What Sarah Palin tells us about John McCain

John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate shows that he regards his age as an issue but not a problem. And it show that he is a risk taker. But is that it?

David Brooks provides a brilliantly insightful analysis in the New York Times today that suggests that there is much more to it.

David argues that Palin is not a tactical pick. She is an ideological one.

He starts with a description of McCain:

The main axis in McCain’s worldview is not left-right. It’s public service versus narrow self-interest.

Throughout his career, he has been drawn to those crusades that enabled him to launch frontal attacks on the concentrated powers of selfishness — whether it was the big money donors who exploited the loose campaign finance system, the earmark specialists in Congress like Alaska’s Don Young and Ted Stevens, the corrupt Pentagon contractors or Jack Abramoff.

Then he has this to say about Palin:

When McCain met Sarah Palin last February, he was meeting the rarest of creatures, an American politician who sees the world as he does. Like McCain, Palin does not seem to have an explicit governing philosophy.

Her background is socially conservative, but she has not pushed that as governor of Alaska. She seems to find it easier to work with liberal Democrats than the mandarins in her own party.

Instead, she seems to get up in the morning to root out corruption.

McCain was meeting a woman who risked her career taking on the corrupt Republican establishment in her own state, who twice defeated the oil companies, who made mortal enemies of the two people McCain has always held up as the carriers of the pork-barrel disease: Young and Stevens.

The argument, then, is that Palin allows McCain to run as he has always wanted - as a Teddy Roosevelt public spirited, duty first candidate.

Although, of course, in order to do that the Republicans will have to surf the shockwaves first.

Comments

[John Gregory Flinn]

Is that the Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour, encouraged a reluctant America to wage war on Germany and then Japan, funded the development of three atom bombs for use against the Axis and, finally, allowed the athiestic-communist tyrant Stalin to occupy and oppress much of Europe?
Public spirited and duty.....???

I read that Sarah Palin eloped to marry her husband. I have'nt seen or heard anything about her parents as yet. Their comments might be worth something.

[Hal Allen]

Isn't it refreshing to have two candidates who are dedicated to rooting out corruption in politics? Hopefully a landslide of 'Good Old American' thinking will occur.

[Ailo]

I don't know how Brooks gets off yamming about how she made a "mortal enem[y]" out of Ted Stevens when she ran his 527 group and whole-heartedly supported the "bridge to nowhere" during her run for governor in '06. She dropped it later when it became a national farce, but kept the money, and started building a road to where the bridge was supposed to be. Quaint!

[Ian Thorpe]

I think John McCains choice for Vice President shows his campaign is not a dead parrot.

[BCS]

Ye-es, but Palin did initially support the indispensable Bridge to Nowhere. Perhaps McCainn didn't know this (hardly an encouraging sign in itself of course...)

[Jeff Moran]

I think McCain rushed into naming Palin when he was talked out of his personal choice of Tom Ridge. Palin speaks the kind of social conservative language that appeals to the Republican right wing whose support McCain desparately needs.
The irony is that Palin contradicts the evangelical family values by putting her political ambitions ahead of her family. I can't imagine a 'typical hockey mom' who would seek the Vice Presidency when she has four children at home, one with a serious disability, another pregnant out of wedlock. She can beg for privacy, but her decision has already thrown her 17 yr old into the lime light. Obviously the unexpected happens to people in all walks of life. But in this case, Palin had alternatives, yet she made the selfish move. This isn't putting country first, it's about furthering her personal agenda.

[Liz]

Gov.Palin's pick for the vice-presidency has indeed generated deep historic emotions similarly to the WMD that ended up with great division in this great nation. Her pick is sounding a passionate warning to what is to come if Sen. McCain becomes the President. The current state of this union calls for the blessing of sound and decisive judgment as we continue looking forward towards unforeseen future. We cannot as one nation under God become perfect, but seek to do well always. I would urge Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin to see deeply into our yearning soul and not take a simplistic view of merely picking from the left-over of Sen. Clinton supporters. This would be seen as a selfish choice and not one that unites and defines our current state of the union. Please, Hon. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin, it’s not late to make the change we can handle.

[Kent]

Palin's nomination certainly served McCain's desire to shake up the race, but perhaps not in the way he'd envisioned. All of tabloid-y details make it sound as if he'd picked Lynne Spears (mother of Britney and teen-mother Jamie Lynn) as his running mate rather than a maverick politician. The Republican establishment has tried valiantly to put a good spin on this, but surely they are all privately cringing.

please do not leave out important part
On top of these conditions, he will have his own freewheeling qualities: a restless, thrill-seeking personality, a tendency to personalize issues, a tendency to lead life as a string of virtuous crusades.

He really needs someone to impose a policy structure on his moral intuitions. He needs a very senior person who can organize a vast administration and insist that he tame his lone-pilot tendencies and work through the established corridors — the National Security Council, the Domestic Policy Council. He needs a near-equal who can turn his instincts, which are great, into a doctrine that everybody else can predict and understand.

Rob Portman or Bob Gates wouldn’t have been politically exciting, but they are capable of performing those tasks. Palin, for all her gifts, is not. She underlines McCain’s strength without compensating for his weaknesses. The real second fiddle job is still unfilled.

[Richard Johnson]

I am a registered Independent and I’ve be following the political process very closely over the past few months. Very frankly, I was quite certain that I was going to vote for Senator Obama…..that is until the past few days. When Senator McCain chose Governor Palin as his running mate, I read as much as I could about her and her family in an effort to become better informed.

Initially her choice looked like a weak play for Hillary Clinton voters and I thought McCain had made a huge mistake. But as I read more about Governor Palin, it became clear that no Hillary voter would ever vote for her. Their views are too divergent. Sarah Palin was chosen for a number of reasons, number one being to energize the Republican base. But even more importantly than that, she was added to win the electoral vote of some very key swing states. If you look at the electoral voting map, the race is very close in some important states. In the far west, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, North / South Dakota and Montana are all on the fence. In the east, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida are all in play. The upper Midwest, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa are all in play.

The way Obama beat Clinton in the Democratic primary was to focus on the smaller states. It seemed Senator Clinton would win the big states, but she lost the war. Almost every state mentioned above has a huge hunting and fishing constituency. If these voters are energized, they can win this election for McCain because of Sarah Palin. I was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania and believe me when I tell you that she connects with voters there, in a way that no other candidate can do.

And the liberal media, in an effort to help their political agenda, is crucifying Palin. As her husbands DUI and her daughter’s pregnancy have been discovered, they say that McCain’s campaign’s due diligence was inferior and that his judgment is flawed. In 1992, was Bill Clinton properly vetted? Clinton’s sexual misconduct, especially the degree of his misconduct, is far worse than any teen pregnancy or a DUI that’s 20 years old.

And why not drill in Anwar for oil, as Gov. Palin suggests? Isn’t that why Alaska became a state 50 years ago? Develop the region, only if it can be done safely and in an environmentally responsible way. It’s our oil. Practically speaking, we should develop alternative fuels and we will. But until that can be done effectively, why not use our own reserves? We shouldn’t do business with regimes around the world who want to do us harm.

As Americans, we are on the brink of a catastrophic era. The weak dollar, unmanageable trade deficits and an unthinkable national debt promises to make us eventually a Third World country. There is a better than even chance of the US defaulting on some of its bonds and notes. We need the best leadership available or our standard of living is going to nose dive. Please think about your vote, don’t be sold by pretty ads or dynamic speeches. The election is not about the politicians, it’s about us, the people, your neighbors, co-workers and friends.

