The vast majority of those participating in the November 25th Mercer for Obama meet-up had participated actively in the 2008 campaign for change, many having worked in multiple states. After 90 minutes of discussion, in both sub-groups and plenary, about whether and how to continue this citizens’ movement, the following principles drew broad and often unanimous agreement:
1. The Mercer for Obama network should continue in active existence, to press for change in the spirit of the “post-partisan” campaign this year that has catapulted Barack Obama into the White House. The largest number of active volunteers in this movement surely identify themselves as Democrats, but many see themselves as nonpartisan and some adhere to a venerable tradition of the Republican Party. The Mercer for Obama network will continue, therefore, as a separate and distinct entity, not as an affiliate or arm of the Democratic Party organization.
For what ever reason today, I turned on Fox news... yes Sunday Fox news.... and what did I see.... I saw John Gibson sit there straight face and report how we are going into Ohio.... bringing out of staters into Ohio to register and vote for Obama...... Being related to a lot of Republicans myself... I did a search.... He had people email him from Pa.. asking WHY the other stations were not reporting this.... and his answer was.... THEY WANT OBAMA ELECTED AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE NOT TELLING YOU THE TRUTH.....
I did an internet search.. and found NOTHING... relating to the 2008 election saying anything like this... I did find a lot a sites tlaking about past elections... and the election being stolen by the Gop.... but nothing that could even resemble this story he is passing off as the truth...
This is the twilight zone news... but we must remember that there are those out there... who watch this crap... and believe this crap... as real news...
I am a total OBAMA supporter... my car is the OBAMA mobil..... with anything that will stick to it... my clothes are OBAMA shirts.... my pocketbook is filled with OBAMA pins that I give out to any one who shows an interest... my sign in front yard sits there for all to see... magnet Obama sign on my door along with my American Flag... I am listening to Fox news now... on How Obama and Ayers have been friends for years... (this is despite all other news stations reporting that they are not personal friends..)... so they look at me thinking I am crazy Obama supporter... and I look at them... that they are crazy Untruth tellers... and that is as polite as I can be on thsi matter...
Did you ever think that you would see the day when we would have someone run for President of the United States... or Vice President of the United States... and we would not be able to find out Who they are???
I never did. I thought someone who wanted us to have faith in them would be showing who there are in order to get our votes... John McCain, met this woman once...If you ask any questions about her... you are accused of not being fair.....
Today I hear that Palin has sent out an email to all McCain's supporters asking for money quickly so she and her family can be defended.. against Obama... I wonder what they are attacking her for..(if course I do not believe that)
She tried to hitch a ride to Hillary's coat tails.. and go to NY.... when that did not work.... she attacked the Democrat party. John McCain got her a pass to the UN to meet up with learders... guess that will give her Presidential experience... hum... NO REPORTERS WERE ALLLOWED TO ASK HER ANYTHING... OR OBSERVE HER..... WONDER WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT..???? THINK THEY ARE AFRAID... wonder what of????
Anyway looks like McCain will be able to run with this woman...without us even knowing who she is.. and when he kicks the bucket she will take over... so when do we get to know who she is??
ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) — CNN confirms that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week in New York during the opening meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting is part of a larger effort by the McCain campaign to bolster Palin's foreign policy credentials in the face of criticism from Democrats questioning her preparedness for the Vice Presidency. Though her running mate is considered a leading voice on military issues and foreign affairs, Palin herself has only traveled abroad to Kuwait, Germany, Canada and, briefly, to an Iraqi border crossing.
According to the Washington Post, which first reported the story, the Karzai meeting was initiated by McCain campaign officials.
At a town-hall meeting in Michigan on Wednesday, Palin expressed confidence in her foreign policy acumen.
"But as for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared, and I know that on January 20th, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we'll be ready," she told a questioner. "I'll be ready."
Palin travels to New York on Monday following a joint campaign appearance with McCain in Media, Pennsylvania.
