BL - What surprises me most is how little personal interaction McCain has had with her. He barely knows the woman.

I was struck by this also. I like the pick (surpise). She's a compelling character.

Palin's much better looking than Tina Fey, FWIW.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083002377.html

Perhaps less 'desperation' than you might think.

McCain's lack of knowledge of his running mate and the hasty lack of vetting of her life and politics in Alaska WILL come back and bite him in the arse, as the old saying goes. This pick was typical of the impulsive decision making that has typified McCain's career. He even admits to it in his book, that his hasty and impulsive actions often lead to mistakes in judgement.

And then, hurricane Gustav sends the entire party into freefall. The Republicans all scramble to "make the right appearances" and act in a fashion that will suit the PR goals. An acceptance speech from the Gulf Coast? Gimme a break! That's a really CHEAP political ploy.

This is all so typical of Republican incompetence: McCain, Palin and Gustav.

LAMBERT: I'm curious how to hear how aggressively the GOP "team" pushed Palin on McCain.

It's always great fun to read the increasingly weak columns of bore-ass apologist Bill Kristol in the Times on the morning after Frank Rich's literate and well-reasoned pieces. In today's chapter, Bill touts the notion that Sarah Palin is a game changer. C'mon, Bill. As Republican strategist Mike Murphy emphasized yesterday on Meet The Press, Palin is high on charisma, low on experience. Her standing before any camera with Gramps McCain forcefully reinforces his advancing age and dithering intellect, her youth and lack of meaningful experience. It's like watching Hugh Hefner in between three or four Playmates, but with no pajamas.

The account I read was that certain McCain advisors (a fellow Senator who is a close advisor to McCain) strongly pushed for Joe Lieberman. During the week of the DNC an orchestrated letter, phone and email campaign was mounted by the right-wing against a Lieberman V.P. nod.

Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Tom Ridge were said to all have very strong supporters and advocates among the McCain campaign staff and nobody was advocating for Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin was off the radar up in Alaska. Accounts are that McCain impulsively and angrily threw the dart at Palin as a way of avoid the impasse between his advisors. None of them knew much about Gov. Palin and she was barely vetted.

How many days do you think Palin will remain on the McCain ticket? Do you think she will last the end of the week? If you get a chance in the media section, ask Congressman Bob Barr, who I think might be in Saint Paul wearing CNN credentials.

LAMBERT: There were two separate episodes of idle chatter last night about how McCain goes about replacing Palin. As farcical as the pregnant 17 year-old is, we have yet to see Palin exposed to the full press of the jackals.

Let's see...an ex-beauty pagent winner...with a undergraduate degree in jounalism...who does not believe in global warming...who does believe a woman should have no control over her own body and for 9 months should be viewed as nothing more than a baby container...who's main attributes seem to be stubborness and vicious competiveness... who has had next to no experience in goverment...who has a currently very messy family situation given that she had recently given birth to a downs syndrome baby, has a 17 year old daughter who is unwed and pregnant and is facing investigation for using her political office to smear her ex-brother-in-law and get him fired (he is in a custody battle with her sister)...who seems to be in bed with big oil...who is running for VP...whose running mate is 72 and is a cancer survivor...who has no foreign policy background and in fact has only been out of the country twice...who may become President of the country I love at a time when it faces the most complex foreign policy issues, economic issues and domestic issues it has in decades...Why does this sound like a totally unbelievably bad novel???? I for one am terrified and can not understand what Mr. McCain was thinking!!!!

LAMBERT: The cute reply here is, "Not much." Pretty obviously he caved to heat from the Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson types. A nice elderly lady at the Kaplans' event last night argued the point that Team GOP knows McCain has no chance in hell. Obama is just too much, and doesn't make stupid blunders their guy is making three times a week. Therefore, stick the old loser with a sexy, red meat ideologue who at least keeps their big money zealots happy and on board for 2012.

If I had known that all I had to do to get a VEEP hired was to start a blogging campaign....I would have done this a long time ago. 15 minutes of face time--that is all it takes to become a VEEP these days? Sheez, in my current job I had to interview with 7 execs, provide 4 references, do a physical, and provide a drug test. All you have to do to become second in command is to have zit-faced college blogger in Colorado start a blogging campaign for you. Now all the little girls in the US will think it is cake to become member of the cabinet/office.....

