Sarah Palin goes on the political attack
Originally published Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 12:06 a.m.
Updated Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 10:17 a.m.
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WASHINGTON — Gov. Sarah Palin has been unleashed by her McCain camp handlers to attack their Democratic opponents, Sens. Barack Obama and Joseph Biden.
Following her successful performance in last week’s vice presidential debate, Palin has been handed the traditional attack-dog duties of a running mate by launching an offensive on Obama’s character and readiness to be president.
An aide to McCain recently told reporters that the campaign was seeking to shift the focus of the presidential race away from the economy to one of Obama’s character. Since then Palin has gone from hockey mom to pit bull.
But Palin’s newfound political persona is a far cry from promises she made during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign to focus on issues instead of personal attacks.
Here’s Palin in a wide-ranging 2006 interview with Fairbanks Daily News-Miner editors:
“A lot of people are apathetic about campaigns because you see a lot of the garbage that goes on in campaigns and the personal attacks and the character assassinations that are so unnecessary,” she said. “They’re useless; they detract from the issues.”
“Young people, I believe, they get turned off by that. And they think, ‘You know, I have better things to do than waste my time on this.’ And that’s a shame. I’d like to set a different tone there in terms of politics in this state, in terms of campaigning. And that’s why too, I’m not gonna go negative. I’m not gonna go throwing mud at any other candidate. And we will, we’ll stick with the issues.”
But Palin checked the niceties at the door on Sunday, when she accused Obama of “palling around with terrorists who would target their own country.”
Palin, 44, was referring to 1960s radical Bill Ayers, a former member of the Vietnam-era radical group Weather Underground.
Ayers, now a professor at the University of Illinois, hosted a meet-the-candidate event for Obama early in his political career, but the Obama camp said he is not close to the Illinois senator. The two also served together on two education- and charity-related boards in Chicago.
Obama has condemned Ayers’ past radical activities as “detestable,” and Obama’s campaign has said the candidate was unaware of his past activities when they met in the mid-1990s.
Obama’s running mate dismissed Palin’s attack, calling it “over the top.”
“It’s just malarkey, flat malarkey. Barack Obama was 8 years old when this man engaged in the activates he was engaged in. He is no part of our campaign,” Biden said Wednesday in an appearance on “The Early Show” on CBS.
Despite pushback from the Obama campaign, Palin has kept up her attacks this week.
On Monday, Palin expanded her negative comments to include Obama’s relationship with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who was caught on video making anti-American comments from the pulpit.
Obama denounced Wright and cut all ties with his church after the videos surfaced. McCain previously said he did not think Wright should be an issue in the campaign.
At a campaign stop in Florida on Tuesday, Palin portrayed Obama as dishonest and a risky choice for president. She also repeated her accusation that Obama had not been truthful about his relationship with Ayers.
“You mean to tell me he doesn’t know he launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist?” Palin told supporters.
Palin sidestepped questions from reporters about whether voters concerned about the economy would be turned off by her use of divisive campaign tactics, saying the Ayers issue was central to evaluating Obama’s character.
“It comes down to one ticket’s proposal that can be trusted, and another ticket’s proposal to deal with some of these issues and maybe questioning the truthfulness and the intention there,” Palin said. “I think it’s very relevant.”
Palin added that she was only trying to let Americans see who the “real Barack Obama is.”
A spokesman for the McCain-Palin campaign said questions about Ayers and Wright are relevant because the American people deserve to know with whom Obama associates.
“It’s not an issue of dirty campaigning, it’s an issue of Obama’s experience and judgment and his questionable associations,” said Rick Gorka, the McCain campaign’s West Coast spokesman. “When someone is as green and naive as Sen. Obama is, it’s fully inbounds to look at who he depends on for advice.”
Both presidential candidates had previously pledged to forego mudslinging during the race. But the closeness of the contest — most national polls give Obama a single-digit lead that’s within the margin of error, though some show him up by double digits over McCain — appears to have led to an escalation of hostilities four weeks before election day.
Obama launched his own attack against McCain ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debate.
The Obama camp sent out a 13-minute online video documenting McCain’s relationship with Charles Keating, a lawyer and banker who was jailed for his role in the savings and loan scandal in the late 1980s.
Political strategists say negative attacks in ads and from the stump are popular because they are proven effective, even though most voters say they dislike them.
“McCain and Palin are running behind, so they’re using more negative attacks,” said Jerry McBeath, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “They have nothing to lose.”
McBeath said it was easy for Palin to shun negative tactics during her gubernatorial bid because she was in the lead. But now she has to play the role traditionally expected of vice-presidential candidates.
“They will throw the mud,” McBeath said. “It gives the head of the ticket the opportunity to appear dignified.”
Don Rieck, executive director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, said highlighting the contrasts between you and your opponent is an effective tactic.
“Candidates don’t do things by accident,” Rieck said. “If you’re a candidate that’s trailing and you’re not getting traction on the issues … you’re going to go negative.”
Rieck said the best example of how effective negative attacks can work is the Willie Horton ad in the 1988 presidential race, which painted Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis as soft on crime.
While voters say they dislike negative attacks, the same polls show voters are clearly influenced by them.
