Sarah “Joe Six Pack” Palin gets ready to rumble
By Jimmy Orr | 10.01.08
Could the vice-presidential debate actually be consequential this time around? You bet. No offense to any of the vice-presidential wannabees, but a Biden - Romney showdown or a Biden - Pawlenty (remember him?) contest or a Biden - Portman (who?) debate would not likely be must-see TV.
We’ve got Joe Biden and Sarah Palin to look forward to. And make no mistake, this thing is being billed as the Thrilla’ in Manila, but could end up as disastrous for either or both as Milli Vanilli.
The gaffe-meisters
After all, we’ve got one candidate who is synonymous with gaffe-prone. Go ahead and Google “gaffe prone.” Top result? Joe Biden. Google “Joe Biden.” Top related search? Joe Biden gaffes.
In the other corner, we’ve got Sarah Palin. And in the short time the country has come to know this moose-hunting, hockey mom from Alaska, she’s gone from hero to zero, from chic to geek, from rising star to falling star in just one month.
When you consider that the rise and fall of Sarah Palin has occurred in just one month, you see the impact of this incredibly short news cycle. With all the news reports, analyses, talk radio, TV punditry, late-night jokes, skits, You-Tube remixes — it feels like we’ve known Sarah for months if not years.
Palin-hysteria
Even with all the recent hullabaloo stirred up by conservatives freaked over Palin’s recent television interviews, she projected a stronger image — even a flash of feistiness — Monday night with Katie Couric.
The performance didn’t satisfy her harsher critics who pointed out that Republican nominee John McCain had to join her to protect the governor from more ‘gotcha journalism.’
Joe Six-Pack
But on a conservative radio talk show program on Tuesday Sarah Palin sounded a bit more like the Sarah Palin the public got to know at the Republican convention.
“Oh, I think they’re [critics] just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying you know what? It’s time that a normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that that’s kind of taken some people off guard, and they’re out of sorts, and they’re ticked off about it,” she said.
Palin’s 401(k) nosedives
Palin went on to discuss the turbulent financial weather in terms of how it’s affecting her family.
“I know what Americans are going through,” Palin told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. “And you know, even today, Todd and I are looking at what’s going on in the stock market, the relatively low number of investments that we have, looking at the hit that we’re taking, probably $20,000 dollars last week in his 401K plan that was hit.
“I’m thinking, ‘Geez, the rest of America, they’re facing the exact same thing that we are. We understand what the problems are.’”
Gotcha
What about the charges of gotcha’ journalism? Many believe the Gibson and Couric interviews have been fair. While others believe that some of the questions were designed to embarrass Palin.
“Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago,” Palin explained. “But I’m not going to pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful. I’m going to take those shots and those pop quizzes and just say that’s okay, those are good testing grounds. And they can continue on in that mode. That’s good. That makes somebody work even harder. It makes somebody be even clearer and more articulate in their positions. So really I don’t fight it. I invite it.”
Be yourself
If she’s able to project that image — a confident, mainstream American who doesn’t fudge or nervously piece together talking points like a stir-crazy parrot, she might be able to pull it off on Thursday night.
And unlike McCain’s suspend-the-campaign move last week, there’s really little the campaign can do to change the conversation. It’s all debate, Republican strategist Trent Duffy told The Vote.
“Nothing (besides catching Osama bin Laden) will change the subject besides the debate, and that may not change it enough,” Duffy said. “The Couric interview series has the Democrats chomping at the bit for a knockout, but they’ve got to be careful not to pile on.”
“Biden might even wear pastels,” Duffy joked.
Biden on a tightrope
Democratic operative Chris Lehane agrees with Duffy. Biden’s got to be careful. Lehane told The Vote Tuesday that Biden can all but ignore (respectfully) Palin.
“Biden’s challenge is not to prove he is smarter, better positioned to serve, or more experienced than Palin,” he said. “As that risks looking patronizing or sending the exact wrong message to working class voters who get turned off by Democrats who appear to be looking down their nose at working families.”
Instead, says Lehane, Biden’s got to connect with those same average Joe’s.
“Biden’s focus needs to be on not really worrying about Palin — but looking through the tube and into the living rooms of undecided voters and making clear that it is the Obama-Biden ticket that they should trust when it comes to making economic issues about them and their families.”
It’s all about the average Joes on Thursday night.
The microscope
Up next? Why does it appear that Joe Biden gets away with it when he makes a mistake but Palin is under so much scrutiny? We’ll talk about that later today.
<< Gotcha? Palin’s encore performance with Couric | MainComments
2. Leticia Gormley | 10.01.08
Who cares about either of these two clowns. They are, like everyone else in politics, just trained seals.
How disgusting all of this is.
I vote NO for president.
3. pam | 10.01.08
When running for his second term as President, George Bush came to one of the debates with a rectangular shaped object visible under the back of his suit jacket, and seemed to be stopping occasionally during his responses to stare off into space, then resumed his responses using different words. I think he was widely believed to be getting responses fed to him via an earpiece.
Now Bush’s people are helping Palin to prepare for Thursday’s debate. I suppose we should be expecting the same type of unethical behavior. I hope the candidates will be checked for electronic devices at the start of the debate…….
4. Palin is Stupid | 10.01.08
The average American has always been represented in the race. What about Andrew Jackson and our hunter Teddy? She thinks she is doing something new by putting herself in this line but there have been many old presidents and vps like her.
As for previous VPs not having foreign relations experience, it is true. There were vps in teh 1800s! who did not have foreign relations experience from abroad because it was simply too HARD TO GET THERE! But wait! Even John Adams went to Europe more than twice! We have planes now Palin, did you know that? Or did you sell your brain on ebay too?
5. Angellight | 10.01.08
Palin is under scrutiny because she is new onto the scene and because these are momentuous times and she is a heartbeat away from a 73 year old heart! People have a right to know if she is qualified for the task.
Banks/companies that are Regulated are not experiencing any econimic crisis, just the investment banks/companies which are not regulated or de-regulated and have no oversight! “One of the regulations meant to keep insiders from driving down the prices of their own company’s stock so that they could sell short at will to make a quick million whenever they felt like it was called the “uptick rule”. The “uptick rule” is another one of the FDR Era regulations which the Heritage Foundations was talking about when they said that they wanted to roll this country back to the days of Herbert Hoover. They succeeded. The Bush administration got rid of this safeguard last year—with predictable results. The uptick rule is fairly simple. ”
(And by the way, Sec. Paulson has a nickname only the insiders know of — Hanky Panky Paulson!)
6. hummingB | 10.01.08
What’s next you ask?
Well, we’re looking at a possible administration run by
MISS CONGENIALITY (John McCain) &
JOE SIX-PACK (Sarah Palin)
Need I say more!
7. Sarah | 10.01.08
I believe strongly in the right to express an opinion and I have very strong opinions on the vice presidental candidates but when I look at the “print” Monitor I am reminded “To injure no man, but to bless all mankind.”
The are words used in the responses, name calling, that are defamatory.
With this said I do enjoy the blogs and input from readers.
8. Jaycee | 10.01.08
And I hope, Pam, that the moderator gets removed from this debate as she has written a pro-Obama book and like every other journalist in this *$%#@ election, is completely in the tank for Obama! And I for one do not want a Marxist/socialist administration, thank you very much.
http://www.youtube.com/TheMouthPeace
This is the video youtube keeps shutting down, so keep it going!
9. J.Jay | 10.01.08
I have a request for Jimmy Orr the author of this article. I think most of us here are not journalist or students of journalism. We will really appreciate if you can please explain the difference between journalism and gotcha journalism for us. I can’t understand why Ms. Curic’s question about foreign policy was considered unfair and “gotcha journalism”.
10. Sam | 10.01.08
Stop the madness. Sarah Palin doesn’t even know what she doesn’t know. She should have been left alone in Alaska where she is a perfect fit. John McCain’s selection of Palin as appalling on every level.
