hogwash

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What $150K buys

I am not sure if I live in a pro-America or anti-America part of the country here in the heart of Oakville, but I do know that when we bought our three-bedroom house in 2000, it cost $15,000 less than the Republican National Committee spent on clothing for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, over the last two months.

Does Ms. Palin have to pay income taxes on the clothing she received? At my last job, employees were provided lunch, but we had to pay taxes on the lunches received as income (similar to how Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s health plan is supposed to work).

And, with the salary I received at that job, it would have taken me more than seven years after taxes to buy a wardrobe similar to Ms. Palin’s.

Of course, my husband, our four children and I would have starved and lost the house in the process.

Elaine “The Working Mom” Frank | Oakville

It is amazing how little ‘Joe Six-pack’ actually knows about the United States of America.  They know very little about where it came from, how it got here, or even what America stands for.  The hope of having any kind of conversation with ‘Joe’ that includes facts is about as likely as having Alaska’s Governor Palin on the ticket as a Vice-President.  (Oh.  Crap.  I will have to find a new metaphor for things that are unlikely.) 

Over the last couple of days, I have had one of these one-way conversations with Mr. Six-pack, and I have to tell you, if you are a fan of the great American experiment, the depth of his ignorance is disheartening if you are hoping for the experiment to succeed.  Most importantly, it is indicative of what civic leaders like Barack Obama have to face every day of their lives.

The next couple of paragraphs will sort of run like a play-by-play.  As readers of this blog continue through the text, you will swear that you know this Mr. Six-pack.  I promise you that you don’t, well, unless you actually do know him, which would be funny to me.  For the purposes of this column, I will call him ‘Benedict.’ Benedict fits, mainly because he is a classic American traitor, and you will see why as you read on.  Benedict is indicative of the halfwit that the regressive, maverick Republican brand has rounded up and caged as sure-thing voters year after year.

It all started this Sunday as I sat on my couch watching ‘Meet the Press’ on my DVR.  From my laptop, which sits next to me, a loud crash of a gong came across my speakers to notify me that I had a new email.  It was from Benedict, a Joe Six-pack that I met once a few years back when I was laid up from a knee surgery.  He was not happy with my last blog post ‘Therapists are here to ‘get’ us, not VPs.’

The following is not for respectable people who are easily offended:

“Thanks Karl (my dad) for sending this one. It just proves you and your ex were extremely intoxicated the night this one was conceived. Junior, I only met you once and I will refer to you as BLISTER because you showed up after we had finished moving your father a few years back. Just like you liberals, showing up after the work is done. What Karl should have done was wait for the government to move him, just like OSAMA’s posse did in Louisiana when Katrina hit. I have spent enough time on BLISTER, it is obvious the major thing BLISTER and all liberals are missing is COMMON SENSE. It must have been aborted on your daddy’s sheets.”

I replied with, “Typical.  When you lose on the facts you revert to personal attacks.  Facts matter Benedict, so unless you’ve got some, you’re useless to the greater debate and the larger picture.  When I get emails like this, I can’t help but thank the people who created the system of checks and balances the way that they did, or people like you would actually be running this country…or at least what would even be left of it.”

Needless to say, there have been 40+ emails sent back and forth since then.  I won’t bore you with most of them, mainly because it will probably make you a little nauseous to read most of what he says, but in general, the entire conversation has been largely one-sided as it relates to facts.  All Benedict has in his arsenal are old Limbaugh and Coulterisms, like “liberals showing up when the work is done,” and “The only difference between Obama and Osama is the ‘bs’,” and “I’m no more racist that Osama (again, meaning Obama.)” 

He didn’t deny, nor defend his racism, other than to recite a list of other African-Americans who he claims are racist, so I had to ask, “So you excuse your racism because of what you claim to be someone else’s?   Whatever happened to the conservative ideal of personal responsibility?  Or, are you a hypocrite too?  One who only applies the conservative ideals that he isn’t too lazy, mentally and physically, to deal with?”

