How will Bristol Palin's pregnancy affect the election?

In a recent NewsWeek questionnaire answered by Momma Palin-

3. Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
Sarah Palin: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

Then McCain said this in 2007-

Q: "What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?"

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy."

Perhaps if her daughter was taught about "explicit" things like what a "condom" is or how sex worked other than a stern "Don't do it!!!" we wouldn't be knee deep wading through this hilarious media circus right now.

Palin asserts she's a great mother, but what kind of mother would willingly and knowingly put their teenage children through this kind of scrutiny? Having an unexpected pregnancy pop up while you're just finishing high school, either ruining or substantially altering your plans for college and changing your life is traumatic enough without every news agency from CNN to the National Enquirer stopping at nothing to dig up absolutely anything they can on a teenager who is already going through enough. Add in Palin's new baby with Down's Syndrome which is going to require even more attention to raise than her other children, given Trig's special needs and I honestly can't figure out why she would agree to be McCain's running mate.

Politics aside, her family needs her. It's the simple. If she's irresponsible enough to be cruising around the USA on the Straight Talk Express leaving Trig with whoever is around to hold him and her daughter to deal with what might be the most emotionally trying crisis of her life to pursue her own ambitions, she is not vice president material.

Not to mention the internet is having an absolute FIELD DAY over the hilarious interviews and half-baked rationalizations of why Sarah Palin is the most qualified republican candidate to bring along as McCain's running mate. In a country full of phenomenal Republican senators and governors, it is absolutely beyond me why McCain would choose some hockey mom in the middle of a family crisis with a mentally handcapped baby to take care of whose experience consists of being governor for two years of a state with a population that is roughly five times bigger than the city of Naperville and being a councilwoman/mayor of a town with a population roughly equal to the amount of students who attend high school at Waubonsie Valley.

This is the absolute best person in the entire country to step up in a moment's notice and lead our nation's military and be responsible for the world's largest cache of nuclear weapons?

My mind is blown... this feels like a skit on Saturday Night Live, not the actual presidential race.

Gov. Palin has been quoted as saying that she is glad that her daughter made the choice to have the baby. That implies that there was a choice to be made. If the daughter had opted to not have the baby, would her parents have taken her life choice away from her & forced her to carry to term? My sympathies are with Bristol-but it seems hypocritical for a national candidate to naysay the right to choose when it seems she afforded her daughter that same right. This sounds like "do as I say, not as I do". Easy to talk the talk, harder to walk the walk when it's in your own backyard.

I vote for the candidate, their credentials, experience, and what they represent... period. I do not vote for their entire family. Children should not be brought into any discussion of elected officials. In the case of a spouse, such as a First Lady, given the special stature and often diplomatic duties that unofficially go along with the role I do think it is fair to put the spouse, man or woman, under closer scrutiny. For run-of-the-mill elected officials I am not that concerned with the spouse either.

Fact is no one ever dredges anything positive up about a close family member. The only thing all this dredging is used for is negativity, gossip, sensationalizing, etc. All families have problems. All families have issues. All families have their black sheep. All families are entitled to their privacy and do not deserve having all of their dirty laundry, per say, dragged out in front of the world.

The attempts of the other party to negatively use a teenage pregnancy to their advantage will probably backfire anyway. There are hundreds of thousands of working mothers, past and present, in America that have dealt with this particular family crisis themselves and they will have the upmost empathy for the Palin family.

This kind of a family crisis may have been a big political deal in the 1940's but it certainly isn't today. By next week if it is brought up most people will struggle to stifle a yawn. Considering the circumstances of Obama's own youth and family structure I'm terribly surprised that he would condone any political use of this news.

Anonymous wrote:

"Considering the circumstances of Obama's own youth and family structure I'm terribly surprised that he would condone any political use of this news."

Here's what Barack Obama said:

"I've heard some of the news on this, and so let me be as clear as possible. I have said before and I will repeat again: I think people's families are off-limits. And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know, my mother had me when she was eighteen. Uh, and you know, how family deals with issues, and uh, you know, teenage children...that shouldn't be the topic of our politics. Uh, and I hope that anybody who's supporting me understands that's off limits."