She is spending Saturday in Orlando in closed meetings with staff. Willow, Piper and Trig Palin were flown into Florida from Alaska to spend some down time with their parents, who have been traveling together on the campaign trail.
On Sunday, Palin will hold an afternoon solo rally at The Villages, a sprawling retirement community here.
ISN'T THIS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED?????
I HAVE BEEN working on the Obama CAMPAIGN FOR Little WHILE NOW… I made UP MY mind not to just sit around and hope for the best but to see what I could do…
Well people let me tell you there is a God….. I got a call late last night from my aunt in Charlottesville Va. and my baby cousin, Cynthia Viejo a local real estate agent and Business woman in that area was chosen to meet Michele Obama along with Jill Biden at the University there… they are meeting with women in the afternoon at a Women for Obama rally in Charlottesville. Okay, so it is not me… but it is the next best thing… My baby cousin Cynthia.. who will have the pleasure.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-jones/the-power-of-no_b_125782.html
On CNN, Mark Halperin, TIME magazine's principled and thoughtful political analyst, shook his head in dismay as the network's Anderson Cooper prodded him to dissect the "lipstick" imbroglio. Halperin wouldn't go there."Stop the madness!" Halperin fumed in exasperation, adding that the moment marked "one of the low days of our collective coverage of this campaign."
With the nation in economic meltdown and multi-front wars, Halperin summoned the Power of No. He declined to engage what he considered a stupid and distracting "issue" in the final weeks of one of the most important presidential campaigns in our nation's history.
The "issue" was the McCain campaign's shrill complaints that Barak Obama owed Sarah Palin an apology for saying of John McCain's economic policy, "You can put lipstick on a pig: it's still a pig." The apology was owed, the Republicans thundered, because Sarah Palin had said during the Repubilcan convention that the only difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom was "lipstick."
This had been the relentless story line for the past several days, sucking up hours of airtime and he said/she said back-and-forth barbs from the two campaigns. And the press -- especially cable television -- has lapped it up.
He showed the video clip of Obama making the lipstick comment, then turned to his commentators, CNN senior political analyst David Gergen and Halperin. Gergen dismissed the dust-up as "silliness."
But with Halperin, something seemed to snap. He was disgusted even to be asked about something that was, to his mind, a clear campaign maneuver and manipulation in which the so-called serious press was the shill.
And he had had enough.
Would that the rest of the news media had that gag reflex and collectively decided, "Enough!"
Though Halperin did not say so, there is something sinister about the press's complicity in allowing campaign coverage to feed hungrily on meaningless charges and counter-charges. It is not unlike the McCarthy period in which Senator Joseph McCarthy's allegations about communists in the State Department were considered legitimate news simply because he said it.
The truth or legitimacy of what he said was not seriously questioned. Today, in the echo chamber of the fast-moving web and cable news environment, the truth of something is almost immaterial as long as the charge can be repeated and repeated and repeated again.
The news media's passive willingness to be used by campaigns is bad enough. But add to that the effort to stifle serious questioning of such things as Sarah Palin's political history -- a journalistic inquiry that is central to the role of a responsible press. The public's broad contempt for press coverage of the stupid stuff creates fertile ground for silencing legitimate, tough reporting. For instance, the McCain campaign canceled John McCain's appearance on CNN's Larry King show when CNN reporter Campbell Brown had the audacity to ask some probing questions. It was a move right out of the Bush Administration's playbook for punishing pesky reporters.
It is time for news organizations to stop being shills and for serious political reporters to stop being hacks. Mark Halperin and Campbell Brown have showed the way. Don't play the campaign game. Don't scramble after the next shiny object the campaigns throw your way. Take yourself and your work seriously. If the subject is stupid, say so. And say no.
This week's mainstream coverage of the presidential horse-race has been dominated by a series of polls showing the McCain-Palin ticket with its first stable lead over Obama and Biden. Gallup's tracking poll, USA Today and CBS News all show the Republicans with some kind of lead over the Democratic ticket. But, interestingly, all three polls were also conducted using a higher sampling of Republican voters than in July, raising a question of methodology.
