In watching this interview, I think Carl Bernstein sums up my feelings best:
[N]o presidential nominee of either party in the last century has seemed so willing to endanger the country’s security as McCain in his reckless choice of a running mate. He is 72 years old; has had four melanomas, a particularly voracious form of cancer; refuses to release his complete medical records. Three of our last eleven presidents (and nine of all 43) have come to office unexpectedly in mid-term from the vice presidency: Truman, who within days of FDR’s death was confronted with the decision of whether to drop the atom bomb on Japan; Lyndon Johnson, who took the oath in Dallas after JFK’s assassination; Gerald Ford, sworn in following the resignation of Richard Nixon. A fourth vice president, George H.W. Bush, briefly exercised the powers of the presidency after the near-assassination of Ronald Reagan.
I wonder, with the insider reports coming out from today’s meeting at the White House, if we might be reaching a tipping point in this presidential campaign?
I would hope so.
Although to Republicans, being inarticulate and having a head full of mush is considered a sign that you’re a common man/woman, and therefore to be preferred for president over the kind of smarty-pants elitist liberal who is actually smart enough to run the country.
Perhaps tonight the stupid half of the American electorate is beginning to get a glimmer of the concept that ignorance is not superior to knowledge, and winging it (like Palin did in her makeshift “press conference” today) is not a substitute for sound judgment based on experience. Let us hope that over the next few days we see a massive movement of voters away from the McSenile/Nobody ticket.
BTW, I’d bet that most real/actual “common” people are smarter than Palin and Bush.
Sarah did ok in an admittedly hostile environment. I swear I thought Katie was going to pass a gallstone during the interview.
Thankfully, Sarah Palin is no Joe Biden.
Thankfully.
It’s easy to understand why McCain has been keeping Palin away from the press. When she answers questions in an unscripted interview, she looks and sounds like a high school student.
@4 I see there are still some people who believe that knowing nothing about anything is somehow a virtue. See #2.
It’s unfortunate that we may live through a replay of the 1930s because McInsane has chosen to play politics instead of solving the problem.
As for Palin, she has no idea what her own position is on anything until she’s read (or been told) what McCain’s position is.
She should shut the fuck up. She’s out of her league.
This week may be one of the most important weeks in our country’s history. McCain’s grandstanding may be one of the worst posturings ever made. Take a deep breath and think about what this country may come to.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating.
And screw Palin. She’s a non-issue, really.
Zapidiot at 4:
Were you at all paying attention? Katie Couric was not hostile. She calmly asked tough (for Sarah) questions, she then followed up with more solid questions. This is what reporters do. This makes them tough, not hostile. They are there to ask the questions for us. The press is our protector. Wish you wingnuts understood that.
Had your candidate had the good sense to be prepared for her interview she might have come off looking as something slightly better that than ill informed, unqualified candidate that she is pretending to be. Instead she stumbled, returned to talking points that had nothing to do with the questions, and showed exasperation. Katie even gave her the word she was looking for in response to her original “I can see Russia from Alaska and that is my foreign policy experience qualification” stumbling. An answer she is now embellishing with fly over stories.
Give me a break and thanks for playing.
Zapidiot:
Since when is CBS news a HOSTILE environment? Your hero McCain just did 60 Minutes without complaint. Perhaps it is because Palin is a woman? Well no, so is Katie Couric. Maybe it is because she is, as Walter said above, completely out of her league.
The Republican handlers who are scripting this campaign for McSame and Palin are the ones to blame. They have heaved their last hail Mary pass. EVERYONE sees right through this bad act now. Razzle dazzle works when you use it once, ask any football coach, but when you use it too much the defense gets smart. That is where we are now. The polls all show it. The trends are clear. I still say that Palin will be removed from the ticket. That could be the next razzle dazzle.
God help the Republicans should she suddenly become ill before the debate and fails to show. I can see that happening too.
No matter, the last two weeks have shown America that John S. McCain always puts John S. McCain first, last and always. He called Obama out and got punked and now he is even more desperate. Being president is all he wants at any cost, the country be damned.
When Americans clean house in 40 days I am going to be first with the “I told you so’s”.
What happened to defending Biden?
Not a single word from you defending Biden, which was the point of my post.
hahahahahaha.
We’ll take that as agreement.
Stand up Chuck!
Hillary would have been a better VP.
That ad we ran (and Obama approved) was terrible!
And on and on and on……..
It sounds like McCain was no help, but it may be that he and Shelby are doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. According to a poll of the offices of members of Congress, they’re being deluged with calls that are over 90% against the Paulson/Bush plan.
Of course, if we’re not going to do that, we need to do something. It seems that McCain didn’t have much else of substance to offer.
@13 There’s no need to defend Biden because this conversation isn’t about him. This is a liberal blog and you wingers don’t control the topic here.