While this shouldn't be an issue in this election, it will be, and I agree with some of the sentiments expressed by Eli and Bonnie here. Hopefully, everyone will look at the bottom line in terms of Gov. Palin being Vice President. Is she truly someone you want to be President, should something happen to McCain?

To Anonymous 10:42: - Regarding your comment: "Considering the circumstances of Obama's own youth and family structure I'm terribly surprised that he would condone any political use of this news."

Obama and "the other party" were the first to come forward and flat out say that children were off limits in the campaign - from where do you get this information?

Isn't the District 204 board to blame for all of this? I think they put all of this up in an effort to distract us from their true plans. They intended to build that school on the church property from the beginning and deliberately lied to all of us to until they had our money.

I put nothing past these people and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they used their contacts and arranged for this damaged VP selection with McCain in order to hide whatever they're up to next.

You District 203 people had best pay attention! There's talk that the District 204 board intends to take over 203 next. They might even use this window of "No Superintendent" to do it. And then you'll be suffering with the Will County part of District 204 as well.

Could you just imagine if it were a Democrat parading around their 17 year old daughter and looser 18 year old boy friend on the dais of the convention?

The religious right would have a freakin field day on how immoral the democratic party is if the shoe were on the other foot.

So if the kids are off limits, don't show them off like it's some kind of trophy.

The religious right is neither.

Since when do Republicans have a monopoly on GOD?

Eli, do you know for a fact that Sarah Palin did not discuss contraception with her children? She said she could not support an explicit sex ed program that gives out contraception and, quite frankly, I have to agree with her. I don't think it is the school's job to pass out contraceptives. While you may want your kids to have the school's blanket approval to engage in sexual activity like a bunch of whores, sluts, and studs, I would like to have my children educated by my wife and I.

Bonnie, where is the hypocrisy? The Palin's said that the daughter made the choice. In many states, a girl does not need parental approval to chose an abortion. The Palin's are glad that their daughter came to them and discussed options instead of going behind them for an abortion. This sounds like parents who are glad that their daughter listened to at least some of their teachings and did not abort the baby, not like the double standard you imply.

I of course do not think that teen pregnancy is by any means a small or unimportant issue. However, when it comes to Palin's position, I do not think her daughter's pregnancy should weigh against the campaign. I think teen pregnancy is something that cannot be completely prevented by a parent -- no matter who that parent may be or what job they may hold. Teen pregnancy is a reality, and it can happen to the children of even the best parents. As parents, we need to do the best we can to instill our values in our children. But, that does not mean there is no room for error or even that our children will choose to follow in our footsteps.

I think those who choose to condemn the family values of the Palins or question the mothering skills of Sarah, need to remember that this can happen to any parent, anywhere. Because really, whether we preach abstinence or hand out condoms, teen pregnancy can (and will) still happen. We cannot follow our children around 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making all of their decisions for them. We all need to keep this in mind before we rush into judging the family over what is clearly a mistake -- a mistake that is being made right by the decision to choose life.

I don't see this costing McCain votes come November. Bristol made a personal choice that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. She did not sell illegal drugs. She did not kill anyone. She did not do anything illegal. Any person who would refuse to vote for McCain purely as a result of this pregnancy is completely out of his or her mind. We need to look at the candidates and their positions on important issues in our country. We do not need to judge the strengths and weaknesses of their children as a way to determine for whom we will vote.

As a mother myself, I would find it to be unfair (and unwise) for people to judge me professionally by looking at the mistakes of my children. The same goes for Sarah Palin. We need to judge her and McCain based on their political history and their leadership experience and their stance on the major issues our country is facing.