I don’t care if she aces the debate with Biden. She will still fail the course. One “A” and four “F”’s is not a passing grade in this country no matter how far we continue to lower the bar.
11. Daily Source | 10.01.08
I have to say that I respect Sarah Palin as a woman running for the Vice President of the United States; however, I strongly feel that she is not a suitable candidate compared to Joe Biden. Our country is suffering from different economic and political problems, and we need government officials who knows what they are doing. Sarah Palin is inexperienced, and as demonstrated in her interview with Katie Couric, she doesn’t know what she is talking about. I’m afraid that when questioned about foreign policy in the upcoming Vice Presidential debate, Sarah Palin will show her lack of ability to serve as Vice President.
There are many more things I could say about Sarah Palin and her lack of experience, and I learned about her a lot of http://www.dailysource.org/palin
12. Steve | 10.01.08
you can say whatever you like but Palin still has more governing experience than Obama and Biden combined. America needs day-to-day leadership in Washington not someone to give pretty speechs based on his father’s socialistic fantasy world.
13. Mariann Pepitone | 10.01.08
The comments by Jimmy Orr are a joke. He should be a comedian instead of a writer. While he saying the fall of Palin won’t he get a surprise in there is a fall of Obama come November 4th. I blieve that Palin can take on Joe Blow and pin him down. Right now Palin is sailing and I don’t believe what the polls are saying. The polls are bogus numbers to make the public that Obama has increased his lead. Not so. They remain neck to neck that’s why the 9 point lead was dissolved. Time is running out but after this debate Palin will be sailing on the campaign again drawing huge crowds. After all she did draw 60,000 in Florida alone.
14. Mariann Pepitone | 10.01.08
hunningB: And that’s what your going to get. Did you expect to get Obama? Not a chance. Once sailing Palin is on the road again watch out. Then Obama and Biden will be flickering and pickering not knowing what to do. Their bogus poll numbers are nothing but inflated figures that don’t mean a thing. We are all wise to the news media that wants the public to think Obama is leading McCain and he will win the election. Surprises come in packages and Obama will get that surprise package come November 4th.
15. sal | 10.01.08
Well, don’t spend too much time fretting over palin since she will be checking out and heading home to mooseland soon.
Mccain will dump her, making it appear that she “resigned” so he will not get flak from the far right and so he will not have to admit to a mistake (we know his rep for that). In return, she will gt a nice cabinet job with him if he wins.
WHY WOULD HE DO THIS??? The POLLS, folks. His campaign screams against them, but they are REALLY WORRIED NOW. LOOK AT REALPOLITICS.COM TODAY—- IT IS PANIC TIME AND SHE HAS TO GO TO BOOST HIS STANDING. HER APPROVAL RATE HAS PLUMMETED. Anything could change if she is just spectacular reading her scripts at the debate, but unless that happens, she is HISTORY.
16. FedUp | 10.01.08
We’ve had enough of the establishment weasels. Sarah is a fresh face with current ideas and no allegience to the aforementioned weasels. She may be short on the politics that fester in DC, but she has more than the Obamaniac! Sarah gets it… Barack doesn’t!
Regarding the moderator for tomorrow night… I think Sarah can handle BOTH her and Joe “wannabe 6-pack” Biden
17. jimimosey | 10.01.08
Steve, you forgot to include John Bush in your analysis. Your right wing is showing when you slop over the top with your “socialistic” phraseology. What is truly frightening about Palin is that she appeals to the low end of the political spectrum who espouse christianity over other religions, somehow believing that they are superior and must have christianity established as the state religion. Being blessed by a witchhunter and believing that the world is 6K years old and dinosaurs walked the earth with humans does not make for a leader capable of running the country for the good of all its citizens.
18. jon | 10.01.08
The ignorance continues.
People still want a VP/Pres like them.
And if anyone asks Gov Palin, any substantive question, or asks her to explain something she says, these same people say it’s a *gotcha* question, or it shows Media bias.
So, let me ask ya: Do you really think you’re qualified to be VP/President?
Do you really want someone like you to be VP/President?
Don’t ya think the VP/President, should have some understanding of the issues?
And the curiosity, to want to know what’s going on in the Country, & World?
Jaycee: Have you read Gwen Ifill’s book? Do you even know what it’s about?
What exactly is a Socialist/Marxist? And please explain what Sen Obama has done/said, that shows he’s a Socialist/Marxist?
People just repeat what they’re told, without knowing what they’re talking about. No wonder they love Gov Palin… she IS like them. She just repeats what’s she’s told, without thinking of what she’s being asked.
19. jboz | 10.01.08
Hahahahahahahahahaha - JOE SIXPACK!!!
That’s really rich! That’ll get alot of votes! Not only is she an religious extremist, animal killer and perpetual liar, now she’s a ******* drunk too. Palin just go home already - you’re an embarrassment to all Americans with a brain and you make me sick.
20. Christine | 10.01.08
BOTH CAMPAIGNS had the opportunity to approve or dissaprove the choice of moderators for all four debates. Because nobody in the McCain camp “vetted” Ms. Ifill, They are kicking themselves for overlooking this information and now they are going to cry foul at this late date. They really aren’t very good at research are they? Having invented the Blackberry and all, you’d think they could google like the rest of the world.
21. georgeb | 10.01.08
I wish one of these pro-Obama journalist could explain something about why we should a solicialist (Obama) for president instead of just telling us all the bad things they can think of about Palin.
23. georgeb | 10.01.08
News flash on the polls Sal - Kerry Bush election mid-September - Kerry 49%; Bush 44% …
24. sal | 10.01.08
It is YOUR responsibility to research the candidates, not the media’s. Read both sides of the stories and think—-don’t squander your vote on something as shallow as a “fresh face.”
Christine is CORRECT—–BOTH SIDES HAD TO AGREE ON THE MODERATOR. Etiher mccain’s goons did no research, OR they knew about Ifill’s connection and SAVED IT UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE THE DEBATE TO TRY TO MAKE PRALINE’S FAILURES MORE “ACCEPTABLE.”
NOW THEY WILL SCREAM BIAS—–but the public ought to scream IMCOMPETENCE AT THEIR VETTING PRIOR TO THE DEBATE.
26. Joan | 10.01.08
Who isn’t sick of all the sniping and name calling, from both sides.
But this is choosing a leader. A leader with intelligence, calm, education, and a strong desire to serve. Someone whose decisions will mean a difference between success or failure for the average family. It will impact the ability to get jobs, medical care, education and housing. We need someone that is knowledgeable about the economy, the world, and the challenges facing the country. Leaders are not just “average folks”.
I do not want someone “just like me” leading the country. I want someone better. Better educated, with a steady temperment. Someone that can relate to the world. We do not need any more “Cowboy Diplomacy, Bring it On” arrogant foolishness. It may play well in a bar, but on the world stage it gets Americans killed.
We don’t need Joe (or should I say Sarah) six-pack in the WhiteHouse. The Six-packs belong in their decent paying blue color jobs, raising the kids, saving for their education, and helping them to develop the judgement so they don’t end up pregnant at 16, married via shotgun and uneducated.
The person in the WhiteHouse is the one that has the capability, education, and a desire to craft national policy that protects our ability to do that, enjoy a quality life and retire gracefully. It should be someone who has the judgement to rely on knowledgeable advisors, build consensus and negotiate solutions.
No more “with us or against us” rhetoric, no more accusations of “communist or Marxist”, no more culture wars. Those things have divided the country and perpetrated hate.
Everyone’s worried about Biden making Palin look foolish, how about McCain’s constant repetition of “Senator Obama doesn’t Understand.” If that isn’t talking down to someone what is. He was consistently dismissive of Obama, and repeated untrue accusations and misquotes. Obama had the grace to occasionally agree with McCain and say it whan McCain said something that was right. McCain was unable to return the courtesy and say “Senator Obama is right”.
That shows me something about McCain’s character that I do not like. Obama has taken a “hands off stance” to Palin and her family”. That shows me someone who has very strong ethics. Both candidates pledged to run an honorable campaign. McCain immediately broke that promise. What makes you think he will keep any other promise.
