is classified as blue-collar, white-collar, retired, self-employed or unemployed. However pollsters might slice and dice the public, there is no Everyman. Thank goodness. That's one of the things that makes the two-year journey to the election interesting.

I grew up in a blue-collar family. My father's name isn't Joe and he doesn't drink beer. Never has. Can't stand the stuff. My mother was a "stay-at-home mom" and didn't go back to work until my brothers and I were teenagers. She wasn't a "soccer mom" or a "hockey mom." Those sports were expensive, too expensive.

My mother did pack my father's lunch each day, and later on, when she went back to work, my father used to pack hers. Did that make either of them "Joe Lunchbucket?" Now that they're retired, what are they? Just what they've always been: People who know the score and have their own opinions about politics and policy, none of which fits the candidates' cliches.

Back when I was a reporter in Wisconsin, I remember getting dispatched to one of President Clinton's speeches to ask voters "in the Heartland" about their views on his impeachment proceedings.

Democrats and Republicans on the talk shows had already offered their caricatures of the average person's opinion. But the people I spoke to — Democrats, Republicans, independent or indifferent — all had nuanced views on the impeachment. They weren't simply pro or con. And I'll bet if I had asked whether they thought of themselves as Joe Six-Pack, Soccer Mom, Main Street or any of the other categories, the answer would have been none of the above.

There used to be a feature on one of the network new shows in which a correspondent picked a spot on the map, went there, closed his eyes and pointed to a name at random in the phonebook. The theme was that everybody has a story, everyone was interesting. No one was the same. And whether the reporter went to small towns, large cities or a lonely house in the countryside, no one was a stereotype.

Yet politicians never seem to see that. Pandering politicians are as old as politics. The idea seems to be that claiming kinship with this or that voting bloc is enough to win that bloc over.

Will the mythical Joe Six-Pack swing this election to one candidate or the other? Remains to be seen. Besides, what I really want to know, if there truly is a Joe Six-Pack out there somewhere: Is he single?

You know you’re in trouble when...

When your campaign basically is admitting that you're losing on issues, so you have to start more agreesively attacking people personally. In an article on msnbc it states...

"Two other top Republicans said the new ads are likely to hammer the senator from Illinois on his connections to convicted Chicago developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko and former radical William Ayres, whom the McCain campaign regularly calls a domestic terrorist because of his acts of violence against the U.S. government in the 1960s."

There going to go after the fact that Obama knows or has ever had association with these guys. And they will probably start this at Tuesdays debate first before putting out ads. Maybe that's so they can see if the CNN line goes up or down to know how the public will deal with hearing this kind of thing. It's been pretty well shown that people don't like hearing this stuff. We have enough real issues to hear about, on both sides, to stop this stuff. They also admit they can't do the Rev. Wright thing becuase McCain said he wouldn't have any part of that when they tried before. Guess he's wishing he didn't say that now...that and the fact that Palin has her own Rev. issues. So, what should Obama do if this comes up on Tuesday night. Maybe he could just simply reply...

"say it ain't so John... There you go... looking backwards instead of forward again". Or, maybe he could leave out the "say it ain't so John" part. That was annoying enough when I had to listen to it this week from Sarah. But the point would still be made correctly.

seems folks agree with me...

I just found this part of a transcript of McCain on a radio talk show this morning. Apparently he was appauled about the pork barrel spending that is in the bail out bill. Odd to be so upset about it, and then vote for it. I didn't hear him name any names or make any one famous. Unbelieveable...

Update 6: Some actual language from Morning Joe, per Think Progress(they have video too!):

SCARBOROUGH: Why did these items have to be in this critical bill?

MCCAIN: Well that's just the way the system is working in Washington and the reason why it's got to be fixed, and it's got to be changed. And no matter what the stakes are, you've got to stop this by starting to veto bills that come across the president's desk. ... It's insanity and it's obscenity, because it's a waste of taxpayers' dollars and it goes on, and until we stop it, until we get frankly a president who will say, I'm gonna veto these bills, I'm gonna make the people famous that put them on there, uh, famous.

YES McCAIN... you are NOT the president so you don't get to veto it... but you could have voted NO. That would have made a statement that you at least intend to live up to this one huge promise you've made on your campaign stops. Oh... that's right you can't this one time, because if you do, it takes away your other argument that you saved the day on this whole econimic crisis.
Can anyone really take this man on his word that he's CHANGE.

