Inaugural Kick Off to be Held on the Steps of the Lincoln MemorialInaugural Eve to Feature Concert for America's Children
Washington, D.C. -- The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) will host a welcome event to kick off the 56th Presidential Inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18th.
The PIC also plans to hold a youth concert on the evening of Monday, January 19th, at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington.
Sunday's welcome event and Monday's concert will continue President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden's commitment to hold an Inauguration that is open, accessible and reflects a spirit of unity for Americans of all ages.
The afternoon welcome event, to be held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall, will be free and open to the public.
Dedicated to the memory of America's 16th President, the Lincoln Memorial has been the site of many Presidential Inauguration activities in recent years.
President Clinton held a free concert on the grounds in 1993 that included performances by Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Bob Dylan. In 2001, President-elect Bush kicked off his inaugural festivities at the site with performances by Ricky Martin, Charlotte Church, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The PIC is also pleased to announce that a concert for America's children will be held the night before the Inauguration, Monday, January 19th.
The concert will be free, but tickets will be required. Further details of the welcome event, concert and other inaugural activities will be made available in the coming weeks.
For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.
Non-partisan Presidential Inaugural hoodies available through LIFE CLOUD.
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
http://SHenley10.synthasite.com Given a chance of a Lifetime, will we, an American People, rise to the challenges we are faced with and help a rare human being, a good and righteous man, sent to us as a chance for a reprieve; A chance to rectify all of our mistakes; A chance to justify our very existence on this Earth; An opportunity to leave an expression and legacy of peace and Love to our children? Or should we continue on the path to destruction that most of us realize is the one we've been on; Continue on the wrong path by remaining jaded and hard hearted towards our brothers and sisters, whatever race, creed, religious conviction, political affiliation or physical manifestation we fear, fail to recognize, accept or agree with or choose to admonish today? This is the chance Americans cannot afford to through away, discourage or belittle the significance of being THE CHANCE (MAYBE OUR LAST) OF A LIFETIME FOR A NATION! Barack Obama is here to help us re-organize ourselves so we all can start feeding the Good Dog & not the Bad Dog anymore. Let's keep it as simple as we can; Free of all the smoke and mirrors, confusion and misdirection being created everyday to rob us of this chance to prove that Freedom is the most valuable entity on Earth. Let's help Barack and Michelle Obama keep things simple and doable by making lists that are separated only once down the middle of the page, vertically ... One side of the list is the good side; Let's say the left for the sake of argument, and on the right side of the page, the bad shall be listed.Which side of the list do you suppose we need to follow; If there is a question as to which side of the list something belongs on, that's what we probably need to vote on and mandate laws backing up the majority decision with the mandates. WHO WANTS TO START THE LIST? SLANTS ~ S.L.Henley
http://SHenley10.synthasite.com
Given a chance of a Lifetime, will we, an American People, rise to the challenges we are faced with and help a rare human being, a good and righteous man, sent to us as a chance for a reprieve; A chance to rectify all of our mistakes; A chance to justify our very existence on this Earth; An opportunity to leave an expression and legacy of peace and Love to our children? Or should we continue on the path to destruction that most of us realize is the one we've been on; Continue on the wrong path by remaining jaded and hard hearted towards our brothers and sisters, whatever race, creed, religious conviction, political affiliation or physical manifestation we fear, fail to recognize, accept or agree with or choose to admonish today? This is the chance Americans cannot afford to through away, discourage or belittle the significance of being THE CHANCE (MAYBE OUR LAST) OF A LIFETIME FOR A NATION!
Barack Obama is here to help us re-organize ourselves so we all can start feeding the Good Dog & not the Bad Dog anymore.
Let's keep it as simple as we can; Free of all the smoke and mirrors, confusion and misdirection being created everyday to rob us of this chance to prove that Freedom is the most valuable entity on Earth.
Let's help Barack and Michelle Obama keep things simple and doable by making lists that are separated only once down the middle of the page, vertically ... One side of the list is the good side; Let's say the left for the sake of argument, and on the right side of the page, the bad shall be listed.
Which side of the list do you suppose we need to follow; If there is a question as to which side of the list something belongs on, that's what we probably need to vote on and mandate laws backing up the majority decision with the mandates.
WHO WANTS TO START THE LIST? SLANTS ~ S.L.Henley
Dear Obamanation, Everyday, we meet with organizations that present ideas for the Transition and the incoming Obama-Biden Administration. In past transitions, meetings like this have been held behind closed doors. Not anymore. Today, every Obama-Biden Transition staff member received a MEMO outlining the "Seat at the Table" Transparency Policy.The policy is pretty simple: the people and groups we're meeting with, the subjects of the meetings, and any documents shared in the meetings will now be made available on CHANGE.GOV. Most importantly, the American public can weigh in with comments or their own materials. WATCH YOUR 'SEAT AT THE TABLE' VIDEO
This is our latest step toward a more transparent and accessible Transition. We look forward to benefitting from the many more voices that will now be a part of the decision-making process.Thank you, John D Podesta, Co-chairThe Obama-Biden Transition Project
TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION - EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
delivery method: my.barackobama.com
It's been a long time coming, and a change is gonna come! We must, as Americans, continue to pray for this great nation, and our current President as well as President Elect Barack Obama and his family. We must remember to continue doing our part in making and keeping this country a great nation.