[jacqui]

Yes, many shock waves to to surfed.
I'm all for McCain/Palin. It signals a new Republican Party and the routing of left-feminists, while reducing corruption and promoting cross-party alliances among good guys.
Now the shock waves: How will she handle the many "little shocks" that the media are now trailing around the gutter. And remember, envious left-feminists will want her lynched. She is too much of a threat to their "women are crushed by men" trope.

[Jamo]

Once you've heard her, no one could not like Sarah Palin. And she has mnore experience than Obama. If women really want a woman in office and not just an agenda, she is a GREAT woman. She really WILL be president some day.
But cut the stuff with her daughter. Go raise a daughter these days. Her daughter isn't running.

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

I like columnist Chris Floyd's characterization of the ticket as "Lady and the Gramp."

Palin is quickly proving a disaster and a pure gift to the Democrats.

See today's new revelations on the front of The Times.

And look at the picture near the bottom of this page:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/

Palin's going to prove another Senator Eagleton, although not so nearly nice a person.

[Anne Kent]

Frankly I think the Americans have finally lost their marbles.

This woman wants to be Beauty Queen, Governor, Mother of five children (one a pregnant teenager), Wife and Vice President!

A woman totally consummed with GREED!

Well it is America ~ so I guess it figures! :-)

[Greg]

It shows McCain is a risk taker, but not a very bright one. Either he made a very bad decision, or someone under him did a very bad job and he didn't catch it. Neither bode well for a job like the US presidency.

[carlin]

Teddy Roosevelt would NEVER have picked such a person as vice president, woman or not. It makes me wonder about McCain's judgement.

[bill]

And it's driving the liberal wackos nuts.

[laurel clark]

Nothing McCain or Palin can do or say will refute the fact that she is a Feminist Dinosaur. Are we supposed to be impressed that she has 5 kids and a demanding high profile job? She is busy fryin up the bacon but missin the plate. You can't ignore the fact she has been given several personal challenges based on her beliefs in the areas of Abortion and Bith Control. Yet she is passing those responsibilities on to others to pursue the spotlight of Political glory. There is nothing "family " about those values.

[Older White Woman]

Electing McCain/Palin and McCain dying while in the White House is scary enough.

Electing McCain/Palin and McCain not dying while in the White House absolutely terrifying.

Reasons:

Symptoms of POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER are prevalent with Combat Duty and POWs. Symptoms include chronic physical signs of hyper arousal, including sleep problems, TROUBLE CONCENTRATING, IRRITABILITY, ANGER, POOR CONCENTATION, blackouts or DIFFICULTY REMEMBERING THINGS, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, and HYPER VILIGANCE TO THREAT.

Two scientific articles:

1st Article: Worsening of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms with cognitive decline: case series.

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi 39216, USA.

Patient age ranged from 57 to 70 years old and all patients had war-related PTSD. In each case, the patient had a history of PTSD that was under fairly good control until the onset of cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease or vascular or alcohol-related dementia.

To view the entire article,
www.PubMed.org and search on ‘Worsening of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms with cognitive decline: case series’

2nd Article: Memory performance in older trauma survivors: implications for the longitudinal course of PTSD.

James J. Peters VA Medical Center, OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468, USA. Julia.golier@med.va.gov

These alterations may put trauma survivors with PTSD at greater risk for cognitive decline in later life. PTSD was associated with substantial impairments in learning, free and cued recall, and recognition memory.

To view the entire article,
www.PubMed.org and search on ‘Memory performance in older trauma survivors: implications for the longitudinal course of PTSD’

Additional concerns of a MD from Chesterton, IN brings up critical points about McCain’s ability to govern:
“As a psychiatrist, I find the most troubling void in McCain's personal story, THE ABSENCE OF RESULTS FROM HIS VARIOUS NEURO-PSYCHIATRIC-EVALUATIONS. A man who demonstrates suggestive behaviors consistent with both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (episodic, violent outbursts) and early dementia (multiple slips and errors of fact, flat, unmodulated speech, excessive reliance on teleprompters), McCAIN’S REFUSAL TO RELEASE THE RESULTS OF THESE EVALUATIONS RAISES THE SERIOUS POSSIBILITY THAT HE IS CONCEALING SIGNIFICANT MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL DYSFUNCTION. While in general, there is an important right to privacy that must ordinarily be respected with all patients, the fact that this particular patient has chosen to run for the presidency makes it imperative that these records become available.”

Summary:

We owe McCain our love and respect for his military service. However, I love my grandchildren and this country too much to vote McCain into the White House.

The Choice is Ours:
If you want "EXPERIENCE AT GETTING IT WRONG", vote for McCain.
If you want "JUDGEMENT AT GETTING IT RIGHT", vote for Obama.

[Sheila Oliver]

I think you're mistaken. I've just read a Democracy Npw! interview with Max Blumenthal revealing that McCain sold out his country to the Religious Right cabal who vetted Sarah Palin while we were agaze at the Democratic National Convention broadcasts. They'll deliver the evangelical right-wing fundamentalist vote to try to beat Obama. It may work. We're a nation half-populated with malinformed voters.

[Bill Thompson]

I suspect that what Sarah Palin tells us about John McCain is that John McCain was unable to get Joe Lieberman past the crucial Christian conservative base.

[Amazed you even printed this…]

How can you possibly suggest that one of the Keating Five (McCain) is in any way a fighter against corruption and the influence of big donors on the US political stage? Pure bunkum. McCain took several trips at a donor's expense that were only paid for once it became clear that the donor - Charles Keating Jnr - was under investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. The senate investigation into McCain and the four other senators accused of having links with Keating, which ultimately found McCain guilty only of 'poor judgment' is considered by many observers to have been a whitewash. He's hardly squeaky clean, and certainly no valiant defender of the system against the malignant influence of large donors and lobbyists.

[Steve]

I assume that by now someone has pointed out to JGF (first comment) that he has confused Teddy and Frankin Roosevelt?

[S. Hecht]

To John Gregory Flinn: Your history is abysmal. The man you are describing is Franklin D Roosevelt, not Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt became president upon the assassination of McKinley (in 1901); prior to being McKinley's VP (and, incidentally, following McKinley's death, the youngest president ever, at age 42) he was a hunter and fisherman, a conservationist, led the charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, was the first honest police commissioner that New York City ever had, served a term as governor of New York and, yes, is the fellow for whom the Teddy bear was named, among other things. He was elected on his own merits in 1909, but chose not to run again immediately afterwards, leading to the election of Taft (we're speaking of Republicans here, by the by). But Roosevelt found himself disagreeing vehemently with Taft on a number of things, and so formed his own party (The Bullmoose Party), which led to the division of the traditional Republican vote and the election of Woodrow Wilson.
During his two terms as president, Teddy Roosevelt built up the Navy, won a Nobel Peace Prize (1905) for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War, designated dozens of national forests and parks (his conservationist credentials), and is probably best remembered for his advice to "Speak softly and carry a big stick".
And to Carlin: On the contrary, from all of the biographies I've read on Teddy Roosevelt I think he would have found a sympathetic soul in Palin.

[Peter Southampton]

McCain and Palin look by the day more and more like puppets of the neocons.
How terrible!

[chris]

John McCain had to pick Gov Palin as his VP. She is the only other decent, down-to-earth, trustworthy politician in the US. She has also revealved a deep-seated and fairly despecable misogyny that exists at the heart of US politics

[john]

McCain seems to think that as long as Palin has a uterus and a gun she is qualifed.