27. g.michel | 10.01.08
This financial crisis has been fueled and fanned by the media, pasticularly television. Let us remember the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, ” WHAT WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF”. The media and proper journalism could do much to change the landsacape by calming FEAR. The free market and captitalistic system does work if allowed to work. The media and the public should remember the words of POGO. “We have met the enemy and they is US.
28. Seven degrees | 10.01.08
What makes Jimmy Orr think that Palin is not hot with voters any longer? She’s drawing crowds as big as Obama, far bigger than Biden. NO one cares what Biden says except his gaffs. Palin lovers have rallied round her and will show up at the polls.
If I were Biden I would be shaking in my boots.
29. Rick | 10.01.08
McCain can’t dump her. If you think it gets cold in Alaska?….Wow!….A dude running for president doesn’t get a 2nd chance on a VP pick. It’s like, “I’ve changed my mind, let’s not drop that bomb on Japan. What’ya mean the planes are on the way back?” or “Mr. G., tear down that wall; I mean if you think it’d be ok, like, with you.”
30. Steve | 10.01.08
Jon, I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. You need to read his book — Dreams of my Father — I did. Then look at this (what his father stood for) http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=303952499910291
Its pretty clear, if you take time to look.
31. Will | 10.01.08
I have no desire to send ordinary, regular, real, Joe Six Pack, etc. leaders to the White House (if they prefer them in Alaska, that’s none of my business). Rather, I would like exceptional, intelligent, inspiring, informed, intellectually curious, worldly, transformative leaders there. Anyone else?
32. Thelma | 10.01.08
I cannot reason why people would find appealing a “Joe 6 Pack” for vice president. Look at what voting for Curious George has done for the country and the world. I think some people need to look beyond their moose-hooded jackets and get real! I don’t think she meant that she was a Joe 6 Pack as in being average-incomed, but more as in being average-minded. Unfortunately for these politicians, true leaders are more than just plain average.
33. georgeb | 10.01.08
Sal, you get the point — the polls are just a media creation to brainwash you into what they want you to think. Kind of like a communist country’s media. Oh yeah, I guess that is where Obama (a socialist) is taking us — so I guess that this all makes sense from that perspective.
34. joe | 10.01.08
The great thing about Biden is that he actually is sincere. I’m doubting this about Palin. Real sincerity will show through, but after 90 minutes, Palin’s will seem like a mask. And not only did she agree to Ifill, she got to choose the format for the entire debate. Biden went along with anything. People actually do care what Biden says, Seven Degs, because he is someone who cares.
35. I. Gotta Haddock | 10.01.08
Seriously y’all? Do you want a VP who is not even curious enough about the world to have traveled? One who is a conservative hard-liner in a world that needs great understanding? One who had to hire an administrator in tiny Wasilla for the nuts and bolts kind of work she was unprepared to do? One who attended 5 colleges, over 6 years, to get a degree. Not to say she’s inherently bad, or doesn’t have a great story, or even that she doesn’t have sufficient skills to run a state with less than a fifth the population of Manhattan. [No one is ever very upset in Alaska. They pay you to live there.] But seriously, aren’t you tired of average? We had Bush for 8, and that didn’t work out so well. Don’t we want smart? A football team wants an elite quarterback. Doesn’t a country? Elite means the best. I want the best. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone in the current race, but it certainly doesn’t mean Palin. If McCain wants his candidacy to be taken seriously he needs to let her go, and pick up someone a good deal more prepared.
36. smc | 10.01.08
“Biden’s focus needs to be on not really worrying about Palin — but looking through the tube and into the living rooms of undecided voters and making clear that it is the Obama-Biden ticket that they should trust when it comes to making economic issues about them and their families.”
Just like Roosevelt did when the stock market crashed? LOL!!! LMAO!!!
Look I’m sure Joe B. is a nice guy. I actually respected him for about an hour when he said that the “McCain can’t even send an email” commercial was wrong. But then he let the Obama team retract his comments. That’s too bad. I’m guessing Joey B. was pretty frustrated by that!
Should be an interesting show!
PEACE
37. mta | 10.01.08
Sarah says:
“It’s time that a normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency,”
Isn’t that Biden’s name, Joe Biden!!
38. Ian Rennie | 10.01.08
“It’s all about the average Joe’s on Thursday night.”
The plural form of Joe is Joes, not Joe’s.
I hate when I see this anywhere, but in an editorial column in a respected news source I expected a little better.
39. Ben | 10.01.08
Soccer mom, executive experience, moose shooter, fresh face, et cetera hide the real question to be raised, which is Is Sarah Palin qualfied by virtue of the preceding attributes? Conservatives like George Will, David Brooks, David Frum, Kathleen Parker, Peggy Noonan all say no.
40. Logan Waters | 10.01.08
“It’s time that normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that that’s kind of taken some people off guard, and they’re out of sorts, and they’re ticked off about it.”
Replace “vice presidency” with heart surgeon and see how that sounds.
41. Steve | 10.01.08
I’m sorry jimimosey, its not phraseology. Obama is a socialist. Do some reading http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=303952499910291
He should be in a country like China not USA.
42. Susan R | 10.01.08
“Joe Six-Pack” is pretty apt. She sounds about as coherent as someone who’s just downed six beers! What a royal loser - I almost feel sorry for her until I remember that she’s not running for VP of the PTO, but for VP of the United States of America! So much for John McCain “putting country first”. Jack Cafferty has it absolutely right–we should be scared witless at the thought of this lame-brained ditz being a heartbeat away from the presidency.
She is taking McCain down, down, down and I can’t wait to watch her crash and burn while I munch my popcorn on Thursday night. It’ll be better than going to the circus! What a clown!
44. chris ferro | 10.01.08
Palin is going to be obliterated, dumb-founded and utterly ruined, by the sharp wit of Joe Biden.
If America considered Obama the winner of the last debate on substance, Biden will win this with a sizable margin.
45. John | 10.01.08
Joe Biden is my senator and I’m proud of him and proud that Obama chose him. It is not an act with Joe. Two years ago I was at a fundraiser ($50) and Joe stayed after for an hour just to answer questions and tell us about what was going on in Washington. We weren’t big donors, he already had our support, it was obvious he was passionate about what he was doing and enjoyed being a senator. It wasn’t about money or power, it was about doing good for one’s fellow man. As far as Palin, Obama, McCain, and Biden have been campaigning for President for a long time. They are major leaguers, Palin has been brought up from the minors. I’d be happy to have cut her a break as I did when she was announced. However when she started mocking (as opposed to attacking) Obama, who had just come out strongly that Palin’s family was off limits, she lost any breaks you give the rookie. When she was held up as this great nominee who knows more about energy than anyone in America, and then tanked every interview thereafter, she made clear the only place for her is to be sent back down, and frankly after what has been exposed, the question is how did she ever become a Governor.
46. Olna Reeves | 10.01.08
Teddy Roosevelt hunted, but he was also president a century ago, AND he was a Harvard graduate with honors. Today, educational standards for the office of VP or President have changed with the times. Fewer people hunt, and more people finish high school and go to college. Palin’s educational qualifications alone are abysmal by today’s VP standards, and there’s evidence of this in the way she communicates her thoughts and opinions. In other words, she’s not a self-taught wizard of economics, law or foreign policy, nor can she answer a question simply, without beating around the bush, in a way that strikes most people as nonsensical. Her grasp of standard English is not even suitable, the way she forms sentences or speaks in incomplete sentences.
Tonight, I believe CBS, in their interview with Palin, may air the segment where, other than Roe v. Wade, she is unable to name a single other case that has come before the Supreme Court. This shows glaring evidence of the tip of the iceberg of her problem; ignorance about national law and government. She simply is not educated or interested enough in national and world issues. You wouldn’t want to hire a doctor or lawyer with her poor knowledge of what the job demands, why should you want to elect someone like her into the 2nd highest office in the land. A person of her educational qualifications probably would never have been hired to be an INTERN at the White House, let alone VP.