The voters stated profoundly that we, as Americans, will no longer stand for the same old same old. We have a voice in our vote and we will stand together to bring about a change in this Nation. Therefore, if there are "repeat offenders" in your legislative, senate, or congressional seats, VOTE THEM OUT! We will not get anywhere with the same people in office. We hear it everyday...if you think you're going to get a different outcome doing the same thing with the same people in control, you're fooling yourself, wasting your time, and remaining stagnant.
It's time to stir the waters, take a leap of faith, and exercise that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD! Get involved! Your little bit counts - even if it's just helping to feed a neighbor's child; making sure your neighbors are safe and warm; helping the children in your neighborhood complete their homework; lending a hand to the senior citizen in your community; etc. At least participatie and not stand idly by watching things get worse - that is no longer an option.
This crisis is real and WE BELIEVE that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! YES WE CAN!
We will continue to pray and remain involved in whatever needs to be accomplished to bring Americans together, change the economy, and educate our children - the future leaders of this great Nation.
Take care and GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Mary
Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin. Drill, Drill, Drill I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears. I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodne ss and solidarity of Feminists. But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war. I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity. Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic , the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God." Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not. She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes. Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who coul d and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth. Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air. Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, t hat is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be. I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninh abitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression. If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain. Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life? Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and
activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following
about Sarah Palin.
Drill, Drill, Drill
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she
was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the
claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have
a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness
or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I
have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact
that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the
polar bears.
I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life
trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence
against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the
Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people
who made this choice count on the goodne ss and solidarity of
Feminists.
But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical
to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving
the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls
options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence
and war.
I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous
choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those
candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in
so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally
disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the
world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have
seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the
presidency with regularity.
Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor.
In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets
better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The
melting of the arctic , the storms that are destroying our cities, the
pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is
fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The
earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves
and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to
be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As
she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."
Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women
who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should
have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or
not.
She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I
imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many
babies that makes.
Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she
has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense
with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an
environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who coul d
and might very well be the next president of the United States. She
would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.
Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting
rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot
hundreds of wolves from the air.
Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private
right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when
war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in
his name, t hat is the end of separation of church and state and the
undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.
I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this
election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the
future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine
whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever
uninh abitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards
dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence
through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether
we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in
alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It
will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or
whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine
whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of
fear, fundamentalism and aggression.
If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your
power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the
hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of
teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of
destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises
that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis,
doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.
Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the
floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between
nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing
we call life?
Eve Ensler
Thanks to everybody who made it to Hillary's event on Monday.
Here's some highlights from her speech in Tampa:
Historically Democrats have always had trouble during the early fall months... The leads they aspired to, that once looked possible, have slowly closed as the Republican Convention wraps up and now their democratic presidental campaigns, just seem to run out of steam...
It happened to Carter; it happened to Mondale; it happened to Dukakas; it happened to Clinton; it happened to Clinton during his second term; it happened to Gore; it happened to Kerry; and we should certainly expect it to happen to Obama-Biden....
I will be blunt here. The Democrats peak at the cnnvention...where as Republicans who have always struggled since Iowa, finally just get it together at the convention... There is little you as a Democrat can do. You can visit a town, say the same things, smile and wave alot, try wearing sweaters, slamming beers, and the tiny little tricks the marketing advisers try to reccomend you follow, but against hard hitting Republicans, you just look stale...And your tricks look fake. Hell, we heard the same damn message for 19 whole months now... It's boring.
Looking back over the historical litany above, there is one exception that stands out.... That was Clinton in 92. His campaign was stuck in the doldrums until it got some unexpected help from Ross Perot.... Suddenly we were discussing the budget.... Other things were mentioned, like NAFTA and it's gian sucking sound...., but the budget captured the imagination of America... Clinton seized on that topic, and out performed Herbert Walker, winning the election while still giving up 20% of the vote to Perot....
I remember Clinton rolling into my town just days before the 92's General.. He said the right things, but it was the fact that we believed he would tackle the deficit, we really believed it then, that gave him stature...
This week's convention tipped the Republican's hand... They will drive a rural/ urban split... Pitting the Toby Keith crowd against those loving the Dixie Chicks... Those working with their hands, against those making their living with their ideas....
Face it, Democrats are vulnerable on that front... Those in charge of advising the candidates, know little of this broad segment of rural America... That vast segment is the Republican's target and now with Sarah Palin, they have a real shot at winning it.... a real shot...
So how do Barack and Joe combat this weakness they seems to posess all Democrats? (In truth, McCain has it also)? Please, don't go on a fake hunting trip, that opens you to ridicule...(like riding in a tank)....