In the first place he thinks women are stupid enough to vote only for gender and not issues. Second, this gun toting mama is the perfect image to excite his base--Christian Zionists who sublimate their sexual drives into violent behavior.

I doubt the coat of arms of the uterus and the gun will catch on; then again, who knows? With a subservient media and the right propaganda anything is possible.

[Mark]

John: Theodore Roosevelt was our 26th president. You're referencing Franklin Roosevelt, our 32nd president. My question now is: are you a European ignoramous or a product of America's public school system?

Palin's biggest challenge will be understanding the difference between Alaskans and most people from the lower 48 - Alaskans do for themselves, most people from the lower 48 expect the government to take care of them. Having been there, Alaskans are vastly more self-reliant than are most Americans. Is she ready to run a country of takers rather than doers? I don't know.

[DC]

No, John Gregory Flinn, that would be the Teddy Roosevelt that died 22 years before Pearl Harbour.

[Pat Flynn]

Dear John Gregory Flinn,

You are disgracing our (mutual) family name.

Teddy Roosevelt was not President in the thirties, that was Franklin Roosevelt.

Sort of shows the rest of your diatribe up for the rubbish it is.

[john gethin]

In response to John Gregory - no - You're thinking of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt was, FDR's father-in-law, further evidence that presidential succession likes to be kept in the family. Credit to Teddy though, he was a bold statesman who stood up to corruption in big-business, seemingly focussed more on fighting battles internally during a period of relative isolationism for the US. Like McCain he was an unorthodox political thinker. Benign patriachy seemed to be his thing, if there could be space for such a model in the twentieth century. McCain could certainly do worse than use him a role model in this campaign, he suggests an assuredness of experience and sense of duty, combined with an honest warmth that the Roosevelt's seemed always able to evoke. I see no signs that the media will be so kind as to grant him this, however, Obama is just so much more NOW!

[Kris Langley]

John G. Flinn?

No. That wouldn't be "the Teddy Roosevelt who..."

Those were attributable to President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 - 1945)... who, when faced with a US Supreme Court that pushed-back against the Constitutionality of his semi-socialist agenda in the mid-1930s, proposed adding additional justices to the Court (i.e. increasing its number of Associate Justices) until he had a majority either agreeing with him, or 'owing their position on the Court, to him'.

[Kate]

John Gregory Flinn
The answer would be - No.
FRANKLIN Roosevelt was president in 1940 NOT Teddy.
I am reserving judgement regarding Sarah Palin, but leaning in her direction.
I don't agree with everything she does, but I am heartened that she balances her beliefs with fairness. For example: She doesn't believe in gay marriage, but vetoed an attempt to withhold benefits from gay couples. That speaks volumes. She is far less frightening than those who disagree, believing that they are the only ones who are right and we should all live by their credo.
As regards a term which has been bandied about with increasing frequency. The term 'Redneck' refers to someone who does physical labor for a living such as farmers, ranchers, fishermen. You know, the ones who put food on all of our tables. It is an honorable thing to be.
How many of you were virgins on your wedding day? The level of hypocrisy is astounding. The only reason Bristol's pregnancy was announced was to put the rumour of Trig's parentage to rest.
Take a look at Scotland's fight to have a say on the fishing policy that pertains to their waters if you don't believe negotiating a treaty with another country contstitutes foreign policy exeperience. If it doesn't, then why are the unionists screaming that it is not within Alex Salmond's remit to do so? Can't have it both ways.

[Kris Langley]

John @ 12:23:11

Actually, part of the energization of our Party that has ocurred with this choice has come from watching the lower primates throwing their feces in rage - as evidenced by comments like yours -- at the perceived co-opting of identity politics.

[Bill Peter]

McCain is like Kevin Smith, the film director - and me. He finds women in spectacles attractive. Just look at Selma Hayek in "Dogma", and Shannon Elizabeth in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", although I'm sure that he'd disapprove of the films, at least in public.

[Guy Thompson]

As usual Daniel has got to the nub of the matter in an objective and pragmatic manner - in this case simply by quoting the views of another commentator across the pond. I agree fully with the assessment of why McCain picked Palin - a cursory glance at her CV would have shown that Hillary voters would not like her; so that can't be the reason for the pick. She is, however, a real crusader against the "snouts in the trough" behaviour that all too regularly goes hand in hand with politics and political appointments. Much the same can be said for McCain. The fact that she also brings the conservative right with her probably didn't go unnoticed by McCain either as he struggles with that constituency - but it would not have been the over-arching strategic rationale otherwise Huckabee would have got the nod.

Some of the comments regarding her being a feminist are somewhat confused and hypocritical. Millions of families round the world operate a system where both parents work; why is she suddenly a cold, selfish, remote and uncaring mother? I also understand that Todd stays at home a fair bit and helps out on the childcare front...but maybe I misunderstand feminism and actually what's good for the everyman is not good for the politician in these people's eyes - to mangle a proverb.

A final comment to the first poster: get the right Roosevelt before you start blathering on about atomic bombs, oil blockades and Stalin - Teddy Roosevelt died in 1919. And to the poster who suggested that Teddy would never have had Palin on his ticket - are you an expert in VP selection of the early twentieth century - because I doubt anyone other than a bonafide historian or a person alive and voting in 1901 would have the faintest clue who Teddy would have had on his ticket. In fact he probably would have loved Palin - after all he is the President who said, I think, "Walk softly but carry a big stick!"

[Tanya]

John Gregory Flinn, you seem to have confused your Roosevelts. Teddy Roosevelt was long gone by WWII.

[JOHN CHUCKMAN, TORONTO]

Well said, Anne Kent.

Palin is like something from another planet, and on top of everything else, she sounds like one of those bizarre Arayan militia types in the woods of Idaho.

Any association of McCain and ethics is strictly coincidental:

JOHN MCCAIN: A MATTER OF CHARACTER

McCain does a good job with the appearance of a boyishly honest man.

He puts on his quiet voice and uses his boyish (albeit now partially fossilized) expressions and, reminding me of Richard Nixon during his Checkers speech, sometimes glances down at his well-shined shoes, as though wordlessly to say, see what a good boy I am.

McCain’s actual record of ethics and behavior is rather dreary, and it is a subject which mysteriously eludes treatment in mainline media which seem always ready to treat trivia like flag pins. There are many parallels of insensitivity, anger, aggression, limited capacities, and grotesque humor with George Bush.

McCain was, quite simply, a nasty brat as a young man. There are many stories of the way he bullied others, including teachers, stories perhaps easy to make light of fifty years later, but not funny if you were his victim and, more importantly, all too similar to stories of his adult behavior. He was a poor student. He always took advantage of being the son and grandson of admirals to get away with his sometimes vicious antics and failures.

Despite his favorite public act as boyish fighter pilot, he apparently remains an often nasty man in private. Many fellow politicians, including Republicans, testify to his furious, spluttering temper and the use of the most obscene words to friends and work associates with whom he is unhappy. There is also the story, related by a Republican, of his sudden physical attack on a member of the government of Nicaragua during a Congressional mission.

When McCain’s being shot down in Vietnam is discussed, the fact that he was bombing civilians is almost never mentioned. He's just lucky he survived. He might well have been torn limb from limb had he been a Vietnamese pilot shot down in Texas.