Oh yeah... and by the way... McCain also said this bill is putting us on the road to economic disaster. He still voted YES.

Post VP debate thoughts...

Phew... it's finally over. While talking with Tim yesterday prior to the debate, I gave him my views on how I "thought" it would all play out. He suggested I put it on here before it started so that people would know it ahead of time, then I could contrast it after the fact. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for that. But here is what I thought before watching...

Sarah would come out pounding on Biden and be exactly what we saw in the RNC speech. It would be full of jabs and sarcastic comments and then if she was lucky enough to goad him into any retaliating comment, we'd hear her and the whole right scream sexism. I did believe she would come out much more coherently than she has in her previous interviews, but that was either going to be because she had so much debate camp... or that the previous interviews were just a ruse to get the expectation game where they wanted it.

Now after the debate... how well did I predict? In my mind, she did come out full bore ready to fight him on most any topic... albiet she tried it in a cute sort of way. It was kind of like watching a teenage girl trying to flirt with a boy, but not quite being sure exactly how to go about it. She was full of what they are calling "fokesiness", but still comes across as sarcastic to me. It's what I have been telling my kids forever "it's not what you say, but how you say it". In her case, I think I could amend it and also add "and how you mean it". I understand the need on her part to want to "seem" like the average person, and I believe a lot of "average" people will fall for it. But like I've said in the past... I don't want someone just like me running the country... I want better, smarter and actually more informed. I don't think she came across much more informed last night... just much more coherent. She obvioulsy learned a couple of more talking points at McCains ranch, but just a couple. Other than those, she used almost word for word, the exact same verbiage that she has since that convention, and in every stump speech she's given. She just had to figure out where to plug them in based on what was asked.

On to point 2... the problem with them being able to scream sexism, is that Joe Biden didn't give them any reason to even try (although to be fair, I haven't listened to that wonderful am talk radio yet). Joe Biden was exactly what I expected him to be... he was very very good. He always has been. In fact a couple of years ago, when I tinkered with voting for McCain before he morphed into his current version of himself... I mentioned to someone that the only thing that could get me to do that would be if he reached across the isle to pick his running mate... and that running mate was Joe Biden. Joe can claim much more expert status on many of the issues and wouldn't trouble me at all if the President died and he had to step in. So... I was wrong on how that part of the night would go. Way to go Joe for staying above the respect line.

Overall, I think Palin completely ducked far too many questions, and even as much as admitted that she would not answer some as they wanted her to. She couldn't answer some simply because she couldn't... she didn't know how. So whenever that happened, she just simply turned it back to energy... something she likes to believe that she can not only talk to, but is an expert in. That point is still out for debate. I found all of the tactics of ducking questions and throwing in instead the "I'm like you" talking points, a bit annoying.

The absolute most telling point last night was her answer to questions about Dick Cheney. In the debate, she thinks he's right with the kind of power he has or has tried to have... in fact she'd seek to have more of it if she were VP. That's frightening. He has so much power and as much as I don't like him, he had at least had some real intelligence and ability to think thru issues (whether we like his thoughts or not) to go along with it. She wants more power, and doesn't have the intelligence to know what to do with it. In that regard, she should be more frightening than Cheney. And on the Katie Couric interview last night prior to the debate, she was asked what was the worst thing that Dick Cheney did for our country. She replied "the duck hunting incident". Really??? That was bad for his friend, but the worst thing he did for our country. Wow... I'm sure there are worse things than that.

I think the debate was good... it was engaging, they were polite enough to each other and actually you came out of it thinking they had some sort of respect for each other that might become genuine. I think she did a good job and I wanted that for her if for no other reason that we could stop looking so bad for standing behind her, but also that maybe they'll let her off her leash now. I think she did a good job simply because she looked better, not because of any substance behind anything she said. I think them letting her out now will still be the telling point. Put her on Meet the Press and Face the Nation and see if she can still speak to questions without flash cards or if she falls on her face again... or can say anything we haven't heard from her before. They really really need to do this... not just campaigning, really answering questions... real questions on policy. Debating has been her thing for a long time as she can turn things around and answer what she wants. I still want to see her in the real settings answering more policy type questions. However... it still won't make me vote for that ticket, as she's still not ready, and McCain still doesn't have a clue either. I'm still in it for someone intelligent.

