I can't wait to hear her speech tonight. As an independent who actually disliked Obama during the primaries, her nomination shoved me firmly into BO's camp. Her selection makes McCain seem unstable (like an old guy whose age allows him not to care what anyone else thinks), and now I'm seriously afraid of what could happen if the McCain-Palin ticket made it to the White House. And to think I thought I could support McCain at one point!!
Family decisions are a private matter for most people, but they should not be private for someone who has no respect for the decisions of other families. Because Governor Palin wants to use the power of the government to force all women to be just like her, voters should be entitled to examine Governor Palin's family life to view the consequences of her policies regarding reproductive rights. Governor Palin currently has the freedom to make decisions regarding whether or not to have children. However, if Governor Palin has her way, there would be no choice. All pregnant women, whether they be teenage girls, or women carrying children that require special care, would be forced to follow the example of Governor Palin and her family. Because Governor Palin has taken the position that the government has an interest in a woman's choice regarding her pregnancy, Governor Palin's own decisions should be subject to scrutiny by the voting public.
— Gavin, New York, NY
But if Rudy G. vouches for her and the ticket and the party, who am I to quibble?
The NYTimes blogger is spot on. I don't care if Palin's daughter is pregnant and under-aged (was it statutory rape?) but she is the last person who should tell the rest of us how to deal with unwanted pregnancy. She is absolutely open to scrutiny.
However, if Governor Palin has her way, there would be no choice. All pregnant women, ....
Um, before Governor Palin makes up a woman's mind for her, doesn't that woman have to start out by being pregnant as you would appropriately read in the above sentence? Or is part of the non-choice by Governor Palin some forced insemination program she has planned to get the woman pregnant first before Governor Palin then later prevents the woman from having an abortion?
You know, if you are a woman who is raped or a victim of incest, that woman needs to be protected.
But for the rest of the women out there, yeah, if they don't want to take care of their own child, I certainly don't want to take care of that child, so let them have the abortion. But lets just call it what it is, a mother killing her child. I'm pro-choice, kill your child if you need to , don't make it my problem, but don't tell me it is about the woman's body more than it is about the child's (oh sorry, fetus') body.
It's a shame that the focus is on Bristol Palin's unprotected sex out of wedlock resulting in pregnancy, and not Sarah Palin's unprotected sex out of wedlock resulting in her first child being born eight months after Sarah Palin's wedding.
I think she made a lot more people comfortable with her on the ticket. I agree Rudy did a great job. we'll see if the excitement will build for McCain-Palin and if the luster starts coming off Obama.
I think the luster wore off of Obama as soon as she was nominated - she has really stolen the spotlight from everybody else on either ticket - and to me she makes Obama-Biden seem like a dull safe choice. She's a talented politician, and her speech demonstrated that. If nothing else, Sarah Palin certainly seems to have mastered the art of stabbing her opponent while smiling!
Masterful speech, a total knock-out (the speech, not... well why debate the point?). Agree with Juiceman - Palin presented tonight in a way Hillary can only dream about. Palin ostensibly stole the role of leading female politico from Hillary with that performance, at least for the time being. That said, if McCain is elected, I still give Hillary 50/50 odds of the presidency in 2012.
Said another way, an Obama victory would have the pleasurable side effect of putting the final nail in the Clintons' coffin.
This came my way today and I found it interesting, so I decided to forward it (without comment) to the interesting people who share their ideas on Streeteasy.
The following questionnaire was sent to all candidates for Governor. (ed- SP is Sarah Palin.)
1. Complete the sentence by checking the applicable phrases (you can check more than one).
Abortion should be:
Banned throughout entire pregnancy.
Legal to save the life of the mother.
Legal in case of rape and incest.
Legal if the baby is handicapped.
Legal if the baby has a genetic defect.
Legal in the first trimester.
Legal in the second trimester.
Legal in the third trimester.
Other:__________________
SP: I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor’s determination that the mother’s life would end if the pregnancy continued. I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life.
2. Will you support the right of parents to opt out their children from curricula, books, classes, or surveys, which parents consider privacy-invading or offensive to their religion or conscience?
SP: Yes. Parents should have the ultimate control over what their children are taught.
3. Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.
4. Will you support efforts to raise or lower the mandatory age of education? Why or why not?
SP: No, again, parents know better than government what is best for their children.
5. Will you support an effort to expand hate-crime laws?
SP: No, as I believe all heinous crime is based on hate.
6a. Do you support the expansion of gambling in Alaska?
SP: No, in so many cases, gambling has shown ill effects on families and as Governor I would not propose expansion legislation.
6b Would you sign any bills that expand gaming in our state?
SP: No.
7. Do you support statewide restrictions on the use of eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another?
SP: Yes.
8. Do you support parental choice in the spending of state educational dollars?
SP: Within Alaska law, I support parents deciding what is the best education venue for their child.
10. Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples? Why or why not?
P: No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.
11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
12. In relationship to families, what are your top three priorities if elected governor?
SP: 1. Creating an atmosphere where parents feel welcome to choose the venues of education for their children.
2. Preserving the definition of “marriage” as defined in our constitution.
3. Cracking down on the things that harm family life: gangs, drug use, and infringement of our liberties including attacks on our 2nd Amendment rights.
At least Sarah Palin is not a hypocrite. She believes in the sanctity of human life and makes sacrifices to protect it. You don't have to agree with her to respect her for that.
Sarah Palin - Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard: (another Republican lie)
"ANCHORAGE, Alaska — When presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate last Friday, the Arizona senator emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard .
Later, when questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national and international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor. Some reporters have tried to follow up.
"Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard ?" CNN journalist Campbell Brown asked Monday while interviewing McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds . "Just one?"
Bounds couldn't, because Palin has never personally ordered the state guard to do anything.
Instead, here's what he said: "Any decision she has made as the commander of the ( Alaska ) National Guard that's deployed overseas is more of a decision than Barack Obama's been making as he's been running for president for the last two years."
However, the governor has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the United States other than Alaska , said Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell , the service commander of the Alaska National Guard .
"When members of the National Guard are federalized, they work for the president," Campbell said Wednesday. "It's not just overseas. They could be federalized to go to other states or they could even be federalized in the state."
Occasions in which Palin retains command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are whenever the Guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic emergencies, said Campbell, who also serves as the commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs .
Some examples?
"We've deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin ," he said. "We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security.
"Out west and northwest we had erosion problems, and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a lady from Little Diomede (Island) . . . at the request of state troopers."
Did Palin directly approve each of those activities?
No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him the authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies — when a quick response is required — and minor day-to-day operations.
"Some authorities have been given to me that she has acknowledged that I can execute," he said. "For others I have to ask her each time."
The recent decision to deploy a C-17 cargo plane from the Alaska Air National Guard to Louisiana to assist during the Hurricane Gustav response was an occasion in which Campbell briefed the governor's office and sought its approval, he said. Chief of Staff Mike Nizich signed off on it.
Last year, Palin journeyed abroad to visit 500 members of the Alaska Army National Guard who were stationed in northern Kuwait for 15 months. She also stopped at a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany , to visit wounded Alaskans, including regular Army troops based at Fort Richardson .
The journey marked the first time that Palin had traveled overseas, according to Sharon Leighow , a spokeswoman in the governor's office.
The flooding that occurred in Fairbanks in late July — for which the Guard sent trucks north to provide clean drinking water — didn't require the governor's approval, Campbell said.
Natural disasters are fairly sporadic, said Jeremy Zidek , the public information officer for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management , which is part of Campbell's department.
Last year, during Palin's first year as governor, there wasn't much action, Zidek said. "Thankfully, we didn't have any major disasters."
In 2006, however, during former Gov. Frank Murkowski's last year in office, the Guard assisted at a tragic fire at a schoolhouse and church in Hooper Bay .
The Alaska National Guard receives about 75 percent of its funding from the federal government, Campbell said. All the federal funding is pre-allocated by Congress .
The state maintains Army National Guard bases in 76 locations in Alaska and Air National Guard bases in three locations.
petrfitz, are you one of those liberal bloggers so blinded by partisanship that you can't see the forest through the trees? This election is much more fun when you take an objective view of it. No matter who wins, history will be made and the country has already won because of it. The fact that Hillary had to watch Palin become the most visible female politician in U.S. history, only makes it sweeter. How much would you pay for a video of Hillary watching that speech?
Democrat or Republican, this is great stuff and sure beats reality TV.
Objective? Petrofitz? Thats the funniest thing I heard all morning. Just to balance out that argument I will copy part of an article on Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers...though I know it will make Petr go apeshit.
The problem of Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers will not go away. Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn were terrorists for the notorious Weather Underground during the turbulent 1960s, turning fugitive when a bomb — designed to kill army officers in New Jersey — accidentally exploded in a New York townhouse. Prior to that, Ayers and his cohorts succeeded in bombing the Pentagon. Ayers and Dohrn remain unrepentant for their terrorist past. Ayers was pictured in a 2001 article for Chicago magazine, stomping on an American flag, and told the New York Times just before 9/11 that the notion of the United States as a just and fair and decent place “makes me want to puke.” Although Obama actually launched his political career at an event at Ayers’s and Dohrn’s home, Obama has dismissed Ayers as just “a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.” For his part, Ayers refuses to discuss his relationship with Obama.