How did he survive being shot down? After all, he landed in a body of water and he was hurt. A group of local villagers, and one Vietnamese man in particular, Mai Van On, left their bomb shelters and pulled McCain from the water where he would certainly have drowned otherwise.

That brave and decent Vietnamese man, whom McCain once acknowledged, died recently, a very disheartened man that McCain never showed any real sign of thanks or reciprocity. His wife has spoken to the press on this. After all, in many cultures, someone’s saving your life creates a powerful bond or debt, but apparently not for John McCain.

Apart from some fitting communication from the man who went on to become famous, imagine how even a little money order from this well-off man could have altered the lives of those who saved him?

When McCain returned home to the wife who had waited for him for the five and a half years he was in prison, he discovered his wife had been in a terrible car accident in which she was disfigured.

Instead of compassion and loyalty, McCain started a series of affairs, ending with wealthy future wife Cindy.

He left his crippled wife to marry the money. It was a pretty shabby display, reminiscent of Newt Gingrich’s telling a wife dying of cancer he was divorcing her, but it did considerably help finance his political career.

During the great savings-and-loan scandals, McCain was at the center, having got a lot of money and favors from (to-be convicted felon) Charles Keating.

McCain’s second wife, Cindy, was a drug addict, by her own admission. She also stole a large quantity of drugs from a charity for which she did volunteer work to feed her habit, an act which would earn you or me hard time in prison in Bush's America.

You do have to ask about the mental state of a woman who is said to be worth $300 million yet who steals the drugs she craves.

But Cindy got off with a slap on the wrist, thanks in part to the efforts of her husband. This law-and-order conservative, this defender of the hard line in the war on drugs, saw nothing wrong in using his influence. No insistence here that Cindy do the time that he and Bush insist on, and snigger over, for young black men caught with modest quantities of cocaine.

Cindy, in her efforts to soften her brittle Bergdorf Goodman image – or whatever expensive store it is in New York to which she regularly flies to buy racks of clothes - and connect with average Americans, also had the minor flap of being caught misrepresenting other people’s recipes as her own. Integrity does not appear to be a strong McCain family value.

Recently McCain had a hard time remembering how many houses he and Cindy owned. Does anyone believe that that is the kind of personal matter someone forgets? If he was indeed being honest, then almost certainly Alzheimer’s has set in. More likely though, he was not being honest, trying to deflect an embarrassing question. The latest count on the houses is eight.

McCain, in 2000, told us exactly what he really thinks of the Religious Right. After all, he is known as a rather irreligious, worldly man. He did endear himself to many as he lambasted the Religious Right’s nasty, inappropriate influence in American politics, but practically the next day, he was crawling around on his belly, saying he was sorry, having quickly realized what he had done to his political ambitions.

And that last pattern has been typical of McCain's entire public career. Shoot off his mouth, make big noises about being tough and honest, and then crawl back quietly shortly afterward, having achieved nothing but adding a notch to the reputation he relishes as a maverick.

Of course, there never has been a bombing run McCain did not eagerly support. He embraces enthusiastically, consistently, all war measures, no matter how weak or foolish the reasons used to support them. That’s why Lieberman, supposedly a Democrat, supports McCain so enthusiastically, Lieberman being another man who never saw a bombing run he did not like nor an excuse too flimsy to support one.

As for McCain’s humor, nothing so reveals him for the mild psychopath that he is.

The sense his humor conveys, at least a good deal of it, is very much along the lines of what Bush's humor conveys.

As, for example, the time Bush made some twisted comment and facial expressions to reporters about the pitiful woman he refused to stay from execution in Texas despite her pleas as a converted Christian.
Or Bush's comment to reporters in Chicago when, not long after 9/11, he joked about having "won the trifecta" with his new-found popularity.

Or the story from an acquaintance of his youth about his favorite stunt, repeated many times over, of shoving lit firecrackers into the mouths of captured frogs and watching them blow up.

The disgusting nature of some of McCain’s jokes is summarized here:
http://timesonline.typepad.com/uselections/2008/08/to-his-supporte.html

After eight years of Bush’s incompetence and stupid brutality, are we to have another man as president reflecting many of the same qualities and views?

One recent poll showed that while nearly ninety percent of Republicans would support McCain, only seventy-three percent of Hillary Clinton’s supporters would support Obama. These disaffected voters should examine closely the character of the man for whom they may vote in protest.

John McCain is certainly well aware of them. He just picked a soccer mom from Alaska as his candidate for vice president.

He does not even know the woman. There is only one big reason for this choice, and that is to appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters in what is expected to be a close election.

How cynical that McCain dangles an unknown woman as a lure for the votes of certain women. That is the truest sexism.

[John Gregory Flinn]

Oops!
I stand corrected!

[Mr Evilwrench]

The only reason the Republicans HAVE to try to "put a good spin on it" is the 'rats have spun absolutely off their axles over this, and their lapdog leftstream media, cheering section for the post turtle Obama, search desperately for motes in her eye while willfully ignoring the logs their messiah sports.

[Joe]

Governor Sarah Palin appeals to me and many other Americans for a number of reasons. She represents a real person who we common Americans can relate to. She is not the typical life time, smooth talking, poll driven, egotistical politician. She is not the type politician who does not understand, much less respect, the view of the average American.

The elation of many Americans over Palin may be an acknowledgment that we recognize the government in DC is broken. We want true reformers who have the guts to change, fix, or eliminate a government program is not working effectively. We are looking for politicians who are willing to shrink government in DC and grow accountability at the local level. We are looking for politicians who are not dependant on handouts and earmarks for approval and votes. Palin is one of those politicians.

The fact that she is pro-life, pro-family, and pro-gun rights, make her all the more appealing to many Americans. It easy to discard something, even a life, you do not want it. But easy does not equate to right, just ask many of those who have done so. Palin has the courage to do what is right. I've read that many people in England regret giving their guns to a government that cannot keep guns from the punks running in their streets. I bet those punks would be less bold if they knew the citizens of Great Britain could be armed and motivated to defend themselves and their families.

Someday, I hope to have the opportunity to eat moose stew. I understand it is a healthy dish and pretty tasty. Do they have moose in the UK?

[beldujour]

"Is that the Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour[...]" No, John Gregory Flinn, the Teddy Roosevelt of whom you're thinking is a completely different Teddy Roosevelt -- so different that he was called Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was president of the US a couple of decades after the Teddy Roosevelt to whom Mr. Finkelstein refers.

[Dave Jared]

Some of you here are absolute proof that McCain's choice for a running mate was nothing short of brilliant! If she's the "awful," cynical choice you claim her to be, you all SHOULD be dancing in the streets and toasting each other with champaign over your good fortune and the "assurance" of an Obama victory in November. That you are doing no such thing, but are instead launching these vicious attacks on her and even her children, is ample proof that the choice was nothing short of brilliant because it represents the death-knell to the far left's ambitions. The only "poll" that counts is the one in November. See y'all at the swearing in of the McCain/Palin ticket in January.

[Mike]

The "Bridge to Nowhere" scandal has become quite a political football and is a great example of how sound bites drive political momentum. Facts are so distorted that few people have any idea what it really is. The bridge is from Ketchikan (the 7th largest city in Alaska, and 3rd largest in SE Alaska) to Gravina Island (with a heavily reported population of 50 - thus the Bridge to Nowhere moniker). The fact that Ketchikan's airport is located on this island is rarely reported. The fact that that Ketchikan is not accessible by any road system makes access to the airport critical. So, take the twice-a-day ferry if you need to get to or from the airport (and hope there are no emergencies that could require immediate access)... or build a bridge. The bottom line is that the bridge is a good idea, but at what cost? It's an economic equation. That Palin supported the bridge initially, but backed off when the cost estimates doubled is sound judgement. That she used the political language of the bridge opponents to her advantage after making the right decision on the bridge shows she's savvy. I like her.