As you might expect, he came back with, “Again other than the word Africa what did I say was racist? Nothing that is what you liberals do is throw the race card. Is Rev. Wright racist? Is Michele OSAMA racist for her speech talking whitey this and whitey that? Let me guess freedom of speech. What about OSAMA’s ties with Rezco? If that was a Republican Lord help us.”

I literally LOL’d on that one.  I about hit the floor I was laughing so hard.  After I explained to him how disrespectfully calling Obama, Osama was racist and how Michelle never said those things that Fox News falsely propagated and later recanted, and how Obama was cleared of any wrong-doing with Rezco, my laughter stopped.  It stopped because at that moment I realized just how clueless Benedict and his fellow “patriots” are.  And then, when I thought of all of the other people who willingly, and many times unknowingly believe these lies, it made me sad for my country.

Then it dawned on me, as he proceeded to send me all of the crazy viral emails that were proven false months and years ago that form the basis of his neurotic political beliefs, like the South Dakota FEMA email, and the Obama not saying the pledge email, etc., that Benedict is not a conservative.  Wick Allison is a conservative, George Will is a conservative.  My grandfather was a conservative.  This man is not a conservative.  He is a modern day American traitor. 

In his deranged, hateful world, he denies everything and anything that has made America great. Such “liberal” documents as the Constitution, and the words carved in to the Statue of Liberty don’t escape his scorn and cynicism.  They apparently are just out-dated ideas that only hold meaning for ”liberals.”  How do I know this?  I presented the Constitution and the Statue of Liberty to Benedict as evidence of how it was the ingenuity of American capitalism, restrained with common sense social maturity, and the immensely successful liberal ideas of our forefathers that has made America so strong, and this is what he had to say about it:

“That was great years ago. You liberals screwed it up. Press 1 if you want that in English and 2 if you want it in Spanish. Get the picture moron.”

Yes Benedict.  I get the picture.  I just threw up in my mouth a little bit, but I get the picture.

Sarah Palin may have covered the spread last night, but it was only because the odds makers were not sure exactly how low to set the bar. For a comparison, imagine the coverage today if Al Gore, in 2000, would have acted like Sarah Palin did on Oct. 2nd, winking at America, spouting ill-timed slams on Biden like “say it ain’t so Joe,” and worst of all, essentially admitting that she was not going to answer the moderator’s questions.

Sarah Palin was typical last night, the real “Average Joe” of the evening, if you will. I understand that some people like that. I understand how some people think that having a typical, plain Palin in the White House is totally rad, dude. I understand how some people think that a lack of intellectual curiosity in the White House is a good thing. But dagnabbit people, this is America, and America is the most powerful nation in the world.

Being the most powerful human being in the free world is an incredible responsibility, and requires the attention of an incredibly qualified person. Running this amazing country is only simple in the acknowledgment of its complication; and gosh darnit, if I had my druthers, Americans would realize that.

Excuse me for a moment while I look “backwards” and ask my fellow Wasillian Main-Streeters what they think of typical leaders. What do you think was typical and “just like me” about George Washington? What do you think was typical and “just like me” about Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, or James Madison? (Yes, I know Franklin was not a president, but America as we know it would not exist without him nonetheless.) What do you think was typical and “just like me” about John Adams? What do you think was typical and “just like me” about Abraham Lincoln, or Teddy Roosevelt, or FDR, or John F. Kennedy? (While being the son of a poor frontiersman, Lincoln was well-read, philosophical and was a successful attorney.)

Now, for comparison, *wink* what do you think is typical and “just like me” about George W. Bush? Remember? People were passionate about W because they could sit down and drink a beer with him. He was just like them. He understood them. He could not field dress a moose, God bless his soul, but darnnit, he could choke on a pretzel with the best of them. I mean, because he is just like, “us” he led this country into arguably the worse eight years of this country’s previously great existence. What is more “backwards” and regressive than that?