The bottom line is still this.. she isn't like us... but she isn't smart enough yet to be one of them either. She still shouldn't get there. One commentator said last night, she didn't do McCain any good really... no change. But she did herself good for 2012. We won't see the last of her regardless, so hold on to your hat folks, she could be around for a long time. If they win, it could be many many years of her.

Broken promises or just plain stupidity...

I spent a very nice and relaxing evening with my better half last night (thank you to the boys volleyball team for having a chicken bbq fundraiser... it was delicious). However, by the time I got back home, I felt like I had run two miles instead of relaxed for several hours. You see, I turned on am talk radio on my way home. I know... why in the world would I do that? But I was just trying to see if the Senate passed the bail-out bill, and was sure there'd be news about it. There certainly was news. Unfortunately it was the Michael Savage show. For several years I've been trying to determine who I detest more... Michael or Rush Limbaugh. It's still a toss up. But, since I'd eaten alot, I did get a good workout as my blood pressure and heart rate rises so much when I listen to these kinds of people.

The point though is this... Michael was yelling at the radio in his normal "you're all idiots and I'm the only one with a clue or morals" voice, and stating that the democrats should all be put in jail for 25 years to life because they "squeeked into the bill a provision for health care for the mentally challenged". To be fair, he wasn't complaining about the mentally challenged this time, but about the fact that this amounted to porkbarrel spending that got into the already too pricey bill.

So my question is simply this... If that is porkbarrel spending that was added, is it just his stupidity and how he loves to yell at people that is the issue, or is it that Presidential Nominee McCain is already breaking his promise to "name names and make them famous" for anyone that adds pork to a bill. After all, he did vote in favor of this one with that provision in there. Guess the republican party nominee doesn't see it as pork at all. Oh an one last note, there is a provision now for Alaskan Fisherman. Guess Todd will like that one...

It’s been a long time...

There has been so much going on in the news that I've been busy watching, instead of commenting on it... at least in here. But today, I think I'll take a couple of moments to say... What the heck???

Sarah Palin is getting worse by the day in my opinion. I'm actually starting to feel sorry for her. Maybe if McCain thought she was really smart enough to be the next VP of the United States and was qualified to do so, he'd also think she's qualified enough to speak... and even for herself every now and again. The interviews she's "been allowed" to give so far, are laughable. But the thought that they blame the press for "gotcha" when it was an average joe voter that asked a question, is crazy. Then instead of letting her even answer that, McCain sits in on the interview and interrupts her. Is he really that frightened of what she'll say on her own. Even his campaign is saying that the boot camp is because she hasn't been exposed to all this foreign policy stuff and needs to get up to speed before the debates. Shouldn't our VP have at the very least dabbled in this stuff before excepting a nomination.

Back to that "average Joe" thing. McCain and Palin mocked the "average joe" voter in the instance at the philly cheesestake restaurant, but then last night Palin goes on a radio interview and dubs herself as the "average joe six-pack" american that happens to be running for office. There is a lot wrong with that... not the least of which is that I DON'T WANT AVERAGE in the White House. Didn't we get that with Bush. He ran on the "I'm just an average american living on a ranch..." Oh yeah...I hear he bought that ranch just before that and now that he's leaving office, he's selling it. Guess it worked out for those great photo ops though. But, I digress...

So... Palin is just an "average joe six-pack" and that makes her understand our woes over the economy. After all, she has lost $20K in her own 401K because of it. Not sure there are too many "average joe six-packs" americans that have enough in their 401K (if they even have one) to have lost that much. Also, she says this one day after an article comes out that explains her net worth (just a clarifying point on that... they had to dig because she still hasn't released her records that all other candidates were forced to release). Anyway, based on that net worth, she's clearly NOT average by any means, and completely wealthy in comparison to all others in her home town.

But all that aside... I want a smart person in the Pres and VP positions. Whether the American public thinks that's Obama or McCain, it's clearly not Palin. I'm routing for her to do well in the debate because I believe the whole world will be watching and we are already pretty laughable to most of the rest of the world. If she tanks and can't put a sentence together like on these interviews, we'll only look worse because so many people actually believe she's qualified for this. What will that say about the intelligence of Americans to the rest of the world.