Although the press has been notably lax about pursuing the matter, the full story of the Obama-Ayers relationship calls the truth of Obama’s account seriously into question. When Obama made his first run for political office, articles in both the Chicago Defender and the Hyde Park Herald featured among his qualifications his position as chairman of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a foundation where Ayers was a founder and guiding force. Obama assumed the Annenberg board chairmanship only months before his first run for office, and almost certainly received the job at the behest of Bill Ayers. During Obama’s time as Annenberg board chairman, Ayers’s own education projects received substantial funding. Indeed, during its first year, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge struggled with significant concerns about possible conflicts of interest. With a writ to aid Chicago’s public schools, the Annenberg challenge played a deeply political role in Chicago’s education wars, and as Annenberg board chairman, Obama clearly aligned himself with Ayers’s radical views on education issues. With Obama heading up the board and Ayers heading up the other key operating body of the Annenberg Challenge, the two would necessarily have had a close working relationship for years (therefore “exchanging ideas on a regular basis”). So when Ayers and Dorhn hosted that kickoff for the first Obama campaign, it was not a random happenstance, but merely further evidence of a close and ongoing political partnership. Of course, all of this clearly contradicts Obama’s dismissal of the significance of his relationship with Ayers.
This much we know from the public record, but a large cache of documents housed in the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), is likely to flesh out the story. That document cache contains the internal files of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. The records in question are extensive, consisting of 132 boxes, containing 947 file folders, a total of about 70 linear feet of material. Not only would these files illuminate the working relationship between Obama and Bill Ayers, they would also provide significant insight into a web of ties linking Obama to various radical organizations, including Obama-approved foundation gifts to political allies. Obama’s leadership style and abilities are also sure to be illuminated by the documents in question.
COVER-UP?
Unfortunately, I don’t yet have access to the documents. The Special Collections section of the Richard J. Daley Library agreed to let me read them, but just before I boarded my flight to Chicago, the top library officials mysteriously intervened to bar access. Circumstances strongly suggest the likelihood that Bill Ayers himself may have played a pivotal role in this denial. Ayers has long taught at UIC, where the Chicago Annenberg Challenge offices were housed, rent-free. Ayers likely arranged for the files of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge to be housed in the UIC library, and may well have been consulted during my unsuccessful struggle to gain access to the documents. Let me, then, explain in greater detail what the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) records are, and how I have been blocked from seeing them.
Initially, as I said, library officials said that I could examine the CAC records. I received this permission both over the phone and in writing. The subsequent denial of access came with a series of evolving explanations. Is this a politically motivated cover-up? Although at this stage it is impossible to know, it is hard to avoid the suspicion. I also have some concerns for the security of the documents, although I have no specific evidence that their security is endangered. In any case, given the relative dearth of information about Barack Obama’s political past, there is a powerful public interest in the swift release of these documents.
Sizzlack - will you also post articles on McCains relationship to Keating? Remember the guy who stole many Americans life savings?
so what is worse - being on the board of an association that benefits people and someone else on that board has a past OR directly helping a person steal millions of dollars from trusting Americans?
You are aware McCain was cleared of any wrongdoing and broke no laws/committed no crime.
From the Senate Ethics Panel:
"The Ethics Committee ruled that the involvement of McCain in the scheme was also minimal, and he too was cleared of all charges against him.[17][16] McCain was criticized by the Committee for exercising "poor judgment" when he met with the federal regulators on Keating's behalf.[6] The report also said that McCain's "actions were not improper nor attended with gross negligence and did not reach the level of requiring institutional action against him....Senator McCain has violated no law of the United States or specific Rule of the United States Senate."
I do believe in Sarah Palin's position of no equal pay for equal work - women should not get paid the same as men. I also agree with Sarah in that no abortion should be allowed in the case of rape and incest.
I think that she made a brave move in standing upagainst the bridge to no where, after she was for it. I also think that is was a brave move to stand up to this pork barrel project then keep the $230 million in Fed money for "other projects"
Also teaching abstinence only is the best way to avoid teenage pregnancy.
I agree with Sarah Palin that your children should be off limits when they do embarrassing things like get pregnant, but you can pimp your kids to the press when they do good things like go to Iraq.
I also think that it is entirely proper for her to force that boy to marry her daughter at such a young age, and also proper to pimp him all over the stage for her own political gain.
I also have no issue with her pimping her 4 month old son in public up late at night and to spend all her time on the campign trail at his impressionable age - 4 months. There is nothing that motherly presence at age 4 months on can do to improve the long term potential for an infant with downs syndrome.
It is also more important for her to run for the VP because she is the most qualified Republican than it is for her to spend time with her pregnant teenage daughter who will give birth in the next few months.
I can honestly say that Sarah priorities are on Track! - get it "Track?"
Also I dont believe any of the talk starting to bubble out that Sarah Palin had an affair. A mother of 5 would never have an affair as she is too dedicated to her family.
petrfitz, you seem to make assumptions as though you know the Palin family personally. Perhaps the young couple you refer to wish to get married.
As for your "pimping" comments, huh? What is so darn unusual about ANY national or regional candidate having their family by their side in the political stage? Did you take issue with Obama's children being present at the Dem convention? I certainly did not.
I am an independent and what I saw last night was a very talented & tough woman that did a darn good job at introducing herself to the American people on a national scale. I find it difficult to argue the aforementioned, at least for anyone that remotely has an open mind.
As to your comments, they would not exist if Palin were a traditional male candidate, now would they. As someone that has worked with many talented women, some of which I am fortunate to call my friends, the sexist bend that I have seen in the media coverage & web comments are disturbing. My wife who is a successful professional doesn't find much humor in them either.
brodie said, "At least Sarah Palin is not a hypocrite".
uh, well, depends on how you define hypocrite. Yes, it's a private matter, but it flies in the face of the very policies that Palin endorses - teaching abstinance instead of comprehensive sex ed.
I do not agree with her views at all, so I could never vote for Sarah Palin on any ticket but she beat expectations (though I thought she would given she was a sportsbroadcaster and expectations were low). I think Peterfitz you are not helping the cause. . . .with copy pastes.
We lost West81st insightful comments as well - I agree she was not talking to the peterfitzes of the world but she was there to whip up the republicans which she did. The middle and Dems - probably less likely if they already disagreed with her somewhat extreme views of the world.
The kids are becoming pawns a bit (esp. with the baby's daddy and all);)
I agree that Sarah Palin is a very talented politician, and delivered a tough speech. That said, I don't trust her or McCain. I think this country has been through a lot in the last 8 years, and much of it has been brought about by the politics of division. More than anything, I thought that ugliness and divisiveness were on fine display last night. Most of the speakers - particularly Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin - had truly mastered the fear and smear tactics that have served their party so well in the past. Unfortunately, I don't think the opposing party has ever been very good at fighting back - remember Swift Boat for Truth? I'm an Independent, but once McCain hired Karl Rove's operatives to run his campaign he completely lost me.
"Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."
From Freidman’s NYTimes editorial yesterday:
With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.
Given the fact that Senator McCain deliberately avoided voting on all eight attempts to pass a bill extending the vital tax credits and production subsidies to expand our wind and solar industries, and given his support for lowering the gasoline tax in a reckless giveaway that would only promote more gasoline consumption and intensify our addiction to oil, and given his desire to make more oil-drilling, not innovation around renewable energy, the centerpiece of his energy policy — in an effort to mislead voters that support for drilling today would translate into lower prices at the pump today — McCain has forfeited any claim to be a green candidate.
"also do you honestly think that Sarah woould have gooten the job if she were a man?"
Well, Palin is not a male candidate but she is one tough individual and amazingly, feels very comfortable on the national stage, from day one. I agree with Donny Deutsch (marketing executive guru) she was a brilliant marketing move regardless on the selection process.
"do you honestly think that she is the most qualified Republican for VP? and that she is ready to take on the Presidency from day one?"
She is a Governor with an 80% approval rating so she must be doing something right. It is safe to say that Palin is not the most qualified of the candidates that were publicly under consideration. However, experience on its own doesn't appear to be of the utmost importance on either side.
Palin is also not running for president. Being an economic geek, what is troubling to me are Senator Obama's qualifications to run the most powerful economic & military on the planet, from day one. Gotta call them the way I see them.
Petroputz is not only a climatologist, he's a social engineer with a steep record of accomplishment, such as calling anyone who disagrees with him a moron. He's the type of guy we should be proud supports Obama, along with Europeans who of course have the best interests of the American people at heart.
My wife who was on the fence about Palin yesterday told me she was left with no doubt after Palin's speech. Anecdotal to be sure, but I bet many women feel the same way.
I think people who develop their political talking points from watching MSNYT (AKA MSNBC) and Comedy Central should run the country.