Palin! Wow! She rocked my house! You democrats are in panic mode tonight. Your worst nightmare, a woman hunter with a gun and an NRA member to boot breathes new life and momentum into the Republican campaign. Bring on Biden! Where is that Cooter hiding tonight? Time to debate, Joe. Let the media keep trashing her family. The 22 year old DUI of her husband will make as much difference as Nobama smoking pot and tweaking coke 22 years ago. The pregnant daughter is a non-starter and will have no affect on the campaign despite the best efforts of the "esteemed journalists" among us. Piss off working women suggesting she is too busy with her family to be Vice President. You won't get far with the American public and simply further lower opinions of the media already held by most Americans. The CNN crew which I watched for fun tonight after the speech were stunned. Palin exceeded their wildest expectations and it showed. Candy Crowley admitted it played well in the hall but she wants to see what the reaction is across the country. YO Candy: she will be well received by your basic religion and gun clutching Americans. Her family is not the story, its the platform that she will have a part in creating. I am so happy McCain chose her. He really showed foresight in his selection. Nobama looked back and picked an old dog in the Senate for 36 years. Someone who received fewer votes nationally in running for President in 2008 than Palin received when she ran for Mayor. But the real story for you women is this: If McCain/Palin wins in 2008, McCain has set this nation far closer and certian in 2012 that we will finally have a woman President. Palin would be the Republican incumbent. (McCain I am sure would be a one term President because of his age)Hilary who was absolutely dumped on by Howard Dean, George Soros, Dick Turbin, Ole Kennedy and all the boss hogs in that party, will be the challenger. It will be another historic election with the best WOMAN winning. Palin of course! It must suck to be a Democrat now. The Cubs are expectantly choking late in the season and the Republicans will retain the White House. Mark my words.

Shame on you Editors! Leave this young woman alone. Every time I think the paper has sunk to a new level - you surprise me again. Even your anointed candidate Mr. O said that the children of candidates should be off limits. You want to ask about the candidates stands on contraception or abortion? Fine - thats fair game? But using the your woman's unfortunate pregnancy as a fodder for a blog makes you no better than the muck rakers that fill the net.

I was going to post saying that I could only imagine what Republicans would be saying if Obama had chosen an inexperienced woman delegate... Then Jon Stewart did this segment on last night's Daily Show.

And all I can say is- R O F L.

This is the kind of person who could potentially be a stone's throw away from sitting in front of the giant red nuclear launch button.

Well this news article did wonders for ratcheting up the election conversation. Probably caused a whole lot of people who normally wouldn't to watch Palin's speech last night.

Reading the above posts pretty much confirms where a lot of people are on the issues and where they are at with their own personal choice of the candidates.

Bottom line, come election day in November, will any one of us cast our votes differently because of all of this? I don't think so.

Nor do I believe any of the persuasive arguments being bantered about are going to cause very many, if any, people to switch sides. That is always wishful thinking when we advocate for our party or our candidates, isn't it?

Fact is there are much larger issues in a presidential election than this and the main issues will always be with how the presidential candidate, not the vice-presidential candidate, addresses these issues.

The Sun hit a new low with this blog discussion.

To Flip Floppin Like a Pancake: John Stewart is a comedian. Try not to take him or Bill Mauer for that matter seriously. Most Americans are smarter pundits and wags than either of those two. And I have some more news for you: Nobama sitting next to the nuclear switch does NOTHING to give many of us any comfort. Especially if Bill Ayers is visiting his old buddy in the White House. Nobama is an empty suit that has been foisted on the American public by completely, politically corrupt media. These include Sweet, Mary Mitchell, Sneed, to a lesser extent Marin just to name a few associated with STNG. If you don't think the media is biased and you STILL don't get it, read these columnists today. Sarahcuda, the arctic fox in my view is a Frank Capra charactar come alive, You know, a Mrs. Smith goes to Washington type. Sending some Cook County Machine political hack like Nobama IS NOT change many of us believe in. How does that great "Who" song go? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Many of us want someone from outside the good old boy party network and Washington Georgetown circuit who owes NO machine, Democrat or Republican ANY favors. Sarahcuda, the arctic fox fits the bill. Meet the new rock star and the beauty of it is she does not need the press to ingratiate her self with the American people. She does it all by herself. Thanks John McCain. You reminded us of our obligation to mentor others.

For those who think Palin's personal and family life is off-limits, let me quote McCain's campaign manager:

---
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told Washington Post editors Tuesday that issues will have an impact on undecided voters but will not be conclusive.

"This election is not about issues," Davis said. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."
---

There you have it, folks! This election is not about issues.

The hypocrisy is strong in this one.