Let's go back to Iowa.... What made candidates Barack and Joe Biden both successful in that rural community? You were both there... you know what you did right, and by now, you ceretainly know what you should have done better.... That is who you need to become again... Forget the pundits call to stay on message... everyone who takes the day off to come see you, already has seen your debates, already has read your news stories, they came to see you...
Here's a fake address of what I would recommend, say in Oklahoma.... "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not going to lie to you... I'm not much of a cowboy, a farmer, or an oilman... I live in a bubble... a bubble they call Washington....
Most of you will no doubt vote for my opponent... If that is what is in your heart, then its ok...I do understand and won't hold it against you... But there are those who have crunched the numbers and told me that I and Joe have a good chance of running this country. As soon as the election is over, I start that job...in fact without the pay until January 20th (smile).... I hope to become commander in chief of the United States.... Obviously, Oklahoma is a part ot that great country, the United States of America.....
I will need to represent you to the best of my ability... That means I need to understand you... What I propose is not giving you a great speech, one you will forget tomorrow because it says so little.... What I propose to you is giving you something more important... Time.. time to ask the next president of the United States (smile) I hope... those questions that are really on your mind...
I don't know. You may not like my answers, and that's ok... But at the end of our conversations, you will know where I stand... And the motivation behind as to why I stand for that....
So lets get started.... First of all, how is the economy going in this town... How are you surviving the housing bubble burst, How many of you are out of work... Are jobs hard to find... And what could I do, as the next president of the United States, to make your lives better....Yes you ...you go first.......
Having watched you, I know both of you listen very well.... As you get hooked back into rural America's values, just as you both did in Iowa, you automatically protect your flank form the gun toting, hip swinging, political version of Paris Hilton... (Joe is so lucky. I wish I was debating her....)
You don't win rural America by persuasive speeches... You win rural America by letting them know you are an ok guy after all. They've all heard the horror stories, they get 5 emails about you each day.....They need to leave reassured 1) that you really care about them, and 2) that their life will go on if you get elected... just as it was, if not perhaps a tiny bit better....
In todays world, what goes on in Oklahoma, instantly gets back to rural Pennsylvania, rural Virginia, rural Colorado, as well as the rural towns across all 50 states....
Forget the bubble..Forget the politicos,.. Forget the television bits....
Its all about people...Its all... about people....In the end, bubbles, politicos, and televisions sets won't step into a voting booth... People will....
I shudder to think of this country again choosing the wrong person to lead, a Republican,... simply because rural America was not comfortable enough with the "right" person to lead this nation.....
RushLimbaugh.com, by Transcript Original Article <http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082908/content/01125111.guest.html> RUSH: This is Sarah Palin and her accomplishments. Obama cannot make a speech like this. PALIN: In serving as the team mom and coaching some basketball on the side, I got involved in the PTA and then was elected to the city council and then elected mayor of my hometown where my agenda was to stop wasteful spending and cut property taxes and put the people first! (cheers and applause) .............................
___________________
SARAH PALIN ON IRAQ....I thought that maybe if I transcribed this podcast it would make more sense, but no dice. Here is Sarah Palin a couple of weeks ago talking about energy supplies and the war in Iraq:
The GOP agenda to ramp up domestic supplies of energy is the only way that we're going to become energy independent, the only way that we are going to become a more secure nation — and I say this, of course, looking at the situation we are in right now, at war, not knowing what the plan is to ever end the war that we're engaged in, understanding that Americans are seeking solutions, and they are seeking resolution in this war effort, so energy supplies, being able to produce and supply domestically, is going to be a big part of that.....I have a 19 year old who's getting ready to be deployed to Iraq. His Stryker brigade will leave on September 11th of this year. He's 19, he'll be gone for a year. [And so] kind of on a personal level, when I talk about, umm, the plan for the war, you know, let's make sure we have a plan here, and respecting McCain's position on that.
The GOP agenda to ramp up domestic supplies of energy is the only way that we're going to become energy independent, the only way that we are going to become a more secure nation — and I say this, of course, looking at the situation we are in right now, at war, not knowing what the plan is to ever end the war that we're engaged in, understanding that Americans are seeking solutions, and they are seeking resolution in this war effort, so energy supplies, being able to produce and supply domestically, is going to be a big part of that.
....I have a 19 year old who's getting ready to be deployed to Iraq. His Stryker brigade will leave on September 11th of this year. He's 19, he'll be gone for a year. [And so] kind of on a personal level, when I talk about, umm, the plan for the war, you know, let's make sure we have a plan here, and respecting McCain's position on that.
So it turns out that not only does John McCain's running mate not have even the slightest background in foreign policy, but that she can't even talk about it coherently. McCain's handlers really have their work cut out for them.
And here, Matt Yglesias confirms that McCain had apparently met Palin exactly twice before today: once a few months ago when she came to Washington to talk about oil drilling and once more for five minutes via phone last Sunday. [UPDATE: Nope, three times! He also met with her briefly on Thursday morning before offering her the VP slot at 11 am.]