“There’s a cognitive disconnect between what they say they like and how they vote,” Rieck said.
Community Discussion
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Obama's background is a campaign issue and should be discussed. To be fair, so should McCain's. The point is, it is truly baffling that Obama continues to be "friendly" with a terrorist, only cut-off ties to a righteous racist when it no longer served his campaign, further, he refuses to discuss his involvement with ACORN which is currently under Federal investigation for voter fraud in Nevada.
Add to this, his FAR left agenda, his record of raising taxes and for refusing to establish laws to protect live babies who were in the process of abortion, ... and you have the most evil and dangerous man this country, ... no, this world has seen in a long, long time.
He is an unrepentant sick individual.
Now, cue the lunatic liberal comments.
Ponderous....did you truly "ponder" what you were going to say or did you just figure, like Palin, if you parrot nonsense often enough it becomes fact? This seems to be the right-wing, conservative tactic anymore. Forget truth. Do as Palin does and ignore her statements made in 2006 about personal attacks and start flingin' the mud.
So, let's look at McCain's questionable connections. First, there is the simple fact he has supported Bush in 90% of his administration's actions over the past 8 years. That alone should qualify McCain for an intense amount of shame and embarrassment. Second, let's look at his connections to the Iran/Contra scandal from the Reagan era. You don't see him bringing those up and for good reason: they would make him look like a semi-Facist at best. Third, let's look at Palin's connections to the highly anti-American AIP. Vogler couldn't get far enough away from America. He detested it and said so often and clearly. Of course, he was only too eager to take advantage of its liberties and protections but then you find that sort of hypocrisy to be common in the ultra-right wing types. Palin, now wanting to appear pure, down-on-the-farm, Joe Six-Pack-ish suddenly has no need of the AIP. She was glad to use that connection when it served her purpose but now that it could cause her problems, she avows having nothing to do with despite indisputable evidence to the contrary.
And against that you stack up an association Obama had when he was in grade school? Good lord, could anything be more tennuous and streaked with mud (as well as more organic substances) than the innuendoes (which are all they are) you employ with no regard to present fact?
Strikes me the only lunacy is what you have just exhibited. Now, take a peanut and go back up on your perch with the rest of the McCain parrots.
BTW, as someone who has owned two pit bulls (as well as several dobermans) I take great offense to the likening of Palin to a pit bull. She's more like one of those little yappy dogs that nip at ankles, bark in strident tones at anything that moves, and go running to hide behind their owner at the slightest threat (witness how she is once again cutting back the number of public interviews she will have).
Granted, she had terrific freak value when McCain first brought her out but as her declining approval numbers both inside Alaska as well as throughout the rest of the nation shows, that novelty has worn off. She's no pit bull; at least they have a certain nobility of spirit. She's just a little tea-cup poodle that thinks she's a rottweiler. (No offense meant to rottie owners; I've known a few of those grand dogs, too, and think they are great.)
The Daily News Miner is still quoting McBeath for these stories? Please get a clue...please!
The author of this article, R.E. Dillon, is a political hack, claiming to be the the DNM reporter from D.C. (from his curriculum vita (sic): "CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, Alaska April 2005 to present"). He is clearly biased against McCain/Palin (and Alaska, one would conclude by reading his website, http://alaskanabroad.typepad.com/an_alas...).
Dillon's curriculum vitae also indicates Dillon works for the "Energy Intelligence Group", a part of the oil industry. ("POLITICAL REPORTER, Energy Intelligence Group, Washington, DC July 2006 to present"). In its own words, the "Energy Intelligence Group has reported on the international oil and gas business -- and the events that surround it -- for over 50 years... Our extensive and international customer base reads like a who's who of the global oil business." (http://energyintelligenceresearch.com/ab...) Clearly, Dillon should not be the DNM correspondent from D.C. as he already is strictly bought by the oil industry. In fact, he brags about the money he's getting for covering the VP contest ("I guess you could call this the Veep Jeep since I paid for it with all the additional work I've gotten covering the McCain-Palin campaign.": his website, caption under the shiny yellow Jeep photos). We all khow the oil companies get along with Palin.
Dillon's concurrent employment by the DNM and the oil companies explains DNM's obvious anti-Palin bias in their D.C. stories; other biases can be deduced.
Dillon should be fired immediately from the DNM for his clear employment conflict, as well as his unhidden bias in reporting! You can't fairly report news to the citizenry of Fairbanks as the DNM correspondent in D.C. while being employed by multinational oil companies.
The DNM incompentence in hiring this guy should be apparent, as well.
.
"Kill the pigs", was one of the slogans of terrorist, and Obama confidant, Bill Ayers.
The terrorist group Ayers founded set off bombs all across America- and they managed to kill one police officer, and blind another, in one bombing. In other attacks on police officers they injured dozens of cops.
Dillon has not reported on the full relationship Obama has with this terrorist.
Senior Obama strategist David Axlerod told one news group that Obama and Ayers were friendly.
Here is an excerpt of what CNN reported yesterday:
"Obama and Ayers had a connection not just through the education and charity boards, but in the area of juvenile justice. Obama praised Ayers' book on the subject in a 1997 Chicago Tribune review, calling it "a searing and timely account of the juvenile court system, and the courageous individuals who rescue hope from despair."