I like how Sarah Palin has fired up the Republican campaign. It FEELS historic. These next two months will be a close horse race. Obama seemed to be wobbling a bit before the Biden announcement, with McCain narrowing the gap in the polls, and the Democrats didn't get the bump they wanted from the veep choice. Now McCain, it seems, seems to have achieved something in his veep choice, by firing up the conservative base, or attracting those Hilary Democrats or whatever. I agree there seems to be a media bias, and that McCain was where he wanted to be in the underdog role, and that Obama supporters seemed to forget there was a general election after that hard-fought primary. Now it's neck-and-neck. I think Palin, since she's brand new to the national stage, is going to be in the spotlight for a while, and scrutinized with questions about her experience and track record. I think Obama has a lot of convincing to do if he's going to prove he can lead this country out of the economic and foreign policy messes it's in. Oh, and family members of candidates shouldn't matter one bit, but somehow they do. Only time will tell how this ends up. We'll see in two months.

In late 1969 a team of Soviet scientists were dispatched to Hanoi on a secret mission.

Knowing the prominence of POW John McCain's father in the U.S. military, they correctly foresaw that prisoner McCain would someday play a prominent role on the U.S. political stage. His fiery temperament - exhibited under N. Vietnamese torture - only played into their hands. They also realized that McCain would eventually break under said torture, but U.S. officials and the American people would widely discredit any "confession."

The scientists, who were top Russian M.D.'s, whisked a sedated McCain to a Hanoi hospital for a secret operation. Using advanced technology that had taken years to perfect, the Soviets implanted two computer chips in McCain's brain. The chips - that could be activated only from a remote location - served a dual purpose: One would aggravate his temperamental personality and impair his judgment. The other, containing a ricin-like poison, would instantly kill him. Any autopsy would not detect the poison and death would be attributed to a massive stroke.

Knowledge of the chips, along with the technological secret to their activation, was limited to a handful of die-hard KGB Communists and the activation device was hidden in the darkest recesses of the Kremlin. The secret survived - kept from Gorbachev during the "glasnost" era and from Yeltsin, whose reign this KGB cadre instantly recognized would be short-lived.

The existence of the chips remained secret until Vladimir Putin took power in the former Soviet Union. The Communist cadre - now old men - only revealed their nefarious secret to Putin after a clueless U.S. President George W. Bush made his by now infamous statement about "getting a sense of his soul" of the Russian leader, saying that Putin was someone Bush could work with. Putin, in reality a KGB hardliner interested only in regaining the hegemony the Soviet Union once enjoyed, eagerly embraced the cadre's secret and hailed them as patriots. But first, Putin - ever the wily political operative - had to test the resolve of the West, thus the flexing of Russian muscle by cutting off the oil pipeline to the Ukraine last winter. Per usual, the West and particularly the U.S. did nothing and Putin decided to push the West even harder, with the recent invasion of Georgia. Again the West did nothing. .

It was only then that Putin determined that the cadre's secret (even Putin's puppet Dmitry Medvedev was not informed) would be turned into an action plan - when and if McCain reached his ultimate goal, i.e. GOP Presidential nominee.

When McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee, the first chip was activated. Though so far McCain has managed to keep his temper under control (it's early in the game), the chip has already achieved its goal of impairing his judgment. Witness McCain's public statements: Not knowing anything about the economy and maintaining the U.S. presence in Iraq for 100 years.

Putin and the remaining members of the cadre - some had died of old age - knew the chip action plan had solidly achieved its first goal when, by now, a severely impaired McCain selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, a decision that stunned most Americans and watching world leaders.

As the campaign reaches its crucial post-Labor Day phase - and if the first chip continues its devious work - the American public will witness more instances of questionable judgment on the part of the GOP nominee, along with possibly flashes of his notorious temper.

The second chip, of course, will be used only if McCain prevails in his long-held ambition to become President. Putin and the cadre - savvy and patient - will activate the second chip three or four months into the McCain presidency, instantly killing the 72-year-old, and putting the U.S. into the hands of President Palin. Putin will relish engaging a hapless U.S. leader whose political experience has revolved around decisions involving whether there is enough snow to ensure a proper Iditarod and whose contribution to the public discourse has been exemplified by a New York Times op-ed piece about polar bears.

The cadre will be awarded the Order of Lenin as then Premier Putin reforms his breakaway states back into the vise-like grip of a new Soviet Union that becomes the dominant player on the world stage. The unknowable, of course, is how China will react as the world is ushered into a second Cold War.

Meanwhile, the deceased McCain will enter U.S. history books as "THE MANCHURIAN PRESIDENT."