I ran a test yesterday. I watched intermittently FoxNews and MSNBC. Fox was pro all things Republican and MSNBC was anti all things republican. Both fervently mocked the other network all the while claiming political centrist views. Quite the way we disseminate our political news.
Both were in awe of Palin and MSNBC actually seemed to eat their words after the speech, all except of Olbermann who as we know is paid to hurl insults at the right, much in the same way Sean Hannity hurls insults at the left.
Biden is a scary VP pick. For all the talk of his foreign policy experience, look at his past positions. He opposed Reagan's tough stances against the Soviet Union, he opposed the surge, he called for the partitioning of Iraq, and he has taken soft positions on Iran.
What's So Special About Sarah?
September 4, 2008
In a less crazed world, the Sarah Palin story -- hunter and snowmobiling mom becomes Alaska governor and routs old-boy political machine in bed for years with energy industry -- would be celebrated. Of course, they have to demolish her.
Sarah's story is the stuff of Erin Brockovich movies and full-page newspaper spreads. Except: She's "pro-life," is a "Christian," and unlike all the white guys who came in second, Sarah looks like she might help get a Republican elected.
AP
It may be possible to pack more downward spin in what is being written about her, but modern media records are being set. Sarah has to be stopped because Sarah looks like trouble.
When John McCain announced in Dayton, Ohio that his vice presidential running mate would be Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, he looked respectable but a little stiff -- a bit like his campaign. Then Sarah spoke. And after lying dormant across two years of presidential campaigning, the Republican faithful exploded.
It would be an exaggeration to say one had never seen anything like it, but the public take-up on the virtually unknown Alaskan governor was phenomenal.
Attribute the surge in the GOP base, if you wish, to Rush Limbaugh's concise Friday afternoon summary: "Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!" But even that probably won't get you 270 electoral votes.
Sarah Palin poses a challenge to the standard feminist idea of a high-achieving woman. She just may be trouble for the Democrats.
The really interesting reaction to Sarah emerged just beyond the base. A lot of us picked up real enthusiasm Friday from people, notably women, who've never spent one moment with Politico.com or talk radio.
News columns now are overflowing with doubting women, but wait 'til the real campaign starts. This is going to be good.
One can't subtract politics from a woman who is running for vice president, but Sarah Palin's manifest appeal at the moment is about something larger than retail politics. If it holds up, the Democrats have a problem.
The Sarah Palin story doesn't fit the standard liberal model the past 30 years of what defines a high-achieving woman. The impulse in acceptable political society to condescend to lovely, ebullient Sarah is palpable. If the TV commentators tried to sound any smarter dismissing her qualifications, their big brains would burst.
Who is she? I mean after all, prior to whatever passes for politics up there in Alaska, all she seems to have done was play sports, go to a no-name university and have lots of babies? She's a beauty queen! This isn't even close to your standard East Coast über-woman. Sarah didn't go to Harvard Law and clerk for some legendary judge; her first job was as an Alaskan sportscaster! A great roar has arisen this week from Manhattan (New York, not Kansas): "Look at her standing there with John McCain, thinking she's Little Miss Perfect. My God, she almost sounds like an Alaskan Valley Girl. This can't possibly work, can it??!!!"
We'll find out. For starters, a lot of women voters don't live in New York, Boston, L.A. or San Francisco. Maybe Sarah Palin from Wasilla is a lot closer to the way many women today see themselves than the standard feminist model. Gloria Steinem, one of the many mothers of that ideal, is 74. Sarah Palin is 44. Times change.
Many younger women didn't learn what it means to be an achieving woman from dormitory feminism. She didn't abandon her hometown for the big city. She stayed home, had babies, helped her snowmobiling husband with his commercial fishing business and with him, tried to assemble a life.
She got into politics in Wasilla with zero connections -- no famous father, no financing husband, no mentor, nothing. She got elected mayor. She got into politics to improve her community, not to launch herself on some career path she had figured out while in college.
Then came the interesting part. Under the standard model, you deploy your superb IQ to maneuver upward around the oppressors. Sarah Jock, learning her self-discipline in such weird pursuits as morning moose-hunts with her dad, ran at the system. Doing something few women and no males would do, she went after the men who run Alaska's inbred politics, the machine. And cleaned their clocks. The people elected her governor.
I asked a number of women this week to account for Sarah Palin's sudden appeal. Here are the common threads.
The angry woman-as-victim drives them nuts. They hate victimology. As one woman said, "The point is that across the ages women have been doing pretty much what Sarah Palin has been doing: bearing children, feeding families, bringing in an income, working to improve their communities."
Another woman said, "Her story reflects a more normal reality" of active women; "the harder you work, the luckier you get." Hillary Clinton still plays the victim card. Sarah Palin gives off no victim vibes. These women mentioned her grit, determination and character.
They also said the Roe v. Wade litmus test has become too knee-jerk. Simply writing off Sarah Palin as "pro-life" caricatures pregnancy and motherhood.
Let's stipulate that not all "liberal" women share the Roe-dominated test of which women in public life get a pass and which are shunned. But this notion of sisterhood as a rules-based club is the public face of the feminist message, and in politics message is all -- until it no longer makes sense.
Sarah Palin looks like the old model's first real political challenge. They will be gunning for her. Good luck with that.
TA - that "commedy central" clip was filled 100% with videos from Republicans. Not one democrat or video from the media. all that clips shows is the flip flops and hyprocrisy of the Republican party.
Do you disagree with what the Republicans said in those clips?
Yes I agree. Comedy Central is a actually very pro Republican news source. My deepest apoligies. Jonathan Stewart I hear will soon be gladhanding for McCain/Palin in Dubuque.
And Dems are omniscient. They are never wrong about anything, unless they run for VP, vote for the Iraq War, lose their primaries become Independents and retake their Senatorial seat and shill for the other guys.
"flip flops and hypocrisy of the Republican party"
Hypocrisy in politics is like steroids in baseball. Don't really agree with it but it makes the game so much more interesting. petrfitz, are you insinuating that Obama doesn't flip flop? He's changed his stance more times than a golfer with a 30 handicap.
YA - I agree with you that Sarah Palin is the most qualified candidate for VP of all the republicans. Should McCain not win Palin should definitely be the next Republican candidate for President. Her experience and views make her the perfect fit to lead the Free World.
What we need in the White House is soomeone who sees our Wars as Tasks from God, and who thinks that creationism should be taught in our public school systems and that women should not receive equal pay for equal work.
"I agree with you that Sarah Palin is the most qualified candidate for VP of all the republicans."
And Barack H. Obama's vast well of experience renders my limbs numb. Why, just the other day I was saying to myself. You know what we need to stand up to Putin? We need a guy with law review experience who knows how to set up a bake sale for local community groups. A guy who hears a speech from a lovable preacher and titles his second memoir after it. A guy who thinks we should sit down and discuss the issues with facsist regimes like Russia and Iraq. Thats what we need. A dialogue. We can talk about how their life is going. How their wives are. Why they hate Americans. you know, sleepover sort of stuff.
Maybe he can write books or law review articles, have them translated and fedexed over there. That'll bump our standing with our European daddies.
An illustration of that gap came just two weeks ago, when Palin’s church, the Wasilla Bible Church, gave its pulpit over to a figure viewed with deep hostility by many Jewish organizations: David Brickner, the executive director of Jews for Jesus.
Palin’s pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner on Aug. 17, according to a transcript of the sermon on the church’s website.
“He’s a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism,” Kroon said.
Brickner then explained that Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.
“The Jewish community, in particular, has a difficult time understanding this reality,” he said.
Brickner’s mission has drawn wide criticism from the organized Jewish community, and the Anti-Defamation League accused them in a report of “targeting Jews for conversion with subterfuge and deception.”
Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."
Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her.
Don't know what supposed republicans call him. All I know is I like him and he was your Veep candidate 8 years ago and now he endorses McCain. Add to that that your veep candidate Biden called Obama not only unqualified but "dangerous".
Hmmmm. Do I vote for an unqualified President or do I vote for an unqualified Vice President (who actually was and is a governor, like Reagan, like Carter, like Clinton, like Bush).
Plus Lieberman gets the GOP South Florida and thus Florida. Its over in Florida guy. Over.
So a guest speaker at a church equates to the lead pastor and head of Obama's church, who made consistent racist and anti-American statements?
And about flip-flops, didn't Obama promise to take public financing? petr, just admit that you favor socialism and appeasement, and we can all keep the discussion to policy issues.
Has there been any substantiation of the reports that Lieberman was McCain's first choice, and that JM backed off JL (and Tom Ridge) because the right threatened a floor fight over a pro-choice VP? If those reports are true, McCain really does lead a charmed life. Ridge might have helped a bit with swing voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but Lieberman has as much crossover appeal as a bedbug.
Palin motivates the base, which sets up 2008 as a potential replay of 2000 and 2004. Recycling the Bush/Rove script is ironic, since the real Bushies hate McCain, but it's probably their best chance to win. Watch for a motorcade of soccer/hockey-mom minivans with "Honk if Jesus loves you" bumper stickers, shuttling disabled vets to the polls in Cincinnati.
