all the shady background associations, along with his non performance in voting on issues as a senator can schmooze and double speak and dupe just enough voters to get him elected.......why are some all of a sudden wanting to be "qualified" conscience with ANYBODY who throws their hat in the ring?

The discussion should be, almost anybody is a viable candidate if the likes of an Obama resume' and background can pull it off.....eh?

btk

Originally Posted by djplong

Teddy Roosevelt?!?!?! The man who led the charge up San Juan Hill? The man who practically INVENTED the National Park system?

The latest figures I could find for the population of Alaska were just over 686,000. Compare this to my home state of NH at 1.3M. We manage to get by without a sales or income tax and have a lot of people moving up here from Massachusetts expecting services to come with them. I'll put Governor Lynch (whom I don't agree with very often) agains Ms. Palin any day of the week when it comes to having to get a job done.

In other words, the population of Boston - just the city limits, not the metro area. This population is spread over an area half the size of 'the lower 48'.

So let's look at Palin's experience. On the Wasilla City council for 4 years, mayor for 6. Lost an election for Lt. Governor in '02 and chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Coservation Commission from 2003 until she resigned in '04. In '06, she became governor and resigned in '09. It still puzzles me as to why she resigned. I still can't get over her saying "I am not quitting" in the very speech where she said she was quitting.

To compare her to Teddy Roosevelt isn't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. You're comparing a 200-year-old oak tree to an acorn. Take a look at the two Wikipedia pages. Even if you ignore the section on Palin's controversies (which are flagged as "may not be neutral") the differences are striking.

I think so many people have jumped on the Palin bandwagon because they're looking for SOMEone to carry their torch annd while Palin has the 'looks' and the charisma, she doesn't (to me) seem to have the substance to back it up. Let's face it, isn't that some of the same criticism going to Obama?

That being said, I don't know if ANYONE can run the gauntlet that the press puts up. I mean, if Jesus Christ himself were running for office, the press would be running investigative stories into who his 'real' father was, who was Joseph covering up for, was Mary telling the truth and why is his inner circle of advisors entirely male?

"That being said, I don't know if ANYONE can run the gauntlet that the press puts up. I mean, if Jesus Christ himself were running for office, the press would be running investigative stories into who his 'real' father was, who was Joseph covering up for, was Mary telling the truth and why is his inner circle of advisors entirely male?[/QUOTE]

Please tell me that you understand that this DID NOT OCCUR IN THE LAST ELECTION.....our President had/has so many skeletons in his closet..some discussed and ignored...some just ignored.

There was more discussion of Sarah Palin's DAUGHTERS than of Rev Wright, the mentor for 20 years of our President....there was more discussion of Sarah Palin's new child than of our Presidents relationship with MANY left wing radicals. Bill Ayers was simply set aside, but the press descended on Alaska to investigate Palin as if it were in fact the investigation of Jesus Christ.

John Edwards had rumors circulating about him during the campaign...unreported by the MSM. Palin had her entire family under the microscope.

The press is very very very selective as to where they shine their spotlight !

Please tell me that you understand that this DID NOT OCCUR IN THE LAST ELECTION.....our President had/has so many skeletons in his closet..some discussed and ignored...some just ignored.

There was more discussion of Sarah Palin's DAUGHTERS than of Rev Wright, the mentor for 20 years of our President....there was more discussion of Sarah Palin's new child than of our Presidents relationship with MANY left wing radicals. Bill Ayers was simply set aside, but the press descended on Alaska to investigate Palin as if it were in fact the investigation of Jesus Christ.

John Edwards had rumors circulating about him during the campaign...unreported by the MSM. Palin had her entire family under the microscope.

The press is very very very selective as to where they shine their spotlight !

[/QUOTE]

Agree 100%.

Mind you, this is my impression..

I think Obama got a bit of a free pass because the press was afraid to be labeled racist. "White Liberal Guilt" isn't exactly a figment of someone's imagination.

I think Palin's daughters got about as much discussion as Obama's birth certificate. I think Rev. Wright got a not-complete-pass because half the people who were looking to discredit Obama by association were trying to say he was Muslim, which conflicted with Obama-under-the-Christian-Wright.

