Democrats have “so successfully mocked, derided and lowered expectations for Palin in Thursday night’s VP debate that if she doesn’t drool or speak in tongues, many millions still open to persuasion will be impressed,” wrote Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times. “Al Gore’s campaign made the exact same mistake going into the 2000 debates. So all Texas Gov. George W. Bush had to do was not lose. In that sense, Democrats may have played right into a PR cul-de-sac. Biden, for instance, described Palin as merely better-looking than him. A far better communications strategy would have been to insincerely portray Palin with superlatives as a superwoman, making it harder, not easier, for her to impress. Too late now.”
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194 Comments
A new slogan, “Republican, the party of low expectations.”
Poor, poor Phillip not an original idea left. He only has Rhonda left and it appears there is not an orginal idea among them to put on the blogs.
Anyone can copy and paste the way you two are doing. So does that mean the two of you are next to go? The could have the janitor copy and paste the way you do.
This is getting way to funny. LOL
Palin should do fine in the debate. Providing she can get a word in edge wise with the king of lip service.
Perhaps she should off him some lipstick. ROFLMAO
The Obama camp is already trying to play the expectations game by calling Palin a “terrific debater”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/27/vice-presidential-debate_n_129907.html
“yeah, sure!”
Yawn…
That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever did hear.
OMG that would be the ULTIMATE MadTV skit.
A political ad for lowered expectations!
I would hope most Americans are smart enough to identify someone who is obviously not cut out for the position. How much more obvious can it be?
I’m with you Mary! Any one that can’t realize Biden is not ready to lead hasn’t been following his lackluster career the last thirty years.
The fact that Barry the boy wonder picked him as a running mate shows he isn’t ready for the big show either!
Robinson says it all:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092902663.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Good morning Steven!
Imagine, political appointments fired for political reasons! Where will it end?
nitwit
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever did hear.”
No, it is exactly right. In presidential debates, the winner is not the guy or gal who is better prepared, it is the person who beats expectations, and if that individual is the person much of the audience is open to being sympathetic with, beating expectations is just that much more potent. She doesn’t have to “beat” Biden on points to “win”, she simply has to convince the audience she has a brain. Those of you who are laughing about lowered expectations certainly seem to have failed to learn from history. Both parties have been burned by it before. It’s what happened in the Kennedy-Nixon debates, it happened in the Quayle-Benson debate (Benson got in the one liner and people thought he won, but their sympathies were with Quayle-and how did THAT election turn out?), Bush Lite did it with Gore (voters thought Gore generally won the debates but Bush came away as a more credible candidate, which was far more valuable).
“So all Texas Gov. George W. Bush had to do was not lose. ”
bush had his clock cleaned in all three debates. At least for Americans with an IQ above that of room temperature.
I have warned that the bar was being lowered for lil’ Sarah. But I’ve little fear. I don’t think they can lower the bar enough to accommodate that moron.
“Good morning Steven!
“Imagine, political appointments fired for political reasons! Where will it end?
“nitwit”
Once again, Hank, you freely throw around the term nitwit when you really shouldn’t. While presidents select their own federal prosecutors, they are not simply “political appointments” and certainly not political positions. But hey, you think Steven Davis is a nitwit, why don’t you tell that to the current AG, since by your standards he appears to be a nitwit too.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jYuH3mAZbV0pXTznoxmZ2anGhojwD93GHUG01
Remember people , we are talking about Democrats here. Its not like we are talking about intelligent people.
“Bush had his clock cleaned in all three debates. At least for Americans with an IQ above that of room temperature.”
And what harm did that do him? Obviously not much. The debates HELPED Bush.
“Remember people , we are talking about Democrats here. Its not like we are talking about intelligent people.”
Re: Chris
DNFTT
Good catch, Agnatha!
You and Michael Mukasey are nitwits too.
Democrats have “so successfully mocked, derided and lowered expectations for Palin…
From my mind’s interpretation, I expected to see a Charles Dickens scene where the ‘waifish Palin’ dressed in the tatters of the Bush legacy, rises above expectations and achieves political sunshine for the McCain ticket.
The axeman Biden, hoping to dull his blades on the supple neck of Palin, will no doubt after losing the debate will have to relegate his position as Obama executioner, to that of a groveling ‘Quasimodo’ lurking in the darkened corridors of the democratic latrine.
The most horrible thing about this editorial is the grammer error of “exact same”. Have some journalism skills Phillip.
The most horrible thing about this editorial is the grammar error of “exact same”. Have some journalism skills Phillip.
“…………..grammer”
Clean your own cage there guy.
No, it is exactly right.
That depends. A certain portion of the voting public is irredeemably stupid, and will respond in such a fashion. But surely by now the “drinkin’ buddy” standard for choosing leaders must be wearing thin (though I’m keeping in mind Mencken’s maxim).
But I don’t buy the notion that the VP debate actually helped GHW Bush. Sorry, Ag, I don’t buy that at all. People voted for Poppy Bush because they wanted him for president. They were willing to put up with Quayle (and, as electorally awful the result was for Dukakis, he still won 46 percent of the vote). Who knows, Dukakis might very well have been creamed as badly as Mondale if Quayle had done well.
The real question is whether she can absorb and retain enough knowledge to actually impress some people. I think it’s possible, though her bizarre ramblings in interviews and almost comical approach to governance–which were no one’s “spin”–would tend to suggest otherwise.
The McCain camp says they’re going to let her be herself and this, oddly enough, could be their ace in the hole. Why? She won an odd Alaska coalition of religious conservatives and fingers-crossed reformers to become governor. Doubtless McCain was hoping for the same when he named her, but, as I predicted early on, he was using her as an ornament, to be taken out and displayed when necessary, and kept under wraps the rest of the time.
This worked for a while.
Now, Ms. Palin will have to stand and deliver. The only hope for her survival is to cram her with facts but tell him to say whatever she wants (and pray). Sound crazy? Nah. What I think she will do is take the schtick that worked so well in Alaska and try to translate it to the national level.
Here’s a taste:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-B-OyQ-KI
he only hope for her survival is to cram her with facts but tell him to say whatever she wants (and pray).
Heh, Freudian slip, I guess. :)
“Dems have set up Palin to win debate”
You are far too modest Phillip, about the contribution of the MSM in the shameful treatment accorded Mrs. Palin.
Of course, this talk now of winning the battle of low expectations is about trying to limit the fallout of that treatment.
I predict that the skooshy middle voters in the battleground states (the only ones that matter) will be quite impressed with Sarah Palin’s performance.
I find myself with a new sense of wonder at just how far the cons will sink.
I mean, I KNOW she’s your girl and that she is a proponent for even some of your more radical ideals.
But come on! This woman is clearly incompetent. Have you NO bottom for what you expect of those in office? Are you so invested in your own selfishness that you care not about your country at all?
No, don’t answer. I already know.
“Are you so invested in your own selfishness that you care not about your country at all?”
Bee Jay is projecting again.
Philip makes a good point that I had not thought of. And I appreciate the links from other sources. There are so many it’s good to have them edited down.
I would hope most Americans are smart enough to identify someone who is obviously not cut out for the position. How much more obvious can it be?
I agree. The Democratic nominee does not have the experience and background to be presiden; he’s the least prepared in over a century.
Thanks for seeing the obvious, Mary.
Haven’t seen a lot of her, and maybe there is more there and than is perceived, but I doubt it. She is likely as she seems, and that is too bad. But, good or bad, I don;t vote the bottom of the ticket, and I have not been convinced that either major party candidate is worth voting for, so I won;t even watch. Better things to do. Prediction: Biden will clean her clock on substance, but likely put his foot in him mouth and choke on it.
Biden will clean her clock on substance, but likely put his foot in him [sic] mouth and choke on it.
Debates aren’t about substance. They never were. If they were about substance, Obama would have agreed to do what he originally agreed to do: free-form “town meetings,” absent a formal moderator, taking questions (but then, Obama is seriously thin on substance, which is why he backed out). Debates, as we have them, are merely formalized stump speeches, where each side spouts it’s talking points.