This is all part of what I was talking about the other day when I noted that McCain is running such a palpably unserious campaign. Steve Schmidt seems solely interested in winning the daily news cycle; his staff spends its time gleefully churning out juvenile attack videos; McCain himself has retreated into robotic incantations of simpleminded talking points; and now he's chosen a manifestly unqualified VP that he knows nothing about. I've honestly never seen anything like it.
But hey — as long as we're on the subject of unseriousness, I have to say that humorists sure do work fast these days. Within a couple of hours of Palin's announcement, we got Palin on the cover of Vogue (the real Vogue pictures are here) and Sarah Palin's blog. For more, ThinkProgress and Andrew Sullivan have both become 24/7 Palin trivia machines.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/08/sarah_palin_on_iraq.html
___________
Palin AroundThe eco-rundown on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's VP pick In a surprise move this morning, John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin, a conservative Republican, was the ethics commissioner of the Alaska Gas and Oil Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004 and has a reputation for integrity and fighting corruption. She has pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope, and earlier this year she sued the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species.* <http://www.grist.org/news/2008/05/22/alaska/?source=daily> Palin recently proposed eliminating Alaska's gas tax and got the state legislature to pass a bill to provide each Alaskan $1,200 to help with energy bills. She also recently opposed a statewide ballot initiative to prohibit or restrict new mining operations that could affect salmon in the state's streams and rivers, even though she's an avid angler and hunter herself. She has created a committee to forge Alaska's climate-change strategy, and has made Alaska an observer (but not a member) of the Western Climate Initiative* <http://lists.grist.org/t?r=2&c=3574&l=16&ctl=2FECB:665ED9E2FFB0BA9F72C55D73F4FEAD2B> . But that doesn't mean she has any sort of beef with Big Oil (in fact, her husband is an oil production operator for BP on Alaska's North Slope). She said earlier this week, "When I look every day, the big oil company's building is right out there next to me, and it's quite a reminder that we should have mutually beneficial relationships with the oil industry."
________
Rhonda Davis......> What a insult to women. She is not qualified to be a heartbeat > away from the most important job in the world. I guess we should go > to the local PTA and grab one of the mom's and pick her as a VP > pick. Why not just pull a name out of a hat. This is a very crazy > move on his part. Very imature of you McDesperate, I expected better.
Scrubbed: Palin Ad Featuring Ted Stevens Disappears
That was quick. This morning, an ad from Sarah Palin's 2006 gubernatorial campaign featuring an endorsement from scandal-plagued Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was available on Palin's campaign Web site.
...but now the Stevens ad has already been scrubbed. The link is no longer on her campaign site.
Luckily, the ad featuring Stevens and Palin is still available for your viewing pleasure!
Read the whole story here.
__________
Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History
Robert J. Elisberg
Posted August 29, 2008 | 04:30 PM (EST)
There was a TV ad for deodorant that said, "Never let them see you sweat." The John McCain campaign has just showed the world that it is drenched.
Selecting Sarah Palin as its choice for a vice presidential candidate is perhaps the worst such choice in American History. To be fair, maybe there are worse choices, but I don't know how bad William O. Butler was when he ran with Lewis Cass against Zachary Taylor.
But it's far worse than Dan Quayle, who was a sitting senator. Worse even than Geraldine Ferraro, who at least served in Congress for three-terms. And Far worse than William Miller, a choice so obscure when selected by Barry Goldwater that he (honestly) later did an American Express commercial asking, "Do you know me?" And that was ad was after the election. But even Miller had been a Congressman for 12 years. And been a prosecutor during the Nuremberg War trials against Nazis. Sarah Palin lists her credits as a hockey mom.
There was a point during the Republican primaries when I was trying to figure out who I hoped got the nomination. Someone so weak he'd be easy for the Democrats to beat, or someone more challenging who at least wouldn't be a disaster for America. I decided on the latter because America has to resolve its serious problems and can't afford risking some glitch where another George Bush got elected. And so I felt that John McCain, for all his weaknesses, was the lesser of all evils and was glad he got the nomination. Throw that out the window. McCain-Palin is an unthinkable disaster.
I completely understand the reasoning behind the decision for John McCain to select Sarah Palin. Absolutely. It's the thinking that settled on Sarah Palin that's missing.
No doubt John McCain will get some women to vote for him who wouldn't have otherwise, and even some independents. But he will also probably lose as many Republicans uncomfortable with a woman on the ticket - let alone a woman with so little experience as Sarah Palin. Not to mention that the choice will cause many undecided Democratic women to be aghast and push them back to following their Democratic beliefs. And further, it will lose all the independents who look at the GOP ticket and say "This is who I'm supposed to give my vote for the next four years to lead and protect America??" It may even appeal to right-wing evangelicals for her strong pro-life stance and get some to vote - but that position and others related to it are specifically what loses even more women voters. And men. And it will probably lose some Republicans who are cringing and now unable to get themselves to check "McCain/Palin" in the voting booth. Ultimately, the nomination will lose far, far more votes than it gains. But this is not the reason the decision is so terrible.