One notion that keeps popping into my mind is the crisis between Russia and Georgia. Days after Palin was picked as VP, President Bush dispatched VP Cheney to Russia and Georgia to try to help negotiate peace. If that crisis were to happen in January of 09 (if McCain/Palin wins) would McCain dispatch Palin to try to negotiate with those foreign leaders. And if so... could I please be a fly on the wall? I can't imagine how that would go.

So, everyone seems very happy that the bar is so low for the debate tomorrow night. For me, I cringe when I hear those words. I don't want the bar to be low for something like this... I want the bar to be extremely high as I believe they should ALL be able to acheive that to be in line for these jobs. I'm not saying by any means that I believe any of these people are the best our country has to offer... but lets at least be honest about who's even capable in the running field that we have in front of us. We range from someone who spent 6 years in 5 colleges to get a 4 year degree in jounalism and still can't form coherent sentences (Palin) , to Senators who've been around for very long periods of time and have morphed into people they are not in the last 6 months just to get the nomination (McCain), to Military schooling finishing almost last in his class (McCain), to Senator with wide foreign policy credentials that makes mistakes in some comments but has the issues right (Biden) to Senator with less time to be that experienced but Political Science/Harvard Law graduate and professor (Obama). It's a wide range, but this time around, I have to go with intelligence and the ability to think things thru vs. gut reactions that force them to change their minds every other day. Look where that lack of intelligence and the "fight at all costs mentality" has gotten us in the most recent years for our country.

All of our prayers should be made that the people of America become honest with themselves and vote based on real issues, not who they want to have a cup of coffee with. And also, it wouldn't hurt to pray for whomever gets elected. They're gonna need all the help they can get.

Fears, lies and video...

The news is so hard to watch these days. They keep telling us we are hammering too much trying to find out about the potential VP Sarah Palin. Isn't that what we're supposed to do. We've spent the last 19 months hammering Obama on things like his Rev. Wright, his wife, his policies, etc. Why wouldn't we want to find out about her and whether or not she is being honest about things. She's new... no one knows anything about her. Would they rather we all just elected someone whom we didn't even care what they've done or believe or where they come from (oh wait... they might).

I'm sick now, so I was up pretty late last night. Late enough to watch the amazing coverage about her "homecoming" to Alaska. Interestingly, since she's been in a vacuum since announced, she was finally going to be out on her own. It may be one of the only times, as they've announced that since she is bringing so many people to see McCain, they will likely just keep her with him. They also acknowledged that would mean she wouldn't be very available for other outside interviews. I think we have a good idea why that might be. I've suspected that if they put her in front of news media that are live and unscripted, she may not be able to do the same attacking of personal issues without having to answer a few policy questions about the things she's been saying about herself. I felt that even more last night when she did her "speech" at her homecoming. She asked for teleprompters for that. Seemed strange as she's given nearly the same speech on the stump for several weeks now. It was a bit different though as she didn't say a couple of things that she's been fond of saying elsewhere. She didn't mention that plane that sold on e-bay (for a profit claimed McCain). It actually sold for a loss and not on ebay. But more obvious is she never mentioned, for the first time since we were introduced to her, that bridge to nowhere that she stopped. Probably because the Alaskans know that line is completely false... and that they've been still using the money they got for it to build the access road for the bridge that won't be built (along with other things). As for the pipeline that she "'got done". There was a great article about it in the paper today... a good read... but basically says that the paper work needs to be done "by the end of 2011" and work won't start until then. There are also considerable "if's" as to whether it will even be built because the Oil Company she chose wants a $500 billion match of their funds, by the State of Alaska, and now some Alaskan government doesn't think that's a good idea (sarah agreed to it previously) This project that she "got done" isn't even in the beginning stages yet, and may never be.

Well, she is giving an interview today to the ABC news channel. I don't think it's live and I'm pretty sure it was set up with "conditions" as many taped interviews are (and with editing). We may also see the deployment of her son to Iraq today (even though we should leave her family out of everything). I watched Glen Beck last night. He used to be much more impartial before they announced her as running mate. Now it's kind of a love fest (they do share alot in common though). He asked his panelists last night why they would put her interview on a Thursday night, knowing that apparently in the media Thursdays and Fridays are typically for topics not so important as many people don't watch. He truely didn't get why it would be done today. Other people had to say that it was because it was 9/11 and her son was deploying, and that it was brilliant timing on the republicans part. (see note below about why I feel more sorry for the victims of 9/11)

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/us/politics/11pipeline.html?th&emc=th

But this is fun too: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/03d0f10a32

Having said all of this, I do have the right to know, and I make it my business to really pay attention to what all of the candidates are about. If I didn't, I have no business going into that voting booth in November to vote for anyone.

