The Watercooler for 08/30/08 5:00 PM

Comments and recommendations are appreciated here.

regarding McCain's selection of Sarah Palin.

----Do all Republican women compete in beauty pagents? Is that some cultural thing that I'm not aware of?

Hard to imagine the Wellesley crowd swooning over that particular biographical tidbit.

Mostly, it's exactly the kind of choice I would have expected from John McCain...reckless, attention getting, and a little bit catty. Which isn't to say that I'm sure it won't work out for him...but this woman has never been in anything close to a national campaign, has no foreign policy experience, and governed a state with a legislature that meets 90 days out of the year and a population smaller than most major cities. Definitely a risk, and I don't want a president who thrives on risk taking.

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Palin is an unqualified nobody.  Her nomination spits in the face of American voters.  Here are some excerpts from First Read, in which I pull out every qualification and pereceived benefit for her selection mentioned in the article:

For McCain, the biggest thing Sarah Palin brings is buzz. It's something the campaign has been seeking for some time. In fact, it has bothered Team McCain that it doesn’t get the same "gee whiz" kind of coverage that Obama gets. Palin changes that discrepancy -- for now. . . . Palin's whole shtick in Alaska is reformer; . . . [S]he brings a historical first to the McCain campaign.

Palin has made a good first impression. She appears to be very engaging and has a great story to tell. . . . Palin will have low bars for every moment she's on center stage (her speech yesterday, her convention speech on Wednesday, and her debate with Biden).

What did Dean used to say?  We can do better than that.

...he says -- I gotta be honest with you, I'm not a very good typer, I don't think I could be anybody's secretary... LOL

...says Montana will be close, which means trouble for McCain nationally -- that neither McCain nor Obama gets an A from the NRA (Schweitzer gets an A from the NRA) so Montanans who are libertarians and want an A from the NRA - Bob Barr gets an A from the NRA (like someone said here the other day -- crazy like a fox)...

35,000 more people voted for Palin in the Alaska gubernatorial race in 2006 than came to Invesco Field to hear Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday. 

I thought was an interesting read, and considering her attacks on Dean and Obama on Fox yesterday.....well deserved.

Ferraro..a Salutary Tale for Republicans

"The last female vice-presidential candidate was a disastrous campaigner and the Democratic ticket was defeated in a landslide by Ronald Reagan."

The rest is no nicer, either.  Geraldine is making a fool of herself pandering to Fox viewers.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Be-Afraid-Be-Very-Afraid-by-Marc-McDonald-080830-96.html

Be very afraid

The more one learns about Palin, the more afraid we progressives ought to be.

After all, a quick scan of the lunatic fringe blogosphere reveals that the wingnuts adore Palin. And anything that these nutcases cherish should be something that the rest of us fear and dread. (Remember, these are the same people who also love torture, illegal wars, and Constitution-shredding).

Palin's selection on Friday was predictably greeted with raves by the lunatic right-wing fringe.

On Friday, Michelle Malkin was among the wingnut bloggers cheering Palin's selection. And Malkin is about as crazy as they come on the right-wing fringe these days. As Glenn Greenwald noted, Malkin once wrote a book "defending the ethnicity-based imprisonment of innocent American citizens in internment camps."

was chosen to draw attention away from McSame, rather than toward him.

He has nothing to offer but the same ol' same ol' rhetoric that has nothing in it for real Americans. So, rather than catch all the flack, Miss Alaska will now be the new target and McS will be able to screw up his speeches, names of leaders, and everything else the old geezer has to offer up without notice or comment.

Obama 49%   McSame 41%

Polls are useless at this point in time of course, nevertheless.

and it worked here.

How 'bout the Cubs?

or Gustav?

we are playing into their hands

Hope everyone in the soon-to-be affected areas has evacuated. 

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Didn't stop the Tigers from kicking a little Appalachian State butt today

.The paper is going to the presses with a bunch of advice for riding out a storm.

Five days without electricity in parts of Baton Rouge three years ago.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/30/192323/193/73/580644

The Obamas and Bidens just look like a great fit.  They just compliment each other - it's a beautiful sight.  McCain looks so uncomfortable with Palin.  It's not Palin's fault - I think she's trying (in her own way) to uplift the ticket but McCain and Palin just don't mesh - it's forced and unnatural. 

one trip to visit my wife's Grandmother in Uniontown, crooked street half way up the hillside as I remember it.

back whe the steelmills still built America

and speaking of Louisiana Doug Williams was another that could will the ball down the field

is this a great country or what, Barack Obama and Joe Biden are team mates

no other way I can describe it

get it done

the Democratic Party needs to get in that frame of mind

get it done

do what it takes

do it

good thing the convention came along to ease the empty bedroom syndrome

I sent a boy into Louisiana and Katrina hit and out came a man, and the years have flown by, now he is a campus leader and will have to deliver a little calm to scared freshmen when it seems just yesterday we said goodbye to our freshman in that third floor dorm room.

We have a thing going where he emails me a picture of the football field from his seats and Seniors get better ones than freshmen. Today's was a great seat and you would never know a storm was approaching except that gameday has made for an incredible traffic jam tonight.

