Joe Biden made a major mistake today when, as reported by the Guardian and as picked up by Drudge, he confirmed that an Obama administration would prosecute "crimes" committed by the Bush administration. While his sentiments do not surprise me, his clear admission of them is truly a shocker.
Putting Biden's comments into English, he is stating that the "new politics" promised by Barack Obama in which Obama will work in a bipartisan fashion to change the way things work in Washington is, in truth, an old fashioned partisan witch hunt. Indeed, for the Obama team, it will not be sufficient to win the election and take control of the government. No, they will have to destroy their opponents by sending them to prision for purported crimes. Since the so-called crimes that Biden refers basically involve actions by the government to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists, Biden admits that Obama is really planning on prosecuting the Bushies for actually having the nerve to fight back against the Islamic terrorists in a way that might stop future attacks from taking place.
In the whirl of the Palin speech and tonight's McCain speech, Bidens shocking admission has not received much attention, but, once it does, it is sure to turn off the millions of cetrist independant voters who will decide this election. would any sane American actually want a new government that has a principal mission to destroy its political enemies? Can anyone at the DNC actually believe that the criminalization of opponents will win converts to their cause?
I believe that this admission by Biden is just more proof of how out of touch Obama and his campaign really are. They live, as Peggy Noonan puts it, in a bubble. They only speak to the others in the bubble who think as they do. Surely Jeremiah Wright would applaud the arrest of many in the Bush administration as would William Ayres. So would Harry Reid and the Pelosi crowd. Indeed, the Daily Kos crowd would probably make an exception and hope for capital punishment in this instance. Fortunately, these folks do not speak for common sense, normal Americans who, I beleive, will see this farce for what it is: a manifestation of just how far the Obama folks are out of touch. Political show trials belong in the Stalinist Soviet Union, not the USA. As enticing as a Stalinist society may be to Obama and his friends like Ayres and the others, it will not play in the USA. I think we will be hearing a lot more about this in the weeks to come.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sarah -- Wow!
Governor Palin's acceptance speech to the RNC Wednesday night was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary vice presidential speech of any convention since televising the conventions began a half century ago. After all, the media has done all it could in the days since the announcement of her selection by Senator McCain to paint Governor Palin as a rube from Alaska, some kind of small-town trailer trash. She was a bad mother, a liar who faked her own pregnancy, a lightweight with no experience and a crazed religious fanatic rolled into one. Indeed, all of the liberal media establishment threw even the pretense of objectivity away and went after her like Kieth Olbermann on steroids. "Who cares about the facts -- we will just make stuff up as we go along" seemed to be their battle cry. All the years of stories about respecting the privacy of the children of public figures (Chelsea) or about the need to support women who chose to work outside the home were discarded as if they never existed. Sarah's statements to a church group that she needed their prayers and the help of the Almighty to govern successfully in Alaska was a dangerous confluencde of church and state. Apparently church attendance is appropriate for a political candidate only if the church preaches racial hate and denounces the USA as a racist state to be damned by the Lord.
Well, last night all that changed. I believe that even some in the media bubble will perceive that change. Oh, we will still be treated to a never-ending stream of anti-Palin stories and the double standard of the liberal press will still be much in evidence. Nevertheless, the audience will know the truth. Sarah Palin is a smart, confident, strong, informed, witty and relentless fighter. She will be a champion for America's common folks, not kowtowing to the self appointed elited in the newsroom and TV studios. She cares more what the people on main street think than what is being said about her at the parties in Hollywood or Georgetown.
In truth, the media frenzy to destroy Governor Palin may well turn out to be the most important weapon that the GOP has in its arsenal this year. Personally, I will never forget watching Sally Quinn being interviewed by Bill O'Reilly with regard to he repugnant argument that the governor's five children disqualify her from holding high office. Sally was actually confronted by someone who told her that her position was sexist and repugnant and she seemed completely at a loss as to how to respond to someone who was not genuflecting to her obvious (to her) superior intellect. It was, as they say, an emperor has no clothes moment.
The governor's speech was well delivered and well written. Indeed, I notice in watching the talking head on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and CBS that on each network, there was a discussion how the speech had been written for her. Isn't it strange that last week no one remarked on any of these networks that Biden's speech had been written for him. and no one commented the next day that Obama's speech had been written for him. Apparently, we are only to be kept informed about Governor Palin because she is (remember the talkng points) not smart enough to hold national office.