"....instantly killing the 72-year-old, and putting the U.S. into the hands of President Palin."

Heaven help us all.

Anonymous 6:08...You should share some of those special mushrooms you are eating.

To the fledgling fiction writer... you might want to run your plot by some publishers to see if they are interested in it. Keep developing the story lines though and maybe I'll read a copy when it hits the bookstores.

Yawn.......................

Oh, don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows they kept Regan on life support the last couple of years he was in office. They'd do the same for McCain too. The chances of a VP ever serving as President these days aren't very good.

Plus think about it we'd have women running both the senate and the house which would be another historic first. Personally I'm all for it. I can't wait for the first cat fight to break out between the two!

Meoooooooooooooow!

I believe that Sarah Palin herself brought her daughter Bristol into the political fray. By implying that carrying or not carrying a fetus to full term was a choice for her daughter while aggressively asserting that a fetus is a life and not a choice and intensely trying to criminalize the making of the choice Ms. Palin appears to have adopted the Bush-McCain Doctrine of not having to follow the very rules that they would have imposed on us. In the Bush-McCain-Palin world view there is no choice when it comes to a fetus. You will carry the fetus to full term and have the baby or else suffer the criminal consequences. I simply cannot believe that, in the Palin controlled household, Bristol had any more of a choice about her baby than Levi Johnston had about getting married. Sarah Palin is the one who brought her daughter into this discussion and she is the only one that can get her out.

It won't.

I think we can ALL agree that your basic 17 year-old in the U.S. understands sex, condoms, pregnancy, oral sex, etc. Thus, the issue isn't federal government funding direction, parenting, or any of a hundred other issues. In this case, as in hundreds of thousands of others across the country, the young lady and her beau had sex and got pregnant --- Big Deal!

Guess what Americe? No one cares. it happens everyday in every city and small town in Americe. Get over it and move on.

Newflash to Bonnie Owens!

A 17 yr old does NOT need her parents permission to get an abortion, thus the young lady DID have a choice.

Also, to Jai & Bonnie:

Since you have questions about Palin as a mere VP, what in the heck are Obama's qualifications for the actual Presidency?

What do we know about Obama except he has carefully avoided making any decisions on our dime, he has minimal experience as a politician, he has no executive experience, he won his elections in Illinois under a spell of BiG CHICAGO DEMOCRATIC MACHINE POLITICS, he outright LIED to all of us and the biggest issue of his early campaign ("I will accept public financing") because he found out he could get more by refusing it (some guy of the people, huh?), Obama is personally responsible for absolutely NO change or fighting of corruptionMhe is responsible for Todd Stroger Jr., as an example).

If there is a joke here at all, it is that Obama is being considered as a President of the United States. Remember --- the last time a President died in office was 1963, so using the boogeyman of McCain being so old is yet another example of the limited thinking, the lack of progressive thought, the biased and closed minds of today's liberals.

To dannosden on September 3, 2008 3:27 PM,

1)And yet, Sen. Obama has paraded his wife and children around the country and on national television several times! And, as we know, he believes both should be off limits.

2)And why is the beau a loser? Could you explain your closed-minded liberal thought on this as I'm sure we wold all like to be edified. The data on him seems fairly positive if you weren't too lazy to click a few websites and read. Shame on you and your limited thought process!

3)Where did God and the conservative right get into this jagged argument of yours? Perhaps you are getting nervous over Palin and you are losing what little rational thought you have left?

Run, Sarah, Run!

To: By Flip-floppin' like a pancake! on September 4, 2008 8:01 AM:

Obama one-upped the GOP --- he himself is running as an an inexperienced delegate with no executive experienc and no voting record.

In fact, he woulod NOT be a stones throw away, he would actually be Throwing the stone despite his absolute lack of any useful experience.

He has NEVER balanced a budget, he has never sent youngsters to war, he has never vetoed a bad move by others, he has never ran an election without the extreme help of the Chicago Democratic Machine, and he has never reformed anything.

So what was your point? That Palin is more experienced than Obama and is twice-removed from the same presidenct that you want the lesser-experienced Obama to have now?

How thoughtless of you!