47. Peacedog | 10.01.08
If someone could design a car that runs on Republican tears or figure out how to harness the power of the misuse of the word “socialist” (and its many variants) to create electricity, we would have whole energy problem licked;
Obama ‘08… because we’ve already tried 8 years of dumba$$ and it doesn’t work.
48. Janet | 10.01.08
I am deeply offended as being characterized by Sarah Palin as a “Joe Six-Pack American.” Is that how she sees the average American - good old boys (and gals?) who go merrily through life guzzling on beer? Her attempt to appeal to middle class Americans using this analogy is sadly lacking in respect and reality.
As if that weren’t enough, an article in Tuesday’s NY Times, as reported by The Associated Press: “When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the small town began billing sexual-assault victims for the cost of rape kits and forensic exams.”
I am at a loss to understand her values and cannot support her candidacy.
49. colortheory | 10.01.08
Palin will connect with the average voter, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will vote for her. Bush seemed a little slow, but he was never as demonstrably clueless as Sarah Palin. Joe Biden, on the other hand, will have to show respect and class in addition to his experience. In many ways he has more to prove.
When it comes down to it, the American people want a Democrat for president but for whatever reason, they have been unsure of Obama. To this end, he has a lower bar than McCain. All he has to do is prove he is capable. The last debate was essentially a tie, but Obama got the bigger bump in the polls. I think we’ll see more of this trend as time goes on.
50. Steve | 10.01.08
Peacedog - a socialist is someone who promts socialism. In Obama’s own writings and speeches he indicates he is against “chaotic and unforgiving capitalism,” as he wrote in “Audacity.” He is quoted against Wall Street “greed” and the rise of individual investing over government investing. He wants to change the “Ownership Society.” He believes our society allows rich to plunder the poor and should be punished. He believes “The problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed are rooted in the desire among those at the top of the social ladder to maintain their wealth and status whatever the cost,” and he wrote, “Solving these problems will require changes in government policy.” This my friend is socialism not capitalism – do the research…
51. JHC | 10.01.08
Would you rather have an experienced leader at the head of the ticket and a less experienced v.p. who has proven to be a quick study or an inexperienced marxist at the head of the ticket and the more experienced but gaffe machine as the v.p.?
Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Who was president in 1929 when the stock market crashed and what form of communication did he use to speak to the American people, a radio or a t.v.?
52. Cristina | 10.01.08
I have a degree in Journalism from ONE school. So why didn’t McCain pick ME? for VP.
Please…Obama is going to win so all you rightwingers may as well get used to the idea.
53. Gino | 10.01.08
I love how people criticize Sarah Palin, trusting in such “news bearers” as the NY Times. Don’t you know who you can trust to actually report the news and not make the news or change the news?
Also, let’s be fair. Biden is more experienced but the man has done virtually nothing worth mentioning. He has been wrong the majority of times and continues to believe the same things. Experience? Yes. Experience that is worth anything? I think not.
Who is more frightening to see as President? Biden or Palin? Biden because we know exactly what he believes and what he will do.
54. jlp | 10.01.08
I find it inconceivable that any of these people who have indicated support for Sarah would actually be comfortable or at ease with her as president. It isn’t the question of leadership in terms of her mayor and governor experience, it is that she has so little background in the issues of the United States and the world. That understanding comes from a different type of service, experience, decision making and understandings of which she has not experience. It is totally frightening to me that she could be our leader, commander in chief and on the world stage in such turbulent times. Unfortunately, the new catch word is elitism which in reality is simply referencing a broad knowledge. To deny that knowledge is needed and key to performance is akin to believing in Santa Claus and the Easter bunny–fantasy!
55. Trevor | 10.01.08
We’ve already tried a regular-guy president who people could have a beer with, instead of a stuffy pin-head intellectual. His name is George W. Bush. How did that turn out? Want more? Please, leave booze out of your voting choice.
56. Kevin | 10.01.08
To those who keep citing Sarah’s supposed “60,000″ person rally at The Villages in Florida, sorry but you’re wrong. I live nearby and my girlfriend’s parents live there, went to the rally, are both voting for McCain, and reported that it was far less than that. Approximately 26,000 is the correct amount at reported by local press. Not bad for a GOP rally and better than John could ever do, but nothing like the McCain campaign bragged about.
By the way, they put Sarah on a small platform at ground level in the middle where no one further back than several rows could even see her! Leave it to McCain to botch even a simple rally. Imagine if he gets his dentures near the economy!
57. Harris | 10.01.08
Joe Six-Pack is my neighbor.
I don’t trust him to feed my fish when I’m on vacation, and I certainly wouldn’t trust him to lead the country!
58. M. Tobias | 10.01.08
Did you see this?
McCain has put a McMansion on the market.
How tone deaf can you be?
It is expected to fetch 10.5 million bucks.
Couldn’t they have waited a few weeks?
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/30/dnt.mccain.house.for.sale.ktvx
59. notta6pack | 10.01.08
I just hate it that this woman calls me “Joe Six-Pack.” After 8 tortuous years of Republican regime, I couldn’t afford a whole six-pack if my life depended on it!!
60. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
It is infuriating to me that Sarah Palin is seen as this “Joe Six Pack” character when she has never had to struggle financially, was born rich, married rich, and has had her life handed to her on a silver platter. She absolutely CAN NOT relate to common Americans. I heard her on Fox News Radio this morning crying because she lost $20,000 in one week in stocks.
Well guess what, sugar, I’ve been in the work force for 10 years and that’s my salary! I don’t have retirement! I couldn’t care less about your loss in a week of my entire annual salary!
This woman is not “of the people, by the people”! Anyone who relates to her should be ashamed of themselves. This is like Christians who act like Judas saying they relate to Christ because that’s the name Judas is going by these days.
61. TeeCee | 10.01.08
Steve:
No, that’s noe socialism. Socialism is when the government owns and operates things like factories and stores and hospitals and insurance companies. Obama is saying that the playing field is way too much tilted toward the rich. They get special treatment in the law and they use their money to corrupt the politicians who keep things rigged in their favor.
Obama only wants all men, and women, to be treated equally by the law.
62. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
And honestly, Obama was a Constitutional Lawyer. Caribou Barbie was a sports caster. Saying Obama is inexperienced when placed next to Caribou Barbie is like saying a officer who has been on the beat for 5 years is a less experienced policeman than a child molester who has been in prison for 10. Anyone who believes that is delusional.
64. Bev | 10.01.08
I wonder if Sarah Palin will look at Biden during the debate, I was wondering if McCain told her not to do that. We found it disconcerting that when the McCain and Obama debate was on, McCain always looked down and never at Obama…we thought he was reading his answers. Also she needs to be prepped for the debate, and that shows she doesn`t know what she`s doing. She has been put into a situation that she can`t compete with and for that I blame McCain. He needed some sparkle and that`s why he picked her. There are much more experienced republican women who would have filled the bill. God help us if something happens to McCain if he is elected which I hope will not happen.
65. Jody | 10.01.08
Here’s a thought. . . Why can’t we vote for McCain for President and Biden for Vice President. Everyone talks about working across the aisles. Why can’t the people??? Obama lacks experience and a suitable way to accomplish his vision. He will sell us down the river in a heartbeat. McCain won’t. Biden has the experience that Sarah Palin doesn’t. So, why not the best of both worlds? Also, a comment about everyone’s concern over SP’s lack of experience. She has more than Obama does and what would you rather have - a President in training (Obama)or a Vice President in training (Palin)????
66. LoachDriver | 10.01.08
Orr says he has a degree in journalism. That’s one thing I’d not brag about if I were he.
Journalism like education is a career field chosen by the lazy. Furthermore, journalism as reflected in the MSM is a rapidly dying industry. Newspapers are dying straight across the nation, border-to-border & coast-to-coast. Pretty soon a lot of jokers who thought they had the soft life figured out will have to find work in real jobs. What a rude shock that’s going to be for them. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch, IMO.