To all that voted for Bush, not once, but twice, for Christ’s sake, are you not embarrassed about that people? Are you not willing to at least take some of the responsibility for the current situation we find ourselves in as a country? Yes, there has been a failure in leadership, but that is only because there has been a major washout in followership. Democracies and republics fail for one overriding reason.  It is the failure of society to pay attention; to educate themselves on the complexities of the governance; their utter refusal to look in the mirror and take some responsibility for the failures of those whom they pick to lead.

Now, here we sit, on three hundred million straw pedestals, ready to pick the next great (or not so great) leader of the free world, and you are telling me that the major criteria of which almost half of this country is using to pick their next President is, “Well, she understands me, she gets me, she shares in my problems. She doesn’t know her ‘you know what’ from a hole in the wall, but she can recite prepared euphemisms and doublespeak with the best of them.” Are we really going to use the same criteria to pick the next president that we used to pick the last one? Are we really a country of gluttonous fools who want to continue relishing in the repercussions of the incredible weakness of our collective decisions?

I feel compelled to remind everyone that this is what we have psychiatrists and best friends for, not presidents and vice-presidents.

Am I aggravated? Yur darn toot’n I am aggravated. I don’t think this country can handle another four years of ignorant leadership. Even if you tattoo it with lipstick and call it change, it’s still W and Dick.

It’s nice the Palin did some speed-dating with foreign leaders, but I thought it would be nice for you to see the list of people Biden has met with…officially.

As of September 23, 2008

Senator Biden/Meetings with World Leaders

This is a partial list of world leaders that Senator Biden has met with at least once over his nearly 36 year career as a United States Senator. As mentioned, this list is not exhaustive. As chairman of the subcommittees on Europe and Africa earlier in his career, the list is certainly much longer. ****The dates listed indicate when the foreign leader was in office.

Iraq
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi (May 2004 - April 2005)
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (April 2005 - May 2006)
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (April 2006 - Present)
President Jalal Talabani (June 2005 - Present)
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani (June 2005 - Present)
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (March 2006 - Present)

Israel
Prime Minister Golda Meir (March 1969 - June 1974)
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (July 1992 - November 1995)
Prime Minister Shimon Peres (November 1995 - June 1996)
Prime Minister Menachem Begin (June 1977 - October 1983)
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir (October 1986 - July 1992)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (June 1996 - July 1999)
Prime Minister Ehud Barak (June 1996 - July 1999)
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (March 2001 - April 2006)
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (April 2006 - Present)
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (January 2006 - present)

Palestinian Territories
Chairman Yasser Arafat (September 1993 - November 2004)
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (November 2004 - Present)
Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad (June 2007 - Present)
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (October 2003 - March 2006)

Jordan
King Hussein (August 1952 - February 1999)
King Abdullah (August 2005-Present)

Egypt
President Hosni Mubarak (October 1981 - Present)
President Anwar Sadat (October1970 - October 1981)

Libya
Prime Minister Col. Muammar Qaddafi (March 1977 - March 1979)

Lebanon
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (October 1992 - December 1998)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati (April 2005 - July 2005)

Bahrain
Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (March 1999 - Present)

Syria
President Bashar al-Assad (July 2000 - Present)

Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (March 2003 - Present)
President Ahmet Sezer (May 2000 - August 2007)
Prime Minister/President* Abdullah Gul (November 2002 - March 2003, Current President)
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit (January 1999 - May 1999)
Prime Minister Demirel (November 1991 - June 1993)

Greece
President Kostis Stephanopoulos (March 1995 - March 2005)
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis (March 2004 - Present)
Prime Minister Kostantinos Mitsotakis (April 1990 - October 1993)
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou (October 1981 - July 1989)
(October 1993 - January 1996)

Cyprus
President George Vassiliou (February 1988 - February 1993)
President Glafcos Clerides (February 1993 - February 2003)

Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai (December 2001 - Present)

Pakistan
President Asif Ali Zardari (September 2008 - Present)*
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani (March 2008 - Present)
President Pervez Musharraf (June 2001 - August 2008)
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (December 1988 - August 1990, October 1993 - November 1996)
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (November 1990 - July 1993, February 1997 - October 1999)

India
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (May 2004 - Present)
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (May 1996 - June 1996)
(March 1998 - May 2004)

Sri Lanka
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe (May 1993 - August 1994)
(December 2001 - April 2004)

Russia
President Vladimir Putin (May 2000 - May 2008; current Prime Minister)
President Boris Yeltsin (July 1991 - December 1999)
Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev (March 1990 - December 1991)
Soviet Union President Andrei Gromyko (July 1985 - October 1988)
Premier of the Soviet Union Alexey Kosygin (October 1964 - October 1980)
Premier of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev (May 1960 - July 1964)

France
President Jacques Chirac (May 1995 - May 2007)
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin (May 2005 - May 2007)
President Francois Mitterrand (May 1981 - May 1995)

U.K.
Queen Elizabeth (February 1952 - Present)
Prime Minister Tony Blair (May 1997 - June 2007)
Prime Minister John Major (November 1990 - May 1997)
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (May 1979 - November 1990)

Ireland
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (June 1997 - Present)
Prime Minister John Bruton (December 1994 - June 1997)
Prime Minister Albert Reynolds (February 1992 - December 1994)
Prime Minister Charles Haughey (December 1979 - June 1981)
(March 1982 - December 1982)
(March 1987 - February 1992)

Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel (November 2005 - Present)
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (October 1998 - November 2005)
Chancellor Helmut Kohl (October 1982 - October 1998)
Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (May 1974 - October 1982)

Italy
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (June 2001 - May 2006)
(May 2008 - Present)
Prime Minister Romano Prodi (May 2006 - May 2008)
Prime Minister Cossiga (July 1989 - April 1992)

Serbia
President of Serbia Boris Tadic (July 2004 - Present)
Prime Minister of Serbia Vojislav Kostunica (March 2004 - Present)
Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Djindjic (January 2001 - March 2003)
President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic (May 1989 - July 1997)

Yugoslavia
Premier of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito (January 1953 - May 1980)

Croatia
President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman (May 1990 - December 1999)

Slovenia
Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Drnovsek (December 2002 - Present)
President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova (March 2002 - January 2006)
President of Slovenia Milan Kucan (October 1991 - December 2002)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
President of Bosnia Haris Silajdzic (November 2006 - Present)
President of Bosnia Sulejman Tihić (October 2002 - November 2006)
President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic (March 1992 - October 2000)

Kosovo (as an independent nation)
President Fatmir Sejdiu (January 2008 - Present)
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci (January 2008 - Present)

Poland
President Lech Walesa (December 1990 - December 1995)
Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz (October 1993 - March 1995)

Czech Republic
President Vaclav Havel (February 1993 - February 2003)

Hungary
Prime Minister Gyula Horn (July 1994 - July 1998)
President Arpad Goncz (August 1990 - August 2000)
Prime Minister Viktor Orban (July 1998 - May 2002)

Finland
Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (April 1995 - April 2003)

Romania
President Ion Iliescu (December 1989 - November 1996)

Georgia
President Mikheil Saakashvili (January 2004 - Present)
President Eduard Shevardnadze (October 1995 - November 2003)

Kazakhstan
President Nursultan Nazarbayev (December 1991 - Present)

Ukraine
President Viktor Yushchenko (January 2005 - Present)

Canada
Prime Minister Paul Martin (December 2003 - February 2006)
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (September 1984 - June 1993)

NATO
Secretary General Lord George Robertson (October 1999 - January 2004)
Secretary General Javier Solana (December 1995 - October 1999)
Secretary General Manfred Woerner (July 1988 - August 1994)
Secretary General Lord Peter Carrington (June 1984 - July 1988)