"There will be no pregame festivities and fans are encouraged to leave the stadium after the game as expeditiousl as possible," LSU spokesman Charles Zewe told Gannett Friday afternoon in Baton Rouge.

"Traffic contraflow could begin through Baton Rouge as early as 6 p.m. Saturday," Zewe said. "The storm could be major and hit south Louisiana."

A crowd of more than 90,000 is expected in Tiger Stadium while a total of 120,000 would be on the campus likely during evacuation from New Orleans and other areas.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2008/08/lsu-football-ki.html

Marty tells us McCain is smart, but he relies on the fair countenance of McCain's running mate as proof.  Don't tell me intelligence is only skin deep!

Bask in the genius that is John McCain.

Phil - My son watched the recap of the Tigers.  He's a fan.  My daughter received an academic scholarship to Tulane (among others) but ended up closer to home - it floored us that she was even interested in perhaps going there.  tiger has done you proud.

have you caught the tape of Democrats Don Fowler and Congressman John Spratt (or Platt I don't know him) of S. Carolina joking about Hurricane Gustav... "Gods are on our side"...

YouTube also posted an interview of Elephant Michael Moore on Countdown with Keith Olberman saying, " There must be a God" its the same rhetoric about the Republican convention. Moore's trunk hangs just above his pie hole.

From Steve Clemons of The Washington Note:

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What does she think about Cuba? Does she know the difference between America's relations with Brazil and Venezuela? Does she know what a balancing act we are walking in Asia between Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and more? Does she know anything about nuclear weapons and our defense posture? What books has she read? Who are her inspirations as thought leaders? Has she written any serious articles or published anything we might see to get a sense of who she is? What would she do with Iran? Can she name even five nations on the continent of Africa? ---- That's just for starters.

</dd>

</dd>

The Utter Arrogance 

*Yes, we knew McCain had an ego. We never quite appreciated how vast it was. Yes, Obama is inexperienced in foreign policy. But at least he has thought seriously about it. Do you really believe that Sarah Palin understands the distinctions between Shia and Sunni, has an opinion about the future of Pakistan, has a view of how to exploit rifts within Tehran's leadership, knows about the tricky task of securing loose nuclear weapons? Does anyone even know if she has ever expressed a view on these matters? Here's a bleg: can anyone direct me to any statement she has ever made about foreign policy?...*

There's more at theatlantic.com

...speaks for himself, not the democratic party.  he's a citizen and can do as he pleases.

fowler, on the other hand, is from that crowd (DLC) that we just fired from leading the party.  so who cares what he says...

i agree with phil about the right wing nut jobs praying for their god to intercede on their sorry behinds...pathetic.

looks like 65 more days of blatant lying by the repug cowards before we shut their mouths...back of the bus for you boys and girls, and stop yelling...

and Moore isn't a Republican so I guess the Democrats have to claim him as one of their own. I had no idea right wingers prayed for rain during the Democratic Convention.

By mary vb  on Aug 30, 2008 9:05 PM EDT

What does she think about Cuba?
Does she know the difference between America's relations with Brazil and Venezuela?
Does she know what a balancing act we are walking in Asia between Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and more?
Does she know anything about nuclear weapons and our defense posture?

What books has she read?

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Wow, Mary that seems to me little unfair.

I don't remember Obama was asked the same questions.

I'm trying and can't find so far ti find link to video file of recent Putin's interview to CNN.

Has anybody watched it and knows how to get there? 

We have come to the end of summer without a passage of a state budget.  After years of cutting and borrowing, every strategy that delays new revenues has been exhausted.  If we do not want to let the great state of California slide into Arkansas, we need a balanced approach. 

Tragically, Republican legislators have not been willing to compromise.  The budget I brought to the Senate Floor yesterday included compromises more than we thought prudent; it reduced expenditures by over $9 billion and accepted a controversial temporary sales tax instead of a more equitable permanent income tax on the wealthy.  Even with these major concessions, Republicans failed to support the proposal.  The governor ? who was in San Diego yesterday while we debated the budget ? has made it clear that he does not support our compromise budget and will not ask any Republican to vote to pass it.

Sixty days into a new fiscal year with a budget proposal nearly identical to his own, the governor must either outline the changes he needs to support our budget and get his party?s support, or we will soon be out of cash.  Broke.

This is not simply a political disgrace ? real people are suffering in adult day centers, in health clinics and in school districts that don?t know what funding they will receive from the state.  As we continue to negotiate (on Labor Day and every day until a budget is passed), you should know that I will not settle for an all-cuts or all-borrowing budget.  I came to the Capitol to advocate for the most vulnerable Californians ? not to increase their numbers.

As always, I value your input.

Sincerely,

DON PERATA

did you reach your fundraising goal?  tomorrow's the end of the month and i might find a little more...

...at my little town's Obama organizing meeting last night it came to light that it is rumored one of the original Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is from here.  And has anyone else been getting solicited for $?  Not by political groups, by friends and relatives?  Things must be pretty bad in our USA.  And I think I'm done -- good night -- prayers to the Gulf Coast particularly the critters left in harm's way.