In a year in which Democrats have a lead of 11 million registered voters over Republicans, and have been adding to that advantage through a robust field operation, are pollsters over-sampling Republicans?
BEFORE READING THIS, I THOUGHT I WAS IN THE TWILITE ZONE
That sound you just heard was 18 million cracks in my heart
Many things struck me about Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention last night. I noticed that, as Joan Walsh writes this morning, she came out "teeth bared like a Rudy Giuliani in heels." I noticed that, as Walter Shapiro writes this morning, she was presented as a "martyr unfairly derided by the national press corps." I noticed that the crowd in Minnesota adored her, could not get enough of her, and showed that in many ways: cheering, fist-pumping, holding signs that read "Hockey Moms 4 Palin" and -- in that great American capitalist tradition -- wearing buttons.
Yes, it's hard to love something or someone in this country before some huckster sells you flair to support your addiction, and the buttons made on behalf of Sarah Palin do not disappoint. There is, of course, the issue of her good looks: "Coldest State, Hottest Governor" reads one, with a photo of Palin that looks like she's auditioning for the part of the sexy D.A. on "Law & Order." The good people of Indiana, not to be outdone, introduced their "Hoosiers for the Hot Chick" button. Sexist? Naaaah. As one woman explained it to MSNBC, "being a hot chick, strong, fun and capable all go together."
But annnnyway. Sarah Palin is more than a pretty face. She's also a woman! I'm not sure if you noticed. And so there's plenty of femme-friendly buttons for the ladies in the audience, especially those of you who think to yourselves, "Hmm, these Susan G. Komen-sponsored products are a little bit masculine." There is the "Women for Sarah Palin" button, and if that is just not enough like a Hallmark card, well then, I give you this baby. (Speaking of babies, why Palin's baby does not have his own button is a riddle to make any Republican entrepreneur weep.)
Of course, the great thing about Sarah Palin, from a salesman's point of view, is that she serves both sides of the Hillary divide. Mad that Hillary wasn't V.P.? Well, thank God for Sarah Palin. Hate Hillary with a passion? Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton. And thus we have "If I Can't Have Hillary, I'll Take Sarah" (that sound you just heard was 18 million cracks in my heart) and then, of course, "Hillary who?"
But mostly, you guys, Sarah Palin is hot. And this crowd LOVES a hot chick. You won't see any Democrats sporting the "Our V.P. Is Hotter Than Yours" button (though, to be fair, Joe Biden? He's aging well). Or, the utterly unpronounceable and yet instantly memorable VPILF. High-five, America. Always be closing.
As governor she signed an ethics bill, and opened up the process for oil and gas bidding.Her record as mayor gives ammunition to supporters and detractors alike. iReport.com: Is Palin attention a double standard?She did cut property taxes in Wasilla -- granted, it's not exactly the Pentagon budget -- and reduced spending on the town museum while opposing a bigger library. She also was mayor when the local sales tax was increased to build a popular sports complex.While McCain has fought the use of congressional earmarks to fund local projects, Palin effectively used the system to gain $26.9 million in funding as mayor of Wasilla from 2002 to 2006, the independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense reported this week.The projects ranged from $15 million for a commuter rail project to $500,000 for a transitional living program for homeless youth, the group said. Watch Rudy Giuliani speak of Palin »And then there's the infamous "bridge to nowhere" -- a pet peeve of McCain because of the enormous cost of building a bridge to a remote Alaskan community."I told Congress thanks but no thanks on the bridge to nowhere," Palin has said. But while running for governor she supported the bridge, saying it was essential for local prosperity. Once she became governor, she spiked it, citing rising costs and the needs of other projects.A longtime opponent of Palin accuses her of a flip-flop."It was the bridge to somewhere and then when she got elected and the political winds had changed, it had become the bridge to nowhere," said Andrew Halcrow, Palin's gubernatorial opponent.
