September 3, 2008 by afp
Filed under *AFP.com News/Events
Moderated by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
It’s Sarah Palin’s Big Night – and we want to know what people are thining as she gets ready to introduce herself to the nation at the Republican National Convention and then what we’re all thinking afterward.
Feel free to join in the discussion below. The more, the merrier!
Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
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chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 7:30 pm
I’ll get us started here. I’m only expecting the world out of her. She’s really going to need to knock our socks off. She’s running the risk of diving into Eagleton territory otherwise.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 8:01 pm
I’m thinking that another embarrassing disclosure puts her in the Harriet Miers category of “Nice person, but put in a situation way over her head.”
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 8:41 pm
I just watched Meg Whitman’s speech portraying Democrats as the party of tax and spenders. That might have been a good approach if this were 1984 and the Democrats had nominated Walter Mondale again.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 8:58 pm
Carly Fiorina’s speech was more reasonable and subdued, although she did call McCain a maverick. I guess that’s why the hall sounded almost empty, even in response to her lines obviously designed for rousing applause.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:07 pm
Did Michael Steele just say, “Drill, baby, drill.”
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:14 pm
And did Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and multimillionaire, just say that Eastern elites are running and ruining this country?
Oh, and Romney apparently believes that the Supreme Court, whose members were largely appointed by Republicans, was liberal when it ruled that prisoners at Guantanamo had constitutional rights.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:22 pm
Oh, and when Romney described China as “Adam Smith on steroids” was that a compliment or criticism?
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:38 pm
Huckabee’s actually ok. He comes across as infinitely more sincere than Romney.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 9:58 pm
I’ve been Serena-Venus on USA. I saw a couple of minutes of Romney. He should have been the final speaker tonight.
crystalabbegraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:04 pm
Romney blamed everything on the Democrats. That may fire up the bases – but I don’t think it appeals to any independents out there.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:05 pm
How about the news involving the Dems threatening to take Joe Lieberman’s chairmanship away?
The only surprise is that the Dem leaders are saying it out loud now. If I’m Lieberman, and I’ve already long since decided to back McCain and the rest of the GOP, why not bolt, caucus with the GOP, and give the control of the chamber to them, sure for only a few months, but it would shake things up on the Hill, eh?
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:07 pm
There are comments on other blogs that they are (jokingly) drinking a shot of liquor every time McCain’s military record/POW/hero status is mentioned.
Thank goodness they’re just joking…sheesh they would all get alcohol poisoning!
I know he is a brave, gallant man who served his country well…but enough already.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:10 pm
Kinda reminds me of how often John Kerry talked about ‘Nam in ‘04. And look what that did for him. Great strategy, eh?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:11 pm
Yo, Rudy, what has John McCain done the past 26 years?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:13 pm
What makes John McCain ready to be commander-in-chief? He’s been tested over and over and over again? Really? Not running anything on Capitol Hill suddenly qualifies him for something? See, that argument goes both ways.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:14 pm
“There’s good change, and bad change.”
Yeah. But there’s not good “more of the same” and bad “more of the same.” It’s all bad “more of the same.”
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:15 pm
“Drill Baby Drill?!”
Ouch. Embarrassing.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:15 pm
“Offshore oil drilling.” “Yay!”
Great. “Drill, baby, drill!”
Even better.
How about chanting, “In 20 years, we get something from that drilling! In 20 years, we get something from that drilling! In 20 years, we get something from that drilling!”
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:17 pm
“John McCain will keep us on offense against terrorism at home and abroad.”
Because we need to. Because McBush didn’t take care of Afghanistan in the seven years that they had the ball.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:19 pm
“When they gave up on Iraq, they have given up on America.”
McBush gave up on America when they went to war, one, two, did it without planning the endgame, three, did it without even listening to the advice to the military brass who told them that they needed more troops to get the job done, and four, didn’t respond to the failures in the policy for years (!), and only then when it became politically expedient.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:20 pm
“If I were Joe Biden, I would want to get that VP thing in writing.”