In an event organized by Obama's wife Michelle, then-Illinois state Sen. Obama was listed as a panelist along with Ayers on a discussion involving juvenile justice issues."
Dillon also falls flat in his attempt to use what Sarah said in a completely different campaign as a basis to attack her.
It is most illuminating that Terrorist Ayers has reaffirmed his support for using terrorism, and that Obama still had dealing with the nut job even after it was clear what Ayers stood for.
I do not imagine many police officers will be voting for Obama.
Excuse me. Typo. His name is R.A. Dillon. Sorry.
.
The difference between myself and most Americans is most Americans believe we can force our will on the world by military force. Albeit, that figure is changing somewhat because of the Iraq war.
In the fall of 1967 on Vietnam’s DMZ nearly 2000 marines tried to prevent 35,000 North Vietnamese soldiers from coming across the DMZ.. Not only did they not prevent communist soldiers from coming across into South Vietnam, but the numbers of North Vietnamese soldiers increased to the point a few months later the 1968 Tet happened, and battles like Khe Sahn and Hue City killed and wounded many more US Marines.
I was at Con Thien with Echo Company 2nd Bn. 4th Marines. I was wounded in November, and spent the next 8 months reading the Stars and Stripes reading names from a hospitable bed of my friends who died. My unit 2nd Bn 4th Marines won 4 Congressional Medals of Honor from September 67 to May 2nd 1968.
This is why I am voting for Obama. I am voting for Obama because he sees limits to American military power, and sees the full power of Americans at home. Obama sees we can change the world not only by military force but by the force of example. John McCain still after all these years does not understand military force should only be used after every other solution to an international problem does not exist, or is not available.
As for Palin. She reminds me of an Amway distributer. In todays world we need someone who grasps complicated global $$$ big person issues.
Hey, DMZMarine. I appreciate your service and input. May I ask what in this article made you decide to register and comment for the first time? Also wondering if you're an Alaskan resident.
Just curious, not attacking.
Thanks!
.
dobie,
thanks for proving my point, "Now, cue the lunatic liberal comments."
When someone thanks me for my service I wonder about their agenda. Mostly some who has never seen heavy combat. As for being an Alaskan resident what does it matter? If this woman was from Idaho I would wonder what terrorist White Cause she wants the rest of the country to support. This woman is from Alaska and we have to listen to her undereducated sound bite understanding of our terrible problems.
Maybe somebody appreciated what you did for our country, but if you doubt their sentiment, the fault is yours.
This article gives plenty of reasons NOT to vote for Obama.
"Ayers hosted a meet-the-candidate event for Obama early in his political career." (I.e. Obama will associate with known terrorists in order to further his political career.)
"Obama’s campaign has said the candidate was unaware of his past activities when they met in the mid-1990s." Did Ayers keep all of his radical, anti-American rhetoric to himself when he was around Obama? Not likely. Even Obama's wife showed her anti-American feelings with the "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country" comment.
“It’s just malarkey, flat malarkey. Barack Obama was 8 years old when this man engaged in the activates he was engaged in. He is no part of our campaign,” Biden said. What a ridiculous statement! Obama's age at the time of Ayer's terroristic activities has nothing to do with Obama's culpability. That's like saying that thirty years from now it would be o.k. if a politician launched his political career from the house/cave of Osama Bin Ladin because "he was only eight years old" on 9/11/01.
"Obama denounced Wright and cut all ties with his church AFTER THE VIDEOS SURFACED [emphasis mine]." So, Obama is comfortable being under Wright's radical racist preaching for 20 years then suddenly disassociates himself for political expediency.
Does anyone else see a pattern here? Obama is an opportunist who prefers anti-American, racist associations and will use those to further his political career. He will only distance himself from them if it somehow impedes his own vie for power.
If that's not enough, let's talk about the issues. Obama thinks that giving your enemy the timetable of your withdrawal is a good strategy to win a war.
Obama thinks that increasing taxes on those who create jobs is a good economic policy.
Obama thinks that the government would do a good job running the nation's healthcare system. There are plenty of military readers out there. Any of you think THAT'S a good idea? I've served in the military and lived in a country with socialized medicine; both of them had lousy healthcare.
I find Palin's lame attempt to paint Obama as a "pal of terrorists" when his association with the terrorist was through a school program sponsored by one of the most conservative of Republicans, the Annenbergs. What the McCain/Pallin campaign keeps secret is McCain's association with a group that advocated collaboration with Nazi's and support South American death squads, or Palin's association with the Alaska Independence Party, formed by Fairbanks gadfly and radical Joe Vogler. I met Vogler as a young reporter and found him to be determined to remove Alaska from the union, because of his hate for America and even more hate for anything or anyone who would try to regulate the mining industry. So, I would say that McCain and Palin should be careful who they try to paint as terrorist lovers, especially with all the skeltons in their closets.
Of course McCain "has supported Bush in 90% of his administration's actions over the past 8 years", both claim to be republicans... I still have little trust in Obama because he is a lawyer. With all the lawyers in Congress it is no wonder the we are in the trouble financially. I would just as soon have no Congress meetings for a year, at least then there would be no new laws, earmarks or taxes.