[gromanski]

Sara Palin is a joke, hoist by her own petard. She would not even allow a rape victim to abort the fetus, nor allow a woman to save her own life by aborting a dangerous pregnancy. Worse, when God has given us modern science and the ability to determine that a fetus is afflicted with a serious disease, Governor Palin would force that woman to bring the pregnancy to term. Thus when her own baby was found to suffer from Down Syndrome, she chose to bring the child into the world. Sarah Palin has been known to try to get the local librarian to ban certain books not favored by the Religious Right. She is a strict Creationist, rejecting the sciences of geology, biology, and genetics. She is scary religious, fanatical even, and not too tolerant of others. Thus has candidate McCain fully repudiated the Senator McCain I once respected.

[Sylvia]

For all of you who think that the McPain combo will be good for America, please write back in 4 years when the world is absolutely kicking our butts because of the continuing "cowboy" foreign policy.
We will suffer when McCain dies and this woman takes office. Wait and see.

[Dave]

There's a glitch somewhere. I'm not a spamer. I'm an old guy in Texas with an attatude.
DD

What a joke...These two sure shows everyone the kind of traditional and moral values US people have. What next? That he's gay.

What a joke...These two sure shows everyone the kind of traditional and moral values US people have. What next? That he's gay.

[OldBithead]

When I see how vicious the liberal left media is in going after Governor Palin I realized that McCain made the right choice. The liberal establishment news media is totally in the tank for Obama as Lou Dobbs attests to. Sarah Palin is a huge asset for the Republicans and may well put them in the White House once again. The press will stop at nothing to destroy her.
Because of the press reaction to her nomination I will now vote for McCain whereas before I was going to vote for "None of the Above".

[max west]

Teddy Roosevelt was US President approximately three decades before Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

[Poor Richard]

Mr. Flinn: Teddy Roosevelt was president from 1901-1909 AD. As in the Teddy Roosevelt who established the U.S.'s first national parks, among many, many other things, and acted according to the dictates of his conscience regardless of what everyone else thought. The one who said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." THAT Teddy Roosevelt. (http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/timeline.htm, in case your interested.) I hope education is close to the top of the next president's to-do list.

[James]

Only people that think Palin is awful are liberals and they only think that because the liberal leadership told them to think that. Liberals seem to be the real lemmings here.

[Hek]

I looked into the eyes of then Gov. Bush and knew what kind of president he'd be. I was not wrong. I've looked into the eyes of John MCcain and know in my heart, that with his age, temperament and politically calculated decisions he will make a lousy president and we are all doomed to repeat and worsen our country around the world. Americans are being duped with religion and fear "Country first" means us against them) to make the wrong choices again. I was right then, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that I'm right now.

[Kathy]

I love Sarah Palin. I hadn't donated a dime to any political campaign and didn't think I could support either party. Obama talked a good talk until I discovered he sat in a hate church for 20 years. Then I read about his 'community organizing' and his ties to a convicted felon Tony Rezko who helped him buy is house. Obama was the best gift to the corrupt politicians in Chicago, funneling millions of tax payer dollars into 'fixing up southside Chicago' which turned out to be so substandard, they were uninhabitable slums. When the people living there (very poor) filed suit to get HEAT in winter, then lawyer Obama defended the construction company owned by Tony Rezko. Some 'organization' but I don't think it's a 'community'.

On the heels of this discovery, Obama took his European tour. Our national media were falling all over themselves in sycophantic fawning. And now they are covering up the records for Obama's only executive experience working for the Annenberg Foundation. What's so damaging in those files besides Obama's close ties to the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers?

In all this, McCain announces Sarah Palin. Who? I asked. Then I looked into her bio. She's not the wife of a millionaire nor the daughter of a politician. She's gotten to her current position as governor on her own steam and over the rotten corpses of corrupt politicians. She is the American dream. She exemplifies what American women can achieve! What's not to like? Her religion has in no way been pushed in her current executive role, but look on this thread - the Christianophobes are out en masse crying the sky is falling. So afraid of a Christian? Why?

Oh PUHLEASE. She's the only reformer on the ticket, and I wrote her a check and I will vote for her - if McCain benefits - so be it. He went up in my estimation tenfold when he selected her.

Now Obama and democrats are worried about experience. LOL! So they include his presidential campaign as experience in his CV. He's never done anything except in his own self interest. While he was going along with Chicago's Daley corrupt political machine, Sarah Palin was cleaning up Alaska.

Three years on the panel overseeing the majority of America's oil and gas resources is just one of her needed attributes. And the media never mention it? What's a free press for if it is co-opted by one of our political parties? All they want to do is make it painful for her and force her from the race. If she's such a bad choice, why bother? It isn't, and that's why all the raving on the left.

The choice of Sarah Palin will win this election for John McCain, and she will be the first woman President. She's our Thatcher.

A woman who has fished (setnet fishing) in grizzly bear country won't be afraid of the attacks on her by the ethically-deprived media.

Palinsanity will end the 'democrats are for women' myth once and for all.

[CommonTater]

If the US wants a conservative, gun-toting Christian grandma in the White House, let's tear up the Declaration of Independence and join the British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II has served in the armed forces, is "Defender of the Faith," and has 56 years of experience as a head of state. I'd feel a lot safer under Queen Elizabeth's rule than under Sarah Palin's.

[Fool]

John Gregory Flinn, you've got your Roosevelts in a twist.

[Dave Livingston]

Because nearly 39 years ago I took a bullet to my noggin during our little dustup in Indochina I don't appreciate the implication made by one poster about John McCain that merely because John's a mite over the hill and was engaged in intense combat that he(& I) is necessarily nutty. That's the arrogance of one who's never faced an enemy on a battlefield.

In my opinion, John made an outstanding choice of running mate in Sarah Palin.

Hailing from Christian smalltown Kansas I Catholic & Pro-Life was a hunter & fisherman most of my life before Viet-Nam & therefore my cultural roots are not dissimilar to her's. Although not a Republican, there's no doubt about for whom I'm going to vote: John & Sarah.

As Peggy Noonan recently noted, there are 262 cities in America of 100,000 or more, but there are nearly 100,000 small towns of 10,000 or fewer people. Ergo, America's culturally a land of the small town values Obama went out of his way to mock.

[Gunther Steinberg]

It tells us that he has been told to secure the Christian Right, which otherwise might stay home. That he is no longer his own man,but does what the party pros tel him to say. He might as well have chosen Mr. Huckabee as VP.

Palin may become another Eagleton, a VP designate who had to resign after some unpleasant facts came to light, and McGovern had to quickly get a new VP on his ticket: Sargent Shriver.

[All is fine]

God bless America. Without USA, the world would be a dark place to live. I like Mrs. Palin. God bless American Women who have guts. Go Sara. Kick these girly men's butts.

[laurel clark]

Palin is a Feminist Dinosaur. A throwback to 1952. Am I supposed to be impressed that she has 5 kids yet still works a demanding high profile job? I would be if she did both jobs WELL! Her personal life is a mess and frankly it is a viable issue to discuss. It reflects McCains judgement in picking her and her judgement accepting a nomination to the second most important job in our Country while her responsibility should be to her special needs infant and pregant teenage daughter. You can't propose we ALL live the Religious Right life but then pass your challenges off to others so you can pursue Political glory. I want a women in the White House, a qualified, experienced, smart,liberated one! Like Hillary.