My take, however, is that liberal blowhard pundits better come up with a new plan. Right now, their fear of losing control is showing.
Well, last night all that changed. I believe that even some in the media bubble will perceive that change. Oh, we will still be treated to a never-ending stream of anti-Palin stories and the double standard of the liberal press will still be much in evidence. Nevertheless, the audience will know the truth. Sarah Palin is a smart, confident, strong, informed, witty and relentless fighter. She will be a champion for America's common folks, not kowtowing to the self appointed elited in the newsroom and TV studios. She cares more what the people on main street think than what is being said about her at the parties in Hollywood or Georgetown.
In truth, the media frenzy to destroy Governor Palin may well turn out to be the most important weapon that the GOP has in its arsenal this year. Personally, I will never forget watching Sally Quinn being interviewed by Bill O'Reilly with regard to he repugnant argument that the governor's five children disqualify her from holding high office. Sally was actually confronted by someone who told her that her position was sexist and repugnant and she seemed completely at a loss as to how to respond to someone who was not genuflecting to her obvious (to her) superior intellect. It was, as they say, an emperor has no clothes moment.
The governor's speech was well delivered and well written. Indeed, I notice in watching the talking head on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and CBS that on each network, there was a discussion how the speech had been written for her. Isn't it strange that last week no one remarked on any of these networks that Biden's speech had been written for him. and no one commented the next day that Obama's speech had been written for him. Apparently, we are only to be kept informed about Governor Palin because she is (remember the talkng points) not smart enough to hold national office.
My take, however, is that liberal blowhard pundits better come up with a new plan. Right now, their fear of losing control is showing.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Obama's new politics: Smear, Scare, Smear
Funny, isn't it, how the Obama campaign was going to be part of the "new" politics. Obama even warned America that the Republicans would try to scare everyone about him and his funny name and his being black. Today's news reveal, however, that it is the Obama campaign that is going all out to smear Governor Palin and to scare Americans. The AP discusses an e-mail sent by Obama Florida Spokesman Mark Bubriski who calls Palin a "Nazi-sympathizer" and claims, incorrectly that she supported Pat Buchanan for president in 1999 and 2000. Actually, Palin supported Steve Forbes during that campaign.
Will we see Senator Obama fire his Florida spokesman and apologize to Governor Palin. Obviously, there is no need to fire him because he couldn't be bothered to find out the truth before he announced that she supported Buchanan. But the Nazi-sympathizer crack is going way overboard. What will we hear next? Was Palin a grand Kleagle in the KKK -- Wait, no, that was Democratic Senator Byrd from West Virginia. Was Palin a long time associate with known terrorists? Wait -- no -- that was Obama himself. Did Palin spend 20 years listening to racist rants in her church each week? Wait, no, that was also Obama himself. Did Palin funnel $14 million dollars in federal money to a slumlord constituent who just happened to have subsidized her purchase of the family home (a clear ethics violation and probably a felony)? Wait, no, that was also Obama himself.
The Obama campaign is out to paint Governor Palin as not being a regular America. They want people to think of her as a fringe kook. It's scare tactics, plain and simple. They should cut it out.
Will we see Senator Obama fire his Florida spokesman and apologize to Governor Palin. Obviously, there is no need to fire him because he couldn't be bothered to find out the truth before he announced that she supported Buchanan. But the Nazi-sympathizer crack is going way overboard. What will we hear next? Was Palin a grand Kleagle in the KKK -- Wait, no, that was Democratic Senator Byrd from West Virginia. Was Palin a long time associate with known terrorists? Wait -- no -- that was Obama himself. Did Palin spend 20 years listening to racist rants in her church each week? Wait, no, that was also Obama himself. Did Palin funnel $14 million dollars in federal money to a slumlord constituent who just happened to have subsidized her purchase of the family home (a clear ethics violation and probably a felony)? Wait, no, that was also Obama himself.
The Obama campaign is out to paint Governor Palin as not being a regular America. They want people to think of her as a fringe kook. It's scare tactics, plain and simple. They should cut it out.
What's next for Palin
The onslaught against governor Palin and her family by the media, the Obama campaign and the left wing kooks is only four days old and already we have seen attacks against everything from her parenting skills to her honestly. In truth, while all this was to be expected, America had the right to expect better from these groups. Hopefully, the strident, baseless and nasty attacks will lead to a significant backlash which will help propel the McCain campaign forward. Still, there are certain attacks which deserve special mention.