I think Obama got mileage out of the fact that, when the candidate revealed their health records, Obama was far more open about his 3-page summary than the inches-thick summary that only SOME reporters were allowed to see with NO recording devices (not even a tape recorder to take notes) for only a few minutes.

McCain flip-flopped on many things since his previous candidacy - and was perceived here in NH as a "sellout". Obama's inexperience was actually a plus in this regard as he hadn't had as much opportunity to flip-flop on anything.

Obama was young, vibrant and, yes, black. McCain came across like a crotchedy old grandfather who was a card-carrying member of "Ye Olde Boys Network". Like it or not, that played on the news.

Selecting Palin was a HUGE boost for about 8 hours - and then was revealed for the stupidity that it was.

But, more than anything else, Americans wanted to repudiate George Bush *big time* and McCain just didn't look "different" enough in his policies. Voting for McCain looked like it would be a vote for "more of the same".

To this day I don't think Obama won the election NEARLY as much as McCain lost it.

djplong--- I disagree about Palin. You say it was a boost for about 8 hours. I think McPain would have lost by a lot more if it wasn't for Palin. i had to hold my nose to vote for him, but it was a little easier with Palin on the ticket.

Originally Posted by Sally Jo

djplong--- I disagree about Palin. You say it was a boost for about 8 hours. I think McPain would have lost by a lot more if it wasn't for Palin. i had to hold my nose to vote for him, but it was a little easier with Palin on the ticket.

I agree. I think Diplong's hatred clouds his memory. Obama is half white, don't forget. What gave Obama the edge is the young vote and the media's bias. If the media spent one tenth of it's resources investigating Obama that it spent trying to dig dirt on Palin, Sarah would be Vice President. I would feel more comfortable with Sarah then I do with bumbling Joe Biden.

On Sept. 3, 2008, I sat alone in a condo in Woodbridge, Va., just 20 minutes from our nation's capital in downtown Washington, DC, watching the RNC Convention. My husband was working nights in downtown DC doing construction on a juvenile holding facility at a federal courthouse across from the DC Metro Police Station.

When the sun went down on the DC Metro Police cars parked across from his job site, he worked while holding at bay derelicts, hookers, drug addicts, homeless, union minority subcontractors (some who couldn't count) and DC Court officials. As he watched the reality of our nation's capital, I was home, naive, in a gated community on a golf course digesting my first few weeks in Northern Virginia. (I am a native of Virginia, but not this Virginia.) My bubble was bursting. I was growing up. I have always held the area and the government positions in high esteem. Corruption would be brought to the daylight by the majority. Not everyone is involved in a evil or wrong-doing, and those who aren't will expose it, I was taught.

Sarah Palin, someone I'd never heard of, let alone seen on television, spoke giving her acceptance speech for the nomination for Vice President of the United States. "...against confident opponents...at a crucial hour for our country," she said. Looking like a neighbor, a girlfriend I shopped with or had coffee with a Dunkin' Donuts. She gave me hope. Her credentials and qualifications were what this country were built upon. "We the people..." I watched Sarah Palin and myself; normal, ordinary people who have worked hard, dropped our heads in sorrow and in prayer and joined hands in times of hardship and triumphant in this country. I watched this woman who was elected governor of a state in this country. A country built on non-changing standards, on the Bible and the Constitution. I watched her speak of holding onto and regaining control of a a country which I have witnessed falling away to confusion and disarray.

Sarah Palin seemed to be with me in the last frontier watching the dismiss of our values and our country by politicians and others who gather in our nation's capital while we sat thinking NBC, CBS, ABC and Public Radio would inform of all the news fit to print. Not a country heading toward socialism and change and keeping the downtrodden down and the government in control of our destinies.

Representatively, positively, creatively and effectively Palin qualified as my breath of fresh air from the realities of DC. The hope that Bank of America - 20 minutes from the White House - didn't have a fast lane for people who didn't speak English. But it does. The hope that just less than two years ago I really didn't witness an Acorn volunteer try to register an elderly black woman to vote (despite her protests she was already registered to vote) in the parking lot of Safeway didn't happen.