China
President Jiang Zemin (March 1993 - March 2003)
Premier Zhu Rongji (March 1998 - March 2003)

Hong Kong
Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa (July 1997 - March 2005)

Taiwan
President Chen Shui-Bian (May 2000 - Present)

Korea
President Kim Dae Jung (February 1998 - February 2003)

Singapore
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (June 1959 - November 1990)
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (November 1990 - August 2004)
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (August 2004 - Present)

Indonesia
President Megawati Sukarnoputri (July 2001 - October 2004)
President Bambang Yudhoyono (October 2004 - Present)

Australia
Prime Minister John Howard (March 1996 - December 2007)
Prime Minister Paul Keating (December 1991 - March 1996)

Philippines
President Gloria Arroyo (January 2001 - Present)
President Fidel Ramos (June 1992 - June 1998)

Vietnam
Prime Minister Phan Van Kai (September 1997 - June 2006)

East Timor
President Ramos Horta (May 2007 - Present)

Tibet
The Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (1950 - Present)

Colombia
President Alvaro Uribe (August 2002 - Present)
President Andres Pastrana (August 1998 - August 2002)
President Cesar Gaviria (August 1990 - August 1994)

Mexico
President Vincente Fox (December 2000 - December 2006)
President Ernesto Zedillo (December 1994 - November 2000)

Bolivia
President Jaime Paz Zamora (August 1989 - August 1993)

South Africa
President Thabo Mbeki (June 1999 - September 2008)
President Nelson Mandela (April 1994 - June 1999)

Liberia
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (January 2006 - Present)

Lesotho
Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan (July 1965 - January 1986)

United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (January 2007 - Present)
Secretary General Kofi Annan (January 1997 - January 2007)
Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali (January 1992 - January 1997)

Vatican City
Pope John Paul II (October 1978 - April 2005)

Slovakia
President Rudolf Schuster (June 1999 - June 2004)

Turkmenistan
President Saparmurat Niyazov (October 1990 - December 2006)

I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.  I saw her say it at her church in Wasilla.  -  That’s some crazy stuff!

US Elections - Times Online - WBLG: Palin linked electoral success to prayer of Kenyan witchhunter
The pastor whose prayer Sarah Palin says helped her to become governor of Alaska founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells.

Muthee_400156gAt a speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God on June 8 this year, Mrs Palin described how Thomas Muthee had laid his hands on her when he visited the church as a guest preacher in late 2005, prior to her successful gubernatorial bid.

This is the brainchild of Patriot John, and I put it together for Hogwash - Thanks again for your input Patriot John.

Oh, what a glorious day for the regressive Republican economy.  It just keeps booming and booming.  I’m sure glad they know finances and macro-economics.  Where would we be without all of their glorious economic theories?  I haven’t hugged a Republican today…I need to find one.  They are getting a bit harder and harder to find though.  I’m sure I can find one somewhere.  Here rovey, rovey, rovey, here rovey, rovey, rovey…..

You know the old saying:  “Conservatives say government doesn’t work, and then they get elected to prove it.”

Here is your must read assignment of the day, called “Foreclosure Phil”:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/foreclosure-phil.html

Remember when John McCain was considered a maverick because he occasionally took liberal positions?

Now he has provided the American people with a whole new euphemism for a lie: The Maverick Truth

Palin is qualified to be the most powerful person in the free world = The Maverick Truth

Trickle down regressive Republican economics has worked = The Maverick Truth

The regressive Republican run economy works for middle class Americans = The Maverick Truth

Trickle down regressive Republican economics trickles down to Indian and Chinese workers = The Maver….oh wait, that’s the REAL TRUTH!!!