And Biden’s career has been about gaffes; that’s what most of us remember about him. His screw-up plagerizing speeches which killed an earlier presidential run, his “clean and articulate” comment (which was overblown; Obama is quite articulate, thank you, and it’s no insult to say so), and just a few days ago his comment that FDR went on ‘television’ after the ‘29 crash to calm the nation (yup, that’s what he said!). Had Palin made the last screw-up, it would be front page and center stage for two days, but the MSM protects the democratic ticket from themselves. Perhaps the media has been so busy airing the half-truths and outright lies about Palin they’ve quit paying attention.
There’s that bilge about “media bias” again.
IF the media is SO biased against Republicans?
WHY is it so hard to find the Couric interview of Palin?
One has to go to the blogs or comedy shows to see how truly BAD Palin was.
Incompetence of such order should be front page and top of the hour news and covered extensively. Why isn’t it?
GMC in a “substance free” post of his own says, “If they were about substance, Obama would have agreed to do what he originally agreed to do: free-form town meetings.”
Obama did town meetings in the primaries. And what’d he get? He got questions about not wearing a flag pin. It was so unfairly moderated that the audience actually booed the hosts.
If I were Obama, I wouldn’t set myself up for that either.
BTW, the last debate was full of substance–Obama was a calm and gentlemanly debator and McCain was a little lump of angry.
That tells the American people a lot about who would be the better leader.
Normally, I’d agree with the LA Times that overconfidence goeth before an upset.
But in this case, you’ve got the New England Patriots (Biden) versus the cheerleaders (Palin).
Yeah.
I wonder what kind of odds the Vegas bookies are going to give that one.
“Obama was a calm and gentlemanly debator and McCain was a little lump of angry.”-Capn’A
You must be speaking to those who DIDN’T see the debates.
It’ll be amusing to watch the expressions of the debate moderator after palin responds.
I’ll bet Capn’A didn’t even watch the debates. He read about them on DU and Daily Ko-Kos, do he could have an opinion created for him. This takes out the strain of actually thinking.
do he=so he
Palin hasn’t disappointed the left yet with her public interviews.
The left is like a cat, you only need a string to keep them entertained.
Anti-
I know you are a conserveative, and a republican, but you have to admit Palin has not shown herself to have much substance.
People who have seen Palin debate have said that if she is allowed to, she will use the same skills she did when she ran for governor and didn’t have an answer. Smile pretty and revert to the old talking points. It saved her then, it will probably save her again.
Littlejohn I know you try hard to be a moderate. It is hard to stand for nothing. But when you really look at Obama where is the substance?
He doesn’t have a clue about the economy and shares that stage with many other politicians. He is unwilling to learn. The press has dismissed his ties to the main players in this debacle.
My favorite line of the whole debate was when Obama said “I have a plan”. Well tell us your plan don’t just leave it hanging. I have a plan too. I plan to win the lottery.
What have we really heard from this candidate. We plans to raise taxes, socialize health care, pull our troops home when he is elected, give $50 billion to the UN to alleviate world poverty, etc… These are the things I have heard. He IS the prez candidate. Pallin isn’t. Where is his substance?
The Moose-Dresser will be perceived as the “victor” by WE Blog CONs so long as she doesn’t puke on Gwen Ifill’s shoes half way through it.
Is the Obama plan, like the mccain plan to catch binnie, you know the plan that is so secret he apparently couldn’t share it with bush?
Well PreD the left insists on treating her as if she is only a ‘girl’. See the Patriot/Cheerleader analogy obove. So why shouldn’t she just play the role. Pull out that beautiful smile. If Obama can be vague why can’t she. As long as she doesn’t ask a man in a wheelchair to standup. As long as she doesn’t call Obama ‘articulate’. As long as she doesn’t say you need to be able to speak Arabic to buy a coffee and donut in a 7-11. As long as she doesn’t refer to the wrong prez watching a non-existence TV in ‘29. As long as she doesn’t refer to our 57 states. I could go on and on. So if the right can lower their expectations of Biden then the left can lower their expectation of Palin.
The only thing we can be sure of is that SNL will get some new material! Can’t wait for next weeks skit!
All biden has to do is stay on point, answer the questions, palin will be her own undoing.
Wait a minute —
Some libs try to tell us that Obama held his own against McCain, and THERFORE? — Just being on the state with McCain means Obama “wins”??
Obama played the expectations game with McCain rather well. Obama said McCain needed a “game changer” — but now?
Now Palin can prove that Palin is MORE qualified than Obama!
Phantom it could be. Notice I didn’t defend anyone in my post but I also am not so blind that I can’t see the faults in my own candidate. I guess this election will be about the lesser of the two evils. And our candidate with his history has shown me he is head and shoulders above Obama a true empty suit.
How many times will palin mention Alaska, oil, maverick, bridge, GOBN? We should start a pool.
Franklin well spoken. Palin will best Biden and Obama. I plan to watch.
Obama held his own in an area that mccain has defined himself. If palin truly holds her own against biden, it will also look like a victory for her. If her answers border on incognizant, she loses, even with all the endearing expressions and gestures.
Phantom
Posted September 30, 2008 at 9:53 am | Permalink
How many times will palin mention Alaska, oil, maverick, bridge, GOBN? We should start a pool.
———————-
Well Phantom she is the gov of Alaska, we have an energy problem right now, bridges are mentioned when one wants to go into territory previously not explored and John McCain is the ‘maverick’ of the senate so named by his colleagues because of his history of taking stands that are not popular with his fellow senators.
Yep you are right she will probably mention these things.
littlejohn
Posted September 30, 2008 at 9:24 am | Permalink
Anti-
I know you are a conserveative, and a republican, but you have to admit Palin has not shown herself to have much substance.
——–
True, but you must admit it seem the bar for choosing candidates this go-a-round.
seem=seems
I really don’t think cutesy and folksy can will the election this time. The stakes are too high, the crisis to immediate.
To be fair littlejohn, I would have preferred a different Pres. candidate.
One line I can guarantee she’ll not use is mccain’s often repeated, “I didn’t win Miss Congeniality”.
littlejohn
Posted September 30, 2008 at 9:24 am | Permalink
Anti-
I know you are a conserveative, and a republican, but you have to admit Palin has not shown herself to have much substance.
—————————————————-
I think it’s more important to look at one’s record than their performance in media interviews.
I’m impressed with her record as Governor.
Bet we see palin fumbling around with her ’stack of solutions.’
If you think Palin is qualifed to handle foreign relations just because she wakes up every morning and looks out the window for those nasty Russians to tell them to get back on their own side, then go ahead and vote for her.
The folksy cowboy talk we got from George W. Bush and the equally folksy talk from Palin may play favorably to those who are alreay infatuated with her, but I seriously doubt when it comes right down to it, people will vote for an obvious airhead Barbie type who is a heartbeat away from the presidency. To me she is very condenscending and arrogant, in a shrill way.
This may especially be true now that many average Americans are hurting from job losses and this economy. After all, the Republicans had total control for 6 years and did nothing but push through their spending bills they wanted.
As for the Wall Street crisis, both parties have people in that debacle – McCain needs to ask his campaign manager Rick Davis all about that – but McCain is too weak to ask the hard questions – isn’t he?
Well, I’m outta here for a while, carry on.
Okiie – for all that talk about not wanting the bridge to nowhere – what did Palin finally end up with – the pork barrel money anyway! She took the millions that John McCain has vowed to veto with his litle pen and make their names famous.
Why doesn’t he ask Palin why she still took the money?
McCain and Palin are mavericks in name only when it is convenient for them and slick politicians when it comes to taking the money.
Mom I agee with McCain about the pork barrell spending. I have never heard the complete story about the bridge money. I have seen left wing bloggers give an opinion on it but the real story is just not there. Curious. Is it because there is no mystery and it was all above board or is it because the media covered it up. That last one seems unrealistic.
Did it bother you when McCain mentioned in debate the 943 million Obama has received for his state. Almost a million for everyday he has been in the senate.