[lawhite]

You've got the wrong Roosevelt, John Flinn.
I wonder when they are going to discuss Obama's shady political dealings in Illinois? The Democrats are so scared of Palin they spread all sorts of stupid rumors to bring her down, but what Obama did in Illinois is not rumor. We shall see what happens.
Bush is the worst president we have ever had, and that has hurt Republicans immensely, but the majority of people in the US are conservative. As deeply as the feeling runs against Bush, Obama should have a far greater lead than he has, especially since they paint McCain as another Bush. But I think McCain is a different kind of man and will react differently...he will be his own man. With Palin on the ticket, I believe they will prove to be more in touch with the average voter.

[north of the 49th]

I had the opportunity to watch Palin tonight. Given my wife is an American, I watch closely to see which way the country turns. I listened as Romney spoke and the crowd chanted. I heard shades of 1936 and another group who spoke of the might and the right and the ones chosen to lead, the superior group. I tuned out and came back for Palin. As a hockey Mom, which by the way, is not the all American sport, she put it well, she is a pit bull with lipstick. Pit bulls are killers with no regard for others, just trainable to seek out and destroy, at least they are when put in the wrong hands. I have known many kind and beautiful pits, none of them wore lipstick and they all had a purpose. Again coming from north of the border, I need to understand the American rhetoric about oil. If the oil is coming from these evil people, is that what they think of Canada. We are the largest single supplier of oil and gasoline to the US. Fox News pointed out that her international affairs experience comes from dealing with Russia. That would be the same Russia that was identified as holding the European nations hostage with oil? Did Fox not look at a map and see Canada holding onto Alaska so it will not float across the Straight? Palin had no substance in the speech. She did make some great pit bull faces though. God help the world if the Republicans get elected.

[Pat from Texas]

As a bit of history On Franklin Roosevelt before my remarks on Obama - MCain/Palin
The English wanted us to enter WWII long before we did, but the American people saw the 1st WW as a European argument that cost them their sons. England, France, Germany, etc had been fighting over European land and leadership for centuries - it was one of the reasom many immigrants went to the New World - to get away from you. I was very young when I watched England being bombed and wanted to help, but I had no sons to donate to European quarrels. Well, it was inevitable and right, but you have to realize our slowness was due to European arguments. We had foolishly thought the first WWI would end all wars (I sat through a lot of boring school speeches telling me so). So, we were not prepared. Too bad. Churchill is still my only hero.

As for Palin-MCain vs. Obama. McCain is really the least bad of a bad choice.
Obama is an empty suit. Listen to his "deep" thoughts when he has no prepared speeches. He says uh, uh, uh, uh, then, something that dances around and doesn't answer.

He is also a leftist, dishonest - he denies his background and is a great equivocator. He will give you three different answers to the same question in five minutes.

His leftist radical friends of 20 years have tinted his thinking - he is the most liveral man in congress - and certainly have influenced his wife who wears the pants - it was she who wanted to sit in that church and listen to garbage for 20 years - he dare not say that. She has a grudge against America and is an angry woman.
Obama has bewitched some Americans by his speeches, but not all. The kids (all the young people whom he has recruited) think he is "hot". They don't care what his change is about - they really haven't a clue. Ask them to tell you one thing he has accomplished. They can't. His following is truly based on hysteria.
Part of that is the hatred between the two parties because of the Clinton farce, the election the dems believe was stolen, and a thirst to get out of the "back benches" at any cost.
Neither party has chosen the best man - each has chosen the one they thought would "win" an election. (They did the same with Bush and Kerry).
Once a man might have been judged by his statesmanship - not now. He is judged by his power to raise money and be flashy - i.e. to win.

Obama is fiscally unsound, the foolisheness of consulting the Europeans - ridiculous. Look at NATO. Look at the UN. Hopeless.
I dread to think of a world where Obama negotiates with Russia. They'd eat him alive.

He is also stupid about oil. It is easy to say - get rid of it, but you can't do it without replacing it - and he is against the atom, drilling. He evidently thinks wind and corn - which is a disaster - is the answer. Not.
He is all show - no sense. Had he any sense he wouldn't pull stupid stunts like the show in Berlin - the Greek columns in the stadium. He is an arrogant, conceited egomaniac. I'd have thought you Europeans would have had enough egomaniacs with Hitler.

The democratic party will also ruin the constitution - they believe in activism where the judges make the laws.

Obama's programs sound good - but are financially bad news for the economy which affects yours also. You don't really want Obama.

He sounds great - he is an empty suit.

So, Sarah Palin is the only thing that can get the Republicans excited about voting. She's tough, smart, and able. Your own M. Thatcher had no experience when she took over either. Palin can learn - she's sharp.

Comething you cannot say for any of the rest of them.

Pat, Texas

[Anthony L]

When we hear Obama ... more of the same... about the current Us govt. Well, one thing is certain with McCain and Palin, it will not be more of the same, as they do not care who stands in front of them. I think that they should win, to clean up the USA.

[Shirley]

Err, Pat from Texas
I'm sure a deluge of people will point this out to you BUT when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 she had been, amongst other things

An MP for twenty years
In the Shadow Cabinet for three years (1967-1970)
Minister for Education from 1970-1974
Leader of the Opposition for five years (parliamentary debates, PMQs, the whole schmeer)
There is, however, no evidence that she knew how to skin a moose.

Apologies if some of this information is incomplete or incorrect but I hope the point stands.

[Marcel]

One thing strikes me as somewhat, well, maybe hypocritical would be too strong, but - inconsistent.

On the one hand, the Republicans are quick to point out any "sexism" when Palin is being criticised for, for example, putting her run for VP over bringing up her children. At the same time however you can't fail to notice the "oh wow she's a woman!"-factor in their own attitude. And buttons that say "the hottest candidate from the coldest state"? I mean, that's just asking for it. If they're playing the card-Palin as an attractive-looking young(ish)woman, expect to be judged by that standard.

I personally couldn't care less if she's a man or a woman; candidates should be judged by merit. She has little. No clue about the rest of the world (the rest of the USA?), anti-everything except guns and the bible. Great Republican, though.

[Wyatt Earp]

The single telling point about these comments and the election is that the Nobama supporters never scream about their candidate's qualifications..... telling... They realize what Palin and Giuliani spoke of - he is the least experienced candidate for President of the last 100 years.

[Ben]

Sorry, John Gregory Flinn, it's not the same Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour, encouraged a reluctant America to wage war on Germany and then Japan, funded the development of three atom bombs for use against the Axis and, finally, allowed the athiestic-communist tyrant Stalin to occupy and oppress much of Europe.

That was Franklin D. Roosevelt, a different president.

[Teddy's ghost]

Phew! Glad we got that Roosevelt business cleared up.

[Lynne]

North of the 49th:

As a conservative I'm going to vote for McCain/Palin, but I think you've made an excellent point. Canada is our largest supplier of oil. My guess is most Americans don't know this. Our liberal media and politicians doesn't enlighten us on this point, and conservatives aren't shouting it out either. It seems to me our whole conversation about oil and our role in the world would change if US citizens understood where our oil comes from. I don't know why both sides of the aisle persist in this willful blindness. Does anyone?

[Jo Jo]

I'm a working mother but my kids don't come last. I work with disabled children so know a bit about Down Syndrome.