Anonymous wrote:

"Remember --- the last time a President died in office was 1963, so using the boogeyman of McCain being so old is yet another example of the limited thinking, the lack of progressive thought, the biased and closed minds of today's liberals."

People have not become immortal, and Presidents have not become any more impervious to bullets since the last President who "died in office," so one should definitely view the wisdom of Gov. Palin's candidacy in light of the question of her readiness to be President. This is all the more important considering that John McCain would be the oldest first-term President in our nation's history. While he's appears to be in great condition for a seventy-two year-old, he can't hold off the ravages of time forever; this is just a fact of life, rather than closed-minded, liberal bias.

BTW, Obama's lack of experience does bother me. It's one of the two main reasons why this year I've given serious thought to voting for a Republican for President for the first time in my life (the other reason being that I've always liked and respected Sen. McCain). But John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate has taken the inexperience card off the table, and made it far more problematic for me to consider voting for him.

Why is it that so-called "inspirational" speakers like Obama always sound good while you are listening to them talk and then when you go back and actually read and analyze what they said that it becomes readily apparent that they said next to nothing meaningful?

I'm not so sure we need or want a president who aspires us. Most of us have plenty of our own aspirations as it is. Personally, I'd rather see a candidate for president who is truly inspired himself. The problem I see with Obama is that he is more interested in inspiring others than inspiring himself. I want to see a presidential candidate who can do more than aspire. I want to see a presidential candidate who can actually demonstrate leadership.

Personally, I don't see the point in inspiring citizens about many of the campaign issues where it is clear that government reform is more necessary to bring about change than attempting to send feel-good shivers up and down voter's spines. We can care about change but the system is so messed up average citizens have long been boxed out of fixing the corruption which has to be the first step in any meaningful change in government. When it comes right down to it I believe inspiration is more the business of religious leaders than government leaders anyway. And if inspiration flows to us from religious leaders I think we all need to think long and hard about who has been an inspirational role model for Obama for a long, long time.

The world-wide hate being spread by radical, fundamentalist Arabs threatens the security of dozens of nations and hundreds of millions of people is but one example of a true issue in this year's campaign. This is one of the really important and serious issues for us today and will be for many years to come. The Arab threat simply can not be ignored. The pregnancy of one 17 year old girl simply isn't on the radar screen of what reasonable and caring Americans should be discussing. It is nothing more than a distraction; designed and intended to keep voters form discussing far more important issues.

To: By John Q. Public on September 8, 2008 10:10 AM

I understand that trepidation can exist, but I would encourage all to remember we are voting for the President. On a much simpler analogy, no one bets on a football team because of the back-up QB!

If VPs really mattered, based on reputations at the time I doubt JFK (Johnson was a known ass), Clinton (Gore was a what?), or Bush I (who was Quayle) would never have been elected.

I will add that Carter's low experience (especially in foreign policy) caused him to take a very experienced and respected Senator, Fritz Mondale, as his running mate. We all saw how despite that great experience offered by Fritz, Carter STILL managed to become possibly the worst President of all time (sound familiar? Prop up the President candidate with an experienced VP?).

http://district203.blogspot.com/

Whatever you do don't vote for Dianne McGuire.

What I find so fabulously hypocritical about this situation is this, when you all heard that Jamielynn Spears was pregnant at 16 I'm sure the very first though you had was "Geez, what a slut", "White trash!", I could go on and on. But you hear that Bristol Palin is pregnant and your first thought is "Awww, what a good girl, doing the honorable thing and having the baby." I found it interesting that her mother, Gov. Sarah Palin actually said she was happy her daughter made the right choice. Did she have a choice? If Sarah Palin had her way she wouldn't, not even if she was the victim of rape or incest. Those same nasty pejorative terms should be subjected upon Bristol Palin. That said, what it all boils down to is BAD PARENTING. Bad parenting by Lynn Spears and Sarah Palin. Wow, they both are working parents that never put their children first. I don't think that makes Gov. Palin worthy of the second highest office in the land. Oh and one last thing, the Spears are all registered Republicans...so you can't blame it on being a liberal.

Ken and Glock 22, I'm pretty sure you are one in the same and you must be living with blinders on in your perfect little republican world....I'm glad that 8 years of Bush has not taken any toll on your lives, but for the VAST majority it has totally wiped people out. Obama will be residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, and the CUBBIES will win the World Series, mark my word.