Thank you, geist, for proving that, at least, here in the interior, we can say without a doubt we have media journalists who are all but worshipping the ground Obama walks on. I find your lame attempt to besmirch McCain and Palin pretty common place in the liberal media community.
I also see patterns of rewards given freely, gainfully by Obama & his wife's business contacts & employer. I also see patterns of a starter but not a finisher. When things get tough Obama walks away. For the bigger buck, or finds someone to step up to his ideas & take over for him or walks away.... Alot of patterns & exposure & mentoring to Obama that are of serious concern for me. There's many interviews & articles out there to read, one article by someone that lives in Chicago where Obama worked with 2 churches in the 80's. Said, if he couldn't lead & guide the neighborhood out of it's problems he should not be in office to lead the US. I can't walk in his shoes but I have studied & researched his walk & I don't want to walk with him in any manner or form. I just couldn't live in that house they brought knowing it was paid for by illegal activities at the expense of citizens & voters by a personal friend.
McCain needs to see the world outside of the military & oil, let the voters talk & be heard at his speeches longer than he talks. He needs to listen & address problem solving skills & solutions. Baldwin & Nadar needs to be more vocal to be heard. Who ever gets elected needs to redo the congress' mismanagment with the bailout. To many brought votes as rewards needs a practice needs to be stopped. It's at the expense of all the ones paying for it the voters. Solutions that work not...
The organizer: what did Barack Obama really do in Chicago?
National Review, June 30, 2008 by Byron York
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1...
Senator Barack H. Obama Jr. (IL)
http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=BS03...
National Advertisements On Censorship by Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report
http://www.usasurvival.org/obama.html
Obama and the Farrakhan Trap
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YWU...
His Congress Senator's site for viewing all votes, communities, & info on him is enlightening if you are undecided still. Spend sometime reading facts & if you wish follow up on newspapers in Ill. on the info of the time frames. And not exactly for the whole state of Ill. but for the select few very rewarding to Obama as well. Connections, connections on both sides of the rich, questionable, legally, the law & court systems or the norm... He runs for Pres. & stops all state money for 2008 for Ill. in congress on his behalf or state business of Ill. as their senator. Kinda like the neighborhood in Chicago he walked away from too.
Patterns, Patterns, Patterns, Patterns, Patterns.
Reminds me of a song..
These boots are made for walking. One day these boots are going to walk all over you....
No thank you.
Now I have lived in Alaska for almost 12 years. A veteran of the Armed Forces, a reputable and educated citizen of this state. I am a taxpayer and a Christian. I donot believe in voting for one particular party. I voted for Sarah Palin because I believed her to be a woman of integrity and of high moral values. I have listened to the debates and everyone's comments. I want a president that is nothing like Bush or who uses similiar strategies and ideas that reflect his thinking. Choosing Sarah was a bad choice for a man of advanced years as McCain. One year in the White House is 4 years of your life. Sarah is too unlearned of world events, protocols, knowledge and experience to be dealing with this mess we are in if McCain gets sick or dies. Let's think logicially! Many of these countries do not deal too kindly with or respect woman enough to want to debate with them and talk politics. Sarah needs about 8 more years to learn leadership in a different, global and diverse manner. Start with having people who work with and for her (leadership and staff) fairly represent ALL the people that make up the population. She does not have minorities working in upper management areas or as Directors of any State Departments. America is big melting pot of people not just one race. Obama was atleast smart enough to choose a running mate that was knowledgeable and experienced in the areas where he is weak. If anything happened to him, Bidden would step in as a learned president. McCain says he does not know how many houses he owns. What! When thousands of voters are strugglibg to hold on to theirs or have lost it to the bank! We have lost over 700,000 jobs and counting in America this year. He cannot even relate to the people. Donald Trump knows how many houses, workers, and properties he has & owns. Just be honest. So it comes down to choosing someone that closely resembles you and understand your struggles. Both candidates have past issues and events that can shed a dark cloud over their lives and judgements. Move on and choose the one that will closely restore peace, balance, opportunity, hope, money, justice and a new direction in America like FDR did after the Great Depression. No one is perfect and Sarah should not allow McCain and his advisors to use her negatively to personally discredit anyone. Obama refused to allow his people to bad mouth her daughter or her parenting skills with the pregnancy of her 17 yr old teen. Do not lose your professionalism or self-respect. A good name still means something!
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flowerjay,
McCain invests in the housing market. What! Never heard of such a thing? So what if he owns multiple houses, it was a loaded trick question to force the appearance of indulgence.
When the facts stated are true, then it's not mud. It's the made up stuff and half truths and inuendo that qualify as mud. The former community organizer Obama has a past filled with anti-American characters and groups.
As I recall the Keating 5 that were found guilty were Democrat Senators Alan Cranston, and I believe John Glenn. The investigation, led by Democrat Bob Bennet, found McCain innocent of all charges, except bad judgement of sitting in at a meeting with Keating. Once---not over and over again as are the charges against Obama.
Palin has denied being a member of AIP, and I've seen no evidence to the contrary. Joe Vogler never set bombs at government buildings. Pretty gutsy, besmirching the deceased.
