The irony is that I would vote in an American election if I could, where-as so many of your countrymen choose not to.

I don't get that.

Sad but true.

http://wonkette.com/wp-content/uploa.../09/juneau.jpg

How can one lose something he never had? Its all a matter of perspective.

Nor do I. I have never missed a vote and this year I'll be on a cruise so I'll mail mine in.

I was sitting in Starbuck's waiting for my Java Chip (yum) and listening to a very impassioned early 20 something explain why Palin is a horrible choice for McCain.

"She's completely inexperienced and hasn't done anything. AND she's incompetent."

Which is it? She's either inexperienced and we know nothing about her... or she's incompetent. Both statements can't be true. If she hasn't done anything how do you know she's incompetent. If she's incompetent then it means she's done something.

eh, just listening to people argue their opinions is interesting to me.

How curious. George Jr also was both inexperienced and incompetent. How do you justify that?

Palin appears to be symptoms of a campaign where the moderate Republicans are now struggling with the right wing staff members. It was a bad choice and not what McCain apparently wanted - Sen Lieberman. Infighting would also explain why so many surprises were discovered only after the Palin choice was made. McCain was never comfortable with the wacko extremist wing of the party (ie Karl Rove) that is now inside his campaign.

The point is you can't KNOW both of them in advance. either they have a record that hilights there incompetence or they have no record which makes them inexperienced. But hey, good job in making another post about George. Do you get royalties?

We don't need learn from no stinkin' history. Our political agenda tells us everything we need know. Ignore the disaster that George Jr has been to this nation.

Yep. Even George Jr finally learned. When a category 5 hurricane will strike a major city, the smart president does not fly off on campaign junkettes. Even George Jr can learn from history. But lookout123 wants to forget it? Extremists know everything from a political agenda. History is just a nuisance.

"Did you hear what my man Rush said today?" No reason to waste time remembering history - the man who was both inexperienced and incompetant. Eventually even diehard Republicans had to admit it.

hey you forgot to mention those seven minutes, dic.

As usual, only a wacko extremist must always post profanity. Profanity is common among those with lesser intelligence such as stock brokers.

you have got to be the least self aware mother's basement dwelling fuckstick ever pumped into a sperm bank testtube.

oops, more profanity. don't tell your mom, ok?

So back to the topic of the thread,


Time magazine is reporting that when she was mayor of Wasilla, she inquired at the library how she could go about banning books, and when the librarian resisted, she threatened to fire her.

Nice save, glatt. Back on topic.

I read that article too. Wanting to ban some books because you want to be responsive to your constituents is perfectly valid. I find it repugnant, but it is one real way to be the decider-executive-person. I also think it's a valid topic for discussion in this context.

--an aside--
I watched Chris Matthews interview John McCain this past Sunday. It was... jarring. But one of the more comic moments came when Matthews was skeptically ticking off Palin's experience as a follow on to the question of her readiness to serve (as President, a heartbeat away :gasp: ). He mentioned her short time as governor, and her two terms as mayor, and even listed her time as a city councilwoman. I could barely believe my eyes when McCain responded. He scolded Matthews for leaving out her service in the PTA! He wasn't joking.

It came off as though McCain was remembering his coaching to include the whole of her resume, since it would inevitably come up. I lol'ed

In 1998, voters in a focus group were asked to close their eyes and imagine what a governor should look like. "They automatically pictured a man," says Barbara Lee, whose foundation promoting women's political advancement sponsored the survey. "The kind you see in those portraits hanging in statehouse hallways." They most certainly didn't visualize Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a former beauty-pageant winner, avid hunter, snowmobiler and mother of four who was elected to her state's highest office last November. Or Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a badge-wielding former federal prosecutor and onetime attorney for Anita Hill who has redefined the debate over illegal immigration in her state.

While this year's political buzz has been about Hillary Clinton's run for the White House and Nancy Pelosi's ascension to Speaker of the House, women leaders like Palin, a Republican, and Napolitano, a Democrat, have gained significant power in the lives of millions of Americans at the state level. In addition to Alaska and Arizona, Michigan, Kansas, Washington, Hawaii, Connecticut, Louisiana and Delaware elected or re-elected women governors in the last year. That's a total of nine, the highest number to serve simultaneously. And next year women candidates will run for the statehouse in North Carolina and Indiana. A decade ago only 16 women in U.S. history had served as governor (four of them were appointed to replace their dead husbands or other ill-fated male predecessors). Today that number stands at 29. "The best way for people to believe in women as competent executives is by actually watching them govern," says Lee. "They find them likable, strong and effective."



http://www.newsweek.com/id/42534

The Libertarian Case for Palin
By David Harsanyi

The potential political consequences of Sarah Palin have been chewed over from every imaginable angle.