David Ignatius - Stopping At Nothing To Win - washingtonpost.com
McCain even seems to have forgotten what saved his greatest legislative achievement, which is campaign finance reform. When he was asked during the Saddleback Church debate which Supreme Court justices he would not have nominated, he named Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens. It happens that those are four of the five justices who voted in 2003 to uphold the McCain-Feingold law.

In May 2006, after McCain had courted the Rev. Jerry Falwell in an effort to win conservative support, I asked him if he was bending his principles for the sake of winning. “I don’t want it that badly,” McCain answered. “I will continue to do what is right. . . . If that means I can’t get the Republican nomination, fine. I’ve had a happy life. The worst thing I can do is sell my soul to the devil.”

He was right.

McCain really has nowhere to go but down from here.  The Palin Bump is over and now that independents are coming back to their senses, they are realizing that what they need to do is decide who has the best chance of leading America in to the 21st century starting on November 4th.  Clearly, Independents and Democrats are tired of Regressive politics and policies.

One thing I noticed is that McCain never matched Obama’s high during the “Palin Bump,” and Obama never matched McCain’s low.

From the Daily Gallup Tracker polled September 10-12…(without the tragic hurricane, I think the slope would be even deeper, but that is purely speculative.)

Sarah Palin has been thoroughly exposed for the gimmick and fraud (in relation to the persona presented by the McCain campaign) that she is.  Whether 54 days is enough time for the average American voter to pick up on it is another story.  If the percentage of people who still believe that Iraq had a hand in 9/11 is any indication, the truth about Sarah Palin may never take hold.

So here is the deal, there probably is not much more that I can contribute to the Sarah Palin conversation that is not being exposed somewhere else.  Unless she makes some newsworthy blunder, or does something else to contradict or embarrass John McCain and his obviously poor judgment and critical thinking skills, I am not going to go out of my way to post it here.

What I am interested in right now is how the Bush administration has slowly begun to follow the Barack Obama foreign policy doctrine (maybe that is why Sarah Palin was confused – damn, what was that…like 15 seconds without mentioning Palin?)

All of the  things that John McCain and the Republican party used to call Obama naïve for, like an Iraq withdrawal time table…check.  Talks with Iran…check.  Ground forces in Pakistan without Pakistani permission…check.

This is like something out of the twilight zone.  If Barack Obama is so ignorant, naïve, and liberal, why have the Regressives adopted his foreign policy?

(Picture the penguin and the audio fade, “Do, be, do, be, dooooooooooo.”)

Update:  Apparently, Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic concurs:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/a-first.html

“The Bush administration - when guided by the saner forces within it such as Gates and Rice - eventually follows Obama’s advice. In that sense, Obama has been president for quite a while already. And proving he could be a shrewd, pragmatic and prescient one.”

Alright, this is my attempt at being objective.

It’s really simple enough.  McCain clearly got a bounce from Palin, but the bounce is already starting to trickle away.  AND, by looking at the historical polls one by one on Real Clear Politics, Obama didn’t lose many or any percentage points in most of the polls.  What happened was that it appears to be one of two things:  1.  As was previously reported, several of the major news outlets added an additional sample of declared Republicans in to the polling, and 2. and this is what it looks like most to me, it was many undecided independents who fell down on McCain’s side 55-60 days out from election day.

And what do we know about independents?  They are incredibly fickle.  It will be a battle to the end, for those independents, but barring any kind of October surprise or major gaffe by Obama, McCain can’t get any higher, and has nowhere to go down from here.

What I think will happen, again, trying to be objective, not an Obamacon, is that the press will continue its increased expose on Sarah Palin, which isn’t necessarily what Obama wants, but they will also increasingly take McCain to task for his Shermonian scorched Earth halt-truths, which will irreparably damage McCain’s credibility, not with conservatives, but with the Independents he has captured over the last week or so.

Then, the trump card for Obama, which I think most people are not taking into account, are the two million more registered Democratic voters over newly registered Republican voters.  Most of the polls taken are polling voters from the last two elections…from what I understand.