As they got closer to the Palin selection for V.P, they must have decided to write off Minnesota as a state to move from the Blue to Red column; right off the possibility that Mitt Romney night pull Michigan, Idaho, or more votes along the upper Eastern seaboard; they must have written off Pennsylvania (where Tom Ridge could have helped them) in order to win, what?, THREE electoral votes in Alaska?

I agree Rebecca, Sarah Palin's life, record, and predicament reads like a sleazy supermarket page turner. Add to that the fact that the campaigns waited until almost the very moment Gustav hit land, when all the networks and cable news had gone wall-to-wall coverage of the hurricane to announce that Gov. Palin's out of wedlock daughter was 5 months pregnant -- the McCain campaign looks like a cross between the movies "Broadcast News," and "Nashville." You can't say they are proud of the Palin Family Soap if they tried so hard to hide behind a hurricane to announce it.

Most mainline print sources have gone with stories on the impact of Palin family soap opera while broadcast (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) is still focusing all its attention on Gustav. This is the kind of personal drama anyone living with five kids in a trailer park can identify with, don't you think? Is it a voting block?

I heard a rumor that the reward for raising $500,000 for the McCain campaign will be an invitation to the shotgun wedding in Alaska with the Governor holding the gun to the head of the groom... can you confirm Brian?

THEORY: John McCain has very coyly made a long way around the barn move to put his buddy Joe Lieberman's name back-in-play and to teach the fundamentalist right-wing a lesson about not putting pressure on him in the heat of the battle to do their bidding.

Nothing else makes sense with the McCain "thought-process" if you can call it that.

LAMBERT: I'll check on that prize money. But I remain convinced that McCain has lost control of his own campaign.

Biotech Nerd, in your usual Nickelodeon simplistic way of assessing national politics, the vetting of Palin was a little more in depth than a college blogger. I am willing to bet all the money Franken will receive from ACORN that her vetting was more intense than your trip to the drug testing facility.
With that being said, is being a community organizer, Illinois State Senator and US Senator by default for three years make you the commander in chief? You probably support Al Franken, the guy who has more failures to his name (radio, movies, sitcoms, businesses) than Palin could ever dream, however he will be your choice for US Senate.
Hillary Clinton, the woman that NOW and all the other liberal fringe groups support waffled on Iraq, Immigration, Taxes, Energy - I guess girls all across the US will now think that all you have to do is change your position on everything and lie and you can be Senator or President.
Sheez.

LAMBERT: NOW -- "liberal fringe group"? Just because Laura Bush and Cindy McCain don't attend ...

First of all, I think it is a little too early to start measuring the curtains in the White House. Over confidence is the greatest liability in an election.
So Palin is the choice of Dobson and Limbaugh? Obama is the choice of Oberman, Moveon.org, ACORN (group which was found guilty of voter fraud). Obama played to the "moderate" white base of the Democrats by choosing 35 year old white guy insider Joe Biden- the plagarist who came in last in the primaries and voted for the Iraq war. I thought this was about judgement? Didn't Biden want to break up Iraq into three countries? I know there will be a reason for all that Biden does - McCain did no different than Obama trying to fill a void in their base. Difference is McCain is the wrong part, right?

LAMBERT: The biggest problem in an election is a flawed, bungling candidate.

Re the Palin girl, abstinence works until it doesn't. Feels like back to the 50's.

LAMBERT: Apparently there's no saying "no" in Alaska.

Brian -- I agree with your take on Palin. While I get that McCain may think she will bring in some of the Clinton voters, in reality he will be proven dead wrong.

At least Pawlenty is a known commodity that comes across as a decent and intelligent person. Other than being a female, I can't think of anything Palin adds -- and with McCain getting older -- she scares me. Now throw in the pregnant daughter and you get a really lousy choice.

To lighten things up, I am currently in Sin City with hot election news. While driving out in the remote desert, I saw two large Ron Paul for President signs. Nearly drove off the road laughing.

LAMBERT: Vegas strikes me as Ron Paul country.

