If she looks like a lame duck and quacks like a lame duck, she's a lame duck

Next time Palin runs for office, I'm hoping some reporter will ask her whether she believes all "lame ducks" should resign 18 months early.

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Palin Doesn't Understand the First Amendment

"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."
- Sarah Palin

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
- U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1

Please explain, Ms. Palin, how the media's opinion or filter affects your rights under the first amendment. Is there a proposed bill to put tape over your mouth if what you say will be interpreted by the media in a way you disagree with?

The point is that you cannot be protected from attacks or misrepresentations of your comments any more than your adversaries can be protected from your attacks and misrepresentations unless they are slanderous or libelous to a degree provable in court.

I think it would be an awfully good idea for you to read the freaking Constitution before you put your hand on a bible and swear to uphold it.

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Additional Proof that Palin is Not Well-Informed

I guess Palin read that the Vice President is President of the Senate. But I don't think she's actually read the Constitution or read any civics books to know what the means. The role of the President of the Senate is to preside over the Senate (i.e. bang the gavel) and cast tie-breaking votes. Not exactly "in charge." Especially when the other party has a (filibuster-proof?) majority.

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Daily Show on Real America

Let's have some MSM follow-up with Wasilla's current Mayor! Why is it that we only get real insights from the "fake" news shows on Comedy Central?



And on Colbert last night, he mocked Colin Powell's reference to Obama as a "transformational candidate" saying (I may be paraphrasing) that McCain is one: "The campaign has transformed him into everything he's ever hated."

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Pallin' With Palin

So there's Sarah Palin pallin' around with the SNL crew. Why, they're making a joke about how she hasn't given any press conferences, and she's right in on it! How cool is that?

Actually, it's disgusting. Unforgiveable. Unacceptable. Not funny.

OK, but the Amy Poehler rap was pretty good.

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Palin's Real America

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom."

- Sarah Palin

So, Sarah, please tell us exactly what parts of the United States are not "the real America." What are the areas where people are not "hard-working, patriotic, pro-America?"

Do you mean all the cities, perhaps? Or just Cambridge, MA and Hollywood, CA? Are you saying there is not kindness on the south side of Chicago, people protecting in uniform in the Bronx, soldiers from Compton?

Please explain what you meant by this statement.

Which parts of America do you wish to be Vice President of?

Which Americans do you plan to represent in office?

Let me tell you who is un-American, madam. You are. You who seek to value only those who agree with you, and to devalue those who disagree. You who wish to divide us by where we live, how we live, and what we believe. You who will say just about anything to win an election. You represent some of the worst this country has to offer.

I do agree with the phrase that was hurled at me as an epithet when I protested the Viet Nam war:

America, love it or leave it.

Loving America means living your life according to your values. It means standing up for what you believe, and like anything or anyone you truly love, being able to say when it is doing something wrong and trying to change it.

So Sarah, we who live in cities, we who work in offices, veterans who live on the streets having been abandoned by your party, we are patriotic, we are pro-America, we believe in the American ideal. Do you?

MESILLA, NM -- Joe Biden today accused his Republican counterpart of engaging in the same kind of divisive politics seen in the Bush Administration, saying he has yet to find a part of the country that is not “pro-America.”

“Folks, it doesn’t matter where you live, we all love this country,” he said. “One of the reasons why Barack and I are running is that we know how damaging the politics of division that continues to be practiced by the McCain campaign, how damaging this policy of division has been for Americans over the last decade or more.”

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Palin, please tell us which areas of the country are NOT "pro-America"

Palin also made a point of mentioning that she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country, of which North Carolina is one.

- Washington Post

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Joe the plumber has held more press conferences than V.P. candidate Sarah Palin.

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And a one-a and a two-a...

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Palin Uber Alles

You know, we might be bleeding our authority over to the Legislative or Judicial branch to do our job in the Executive branch as administers.

- Sarah Palin

What is this flexibility Palin keeps talking about regarding the position if Vice President? Now she says she means the President can assign work to the Vice. Reasonable, although no reference to that in the Constitution. 

As regards the role in the Senate, I'd say that if she prefers to spend her time over there a lot, she's welcome, according to the Constitution, to bang the gavel a lot in addition to castings votes in case of a tie. But what is this "bleeding authority" over to the Judicial branch?????!!!!!

The best job of the VP is to supervise the counting of electoral votes and announce the winner. That was freaking bitter for Nixon on 1960 and Gore in 2000. Can't wait for Cheney to open the envelope!

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Filters

I thought Palin did a great job tonight.

That's if you don't count actual answers to actual questions that were asked.

Near the end she said she was glad to talk directly to the American People without the filter of the mainstream media.