Sarah Palin was my intelligent reasoning that I was not alone. That my stories to my 90 year old father, a dyed in the wool Democrat, of how I was fighting a losing battle of holding onto the values against the prejudices that he and my mother had taught me and my seven brothers and sisters to stand for weren't true.

Sarah Palin, did and does, have they qualifications of a reflection of hope and faith that there is a chance that this country isn't lost. That we can fight the "too big to fail" companies, bureaucracies and political parties.

Maybe you and I don't particularly want to see Palin as President. But the thoughts and emotions she spurred in me that night are truths I hold dear. I want to see someone like that, who has the balls to put on her lipstick and fight for what she believes, hold office in my country.

Donna2: Who do you think I hate?

McCain? I certainly wouldn't use the word "hate". Heck I *voted* for him back in 2000 in the NH primary. I believe that he sold out his principles to get ahead in the party. I don't like the way he's flip-flopped on many issues. "Hate" is FAR too strong a word. Call it "extreme disappointment". McCain turned out to have feet of clay.

Palin? I wouldn't waste my time "hating" her. She's inexperienced and condescending while failing to see her own faults. But "hatred"? Not a chance. Quite frankly I rather admire the way she rose to becoming governor. For the most part I try to ignore the nasty stories concerning local Wasilla politics - that's "local politics as usual" from what I can tell. I'm not going to let a personality squabble with a librarian influence what I think of someone's qualifications for national office.

Originally Posted by djplong

Donna2: Who do you think I hate?

McCain? I certainly wouldn't use the word "hate". Heck I *voted* for him back in 2000 in the NH primary. I believe that he sold out his principles to get ahead in the party. I don't like the way he's flip-flopped on many issues. "Hate" is FAR too strong a word. Call it "extreme disappointment". McCain turned out to have feet of clay.

Palin? I wouldn't waste my time "hating" her. She's inexperienced and condescending while failing to see her own faults. But "hatred"? Not a chance. Quite frankly I rather admire the way she rose to becoming governor. For the most part I try to ignore the nasty stories concerning local Wasilla politics - that's "local politics as usual" from what I can tell. I'm not going to let a personality squabble with a librarian influence what I think of someone's qualifications for national office.

Perhaps you should read your prior posts....maybe hate too strong but you have distinct dislike of her....which makes you like the others...which is why I suspect you are more liberal then you let on.

Originally Posted by djplong

Donna2: Who do you think I hate?

McCain? I certainly wouldn't use the word "hate". Heck I *voted* for him back in 2000 in the NH primary. I believe that he sold out his principles to get ahead in the party. I don't like the way he's flip-flopped on many issues. "Hate" is FAR too strong a word. Call it "extreme disappointment". McCain turned out to have feet of clay.

Palin? I wouldn't waste my time "hating" her. She's inexperienced and condescending while failing to see her own faults. But "hatred"? Not a chance. Quite frankly I rather admire the way she rose to becoming governor. For the most part I try to ignore the nasty stories concerning local Wasilla politics - that's "local politics as usual" from what I can tell. I'm not going to let a personality squabble with a librarian influence what I think of someone's qualifications for national office.

Question for you DJPLONG !!!

If she is as far out of any picture with no qualifications, tell me...and I realize that you have no crystal ball, but interested in your opinion...if Sarah Palin is such an outsider...such a dummy....such a non threat....why would the unabashed Obama supporter Eugene Robinson..the writer for the Washington Post devote a complete editorial to Palin's approval ratings ?

There are a few other things going on, dont you think ?

"Palin's Approval Ratings Slipping
By Eugene Robinson"

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art..._slipping.html

A person who is NOT an elected official...has no authority whatsover...can do no more than any other talking head on TV..but no talk about the falling poll numbers for the President....the embarassing poll numbers for congress....but...we DO talk about Sarah Palin !

Originally Posted by Donna2

Perhaps you should read your prior posts....maybe hate too strong but you have distinct dislike of her....which makes you like the others...which is why I suspect you are more liberal then you let on.