While Palin was on virtually no one's radar, I wonder who else he could have picked? Teflon Tim would have been fodder for Obama - MN economy worse than the rest of the country's (his own finance guy said we were in a recession months ago), higher unemployment rate, and oh, yeah - crumbling, collapsing infrastructure. And in the last 6 weeks its become pretty apparent that T-Paw wasn't going to change the game here.

Romney - no way, Mormon and McCain really doesn't like him. And just what the party needs; TWO rich white guys with no idea about the middle class

Giuliani - McCain doesn't like him and Biden skewered him for all time with the noun-verb-911 line

Ridge, Lieberman, et al. No way the screaming Christian zealots would have the foresight and allow something that could actually help their chances.

What's REALLY been enjoyable is hearing everyone spin how Palin IS more ready than Obama - you should of heard bat-sh*t crazy Bachmann spin it this morning on NPR.

I don't think Palin survives. More baggage coming out, she's flip flopped, unprepared, and already the polls are showing that women understand this was nothing but a political stunt McCain pulled. She's gone by the end of September.

LAMBERT: I believe there's a lot of pressure on the lady for her big speech Wednesday. Truly Must See TV.

Flawed, bungling candidates?

Let's be honest, isn't the main flaw not being a Democrat?

This was my favorite flawed bungling candidate...

In 2002, 74 year old Walter Mondale is asked by a reporter what the biggest difference between him and Norm Coleman is. Mondale pauses looks to the sun then says "That's for you to decide".

LAMBERT: I can give you very long list of flawed, bungling Democrats. I've even worked for some of them. But McCain meets all the criteria.

NOW should be called NOLW - it only supports liberal women. Instead of applauding someone for raising five kids, and being civic minded, Sarah Palin is chastised in a matter of minutes.

Would this not be a plight for women, even if she is a Republican? Where was NOW during the Monica Lewinsky matter? Where was NOW with Paula Jones? The woman Bill Clinton paid out money on a sexual harassment suit.

NOW is a totally windbag, hypocritical liberal fringe group misleading itself as an organization for the advancement of women issues. At best it's is another arm of the Democratic party.

LAMBERT: I remember a pretty interesting debate during that epochal "scandal" we now wistfully remember as Clinton & Lewinsky. The NOW gals wrangled quite a bit, before arriving at a kind of unofficial consensus that what Bill did was stupid and crude (like a lot of men they know) he at least -- in stark contrast to Republican philanderers -- had actually pushed through legislation improving their collective lot in life. There is an upside i to actually, you know, DOING something in government office.

Let's see, I am trying to keep a list of all the things we cannot talk about in this election as free citizens according to McCain and the Republicans:

1) we cannot talk about John McCains sexual affair with a political lobbyist that he didn't want to give up but his campaign managers insisted he must if he wanted to win the primaries

2) we cannot talk about failed family values (Palin teen pregnancy) and irresponsible parenting because FAMILY is off-limits;

3) we cannot talk about Palin having her sisters ex-husband fired without cause because he was seeking custody of their child because FAMILY is off-limits;

4) we cannot talk about Bush, Cheney & Rumsfeld... at all...

This list is growing longer and longer. How long will FOX be able to hold out and pretend everything is perfectly idillic in the world of McCain & Palin?

LAMBERT: Leaving the Xcel early this morning I noticed FoxNews, upon the giant Jumbotron, making an association between the RNC, "Republican response" to Gustav and the drop in oil prices. These guys have got it under control, I'm telling you.

Ah, the hypocrisy of the left.

The blatant, frothing, addled, vicious hypocrisy.

LAMBERT: i always get a "special feeling" when guys like you start railing against "hypocrisy". Have you renewed your patent?

Hi Brian--

Not sure you want this on this thread, but I send it to you for your consideration as a response to your posting and the general shark tank of our American life and times.

Best regards, Mike

--
I Stand In Support Of Sarah Pallin

I stand fully in support of Sarah Pallin. Don't confuse this support with any agreement with John's McCain's choice of her as his running mate, or with any agreement with her decision to accept this time-consuming job during this difficult time in her family's life. But I stand in support of her humanity.

I will not stab at her with the knives of the punditry; and I will accept in Sarah the fact she is a fellow American just trying her best to manage her work and life, wading through all the obstacles fate and America place in front of any every human being attempting to do so.