So, this is about as close as I can get to objective at this point.  I really do not believe it is wishful thinking as an Obama supporter, but an analytical look at the polling data.

I shared this with an upper-middle class to wealthy Republican, but objective and politically in-tune, friend of mine, and he tends to agree with this analysis.  The only thing that he adds is something rather obvious, and that is that is all comes down to turnout.  It won’t do Obama any good to have 2 million newly registered voters if they don’t show up.

Thoughts?

McCain Pre-Palin: Mayors And Governors Can’t Handle National Security
When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time not disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defend your vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time ABSOLUTELY disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defeat primary opponents Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

Back in October 2007, when McCain’s candidacy still appeared dead and buried, the Senator berated the two Republican front runners for lacking the necessary political experience to handle commander in chief responsibilities.

“I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I’ve been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism,” the Senator declared. “I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time.”

This is pretty funny.  But as in all satire, you can usually find a little truth…

http://www.rooftopcomedy.com/watch/PolarBears

Hogwash for the last two weeks has dedicated itself to exposing the habitual lies and hypocrisy of Sarah Palin, as well as the apparent lack of good judgment by John McCain in picking Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate.  It obviously made good political sense to put Palin on the ticket, at least for a two week bounce or so, but in terms of what is good for the country, Sarah Palin is a disaster.  At least Dick Cheney had actually met face-to-face with a foreign leader.

When John McCain says, “National security is our number one priority as a nation,” he loses all credibility with Palin.  Since there is a 15 to 33% chance that John McCain would not live through his Presidency, how could John McCain be putting “Country First” with his Sarah Palin pick?  She is clearly a political gimmick.

In the Charlie Gibson interview, she doesn’t necessarily blow up and sticks pretty well to her prepared answers, but I just can’t hardly stand to watch.  She speaks in a condescending tone.  She doesn’t answer Gibson’s questions.  She doesn’t understand his questions.  She contradicts John McCain, especially on invasion of Pakistan.

To me, she answers questions like someone who is trying to fool the American people that she is ready for the job, like an actress with a script.  When I watched the interview below, it made my stomach turn.  She is clearly faking her way through this interview, like a college student interviewing for a CEO position.  I just cannot imagine Palin as the most powerful person in the free world.  I just can’t stomach the possibility of her in the White House on September 11th.  This is not American Idol people!

Have I lost objectivity?

Watch this clip, and you tell me.

More evidence on the fallacy of McCain’s ability to maintain his honor

This is getting sick.  How can religious conservatives put up with Palin’s hypocrisy and compulsive lying.  I don’t get it.  Isn’t this a double-standard?

Bloomberg.com: News
Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) — John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate sent a signal that he would end business as usual and cronyism in government. Her record shows the Alaska governor engaged in some of the same practices she and McCain now condemn.

Palin’s office approved a state job for a friend and campaign aide with whom she shared a land investment, financial records and interviews over the past two weeks show. She hired a former lobbyist for a pipeline company to help oversee a multibillion-dollar deal with that same company.

She named a police chief accused of harassment to head the state police. And she sent campaign e-mails on her city hall account while serving as mayor of Wasilla — conduct for which she later turned in an oil commissioner on ethics charges.

Wow.  This just keeps getting better.  I don’t believe that 55 days is long enough for McCain to keep this country fooled.  His deception is slowly revealing itself on a daily basis.  Once again, you can’t blame this reporting on the liberal media…

Ethics Adviser Warned Palin About Trooper Issue - WSJ.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An informal adviser who has counseled Gov. Sarah Palin on ethics issues urged her in July to apologize for her handling of the dismissal of the state’s public safety commissioner and warned that the matter could snowball into a bigger scandal.
[Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten, right, sits with John Cyr, executive director for the Public Safety Employee Association, to answer questions about the ‘Troopergate’ investigation.]
Associated Press
Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten (right) answers questions about the ‘Troopergate’ investigation on Tuesday.