The Democrats were foolish to nominate a candidate who has never been fully vetted. Heck, Hillary brought this Ayers stuff up a few months ago during their primary debate.. Yet nobody on that side of the aisle addressed it..
Today they pay for that mistake..
Last time I checked Sarah Palin was running for VP. Stop comparing her to Obama. Even though she has more executive experience than Obama, John McCain is running for President. Quit using the scare tactic that he is 72 years old and had cancer 4 times. The American people are not stupid and do not want a Democratic President and Democratic Congress. Imagine the liberal Supreme Court justices and the Socialist programs that will be shoved down American's throats. Scary indeed! Taxes will be raised on everyone.
Flowerjay - The world will not respect a woman leacer? Now that is a sexist comment. Seems to me Margarett Thatcher had a vast amount of respect.
Another thing that amazes me is that the associations that the Republicans are bringing up now concern ing Obama were originally brought up by Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden during the Democratic primaries. Now all of a sudden it is being called smear tactics. Just proves the point that the liberal media giants are doing everything they can to sway the election for Obama. Americans need to wake up and study the key issues. Look at the sources for your information. Hint....the DNM is among the liberal cheerleaders for Obama so look elsewhere. The DNM will lose readership and any integrity they ever had by the time this election is over.
In todays world this country needs intelligent leaders desperately, that being the case, Palin needs to do the country a favor and quit the race.
Does Palin have a high school diploma?
Mr. Ayers, who in 1970 was said to have summed up the Weatherman philosophy as:....is a bald faced lie, and hearsay that is repeated over and over by Obama Haters. Beside that, let the record reflect, that while John Sydney McCain III, was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he violated the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) by signing several documents the Vietcong presented him with, that condemned the USA a a "Imperialist Nation", a 3 page documents admitting warcrimes and accusing american soldiers of committing war crimes. Of 434 US POW's, 4 signed documents to that effect, 430 did not. What Ayers did has absolutely no connection to Obama, except for the slanderous ones made up by the desperate right. By choosing Palin, he lost the election, as sure as Gore lost when he selected Lieberman. As far as the AIP is concerned, I have no issues with their desire at the time to remain a territory, however there was a referendum, defective as it was in many ways, that chose Statehood. There were more People in Hawaii opposed to Statehood, but for better reasons. Their Island nation was stolen by Bible toting colonialists, that considered Sugar to be King, and some of those original Robber Preachers Families still own a huge amount of stolen land in Hawaii. Alaska on the other hand was purchased from Russia, in a legal transaction, from Russia, whose empire owned it for a long time, without ever considering the native populations right to own their own land.(They were nomadic people) The whites that came to Alaska, for the most part came here to Mine Gold, and get rich. I do not deny the Pioneers that worked hard to get where they ended up, their right to self determination, but the hand has been dealt, and the Washington Government will NEVER relinquish the Military and strategic advantages as well as the mineral wealth that is Alaska. Nunavut is waiting for those that want an independent Native State. But I don't think there are many Native Alaskans in the AIP.
All this back and forth is good. But I for one am humiliated by this idiot woman representing our state. Now the whole rest of the world thinks we are a bunch of Evangeligal Right Wingnuts that have African Witch Doctors praying for us. The catty attacks she is launching against Obama are representing a new low in politics. Ayers should take her on for slander. He was acquitted of all charges. Dont the Neo Cons accept the American Justice System? And as a retired Vietnam Air Force Flier, I support all those that forced an end to the war in Vietnam, that Killed 58000 of my comrades, all supported by the lies coming out of the Pentagon, and Henry Kissingers mouth. The ones who fought against the Vietnam war at home, are true patriots. Our founding fathers urged us to take up arms against corrupt leaders. We now know that we fought that war for the military industrial complex that General, President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about. Very much like the war in Iraq.
I Wondering when a Key-Board Marine was going to Pop-Up !
We can’t force our will on the world by military force! Being retired from the military after 21 years, I have heard REAL-Army and Real- Marines say a lot of things, but I have Never Heard a Real-Trooper say “We Can’t force ………Fill in the blank! Thanks for making me LOL! Also be careful, they just put a guy in jail for 3 years for posing as a War-Vet with Awards!
Presidential politics aside for a moment, all this talk about Ayers in the last few days brings up something even more disturbing than Obama's connection to him. What I want to know is who in their right mind would allow a known domestic terrorist to have ANY part in educating young people? This dirtbag is a professor for crying out loud and helps define educational policy in the Chicago area at least, if not all of Illinois. If people are willing to let this guy teach their children, then I guess electing Obama isn't that big of a stretch.
McCain said it again at the 10/7 debate - that he knows how to
get Osama bin Laden, and if he were president, he would get
him. So - - he knows but hasn't done anything about it
all these years? He will only let us know how if we elect
him, otherwise bin Laden goes free? What kind of crap is that?
Either he does not know, and is lying, more lying lies.
Or he does know and is holding the country hostage until
we elect him. Shameful.
Watching the debate with the sound muted for a few minutes,
I got to observe the body language of the candidates.