Instead, she spoke through her own filter by filtering out all those bothersome questions Gwen Ifill had.  At least Palin was honest. Early on she said she wouldn't be answering those darn questions, at least not the way Ifill and Biden would have liked. 

And now she is free to continue not answering questions. Think you'll see any more interviews by the "mainstream media," much less a press conference, before November 4th? Not a chance. Doggonit.

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The Obfuscation Express

Twice, Steve Inskeep of NPR asks McCain about Palin's foreign policy cred and twice McCain describes her qualifications to be Secretary of Energy in response:

MR. INSKEEP: We’re talking with Senator John McCain. And Senator, as you know, the vice presidential debate comes on Thursday — your running mate, Governor Sarah Palin against Joe Biden. Governor Palin has been asked about her foreign policy qualifications, and cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as one reason she’s qualified. I’d like to ask you, Senator, what specifically do you believe that Alaska’s proximity to Russia adds to Palin’s foreign policy qualifications?

SEN. MCCAIN: Well, I think the fact that they have had certain relationships, but that’s not the major she has stated, and you know that. The major reason she has stated is because she has the knowledge and background on a broad variety of issues, including probably the major challenge of America, and that’s energy independence. And she has been responsible, taken on the oil companies, and we now are going to have a $40 billion dollar natural gas pipeline. She has oversighted the natural gas and oil and natural resources of the state of Alaska and, by the way, quit when she saw corruption there. She has the world view that I have. She is very highly qualified and very knowledgeable.

MR. INSKEEP: Given what you’ve said, Senator, is there an occasion where you could imagine turning to Governor Palin for advice in a foreign policy crisis?

SEN. MCCAIN: I’ve turned to her advice many times in the past. I can’t imagine turning to Senator Obama or Senator Biden because they’ve been wrong. They were wrong about Iraq, they were wrong about Russia. Senator Biden wanted to divide Iraq into three different countries. He voted against the first Gulf War. Senator Obama has no experience whatsoever and has been wrong in the issues that he’s been involved in –

MR. INSKEEP: But would you turn to Governor Palin –

SEN. MCCAIN: — I certainly wouldn’t turn to them, and I’ve already have turned to Governor Palin, particularly on energy issues, and I’ve appreciated her background and knowlege on that and many other issues.

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The truth: She didn't read anything

Here's a nice debating trick. When you have no answer for a question, attack the questioner for insulting you by implying you don't do what you, in fact, don't do:

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McCain: Don't Listen to Anything Palin Says, Unless It's Scripted For Her

Saturday night, while on a stop for cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia, Sarah Palin was asked by a Temple graduate student about whether the U.S. should cross the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

"If that's what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should," Palin said.

"She would not…she understands and has stated repeatedly that we're not going to do anything except in America's national security interest," McCain told ABC's George Stephanopoulos of Palin. "In all due respect, people going around and… sticking a microphone while conversations are being held, and then all of a sudden that's—that's a person's position… This is a free country, but I don't think most Americans think that that's a definitve policy statement made by Governor Palin."

Excerpted from CNN report

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"It was like watching Gidget address the Reichstag"

Must-read Matt Taibbi's Rooling Stone article about Palin.

There's a lot of great ranting in the piece, but here's the sober "money quote":

Democracy doesn't require a whole lot of work of its citizens, but it requires some: It requires taking a good look outside once in a while, and considering the bad news and what it might mean, and making the occasional tough choice, and soberly taking stock of what your real interests are.

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Don't Know Much About...

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"If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

By conservative columnist Kathleen Parker.

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Must Read: Palin on Russia Proximity providing Foreign Policy Cred

Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that? 

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters. 

Couric: Mocked? 

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah. 

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials. 

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there… 

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians? 

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state. 

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Confused, alright!

I don't know who authored this.  I'm about the millionth person to post it, but in case you haven't seen it...

--------------------------

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,

then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

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Palin the Doctrinairhead

Bob Herbert nails it in his piece about Palin today. The issue is not her relatively thin resume, per se, it's that there is no evidence she is knowledgeable about most of the issues -- especially regarding foreign policy -- she would have to deal with if she became president. Her interview with Charlie Gibson only proved this.

Ms. Palin’s problem is not that she was mayor of a small town or has only been in the Alaska governor’s office a short while. Her problem (and now ours) is that she is not well versed on the critical matters confronting the country at one of the most crucial turning points in its history.

Some have said it was a "gotcha" when Gibson asked her about the Bush Doctrine, and that there are actually several Bush doctrines. Evidently there are several, but I knew what he was referring to, and in any case, she didn't reply "which one." It was evident she had never heard the term.

We need a lot more of the Powell Doctrine and a lot less of the Bush Doctrine.

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