Lets rewind shall we. Florida and Michigan. If their delegates counted, Obama would never have gotten off the ground. Proof of that is Hillary won the latter primaries at a faster clip. The Dems made their bed and now they'll "lie" in it, pun intended. They may win but it will be way closer than it should be given the current climate.
And if the GOP goes after the Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid dynamic duo, who you must agree are worthless excuses for legislators, as do appr. 90% of the voting populace, its anybody's ballgame so you Olbermann wannabees better dig up some good dirt on Saint Sarah before Clueless Joe Biden gets all dreamy eyed over her at the debate.
I know we've coopted SE for this debate and I apologize but it sort of does affect the nyc real estate market tangentially.
I doubt anyone on streeteasy other than the all knowing Petrofitz can tell you if the Lieberman reports were really accurate. There were so many theories floating around...testing the waters with a pro-choice crowd, getting the base enraged in case he went with Romney (bc the right didnt like Romney as a Mormon which would at least be less offensive to them to them than a pro choice candi in Lieberman)
petr could you elaborate on Palin's hatred of Jews? Not surprising it comes from you but I haven't heard anything about it and since you are such an amazing political wonk I'd like a little info...danka.
Jew hater? You give Obama supporters a bad name my anonymous Internet friend. A very bad name.
Whether they wanted Lieberman or not, who cares. Reagan picked Bush at the convention. Its inconsequential. What matters is not only did Lieberman endorse McCain, he spoke at the GOP convention!
There is already a HUGE buzz in the Jewish community about it!
"Palin’s pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner on Aug. 17, according to a transcript of the sermon on the church’s website.
“He’s a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism,” Kroon said.
Brickner then explained that Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.
“The Jewish community, in particular, has a difficult time understanding this reality,” he said.
Brickner’s mission has drawn wide criticism from the organized Jewish community, and the Anti-Defamation League accused them in a report of “targeting Jews for conversion with subterfuge and deception.”
Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."
Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her"
petrfitz, I'm trying to keep an open mind here but frankly, I don't understand the name calling, feeble assertions and one sided vicious attacks you present to conveniently support your views/candidate. I recall similar tactics from my high school debate days but I don't recall those mud-slinging arguments winning any debates.
So much for the so called "new" politics of inclusion that Senator Obama has preached from day one. If this any indication of the tone that Senator Obama's supporters employ to win over undecided voters, then I wish all of you the best of luck.
I do find a difference. If her pastor were this guy Brickner I would have a serious problem. But her pastor is Larry Kroon. And here is the difference in regards to Wright/Obama. I would not necessarily attribute the views of someone Wright chose to have speak at Trinity to Obama, and I am sure you would not either. It is Wright himself, and Obama's 20 year association with him that troubles me. So if you have some really dirty laundry on Larry Kroon please show me as I would truly like to see it. But I find it hard to attribute a guest speaker's views to an attendee at church that day. Unless of course you do it for both sides, in which case that is fine, but Obama would then share the views of anyone that ever spoke at Trinity when he was there. Which probably wouldn't bode well for him.
and I am Jewish and I don't care about the Jews for Jesus people. If they want to spend their lives peddling that crap...fine with me as long as they don't try to give me a pamphlet or tshirt.
Nathanial Kapner is a notorious Holocaust Denier in Colorado. He was born into a Jewish family, but joined Jews for Jesus before converting to a Russian Orthodox sect, according to this Wikio entry. He now makes a living running the hate site Real Jew News, which attracts anti-Semites from around the globe (mostly, American, however).
Yesterday, Kapner interviewed Sarah Palin's pastor, the Reverend Larry Kroon. Some excerpts after the jump:
I called Pastor Larry Kroon around 3 PM Mountain Time on today%u2019s date, September 2 2008. I introduced myself to him as a "freelance reporter" for Jewish daily news. During our talk I told him that I was a former Jew and was now with the Russian Orthodox Church.
[...]Brother Nathanael Kapner: "Do you support the current State of Israel?"
Pastor Larry Kroon: "I believe that God has a special plan for the Jews. However, I cannot say whether or not the current State of Israel is part of that plan."
Brother Nathanael: "So you don%u2019t view the current State of Israel has being a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?"
Pastor Larry Kroon: "There are specific prophecies in the Old Testament that predict the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But whether or not the current State of Israel is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies I cannot affirm."
Kapner then questions Reverend Kroon about the recent sermon at his church by David Bricker of Jews for Jesus. In conclusion, Kapner is satisfied with responses of Kroon and believes that they reflect positively on Sarah Palin:
I Take Encouragement That The One Who Sits
Under Pastor Larry Kroon%u2019s Teachings, Namely, Sarah Palin, Will Also "Hesitate" to Support The Current Zionist State Of Israel._
Youre going to have to do better than that...and please post a link.
So some crazy fu*k (Kapner) calls her pastor (who I am not trying to defend) and tells him he is a reporter for a Jewish newspaper. Then follow some muddled statements on his feelings towards Israel. He then says he is satisfied but offers no hint at to what the hell he is talking about. I am having a hard time even understanding what the hell is being said in this article...but it doesn't come close to some of the sewage I have heard come out of Jeremiah Wright's mouth.
and until I hear Sarah Palin say she is no supporter of Israel...or you can provide me with evidence that she does feel that way...this is a waste of time.
if you insist on this logic...then Obama simply must believe that the government gave people AIDS. Why? Because Wright said so. I personally think that is a bunch of rubbish...I surely hope Obama doesn't believe that...but then again it wouldn't surprise me if you said you believed it too.
And you believe that 9/11 was Gods Wrath puniching America because of feminists, gays and lesbians for as said by your Republican Preacher Jerry Falwell?
"Were you offended by the emails that went around saying that Obama was a muslim? Would it be OK if emails went around to all the retirement communities in Florida stating that Palin is anti-jewish?""
I know that Senator Obama is a Christian and I believe most folks do as well. An attempt by any medium to depic the Senator as otherwise is an insult to his family, the intellect of American people and totally uncalled for. I would have the identical view of any communication that intentionally attempted to distort the facts for any candidate. Should an assertion be fully supported by 100% credible data, then the American people have the right to be fully and accurately informed.
"Serge - I am using the republican play book."
I'm by no means an expert on either the Republican or Democratic play books but both appear to be painfully similar. Most of these political hacks are biased commentators which are often compensated or can politically benefit for their efforts.
what the F are you talking about dude you are a nutcase. I just told you I did not believe Obama believes the AIDS remark. Jerry Fallwell aint my preacher friend nor does he speak for me. 9/11 was perpetrated by Islamic terrorists, it had absolutely NOTHING to do with gay people as YOU say. And I found out why you didnt post a quote to that Politico article...because at the end it had a little inconvenient fact for you:
"In the meantime, however, there’s simply little information available about Palin’s views. Two of Palin’s prominent Alaska Jewish allies, Rabbi Joseph Greenberg and businessman Terry Gorlick, told Politico they consider her a friend of the Jews. But they said they’d never heard her discuss Middle East policy in detail and that she’d never visited Israel, though they cited a boilerplate Alaska-Israel friendship resolution she signed."
Sarah Palin is im-Palin McCain
I can't wait to hear her speech tonight. As an independent who actually disliked Obama during the primaries, her nomination shoved me firmly into BO's camp. Her selection makes McCain seem unstable (like an old guy whose age allows him not to care what anyone else thinks), and now I'm seriously afraid of what could happen if the McCain-Palin ticket made it to the White House. And to think I thought I could support McCain at one point!!
oh the humanity!
If the old white guy gets it, we're doomed!
This from a contributor to NYTimes blog:
Family decisions are a private matter for most people, but they should not be private for someone who has no respect for the decisions of other families. Because Governor Palin wants to use the power of the government to force all women to be just like her, voters should be entitled to examine Governor Palin's family life to view the consequences of her policies regarding reproductive rights. Governor Palin currently has the freedom to make decisions regarding whether or not to have children. However, if Governor Palin has her way, there would be no choice. All pregnant women, whether they be teenage girls, or women carrying children that require special care, would be forced to follow the example of Governor Palin and her family. Because Governor Palin has taken the position that the government has an interest in a woman's choice regarding her pregnancy, Governor Palin's own decisions should be subject to scrutiny by the voting public.
— Gavin, New York, NY
But if Rudy G. vouches for her and the ticket and the party, who am I to quibble?
The NYTimes blogger is spot on. I don't care if Palin's daughter is pregnant and under-aged (was it statutory rape?) but she is the last person who should tell the rest of us how to deal with unwanted pregnancy. She is absolutely open to scrutiny.
Huh,
However, if Governor Palin has her way, there would be no choice. All pregnant women, ....
Um, before Governor Palin makes up a woman's mind for her, doesn't that woman have to start out by being pregnant as you would appropriately read in the above sentence? Or is part of the non-choice by Governor Palin some forced insemination program she has planned to get the woman pregnant first before Governor Palin then later prevents the woman from having an abortion?