Hmmm. Considering what we’re hearing about Palin, if I were her, I might want to get that VP thing in writing myself.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:21 pm
It is high time to have someone with intellectual prowess as our Commander in Chief. Sound bite politics is becoming very tiring.
Rudy has some kind of nerve calling Obama a “celebrity.” He is one who enjoys the spotlight as much as anyone.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:21 pm
The other McCain drinking game is to drink every time someone refers to him as a “maverick.”
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:23 pm
Rudy’s speech, like his campaign, is pretty embarrassing. His criticism of Obama for being a community organizer seemed particularly distasteful.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:24 pm
McCain threatens the Russians as his policy. Smart move, eh, Rudy? Because we have so much clout based on the damage to our international standing due to the policies of McBush. Not to mention a standing army that has been taxed to the hilt and is not in a position to do much of anything at this point.
So go ahead, threaten the Russians. Who don’t need us, don’t need the Europeans, don’t need the UN, and have 3,000 nuclear missiles still pointed at us all. And George W. Bush said he could see Putin’s soul. If he saw anything, it was supreme confidence.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:25 pm
If and when Palin has to drop out due to her many scandals, might they look to another experienced Republican with management experience? Yes, I’m talking about Tim Williams.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:27 pm
Palin’s approval rating is not 90 percent. Reading the Alaska papers, it’s 67 percent. Still impressive, but 90 is 90, and 67 is 67.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:29 pm
Don’t make an issue of Palin’s family. OK. So don’t make an issue of her family. Don’t trot them out for the cameras and talk them up on-stage.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:29 pm
Do you really think there is a chance she would drop out (or be forced to do so?). That would be political suicide.
Oh, and the “working woman” Palin victim thing is grating on my nerves too. Somehow we’re not allowed to ask questions, but yet her “family values” seem to be a major reason for her candidacy.
Heeeeeere she is…coming on now!
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:29 pm
Personally, keep her. Please, keep her.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:31 pm
What is on Palin’s lapel pin? I can’t make it out…
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:31 pm
Palin’s favorite ice cream: Moose Tracks.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:32 pm
It’s official now. No turning back.
Can’t make out the lapel pin, either.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:34 pm
Don’t step on your applause lines, Sarah.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:34 pm
Among those who counted McCain out last year: Republican voters.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:35 pm
“Victory within sight”? I thought the mission had been accomplished in ‘03.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:36 pm
Biden’s kid is going to Iraq, too. Probably why we couldn’t get Kaine in on the Dem side. No kids getting on a plane for Iraq.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:36 pm
They have really cleaned her up. Clip on earrings, tasteful earth tones. Not bad.
The makeover prize goes to poor Levi – he looks quite the young Republican now, doesn’t he?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:37 pm
I don’t like the way the media is putting so much attention on the Palin family. Wait a sec. That’s not the media. That’s Palin.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:37 pm
What do you think of the notion of McCain pledging to only serve one term if elected? Could be an interesting “October Surprise,” but not if it looked like a desperation measure designed to deflect criticism of the possibility of Palin becoming president if McCain were to serve into a second term.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:38 pm
Levi is quite cleancut looking now. I wonder how they’ve figured out how to hide the shotgun in his back from all the TV shots?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:39 pm
Either way, Brian, it brings up the spectre of a Palin presidency. God save us all.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:41 pm
Did Palin just compare herself to Harry Truman? Former Senator Harry Truman?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:42 pm
And wasn’t Truman a Democrat?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:43 pm
What the job involves …
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:43 pm
Being a fiscal conservative who secures $27 million in federal earmarks for your town.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:43 pm
Doggone it. She is delivering the speech pretty well. McCain needed someone less wooden than he.
Easy to read a prepared speech…let’s see what happens during the debates.
No way! She’s going to tout her PTA experience now?!
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:44 pm
Crystal just said the same thing. I responded, “She’d be a good school-board candidate.” Crystal said, “I was thinking the same thing.”