They are all tainted I fear and as voters we need to become better at discerning where the truth is.
The funny thing about you cons saying Palin got such shameful treatment, is how you all treated a strong powerful intelligent woman like Hillary. SHE got shameful treatment, and often did not deserve it. Palin at least deserves it.
Grm, do you actually expect a right winger to tell you something you don’t want to hear? You know I really hate to say it, but dayum you’re dumb sometimes.
George Bush has experience too, and look at how well that turned out. Would you vote for him again with all of his ‘experience’.
Okie – yes it bothers me about pork barrel spending but about that bridge – it was reported that Palin kept the money and I believe had a multi-million dollar road built to that no where land. But it is a fact that Alaska (under Palin’s lead) is ranked #1 as the most pork barrel spending requested and received.
Why is it okay for Palin but not Obama?
Palin even used a Washington lobbyist to get her money – that is something else McCain rails against but I notice alot of lobbyists in his own campaign staff.
If McCain is going to throw stones at Obama then he had better check his own campaign and his VP choice of Palin.
BTW, why doesn’t Palin cooperate with the Troopergate investigation? If she has nothing to hide, then let her at least cooperate.
And I have never said Obama is perfect. But like I have said several times – the Repubicans don’t have clean hands either.
George W. Bush also promised to restore honesty and integrity to the White House. How’s that working?
“Convince the audience that she has brains”. WOW!! So you don’t even think she has brains and you’re still gonna vote for her. That is the sad state of this country.You would rather have a dummy in the Whitehouse than vote for a Black man. How pathetic is that???????????
The LA Times reports:
Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago — about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct — the teacher said.
Jesus, Hank. Please pay attention in class. The DOJ attorneys are not supposed to be selected or removed due to political reasons.
I won’t call you a nitwit. That would be WAY too generous.
Political_mama
Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:31 am | Permalink
The funny thing about you cons saying Palin got such shameful treatment, is how you all treated a strong powerful intelligent woman like Hillary. SHE got shameful treatment, and often did not deserve it. Palin at least deserves it.
Political_mama
Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:33 am | Permalink
Grm, do you actually expect a right winger to tell you something you don’t want to hear? You know I really hate to say it, but dayum you’re dumb sometimes.
——————-
Pmom I have always tried to take it easy on you because I don’t think you are as jaded as the majority of the left on here. But…. when I talk about both parties short comings and you tell me I am dumb and ‘don’t expect the right’ to tell the truth then I may have to rethink that opinion.
Hillary complemented one network for the fair treatment they gave her. It was Fox. The network the left gripes about all of the time. She recognized the agenda of the MSM and she wasn’t on it. I share your opinion of how she was treated. It was wrong. As much as I didn’t want Hillary in as prez I wish she were heading up the dims ticket instead of Obama. At least I could be confident that she had some experience in how to handle a crisis. Obama not so much.
The Hillary campaign recently took MSNBC reporter David Shuster (and MSNBC generally) to task for asking a guest on February 7th’s “Tucker” program, “[D]oesn’t it seem like Chelsea’s sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?” MSNBC has suspended Shuster for his remarks.
Tonight, the Politico’s John Harris asked Clinton for her thoughts on the situation during an interview that aired on Washington, D.C.’s local ABC affiliate WJLA:
Clinton said that her staff had sent her “some independent study” “which seemed to suggest that” “in terms of the fairness of the coverage,” Fox News Channel has treated her campaign more fairly than MSNBC.
“I really am troubled by this pattern of behavior and comments that you hear” on MSNBC, said Clinton. Recently, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews came under heat for comments deemed sexist by many and liberal media watchdog group MediaMatters has increased its scrutiny of the cable network.
The Clinton campaign recently suggested that Shuster’s suspension was inadequate and Harris asked what Clinton thought would be a more appropriate punishment.
“That’s not my job John,” said Clinton. “That’s the job of the people who run the network.”
“They need to take a hard look. This is like the third time they’ve had to apologize and there are lot of things that they haven’t had to apologize for that might have merited one. So I wish they would take a look at some of the patterns of demeaning comments made on their network.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/hillary_slams_msnbcpraises_fox_77235.asp
Pmom Look at the actions of both Hillary and Bill and you will see where they are on this. Don’t blame the repubs for the grief Hillary took. She was in a primary against the ‘One’. He and the MSM were throwing the darts. Now tell me her is dumb.
One man’s opinion. A columnist with no ideas facing a deadline.
Dennis
StevenEDavis
Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:59 am | Permalink
Jesus, Hank. Please pay attention in class. The DOJ attorneys are not supposed to be selected or removed due to political reasons.
I won’t call you a nitwit. That would be WAY too generous.
————
Steven when Clinton fired the entire justice department did you think that was political?
Lonny:
What, prythee, do you use for sunscreen on your nose… Brown 25?
“far better communications strategy would have been to insincerely portray Palin with..”
Republicans are playing against a stacked deck. The liberal media and press are publicly and boldly siding with the democrats – and still trying to pretend to be news reporters.
A comment from Andrew Halcro in the Anchorage Daily News about Palin’s debating style.
http://www.adn.com/opinion/sarah-palin/story/539459.html
Does anyone care what one dude from the LA Times says? I doubt that many or any minds will be changed by the VP debate. Palin paled in my eyes when she didn’t have a clue about the Bush doctrine. She has a journalism degree yet she doesn’t follow the news, evidently. Then, I heard that she couldn’t name a Supreme Court case other than roe v wade. sheesh. She didn’t take any polisci course in college either? What was she doing at those 6 schools in 5 years, anyway?
“Steven when Clinton fired the entire justice department did you think that was political?”
Yes it was. What Clinton did was not illegal. But it is a matter of law that selection and retention of DOJ attorneys is to not be partisan based. Strange, how the law is so inconvenient for Republicans. That era is soon coming to an end.
I also predict that we will yet see Rove frog-marched into prison. It can’t happen soon enough.
I hope Palin comes up with a fix for the economy, Wall Street, our home prices, our 401K, gas prices that Bush, Clinton, Obama, McCain, Biden, Hillary and everybody else has missed for the past 15 years.
I hope that Palin puts to rest forever this talk about Global Warming whether or not it is Man made or not.
I hope that she tells us how we can fight Obama’s war that he wants to fight in all the areas besides Iraq while we still finish the job in Iraq and the rest of the world loves us again.
I also hope that she, being a State Governor, can show us that she has the most experience on foreign affairs out of all Vice Presidential candidates combined. A State governor should have extensive foreign policy experience or else they would have never been elected to govern their state….
How’s that for raising the expectations?
I notice this web site has a comment section on the republican VP candidate every day. Do they ever have a comment section on the democrats VP candidate?
I’d hunt moose with her anyday!
Biden had a Hillary Moment…
“Let’s start telling the truth,” Biden said during a presidential primary debate sponsored by YouTube last year. “Number one, you take all the troops out – you better have helicopters ready to take those 3,000 civilians inside the Green Zone, where I have been seven times and shot at. You better make sure you have protection for them, or let them die.”
But when questioned about the episode afterward by the Hill newspaper, Biden backpedaled from his claim of being “shot at” and instead allowed: “I was near where a shot landed.”
http://www.foxnews.com
okobserver posted September 30, 2008 at 9:49 am
“Well PreD the left insists on treating her as if she is only a ‘girl’. See the Patriot/Cheerleader analogy obove. ”
———–
Cheerleaders are only ‘girls’? GW Bush was a cheerleader.
So okobserver said GW Bush is a ‘girl’.
Here’s a gold plated idea! Elizabeth Hasselback can do a duo with palin, after mccain boots her, or she loses, always room at the Fox coop.
http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/goddess/is-elisabeth-looking-for-a-new-view/109?nc
‘What it’s like to debate Sarah Palin
I know firsthand: She’s a master of the nonanswer.’
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1001/p09s01-coop.html
She’s a master of the nonanswer.
Name a politician that isn’t.
Pointless as usual.
‘What it’s like to debate Sarah Palin
I know firsthand: She’s a master of the nonanswer.’