The 17 year old Bailey, scared and carrying a baby with a Mum who may well not have really asked her what she wants to do needs her mother right now, not publicity and pointing fingers.

The baby, Trig with so many consultations with specialists needs his mother right now. Dads are important too, but in the families I work with, both parents need to pull together at hard times not one go off to seek power - bad timing Sarah!

Frankly, a breast pump doesn't replace a breast.

This lady is scary as no, she doesn't do it all - she does the most important part of it seemingly not very well at all, as she may well not have the time to give those whom she brought onto this earth the support they need.

[Pip]

Great, just great, Americans will be encouraged to increase their already soaring population due to the family values of no abortion or sex ed or even contracepton . They will then have to use more than the 25% of the worlds resources they already use for the 5% of people who live in the USA. And when they need something else they will use all the money spent on the military (the worlds biggest military budget) to go out and get it. Not hearing sustainability here or any engagement with the issue of climate change .
I just hope "God" doesn't tell Republicans to keep going to war. War is always a nice distraction from the problems at home which are and will be many. It really is America first and the devil take the rest of you isn't it.The sort of American that doesn't own a passport or get news about places beyond the State line is the sort of American with a narrow perspective. Such a shame.

[Yitzhak Klein]

To 1st talkbacker, no, that's the other Roosevelt. The one who kept Hitler from conquering your Island. He could have minded his own business of course . . .

There's a political quality called "genuine." It means actually meaning the values you bring to politics, sounding like them and connecting to the voters on their basis. Palin has it in a way that none of the other three--Obama, McCain, Biden--quite do. For the rest of this campaign one of the underlying questions is whether Obama does. Obama's voters admire him. Palin's voters will like--simply like--her. Which is the greater electoral asset? I think it's easier for a candidate who's admired rather than liked to get appointed president of a university than elected President of the United States.

[mark in KY]

She could be our president if the old mule Mcnobrain falls over dead. I don't think so- she is just another Martha Stewart wanna be hockey mom who is no more evangelical than George (killem all dead) Bush. The world should know the infrastructure of the USA is rapidly deteriorating and the Bush government has made it almost impossible to win an election. 8 more years of Arab ethnic cleansing, supporting Georgia when we should be helping Russia, God before logic or compassion and the FBI tracing every call to find a Biblical connection to prove Armageddon . Democracy ? Oh where have you gone my love.....for you are no where to be found among us.

[VJ from Ohio]

I am a single mother whose professional job was eliminated and whose home will likely go into foreclosure. She said nothing I could identify with. I thought she would mention families who have down syndrome kids and no health insurance. Instead she paraded her poor child out there like a political prop.

I do not find a problem with her having a pregnant daughter in high school but I do object to the hypocrisy of acting like you are so driven by family values.

And as a professional speaker, that snarky, sneering, sarcastic tone made her sound classless. She needs lessons from Condoleeza Rice.

[Dan Orton]

John Gregory Flinn, I think you are confusing Republican Theodore Roosevelt, who died in 1919, with the Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, who was US President during WWII.

[Orion]

"Is that the Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour, encouraged a reluctant America to wage war on Germany and then Japan..."

Uh...no, that would be Franklen Delano Roosevelt, a nephew of Teddy Roosevelt, who blockaded oil supplies to Japan in response to the invasion of Manchuria and the Rape of Nanking, thus giving the Japanese an excuse to attack Pearl Harbour, which they were going to have to do anyway because what they really wanted were the Dutch Java oil fields.

Buying oil to fuel their war machine was bankrupting the Japanese. They wanted to seize the oil reserves in Java because these were close to home and were of such purity and quality that the crude could be pumped directly out of the ground and into their ships' fuel bunkers. That however would have meant war with the US because of treaty obligations between the Netherlands and the US. They had to destroy the US fleet before they could take the oil fields so war with the US was inevitable, even w/o a US oil embargo.

Thanks for playing.

[debby]

good lord! he met this woman one time only, and only talked to he one more time before asking her to be his running mate.
he clearly thinks women only wants to vote for a woman! does he think we are that stupid? i guess his pick means yes.
doesn't she have enough to deal with at home?do you really think she won't bring any of that to work?

while she was walking around "talking to the people", her smallest dauther followed her around yammering the entire time, she could even talk to any of the people, because this little girl had to have mommys attention. i hope to hell nothing happens to him if he becomes president, because clearly she couldn't controll her daughter at a very important event, when all of her attention should have been talking to the people of the USA.
before i even picked the person i wanted to vote for, I went to their website and read for myself, how they felt about certain issues i was interested in. McCain backed Bush 100 0/0, then as Bushes ratings dropped, so did mccains ideas about what he said in the beginning. hell its completely diff. now! no thanks!
i believe everything he stated in the beginning is how he still feels.
and I don't want a pres. that says "theres nothing left to talk about" when it comes to war.
i also believe, when a country asks you to leave.....do it dumbie!
we are spilling millions of dollars a day into iraq, while they sit on 50 billion???? we need this money at home, and we surely don't need other countries to buy up our debt.
i also don't want a pres. who's wife refuses to show her income taxes, and says its none of our business. when it clearly states, the pres. and mate has to show.

[Pat from Texas]

You're right of course about Maggie Thatcher. That was dumb of me. Sorry. I had even watched a bio of her.

And I love England. Have been there twice and wish I could have stayed for a couple of years.

Sometimes I wonder if your English system of government - less the Queen - might work better than ours. At least you don't have four years and billions of dollars for campaigning. And you can kick the guy out if you don't like him.

What a joy!
As for Sarah and her problems,
with my generation, women were ostracized - their lives ruined - for out-of-wedlock babies and often killed by quack doctors trying to get rid of the problem. I would not like to go back to that, yet, it is very troubling to see the number of babies killed and the methods. I doubt that the law will ever solve this problem. Law can't solve moral issues, can it?

Palin's young daughter is in an uncomfortable situation - but then it was she who had the sex.

The youngest daughter was personality plus, wasn't she? She just loved that crowd. Adorable.

When the women's liberation threw the baby of social and moral limitations out with the basket, calling them hypocritical, they set up this situation where nothing is wrong, nothing is immoral, just do your thing. The world can't work like that. Too many people doing stupid things. We need moral values.

It is good to give your children all your love and care and be there, but children today are treated as though they each are the center of the world. And they believe they are. A little old-fashioned responsibility to the family - the nation even - is due.
Character building.

I don't see that the daughter's mistake should halt the mother's life. Actions have consequences.

I am not a bible-literalist but there has to be some standards, some middle way.

For now, I'm willing to put up with the right because we have gone too far left.

Too much "I have the right" and not enough "I have responsibilities that should guide those rights."

Sarah Palin knows her family, her husband and her own heart. I am willing to give her the benefit of that before I judge her on the downs-baby.

I rather think a Vice President is not overworked - she might have plenty of time to be home.

And, she did take on the oil companies, the system. The only thing Baraq has take on is the convenience of avoiding a vote on a tough subject.

Oh, and Hillary - but then his pride is easily wounded - he didn't really reject his racist pastor until the pastor insulted him personally. She was a threat to him personally.

Pat from Texas

[tom]

He "Mark in KY" very funny comment about the McNobrain!

Troop Surge! That was pretty smart if you ask me! Your guy Obama wanted troops out, and was a big opponent of it. If we would have left Iraq we would have left the country in the hands of religious fanatics hell-bent on killing westerners, or infidels as we are so affectionately called (that's us in case you were wondering). If that was the case then the War in Iraq truly would have been a big waste of human lives, and serve zero purpose.