I'll try not to wag a finger at my fellow Americans today, but I cannot go without wagging my tongue at those classless Americans who choose to attack her. Please people, act like the Christ (or celebrities) we all like to pretend we worship. Please stop attacking people who make decisions you do not agree with and certainly stop attacking people who have fateful occurrences crop up in their life.

In this country today--without decent and affordable health care, without decent and affordable education or employment for all, without decent and genuine good role models for our youth, filled with citizens immersed in greed and selfishness, with an uncaring confused government and religious organizations--all of which combine to fill our media with stories of those who are unable and unwilling to catch people who fall on hard times or whose decisions left them burdened with career/life threatening anguish. In the face of all that surrounds you every day--what gives you the right to pile on and attack the Pallins?

But for the grace of God, that might have been you, your sister, good friend, or kind neighbor...ironically, unexpected pregnancies probably have happened to one or more of these people and still you deny it like it is alien or is not the same when it happens to this politician. But, it is similar enough, so when are you going to realize this and stop releasing your dogs on anyone you think is different than you and your blessed existence?

I will not vote for John McCain, but it has nothing to do with down-syndrome babies or unwed mothers. It has nothing to do with inexperience on Pallin's part, or even old age on McCain's part. It has to do with his vision for America. Fate has caused the 'maverick' McCain to make a 'judgement' that the punditry and gossiping classes of America will enjoy wagging their pointed tongues at, and today I can only shake my head at these poorest of the poor, these most hypocritical of the hypocrites in our country--those who cannot accept any fellow American who is down on their luck. And that, my fellow American, has to stop in order for our country to grow better.

God loves irony, and Senator Obama has gained my vote exactly because this is the vision he seems to represent for Americans. If we could stand up as a country and focus on what is truly important--and it is not higher or lower taxes, it is not religious right or left, and it is not found in most of the last 30 years of Democratic and Republican ideology--it is the ability to care for all of mankind. It is the need to take on the challenge to overcome the sins of greed and selfishness. It is the pursuit, not of happiness (meaning make me happy with new toys or technology), but the pursuit of real meaning in life in in this timeless pursuit make the world a better, happier place.

Hate the sin, not the sinner...judge not, lest you be judged...do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. These guiding religious statements exist in all religions, and yet seem now to be selectively applied by all religious people--why? I'll let you answer that question for yourself.

But as for me--I'll vote for Obama, and I'll hope for the best possible change from our corporatized special interest lobbies, the mis-focused and gridlocked congress, and confused country that has resulted. And I'll vote and work against all politicians of any party who chooses corruption and special interest over the pursuit of a better America for all Americans.

And, if called upon, I'll baby-sit for Sarah anytime she needs a break, and I'll spoon oatmeal into John McCain's mouth when he ends up as a bed-ridden invalid in some nursing home that he'll own and not remember. Because I want to live in a country that cares for its fellow Americans, regardless of race, color, or creed, whether richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do us part. God has blessed America, now it is time for Americans to do the same.

LAMBERT: THAT'S a tough act to follow.

Roger Ailes: "I'm king of the world! I'm king of the world!'

Have there been any Roger sightings? Or is he in the bunker with Cheney?

LAMBERT: There was a rock in Rice Park. i was sure Roger was under it.

The price for a barrel of oil dropped before Gustav hit shore. How could the Republican "response" have effect the price of oil when world-wide the barrel price dropped before they responded, before Gustav did its damage?

Roger you are clever like a FOX.

LAMBERT: The price of oil fell on FoxNews' watch.

No, it's really not.

It's just a self-satisfied prig drinking some self deluding Obama-lade, and insulting a man who has served, and will serve this country in more ways than Obama could ever dream of doing.

I, like most "typical" Americans, reviled as we are by the elitist punditry, want my family kept safe and the economy to recover.

McCain and Palin are the best qualified to see to this.

LAMBERT: But the economy is trying to recover ... from your team.

Let's ask the Other Mike how he feels about the NEA and the 50 lobbyists they have in town.

Or maybe he just skipped over the Pearlstein piece last week in his intoxicating bout with Obama-ardor.