Though there is plenty to ponder, one thing is certain: libertarian-inclined voters should be encouraged. No, I'm not suggesting that your little Molly will be bringing home "The Road to Serfdom" from her (distinctly non-public) elementary school. But in contrast to any national candidate in recent memory, Palin is the one that exudes the economic and cultural sensibilities of a geniune Western-style libertarian.

Now, Palin's lack of experience has been framed as an impenetrable negative. One wire story helpfully noted that Palin had never ever appeared on "Meet the Press." Shocking! But as Barack Obama often notes, it's not about experience, it's about judgment. And Palin's penchant for reform-minded conservatism is certainly at odds with the racket Washington Republicans have offered up the past 8 years.

Palin, for example, vetoed 300 pork projects in Alaska in her first year in office. She made a habit of knocking out big-government Republicans in her brief political career. For this, the 44-year-old mother of five enjoys a sterling approval rating in a state with arguably the nation's most libertarian-minded populace.

When it comes to healthcare, Palin says she wants to "allow free-market competition and reduce onerous government regulation." These days, any mention of the "free market" that's not framed as a crass pejorative is a sign of progress.

Culturally, there is little for the Heartland to dislike. By now, you've probably seen picture or two of Palin sporting a rifle. Apparently, she's left carcasses strewn across the Alaskan wilderness. In some places -- areas where the nation is growing -- owning a gun is not yet a sin. And unlike Obama, Palin seems to believe that the Second Amendment means the exact same thing in rural Alaska as it does in the streets of Chicago.

Yes, Palin is without argument a staunch social conservative. She is fervently opposed to abortion - even in cases of rape and incest, which will raise eyebrows, but is certainly more philosophically consistent than the namby pambyism of your average politician. The choice issue, after all, is complicated, even for many libertarians. And, as I was recently reminded, Ron Paul, the Libertarian champion of the 21st century, also opposes abortion.

Even when advocating for "moral" issues, Palin's approach is a soft sell. Palin does not support gay marriage (neither does Obama, it should be noted). Yet, in 2006, Palin's first veto as Governor was a bill that sought to block state employee benefits and health insurance for same-sex couples.

We cannot bore into Palin's soul to see her true feelings about gay couples, but, at the time, she noted that signing "this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office" because it was unconstitutional. For most libertarians, the thought of politician following any constitution, rather than their own predilections, morality or the "common good," is a nice change of pace.

On the counterproductive War on Drugs, Palin is no warrior. Her Republican opponent in 2006 primary, incumbent Republican governor Frank Murkowski, made recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot a priority. Palin, though she does not support legalization, believes enforcement should not be a high priority.

"I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled," Palin once said. This sort of honesty is a welcome change from the standard hand-wringing about marijuana's supposed disastrous consequences.

On education, Palin supports school-choice programs. There have already been smears that she backed "creationist" teaching in "public" schools, when in fact, Palin's comment regarding intelligent design should hold some appeal to libertarians. Even if you find the idea inane, in essence, Palin pushed the idea that parents, rather than the state, should decide what children are learning.

When asked about this commotion, Palin said, "I won't have religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism." If lockstep left-wing union-run school boards in urban districts would follow this sound advice on ideological litmus tests, our educational system would be a lot more productive.

Then there is a question of authenticity. And it matters. Those who will do anything for power, will say anything and support any position that is convenient. From John McCain to Joe Biden to Obama, one gets the sense that political office is their life's work. All of them have made attempts to create the perception that, hey, they're ordinary Americans just like you. Palin won't have to work at genuineness. With Palin, you get the impression she can take politics or leave it. Her life certainly hasn't been saturated with policy, favor trading and back scratching.

Of course, Washington has a mysterious power to turn perfectly reasonable, wholesome, well-meaning human beings into equivocating crooked gasbags. But, from the little we know about Palin, such a transformation doesn't seem likely. And for libertarians - in the broadest sense of the small "l" word -- she's the best candidate they can expect.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...for_palin.html

Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Incorrectly Say Palin Was a Member in 90s; McCain Camp and Alaska Division of Elections Deny Charge*
September 01, 2008 6:52 PM



http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpu...s-of-frin.html