Below, a few newsbytes from Sarah Palin's two terms (1997-2002) as Mayor of Wasilla AK (pop.9780, up 66% since 2000). A small town outside Anchorage is such alien territory that I would not presume to interpret/judge the facts retailed below. A bit of context though: 1) the local outlook is strongly libertarian, which means not only pro-gun but hostile to pesky regulations such as designated bar closing times); and 2) Palin ran as an insurgent on a tax-cutting platform and had to deal at the outset with city officials loyal to her opponent. Plainly she's not afraid of conflict or decisive action, and she seems to have an authoritarian streak; she reminds me a little of Rudy Giuliani. I'd like (okay, fear) to hear what she has to say about torture, suspension of habeas, and FISA.Of course, Palin was running a town with less than 1/1000 the population of Giuliani's New York (and later moved up to run a state with less the 1/10 of NYC's population).The source for all the information below is the Anchorage Daily News (ADN).1. In her first run for Mayor of Wasilla , Palin won by a 616-413 margin, beating an eight-year incumbent (ADN, 10/3/96). She said that she knocked on the door of every registered voter, except a few with vicious dogs, and sent a handwritten letter to every “supervoter,” those who had voted consistently in prior elections. She won reelection in 1999 by a 826 to 255 margin. Her approval rating as governor was in the high sixties at the time of her selection as McCain’s running mate. It would seem that Alaska voters have consistently seen her as an able executive.2. Having run an insurgent campaign against a longtime incumbent, Palin began her tenure by asking all four of the city’s top managers, all presumed loyalists to the outgoing mayor,to resign and re-apply for their jobs “in order to test their loyalty to her administration” (one had already resigned upon her election). She also issued a gag order, requiring them to obtain her approval before talking to reporters (ADN 10/26/96)3. Shortly thereafter, she fired the police chief and the head of the library, asserting that they did not support her goals for the city. Both claimed that they had previously hashed out differences with her and thought they had established willingness to work with her. The police chief, Irl Stambaugh, sued for wrongful termination, claiming that he was fired at the behest of bar owners and the NRA, the former because he favored earlier bar closings as a way to combat alcohol-related traffic accidents,"and the later because he opposed a concealed gun law (ADN 2/22/97). The suit was dismissed on grounds that city officials serve at the Mayor's pleasure.4. Palin was elected on a platform of cutting taxes and eliminating wasteful spending. In her first year in office, she took aim at the local museum, which three women had been running for more than 15 years on a total budget of $200,000, or about $25 per town resident. Palin cut the budget by $32,000, which meant that the staff of three would have to choose one who would lose her job. All three quit in protest. One of three “gray-haired matrons” Ann Meyers, 65, said, “If the city were broke, it would be different,” but the city was flush with $4 million in reserves at the time. Palin countered that the museum could be run more efficiently and that voters wanted their tax dollars spent on road repair and extending sewer lines. The museum showcases mining material, homestead memorabilia and early Wasilla history (ADN, 8/6/97).5. Palin is not indiscriminately anti-tax. She began her career on the Wasilla city council by supporting a sales tax to create a police department. As mayor, she upped the sales tax to pay for a new hockey rink and sports complex.6. A radio clip has been circulating online in which Palin, during her tenure as governor, titters in response to a radio shock jock’s assertion that her political rival, state senate president Lyda Green, a cancer survivor, is “a cancer on the progress of the State of Alaska" and "a bitch." Apparently, Palin’s fondness for far-right broadcast demagoguery goes way back. In 1998, the owner of a local TV station discontinued an independently produced, shoestring-budget local news show notorious for slanted coverage of local politics, because she feared that continuing to air the show would expose her to liability. According to the ADN (10/14/98), "[Station owner] Schatz said she has received complaints that the election coverage is one-sided and has had concerns of her own about particular shows. She cited a New Year's Day spoof newscast that included a skit with a white man dressed up as a pimp pretending to speak like a black man." Palin reacted to the closing of Valley News with disappointment. "She said it presented a conservative view that balanced out more liberal coverage elsewhere."