It's always said that the most important decision a presidential candidate makes is their pick for vice president. It shows their thinking and judgment. John McCain, in his first decision, has just told the world that he believes Sarah Palin is the most qualified person to be a heartbeat from the presidency. Forgetting all the available men for a moment, if John McCain felt it critical to select a woman in an effort to somehow grab the Hillary Clinton supporters, look at his choice of women he had available: Christine Todd Whitman, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Elizabeth Dole, Susan Collins, even - for goodness sake - Condoleezza Rice. Or Carly Fiorina. Each of these have marks against them, and perhaps some might not have wanted to run, but it's near-impossible to look at the list and suggest to the American public that Sarah Palin is the best choice of Republican women to be vice president. And again, this is ignoring the men he who could have been chosen.
It's not that Sarah Palin is inexperienced. It's that this is gross political misconduct.
Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska for just a bit over 18 months. Alaska has a population of 683,000. (Though that doesn't include moose.) This would only make it the 17th most populous city in the United States. Just ahead of Fort Worth.
Before that, she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Population 9,000. I know Republicans like to promote "small town values," but this is taking things to ridiculous extremes, don't you think? I'm from Glencoe, Illinois, population 8,762. It so small it doesn't even have a mayor, it has an appointed village manager. I'm sure that Paul Harlow is doing wonderfully in the job there - but I don't expect that he sees himself as even wanting to be a heartbeat from U.S. President in 18 months. You know what the top news story is on the Glencoe website? "Fire Hydrant Painting Underway." (To be fair, it's the #2 story. The top news is a clarification about displaying political signage.)
Do you know what the first two "powers and duties" are for the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Check their municipal code:
1. Preside at council meetings. The mayor may take part in the discussion of matters before the council, but may not vote, except that the mayor may vote in the case of a tie; 2. Act as ceremonial head of the city;
2. Act as ceremonial head of the city;
Swell.
If you live in small town America (and I mean really, really small), look around you and be honest - do you see your mayor (or village manager) as a heartbeat from the presidency in 18 months?
But that's not the reason either that the decision to make Sarah Palin the VP nominee is so terrible.
It's one thing to discuss how unqualified Sarah Palin is. That's a national matter and huge. But on a grassroots political level, her nomination takes away the Republicans' ONLY weapon in the campaign - calling Barack Obama inexperienced. They haven't even been trying to run on the issues, or on the eight-year record of George Bush, which John McCain has supported almost 95% of the time. They've only been running on the faux-issue of Barack Obama's experience of 14 years in federal and state government. Yes, Sarah Palin is merely running for VP, not president, but with a 72 year-old candidate with a history of some medical issues, this is who they're saying is able to step in as president in a heart-beat. She has so little experience that she makes Sen. Obama look like FDR, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar combined. So, the Republicans pulled the rug out from under themselves. They have no issues. The economy? Housing? The national debt? Education? The Environment? Iraq? Afghanistan? Nothing. All they have is "Dear Democratic women: please pretend our VP candidate is Hillary Clinton. Just forget that she's pro-life. And against most things Democrats stand for."
But that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.Because if the hope for John McCain is to get women to vote for him who otherwise supported Hillary Clinton - if anything could get Hillary Clinton campaigning in full force and fury...this is it. She likely would have campaigned hard, but it's in Hillary Clinton's best interest to be the leading voice for women, and the leading woman candidate for president in the future, so having another woman as the potential Vice President (and potential President) is a significant challenge to that. The Republicans just opened Pandora's Box and brought Hillary Clinton roaring to Barack Obama's side on the Democratic train. And Bill Clinton, too.Yet even that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.
What this does in the most profound and grandiose way possible is give lie to John McCain's pompous posturing that he Always Puts America First. And that undercuts the most prominent campaign issue of his entire career, that of everything he does is for reasons of honor. There is nothing honorable about making Sarah Palin your vice presidential nominee. Nothing. Unless you define honor as "blatantly pandering."
But that's not the reason either that this decision is so terrible.
But before we get to that, let's look at the actual announcement to make Gov. Sarah Palin (AK - pop. 683,000) the Republican nominee for president, and put the horrible decision in perspective.
First, John McCain stood at the podium, looking up-and-down reading his speech. It's impossible not to compare that to Barack Obama giving his a majestic speech the night before that even conservative analysts were admiring in awe.
Second, the cameras were polite enough to avoid it, but there were empty seats in the gym. It's impossible not to compare that to a stadium of 75,000 people that Barack Obama spoke to the night before.
Third, when people around the nation were waiting to hear about Sarah Palin's qualifications and gravitas to be President of the United States, the first five minutes of her speech were spent talking about her husband being a champion snowmobiler.
Fourth, when she finally got around to her qualifications, pretty much all we discovered was that she fought to cut property taxes. And then, she basically stopped there.
She did, however, mention becoming energy self-sufficient - by talking about how she supported drilling in Alaska!!! Perhaps to Republicans this is being an environmentalist, but to most of America, not so much. Then again, she's also against putting polar bears on the endangered species act (which the government did), so maybe her environmental qualifications are more lax than she thinks..