I must point out, that your guy Obama dodged the question when asked about the Troop Surge (well how could we have known that it was going to work). Is this the kind of politics we can look forward to from Obama if he should win the presidential election. Shoot first then back pedal later.

If he had any kind of leadership or military experience he might have known that the Troop Surge was the only way to gain a foot hold in Iraq and beat Al Qaeda. Thus, bringing a resolution to the conflict! As a result of the Troop Surge, the War in Iraq is close to being WON! Unheard of a few years ago! I'm not a pro war guy, but I do believe we need to finish what we started over there.

Therefore on the big issues of this election, and the biggest being the war in Iraq, McCain is one for one! Your guy, Obama, is zero for one!
Who's the dummy now?

[Pat from Texas]

About oil (and the Japanese oil & atom bomb)

Some of us do know that we get our oil from Canada, but if the US were self-sufficient, your oil would be available to Europe which now gets it's oil from Russia. The extra oil would probably bring down the price a great deal because you still have the Arab mix of oil.

It would be a good thing for the world if we were independent with oil.

It could also prevent many quarrels that we now get mixed up in.

As for WWII and keeping the oil from Japan - part of that was because of the war they were waging on the Chinese. If we had not gotten into a Japanese war, they would have continued their fight until all of the Far East was theirs. They almost made it, didn't they?

As for the bomb - did you know the Japanese were not only working on an atom bomb, they were working on germ warfare and had very new advanced airplanes that would have blasted ours out of the sky?

My husband was in four of those invasions - at Pearl when it started and was on Okinawa when it finished. From Okinawa, it would have been Japan. Millions of our men would not have made it home.

Actions have consequences.

Pat from Texas

[Baron Hannsz]

Another poster asked,
"Is that the Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour, encouraged a reluctant America to wage war on Germany and then Japan, funded the development of three atom bombs for use against the Axis and, finally, allowed the athiestic-communist tyrant Stalin to occupy and oppress much of Europe?"

My answer is "NO", you are speaking of Franklin Roosevelt (FDR), you know, the Democrat.

[T.D. Seattle Wa USA]

only reason the usa likes palin is because she is easy on the eyes-so hollywood! american idol from hell!

[John B]

The choice shows that McCain has more balls than Obama, but we knew that anyay. Obama went for a nonentity because he's scared of the others, especially the Clintons.

[Andrea Campisano]

Is a anti-abortist, pro-war duo really that appealing to the American people?

Is image and identification really that more important than real political choices?

How can the (Republican) idea of a State who does not interfere with personal choices integrate with the so-called "pro life" politics?

Really, I have no clue.
Andrea

[Eric]

John Gregory Flinn asks "Is that the Teddy Roosevelt who blockaded oil supplies to Japan, thus provoking it's attack on Pearl Harbour, encouraged a reluctant America to wage war on Germany and then Japan, funded the development of three atom bombs for use against the Axis..."

Um....since Teddy Roosevelt DIED in 1919, I'd suggest that it might NOT be him.

I take it that history isn't your forte?

[Julia Iskandar]

Like the Bush/Cheney administration, a McCain/Palin administration too would be all about "getting away with everything" after wrapping themselves in the flag, and about "joyful cruelty" (New York psychoanalyst and specialist on narcissism, Otto Kernberg). They have the same personality traits, from what I've seen and heard.

[rhodeymark]

I laugh derisively at all the know-nothings who spout their bush league analysis here. My wife was a strong Hillary supporter who is more than happy to place her trust in the McCain/Palin ticket. McCain was far from my first choice (Thompson), but I am supporting him now with my wallet. If my story is unpersuasive - as it should be - go to the long running hillaryclintonforums.net and see what the REAL Hillary fans are saying. They are thrilled that Sarah kicked Barack's skinny bum.

[Perry Noblett]

As for the syrge, Admiral Fallon said that they success in Iraq came from hiring the Sunni miltias to work with our own troops. The surge, which came later, was just icing.
As for Mrs. Palin, she gives a nice speech, but in order to believe it you must either be ignorant of the facts, or living in la-la land. Just read what her lacal papers reported and find that she is really good at exagerations, and twisting reality. The arguements in her favor are about the same as G. Bush. That is to say, there really are none.

[Howard Steadman]

Note to John Gregory Flinn all of the things he ascribes to Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, were actually done by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat. No wonder the left has a hard time understanding men like John McCain, when they lack the most basic knowledge of American History.

[Shaun Corrigan]

No... John Gregory Flinn it was not! That was Franklin Delano Roosevelt that you are referring to. With a little more understanding of American politics you may be able to form a real opinion.

[Joe]

I am for Obama/Biden 08, but saying McCain/Palin (Roosevelt/Lincoln/Reagan/etc.) is the same as Bush/Cheney is going to lead to a Gore/Kerry-like defeat this year. This is not a good stategy unless you want to unite the opposition and independendants with McCain in 08. That's what happened then, why not now? 8 years and Democrats haven't learned anything. You heard it here first. >Obama/Biden 08<

[ron w]

I voted for Senator McCain in 2000, I was going to vote for him in 2008, Now I am going to happily vote for McCain/ Palin in november. I hope that the left wing media and the hateful bloggers don't drown them in their own private cesspool! I haven't been this excited about an election since Reagan.

[Joe]

The real difference between McCain and Obama is this:

One has been tested and passed with flying colors and the other is still in his seat writing his essay.

Americans just need to choose which one they want. That's it.

[Jim]

Palin tried to fire the librarian in the town where she was mayor when the librarian refused to remove books that Palin found objectionable. She opposes the choice of abortion even in cases of rape and incest, believes Creationism should be taught in the schools, and says that God ordered up the Iraq war. She's going to drag McCain into a stinging defeat.

[Mike in Dallas, Texas]

You know what makes me laugh, no matter how much you socialists in Europe nash your teeth and pound your chest, you can't vote in our election!
Here is a news flash for you and for any idiot liberal from the U.S. that might read this. Sarah Palin IS America. She is what most of us are. Most people live in small towns. Most of us LOVE our country! Most of us believe in serving our country! That is what she meant by us small town folk doing the hard work and being the back bone of our country. We fight our wars (Yes, I too am a vet as is my father) while our big city liberals smoke dope and try and ruin our country. So go ahead and rant all you want about my lack of intelligence but I'll go to sleep tonight still secure in the knowledge that at least for now, our country still has people like Sarah Palin in it and all is not lost yet!

[Jim Carl]

Reply for John Gregory Flinn: I think you are confused with Franklin D. Rosevelt who by the way was a Democrat. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt.

[Jeffy]

Good job, Mr Flynn!! I always enjoy reading that special liberal brand of open mindedness. I would bet you spend a lot of time on the daily kos, ci?

[Jenny J]

McCain's selection of Sarah Palin was a stroke of genius on several levels. First, there are 18 million Hillary Clinton supporters trying to decide who to vote for. Palin picked up a substantial number of those votes Wensday night.
Second, the surprising selection of Palin completely out maneuvered the Obama camp and sent them into screaming fits, accusing Palin of all the weakness of Obama - lack of experience, poor judgement, lack of Foreign Policy experience, and so on.

Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air in a smelly, cigar smoke drenched party. McCain's speech broke with the Bush administraion last night beautifully. Together, McCain and Palin are a force that will run Obama down and win the election in November.