He also said, in a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, that she should fire any aides who had raised concerns with the chief over a state trooper who was involved in a bitter divorce with the governor’s sister.

In the letter, written before Sen. John McCain picked the Alaska governor as his running mate, former U.S. Attorney Wevley Shea warned Gov. Palin that “the situation is now grave” and recommended that she and her husband, Todd Palin, apologize for “overreaching or perceived overreaching” for using her position to try to get Trooper Mike Wooten fired from the force.

Who in the world wants to win the Presidency via deception?  I have begun to lose all respect for John McCain.  I thought he was a man of honor!  This is a disgrace, and truly disappointing.  There truly was a point in this election that I said, “I completely and totally support Barack Obama.  But John McCain is a good man.  If McCain where to win, I wouldn’t be happy, but at least it is an improvement.”

That is no longer the case.  John McCain has taken the low and dirty road.  It all started with his Palin gimmick pick, and now he continues to propagate her lies, and now he only stops when forced to by authorities who have the power to make him do so.

Wow.  What a bunch of hogwash John McCain.  You are really letting this country down.  How do you sleep with yourself at night?

Ben Smith’s Blog: CBS takes down McCain webad, suggests it’s ‘misleading’ - Politico.com
YouTube has removed a webad that casts Sarah Palin as the victim of sexism on the request of CBS, whose anchor Katie Couric was featured in the ad.

“One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life,” Couric is quoted in the ad.

In the original clip, she was talking about Hillary Clinton; the ad applies her words to Sarah Palin.

Asked about the ad, CBS spokeswoman Leigh Farris said, “CBS News does not endorse any candidate in the Presidential race. Any use of CBS personnel in political advertising that suggests the contrary is misleading.”

YouTube’s page displaying the ad now tells visitors, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CBS Interactive Inc.”

Couric’s original commentary can be seen here. A cached version of the McCain ad is currently available here.

 Double-standards, hyposcrisy, oh, and yes, Hogwash…straight from John McCain’s mouth.

Sarah Palin’s abuse of power and compulsive lying.  Sounds like George Bush, with lipstick

Palin Warned to Stop Disparaging Sister’s Ex | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com
An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of her family to stop “disparaging” the reputation of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing a bitter separation and divorce from Palin’s sister Molly.

Allegations that Palin, her husband Todd, and at least one top gubernatorial aide continued to vilify Wooten—after Palin became Alaska’s governor and pressured state police officials to take action against him—are at the center of “Troopergate,” a political and ethical controversy which has embroiled Palin’s administration and is currently the subject of an official inquiry by a special investigator hired by the state legislature.

The Hogwash Mascot - From Patriot John

James Heffernan: Twenty Questions for Sarah Palin
5. While running for mayor in the city of Wasilla (population then about 5000), you campaigned as a “fiscal conservative.” During your six years as mayor (1996-2002) you cut taxes on large property owners but also raised government expenses by more than 33 percent, increased tax collection by 38 percent, and raised the sales tax on everything, including food. Does fiscal conservatism mean raising taxes on ordinary citizens while cutting them on big corporations?

6. After taking office when Wasilla owed nothing, why did you leave it with a debt of more than 22 million dollars?

Barack Obama said today that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig, and that you can wrap a fish in a newspaper and call it “change,” but it still stinks.

 It will be interesting to see how that plays out.  In the meantime, check out what Alaskans are saying about Sarah Palin’s compulsive lying.

Sarah Palin dolls go on sale as John McCain’s running mate’s popularity soars - Telegraph
Sarah Palin dolls go on sale as John McCain’s running mate’s popularity soars
Two Sarah Palin action dolls portraying the Republican vice-presidential nominee as an executive and an action hero have gone on sale in the United States.

Change you can believe in people!!!  Come on.  Just keep saying it until you believe it!  Change you can believe in!

Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home - washingtonpost.com
Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office