You know, if you are a woman who is raped or a victim of incest, that woman needs to be protected.
But for the rest of the women out there, yeah, if they don't want to take care of their own child, I certainly don't want to take care of that child, so let them have the abortion. But lets just call it what it is, a mother killing her child. I'm pro-choice, kill your child if you need to , don't make it my problem, but don't tell me it is about the woman's body more than it is about the child's (oh sorry, fetus') body.
Who did the movie, An Inconvenient Truth?
It's a shame that the focus is on Bristol Palin's unprotected sex out of wedlock resulting in pregnancy, and not Sarah Palin's unprotected sex out of wedlock resulting in her first child being born eight months after Sarah Palin's wedding.
Role model for the nation and the world?
What does it matter if she had sex before marriage? Or unprotected sex before marriage?
by the way, would you have preferred she had an abortion?
SHE WAS JUST FABULOUS --- As was Rudy....
I think she made a lot more people comfortable with her on the ticket. I agree Rudy did a great job. we'll see if the excitement will build for McCain-Palin and if the luster starts coming off Obama.
Hillary is clawing her eyes out after that speech.
What I wouldn't give to see a reporter ask Palin: "Abstinence only education...how's that workin' out?"
I think the luster wore off of Obama as soon as she was nominated - she has really stolen the spotlight from everybody else on either ticket - and to me she makes Obama-Biden seem like a dull safe choice. She's a talented politician, and her speech demonstrated that. If nothing else, Sarah Palin certainly seems to have mastered the art of stabbing her opponent while smiling!
Masterful speech, a total knock-out (the speech, not... well why debate the point?). Agree with Juiceman - Palin presented tonight in a way Hillary can only dream about. Palin ostensibly stole the role of leading female politico from Hillary with that performance, at least for the time being. That said, if McCain is elected, I still give Hillary 50/50 odds of the presidency in 2012.
Said another way, an Obama victory would have the pleasurable side effect of putting the final nail in the Clintons' coffin.
This came my way today and I found it interesting, so I decided to forward it (without comment) to the interesting people who share their ideas on Streeteasy.
12 Questions for Sarah Palin
From http://eagleforumalaska.blogspot.com/2006/07/2006-gubernatorial-candidate.html
The following questionnaire was sent to all candidates for Governor. (ed- SP is Sarah Palin.)
1. Complete the sentence by checking the applicable phrases (you can check more than one).
Abortion should be:
Banned throughout entire pregnancy.
Legal to save the life of the mother.
Legal in case of rape and incest.
Legal if the baby is handicapped.
Legal if the baby has a genetic defect.
Legal in the first trimester.
Legal in the second trimester.
Legal in the third trimester.
Other:__________________
SP: I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor’s determination that the mother’s life would end if the pregnancy continued. I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life.
2. Will you support the right of parents to opt out their children from curricula, books, classes, or surveys, which parents consider privacy-invading or offensive to their religion or conscience?
SP: Yes. Parents should have the ultimate control over what their children are taught.
3. Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.
4. Will you support efforts to raise or lower the mandatory age of education? Why or why not?
SP: No, again, parents know better than government what is best for their children.
5. Will you support an effort to expand hate-crime laws?
SP: No, as I believe all heinous crime is based on hate.
6a. Do you support the expansion of gambling in Alaska?
SP: No, in so many cases, gambling has shown ill effects on families and as Governor I would not propose expansion legislation.
6b Would you sign any bills that expand gaming in our state?
SP: No.
7. Do you support statewide restrictions on the use of eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another?
SP: Yes.
8. Do you support parental choice in the spending of state educational dollars?
SP: Within Alaska law, I support parents deciding what is the best education venue for their child.
10. Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples? Why or why not?
P: No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.
11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
12. In relationship to families, what are your top three priorities if elected governor?
SP: 1. Creating an atmosphere where parents feel welcome to choose the venues of education for their children.
2. Preserving the definition of “marriage” as defined in our constitution.
3. Cracking down on the things that harm family life: gangs, drug use, and infringement of our liberties including attacks on our 2nd Amendment rights.
At least Sarah Palin is not a hypocrite. She believes in the sanctity of human life and makes sacrifices to protect it. You don't have to agree with her to respect her for that.
Sarah Palin - Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard: (another Republican lie)
"ANCHORAGE, Alaska — When presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate last Friday, the Arizona senator emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard .
Later, when questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national and international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor. Some reporters have tried to follow up.
"Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard ?" CNN journalist Campbell Brown asked Monday while interviewing McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds . "Just one?"
Bounds couldn't, because Palin has never personally ordered the state guard to do anything.
Instead, here's what he said: "Any decision she has made as the commander of the ( Alaska ) National Guard that's deployed overseas is more of a decision than Barack Obama's been making as he's been running for president for the last two years."
However, the governor has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the United States other than Alaska , said Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell , the service commander of the Alaska National Guard .
"When members of the National Guard are federalized, they work for the president," Campbell said Wednesday. "It's not just overseas. They could be federalized to go to other states or they could even be federalized in the state."
Occasions in which Palin retains command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are whenever the Guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic emergencies, said Campbell, who also serves as the commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs .
Some examples?
"We've deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin ," he said. "We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security.
"Out west and northwest we had erosion problems, and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a lady from Little Diomede (Island) . . . at the request of state troopers."
Did Palin directly approve each of those activities?
No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him the authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies — when a quick response is required — and minor day-to-day operations.
"Some authorities have been given to me that she has acknowledged that I can execute," he said. "For others I have to ask her each time."
The recent decision to deploy a C-17 cargo plane from the Alaska Air National Guard to Louisiana to assist during the Hurricane Gustav response was an occasion in which Campbell briefed the governor's office and sought its approval, he said. Chief of Staff Mike Nizich signed off on it.
Last year, Palin journeyed abroad to visit 500 members of the Alaska Army National Guard who were stationed in northern Kuwait for 15 months. She also stopped at a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany , to visit wounded Alaskans, including regular Army troops based at Fort Richardson .
The journey marked the first time that Palin had traveled overseas, according to Sharon Leighow , a spokeswoman in the governor's office.
The flooding that occurred in Fairbanks in late July — for which the Guard sent trucks north to provide clean drinking water — didn't require the governor's approval, Campbell said.
Natural disasters are fairly sporadic, said Jeremy Zidek , the public information officer for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management , which is part of Campbell's department.
Last year, during Palin's first year as governor, there wasn't much action, Zidek said. "Thankfully, we didn't have any major disasters."
In 2006, however, during former Gov. Frank Murkowski's last year in office, the Guard assisted at a tragic fire at a schoolhouse and church in Hooper Bay .
The Alaska National Guard receives about 75 percent of its funding from the federal government, Campbell said. All the federal funding is pre-allocated by Congress .
The state maintains Army National Guard bases in 76 locations in Alaska and Air National Guard bases in three locations.
petrfitz, are you one of those liberal bloggers so blinded by partisanship that you can't see the forest through the trees? This election is much more fun when you take an objective view of it. No matter who wins, history will be made and the country has already won because of it. The fact that Hillary had to watch Palin become the most visible female politician in U.S. history, only makes it sweeter. How much would you pay for a video of Hillary watching that speech?
Democrat or Republican, this is great stuff and sure beats reality TV.
Objective? Petrofitz? Thats the funniest thing I heard all morning. Just to balance out that argument I will copy part of an article on Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers...though I know it will make Petr go apeshit.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTgwZTVmN2QyNzk2MmUxMzA5OTg0ODZlM2Y2OGI0NDM=
The problem of Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers will not go away. Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn were terrorists for the notorious Weather Underground during the turbulent 1960s, turning fugitive when a bomb — designed to kill army officers in New Jersey — accidentally exploded in a New York townhouse. Prior to that, Ayers and his cohorts succeeded in bombing the Pentagon. Ayers and Dohrn remain unrepentant for their terrorist past. Ayers was pictured in a 2001 article for Chicago magazine, stomping on an American flag, and told the New York Times just before 9/11 that the notion of the United States as a just and fair and decent place “makes me want to puke.” Although Obama actually launched his political career at an event at Ayers’s and Dohrn’s home, Obama has dismissed Ayers as just “a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” and “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.” For his part, Ayers refuses to discuss his relationship with Obama.
Although the press has been notably lax about pursuing the matter, the full story of the Obama-Ayers relationship calls the truth of Obama’s account seriously into question. When Obama made his first run for political office, articles in both the Chicago Defender and the Hyde Park Herald featured among his qualifications his position as chairman of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a foundation where Ayers was a founder and guiding force. Obama assumed the Annenberg board chairmanship only months before his first run for office, and almost certainly received the job at the behest of Bill Ayers. During Obama’s time as Annenberg board chairman, Ayers’s own education projects received substantial funding. Indeed, during its first year, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge struggled with significant concerns about possible conflicts of interest. With a writ to aid Chicago’s public schools, the Annenberg challenge played a deeply political role in Chicago’s education wars, and as Annenberg board chairman, Obama clearly aligned himself with Ayers’s radical views on education issues. With Obama heading up the board and Ayers heading up the other key operating body of the Annenberg Challenge, the two would necessarily have had a close working relationship for years (therefore “exchanging ideas on a regular basis”). So when Ayers and Dorhn hosted that kickoff for the first Obama campaign, it was not a random happenstance, but merely further evidence of a close and ongoing political partnership. Of course, all of this clearly contradicts Obama’s dismissal of the significance of his relationship with Ayers.