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1001/p09s01-coop.html
” “Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers, and yet when asked questions, you spout off facts, figures, and policies, and I’m amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, ‘Does any of this really matter?’ ” Palin said.
While policy wonks such as Biden might cringe, it seemed to me that Palin was simply vocalizing her strength without realizing it. During the campaign, Palin’s knowledge on public policy issues never matured – because it didn’t have to. Her ability to fill the debate halls with her presence and her gift of the glittering generality made it possible for her to rely on populism instead of policy.
Palin is a master of the nonanswer. She can turn a 60-second response to a query about her specific solutions to healthcare challenges into a folksy story about how she’s met people on the campaign trail who face healthcare challenges. All without uttering a word about her public-policy solutions to healthcare challenges.
In one debate, a moderator asked the candidates to name a bill the legislature had recently passed that we didn’t like. I named one. Democratic candidate Tony Knowles named one. But Sarah Palin instead used her allotted time to criticize the incumbent governor, Frank Murkowski. Asked to name a bill we did like, the same pattern emerged: Palin didn’t name a bill.”
Report: Elisabeth Hasselbeck ‘Really Upset’ With ‘View’ Co-Hosts
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429728,00.html
————
I sense a pattern. Sounds like another Republican woman, who is also well spoken and good looking is being treated by the battle axes at The View like the rest of the media treats Sarah Palin.
I would imagine they could tolerate someone good looking and liberal, or maybe ugly and conservative, but having the whole package and making them look dumb and ugly is apparently causing the battle axes to pick on Elisabeth.
So it is with Sarah?
outlander,
Explain how being Gov of Alaska enhances a persons foreign policy credentials. Especially when Palin (unlike the 2 earlier Govs) had almost zero contact with Russia, re trade.
And explain how 1.5 MILLION acres is just a little 2,000-acre “plot”.
Oh come on guys… You know as well as I do the only reason Palin is on the ticket is because they needed a pro-life minority…
It helps shes attractive enough to play the hot teacher who is secretly a stripper in the movie Varsity Blues… Come to think about it she looks just like her…
So funny to hear McCain bragging that he is so against Earmarks and has never voted for any for his state. If you know anything about Arizona, you would know that benighted state could definitely use a few Earmarks, like in education spending(nearly the lowest in the nation), hardly any highways (and what there are are pitiful!), rock-bottom social programs, super high crime rates, lack of water, etc. Someone should tell McSame that charity begins at home!
I’m wondering how many times Palin will say, “gee, ya, that’s a ‘gotcha’ question, doncha know.”
I’m betting an autographed copy of her Moose pie recipe.
=====================================================
“It wasn’t a ‘gotcha,’” said Couric. “She was talking to a voter.”
After some further wrangling, Palin finally capitulated to McCain’s defense of her. “… this is all about ‘gotcha’ journalism,” she said. “A lot of it is. But that’s okay, too.”
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Palin_says_voter_question_gotcha_journalism_0929.html
A lot of bad stuff never fatally infected Reagan’s presidency because his speaking skills served as extremely potent innoculation. Poli Sci 101: Neustadt’s ‘law’ states that the power of the presidency is the power to persuade.
Anybody else think that Bush’s presidency could have been improved about a gazillion percent if he’d had the speaking skills of say even Ronald Reagan? A HUGE part of the GOP’s unpopularity today is that instead of relying on extraordinary powers of persuastion Bush resorted to Machiavellian and smash-mouth politics to push through both domestic and foreign policies.
If so, then just imagine Sarah Palin headin’ straight down the path of GW Bush. If the power of the presidency is indeed the power to persuade then Sarah Palin’s effectiveness as VPOTUS, not to mention POTUS, is doomed.
Interesting about earmarks: One Senator’s earmarks is another mans hospital, or road, or prison, or cancer research center. Put them in perspective, and a different story emerges. Earmarks are what people get elected to do for their home states. Earmarks make up around 19 billion a year on a three trillion dollar budget. Big freakin’ deal. The Iraq war costs that a month. The Iraq war is funding defense contractors way more than that.
“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened,’” Barack Obama’s running mate recently told the “CBS Evening News.”
I guess ole Joe Biden is either senile or a liar.
Which is it?
I’m listening to Palin being interviewed by Katie Couric right now (onboard the McCain campaign bus). I find her much improved! She did not ramble, her answers were coherent. A couple of times she avoided an actual answer to the question (as MOST politicians do!) but when pushed did give an answer.
She’s been working! And it shows!
“lindainks55″ –
I thought this was interesting:
http://www.truthout.org/093008R
Wha’d'ya think?
You didn’t ask me MH but I say it describes the whole Palin situation from it’s deep dark roots out to the length it has crept over the ground.
Keep in mind, folks: she may be irrational, narrow-minded and incurious (remind you of anyone?), but she’s not an unskilled politician or a moron. In terms of handling herself in front of camera, content aside, she’s already shown far more stylistic adeptness than many politicians.
And, even when it’s a town so podunk that they didn’t have a police force until ‘93, 32-year-old homemakers don’t normally get elected mayor, nor do they run for governor a decade later–and win. It’s kind of amusing in a way that she accomplished that feat: by taking on her previous benefactor (she was Murkowski’s personal boot-licker for many years). But she knows the political game, whatever else knowledge she may lack.
I guess ole Joe Biden is either senile or a liar.
Which is it?
It was a really dumb gaffe. Biden has this annoying tendency to speak in “kinda-sorta” terms on the stump–he did that to excess in 1987. He once called himself the “number one guy” on the foreign relations comittee, because he was 2nd in seniority, but not the chairman (or the ranking member!) I suspect this was an extreme case of that.
So “stock market crashed” basically equals crash+afermath, i.e. the Great Depression, and television = radio. A idiotic gaffe from a tired old guy.
But this looks to be a singularly strange misstatement and, unless he’s developing another anyeurism, I don’t think Biden is so ignorant of history as to believe that Roosevelt gave his speeches on the tube.
If Biden is losing his mind, we’ll know soon enough. We will also find out if Ms. Palin is gaining one.
After all, what a waste it is to lose one’s mind, or not to have a mind! ;-)
P.S. Speaking of dumb gaffes, a while back I declared that Kerry had won Florida. When I went to sleep on election night, the networks in fact showed him winning Florida.
But he didn’t.
No one is perfect.
The Moose-Dresser, the gaffe that keeps on giving.
COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.
Heh, sorry, can’t resist!
Homer is in the owner’s office…
Man 1: You have been safety inspector for two years.
What initiatives have you spearheaded in that time?
Homer: Uh… All of them?
Man 1: I see. … Then you must have some good ideas for the future as well?
Homer: I sure do!
Man 1: [waits for a follow-up, which doesn't come]
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/8F09.html
To borrow line I saw elsewhere –
“She’s the love child of Forrest Gump and Phyllis Schlafly.”
;^)
“Good catch, Agnatha!
“You and Michael Mukasey are nitwits too.”
Well, I will say this for you. You’re consistent.
Walks away singing “BIG hobgoblin sitting on a LITTLE head!”
And something else borrowed –
QUESTION: And, just so I get it right, what’s the correct spelling of your name?
WOLF-DRESSER: Oh, you know… pretty much the way you would. It’s a very common name, you know, not — I mean a lot of people have heard one like it. I spell it the same way I always, the way my mother taught me, just like you and everybody else. There’s this, you know, crazy perception that we, Alaska, you know we spell just like everyone does. It’s not this strange foreign country unlike Washington. But, you know, like, I, you know, I get it–this gotcha journalism we all have to deal with these days. Plus, you know I can see that Russian guy in the morning from where I live. Nkay?
“I sense a pattern. Sounds like another Republican woman, who is also well spoken and good looking is being treated by the battle axes at The View like the rest of the media treats Sarah Palin.”
I sense a pattern as well. Poor persecuted conservatives who can’t say what they like without getting eliciting disagreement.
Hasselback is a whiner. She was a whiner when Rosie O’Donnell was there, but gee, it doesn’t appear to have gotten any better when she left.