Sadly, it's 9/11 today and I fear that it will, yet again, only serve as a reminder to the current administration to be sure that we are out there being scared so that they can make us all vote for the "only ones that can save them from terrorists". When will the fear mongering stop! Let's all start being a bit more hopeful in years to come. It would make everyone so much happier than being constantly reminded of how we are going to be attacked again. I'm sure we'll hear that old message throughout this day of remembrance. I am beginning to feel even sorrier for the families that lost someone on that day. Not only did they loose someone, but they are being used because of it.

you decide...

Maybe one of the best articles about Palin. Facts and you get to decide them as you want, with no spin.

more fact checks... they just keep on coming...

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin_part_ii.html

keep the kids out of it

Here's a really sad notion... CBS was interviewing one of McCain's campaign officials to see how this was effecting his campaign and the woman said that even though Obama came out with the statement he did to tell people to stay away from Palin's family, that the democrats are going to have to answer to why they spread such vicious rumors and hate mongering on the democratic blogs. As if the democratic party itself was to blame for the stories that are out there. And just for kicks, I actually visited the FOX news article on this and read the posts. The great Republican Christian right people were using language on some of those posts that I wouldn't use to slam anyone who had any opinion at all about it... as if any voter had no right to have an opinion good or bad. This is going to get ugly real fast if they hammer Obama on this during the campaign after he told people to lay off the family.

I do have some other comment on the story as a whole though.

After the Bill Clinton affair, he himself was blamed for the teenagers in our country changing their attitudes about oral sex. Oral sex was somehow ok with all kids and the excuse that most adults gave for the change of those attitudes was "the President did it and made it acceptable for them". Will we now hear the argument that more teens will become pregnant because "well, the VPs daughter did it" if she should win. I'm guessing no, because that will be somehow different. Don't get me wrong, I feel really sad for Bristol and wish her all the best in trying to raise this child with her fathers help (mom will be kind of busy). But, she's young and her moms choice to accept this nomination knowing that this would come out, has put that girls every more into the spotlight. And for what... so an agenda can be furthered. As a mother, I would be very supportive of my daughter too, but I wouldn't put her in the world spotlight on top of it. I'm a working mom too, but my kids and their feelings and well being would always come first. I don't believe, like others are saying, that the fact that she is pregnant is her moms fault as kids will do what they want no matter what you bring them up to believe. But it was a poor decision to put the girl thru this at this level after the fact.

They also keep making the point that its so great that she's choosing to keep this baby. However, it is that same choice they want to take away from everyone else. I don't think they are even listening to what they are saying. I would never, nor would I want my kids to ever abort a baby, it isn't about that, it's about the choices they want to keep taking away from everyone. If that daughter had the choice to make, why shouldn't everyone get that same choice. Or better yet, if Palin wasn't so anti-sex education, their wouldn't have had to be a choice to begin with. We cannot stop kids from having sex simply because we or God tells them not to, that has been proven over and over again. I don't believe sex-education means "great now you can go and do it" and I don't think the majority of our teens are that stupid either. They obviously still do it and this whole "no sex-education, abstenence only policies" just keep getting proven ineffective over and over again.

I believe the daughter should be off-limits in all of this, but the policies will not be... especially during a campaign season. That in itself will keep this girl in particular in the spotlight... and her mom should have been smart enough to know that and taken it into consideration before running for office like this. As I said, I feel bad for Bristol...for many many reasons.

fact check

So here is some of the examples of the fact check... for those than only ever listen to speeches and believe what they hear is fact.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

GOP Performance

Today, I have a couple of firsts in my life. The first one is that I'm not going to "comment" on a blog, I'm actually going to write one.