First, one must look at Sally Quinn of the Washington Post. With her eminent resume, one would suppose that Ms. Quinn had some principles in which she believed other than political success. apparently not. She has now announced to the world that Governor Palin should not be vice president since she will be preoccupied with her new special-needs baby and also with her daughter's pregnancy. Noted feminist Sally now argues that Governor Palin should stay at home rather than working in a man's world. While the Washington Post could never be described as fair or open minded, one could have hoped that Ms. Quinn might, at least, be true to the principles of feminism which she claims to support. Women are now to be disqualified for office if they or their offspring have young children? Does Ms. Quinn think that John Kennedy performed poorly in office because his wife gave birth to a son and had a miscarriage during his term in office? Not surprisingly, we never heard that from Ms. Quinn. Indeed, when Bill Clinton was carrying on with Monica and then became preoccupied with covering up his acts, we never heard Ms. Quinn question if he was qualified for office. After all, these were men and Democrats.
Second, we should all pay special attention to the Daily Kos crowd for their particularly nasty attack on the governor. Without any evidence to support the charge, we are told that the Governor's young son was actually her grandson, the child of her daughter Bristol. This attack is just about as valid as the claim that Joe Biden is actually a women who underwent a sex change. Nevertheless, we see prominent media outlets repeating the charge and Andrew Sullivan is actually pushing it -- even after it has been proven false. Do we as a people really want our political agenda set by this crowd. what influence would these nut jobs have in an Obama administration. After all, these kinds of attacks are not new on the Daily Kos. Smears and hatchet jobs are the stuff on which the site thrives. Nevertheless, Obama still found it necessary and appropriate to speak at the Yearly Kos, the annual convention of these hatemongers.
Lastly, I think a special mention goes out to all of the libs who claim to be offended by the selection of governor Palin. First, they claim that McCain only chose her so that he could get the Hillary voters and then, they say that as women (or on behalf of women), they are offended. Funny, isn't it, that McCain never said he chose Governor Palin so as to reach the Hillary voters. Funny also, that the McCain camp must understand that most of the pro-choice angry women brigade would not go for a person of faith who is ardently pro-life (not to mention pro second amendment and otherwise conservative). No, McCain made a choice to appeal to both his base and to the independent or swing voters who want someone who actually understands their problems, someone who can discuss energy policy without being hemmed in by either the oil companies or the enviro-crazies, someone who has actually fought corruption, not (like Obama-Rezco) taken part in it.
First, one must look at Sally Quinn of the Washington Post. With her eminent resume, one would suppose that Ms. Quinn had some principles in which she believed other than political success. apparently not. She has now announced to the world that Governor Palin should not be vice president since she will be preoccupied with her new special-needs baby and also with her daughter's pregnancy. Noted feminist Sally now argues that Governor Palin should stay at home rather than working in a man's world. While the Washington Post could never be described as fair or open minded, one could have hoped that Ms. Quinn might, at least, be true to the principles of feminism which she claims to support. Women are now to be disqualified for office if they or their offspring have young children? Does Ms. Quinn think that John Kennedy performed poorly in office because his wife gave birth to a son and had a miscarriage during his term in office? Not surprisingly, we never heard that from Ms. Quinn. Indeed, when Bill Clinton was carrying on with Monica and then became preoccupied with covering up his acts, we never heard Ms. Quinn question if he was qualified for office. After all, these were men and Democrats.
Second, we should all pay special attention to the Daily Kos crowd for their particularly nasty attack on the governor. Without any evidence to support the charge, we are told that the Governor's young son was actually her grandson, the child of her daughter Bristol. This attack is just about as valid as the claim that Joe Biden is actually a women who underwent a sex change. Nevertheless, we see prominent media outlets repeating the charge and Andrew Sullivan is actually pushing it -- even after it has been proven false. Do we as a people really want our political agenda set by this crowd. what influence would these nut jobs have in an Obama administration. After all, these kinds of attacks are not new on the Daily Kos. Smears and hatchet jobs are the stuff on which the site thrives. Nevertheless, Obama still found it necessary and appropriate to speak at the Yearly Kos, the annual convention of these hatemongers.