Donna....by Jove....I believe you have nailed it. You betcha.

Bulletin for djplong...McCain did not lose because "Americans wanted to repudiate George Bush" as you claim with authority. His loss was far more complex than the liberal talking points you always fall back on when challenged. For one, you omit the arguable factor that McCain is not a conservative. Putting Sarah Palin on the ticket most likely boosted his numbers and averted a landslide victory for the Obamster and his Chicago mafia.

The more libs try to trash her the stronger and more influential she becomes.

Originally Posted by Donna2

Perhaps you should read your prior posts....maybe hate too strong but you have distinct dislike of her....which makes you like the others...which is why I suspect you are more liberal then you let on.

I have a distinct dislike of her *as the standard bearer* for a more conservative political movement.

As a *person*? Different story. Like I said, I rather admire her - despite the areas of disagreement I have with some of her policies. A perfect metaphor would be the young pitching phenom in baseball who gets called up too early and can't handle the pressure - and it ruins an otherwise promising career. I think that by being the VP on a ticket that was beaten by a political rookie, she's done herself some career damage.

Originally Posted by cabo35

Donna....by Jove....I believe you have nailed it. You betcha.

Bulletin for djplong...McCain did not lose because "Americans wanted to repudiate George Bush" as you claim with authority. His loss was far more complex than the liberal talking points you always fall back on when challenged. For one, you omit the arguable factor that McCain is not a conservative. Putting Sarah Palin on the ticket most likely boosted his numbers and averted a landslide victory for the Obamster and his Chicago mafia.

The more libs try to trash her the stronger and more influential she becomes.

Do liberals support a flat tax? I do.

Do liberals support the idea of, if *required* to make a choice, a sales tax versus an income tax? I do. (though I want to see it justified)

Do liberals believe in "3 strike and you're out"?

Do liberals support nuclear power - and have they been able to trace that support all the way back to the 1970s? I do, and I can.

Do liberals support doing away with civil service rules to be replaced by a system where merit rules? I do.

I can supply more answers upon request. Go ahead - ask me anything. And if it's not something I've given enough thought to, I'm not afraid to say that I haven't formed an opinion.

And you're right, I *have* omitted that McCain couldn't really be called a 'conservative' based on his recent voting record. That was just an omission from forgetfulness. That's what got conservatives NOT voting for him. Combine that with centrists who viewed him as Bush III, or wouldn't vote for him because of Palin's inexperience *combined* with McCain's evasiveness on his health. Then, add the 'liberal' opinion of anything GOP-related.

Palin boosted McCain's numbers for hours at best. When I first heard the news, I thought it was a brilliant maneuver. But the more I looked into Palin, the more I winced. I mean, come on, DAN QUAYLE had a better resume and was able to overcome the press knocking his inexperience. Palin practically folded the minute she got into a room with Katie Couric. Not some hard-hitting investigative journalist - it was *Katie Couric*. I grant you that's a *subjective* opinion on my part, but comedians all over the country were thanking McCain for delivering Palin as that made their jobs much easier.

How long did it take before word leaked out that the "thinking Africa was a country" debacle was a set-up? That should have lasted TEN MINUTES but it went on for DAYS.

Remember, Congress, in general, has approval ratings under 30%. American dislike for politicians is about the most bi-partisan topic supported.

The press did to Quayle what it did to Palin. He had a lot more experience than Obama. He was a congressman for four years and a senator for eight years. Just for the record "potato" was spelled with an e on the end, many years ago.

Originally Posted by Bucco

Pretty much what I was trying to say......folks appear to get hung up on THE MESSENGER, her family, how she looks, etc., instead of the message that is getting through !

Wake up to what is going on in Washington !!!!

How come nobody woke up to what was going on in Washington 6 years ago? I'm still waiting for those WMDs to show up and just when are we going to be greeted as liberators? Where's Bin Laden? Maybe Obama should have sent Bush and Cheney to Iraq to clean up their mess. Oops, I forgot they want other saps to fight their wars(Bush MIA in Viet Nam and Cheney "had better things to do"