And then, finally, she spent the rest of her time praising John McCain. Fine, that's very supportive of her...except that the one question on everyone's mind was not -- "can you say John McCain is a swell guy and tell us that he was a POW", the question on everyone's mind was - "Who in God's name are you, and please tell us why you should be a heart-beat from the presidency."
In the end, the only case she herself made for being on the ticket was praising Hillary Clinton! That's it, period. Now, it might be enough to attract some women -- but it doesn't make a case for the ticket. Why? Hint: some women did vote for Hillary Clinton solely because she was a woman. But most women voted for Hillary Clinton because she was a Democrat, as well as a woman, who stood for important Democratic values they seriously believed in. If Sarah Palin wants to praise Hillary Clinton, go for it. But at least understand what you're praising. Because it will likely come back and bite you.
It was a thin, nothing, empty speech. It was a speech to be head of the Chamber of Commerce. Compare that to the speech by Joe Biden when Barack Obama introduced him. Eloquent, soaring and explaining in blunt detail why John McCain should not be president. Joe Biden must have been watching Sarah Palin's speech, in order to take notes in preparation for his debate with Sarah Palin and thought, "This isn't fair."
And all that's not even the reason the decision is so terrible.
The reason is because the election is not about Sarah Palin. Or about Joe Biden. As much as TV analysts want to be excited by the balloons and hoopla, tomorrow the air will be let out, and there are still over two months to go for the campaign.
The campaign is about Barack Obama and John McCain.
Sarah Palin's nomination doesn't change that. In fact, it reinforces it. Nothing about putting Sarah Palin on the GOP ticket changes a word that Barack Obama said in his vibrant acceptance speech - about himself, about his issues, and about John McCain's repeatedly faulty judgment on the critical issues facing America.
What Sarah Palin's nomination does do is focus attention on John McCain's age. Indeed, the nomination was made on his birthday, when he turned 72, the oldest man ever to run for president. As the crowd sang "Happy Birthday to You," you almost sensed that through John McCain's clenched smile, saying, "Thanks for reminding me," that what he was thinking underneath was "Please, oh, please, don't sing the "How old are you now?" part." And how good a message was it that he's saying he supposedly forgot it was his birthday?
Vice presidents are usually selected as people who are adept at blasting the other side's presidential candidate, because it's only the presidential candidate that matters. Joe Biden has already done that - twice - at length, spoken as someone who knows John McCain well and likes him. Sarah Palin had her first chance...and whiffed. Didn't even try. And it's hard to imagine what she has in her arsenal that will remotely allow her to do so in the future.
The election is about the presidential candidates. And the selection of Sarah Palin now allows Barack Obama to campaign untouched by the Republican ticket. John McCain's only other option is for himself to personally become negative for two months - which is disaster in presidential politics.
Now add on all the problems expressed above. Sarah Palin's inexplicably laughable lack of substance, most-especially on the foreign policy stage. Her taking away the one issue Republicans were even attempting. Her pushing away voters who might otherwise be willing to vote for a senator with 26-years in the Senate. Her bringing Hillary Clinton aggressively back into the campaign. Her inability to offer anything to off-set Joe Biden. Her standing as supposedly the most-qualified Republican woman as John McCain's first decision.
And, in the end, it all focuses back on Barack Obama, with his indictment of eight years of the Bush Administration and of John McCain's flawed judgment - and John McCain's defense of all that.
Republicans might be dancing earlier today, because there was a lot of fun music playing. But the music has stopped. The actual campaign has now started. For Republicans, it might have ended.
What it's like to be in your 20's and at the Democratic National Convention...highlights from Danielle...
click here to listen...16:51 min.
"If you care about raising the minimum wage, improving the quality of our schools, rebuilding the economy, opening the doors to college for more young people, ending the war in Iraq, and restoring our image around the world, then Barack Obama is your candidate!" —Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tamarac, FL
Tonight, Sen. Hillary Clinton will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention on why it is absolutely necessary to elect Barack Obama to the presidency.
Just last week, Sen. Clinton toured the state of Florida on behalf of Barack. At Florida Atlantic University, Hillary spoke to a packed house on women's issues from equal pay to a woman's right to choose. In Tamarac, Hillary talked about why Barack is the only choice for voters who care about issues that face seniors today. All over the country, Democrats are uniting around Barack Obama.
**Be sure to join one of our Convention watch parties in your neighborhood or even host your own and watch Sen. Clinton's message of unity tonight!**
I sure like Michael Moore's idea of Caroline Kennedy running as Obama's Vice President, and tomorrow, Howard Dean III, M.D., is coming to Santa Fe, and I will have a chance to ask him about my deepest concern, overhauling the FDA with a true consumer protectionist as Commissioner, not the corporate-serving lackey we have right now.
I decided to join 112 Obama groups, some at the official website, and some interesting sounding Obama Yahoo! and one Google group located in Colorado. I get 1200-2000 emails a day, and it is an amazing flow of information. Recently, the news about Musharraf “resigning”appeared on the Net at least 36 hours before it came out in the New Mexican, the "oldest paper in the West."