In addition, eventually schools of journalism are going to close for a lack of students.
The sooner the Leftist mouthpieces newspapers have become have gone the way of the dinosaur, the better IMO. Ditto the other Leftist propaganda agencies called TV networks, ABC, CBS, NBC & PBS. Fox will survive.
67. Watcher | 10.01.08
We-e-e-e-ll, you never know… Remember this, it’s the country that voted to elect Bush for PRESIDENT, for the second term…
68. Jack Cerf | 10.01.08
If it were the Vice President’s only job to set at the foot of the throne and intercede for us mortals like the Blessed Virgin, it might make some sense to have a representative person in the job. But if you wouldn’t want Joe Sixpack to be president, s/he shouldn’t be Vice President either.
69. Larry Linn | 10.01.08
Joe Biden should give one sentence answers. Then he should turn and look a Palin. She will talk herself out of anything positive. Some people cannot talk and listen to the directions comming from their handlers through their “hearing aids”.
70. Fred23 | 10.01.08
http://www.youtube.com/TheMouthPeace
This is a very important video. It is 10 minutes long but it goes fast. Essentially, it outlines how the Democrats are responsible for the raising then the falling of home prices thanks to their pushing and Freddie May/Mac’s pushing of subprime loans. Targeting a small segment of the population who want a home but can not hack the payments, these government run businesses(corruption and all) pushed bad loans because that is how they continued to make money$. When this unnatural cause reversed… when people started defaulting home values plunged$$.
Now, how can you argue with that? If I could see this coming how could these experts not see it coming as well. And the fact that 2 times or more the Republicans tried to stop or regulate and the Democrats blocked the regulation well, it makes this their fault.
Yes, it is just possible the Democrats are directly responsible for making an artificial home market completely detached from inflation$$. Prices were influenced by cheap loans and then those loans stopped flowing. This all goes back to the problem with the Democrats they think money$$$ thrown at things fixes everything. Here, they threw money$$$$$$$ at people so they could buy a home–they never even gave a thought (apparently) to how these people would keep their homes.
If you watch the video you will see that Obama himself worked for a law firm that pursued banks to ensure poor people would have access to loans, and homes they could not afford. This is just an aside but it should make you question: Why the heck would you ever give this guy your vote? If you still are thinking you want Obama, just remember, the another wave is coming– more defaults are coming and these loans (which are not accounted for in the current crisis) will come to term down the line…..this is not over. And remember Mr.. Obama was planning life in public service long before he became a lawyer. His misguided thinking was set long ago in Chicago when he joined Rev. Wrong’s church.
71. Jody | 10.01.08
Another thought. . . The American people don’t care if it’s a Democrat or a Republican. We want to live in a country that is safe and economically sound, where we have the right to make a decent living for ourselves and our families and live in relative comfort. We take for granted our freedoms and luxuries. We don’t want to lose them. I’m afraid we will with Obama. We all want change, regardless of who brings it. Not all change is good. Be careful what you wish for. . .
72. April | 10.01.08
I don’t want a regular joe in charge of the our country, I want someone who is smart, experience and innovating that can take the US to the next level. I want someone who can articulate worldview intelligently and ‘clearly’.
Palin make Bush look smart.
73. Jeff R | 10.01.08
So many of those with a conservative bent like to harp on Mr. Obama for what they perceive as a socialist bent. Yet most of them fail to see the current administration’s and Mr. McCain’s support of a government bailout of the capitalist investment banking and mortgage institution system as a socialistic action. In reality, perhaps all the candidates believe in socialism. Some, like the Republican candidates, the former Soviet Union Party thugs, and the Chinese Communist Party thugs, support it more when it saves the powerful politicians of the ruling party and their wealthy backers. Others, like the Democratic candidates, the Swedes, and the French, support it more when it helps their society attain things capitalism can not.
It is ALL socialist policy and all the candidates support and condone it in various ways. It seems to me the choice is not between socialism and some other economic system, but in who will benefit from the socialist policies they all will promote. I’ll take the party that brought us the New Deal and the Great Society. The current bunch in the White House has only led us back onto the threshold of the Great Depression and their party must not be given the opportunity drive us in.
74. Gino | 10.01.08
Let’s get back on topic - the qualifications of those running…
Barack Obama graduated from Ivy League schools & worked as a community organizer and was a civil rights lawyer. He then served in the Illinois Senate for 7 years and finally, he was elected to thh Senate in 2004. He then worked for about 18 months and then began his run for the Presidency.
Wow! What a resume to be President! Now I understand why all of you are so excited about this man. He can at times have a very sweet tongue and he can be very flattering, but as the Bible says - for many are the victims that she (the flatterer) has cast down. Beware of such as these. Words must be matched by actions. Look at his record. You decide…
75. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
Fred23, my darling dear, the person that made that video is clearly and idiot. That is honestly the most convoluted piece of propaganda I’ve been exposed to since Mein Kampf. If you want to assign blame for inflated home prices, you can’t blame people soley of one political party. Realtors led us to this mess. Those to blame are the GREEDY and the RICH (most of whom would have their interests best served by Republicans).
Trust me - poor people do not get loans they cannot afford. I know this because I am a poor person that’s been renting for the past 15 years or so. Middle class people who thought they were upwardly mobile got homes they could not afford. If you want to blame anyone for the housing crisis, blame those who HAD to flip an inexpensive little home, add an addition, add granite countertops and the garden tub and then charge the new family $500,000 for a 2 bedroom with a nice kitchen and bathroom but a cracked foundation and termites.
Poor people haven’t been able to afford homes, ever. We rent or if we get low income or habitat for humanity homes. Blaming the poor for the housing crisis is a JOKE. You need to blame the GREEDY whoever they are.
76. Caldwell Young | 10.01.08
Why do we “overlook” Biden’s gaffes?
We don’t.
But we recognize a major difference between his “gaffes” and what transpires with Palin.
When Biden referred to President Franklin Roosevelt’s talks to the nation on TV at the time of the stock market crash, we all knew that we was conflating FDR’s “fireside chats” which he conducted over the radio afer he was in office but still dealing with the depression. His talks were informational, comforting, and they helped move people toward policies that they otherwise wouldn’t have understood or supported.
Everyone who heard him knew that Biden wasn’t trying to convince anyone that TV existed for the public in 1929 (or 1933). He wasn’t trying to convince anyone that FDR was President in 1929. These points were not important to the point he was making for his audience, and listeners intuitively knew that. So, no controversy, even though he was off on his facts.
But Palin has been trying to convince us that she has had foreign policy experience because it is possible, on a clear day to see Russia from Alaska. This is a majorly idiotic claim whether you can see Russia, or not, from some remote island in the Aleutians. Some sharp-eyed person being able to see Russia, or however one might express proximity to another nation, has almost nothing to do with whether a person has any familiarity with foreign policy. Palin’s “gaffes” are revealing of major shortcomings. She has been trying to convince us that she is a clean government crusader because she rejected federal money for the bridge to nowhere, when she did not. She won’t answer direct questions about her belief in creationism, the public policy she would endorse regarding abortions for rape victms, or whether or not humans contributed to global warming, because she knows the wrong answer (or, the truthful answer) would mean she’d have to admit to her rejecting the value of objective science or the policy positions of her running mate.
Her “gaffe” about invading Pakistan wasn’t all that important, either, except that her running mate had just finished lambasting Barak Obama for making a similar policy statement.
Palin’s “gaffes” relate to what she does or doesn’t know and believe in. They reveal that she does not even know McCain’s positions, articulated on television the night before. Biden’s gaffes mostly just slightly muddle up the larger point he is trying to make, if they do that. They fall far short of showing a lack of knowledge about the world or the marketplace of ideas, or of his positions on important issues. Palin’s “gaffes” do all of these things.
Scary, that Palin might appear to “do well” in the debates, but she definitely has not done so in her (three or four) interviews.