“I would imagine they could tolerate someone good looking and liberal, or maybe ugly and conservative, but having the whole package and making them look dumb and ugly is apparently causing the battle axes to pick on Elisabeth.”
Uh huh. I’ve read your posts. Your ability to actually discern when someone is making someone else look “dumb and ugly” is, to put it kindly, questionable.
And something else borrowed –
Gee, that’s almost too true to to funny. . . :)
“Wha’d’ya think?”
—–
MonkeyHawk,
I think truth has always been stranger than fiction. And, this horror story written by the old coot’s handlers, is the scariest, most nightmare inducing, worst-case scenario. Sadly, it is working with those who will never even see it coming. The stage was set, the script was written and Palin is playing the role to perfection.
Palin doesn’t know how she is being used. The old coot just wants to be president in the worst way.
If any of us thought what Karl Rove did to John McCain in South Carolina’s 2000 primary was brutal, we’re seeing worse perpetrated on our entire country in this election.
Monkeyhawk, you must feel the need to constantly reassure yourself that Sarah Palin won’t come off as smart as you FEAR she is.
I think the skooshy undecideds in the swing states are going to be impressed with Palin tomorrow. And none of the smirky 5th grade level attacks of the left, like we see from you, are going to be able to alter it.
Is she as qualifed to be president as Joe Biden? Of course not.
Is Obama as qualified as McCain to be president? Of course not.
————
Yea Aggie, Three ‘crat battle axes against one cute smart little Republican. Believe me, the ugly part is the easiest, but not by much.
outlander. . .
Explain how being Gov of Alaska enhances a persons foreign policy credentials. Especially when Palin (unlike the 2 earlier Govs) had almost zero contact with Russia, re trade.
And explain how 1.5 MILLION acres is just a little 2,000-acre “plot”.
Cosmos, son, are you a broken record or something?
Do you want to explain your questions, or just stick with the usual indecipherable garbage? I don’t usually reply to garbage.
outlander posted September 30, 2008 at 7:40 pm
“I think the skooshy undecideds in the swing states are going to be impressed with Palin tomorrow. ”
————-
Is she going to do another Couric interview, and give SNL some more comedy material?
And how will she do in the debate on Thursday, the day after tomorrow?
I suspect a good portion of Ms. Palin’s dissembling and Simpsonesque non-responsiveness has to do with hiding her extreme views from swing voters.
And how will she do in the debate on Thursday, the day after tomorrow?
—–
Oh, ’scuse me. I was talking about the debate Thursday.
outlander,
So Sarah Palin’s claim that her being Gov of Alaska enhanced her foreign policy credentials, because Russia is near Alaska, is “indecipherable garbage”?
And Palin’s false claim that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would be done in a little 2,000-acre “plot” is “indecipherable garbage”?
O k a y. . .
Look Cosmos, since I don’t have all night, let me take a stab at clarifying your questions for you.
You first must know something I don’t. Did Sarah Palin state that being governor of Alaska gives her substantial foreign policy experience? Or did she just mention it as a fact that they are next to Russia and have some interaction, that is better than nothing? Regardless, I’m sure the experience it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
And explain how 1.5 MILLION acres is just a little 2,000-acre “plot”.
———-
OK, now on this one Cosmos, again what are you talking about? Maybe the footprint of drilling activity in ANWR as compared to the whole place?
Man, it is tough interacting with someone when you have to guess at what they mean.
outlander,
Isn’t a “plot” one contigous area of land?
Palin claimed it was a “plot”, not a (scattered) footprint.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/427xjuoj.asp
“One of the pieces of a solution is allowing exploration on that little 2,000 acre plot of land out of the 20 million acres up there in the coastal plain.”
———-
The 2,000 acres would be scattered over the 1.5 million acre area, and does not include roads.
A speculative map.
http://www.inforain.org/Northslope/anwr_3.html
I think palin’s been sandbagging, she’ll knock it out of the park!
Biden will trip all over himself.
How’s that for expectations?
I bet she’ll even be able to rattle off the name and the dates of the Ukraine revolution, as well as Georgia’s!
Palin is secretely mccain’s goto gal! He doesn’t make a move without consulting with his sidekick.
She does have the support of the bush 26%ers!
“Amid the U.S. financial crisis, a record 70 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush’s job performance, while only 26 percent approve, a new low for the Bush administration, the poll found.
outlander posted September 30, 2008 at 8:07 pm |
“Did Sarah Palin state that being governor of Alaska gives her substantial foreign policy experience? Or did she just mention it as a fact that they are next to Russia and have some interaction, that is better than nothing? Regardless, I’m sure the experience it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.”
———-
I agree that “it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans”, but Palin claims that it “enhances [her] foreign-policy credentials”.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/25/eveningnews/main4479062.shtml
Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don’t know, you know … reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.
————
‘Are Russian ties a Palin priority?‘
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008174647_palinrussia12m0.html
“Palin — unlike the previous administrations of Gov. Frank Murkowski and Gov. Tony Knowles — also stopped sending representatives to Northern Forum’s annual meetings, including one last year for regional governors held in the heart of Russia’s oil territory.
“It was an opportunity for the Alaska governor to take a delegation of business leaders to the largest oil-producing region in Russia, and she would have been shaking hands with major leaders in Russia,” Wohl said.”
Anyone think the God’s War thing will come up in the debate? Will she respond truthfully, or try to sidestep?
“Phantom” posits –
“Anyone think the God’s War thing will come up in the debate? Will she respond truthfully, or try to sidestep?”
If she weren’t so inarticulate, she could leverage her answer into talking about Track in the service and every mother of a soldier prays for God’s providence.
But really. The Moose-Dresser couldn’t name a magazine or newspaper she reads. She couldn’t even remember a Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade.
That kind of shallowness runs deep.
I think truth is the last thing we’ll hear from Palin. She will avoid her “beliefs,” and concentrate on McCain philosophies / policies — with the ONE exception being her pro-life stance, which she will emphasize for obvious reasons.
She will remember her lines! She is aware how important this debate could be. After all, McCain’s candidacy was dead before she joined the ticket and this will be her chance and her national stage to revive it again. She is up to the task and will get it done.
———-
Palin’s performance against Biden, the Delaware Democrat with 35 years in the Senate, could restore her initial luster or seriously weaken the GOP ticket.
Palin left the campaign trail Monday to prepare at McCain’s ranch in Sedona, Ariz. She is being coached by McCain’s top campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt, as well as advisers Tucker Eskew, Nicolle Wallace and Mark Wallace, all veterans of President Bush’s political operation.
Palin herself outlined the contest in an interview broadcast Tuesday night on the “CBS Evening News.”
“He’s got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I’m the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he’s got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years,” Palin said.
http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/820915.html
Palin also stated that it was “God’s plan” to have a gas pipeline built across Alaska…
When I stated that she is opbviously not cut out for the position of VP, I wasn’t talking about her experience…I was talking about the fact that she’s just plain dumb. If by some miracle McCain should win..she’ll be to him what Dan Quayle was to Bush Sr. I’m sure Jay Leno and SNL will be thrilled to have so much comedy material to work with for the next 4 years.
George Bush Jr had experience when he took office…and look what happened.
Obama has the brains and common sense to be a good president. McCain is just another “politics as usual” kinda guy.
It’s more about having the right attitude than it is about experience. John Kennedy and Abe Lincoln didn’t have that much experience either when they became president.
Mary,
She asked that they pray for God’s will to be done.
Where did she say it was God’s plan for a pipeline?
“Nathaniel” continues to whine –
“Where did she say it was God’s plan for a pipeline?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS_VduCWhzM
I heard it today on NPR…she actually said that “building a gas pipeline WAS God’s plan”…
You know what they say….when you talk to God, you’re praying, when God talks to you you’re schizophrenic.LOL!
“God’s plan.” Just like Iraq –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H-btXPfhGs&feature=related
Okay, folks, I’m out for a week.
Had a good evening going door to door. The Dems I talk to are “fired up and ready to go.”
See you a week from tomorrow.
Maybe.
