Super Troopergate

This is probably not what McCain's campaign had in mind when they told Sarah Palin to go out and get them some press. I can't wait to see the pseudofeminists and deluded women of America defend their precious hockey mom in lipstick.

Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing

The Debate

There are two things that are very wrong with last night's Vice Presidential debates. The first is the performance that Sarah Palin gave where, for all the words that came out of her mouth, she said very little. The second is the fact that there are people who will buy that performance. She stood up there with all the pageantry poise she could muster and recited those talking points that she crammed into her head in the days leading up to the debate. Ask her the same questions next week (you know, the ones she didn't answer last night) and she won't be able to pull the names Kim Jong-il and Ahmadinejad out of her brain if her life depended on it. She was as rehearsed and robotic as a grade school play and I just can't see how anyone would want that in a leader.

On the other hand, Joe Biden was poised and knowledgeable on all the topics. He spoke naturally and looked comfortable. He answered the questions that were given him and defended the Obama/Biden campaign with facts that were not drilled into his head 72 hours before the debate. It clearly showed just how out of her league Governor Palin really is. And while she claims to empathize with Joe Six-Pack (a term I despise due to it's sheer ridiculousness) she barely batted an eye when Joe Biden spoke of his wife and daughter. And by the way, to all those Joe Six-Packs out there, Sarah Palin and her husband are worth about $1.2 million. See, she's just like you!

A word from the wise...

I have mocked McCain and Palin, posted the parodies and unflattering interviews but now I want to be completely serious. To all undecideds, Republicans and, especially, Hillary-turned-Palin supporters I have something to say.

Stop and Think.

This is my new mantra. This election has come down to back and forth arguments between McCain and Obama supporters, reminiscent of the childish "Yah-huh, nuh-uh" variety. For a country that appears to be going down the toilet, this is not the most effective plan.

There have been arguments over whether or not McCain is physically and mentally fit to be president. Well, stop and think. The President of the United States is a taxing, stressful job. Is a 72 year old with a history of health problems the best choice? McCain loves to talk about his time in Vietnam and his five hellish years in a POW camp. Could his time as a POW have caused him traumatic stress that has made him mentally infirm? It's an assumption made about many other Vietnam vets, why not him?

McCain has proven himself to be somewhat of a hothead. Sarah Palin likes to say that one cannot hesitate but must act without blinking. Is this the type of leadership we want in Washington? Well, stop and think. When the day comes when a country points it's nuclear (pronounced nu-clee-ar) weapons at us, or terrorists start chattering about destroying a U.S. city, do we need the hotheaded, triggered-fingered, "strike-first-ask-questions-later" administration that McCain and Palin will surely bring to the White House? Or do we need the calm, level-headed, "weigh-the-consequences-and-act-appropriately" administration that Obama and Biden are much more likely to provide.

Ladies, this next paragraph is directed at you. Sarah Palin has said that she is anti-abortion and that she would like to see Roe vs. Wade overturned. Do you want an administration that will decide what you are allowed to do with your body? Well, stop and think. Placing Sarah Palin in office will undo decades of work that women have done to earn rights and equality. A short sidebar, remember that pro-choice does not equal pro-abortion. Pro-choice means that you have the opportunity to choose what you want to do with your body. This is not something that should be taken away. No one is forcing abortion on you but it is there if and when you need it. If you don't approve, then choose a different option. I respect the decision of women who choose not to have an abortion, please respect my decision if I decide to have one.

I know that many women out there would love to see a woman in the White House. I would love to see a woman in the White House. But Sarah Palin is not that woman. Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton. She is not even in the same league as Hillary Clinton. Be patient, ladies. The day will come when a woman enters the oval office.