Win or lose, I suspect that Palin will always have Fox.
http://xpostfactoid.blogspot.com/2008/08/thrilla-in-wasilla-palin-wrestles-with.html
The Press and Media alway give McCain a pass on his disrespect for women.. .. any of you remember what he said about Hillary and Bill's daugher?????
this was made June 1998 by mc Cain.....
Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.” Isn't this who you would like to be President representing yOU????" HOW SEN. JOHN McCAIN'S TASTELESS TWO-LINER ABOUT CHELSEA CLINTON AND JANET RENO WAS CENSORED OUT OF THE NATION'S LEADING NEWSPAPERS. - - - - - - - - - - - - BY DAVID CORN
"
John McCain's choice as VP Palin is another example of how much McCain disrespects women and their intelligence.
He and the GOP believe they can captue the Hillary supporters by picking this Sarah Palin. They must believe that all the PTA and PTO presidents and memebers will flock to the GOP ticket.. since that is one of her duties on her resume. I myself laughed myself into a caughing fit where my dogs became alarmed.
Just think, you can go from PTA to mayor of 8,000 people to the Presidency... fast move, swift slick move.... and it works well if you believe in RIGHT TO LIFE, WITHOUT BONDING... OF A MENTALLY CHALANGED INFANT.... Is that the GOP party...????? How sad... when we the right to choose party believe in bonding.. with helping the challenged..
I, the mother of five, 5..... believe in the right to choose, believes in bonding and loving and caring of one's infant. Maybe if I were a Moose burger lover I would understnad where this woman comes from..
What I do know is she is not Hillary and is no substute for Hillary and respent McCain and the GOP believing they can take credit for Hillary has done for women. Anyone with a 1/4 inch of deepth could always see... Hillary, Bill, Barack, Michelle, Joe and his wife PUT FAMILY FIRST... KNOWING THEY WERE EXAMPLES OF AMERICA..
This Lame thing that McCain says Country first... well we all know his family did not comes first... Carol, nor Cindy nor his family came first... it was country recognition.. that came first.... Carol went though her rehab alone as Cindy went through her rehab along... from drugs and then afterwards her strock..... Family was not firts.
C-SPAN just finished broadcasting a two-hour Focus Group session led by Frank Luntz questioning 25 undecided Minnesota voters on their views on health care, the two presidential candidates, and the now two vice-presidential candidates. Long story short, the undecideds at the end split 15-10 for Obama.
A large majority of the voters were very troubled by McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for VP. A large majority were satisfied with Obama's choice of Biden for VP. McCain loses big-time on the "one heartbeat from the Presidency" issue.
Such of fun things to watch
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=787959
McCain on Birth Control http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7acdvJegOY
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/e-joyce-moore/mccain-supportive-of-wome_b_113503.htmlhttp://www.nypost.com/seven/11152007/news/nationalnews/mccain_getting_bitch_slapped_805355.htm
Did I miss something or is the media again giving the McCain's a Pass.... john mccain, yes I know small letters has just sent his wife to look things over in Georgia... (not the state Georgia but the country that was just fighting with Russia) Was he Elected already? is Cindy McCain now Sec. of State????
Guess what... media is not even covering this ..... AGAIN....
Tonight, hearing you speak, watching you take stage has continued to inspire me to work on a compaign to get your husband into office, to lead us in a new directions, to bring us respect that we once held in the world.
thank you for sharing him
Worked at the Voter registration in Princeton NJ the day of the announcement that Joe Biden would be joining the ticket... Everyone passing the table was thrilled with Obama's choice...
Those who were from Delaware and had some personal knowledge of the man, as a Stateman, Father, Husband could not contain themselves with their excited and wanted to share what they knew with anyone who would listen..
I finished my shift and went home in time to hear the speaches from Springfield... I had been pleased when I received my text about Joe Biden being on the ticket, being two states over, I alread knew a lot about him.... but when he ran out and spoke to the Ill. crowd..I was on my feet... with respect at the choice.