Obama appears calm and in charge. He makes good eye contact
with McCain when McCain is speaking, is attentive to McCain's
words. When McCain speaks, he appears erratic, tired,
old in not a chronological sense but in a sense of appearing
weary and at the brink of collapse. Many his age and much
older are strong and spritely. He looks like a man on his
last legs. He makes no eye contact with Obama when Obama is speaking,
instead jots notes and occasionally looks up in Obama's direction. Surely with all his handlers, someone could teach him the basics of interpersonal communicaiton skills.
McCain frightens me because he makes bad choices under
pressure, and is willing to assassinate the character of his
opponent by making Obama seem "the other," a possible danger
because of his race and his middle name, rather than go one
on one with the issues. Shameful.
Not the qualities I look for in the leader of the free world.
And Palin, his sideshow distraction, revving up the crowds with
hate speeches, causing audiences to boo Obama and shout
"Off with his Head!" and "Lynch him" - - Shameful.
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Yeah, I tell ya that terrorist JOE Vogler and I were on speaking terms.....we might have been friends. In fact, I know a couple people, who are felons.
Do I get arrested NOW?
The economy is in freefall, the country is involved in two wars, and Americans face serious problems not seen before in our lifetimes. Yet, instead of addressing anything helpful or even meaningful, Ms. Palin in recent days has seen fit to whip the mobs into hateful frenzy with her sordid polemic against a decent man. The mob responds in kind with shouts of "terrorist!" and "kill him". This is a disgusting display of political smear by a political figure not seen since Joe McCarthy. This is sad day for Alaskans and a sad day for our country.
Racism is alive and doing well in the south, wonder if Obama, if elected, will wake up to a burning cross on the White house lawn. Democrats controlled the south during slavery. Will the south secede from the union again?
Oerhaps if the Obamamaniacs would pull back from their tunnel vision and look at the whole candidate instead of walking around like zombies they would see the holes in his credibility and judgment. What makes it so sad if that they are apparent and right in front of your face. Sarah Palin was the greatest thing since sliced bread as the Governor of Alaska. As soon as she was selected for VP the liberals unleashed and have continued to unleash a smear campaign. Say it ai't so and you are a liar and have just as much credibility as Obama denying his associations with radical liberals and idiots. They were good for him to launch his career but now he denounces them???? Better open up your minds and realize what you are letting slip by your tunnel vision.
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I love it! Obama supporters all have tunnel vision and just don't know what they're doing in supporting him as a Presidential candidate. What a crock! Why are Republicans turning this into a smear campaign and not focusing on the issues? If the "whole candidate" is so unfit for office, surely focusing on the issues should expose him.
Joe Vogler spoke out against the government, he hid nothing, and I agree with most of his values. Lord Obama and his wife have a history of besmerching the intelligence and honor of the people of this country. For this campaign the Obamas and the media have quashed the remarks and associations showing them to be the elitists that they are. Aditionaly Joe Vogler worked for a living.
McCain is Irish republican Army, a former terrorist group, because his last name is Irish..........
Plus I wonder how many babies and innocent people he killed in Vietnam.....
The above statements are only fair as they are just as far fetched and ridiculous as the, laughable, desperate attacks on Obama as posted above, that sound like they were written by "tweekers" on their third day with no sleep.
Oh yeah, we don't need an animal in the White House.....
(I can picture McCain walking a leashed Sarah Palin on the white house lawn, grinning and smoking a cigar, holding back Princess Palin as she barks viciously at anybody that gets to close to the white house fence)
I wonder if McCain will ever get busted for entering her in dog fights.
It amazes me how the lefties can say what they want and insult Palin and McCain, but when they recieve return fire or someone points something out about their "sweet obama" they really lose it. They are a sensitive bunch I quess. AFCOLONEL, you jumped on smap99712 but as I see it you threw the first stone. Also, thank you for serving and DMZmarine I have no agenda, but from your untactful and unprofessional comments about Sarah Palin I have to question what type of leader you were in the military. I've been in 20 years and from what I read I'm pretty sure I wouldn't follow you through the line in Fred's. You give off the preception of leading from the rear and not from the front.
AFCOLONEL -- I think you're full of cr*p and you are certainly no retired O-6. Ayers, et al, were planning a firebombing of the NCO club at Fort Dix, when Ayers' bomb pre-detonated, killing three of his own and wounding two others. And you condone the treason and massacre that they were planning on doing? -- have you no shame?
Palins undaunting support for the AIP platform of secession is about as un-American and un-patriotic as it gets. And she does this while holding state office. This is treason against the state and the union. Talk about domestic terroism!!
Ponderous,
I can understand if McCain would have said that he invest in the housing market. I respect that, but say it to the people. When someone publically says I do not know and declines to give reasons for the statement, it appears that he is out of touch with the struggle of the people. Are you so financially set that you cannot relate to someone that is experiencing reapercussions from the economy falling a part? You have to relate to the people's struggle to truly understand how it feels to lose everything and the upward hill to getting it back. Does McCain know that feeling (the struggle) outside his POW days? There are many other POWs and veterans who are experiencing this feeling as an ongoing battle. We need something DIFFERENT from what Bush has given us for the past 8 years. McCaain only knows how to lead similar to Bush. He needs a new direction that will include every type of person not just secure those who have never lost financial stability. I am sorry, his age is an issue and lately he looks like he is dragging. He is very slow and stiff when he talks. He energy lelvs look low. So the VP has to be ready at any time to take over. Sarah is not learned enough especially when you JUST got a passport that will allow you to travel abroad and learn of other cultures. She is not ready yet. She needs more time to grow and work in government on a larger horizon. I believe if McCain had of chosen Mitt Romney, the Republican party would appear more ready to accept the presidency and reassure the American people of a solid leadership if any happened to the the president.