The McCain/Palin campaign is doing a frighteningly thorough job of scaring their supporters into believing that Obama is not capable of being President. How exactly are they convincing you of this? Well, stop and think. They are spending the majority of their time (and, most likely, money) flinging nasty jabs and sarcastic remarks at the Democrats. They are producing ads that are nothing more than smear campaigns. They are deflecting hardhitting questions with cliched soundbites, negative commentary on their opponents, and cries of "sexism" and "offensiveness". This might be convincing people that the Democrats are a bad choice but are they really convincing people that the Republicans are a good choice? When the election is over and all is said and done, what have they accomplished? They've successfully (and unfairly) made Obama look bad but they haven't proven themselves.

This country has become so jaded and pessimistic that it can't stand the sight of optimism. There are people out there balking at the hopefulness and integrity of the Democratic campaign, writing it off as naivete. There are people mocking the idea of "change" as a platform when that is exactly what this country needs. Please don't be afraid of change, don't be afraid to be hopeful. Truly listen to what each candidate is saying and then stop and think. Think for yourselves. Don't let them tell you what to think.

Live from New York! It's Saturday Night!

McCain's New Beauty: Get Her Secret Makeup Tips

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that the Sarah Palin supporters refuse to see through the carefully crafted persona that the McCain campaign has created for her. Articles like this one from The New York Times give a fairly clear picture of what the country is in for if McCain and his pitbull (or is it hockey mom? I'm so confused) end up in the White House. This is a woman who believes the visibility of Russia from an island of Alaska equals experience in foreign policy. A woman who will appoint a friend to the Division of Agriculture because of her friend's "love of cows". Of course personal opinion comes into play in any politician's position on policies (check out that alliteration!) but Sarah Palin leads with her personal feelings and what appears to be snap decisions. She has said "...that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink." Is this the leadership that we want in the White House? A skittish colt who reacts first and thinks later? Her supporters will argue that she's made progress in her home state of Alaska, but at what cost? We don't need a secretive bunch running this country, another four years of "executive privilege" being tossed around.

So I say to the Sarah Palin supporters, do something new, something different.

Think.

(Thanks to kodak konfidential for the excellent photoshoppin')

In The News

The following is a quote by New York Young Republican's president Lynn Krogh from an article in today's Metro entitled "Palin: battle of the sexists".

Folks in the lower 49 states don't know Sarah Palin and so when they (the media) field the questions of whether or not she can be a mother and vice president, they feel them to be valid. I (Krogh) don't think those questions should be asked. No one asked Hillary that question.

Well, Ms. Krogh, allow me to explain. Hillary, unlike Sarah Palin, would not be raising a Down's Syndrome baby while trying to run the free world. I'm pretty sure Chelsea is out of diapers by now.

Update: Lynn Krogh was kind enough to send me an email after reading my little blurb so I thought it only appropriate that I print her response. The following is her email to me in it's entirety.

Hi!!

Thanks for picking up my quote. I appreciate it. Couple of things:

1 - The quote was part of a larger context which obviously wasn't picked up, I used Hillary and Obama both as examples because neither were asked if they could be parents and lead the free country.

2 - I'm very proud of Palin and her continuous fight for all women, on both sides of the aisle. She's certainly breaking that glass ceiling that many of us, politically active or not, had hoped would happen much sooner, rather than later.

3 - I see you live in Astoria, As do I... small world!

Thanks agian, have a great night.

Lynn Krogh

My response to this?

1. Whether you're asking the question of Hillary only or both Hillary and Barack, there is still a world of difference between raising an infant with Down's Syndrome and raising older children without special needs. Barack Obama's girls, Malia and Natasha, are ages 11 and 9.

2. I couldn't disagree more when it comes to Sarah Palin fighting for women and I don't believe she's breaking any glass ceilings. As Arbor Boy pointed out, it's more like she's pouring a layer of cement over the glass ceiling. Her anti-abortion stance, along with wanting to teach abstinence only and creationism in schools, and believing that the world is only 6,000 years old only points us in the wrong direction.

3. Everybody lives in Astoria.

Thanks for writing, Lynn!