This much we know from the public record, but a large cache of documents housed in the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), is likely to flesh out the story. That document cache contains the internal files of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. The records in question are extensive, consisting of 132 boxes, containing 947 file folders, a total of about 70 linear feet of material. Not only would these files illuminate the working relationship between Obama and Bill Ayers, they would also provide significant insight into a web of ties linking Obama to various radical organizations, including Obama-approved foundation gifts to political allies. Obama’s leadership style and abilities are also sure to be illuminated by the documents in question.
COVER-UP?
Unfortunately, I don’t yet have access to the documents. The Special Collections section of the Richard J. Daley Library agreed to let me read them, but just before I boarded my flight to Chicago, the top library officials mysteriously intervened to bar access. Circumstances strongly suggest the likelihood that Bill Ayers himself may have played a pivotal role in this denial. Ayers has long taught at UIC, where the Chicago Annenberg Challenge offices were housed, rent-free. Ayers likely arranged for the files of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge to be housed in the UIC library, and may well have been consulted during my unsuccessful struggle to gain access to the documents. Let me, then, explain in greater detail what the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) records are, and how I have been blocked from seeing them.
Initially, as I said, library officials said that I could examine the CAC records. I received this permission both over the phone and in writing. The subsequent denial of access came with a series of evolving explanations. Is this a politically motivated cover-up? Although at this stage it is impossible to know, it is hard to avoid the suspicion. I also have some concerns for the security of the documents, although I have no specific evidence that their security is endangered. In any case, given the relative dearth of information about Barack Obama’s political past, there is a powerful public interest in the swift release of these documents.
Duno why that link didnt work: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTgwZTVmN2QyNzk2MmUxMzA5OTg0ODZlM2Y2OGI0NDM=
Sizzlack - will you also post articles on McCains relationship to Keating? Remember the guy who stole many Americans life savings?
so what is worse - being on the board of an association that benefits people and someone else on that board has a past OR directly helping a person steal millions of dollars from trusting Americans?
You are aware McCain was cleared of any wrongdoing and broke no laws/committed no crime.
From the Senate Ethics Panel:
"The Ethics Committee ruled that the involvement of McCain in the scheme was also minimal, and he too was cleared of all charges against him.[17][16] McCain was criticized by the Committee for exercising "poor judgment" when he met with the federal regulators on Keating's behalf.[6] The report also said that McCain's "actions were not improper nor attended with gross negligence and did not reach the level of requiring institutional action against him....Senator McCain has violated no law of the United States or specific Rule of the United States Senate."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE2D71539F93BA15751C0A967958260
Poor judgement...something Obama and McCain have plenty of.
If McCain was half as guilty as you would like people to believe, you can be SURE he would not be in the position he is in now.
I do believe in Sarah Palin's position of no equal pay for equal work - women should not get paid the same as men. I also agree with Sarah in that no abortion should be allowed in the case of rape and incest.
I think that she made a brave move in standing upagainst the bridge to no where, after she was for it. I also think that is was a brave move to stand up to this pork barrel project then keep the $230 million in Fed money for "other projects"
Also teaching abstinence only is the best way to avoid teenage pregnancy.
mcCain is the man! and he will be president!
I also agree with Sarah Palin that many books should be removed and banned from our public libraries.
Petr I think you should move to Chicago and become one of the leaders of the Democratic political machine there...they would really love you.
I agree with Sarah Palin that your children should be off limits when they do embarrassing things like get pregnant, but you can pimp your kids to the press when they do good things like go to Iraq.
I also think that it is entirely proper for her to force that boy to marry her daughter at such a young age, and also proper to pimp him all over the stage for her own political gain.
I also have no issue with her pimping her 4 month old son in public up late at night and to spend all her time on the campign trail at his impressionable age - 4 months. There is nothing that motherly presence at age 4 months on can do to improve the long term potential for an infant with downs syndrome.
It is also more important for her to run for the VP because she is the most qualified Republican than it is for her to spend time with her pregnant teenage daughter who will give birth in the next few months.
I can honestly say that Sarah priorities are on Track! - get it "Track?"
Also I dont believe any of the talk starting to bubble out that Sarah Palin had an affair. A mother of 5 would never have an affair as she is too dedicated to her family.
I think that the best summary of the Republicans position on Palin is found here:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086
petrfitz, you seem to make assumptions as though you know the Palin family personally. Perhaps the young couple you refer to wish to get married.
As for your "pimping" comments, huh? What is so darn unusual about ANY national or regional candidate having their family by their side in the political stage? Did you take issue with Obama's children being present at the Dem convention? I certainly did not.
I am an independent and what I saw last night was a very talented & tough woman that did a darn good job at introducing herself to the American people on a national scale. I find it difficult to argue the aforementioned, at least for anyone that remotely has an open mind.
As to your comments, they would not exist if Palin were a traditional male candidate, now would they. As someone that has worked with many talented women, some of which I am fortunate to call my friends, the sexist bend that I have seen in the media coverage & web comments are disturbing. My wife who is a successful professional doesn't find much humor in them either.
Serge - please see this link for the sexiest bend
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086
also do you honestly think that Sarah woould have gooten the job if she were a man?
do you honestly think that she is the most qualified Republican for VP? and that she is ready to take on the Presidency from day one?
"Also I dont believe any of the talk starting to bubble out that Sarah Palin had an affair."
Liberals are shitting their pants after last night. Can you hear the liberal rumor machine churning?
brodie said, "At least Sarah Palin is not a hypocrite".
uh, well, depends on how you define hypocrite. Yes, it's a private matter, but it flies in the face of the very policies that Palin endorses - teaching abstinance instead of comprehensive sex ed.
I do not agree with her views at all, so I could never vote for Sarah Palin on any ticket but she beat expectations (though I thought she would given she was a sportsbroadcaster and expectations were low). I think Peterfitz you are not helping the cause. . . .with copy pastes.
We lost West81st insightful comments as well - I agree she was not talking to the peterfitzes of the world but she was there to whip up the republicans which she did. The middle and Dems - probably less likely if they already disagreed with her somewhat extreme views of the world.
The kids are becoming pawns a bit (esp. with the baby's daddy and all);)
I agree that Sarah Palin is a very talented politician, and delivered a tough speech. That said, I don't trust her or McCain. I think this country has been through a lot in the last 8 years, and much of it has been brought about by the politics of division. More than anything, I thought that ugliness and divisiveness were on fine display last night. Most of the speakers - particularly Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin - had truly mastered the fear and smear tactics that have served their party so well in the past. Unfortunately, I don't think the opposing party has ever been very good at fighting back - remember Swift Boat for Truth? I'm an Independent, but once McCain hired Karl Rove's operatives to run his campaign he completely lost me.
From Palin’s speech last night:
"Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."
From Freidman’s NYTimes editorial yesterday:
With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.
Given the fact that Senator McCain deliberately avoided voting on all eight attempts to pass a bill extending the vital tax credits and production subsidies to expand our wind and solar industries, and given his support for lowering the gasoline tax in a reckless giveaway that would only promote more gasoline consumption and intensify our addiction to oil, and given his desire to make more oil-drilling, not innovation around renewable energy, the centerpiece of his energy policy — in an effort to mislead voters that support for drilling today would translate into lower prices at the pump today — McCain has forfeited any claim to be a green candidate.
I agree with Palin that Polar Bears should not be listed as an endangered species, and that Global warming is not caused by man.
"also do you honestly think that Sarah woould have gooten the job if she were a man?"
Well, Palin is not a male candidate but she is one tough individual and amazingly, feels very comfortable on the national stage, from day one. I agree with Donny Deutsch (marketing executive guru) she was a brilliant marketing move regardless on the selection process.
"do you honestly think that she is the most qualified Republican for VP? and that she is ready to take on the Presidency from day one?"
She is a Governor with an 80% approval rating so she must be doing something right. It is safe to say that Palin is not the most qualified of the candidates that were publicly under consideration. However, experience on its own doesn't appear to be of the utmost importance on either side.
Palin is also not running for president. Being an economic geek, what is troubling to me are Senator Obama's qualifications to run the most powerful economic & military on the planet, from day one. Gotta call them the way I see them.
Petroputz is not only a climatologist, he's a social engineer with a steep record of accomplishment, such as calling anyone who disagrees with him a moron. He's the type of guy we should be proud supports Obama, along with Europeans who of course have the best interests of the American people at heart.
My wife who was on the fence about Palin yesterday told me she was left with no doubt after Palin's speech. Anecdotal to be sure, but I bet many women feel the same way.