Caldwell Young
77. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
That’s how I feel, Jody, but 8 years of Republican executive leadership (and what, 6 years in the Congress?) has crippled our country and I cannot trust McCain as far as I can throw him. If he died while in office… hooo-boy! Even having Pelosi as her VP won’t help Palin. She’ll be a fish out of water if she ever assumes the presidency.
At least Obama has the vision and common sense to lead the nation without having to consult a Ouija board for practical advice.
78. pamelalouise | 10.01.08
To Pam, who asserted that George Bush was being fed his lines through an earpiece during his Pres. debate: Yeah, right, and that earpiece wouldn’t be visible with his short haircut? You’re still bitter that he won. No one else may appreciate it, but the only thing that matters to ME is that it’s been over 2,500 days since the last attack on American soil. With an appeaser like Obama, all of those terrorist cells that have been shut down would have been taking out our national monuments, one by one.
79. pamelalouise | 10.01.08
Community organizing = seeking to transfer money from the mostproductive to the least productive.
The top 1% of wage earners already pay 40% of the total tax bill (reference: IRS). Those in the bottom 50% of income earners pay less than 3% of the total tax bill. But Obama wants to take even more from the those who pay the most, and give a check (”tax credit”) to those paying nothing now. Talk about appealing to people’s greed and class warfare.
80. Santa Fe Thinker | 10.01.08
I challenge every Palin supporter that believes that experience and education doesn’t matter to - from now on - stop using professionals in your life. Don’t go to a medical specialist if you are ill, go to a medical student. Get all your legal work done by law students, and don’t hire an experienced babysitter for your children. After all, as you all tell us over and over again, they can learn on the job. So what if Palin doesn’t know anything about the rest of the work, the economy, health care, education, or what she reads for that matter, we can all be her guinea pigs. It’s not that you think so little of her that is disturbing, it’s that you think so little of yourselves.
81. Mike P | 10.01.08
Palin is too educated and too elitist. Come to think of it, so is John McCain. Who do they think they are with their college degrees and their vocabluary words?! I say next time around the GOP runs Rosanne Barr for President and Larry the Cable Guy for VP. Although maybe Larry is too much of an intellectual and so maybe most Americans can’t relate to him….Lets keep thinkin and see if we can come up with a REAL dopey ticket for ‘12.
82. Gino | 10.01.08
To respond to Santa Fe Thinker:
What about Obama? You are worried about the VP, what about the lack of experience of Obama? Do you think that only Ivy Leaguers get good educations? Do you have be a lawyer to be a member of Congress or President? He was a community organizer - please do not make this to be valuable experience to be President. He was in the Illinois State Senate and then a Senator for a couple years when he began to run for President. That’s his experience in total! Oh, I forgot - he speaks eloquently when he is not muttering or saying “umm” “ahh” or the like.
You keep worrying about Sarah Palin. I more worried about a President Obama.
83. Manju Guha | 10.01.08
My only concern is that all those voters whose most important reason to to vote for a presidential or vice-presidential candidate is whether they can relate to the candidate for their social values such as killing mooses and drinking six-packs and not the candite’s real knowledge and ability to hold the office is nothing less than dangerous. Sara Palin has demonstrated time and again that she has even less knowledge than an ordinary citizen on the issues of foriegn policy, economic policy, or any other policies that matter to the people. Howsoever quick study she may be, it’s only going to be like a student who does not study for the whole year and crams the night before the exam to get the passing grade. What do people expect of such a president (god forbid if Mccain-Palin win and she has to take that position)? Worse than George Bush is ok for them for their Blue collar or White values? Let’s hope not!
84. Caldwell Young | 10.01.08
For LoachDriver #66–
Regarding your dismissive comments:
“Orr says he has a degree in journalism. That’s one thing I’d not brag about if I were he.”
“Journalism like education is a career field chosen by the lazy.”
Sarah Palin says she has a degree in journalism, too. Maybe your happy with her because she didn’t stick with it, though.
85. Steve | 10.01.08
TeeCee, Obviously there are degrees of socialism but even in small degrees the concepts are the same. I think you live in the fantasy world that Obama writes about in his books. If you really think there is one set of laws or rich people and one set of laws for less rich then your playing the victim. It is simply not true. If your concerned about corrupt politicians then why would you want to give them more and more power.
86. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
“The top 1% of wage earners already pay 40% of the total tax bill (reference: IRS). Those in the bottom 50% of income earners pay less than 3% of the total tax bill.”
That’s because the top 1% of wage earners own something like 90% of the country’s wealth. They should be paying 90% of the total tax bill if they were paying their fair share.
87. nota | 10.01.08
Your right on Gino. Where does Obama get off calling anyone inexperienced. Is community organizer even a paying job? Isn’t on the same level as being in the PTA? If so, then my wife should be president!
88. Mike G | 10.01.08
I think the scrutiny Palin is getting is well disserved. She is a complete unknown. Biden has at least been in the public eye and twice ran for the democratic nomination for president so people already know is positives and negatives.
There were no gotcha questions. All of the questions asked were fair game and have been answered by other politicians before. The problem is McCain took a risk in picking Palin as his running mate. There are going to be negatives with taking a virtual unknown with little / no experience. You can’t cry foul now.
The expectations are so low for Palin’s performance in the debate if she just shows up the Republicans will be claiming victory. I’m sure she will say nothing of substance, but instead will attack with the snappy one-liners the comedy writers the RNC hired for her. TURE STORY!! Part of her debate prep is to deliver comedic punches at Biden because they know Biden will not attack back.
89. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
And honestly, pamelalouise, you do not need to be looking out for the 1% of Americans who own everything but our souls. They have a grip on Congress. You will never be one of them and your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will not either. If you want your children to be able to earn a spot in the middle class, vote Obama. The wealthiest 1% of Americans do not need your vote for McCain and they sure won’t reward you for giving it to him.
91. Martin Luther King Jr. | 10.01.08
I have a dream, that Bill “Spaceman” Lee, will run for presidency on the Rhinoceros Party ticket, and will win in a landslide victory. And Sarah Palin is one dumb lady, I had a dream that she was Vice President, and it was more of a nightmare than John McCain in a speedo riding a jetski with George Bush Senior donning the same attire.
93. rb in ca | 10.01.08
I said it before:
“Governor Palin:
I know Joe Six-Pack, Joe Six-Pack is a friend of mine.
You Madam are NO Joe Six -Pack!”
94. DeadHead Fred | 10.01.08
No doubt the Dems deserve some blame for failing to regulate Fannie and Freddie. But Fred up there at number 70 apparently hasn’t been to Southern California in the last eight years. The subprime mortgages that have been going into default were not just for people who moved out of the projects to the bungalows on the other side of the street. Tens of thousands of people used subprimes and Alt-A’s because they wanted a $500,000 house instead of the $350,000 house they could actually afford.
95. annoyedvoter | 10.01.08
“you can say whatever you like but Palin still has more governing experience than Obama and Biden combined.”
I guess this means she has more experienced than McCain too.
“I for one do not want a Marxist/socialist administration, thank you very much”
Can you please explain what your understanding of socialism is? Which current socialist programs of the US would you like to get rid of then? The police force, firefighters, military, public libraries, public schools, congress, etc? They are all paid by tax payers and serve a public good (for all).
But yes, back to Palin. She could have years and years of experience but I am afraid the problem is her lack of understanding of complex issues. When asked about global warming she said that it did not matter what the cause was but we need to fix it. Can you please explain to me how you fix something if you do not know what is causing the problem?
96. rebecca | 10.01.08
I don’t care if Sarah Palin is a total bimbo and John McCain is George Bush. I would rather have either one of them than Obama.
97. Chris | 10.01.08
Hey Kevin, post 56.
Regarding the 60,000 at the rally at The Villages in FL, were your girlfriend’s parents surveying the crowd from a helicopter??
It was the local fire or police authorities that estimated the crowd at about 60,000 based not only on those who got close enough to see the stage, but also including the thousands who tried to attend but couldn’t navigate the clogged roads or find parking spaces in time. The more relevant number for gauging interest in Sarah Palin (and family) would include those thousands also.