Lastly, I think a special mention goes out to all of the libs who claim to be offended by the selection of governor Palin. First, they claim that McCain only chose her so that he could get the Hillary voters and then, they say that as women (or on behalf of women), they are offended. Funny, isn't it, that McCain never said he chose Governor Palin so as to reach the Hillary voters. Funny also, that the McCain camp must understand that most of the pro-choice angry women brigade would not go for a person of faith who is ardently pro-life (not to mention pro second amendment and otherwise conservative). No, McCain made a choice to appeal to both his base and to the independent or swing voters who want someone who actually understands their problems, someone who can discuss energy policy without being hemmed in by either the oil companies or the enviro-crazies, someone who has actually fought corruption, not (like Obama-Rezco) taken part in it.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Gallup slants it commentary
Today's Gallup tracking poll shows Obama up six over McCain. Gallup announces its "analysis" that Obama got a "typical" convention bounce of 4% and McCain got a "minimal" bounce from the announcement of Palin as his vice presidential candidate. Strangely, Gallup does not explain why the "typical" bounce for Obama is so much less than the 17% that Bush got in 88, the 16% that Clinton got in 92, the bounce exceeding 10% that Bush and Gore got in 2000, etc. As Gallup understands it, all of the other convention bounces of the last 20 years were "atypical".
As far as the vice presidential bounce is concerned, Gallup does admit that the 2% increase following the Palin selection is "technically" better than the 2% decrease following the Biden announcement. Somehow, a 4% difference following the vp selection is just technical when it is in McCain's favor, but the same 4 % is material and typical when it follows the convention and, most important, is in Obama's favor.
I have to say, it makes me wonder why the Gallup numbers seem to show better for Obama than the corresponding Rasmussen tracking poll. Could it be that the commentary is not the only thing that Gallup is slanting?
As far as the vice presidential bounce is concerned, Gallup does admit that the 2% increase following the Palin selection is "technically" better than the 2% decrease following the Biden announcement. Somehow, a 4% difference following the vp selection is just technical when it is in McCain's favor, but the same 4 % is material and typical when it follows the convention and, most important, is in Obama's favor.
I have to say, it makes me wonder why the Gallup numbers seem to show better for Obama than the corresponding Rasmussen tracking poll. Could it be that the commentary is not the only thing that Gallup is slanting?
The Main Stream Media strikes again
This morning, Yahoo is listing as a top news story an article from Bloomberg News entitled "Obama has Post Convention Poll Lead; Palin an Unknown". The news piece was released at 1:41 P.M. on Sunday. It focuses on the Gallup tracking poll and reports that the latest poll shows Obama with a lead of 8%. This, according to Bloomberg, shows that Obama received a major bounce from the Democratic Convention.
The article is just plain wrong. First, the Gallup poll on Sunday (released prior to the article)shows a 6% Obama lead not an 8% lead. A few days earlier, the Obama lead had, in fact, reached 8%, but that is now trending lower. Second, while the article mentions the other main tracking poll, Rasmussen, it just says that the Obama lead there is 3%. It buries the fact that this 3% lead is identical to the lead that Obama held immediately prior to the DNC. In other words, Rasmussen shows no Obama bounce. Third, the article makes a big point that only 40% of those asked thought Palin was qualified to be President. While this fits into the talking points of the Obama campaign, it ignores the fact that a large portion of those polled said that they did not know Palin well enough to form an opinion of her qualifications. In other words, Bloomberg used outdated information and selective segments of other poll results to come up with a narrative that supports Obama.
Is there ever going to be a time when the media tries to be objective again? Are the American people really going to be left with propaganda as their main news source?
By the way, e-mails to the author of the article asking for a correction have gone unanswered.
The article is just plain wrong. First, the Gallup poll on Sunday (released prior to the article)shows a 6% Obama lead not an 8% lead. A few days earlier, the Obama lead had, in fact, reached 8%, but that is now trending lower. Second, while the article mentions the other main tracking poll, Rasmussen, it just says that the Obama lead there is 3%. It buries the fact that this 3% lead is identical to the lead that Obama held immediately prior to the DNC. In other words, Rasmussen shows no Obama bounce. Third, the article makes a big point that only 40% of those asked thought Palin was qualified to be President. While this fits into the talking points of the Obama campaign, it ignores the fact that a large portion of those polled said that they did not know Palin well enough to form an opinion of her qualifications. In other words, Bloomberg used outdated information and selective segments of other poll results to come up with a narrative that supports Obama.
Is there ever going to be a time when the media tries to be objective again? Are the American people really going to be left with propaganda as their main news source?
By the way, e-mails to the author of the article asking for a correction have gone unanswered.
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Connecticut Comments is meant to provide a place for me to post my thoughts about the passing scene. It will have a political and economic focus, but may cover anything at all. I hope you enjoy reading it!
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