I actually thought she did well last night. She came across as just being herself, a persona that resonates with middle america.
It's just a matter of whether or not you like her or agree with what she stands for. Personally I don't.
My vote for her was not determined by her speech. I can think she did well without agreeing with her.
I think people who develop their political talking points from watching MSNYT (AKA MSNBC) and Comedy Central should run the country.
I ran a test yesterday. I watched intermittently FoxNews and MSNBC. Fox was pro all things Republican and MSNBC was anti all things republican. Both fervently mocked the other network all the while claiming political centrist views. Quite the way we disseminate our political news.
Both were in awe of Palin and MSNBC actually seemed to eat their words after the speech, all except of Olbermann who as we know is paid to hurl insults at the right, much in the same way Sean Hannity hurls insults at the left.
Biden is a scary VP pick. For all the talk of his foreign policy experience, look at his past positions. He opposed Reagan's tough stances against the Soviet Union, he opposed the surge, he called for the partitioning of Iraq, and he has taken soft positions on Iran.
WONDER LAND
By DANIEL HENNINGER
What's So Special About Sarah?
September 4, 2008
In a less crazed world, the Sarah Palin story -- hunter and snowmobiling mom becomes Alaska governor and routs old-boy political machine in bed for years with energy industry -- would be celebrated. Of course, they have to demolish her.
Sarah's story is the stuff of Erin Brockovich movies and full-page newspaper spreads. Except: She's "pro-life," is a "Christian," and unlike all the white guys who came in second, Sarah looks like she might help get a Republican elected.
AP
It may be possible to pack more downward spin in what is being written about her, but modern media records are being set. Sarah has to be stopped because Sarah looks like trouble.
When John McCain announced in Dayton, Ohio that his vice presidential running mate would be Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, he looked respectable but a little stiff -- a bit like his campaign. Then Sarah spoke. And after lying dormant across two years of presidential campaigning, the Republican faithful exploded.
It would be an exaggeration to say one had never seen anything like it, but the public take-up on the virtually unknown Alaskan governor was phenomenal.
Attribute the surge in the GOP base, if you wish, to Rush Limbaugh's concise Friday afternoon summary: "Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!" But even that probably won't get you 270 electoral votes.
Sarah Palin poses a challenge to the standard feminist idea of a high-achieving woman. She just may be trouble for the Democrats.
The really interesting reaction to Sarah emerged just beyond the base. A lot of us picked up real enthusiasm Friday from people, notably women, who've never spent one moment with Politico.com or talk radio.
News columns now are overflowing with doubting women, but wait 'til the real campaign starts. This is going to be good.
One can't subtract politics from a woman who is running for vice president, but Sarah Palin's manifest appeal at the moment is about something larger than retail politics. If it holds up, the Democrats have a problem.
The Sarah Palin story doesn't fit the standard liberal model the past 30 years of what defines a high-achieving woman. The impulse in acceptable political society to condescend to lovely, ebullient Sarah is palpable. If the TV commentators tried to sound any smarter dismissing her qualifications, their big brains would burst.
Who is she? I mean after all, prior to whatever passes for politics up there in Alaska, all she seems to have done was play sports, go to a no-name university and have lots of babies? She's a beauty queen! This isn't even close to your standard East Coast über-woman. Sarah didn't go to Harvard Law and clerk for some legendary judge; her first job was as an Alaskan sportscaster! A great roar has arisen this week from Manhattan (New York, not Kansas): "Look at her standing there with John McCain, thinking she's Little Miss Perfect. My God, she almost sounds like an Alaskan Valley Girl. This can't possibly work, can it??!!!"
We'll find out. For starters, a lot of women voters don't live in New York, Boston, L.A. or San Francisco. Maybe Sarah Palin from Wasilla is a lot closer to the way many women today see themselves than the standard feminist model. Gloria Steinem, one of the many mothers of that ideal, is 74. Sarah Palin is 44. Times change.
Many younger women didn't learn what it means to be an achieving woman from dormitory feminism. She didn't abandon her hometown for the big city. She stayed home, had babies, helped her snowmobiling husband with his commercial fishing business and with him, tried to assemble a life.
She got into politics in Wasilla with zero connections -- no famous father, no financing husband, no mentor, nothing. She got elected mayor. She got into politics to improve her community, not to launch herself on some career path she had figured out while in college.
Then came the interesting part. Under the standard model, you deploy your superb IQ to maneuver upward around the oppressors. Sarah Jock, learning her self-discipline in such weird pursuits as morning moose-hunts with her dad, ran at the system. Doing something few women and no males would do, she went after the men who run Alaska's inbred politics, the machine. And cleaned their clocks. The people elected her governor.
I asked a number of women this week to account for Sarah Palin's sudden appeal. Here are the common threads.
The angry woman-as-victim drives them nuts. They hate victimology. As one woman said, "The point is that across the ages women have been doing pretty much what Sarah Palin has been doing: bearing children, feeding families, bringing in an income, working to improve their communities."
Another woman said, "Her story reflects a more normal reality" of active women; "the harder you work, the luckier you get." Hillary Clinton still plays the victim card. Sarah Palin gives off no victim vibes. These women mentioned her grit, determination and character.
They also said the Roe v. Wade litmus test has become too knee-jerk. Simply writing off Sarah Palin as "pro-life" caricatures pregnancy and motherhood.
Let's stipulate that not all "liberal" women share the Roe-dominated test of which women in public life get a pass and which are shunned. But this notion of sisterhood as a rules-based club is the public face of the feminist message, and in politics message is all -- until it no longer makes sense.
Sarah Palin looks like the old model's first real political challenge. They will be gunning for her. Good luck with that.
TA - that "commedy central" clip was filled 100% with videos from Republicans. Not one democrat or video from the media. all that clips shows is the flip flops and hyprocrisy of the Republican party.
Do you disagree with what the Republicans said in those clips?
Yes I agree. Comedy Central is a actually very pro Republican news source. My deepest apoligies. Jonathan Stewart I hear will soon be gladhanding for McCain/Palin in Dubuque.
And Dems are omniscient. They are never wrong about anything, unless they run for VP, vote for the Iraq War, lose their primaries become Independents and retake their Senatorial seat and shill for the other guys.
"flip flops and hypocrisy of the Republican party"
Hypocrisy in politics is like steroids in baseball. Don't really agree with it but it makes the game so much more interesting. petrfitz, are you insinuating that Obama doesn't flip flop? He's changed his stance more times than a golfer with a 30 handicap.
YA - I agree with you that Sarah Palin is the most qualified candidate for VP of all the republicans. Should McCain not win Palin should definitely be the next Republican candidate for President. Her experience and views make her the perfect fit to lead the Free World.
What we need in the White House is soomeone who sees our Wars as Tasks from God, and who thinks that creationism should be taught in our public school systems and that women should not receive equal pay for equal work.
"I agree with you that Sarah Palin is the most qualified candidate for VP of all the republicans."
And Barack H. Obama's vast well of experience renders my limbs numb. Why, just the other day I was saying to myself. You know what we need to stand up to Putin? We need a guy with law review experience who knows how to set up a bake sale for local community groups. A guy who hears a speech from a lovable preacher and titles his second memoir after it. A guy who thinks we should sit down and discuss the issues with facsist regimes like Russia and Iraq. Thats what we need. A dialogue. We can talk about how their life is going. How their wives are. Why they hate Americans. you know, sleepover sort of stuff.
Maybe he can write books or law review articles, have them translated and fedexed over there. That'll bump our standing with our European daddies.
TA - can you tell us about Sarah Palin's church? Do you know anything about it?
An illustration of that gap came just two weeks ago, when Palin’s church, the Wasilla Bible Church, gave its pulpit over to a figure viewed with deep hostility by many Jewish organizations: David Brickner, the executive director of Jews for Jesus.
Palin’s pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner on Aug. 17, according to a transcript of the sermon on the church’s website.
“He’s a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism,” Kroon said.
Brickner then explained that Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.
“The Jewish community, in particular, has a difficult time understanding this reality,” he said.
Brickner’s mission has drawn wide criticism from the organized Jewish community, and the Anti-Defamation League accused them in a report of “targeting Jews for conversion with subterfuge and deception.”
Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."
Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her.
Thanks Mr. MSNYT. Jews for Jesus equates very well with "God Damn America". Keep trying. You'll come up with something,
If Joe Lieberman endorses McCain, that says it all to me.
I don't know. Joe Lieberman kind of makes me think of "Jews for Jesus."
TA - you mean the guy Republicans called Loserman?
Don't know what supposed republicans call him. All I know is I like him and he was your Veep candidate 8 years ago and now he endorses McCain. Add to that that your veep candidate Biden called Obama not only unqualified but "dangerous".
Hmmmm. Do I vote for an unqualified President or do I vote for an unqualified Vice President (who actually was and is a governor, like Reagan, like Carter, like Clinton, like Bush).
Plus Lieberman gets the GOP South Florida and thus Florida. Its over in Florida guy. Over.