98. bill | 10.01.08
I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but not only am I not used to it, but the thought that a “normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency” scares the daylights out of me. If Sarah Palin is qualified, then there are no qualifications (other than the constitutionally specified ones), so any natural born citizen over the age of 35 is qualified. By that logic, anyone should be able to run HP (or any other company).
99. Sarah | 10.01.08
Our G.O.P. nominees and their surrogates hasten to remind us of their ordinariness. This harkens back to the late Senator Roman Hruska of Nebraska. The Senator cemented his name into history when President Richard Nixon nominated the singularly undistinguished segregationist G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court. In response to critics who noted Carswell’s lack of qualifications, Hruska said: “So what if he is mediocre? There are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they? We can’t have all Brandeises, Cardozos, and Frankfurters and stuff like that there.”
Sarah Palin is our generation’s Harrold Carswell - mediocrity for the masses.
100. Gabriel | 10.01.08
Well, if this is the idea, maybe McCain should make things easier for himself and choose a Homer Simpson instead, someone who has gone through life without making an effort to get the best out of himself in any aspect of life, just a regular dude whose best idea of a good time is a six pack after work. All the “regular” folks can raise their mugs and make a huge burp so it can be heard across the nation, we all can feel proud of just being plain old joe six pack. All the Lisa’s Simpson in the country are just a bunch of elitists. Leave us alone, Lisa Simpson, let us be just whatever our lazy brain allows us to be and nothing more.
102. David | 10.01.08
History has been forgotten here.
Most of our best Statesmen were short on education or foreign travel. Their actions revealed their greatness. Hindsight is always 20/20.
We have had many OVER qualified Statesmen that have failed.
Do you question the complete qualifications of a woman?
Mary Baker Eddie had no degree in theology, but she went on to create a religion, a publishing company, and what is now a religous empire.
Are you telling me Mary Baker Eddie was not qualified to do her job?
No, we are not asking Sarah Palin to guide us into the afterlife. But to put so much faith in one women without ‘credentials’ and not the other, when less is at risk is hypocritical.
Anyone here tell me what CREDENTIALS Mary Baker Eddie had that merits you to follow Christian Science.
103. carol from Minnesota | 10.01.08
This election is not a TV SHOW. We are not electing the next American Idol. Although the viewing public may feel that they deserve to have “someone like me” on the ticket, thus the “joe six pack” comment, our country was built on having the most qualified person lead us. When selecting the first President they didn’t pick the hard scrabble farmer “just like them’ but instead picked the most qualified person. We need a leader more than ever who can relate to the rest of the world. Imagine sitting down in negotiations with other leaders in the world and projecting the “joe six pack” person into the negotiations. We already have lost credibility in the world because of W. We need to get back our position of “leader of the world” not become the laughing stock of the world. Give me a break!
104. MsAmerica | 10.01.08
Do you question the complete qualifications of a woman?
Yes. I do when the woman in question is being used as a puppet by a man to buy some sympathy. I do when the woman is not being held to the same standards we would set for a man regarding experience or education for the position in question. I do when the woman will be expected to be the President of the Senate and have an understanding of how Congress works.
Maybe not so much if she’s going to be watering the lawn or mowing the grass or simply raking the leaves of my non-existant front yard.
105. David | 10.01.08
‘Maybe not so much if she’s going to be watering the lawn or mowing…..’
I guess you could add ‘or when creating a religion, or this publication’.
This confirms that ‘Affirmative Action’ is obsolete and dead. We have lived under Affirmative Action for 27 years, and you just confirmed why Affirmative Action should not exist, ‘You want the best person for the job, not the gender or race exemption’. Remember this the next time you hear ‘equal rights’.
But you do set your ’standard’ lower instead of your quoted ‘higher’ expectation. You are implying Obama has experience. For being in the U.S. Senate going on 32 months he has been on the Presidential campaign for 20 months. His record of getting bills passed in the Senate is NULL/Zero.
The man has no experience in an executive office. Giving away taxpayers money as a community organizer and talking nicely should be measured by ‘that bar of standards’ that you mention. Problem is you raise the bar for one and lower it for the other.
If higher taxes don’t scare you his judicial nominees will frighten you. He supports judges that make ’social policy’ from the bench, not statutes of American policy.
106. Wily Trax | 10.01.08
We need to make the Vice Presidential debates
Pay Per View.
Financial problems solved.
107. Kevin MN | 10.01.08
Here’s the bottom line:
The Republicans are hoping that Sarah Palin will be Sarah Palin. And the Dems are hoping that Joe Biden will not be Joe Biden.
If both get their wish, Palin wins!
108. MGK | 10.01.08
As a nation, our belief in believing that electing someone like “Joe Sixpack” is both naive and dangerous—if we have not learned that after 8 years of “regular guy” leadership…then we deserve what we get….let’s give a smart guy a chance…we have nothing else to lose.
Education and knowledge once were one of the hallmarkssmf foundations of our democracy—we have drifted away from that and you are beginning to see the effects of it at all levels of our society.
We need to look ourselves in the mirror and ask who we really are and where we are going…because honestly the direction we are headed frankly scares the living daylights out of me!!!
109. John from CA | 10.01.08
David says:
“The man has no experience in an executive office.”
Which man are you talking about, Obama or McCain? Neither one of them have any experience in executive office.
110. Tom D | 10.01.08
The Internet as a political forum is dominated by the left. Commentary reflects a Pro Obama anti McCain…and CERTAINLy an anti palin emphasis.
The election however will not take place online, but out in the real world.
Just as the masses came out to support the unpopular Bush in 2004 to defeat Kerry, the masses will once again come out to vote for McCain.
Polls mean nothing at this point, The tally on November 4 will determine outcome.
McCain is the stronger, better experinced candidate. And will be elected President.
111. geek | 10.01.08
The cry of the liberal media is too a large extent a myth. One could hardly call Fox, Rush or Hanerty Liberal.
Over the years when Republicans have not been served by our candidates our Defense has been the liberal media being unfair, sorry that is not the case.
Governor Palin has to stand on her own 2 feet and answer the questions she is asked showing some sense of knowledge, she so far has not comported herself very well and that is her fault and not the medias.
Excuses are for losers and we have experienced far too much of that. The election will determine the outcome and I can only speculate what excuses will be given by either party when the votes are counted.
Governor Palins selection initially lauded for being inspired has now deteriorated with complaints from conservative Republicans. The internet chatter is a reflection of Governor Palin’s conduct and comments.
Senator McCain would have been better served by picking a VP with a portfolio and we all know who was in the running.
The stunt backfired and that is not the fault of the press, the coverage to date or liberal attacks.
The Press converging on Alaska was a result of the selection of an unknown and everyones desire to know more. We now know and are less than impressed.
112. Thomas | 10.01.08
Here are some really disturbing thoughts just siphoned from the comments section that I think are particularly funny:
1. Someone seems to think that Roosevelt was in office when the stock market crashed. I so paralyzed with laughter that I’m not sure I can breathe.
2. The never ending citation of Barack Obama’s father as a socialist as reasons for not voting for him (despite the fact that his father left him when he was two). Sarah Palin has attended meetings of a seperatist party called the Alaska Independence Party. Her husband was a member. Does that mean that she’s unpatriotic and a seperatist?
3. There are many citations about Presidents without a great deal of education. Please cite them in particular. Roosevelt(Teddy’s a Harvard grad, so’s Franklin), Kennedy (Same), George W. Bush (Yale), Nixon (Harvard & Yale). The closest you can come to a non-prissy President is Reagan (Eureka College, though he was the governor of the largest state in the country before becoming President).
4. The citation that the top income tax bracket pays 40% of the taxes. Apparently, you don’t also know that the top 20% of income earners in this country are less than 10& of the country, and control 90% of its material wealth. If you feel that that is balanced, more power to you. But opposing it doesn’t make you a socialist (and by the way, China’s more of a military oligarchy or technocratic oligarchy than a truly socialist county, and Russia’s more of a military dictatorship. Socialist countries these days are more like Western Europe (France and England in particular, but I won’t bore you with the details).