On the other hand, my wise friend who graduated from St. John’s College believes the “cool” or “cold” media, in which he included newspaper, magazines, and books, ultimately had a much greater effect on the recipient than the jillions of bits of information pouring in off the Internet.
At times, with 112 groups’ membership, including some strange ones (LasVegasAgnosticsAtheistsforObama), Secular Humanist (my favorite), some funny ones (PoliticallyNCorrectisOK), and the high-powered Action Teams in all of the key states, the flow of information at times resembles looking up at Niagara Falls, from that little boat below, the Maid of the Mist. At other times, I notice a real self-congratulatory narcissistic attitude in the groups, as if to say, “Aren’t we cool?” and not nearly enough of the real mechanics of politics, the door to door, the articles to hang from the door, getting the people to the Polls, etc., all of which may be boring to many, but is the pulse of not only who is in the White House for the next 4 to 8 years, but whether the Senate has a filibuster-proof 60 Democrats. The people who like that and are good at that are out doing just that, not yakking it up on the Internet, basking in the ill-founded Kaffee Klatch milieu that seems to be the result of useless Liberal Arts Degrees from many years ago.
It will be a very tight election, because of that supposed 16% of American voters who are outright or secret BIGOTS, who will vote against Obama above all, even with all of the bloggers, the right TV ads, the Unions, the traditional Democrat alliance between Jews, Negroes, Minorities, Intellectuals, Indians, etc., the victorious debates, as so on. Some say it is always decided in the last 4 days anyway, which I don’t think is true with this election. Such a large percentage of Americans recognize the absolutely calamitous disastrous economic effects of 8 years of Bushies/Neocons/Cheney/Blackwater/Kellogg Brown and Root/the Pentagon and the Industrialists, etc.: I don’t see how any thinking American could not vote for Obama, but, have I been wrong before? Yes. The bloggers will get out in due course and eventually Pound the Pavement; at least, I know for sure that Obama's Campaign Manager, a few others, and me, will ask them to do that, and I will be sending at least 400,000 people emails with encouragement to get strategic and cut the yakking till after the Election.
But the observations about the effects of the Internet on Society (more than Politics) are very compelling and very interesting. Marshall McLuhan posited many years ago that all of this electronic communication and related advances would eventually create The Global Village, but obviously, the cohesion is very thin, if it there at all, eh?
Rather than any advanced form of communication, some see serious Blogging as a new form of Insanity, recognized by the Medical Profession as a brand new syndrome, and others see it as just plain old Lemming-like behavior, especially in the political context. I have a keener perception of how the Internet has requited at least 50% of the compulsion to read several daily newspapers, and let me tell you in conclusion: there sure are a lot of really smart people Blogging for Obama, and I am sure we are going to win.
Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor, Santa Fe Sun News
It now appears that the Democratic candidate Sen. Obama may travel the world this summer.
Traveling the world before winning the White House is not a good idea. Voters know that a quick trip to somewhere cannot make one an expert in that country. Obama has enough going for him already. Americans are suffering so badly and they will not appreciate seeing Mr. Obama traveling the world when they cannot take summer vacation because of high gas prices, the economy or both. I say he needs to keep introducing himself and his message to the voters and win their votes.
Obama's Iraq visit is dubious one. This is a country America occupies illegally. A country which is now asking the US to leave their country. Obama will not meet the Iraq people who will welcome him with sweets and flowers. This will be, at best, a photo opportunity with the troops! Isn’t this just what Bush and the neocons have been doing the last 6 years?
Obama's foreign advisory, Susan Rice, needs to be more creative than this! Obama needs the American voters to vote for him because of changing the way things are done including ending the Iraq war.
McCain is campaigning on the promise of a long term American occupation of Iraq, but the Iraqis wants American troops to leave their country. A long term presence of American troops in Iraq means more war and more deaths of Americans troops and Iraqis. McCain is offering more war for Americans. Obama is offering ending the war. Susan Rice and other advisors to Obama must make these differences and distinctions between Obama and McCain policies plainly clear to the American people and let them vote on the facts.
There are only 139 precious days remaining for this Presidential campaign. That means Obama and his campaign team should continue campaigning in the heartland of America. After winning the White House, Obama can travel the EU and the rest of the world with authority as the President of the United States. The Bush administration is currently negotiating a long term American military occupation of Iraq. Now it appears not only do the Iraqis reject this plan but that Prime Mister Al-Malaki made it clear he wishes American troops to leave Iraq at the end of the this year when the UN mandate ends. What is Obama position on the permanent American presence in Iraq? I think Obama needs additional critical advice before making major international travels that will appear nothing more than international campaign of his candidacy.
Or am I must be missing something here?
I spent the last two days browsing hillaryclinton.com and reading over her issues (again) and I also checked out the blog section. Two words regarding the blog: "oh my."
Obviously, I am not naive enough to expect that HRC supporters would immediately jump over to support Obama after he clenched the delegate count. But the comments on her site are just so divisive, cold, and (I hate to say it) blindly ignorant.