Hey hater: Glock 22 and A Redskin are actually one in the same. Ken would not like to be associated with me so I want to make it clear WE are not one in the same. I agree that the Palin resume is thin but Nobama is just the same. What concerns me is considering the entire democaratic party leadership, they select a guy with a paper thin resume with no leadership skills to be their presidential candidate. You have to defend the lack of experience at the top of your ticket. I only have to defend the #2 spot. Obama is 2 cents looking for change you can believe in. As for the CUBBIES,
they had a good year. Now they need to win or it will really be a miserable year AND the end of the Bush Administration for you. If you go to the game, remember your great democratic mayor humpty dumpty daley (who continues to make life miserable for many city residents with his corruption machine) has declared bar owners in wrigleyville have made enough money for the year and there will be no alcohol sales even in the area surrounding the crumbling wrigley field. Bring a flask. I recommend schnopps. You can claim it is medicine for when the CUBBIES choke.

TO: By glock 22 and a redskin on September 24, 2008 10:21 PM

Hey glock-a-mole,

I'd much rather have Barack Obama running the country than an old fart like McBush who had the bright idea to pick Palin to be his running mate, I mean good God, she is CLUELESS!

- I'm pretty sure her 15 minutes are about up -

There is a reason the McCain campaign keeps Governor Sarah Palin away from the press.

This is a direct excerpt from Katie Couric's One-On-One interview with Sarah Palin, which aired Wednesday on CBS.

COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too.So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

If McCain wins, this woman will be a 72-year-old heartbeat away from being president of the United States.

**Aflac Duck shakes head violently**

Mimi: Biden to Katie while traveling on bus between campaign stops last week: "when the stock market crashed in 1929, FDR went on TV to calm the fears of the nation". No reaction from Katie because she did not hear anything wrong, doesn't know better or is not allowed or will not repudiate or challenge any democratic candidate. Now you know why I missed the Katie interview, the View, Oprah, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNCB, Ellen. I don't want a pompus idiot like Biden or a inexperienced or socialist like Obama in the white house because journalists, europeans, hollywood idiots or the left wing think he is the chosen one, the one we have all been waiting for. Mimi: why is it that all the ivy league graduates running this country and Wall Street have it all screwed up? Maybe it is time for people like Palin to emerge on the scene and be supported if you really want change to believe in.

Glock-a-mole,

Biden probably said FDR because he's the one that most of us equate with the sweeping changes made after The Great Depression, not Hoover. Still not as stupid as every word that comes out of Palin's mouth.

Palin is clueless and you're clueless if you can't admit she's a bad choice! I was actually on the fence prior to McCain's foolish selection of a running mate. Sarah Palin couldn't change a light bulb.

Why are you talking about Europeans?! I might remind you that there a quite a few "hollywood idiots" that are Republicans. Maybe you, your right wing friends and evangelical extremists have it wrong and Obama is the chosen one. Aren't you Republicans always pushing for deregulation and less government? Great idea! Look where that has gotten us.

Mimi on September 26, 2008 8:19 PM

I'd much rather have Barack Obama running the country than an old fart like McBush who had the bright idea to pick Palin to be his running mate, I mean good God, she is CLUELESS!

_________________________________________________________

Mimi, apparently you are the annointed one who is able to decifer the campaign rhetoric, and make a purely unbiased selection! You were on the fence before Palin was selected? Yeah right!!

Not sure I would use perky Katie as my source and proof. As to your claim that Palin is clueless, I can only assume you know it when you see it, which in your case is every morning when you look in the mirror!

To: a.silverstone on September 29, 2008 9:48 am

I guess when you can't add anything smart to the conversation you must resort to schoolyard name calling. I'm not using Katie Couric as my source of proof, I'm using the interview as my source of proof. Why don't you watch it for yourself, maybe you'll come to the same conclusion that most of America has!

Sometimes the facts and the truth suck! Sarah Palin is painfully clueless, the quicker you and your friends can accept that, the better. Funny that so many conservatives are even saying what a huge mistake she is.... maybe you need to spend more time reading than typing. And yes, I am the anointed one! How nice of you to notice.

Now then, go buy yourself a clue, I hear their really cheap these days.