Link to Obama's other past. Why will he not talk about his "missing years"?
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2...
Many Americans call themselves Socialists, some even say this with pride. Why can't Obama do this?
Who is the real Barack Hussein Obama? (Can I say his middle name or is that now off-limits, too?)
Sarah Palin: Shut UP!!!!! I am so sick of the crap being pushed as truth. There are plenty of lies going around to last a lifetime. Trying to instill hate and fear into a Presidential campaign is about the lowest form of intimidation you can get. I refuse to listen to any more and will never vote for a candidate that spews this garbage. If America wants a Pit Bull and a whiner in office, so be it...it will be the sadest day in our history!
Folks: let's all look a little presidential here. In just a bit over three weeks Palin and McCain are going to go down in a landslide and Palin will forever be remembered as a frenetic attack machine. Let's just hope the republicans see her as their future salvation. Face it: a one -hit wonder sinking in the top 40.
flowerjay -- good comments. I happen to feel the same way about Obama as you feel about Palin. He should have served out his first term as Senator or run as Hillary's VP. He could use some of the maturity that John McCain and Joe Biden could offer. My ideal ticket would have been McCain as president and Obama as vice-president.
I can forgive Obama his past associations and alliances if he would have spent more time correcting these indescretions before running for president. Afterall, Dick Cheney took five student & family hardship deferments, Joe Biden took five student deferments and faked asthma for a medical waiver, Bill Clinton dodged the draft completely (hiding in the UK), Howard Dean faked a knee injury for a medical waiver (and then spent the winter ski-bumming at Sun Valley), George W. Bush flew F-102s for a couple of years before losing his nerve, and John Kerry manufactured two Purple Hearts to get the H8ll out of Vietnam. None of these men acted with the kind of courage that we would hope POTUS would have --- save Senator John McCain. He is made of very different stuff than the others I've listed.
glacierles, Sarah not only denied being a member of AIP - the AIP also confirmed that she never joined.
bobeaux, Yes, she has a high school diploma, and she also has a college degree.
Maybe because he's not a socialist?
Barack HUSSEIN Obama, why wouldn't you be able write his middle name?
Are you so dense that you can't disassociate that name from the former dictator of Iraq? Or is it just that some of you won't stand for someone with a "non-traditional" ethnic background in the White House?
(now would probably be a good time to don the tin-foil hats and start peeking out your windows, the socialists might be coming for you)
AFCOLONEL--It is appauling to me that you would bring up anything that was signed by McCain as a prisoner of war. I wonder what you would sign if you were tortured endlessly.
As for those that don't understand why Palin is going on the attack--it happens every 4 yrs, so this is nothing new. She is doing her job by trying to discredit Obama and get McCain and herself elected. So what if she is taking some low blows-- seems like she has been beat up on and has held her head high. If Obama has nothing to be ashamed of then he can do the same.
Funny how the skeletons in McCain's closet are about fraudulent bank dealings (that he was never convicted of) and in Obama's closet are some pretty scary radicals against the US. Hmmmmm---Makes me think.
LostAlaskan99712 -- Obama has not made that case that he is not. His tax plan is most certainly Marxist in principle.
Speaking of calling someone a terrorist and engendering hate, see this link:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/1...
A very interesting development is revealed in the comments section. I've posted another link earlier with some of the evidence.
Sarah Palin has a degree in Journalism, after five schools in six years.
By camparison, Chelsea Clinton has a degree in international relations from Oxford University.
(Joe Biden has a law degree as well as a bachelors degree in history and political science)
There once was a young gov named Palin
Whose standing in the polls was trailin'
When unable to stand up to the press
She sought a way of escaping this mess,
Saying "going negative is my way of balin'"
AFCOLONEL Said: "You and your comment represent the attitude of right wing racist homophobic america."
AFC~ Racist, huh? An annoymous quote reads "The most radical racism comes from those who seek racism in other". Smap99712 didn't say anything about the color of your skin, further more, you have no idea what the color of his/her skin is. Racism was only brought into this when you brought it up... so who's the racist?! Unfortuneatly all fingers point to you.
To add to your sickening comment about John McCain as a POW. Anyone who can sit behind their badge of "honor" and condemn a fellow soldier (if that is indeed what you are)is a coward. What sickens me most if you will most likely never feel the physical or emotional pain McCain felt on those days, weeks, months, that he was being torchered. You are sitting their behind your desk, waiting for your call to war... where you will most likely sit on an AIR BASE and never leave it. You will never fly yourself into the danger zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.
Condemning a fellow soldier for what they did or didn't do while they were a POW is easily done by a paper-pusher who's most important job in a war zone is to approve the leaver of the PFC in the bunk next to you.