5. Jodi Rell, Olympia Snowe, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Linda Lingle, Elizabeth Dole. These are five Republican women off the top of my head that would’ve cinched this thing for the Republicans, without going to Palin. All of which are more experienced and less gaffe prone (In case you’re wondering, the list for Obama is about eight pages long for me and includes Ed Rendell, Ted Strickland, Jim Webb, Tom Daschle, Russ Feingold, Micheal Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, and real longshots like Wesley Clark, Sam Nunn, and Chuck Hagel. I’m not a fan of either vice-presidential nominee.
If we’re going to bandy about accusations and claims, let’s have warrants to back them up.
Have fun everyone,
Paralyzed with Laughter
113. David | 10.01.08
John from Ca….while I agree both McCain and Obama have zero executive service that is where the comparison ends.
In the past all our Congress and Senate had been members of our Armed Services. How else to honor your country then to put your life on the line for your country.
Now we have attorneys and lawyers running Washington D.C. Everyone makes new laws, debates, argues, and gets nothing done. No one wants to honor the laws on the books because they get no peronal kudos. Having knowledge of law is great, but using it only to pass laws? I think you and me would both agree we have alot of laws that are not honored?
McCain married into money, so he does not get credit for it, but he has used his and his wifes money to credit several non-profits that operate worldwide, and they are not small. But he obviously does know how to manage money, because they have kept it and their wealth has grown. Add service to country and he is ahead.
Obama has succeeded, but the success is not equal. His success can’t be denied, but it has been done on the expense of the taxpayer. No, risk at his expense.
114. Thomas | 10.01.08
And incidentally, for those who talk about affirmative action as an obsolete philosophy or somehow indicative of Obama as an inferior candidate, think on this a second. Obama was admitted to Columbia University and then Harvard Law (which ain’t an easy school to get into, regardless of your color) where he became an editor-in-chief. John Sidney McCain went to the Naval Academy (benifitted in large part because his father and grandfather were Navy Admirals, and as such he’s a “legacy admit”) and finished 895. Out of 899.
You wanna talk experience, that’s fine. Just don’t for a moment assert that Obama’s somehow not gifted with McCain’s intellectual heft. It’s an embarrassing notion.
115. chris | 10.01.08
Jaycee, incredible, so the poor and the Dems are to blame for the collapse of JP Morgan, Leehman, WaMu, Bear Stearns, etc…. Good lawd, they oughta put you in charge of the Federal Reserve as you just figured it out. —Makes sense right, why reevaluate one’s assumptions of unfettered and unregulated capitalism when you can blame the poor!
116. Chris | 10.01.08
Honestly, I grew up with Joe Six Pack. He couldn’t run to the corner for a beer without help, let alone run a country.
117. Nathaniel Wallace | 10.01.08
I think it is so disingenuous for McCain to make “experience” and putting “country first” as the cornerstones of his campaign while selecting a woman who is not a critical thinker and is in line with the manner in which Bush thinks which is dogma at its core. The problem is that she is not one who will wrestle with the pros and cons of a challenging foreign policy decision. Look McCain knows he’s old and to cast Obama in a light where we just can’t afford to risk his in experience. That’s absurd, he is an intellectual and one who is not dogmatic or an idealogue which are clearly the traits that have guided this disastorus neo-con foreign policy strategy of the last 8 years. Palin is a joke and McCain should be ashamed of his disingenuous and purely politically calculated choice. This is not putting “country first”.
118. Drs. William K. Gelok | 10.02.08
Mrs. IseeRussia for the common voters……………..take new spectacles!Sure the subdebate is not THAt interesting unless were going to hear more Palin stupidity mixed with vulgarity….
Still prefer Lucille Ball …..Thats comedy!
And please, do not tell me that that Russianseer has personality…….
Maybe she can after this debacle seek independence for her state and ask the Russian troops in>>>>>>>>>!
119. Mark | 10.02.08
It amazes me that so much attention is spent on how simple and vapid Sarah Palin seems to be when Joe Biden is a proven embarassment to himself and Obama. One of these people will be the proverbial “heartbeat” away from the Presidency.
Dems point out McCain’s melanoma but ignore the idea that Obama will be at risk just because he’d be the first black president. Some racist nut-job on a mission to prevent that from happening is as much a danger to Obama as McCain’s remissive cancer. (!!!I am in no way advocating or insinuating that any harm should be done to Mr. Obama!!!)
Obama tossed away a guaranteed spot in the Oval office when he dissed Hillary and took Biden. …and people are calling McCain’s judgement into question?
I can imagine Biden meeting with Hu JinTau and saying something innane like, “How you doing, Mr. JinTau? You guys need to work on your internet service over here, I tried to look at my myspace page and couldn’t get it to come up.”
Hmmm, Sarah “6-pack” Palin or Joe “Buffoon” Biden? I’m betting that Sarah mops the floor with him tonight.
120. orthorn | 10.02.08
Mark,Read your comment and your idea’s are very scary indeed, it is just this mentality that Palin will bing to the vp role, we do not need the common man(I feel that Joe sixpck is a very derogatory term not everyone drinks) ideology to be in the forefront. We do however need someone who is thoughtful, well read, and knowledgable about worldly matters in this role. I’d much rather have an honest gaffe than a dishonest wannabe lie. Palin is a lie, to present her as being what the country needs in a vp is a lie, she is an opportunist, she is coniving, and she is ignorant, (ignorant is not the same as uneducated, she is educated but she is still ignorant in what is truly important.) In order to really work for us a vp needs first to be able to “blink and not blank” Palin has it backwards she “blanks but doesn’t blink”. A wise person listens to all sides steps back reflects and then speaks. Palin only hears opens mouth blurts and days later reflects after the press critiques. McCain, is eratic, Obama did not choose Hillary, basically because whe wilolo be more usefulin a key Cabinet position or as a strong ally in the Senate, people need to learn how our political system works, Secretary of State would be a much larger feather in a cap than vp anyday.
121. Angela | 10.02.08
I think it is absolutely rediculous that he would choose Palin for such an important job for the reason of only to get women votes (we all know he did). Does he really think we are that stupid! She is NOT ready for vice president, much less President! I hope everyone that wants “Change” will get out there and vote for Obama.
122. Beth | 10.02.08
While being in touch with the plight of everyday people is a good thing it’s not enough. Understanding issues, judgment and solutions are important. It’s not the end of the world if the average person doesn’t understand the details of supreme court cases or differences between warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan or bailout economics or democratic election of terrorist groups. Though if you read the newspaper daily I think most people could have taken a stab at these questions, and if it’s just nerves I don’t know what happens when you meet someone a little more intimidating than Katie Couric. But it is a significant problem when we are electing someone who has not had the drive to understand the underlying problems that are facing Americans. A working knowledge of history might also be beneficial so the same policies that have failed before are not put into place. But to elect someone who did not have a personal drive to understand America before being the vice-presidential nominee is not someone who I want in office.
123. edwards | 10.03.08
You can actually buy JaneSixPack.com or SarahSixPack.com and turn them into political, humor or whatever info sites. Ain’t the Internet grand?!
125. McCain = Bush | 10.09.08
I find it funny that the author of this artical mentions that “gaffe” when googled will produce results for Joe Biden. I would encourage people to try googling “miserable failure” I think you will find the results enlighting.
126. heheh oops | 10.09.08
heh i thot tat jo six pack ment she thot that we al had 6 pack abs, but now i relize it means 6 pack o beer. now i can relate :]
woo Mccain/Palin 09
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. palintologist | 10.01.08
I think Sarah Palin will connect with the common voter. Biden will try and fail. The difference is in sincerity. I hope so because I’d rather look at http://www.womenwholooklikesarahpalin.com than an equivalent biden site. LOL!