How some compassion people. At some point even a clown will realize when people are laughing at you and not with you. At some point Sara is going to realize she has been played .
Psst, Goldy, yours and others politicos smear campaign against Palin is not going to work. Palin can get more experience. Obama can’t get less black.
1/3 of White Democrats harbor racist views toward blacks, according to a Stanford poll.
They may tell their friends they’re voting for Obama, but just wait till they get behind the curtain.
@17
Dude…… seriously… A smear is when you say something isn’t true about someone to defame them.
Did you watch this video?? It doesn’t even parse. Bernstein’s article talks about the pick and how it is counter to the person he knew and the values he espoused. The video is an example to support Bernstein’s logic.
It’s not a smear if it’s true…
Palin may get more experience, but at what cost? With no background, no thoughtfulness and no honesty, experience that actually teaches some lessons will be hard fought and costly. If I gave an interview like that in the video, I’d recognize how unqualified I was… that was just sad…. My media trainer would have slapped me.
At some point I hope that judgement based on evidence and knowledge will overcome racism for some of those people the poll suggests. But if it doesn’t, we’re collectively going to pay for it…
Goldy, you’re good at bashing, tearing-down, and degrading those who don’t think like you. We get that. Now where are your pro-Obama/Biden posts? Very curious that your negative presidential posts outnumber your positive posts about 50 to 1.
Or are you merely trying to direct our attention away from the fact that our Democratic county is ILLEGALLY HARVESTING THE BRAINS OF DEAD PEOPLE!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....ans26.html
@18
Go recheck the dictionary. Smear doesn’t always have to do with whether something is true or not.
I don’t give a crap about what Carl Bernstein says. He’s a Jew and a Democrat. Of course he’s going to be against Palin.
The Pres and VP positions aren’t about experience. It’s about who’s vision you want to follow. I don’t care about Palin’s lack of experience, nor do I care about Obama’s.
re 17: Liberals are also riddled with guilt — which is why they will vote for Obama anyway.
Shut the fuck up, Troll.You’re out of your league here.
Watching the news this morning. Bailout talks skid to a halt over Democrat’s demands that the Government pay the mortgages of minorities and illegal aliens, who, they say, are victims of predatory lending.
Amazing.
@21
What league is that? The hate and intolerance league? Good, because that’s what I’m here to combat.
Isn’t there some newscaster somewhere who looks like Palin, and she’s receiving death threats from insane Democrats for just looking like her?
Harebrain @15
Yeah. Ok. I wouldn’t want to defend Biden either.
What did Barrack Obama say when someone asked him what Biden brought to the Democratic ticket, comparing Biden to Sarah Palin?
Answer: Not a single positive thing about Biden. Nada.
hahahahahahahaha
@20 Troll
I rechecked the dictionary..
• figurative : damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations; slander : someone was trying to smear her by faking letters.
You talk about getting rid of intolerance and hate yet you use “Jew” and “Democrat” as pejoratives.. It doesn’t help if your real aim is to spread tolerance and understanding.
Even if you don’t think it’s about experience. Did you watch the video? It .. does .. not .. even .. parse. It’s a much deeper issue than experience.
And Obama has had people arrested near his home with weapons and already another death threat foiled. There are looney’s on both sides. It would be refreshing if we could rise above that…
@26
Excuse me, I am a Jewish Democrat myself. I wasn’t using it as a pejorative. I used it to differentiate him from more moderate Democrats. Jewish Democrats tend to be more liberal than mainstream Democrats. And my whole point was it shouldn’t be a shock to anyone when a Jewish Democrat is against a Republican, no matter what the reason.
4 zap
Tell ya what, zap, why don’t you point out your favorite Sarah Palin question and answer, and tell us specifically why you like it. Then we’ll post the exact quote of her answer from the transcript, and you’ll look like a fool. Sound good?
22 T
I’m sure that you’re referring to the mortgages of the minority Jews, correct?
Yeah, those Democrats really torpedoed that agreement (CBS News):
GOP Revolt Stalls Bailout Talks
Chameleon @27
You forgot to mention again you’re a liberal too.
Transcript of Palin’s interview with Couric
@20 “It’s about who’s vision you want to follow.”
Would that be the vision of Putin’s head floating through the air?
McCain showing us “real leadership:” parachuting in after other people have been in complicated negotiations for days, trailing the entire national press corps behind him, on the grounds that he is urgently needed, in person — and then undermining the deal behind the scenes without being willing to publicly take any position!
@28 – hahahahahaha.
Check!
One more Democrat that apparently doesn’t support Biden.
Hillary would have made a better VP.
lol. What was Obama thinking?
Biden is going to wipe that lightweight all over the floor.
That zapporo fool is soporific with all the right wing kool-aid he’s drunk over the years.
Supporting Palin, the lightweight, the tax raiser, the earmark “queen” is the worst hypocrisy.
But that never stopped extreme right Republicans in their mania for power.