OK, OK…she said it was “God’s WILL”, not “God’s PLAN”…I guess there is a big difference!!!!!
I’m gonna miss you, Cap’n. I know you’ll find much better and more productive things to do with the time.
Mary,
It is a big difference when Christians in her denomination routinely use that type of terminology in asking for “God’s will” to be done in many things.
Aside from her other numerous limitations, Palin has a serious obstacle to overcome.
Her whole LIFE has been “look at me!” And what she has shown in her interviews is more “look at me!”.
But her job in this debate will be to say “look at him”. The him being not Joe Biden, but Senator Obama.
That’s an AWFUL lot of reprogramming on short notice.
I don’t think she can pull it off.
Biden should address her directly and invite her into the land of “look at me and listen to what I have to say and say and say!” by asking her questions about her record and agenda.
Her attitude that everything she wants is “God’s will” or “God’s plan” is pretty scary. With that one can justify anything.
And talk about a narcissist!
Besides, she’s really dumb…do you really want such a Bozo to be a heartbeat away, Nathan?
I can’t believe her stupid comments about having foreign policy experience due to the fact that Russia and Canada border Alaska! Until she was named McCain’s running mate, she had only been out of the country one time.
Another stupid statement about Putin flying into our air space..and suggesting military action against Russia! God, she’s a total moron!!!
She may be even more stupid than Bush…now THAT’S a really scary thought!!
A person as ill prepared as she is must want this job almost as badly as McCain wants the presidency. There isn’t anything honest, inquisitive or patriotic about her and it would take those qualities to admit the truth of her inadequacy! I think she will pull off this debate. She knows she must work at it and will be willing to do just that. It takes a whole pot full of moxie to show your face in public after her performance in last week’s interview. She obviously has that amount of moxie! And she isn’t dumb, just full of herself and little else. She will memorize enough facts to make it through the debate in fine shape.
———
ANCHORAGE — When she appeared for a candidate’s forum in front of a room filled with unionized Alaskan electrical workers during her run for governor in early October 2006, Sarah Palin arrived woefully unprepared. When the union members grilled her on labor policy, Palin faltered.
Afterward, a furious Palin cursed in anger and berated her staff, recalled two former senior campaign aides who blamed her unwillingness to bone up on workplace issues for the blunder.
But just a few weeks later, when Palin jousted with her two main rivals during critical pre-election debates, she was much more at ease. Palin distilled policy questions into simple answers and countered her opponents’ attacks with verbal stiletto thrusts delivered with a sunny smile.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-palindebate1-2008oct01,0,113995.story
I don’t think she has any knowledge, but I don’t believe she is dumb.
I think she’s dumb..or else she would have done what she needed to do to not look like a total fool. Just because she can be articulate and read what someone wrote for her on a teleprompter doesn’t mean that she has common sense, intelligence, and the ability to think on her feet when not scripted.
I don’t think she’ll do well in the debates. She can’t even handle the interviews.
I hope you’re right and I’m wrong, Mary! I would love for her to put the final nail in the Republican tickets coffin!
Remember what Rove said above half of Americans being below average…
Hey Phill,
I have a really good original post going up at midnight if’n you need some inspiration.
It is on the consequences of early voting and team replacement strategy.
I use it to analyze that the Dems might be doing vis a vie the black and egghead vote.
You could use it for the Right with the Palin – Christian Right vote.
Go for it, dude. Without your used car, rentacenter guy around this blog must be getting too heavy to lift for you.
Unfortunately…
Joe Biden’s biggest enemy is also his own big mouth and tendency to run on.
I hope he has learned enough to let Sarah have HER say.
Remember Joe, it is not about you. It is about Sarah. SHE has something to prove. Let her.
As for Sarah Palin, just consider this.
Canada has not once invaded Alaska while she was Governor.
Not bad, eh?
Throw it up here first bjb.
Then maybe someone other than you will see it.
Mary_Caruso
Posted September 30, 2008 at 9:51 pm | Permalink
I think she’s dumb
——————
If that truly is the case it doesnt say a lot about how smart people in Alaska are. I don’t think she is dumb just terribly unqualified for the role she is in. I don’t think she had a clue what was going to be involved.
Blue Jay! That was a good one! Ha!
Nah, it is wasted here. No ability to upload pictures, and I like that. Kinda like the Eagle used to like to do, back before they put Dick Crowson up against the wall.
Don’t get me wrong, those tears are crocodilian.
May the MSM go down, down, down. They have lied to the American people for the highest bid for far too long. See my blog, media category, for details of the Kansas media being sold out.
“I don’t think she had a clue what was going to be involved.”
—–
I will go even further and say I think she didn’t care. She is in this for her, her ambitions — definitely not for Americans and America. A person who truly cared about what is best for their country would want someone capable of being a heartbeat away from the presidency. She is just plain conceited, selfish, and self centered; not at all patriotic.
As far as being elected in Alaska, let’s look at a few facts about that vast and lowly populated land. We’ll use Kansas as a comparison since it’s a state we’re familiar with.
Kansas had a 2006 a population of 2,764,075 people and a land area of 81,814 square miles, meaning there were 32.9 people per square mile.
Alaska had a 2006 population of 670,053 people and a land area of 571,951 square miles, meaning there were 1.1 people per square mile.
Of course, both states have concentrations of people in urban areas and fewer scattered in more rural areas.
Alaska has three cities of any size: Anchorage 278,700 people
Fairbanks 31,142 people
Juneau 30, 737
So, 340,737 live in those three cities while 329,474 live in much smaller towns and rural areas. When you talk about rural areas in a state SEVEN times larger than Kansas in land area, I’m guessing you’re talking about some people who prefer knowing little of politics and maybe not even civilization. Then add in those who live in the urban areas who also don’t give or hoot about politics or aren’t even of voting age. Not a bunch of people to impress / fool / convince, huh?
A person doesn’t have to be intelligent to be calculating and ambitious. Look at the yahoos each and every state elects. I’m not so proud of the thinking of much of the electorate!
Democracy = mob rule.
Add the concentration of power in the media and a system of official bribes (ie buying air time) and you have the rule of a media elite, or rather an elite who controls the media to condition the populace. Circuses in Rome, television in America.
And both parties cannot offer enough bread to the unthinking and conditioned masses.
Thank God we used to have a constitution.
Mary,
Again, she doesn’t say that everything she wants IS God’s plan or will she says:
“we have to make sure that is what we are praying for…that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan.”
What is wrong with that?
The way you Christian haters take the most innocent comments and twist them around amazes me.
The only bozo is you Mary. Since day one when you posted as Damoon on this blog you were nothing but a bigot against Christians.
You have not changed one bit.
Palin is still lying about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
‘Transcript: Palin And McCain Interview’
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/30/eveningnews/main4490788.shtml
Palin: And, remember ANWR is a 2,000-acre plot that’s in the midst of 21 million acres.
———–
It is NOT a 2,000-acre “plot”,
http://www.inforain.org/Northslope/anwr_3.html
Palin also claims that the U.S. EIA is wrong about the # of years to (hypothetically) reach peak oil production in the Refuge.
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2006/results/full_governor_results.html#ak
Alaska
Governor – Alaska 439 of 439 Precincts Reporting
Name Party Votes Pct
Palin , Sarah GOP 99,619 48.58
Knowles , Tony Dem 83,640 40.79
Halcro , Andrew Ind 19,683 9.60
Wright , Don AKI 1,051 .51
Toien , Billy Lib 580 .28
Massie , David Grn 469 .23
—————
Palin won the position of governor of Alaska with fewer than 100,000 votes. Thee were only a little more than 200,000 votes cast. That’s small, folks!
Palin: ““we have to make sure that is what we are praying for…that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan.”
———-
I guess God has nothing better to do with her time than help make plans for a very expensive nat gas pipeline out of Alaska. . .?
And somehow communicate those plans to the engineers. . .?
Cosmos,
The quote was in relation to the war, not the pipeline.
Either way, you don’t believe in God, so what does it matter?