Mimi: you are not kidding anyone. You are a liberal and you would never vote for John McCain, regardless of Palin on or off the ticket. So stop with the BS that her selection ended any thought you had of voting for McCain. You don't like Palin or McCain because you are a liberal. And, claiming Palin is so stupid she cannot change a light bulb also says something else and more about you, not her. Less government and regulation in a free market society is always a good idea. Of course you don't want a free market society because it leaves some people out of the market place, its not fair, and so on with the liberal socialist nonsense. I will remind you that the current financial problems stem from 1) people who are living above their means and 2) government GSE's that supported them living beyond their means. Now, thanks to your government that solves all of our problems,in particular democrats who resisted regulation when Alan Greenspan raised concerns about the vitality of the two GSE's a couple of years back, both have collapsed causing additional distress on financial markets. And when Pelosi and Reid proclaimed over the weekend a deal was done, she could not even deliver the votes of her own party in Congress today. Talk about intelligence. She could not even count how many votes she had for impending legislation. We want her involved in solving the mortgage and credit problems we are facing? NO. In summary, your socialist Messiah, who with groups like ACORN, NHA, La Rasa and other "community groups" were forcing democrates to introduce legislation requiring banks to make loans to the poor people in the poor neighborhoods, they were actually causing the collapse of the real estate and mortgage markets with their junk mortgages. Of course Franklin Raines walked off with about $100 million dollars in a golden parachute. Remember him Mimi from the Clinton Administration? Funny how your news sources don't have much to say about the real cause of the problem-economically challenged ignorant democrats. Finally, it is really pitiful for you to apologize for what Biden said. As if you making some excuse for what he actually meant does something to correct the fact of what he said AND that he is still a pompus asshat. As is your miserable excuse for a Presidential candidate. Now for the good news: the difference between you and me: if Obama wins, I will go to work the next day and perform my assigned duties. If McCain wins, I will go to work the next day and perform my assigned duties. What will you do if McCain wins?

Oh boo hoo Glock 22. You have no idea who I would or wouldn't vote for! I have never done straight-ticket voting. I vote for the person best suited for the job. I bet you'd be shocked to know that I voted for Gov. Edgar. Unlike you, I have the intelligence to vote for someone in another party if I think they'll do a better job. McCain has always seemed middle of the road to me which is why I would have possibly voted for him if Obama hadn't been nominated. Don't know that I could have dealt with Hillary for 4 years. I along with a lot of conservative pundits must all be pretty stupid as you surmise because even they think that Palin is not only a bad choice but not the brightest bulb to be thrown into the national political spotlight. Remember way back in '99 when Dubya couldn't name the names of foreign leaders....look where that got us. I can't wait for Thursdays debate! I'll love every minute of her squirming up there. She has charisma as long as she's reading from a teleprompter.

Funny how you don't mention the deregulation that the republican controlled house and senate passed in '99. That is where this started, so blame your party for that one! Clinton didn't have veto power, so don't blame him. You are correct about Greenspan's dire warning two years ago, but it wouldn't have made a bit of difference at that point, the damage of deregulation was already done. Phil Gramm made sure of it. I'd love to know how much money in total that he has made off of deregulation, it's much more than the 1.5 million that's been reported. I'm sure that in time we'll all find out how many other golden parachutes were gotten due to deregulation. I guess one we all know about is the Enron execs.

To answer your question about what I'll be doing on November 5th, I don't need to work so I'll probably be having a victory lunch with my democrat friends!

Take a look around you, this country is becoming more and more socialist every day, and not because of us crazy liberals! Your party couldn't get the necessary votes either! There were more republicans voting against the package than for it.

It's really pitiful that you can't call a spade a spade. Sarah Palin will be the reason your party doesn't win on November 4th.

Notice to hater, CUBBIES choke. Wow! Surprising! Who woulda thunk it? Now for the election. Hope Mimi's AFLAC duck doesn't shake head violently and crap on the victory lunch table next month.

Glock 22,

Blah, blah, blah. What did the Cubs ever do to you? You are a really miserable old man! I guess reality is sinking in and you're getting scared!

Gov. Palin has proven that she's just another cog in the political machine. So much for reforming government, not! Instead, she'll just abuse her power to get what she wants....typical politician - from either side of the aisle.

alright i see the big picture.