Furthermore, please explain to me what effect signing those papers had on the U.S. Did signing those papers pose a national security threat? Did signing those papers release the coordinances of our nuclear bomb supply? Did signing those papers effect the status of our freedom, economy, safety, or even our status with NATO or the UN!? Signing those papers showed that he is a real person, and that he was being torchered... at least he's a real soldier and allowed the ones captured before him to leave... because if it were my choice between me and you.... I would have let you rot.
No prospector, there is no "evidence" in your posts or links that indicates that Barack HUSSEIN Obama is any kind of terrorist, domestic or otherwise.
Socialist does not mean Soviet, by the way.
Guilty by association?!
At least it doesn't mean that B. HUSSEIN Obama is not trying to turn this country into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, duh.
McCain is an IRA terrorist here to exact revenge on us for siding with Tony Blair and the evil British Empire.
His last name is Irish so that means it's true!
Speaking of socialism--why doesn't America have a problem with Obama's health care plan? He is going to MANDATE health care and if you don't have it for your children you will be fined!! WHAT! Don't I live in America--where my choices are just that CHOICES?!
Don't worry about the Palin attack rallies. The only people they impress are the already-converted out in right-wing Crazy-Base Land. The amusing thing is that the more angry these rallies get with calls from the crowd for violence against Obama, the more normal Americans will turn away from Old Man McCain and Palin.
Nutters in the Fairbanks Right-wing echo chamber will follow McCain off the cliff before they figure out their mistake...
Lost -- I think you're the only one on this board making allusions to Obama being a terrorist. You should stop this. It's just not true. What is true, however, is that Obama allied himself with unabashed socialists, communists, and erstwhile domestic terrorists. He write about this in his memoirs and the record is replete with evidence. His government policies are most certainly socialist in application. For that matter, so is Washington's recent bail-outs. So, it's quite apparent that soon, we'll all be French.
BTW, it's now making the rounds on the internet that the individual that shouted "kill him" at the Palin rally is an Obama activist-plant. This is what they do.
twitgirl: Thanks for your vicious attack. Treason is treason! FYI: I have flown 188 combat missions, never crashed a plane (McShame totalled 5). Your personal attack only shows the desperation of the right. You better learn to live with President Barak Hussein Obama. He will certainly be a better leader than the imbecille that got us in to this socialist bailout mess we are in now. This economic crisis is just beginning. There are still 60 TRILLION $ in bad paper out there. Say hello to the deep depression of 2009. As for coward, you need look no further than our own Governor, hurling insult after insult a a highly educated statesman. Keep foaming at your mouth, your bile will only amuse me. Looking forward to your next manure belch!
I am not really all that thrilled with either party at this point, but I have my preferences.
Here's a thought - instead of kvetching ad nauseum about who is doing wht, why don't we all take a deep breath, vote when it's time, and focus on being less bitter about the actions of people over which we have no control? Did anyone REALLY think that we were going to have any kind of government race WITHOUT everyone telling us who to vote for and why if you vote for the other you're a nincompoop?
Also, Obama's forgein policy is extremely scary to our national security. He has proved to me and many that he is very 'green behind the ears' when talking about the offense and defense of the US. He wants to sit down with forgein leaders without precondition, when he announced in the first debate that he would go to war with Pakistan! He talks about McCain saying that he would go to war with Iran or North Korea--well guess what--THEY ARE NOT OUR ALLIES! I think Obama needs another 4 yrs to get some experience and then run for President, hell I might vote for him then. Maybe.
prospector, where you and I differ is that I do not believe every ridiculous thread I read on the internet.
but here you go, these should be right up your alley-
http://www.etherzone.com/2008/nath021108...
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/8676...
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/...
Sarah Palin goes on the attack. Mandated by the McCain camp because they, of all people, know she's better at "hate speeches" and "generalizations" than she is on knowing anything specific (hint: watch her in the VP debate; she never actually answered a question, but always dodged it. Also watch her interview with Katie Couric - embarrasing for her and for Alaskans).
And how are the people who want to vote for McCain/Palin okay with this? Wouldn't you rather have your candidate focus on the current situation of the economy instead of smearing the other side?
I have to agree with ArcticWriter; if McCain truly knows how to get Bin Laden, then why in the h$%& hasn't he done anything about it? Is he actually withholding valuable information from the US Gov't?
So, the fact that Obama's middle name is Hussein makes him a terrorist? AAAAKKK! Please tell me you do not think like this, my fellow citizens.
So since Obama has spoken with and been on a board with someone who 40 years ago was an extreme radical - does this mean that Obama must be a terrorist? By that count, since I have spoken with and been on a board with a doctor, I must be a doctor too, and believe everything he believed 40 years ago. AAAAAKKKKK! Please tell me you have better reasoning skills than this, my fellow citizens.
Is there anyone about whom we cannot dig up something from their past that we can make sound terrible? Next we'll be saying that McCain cheated off the paper of the student next to him in the second grade, so he must be a cheater, or that Obama pulled down the pants of a neighborhood child when he was 2 so he must be a gay rapist. What justification is there for using scare tactics and mob mind tactics to get votes? AAAKKK! Please tell me that you are not falling for that stuff, my fellow citizens. How gullible are you??? There is too much at stake here.