Nathaniel posted September 30, 2008 at 11:30 pm
“The quote was in relation to the war, not the pipeline.
Either way, you don’t believe in God, so what does it matter?”
——-
I apologize. I thought that your post was re Mary’s post about the nat gas pipeline, and I did not watch the YouTube clip.
Sarah Palin: Alaskan Pipeline is “God’s Will”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS_VduCWhzM
And Nathaniel, you really should stop making false claims about what other people “believe”.
Cosmos,
I apologize. It is not very often I find someone mocking others belief in God if they themselves also believe in God.
My mistake.
Maybe you should think about that before you start mocking others.
“Nathaniel” –
I think God is probably big enough to put up with a little criticism.
Obviously, boy, you are not.
Nathaniel posted September 30, 2008 at 11:49 pm
“I apologize. It is not very often I find someone mocking others belief in God if they themselves also believe in God.
My mistake.”
———–
Okay.
Nathaniel, you were (or are?) studying electrical engineering? Nat gas pipelines are a different field, but can you explain how Palin’s “God” can help her pipeline proposal succeed?
IMHO, that success depends on engineering, economic, and other (non-”God”) factors.
good night; good luck; god bless —-
whatever you conceive god to be!!
blessings ALL!!
blessings to the singing children of hope!!
blessings to the hypnotists that have helped sarah palin to learn to concentrate… :-)
so mote it be!!
And with that Chas rode his broom into the sunset
‘Palin Proved to Be Formidable Foe in Alaska Debates’
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122281636354892281.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_mostpop
“cosmos_originally” –
I’ve seen a lot of footage of the Moose-Dresser’s Alaskan debates.
Bert Parks should have been the moderator.
She was reciting scripted answers — too fast, like a high school sophomore in the school play — and was “that cute ex-sportscaster.”
It’s no longer beyond the realm of possibility that halfway into the debate with Biden, she’ll declare she’s “suspending her campaign” so she can help Bristol select a baker for the cake at the upcoming shotgun wedding. And the CONs will praise her for her “family values.”
It’s becoming impossible to deal with the CONs on this forum in any substantive way. They come back with middle-school name-calling, non sequitur insults, diversions from the issue at hand, assorted CON circle-jerks.
I enjoyed reading this op-ed piece.
CAMPOS: Out-of-control populism
If Palin knows anything at all about national politics or foreign affairs or history or economics or almost anything else one would want a president to know something about, she has till now kept that fact remarkably well hidden.
She is, in other words, the ultimate representative of a kind of out-of-control populism. In its more extreme forms, populist resentment of elites flows from the belief that any ordinary person knows enough to be a good political leader, since political leadership is all about having the right values, and good character, and a pure heart.
It’s a sign of how successfully political know-nothingism has been exploited in America that it’s even necessary to say this: To do a decent job, the president of the United States needs to be vastly more educated and knowledgeable than the average American.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/01/campos-out-of-control-populism/
Another one well worth the time spent to read it!
The Coming Conservative Crack-up
Palin, in fact, is the first Republican vice-presidential nominee drawn from that wing of the party obsessed with what other people are doing with their dirty parts. Look at the GOP running mates since Watergate: Dick Cheney, Jack Kemp, Dan Quayle, George H.W. Bush, and Bob Dole. All may have had the appropriately conservative positions on social issues, but each was far more concerned with economics and foreign policy.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_coming_conservative_crackup
bjb — actually, i needed something faster than a broom… got me an electrolux, with an aluminum handle… good thrust, too!! LOL
re: bjb
DNFTT
Chas,
More Freud there for me to “handle.”
The Palin phenom, in a nutshell, from Linda’s link above:
The other candidates scowled and sighed over her inability, in one exchange, to identify a single bill passed by the legislature that she either approved or disapproved of. She ignored their frustration.
Then, in one of the evening’s final questions, she deftly turned the tables on the two men.
Asked what jobs she might have in her administration for either opposing candidate, she chuckled that former Gov. Knowles could be her official chef, while Mr. Halcro would be Alaska’s top statistician.
“It was a witty answer, and funny,” recalls Larry Persily, the Anchorage Daily News editor who posed the question at a debate broadcast on the state’s public television network. “But it was also a put-down. Everyone knows Tony used to own a restaurant called Downtown Deli, and she was suggesting he should go back to running a lunch counter. With Andrew, she was saying, basically, ‘Gee, all your facts and numbers are nice, but the voters just don’t care.’”
Two years later, both men concede that they may have underestimated Gov. Palin’s ease during the debates, or how disciplined she could be in staying on message. Today Mr. Knowles calls her “extraordinary, elusive and unavailable to the public.”
[Palin has proven debate skills] Associated Press
Running for governor of Alaska in 2006 Sarah Palin, center, sits next to independent candidate Andrew Halcro, left, and Democratic candidate Tony Knowles as the three respond to questions by Larry Persily, right, during a gubernatorial debate in Anchorage.
Nonetheless, he says, “She is an attractive candidate with a unique ability to emotionally connect with the audience,” even as “she deals with issues by repetitive slogans.”
A coupld canned slogans and a disarming smile! That’s what I’m looking for in our nation’s leader.
Phantom posted October 1, 2008 at 6:03 pm
A coupld canned slogans and a disarming smile! That’s what I’m looking for in our nation’s leader.
————-
That seems to be what McCain hopes the voters want.
Like Monkeyhawk posted, “that cute ex-sportscaster.”
Ok,
I heard bits of a Palin interview with con wall banger Sean Hannity.
She actually sounded closer to some semblance of coherence.
But then?
I heard her in an interview with Hugh Hewitt.
In both interviews, the same canned lines about “barrels of ink” and criticism making her stronger “I don’t fight it I invite it!”.
They’ve given their pullstring dolly a few new phrases. They seem to have got her to get over hearing herself talk.
But she’s still Sarah mostly not there.
Biden will have to bite his lip and it will STILL be a slaughter.
“Monkeyhawk” opines:
“It’s becoming impossible to deal with the CONs on this forum in any substantive way.” [pretty good imitation, huh?]
The man is absolutely correct. It is much more difficult to even read the crap here any more.
I think it has something to do with the cons’ desperation at this point in the election cycle.
Thomas Frank on Huffington post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-frank
I have yet to find a satisfactory definition for the Thomas Frank word “boodler”. He uses a lot of 19th century words that I believe came from the first guilded age (approximately 1870 to 1900). The second guilded age was from the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 to late last week… (stole that one). Ha!
Thomas Frank takes on the CONs’ “it’s the little guys’ fault” meme in that pinko-liberal Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122282690823092989.html
Wow. That Tom Frank commentary should be required reading for anyone with a brain. He just lays it right out.
“Monkeyhawk” opines:
————
No Steven, Monkeyhawk whines. Probably one of the two most rabid left nuts, always insulting, always condescending, and sometimes vile, he complains that; “It’s becoming impossible to deal with the CONs on this forum in any substantive way.
As if he has ever tried. Monkey starts a fight and then complains when he gets hit.
But he does tell an occasional interesting story when he is not busy being an A$$.
I am trying to see something nice about everyone.
“it’s the little guys’ fault” meme
————
Never heard that one. Set the straw man up, then just knock it down. Way to go Tommy! What’s the matter with Kansas? Woo hoo!
We will see what happened when the smoke clears. Anyone who pretends to know now is just well, pretending to know.
#
Rage
Posted October 1, 2008 at 8:01 pm | Permalink
Wow. That Tom Frank commentary should be required reading for anyone with a brain. He just lays it right out.
===========================
With the exception that the Professor Frank quoted didn’t affix the blame on any politician. But let’s examine that shall we?
The Democrats have praised Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae saying there is nothing wrong with it. What to see video, there is some available of Democrats saying so on the floor of Congress and in committees.
The Democrats obstructed a bill introduced in 2005 by Senator McCain proposing more regulation to tighter control the loans to risky candidates and reduce the speculative buying of said papers to tighter control.
The Democrats when warned by the regulator overseeing the markets, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, more or less told him to go take and hike and he was full of crap.