When I first joined the BarackObama.com site, one of my earlier blog posts stated that I would vote for a democrat this November, no matter what. Yes, I have major issues with Hillary: her policies, attack-based campaign, initial approval of the war in Iraq - I could go on. But I would have MUCH rather voted for her than John McCain.
When I wrote that in my blog, the comments came in immediately "sorry, but I could never vote for her." Perhaps a few other remarks that, to me, translated into saying "I'm a Barack Obama supporter, not a democrat." ?? Huh?
I realize that HRC supporters might very well vote for McCain. The bloggers on her site are very misinformed. "Obama stole votes." They really believe that. They really believe that Florida and Michigan should have been handled differently (even though the outcome would have not affected the delegate count). They use "new math" to show she has the popular count. These things are SIMPLY NOT TRUE. They think that Rush Limbaugh encouraged people to vote for Obama.
Well, let's take a look (I know it's wiki, but these citations are accurate for this section):
On March 27, 2008, Limbaugh said "The dream end of this [of Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here [of Operation Chaos]."[14]
On April 29, 2008 Limbaugh declared an "operational pause" in Operation Chaos, saying that Obama's defeat in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and fallout from statements from Obama ally Reverend Jeremiah Wright could have damaged his campaign to the extent superdelegates would shift to Clinton's side.[15] Determining Obama had weathered that storm, Limbaugh lifted the pause the next day and renewed his call for his listeners to vote for Clinton in the upcoming Indiana and North Carolina primaries.[16] Obama won the North Carolina primary[17] but was narrowly defeated in Indiana, where Clinton won decisively in rural counties that normally vote Republican in presidential elections.[18]
I realize I'm preaching to the choir right now, but we have a major task on our hands. We can't be rude to HRC supporters. As much as you want to say "it's idiotic to vote for McCain," we need to remind ourselves that it could have been the other way around. I wouldn't have wanted someone calling me an idiot if HRC had won.
Yes, I know that HRC's campaign was a mud-slinging and name-calling event. It was what it was, and nevertheless we are left with millions who are hurt and gravely disappointed. It isn't about winning them over. It's about unity, and what's best for our country. I can't imagine any true Democrat will find that in John McCain. But I really need to try hard to bite my tongue around HRC supporters.
If the mainstream media wants to truly analyze congregations they should systematically look at all candidates. They should have completed the analysis before the final curtain.
If the MSM includes Barack Obama's congregations as a part of his campaign rhetoric, they must also include Hillary Rodham Clinton's religious efforts
in the rhetoric, as well as John McCain's religious affairs in their observations.
What most Obama supporters will notice is the discrepancy in the fair analysis of religious connections and participation of everyone else, which unfortunately is racist, misogynistic, divisive and systemically set up to fail Americans.
An important historical review of Hillary Clinton details her dark past which has yet to be analyzed in MSM to her supporters.
http://prorev.com/hillary.htm
Unless this information is properly vetted there will be an unfair advantage used against Obama due to his religious participation. I for one believe Obama to be a partial participant in Religion. Michelle is one reason I am sure Obama chose to attend church, for he grew up outside of this social circle which is evident. Ususally, politics, where one goes to church is not an issue in the political arena. An article listed below by Jesse Jackson will list the target of Michelle who as an African American can play the game they wish to play and win. Obama and his close circle of friends, I hope can heed the call.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/27/9210/
Obama's connection to religion is due to Michelle Robinson, and her historical place in this America. They have a young family and historically in the black community, families attend a church where there is a community of inclusive social connections which privately thwarts the public anger from erupting on the racist America we live in. It keeps one aligned on the straight; out of trouble, gives direction to make something out of a life; even when the odds are against the African-American. Does Hillary choose to destroy the success of the Obama campaign that Jesse Jackson reflects in this attached link?
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/20/9074/
As this election moves forward, note that the historical participation of African Americans in politics reaches back to the 1870's when the right to vote was an issue. AS someone said in an article discussing this issue in detail, Hillary is using this in her fight to the death of the Democratic Party.
The fight between the African American male and the white female, became an issue in the 1870's and must be understood to really grasp the context Hillary will use to destroy by whatever means necessary.
As Zillah Eisenstein notes in her analysis the historical ugly face of racism, misogyny and a given right which historically has worked to the favor of the majority may no longer work, for it is a new day, a new time, and there are people who do not care for such rhetoric.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/18/9031/
Lastly, read this article written by a great mind; Alton Maddox who made his mistakes but speaks of the same truth as Ms. Eisenstein.
http://www.amsterdamnews.org/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=88967&sID=34
Lastly, this Dawn Turner Trice from Chicago is asking the question, is the Black Church bad for Obama in so many words? Please also read her article.
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/race/2008/05/do-plegers-anti.html
i sent this out to a couple of groups andi included .pdf's of the articles, but everyone supporting Obama in his/her quest for a new America should read these articles for the days ahead and become prepared for the false assumption that Hillary is the victim woman, for she is not.