BJ = "Let's ask the Other Mike how he feels about the NEA and the 50 lobbyists they have in town."

Bertram, my dear man and fellow Lambert commentor, certainly you must know that the business of education in this country is a complex societal issue, a subject ill-suited for coverage on a blog thread, especially one that is off topic. So, I will not do so.

However, on topic, is the role of the media in advancing the discussion of education in our fine country. As an adjunct, we might discuss how little they report the abuses of government, lobbyists, school administrators, and parent/students with an eye to solutions. But, I will not do so.

What I will call to question, is personal responsibility related to education--you seem to observe a problem here related to the NEA--
--Have you contacted anyone there to inquire into their waste of education-based money?
--Have you brought the issue to the attention of your elected local, state, and national representatives?
--Have you done anything other than ask me about it? What do you feel I should do for you about it, when you cannot be troubled to even clarify your concern in your request?

But, please, do not take this as a dig, because for most of my life I have avoided my responsibilities in matters such as these. I relied on school board representatives, PTA members, teachers, teacher unions, and other various elected officials to handle such matters.
--just like I did for health care.
--just like I did for the Iraq war, mortgage lending, NAFTA, corporate outsourcing, et al.

It is time for a change--Obama got there first, and has articulated the basis for change best.

He will win, but you know what? If he doesn't, McCain will have to step up, because the expectation of the next president is the same for him too, and I'll deal with that the same way I've dealt with eight Bush years--I'll focus on change I can make--in myself.

One of the changes I've made in the last year, is to stop being part of the partisan divide, I invite you to do the same. It is very distracting to reframe every discuss through the partisan political lens...and it often dilutes and compromises away any advancement on the true issues facing our country.

Remember the old saying 'if you are not part of the solution, you are the problem?' I do believe that is part of the problem in Washington, and if it is there, why would it not be here too?

I hope that gives you an idea of how I feel about your question. Best wishes--Mike

My next question for you is:

How much more in additional tax contribution did you send in to the Government last year?

Your question is off topic, so I'll ask Brian to feel free to toss this response out and not post it.

But I will offer this response--
Zero...because my entire tax situation changed last year.

However, honestly BJ, is tax amount your most important measure of life? How sad. Do you even take the time to consider the value provided to you and your community with these taxes, or do you close your mind with your checkbook?

Think larger BJ, don't just limit yourself to tax amount.
--Would you have paid more taxes the last five years if it would have meant the I-35 bridge would not have collapsed?
--Would you pay more in taxes if your children would be provided health care coverage as a result? I have two sons without health care today.

Ah, but this is too hard to figure out, right; so let's just give up and focus solely on lower taxes.
--but clean air and water should still magically happen, right?
--and roads be repaired with a snap of my fingers, and bridges be inspected and replaced for free.
--and when tornadoes or hurricanes strike, people should wait for their church to send some people over to clean up the mess, right?
--and free market should control the internet and schools and radio and TV and phone and utilities...like they do health care, right?

Look BJ, you probably don't care what I'm saying and that's fine. I'm not on this planet (and Brian's blog) to educate you or any readers about my values. But all I'm really saying is I am okay with taxes and government having a role in my life.

And I'll ask you not to ask me questions unless you are willing to consider my point of view and respond with consideration of it. To just toss random 'gotcha'-type questions at me and not even respond to my prior discussion here just wastes people's time.

In fact, we are already off topic here, and out of respect to Brian, I will stop now and not respond unless you return on topic. Regards--Mike

LAMBERT: The phrase "considered position" is not in bertram's lexicon or range of life-experience. Think of him as a transmitter tower for Sean Hannity.

I'm rather concerned that you spend so much time proseletyzing for socialism, and positing that higher taxes would solve the problem of under engineered and corroded bridge gusset plates, while your two sons have no medical insurance.

And you, Bri, a mere cipher for your idealogical doppelganger Olberman?

Yes BJ, show your concern for me and tell me what am I missing that you can provide me?

Or, more to the real thread topic, how about an answer to my responses above? How about a real answer, not some blathered useless label and revisionist history about gusset engineering.

My geniune concern is for those like you who have it all figured out...to the cent. Don't take it with you when you go.

Regards BJ and good luck--Mike