Senator Biden, Democrat introduced and passed a bill making bankruptcy incredibly hard for people in dire straits. This legislation championed by Biden caused tens of thousands of people to lose their homes. Before that law was passed, one could declare bankruptcy and keep their homes.
On November 12th, 1999, Bill Clinton signed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. What that did was allow commercial and investment banks to consolidate. Now, banks began trading and underwriting assets called mortgage backed securities, CDOs, and SIVs, all of the toxic waste that’s coming home to roost today.
Democrat Speak:
‘These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
”I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said.
Via Freerepublic
A September 11, 2003 New York Times article shows that President Bush proposed “the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.” His proposal: An agency within the Treasury Department to supervise mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fearing that mortgages would no longer be available to people who were unable to pay them back, Democrats eventually killed the proposal. The current meltdown in the mortgage industry is a direct result of giving mortgages to people who could not pay them back, a practice protected by Congressional Democrats.
From the New York Times:
New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATON
The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.
Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.
The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.
The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt — is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates.
… Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing.
——————————-
So you see Rage, that is just the tip of the iceberg on how the Democrats were in bed with the greedy and the speculative.
Thomas Frank is NOT AN HISTORIAN.
Thomas Frank is a very LIBERAL IDEOLOGUE WHOSE AGENDA IS THAT OF A HISTORY REVISIONIST.
Thomas Frank wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked in him the face.
As I said, you want more proof that the Democratic party were obstructionists in this financial meltdown, I can provide thousands of references.
If the MSM actually printed the truth about this, there wouldn’t be a Democrat in office anywhere.
“outlander,” on the “it’s the little guys’ fault” meme –
“Never heard that one.”
Then you haven’t been paying attention, “outlander.”
I’ve noticed how CONs in this forum frequently resort to ignorance as a defense.
Like when “Nathaniel” defended the Moose-Hunter with, “Even I don’t know what the Bush Doctrine is!”
Even “Nathaniel” didn’t know.
Imagine.
If you don’t know what you’re talking about perhaps you should
run for Vice-Presidentbe diffident about talking about it.And if the CONs happen to know something about what they’re talking about, they hurl name-calling and insults.
Time line of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and how the Democrats ignore the warning and obstructed legislation.
2001
April: The Administration’s FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “a potential problem,” because “financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity.”
2002
May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)
2003
January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.
February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that “although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations,” “the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them.” As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. (”Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO,” OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)
September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO’s review found earnings manipulations.
September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact “legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises” and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.
October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.
November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any “legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk.” To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have “broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards” and “receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)
2004
February: The President’s FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: “The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator.” (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)
February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to “not take [the financial market's] strength for granted.” Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by “ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, “Keeping Fannie And Freddie’s House In Order,” Financial Times, 2/24/04)
June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying “We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System.” (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)
2005
April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying “Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system.” (Secretary John W. Snow, “Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee,” 4/13/05)
2007
July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.
August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying “first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.” (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)
September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.
September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.
December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying “These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I’ve called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon.” (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)
2008
January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.
January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.
February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)
March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.
March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)
April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)
May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.
“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)
“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)
“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)
June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)
July: Congress heeds the President’s call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.
In 2005– Senator John McCain partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending.
Democrats blocked this reform, too.
More… Not only did democrats not act on these warnings but Barack Obama put one of the major Sub-Prime Slime players on his campaign as finance chairperson.
UPDATE: The media is not reporting that the failed financial institutions are big Obama donors.
http://ussenterprise.blogdns.net/blog2/archive/2008/09/24/771.aspx
Blame? If you want to blame anyone, blame both parties. The Republicans have been against regulation for the last 60 years. The Democrats could have done something about it, but failed miserably. McCain has been against regulation as long as he’s been in Congress. Obama, as a member of ACORN, pushed the banks to make loans available to anyone breathing.
Finger pointing is the stuff of septic systems.
“Wow. That Tom Frank commentary should be required reading for anyone with a brain. He just lays it right out.”
Here here!
Frank’s “The Wrecking Crew” reads like an awful Grimm’s fairy tale of exactly what con greed and business as government have done to this country.
Republicans? If there is even a shred of love for your country in you? Stand up against the greed machine that your party turned loose. The hour is late and the survival of America is by no means certain.
McCain’s attempt to fix Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac in 2005
posted at 11:45 am on September 17, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
With the financial sector in turmoil today, the media and the politicians have started throwing around blame with the same recklessness as lenders threw around credit to create the problem. Politically, the pertinent question is this: Which candidate foresaw the credit crisis and tried to do something about it? As it turns out, John McCain did — and partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending three years ago, after an attempt by the Bush administration died in Congress two years earlier. McCain spoke forcefully on May 25, 2006, on behalf of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (via Beltway Snark):
Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.
The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.
For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.
I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.
In this speech, McCain managed to predict the entire collapse that has forced the government to eat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with Bear Stearns and AIG. He hammers the falsification of financial records to benefit executives, including Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson, both of whom have worked as advisers to Barack Obama this year. McCain also noted the power of their lobbying efforts to forestall oversight over their business practices. He finishes with the warning that proved all too prescient over the past few days and weeks.
What was this bill? The act would have done the following:
(1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting.
It never made it out of committee. Chris Dodd, then the ranking member of the Banking Committee and now its chair, was in the middle of receiving preferential loan treatment from Countrywide Mortgage, one of the companies gaming the system in the credit crisis. Meanwhile, Barack Obama took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the lobbyists McCain mentions in this speech, making him the #2 recipient of Fannie/Freddie money:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/17/mccains-attempt-to-fix-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-in-2005/
JMWalker
Posted October 1, 2008 at 8:43 pm | Permalink
Blame? If you want to blame anyone, blame both parties.
—————————–
Bull sh#t!
I just gave you many references to show how the Democrats are the party that backed “affordable housing loans” to people who could never qualify under a regulated system.
I also just showed you a time line since Bush has been in office begging Congress to pass legislation to tighten up regulations on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
I just showed you on the bill introduced by Senator McCain that would have prevented this mess we’re in now.
On each occasion, the process was obstructed by the “give me more money contributions” Democrats with Obama at the top of the list of those being bribed.
I understand Olberman and Rachel Maddow absolutely RIPPED Sarah Palin this evening.
The Olberman show repeats at 9. Maddow repeats at 10.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also strategically given more contributions to lawmakers currently sitting on committees that primarily regulate their industry. Fifteen of the 25 lawmakers who have received the most from the two companies combined since the 1990 election sit on either the House Financial Services Committee; the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee; or the Senate Finance Committee. The others have seats on the powerful Appropriations or Ways & Means committees, are members of the congressional leadership or have run for president. Sen.Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) chairman of the Senate banking committee, has received the most from Fannie and Freddie’s PACs and employees ($133,900 since 1989). Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) has received $65,500. Kanjorski chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs.
opensecrets.org
Finger pointing is the stuff of septic systems.
That’s what so great about the Thomas Frank commentary: he’s not looking for scapegoats. He just pointed out that when a particularly rigid philosophy for operating government finally got enacted in a significant manner, bad things happened.
Unfortunately, we’ll be living with those bad things for a long time to come.
P.S. Predatory lending
ACORN has fought against lending practices that it sees as predatory by targeting the national companies that practice them, working for stronger state laws against predatory practices, organizing against local financial scams, and steering individuals toward loan counseling.[3] Following a three-year campaign Household International (now owned by HSBC Holdings and renamed HSBC Finance Corporation), one of the largest subprime lenders in the country, and ACORN announced on November 25, 2003 a proposed settlement of a 2002 national class-action lawsuit brought by ACORN. The settlement created a $72 million Foreclosure Avoidance Program to provide relief to Household borrowers who are at risk of losing their homes.[3] The settlement came on the heels of an earlier $484 million settlement between Household, Attorneys General, and bank regulators from all 50 US states.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Community_Organizations_for_Reform_Now#Predatory_lending
That doesn’t really strike me as helping to create the circumstances. But I do agree that the Dems should have seen this coming long ago, and shown some intestinal fortitude.