So a guest speaker at a church equates to the lead pastor and head of Obama's church, who made consistent racist and anti-American statements?
And about flip-flops, didn't Obama promise to take public financing? petr, just admit that you favor socialism and appeasement, and we can all keep the discussion to policy issues.
Has there been any substantiation of the reports that Lieberman was McCain's first choice, and that JM backed off JL (and Tom Ridge) because the right threatened a floor fight over a pro-choice VP? If those reports are true, McCain really does lead a charmed life. Ridge might have helped a bit with swing voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but Lieberman has as much crossover appeal as a bedbug.
Palin motivates the base, which sets up 2008 as a potential replay of 2000 and 2004. Recycling the Bush/Rove script is ironic, since the real Bushies hate McCain, but it's probably their best chance to win. Watch for a motorcade of soccer/hockey-mom minivans with "Honk if Jesus loves you" bumper stickers, shuttling disabled vets to the polls in Cincinnati.
Lets rewind shall we. Florida and Michigan. If their delegates counted, Obama would never have gotten off the ground. Proof of that is Hillary won the latter primaries at a faster clip. The Dems made their bed and now they'll "lie" in it, pun intended. They may win but it will be way closer than it should be given the current climate.
And if the GOP goes after the Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid dynamic duo, who you must agree are worthless excuses for legislators, as do appr. 90% of the voting populace, its anybody's ballgame so you Olbermann wannabees better dig up some good dirt on Saint Sarah before Clueless Joe Biden gets all dreamy eyed over her at the debate.
I know we've coopted SE for this debate and I apologize but it sort of does affect the nyc real estate market tangentially.
Florida aint going for GOP with a jew hater as VP - McCain lost Florida when he named Palin.
I doubt anyone on streeteasy other than the all knowing Petrofitz can tell you if the Lieberman reports were really accurate. There were so many theories floating around...testing the waters with a pro-choice crowd, getting the base enraged in case he went with Romney (bc the right didnt like Romney as a Mormon which would at least be less offensive to them to them than a pro choice candi in Lieberman)
petr could you elaborate on Palin's hatred of Jews? Not surprising it comes from you but I haven't heard anything about it and since you are such an amazing political wonk I'd like a little info...danka.
Jew hater? You give Obama supporters a bad name my anonymous Internet friend. A very bad name.
Whether they wanted Lieberman or not, who cares. Reagan picked Bush at the convention. Its inconsequential. What matters is not only did Lieberman endorse McCain, he spoke at the GOP convention!
this is too funny...angry left....what angry left?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6LRXP7nyP8&eurl=http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
There is already a HUGE buzz in the Jewish community about it!
"Palin’s pastor, Larry Kroon, introduced Brickner on Aug. 17, according to a transcript of the sermon on the church’s website.
“He’s a leader of Jews for Jesus, a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism,” Kroon said.
Brickner then explained that Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.
“The Jewish community, in particular, has a difficult time understanding this reality,” he said.
Brickner’s mission has drawn wide criticism from the organized Jewish community, and the Anti-Defamation League accused them in a report of “targeting Jews for conversion with subterfuge and deception.”
Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."
Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her"
just google "Palins preacher problem" - you will see hundreds of message boards of the Jewish community all a buzz!
petrfitz, I'm trying to keep an open mind here but frankly, I don't understand the name calling, feeble assertions and one sided vicious attacks you present to conveniently support your views/candidate. I recall similar tactics from my high school debate days but I don't recall those mud-slinging arguments winning any debates.
So much for the so called "new" politics of inclusion that Senator Obama has preached from day one. If this any indication of the tone that Senator Obama's supporters employ to win over undecided voters, then I wish all of you the best of luck.
I do find a difference. If her pastor were this guy Brickner I would have a serious problem. But her pastor is Larry Kroon. And here is the difference in regards to Wright/Obama. I would not necessarily attribute the views of someone Wright chose to have speak at Trinity to Obama, and I am sure you would not either. It is Wright himself, and Obama's 20 year association with him that troubles me. So if you have some really dirty laundry on Larry Kroon please show me as I would truly like to see it. But I find it hard to attribute a guest speaker's views to an attendee at church that day. Unless of course you do it for both sides, in which case that is fine, but Obama would then share the views of anyone that ever spoke at Trinity when he was there. Which probably wouldn't bode well for him.
and I am Jewish and I don't care about the Jews for Jesus people. If they want to spend their lives peddling that crap...fine with me as long as they don't try to give me a pamphlet or tshirt.
Serge - I am using the republican play book. Were you offended by the emails that went around saying that Obama was a muslim?
Would it be OK if emails went around to all the retirement communities in Florida stating that Palin is anti-jewish?
do you have any dirt on Kroon petrfitz? If you don't this is a dead issue.
Nathanial Kapner is a notorious Holocaust Denier in Colorado. He was born into a Jewish family, but joined Jews for Jesus before converting to a Russian Orthodox sect, according to this Wikio entry. He now makes a living running the hate site Real Jew News, which attracts anti-Semites from around the globe (mostly, American, however).
Yesterday, Kapner interviewed Sarah Palin's pastor, the Reverend Larry Kroon. Some excerpts after the jump:
I called Pastor Larry Kroon around 3 PM Mountain Time on today%u2019s date, September 2 2008. I introduced myself to him as a "freelance reporter" for Jewish daily news. During our talk I told him that I was a former Jew and was now with the Russian Orthodox Church.
[...]Brother Nathanael Kapner: "Do you support the current State of Israel?"
Pastor Larry Kroon: "I believe that God has a special plan for the Jews. However, I cannot say whether or not the current State of Israel is part of that plan."
Brother Nathanael: "So you don%u2019t view the current State of Israel has being a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?"
Pastor Larry Kroon: "There are specific prophecies in the Old Testament that predict the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But whether or not the current State of Israel is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies I cannot affirm."
Kapner then questions Reverend Kroon about the recent sermon at his church by David Bricker of Jews for Jesus. In conclusion, Kapner is satisfied with responses of Kroon and believes that they reflect positively on Sarah Palin:
I Take Encouragement That The One Who Sits
Under Pastor Larry Kroon%u2019s Teachings, Namely, Sarah Palin, Will Also "Hesitate" to Support The Current Zionist State Of Israel._
Youre going to have to do better than that...and please post a link.
So some crazy fu*k (Kapner) calls her pastor (who I am not trying to defend) and tells him he is a reporter for a Jewish newspaper. Then follow some muddled statements on his feelings towards Israel. He then says he is satisfied but offers no hint at to what the hell he is talking about. I am having a hard time even understanding what the hell is being said in this article...but it doesn't come close to some of the sewage I have heard come out of Jeremiah Wright's mouth.
ok sizzlack I will just consider you a 'denier" of Palins Paster Problem
and until I hear Sarah Palin say she is no supporter of Israel...or you can provide me with evidence that she does feel that way...this is a waste of time.
I dont even know what that means. A denier? What am I denying? You wont even post a link to that "article" for all I know you made the whole thing up
if you insist on this logic...then Obama simply must believe that the government gave people AIDS. Why? Because Wright said so. I personally think that is a bunch of rubbish...I surely hope Obama doesn't believe that...but then again it wouldn't surprise me if you said you believed it too.
And you believe that 9/11 was Gods Wrath puniching America because of feminists, gays and lesbians for as said by your Republican Preacher Jerry Falwell?
Sizzlack - do you know at the Church Palin attends that the congregation participates by "Speaking in Tongues?"
Does Sarah Palin speak in tongues?
"Were you offended by the emails that went around saying that Obama was a muslim? Would it be OK if emails went around to all the retirement communities in Florida stating that Palin is anti-jewish?""
I know that Senator Obama is a Christian and I believe most folks do as well. An attempt by any medium to depic the Senator as otherwise is an insult to his family, the intellect of American people and totally uncalled for. I would have the identical view of any communication that intentionally attempted to distort the facts for any candidate. Should an assertion be fully supported by 100% credible data, then the American people have the right to be fully and accurately informed.
"Serge - I am using the republican play book."
I'm by no means an expert on either the Republican or Democratic play books but both appear to be painfully similar. Most of these political hacks are biased commentators which are often compensated or can politically benefit for their efforts.
what the F are you talking about dude you are a nutcase. I just told you I did not believe Obama believes the AIDS remark. Jerry Fallwell aint my preacher friend nor does he speak for me. 9/11 was perpetrated by Islamic terrorists, it had absolutely NOTHING to do with gay people as YOU say. And I found out why you didnt post a quote to that Politico article...because at the end it had a little inconvenient fact for you:
"In the meantime, however, there’s simply little information available about Palin’s views. Two of Palin’s prominent Alaska Jewish allies, Rabbi Joseph Greenberg and businessman Terry Gorlick, told Politico they consider her a friend of the Jews. But they said they’d never heard her discuss Middle East policy in detail and that she’d never visited Israel, though they cited a boilerplate Alaska-Israel friendship resolution she signed."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13098.html
You're a total joke...I'm done with this nonsense.