The second is that, yes "for the first time in my life", I'm actually ashamed to be a woman that might get attached to last night's disgusting display at the Republican National Convention. I, like everyone else, started a path of trying to get to know who Sarah Palin was when she was the surprising pick by John McCain for the VP of the United States. Immediately, my reaction was, "He picked a women and it was a ploy to get Hillary voters." Having thought that, I was still willing to give her a chance to show why he picked her. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured that part out yet. I, like many others, am willing to leave everything personally about her pregnant teenage daughter out of my mind, as kids are off limits (and I'm not dumb enough to think it couldn't happen in my family). But the mother's policy making ideals and judgments, even about her raising her family, are not off the table. They will determine what policies she goes after if elected.

From what we've learned, she doesn't believe in birth control, sex-education, pro-choice, etc. If she had believed in the first two of those things, we wouldn't really have to discuss the third one or her views on it quite yet. But since we do have to discuss it in America far too often, isn't the Pro-Life movement about more than just abortion? Shouldn't it also be about the choices you make for ALL lives? If so, then why personally, did she choose to put her baby Trig's life in potential jeopardy while in labor with him and get on a plane, fly as long as she did, pass by very reputable hospitals, just to get home? This, after all, was a high risk pregnancy for a couple of reasons... first, she knew it was a challenged baby, and second, her age alone puts her in that category. That decision does speak to judgment in my point of view, and one that should be on the table for debate. And then, politically, pro-life should also be about the death penalty as well. After all, even President Bush said that he would always come out on the side of life (well, with that one exception of the death penalty law).

On top of that, we've learned that both her pregnant daughter and her soon-to-be husband have both dropped out of school. Now I know that Sarah being the mother of a 17 year old, can't tell her not to drop out (any more than she could tell her to not have sex). But, wouldn't she try to counsel her that it would be in the baby's best interest to have parents that are at least high school graduates.

All this could be left aside if it wasn't for the fact that John McCain brought her on to the national stage and introduced her as a great mother with great judgment and practically the second coming of Jesus (if you listen to the extreme Christian right of the party). And that brings me to why I am so ashamed and embarrassed at the thought of being lumped with a woman like I saw on TV last night. She spent much of her speech being that "pit bull in lipstick" that she referred to as the hockey moms. She was demeaning, sarcastic and downright nasty with so many personal attacks to the opposite side, that I almost had to turn it off. The hypocrisy of the Republican party based on good Christians values was repulsive. Isn't that the same group that is supposed to love everyone and treat people as they want to be treated? Aren't they supposed to be the party that is based on What Would Jesus Do? Well, I know as a Christian, that Jesus wouldn't have done what she or any of the other speakers did last night. It was personal for them last night. I wish everyone watching those speeches last night, would also watch the fact-check sessions today to hear the real facts about the very few discussion points about policy that came out. But not to worry.. there weren't many of those. The whole evening was devoted to slams. On the plus side for her... she wasn't the only one I was disappointed in. You see, I once thought Mitt Romney would be the best choice the Republicans had to win, but even his own party decided he wasn't good enough. I decided that last night for myself as well. Huckabee... another slamming Christian that got rousing applause each and every time he slammed. And as for Rudy... I can't even go there. He was just not even worth my typing ability.

At any rate, there is one thing I can say the Republicans did well last night... even masterfully. Their strategy in this speech made a pit bull out of Sarah, and it played perfectly to their notion that no matter what any Democrat says about her today... they can scream sexism. And yes... it's already happened. It happened immediately after when Harry Reid said her speech was "shrill and sarcastic". The women commentators even said as woman that was a bad word to use. However, as a woman who won't vote for someone simply because they are one too, he was spot on in that assessment. Of course you couldn't call a man's speech shrill, but that was what it sounded like to me too. I'm just not the kind of dumb woman that they were hoping would fall for this speech.

I happen to think that after last night, it's a sad day for women... not a good one. If any other woman, in any aspect of her life, acted as our potential VP did last night, she'd be called far worse than shrill and sarcastic... and has been many times. So if she can act like this, why can't we say the same about her?

When this campaign season started, I was actually saying that if McCain got in the race, I could almost see me voting for him. That was before he did a complete 180 so that he could play to the base. I was a bit lukewarm on Obama, but knew I would vote for him over McCain. Now, after having watched both party's conventions (and even before watching McCain tonight), I'm way more aligned with the Obama camp. He tried to inspire people, while the RNC just tried to tear him down. I've had enough of the hypocrisy.