Thoughts on the debate

McCain and Obama are going at it in Mississippi and CNN HD is doing a great job with the coverage. Jim Lehrer seems to want to candidates to fight or at least bicker back and forth but my impression is that McCain is taking Obama to school. McCain seems reasoned and experienced and Obama seems like a petulant child. There is a distinct difference between the two.

I like how Obama when asked about his spending he noted that "he" was going to pay for it. Yeah right - we will be paying for his spending plan.

One thing that irks me is the way Obama keeps referring to McCain as "John" and I haven't heard McCain once call Obama "Barack". Obama is trying to marginalize McCain and it is not working.

This is good TV.

McCain choice for VP is a "conservative"

Fun times are being had at the NY Times, Boston Globe and other entrenched leftist outfits with the choice of Sarah Palin for Vice President on the Republican Ticket. My thoughts on the Palin choice I will hold for another post but if anything it is a politically brilliant move by McCain. But here is the thing...Palin is a conservative. She is pro-NRA, pro-life and religious...uh oh. The media are having a field day with this...

Brent Bozell's newest column on this subject states (in part):

When Palin was picked, the (Washington) Post couldn’t stop pounding away on her conservatism. The lead story underlined: "The self-described 'hockey mom' brings a blue-collar conservatism and strong antiabortion views to the ticket." Another story on the front-page called her "the pro-gun, antiabortion governor of Alaska." The caption under her picture noted Palin was "a conservative with strong antiabortion views."

Palin is also taking flack for seeking such a demanding position (VP) with a baby with Down's syndrome (yeah - why didn't she just have an abortion...what sort of role model is she?) and other disturbing accusations (yes I know her 17 year old daughter is pregnant). But did you know Gov. Palin was a conservative?

Rush Limbaugh recounts a story in one of his books about when he got famous. He noted that he gained additional names - no longer was he "Rush Limbaugh" but "conservative Rush Limbaugh" or "right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh" as if the media that was writing about him had to qualify their description of him with that amplifying information. As he notes...no one ever introduced Larry King as the "liberal talk show host Larry King".

So with the Palin stories, her conservatism is put in the forefront of stories about her. Fair you say? Ok - but how was Joe Biden introduced?

Boston Globe Online, in their story "Foreign policy got Biden the VP nod" reported some glowing praise for Biden (some quotes were from Obama introducing Biden):

"Biden could also attract former supporters of Hillary Clinton, who yesterday praised Obama's choice of Biden, calling him "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant.""

"After weeks of speculation, Obama settled on Biden because of a combination of personal chemistry with the Delaware senator (and) Biden's foreign policy résumé"

""For decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn't changed him."

"He's an expert on foreign policy whose heart and values are firmly rooted in the middle class."

"He has stared down dictators and spoken out for America's cops and firefighters."

"He is uniquely suited to be my partner as we work to put our country back on track."

But the National Journal Online reports that "His composite liberal score of 94.2 placed him as the 3rd most-liberal senator in 2007, two ticks behind Barack Obama, who was the most liberal senator last year with a score of 95.5." The Boston Globe didn't think to mention that?

A similar story in the online Boston Globe from 2 Sept 2008 entitled "Palin provides a striking alternative" mentions Palin hunts, fishes, opposes abortion and a lifetime member of the NRA. Ok, just so we are clear, Palin is not "one of us" the Globe seems to be saying. Or as Maureen Dowd so snottingly put it recently, she hasn't even been on Meet the Press - what is this country coming to?

Stories on Palin and her 'conservative ideals' will be plastered all over the place as an attempt to discredit her and those that may "swing" to support John McCain rather than Obama. The media don't want people voting for the "woman", they want people voting for the Democrats. How silly...What you are getting with Obama and Biden is the most liberal ticket so far and the media are so worried about this Governor from Alaska that they are throwing their objectivity out the window...I know - "what objectivity".

Say it with me folks - "there is no media bias"....yeah right.

OS

Is the country on the wrong track?

More politics coming at you. Yahoo has a story courtesy of the AP that reports that at a recent campaign stop Obama criticized McCain for thinking the country is on the right track.

"These anxieties seem to be growing with each passing day," Obama said on a campaign trip in this economically ailing battleground state. "We can either choose a new direction for our economy or we can keep doing what we've been doing. My opponent, John McCain, thinks we're on the right track."

The audience booed and hissed at such nonsense but thank goodness we have Obama offering up "something new". Like middle class tax cuts (that almost every politician including Bill Clinton was for). Obama is also for the ever popular "change" which is always a crowd pleaser. It worked for Bill Clinton against Bush playing on the country's need for change from the status quo (Republican Presidents for 12 years) and Obama is using the same ploy, hoping for similar results.

The Yahoo Story also noted that when asked (based on an AP-Ipsos poll) "77 percent said they thought the country was on the wrong track. The same poll set President Bush's approval rating at 28 percent." So of course Obama is also linking McCain to President Bush and the President's low approval numbers. But heads up Obama. You may want to check your own party's approval numbers for its leadership. A similar AP-Ipsos poll has Congress' approval rating at 18%, actually better than the current President. Seems like the "public" wants change also in Congress. I didn't find that mentioned in the AP Story. So the question is, will Obama make a break with the current Democrat leadership like Speaker Pelosi?

Seems like McCain may have at least a nice rebuttal as opposed to a good political platform.

OS

McCain is right about something

Not too jazzed about the race for the White House as the differences between the candidates are not as distinct as I would like them to be - but no one is listening to me anyway.

McCain is reported (at ABC News' Political Radar Blog) as suggesting:

"...Sen. Barack Obama may alter his promise to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months after meeting with US. General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq.

"I'm glad that he [Obama] is, for the first time, asking for a sit down briefing with Gen. Petraeus and I'll be very interested in what his position on Iraq is when he returns," McCain said during a satellite interview with ABC News' Charlie Gibson Wednesday from Pittsburgh."

As I noted in my previous post Obama cannot (IMHO) hold to his current timetable to withdraw from Iraq in 16 months or less. Welcome to the party Senator McCain. Here is another softball for you - USA Today (and others) are reporting that Obama said "that the nation's chief priority should not be for immigrants to learn English, but for American children to learn Spanish". Any chance you want to chime in on this asinine statement? This is an easy one. Sure he said "immigrants should learn English" but my question is what policies is he putting in place to support that? Stick up for America Senator McCain - recapture some of your conservative credentials that so far in this campaign have been lacking.

YouTube video is here.


Outspoken Roman