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:46 pm
Not living in Washington, I consider a candidate whose most significant experience is running a small town with an oversized budget and a small state with an even more oversized budget masquerading as a conservative to be inauthentic and incapable.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:47 pm
But I’m saying that, and then I want to make sure to add, Please keep her. Please, please keep her.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:48 pm
She took on that public safety commissioner who didn’t fire her brother-in-law pretty good, too.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:49 pm
The Alaska papers say that the ethics reform was initiated in the Alaska state legislature, and that she is being disingenuous when she takes credit for initiating it.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:50 pm
Recycled sound bites – again.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:51 pm
Think about this, Madame Fiscal Conservative Governor – your state has 670,000 residents and a $6.6 billion state budget. Virginia has 7 million residents and a $38 billion budget. Quick math here, but if Virginia spent the same money per capita, we’re spending $66 billion. And she has spending in line there?
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:51 pm
Ummm, I don’t think that any Alaskan governor should brag about their commitment to their state’s fiscal self-sufficiency.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:52 pm
And she says she told Congress “thanks, but no thanks” on the Bridge to Nowhere. Except that she ran for governor in 2006 pledging her support for the Bridge to Nowhere, then upon flip-flopping on the pledge, she kept the money to spend on other Alaska projects. “Thanks, but no thanks”? Hardly. She supported it, reneged, and kept the money anyway.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:52 pm
I think she is wearing a Blue Star Mom lapel pin…is this it, but in different colors?
http://media.hoover.org/images/sarah_palin.jpg
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:54 pm
Could be … still can’t tell for sure.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:56 pm
And what has McCain done, again, Madame Fiscal Conservative Governor? McCain-Feingold, aka the Fake Campaign Finance Reform Bill? That’s it, in 26 years in Washington? And you’re bragging about that?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:56 pm
They hauled the columns back to the guy who rented them out for the GOP convention in ‘04.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 10:59 pm
The speech is now sounding much more contrived…definitely lacking the personal touch at this point.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:01 pm
It’s a bit packed with attempts at creating memorable moments, isn’t it? Funny how the message seems to be anti-style over substance, considering.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:01 pm
Doesn’t run with the Washington herd? He’s been there for 26 friggin’ years!
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:03 pm
[Still obsessing about the doggone pin...]
Could it be an Israeli flag? If so, why?
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:06 pm
John Kerry was on a similar journey in ‘04. And the Republicans honored him as such. Wait. They denigrated his service so that they could elect someone who pulled strings to avoid having to serve.
Honor to McCain for his service. He should not be Swift Boated for it.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:08 pm
That same man was thanked for his service to his country by the Bush people with whom he is now in bed in 2000 by being Swift Boated in South Carolina as having an illegitimate black child.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:10 pm
Statement from the Obama Campaign in Response to Governor Palin’s Speech:
“The speech that Governor Palin was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush’s speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we’ve heard from George Bush for the last eight years. If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define ‘change’ as voting with George Bush 90% of the time, that’s their choice, but we don’t think the American people are ready to take a 10% chance on change,” said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:10 pm
U.S. Representative Thelma Drake, Virginia Campaign Honorary Statewide Co-Chair
“Tonight was an exciting and historic night for our Republican delegates in St. Paul and for our country. Governor Palin successfully made the case to the millions of viewers at home for why a McCain-Palin administration will be able to strengthen our economy, protect us on the home front, and provide American families with relief at the pump. Sarah Palin wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo in Anchorage and she will bring the same maverick streak to the nation’s capital. She is a woman of great courage and a proven ability to achieve results, not just empty promises. Voters in Virginia and across the country are becoming invigorated at the opportunity to support a ticket that will restore the basic Republican principles of fiscal responsibility and reforming government.”
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:11 pm
Susan Allen, Former First Lady of Virginia, Women for McCain
“Tonight was an historic night for women across our great country. It was thrilling to watch Governor Sarah Palin as she showed American voters that she is a strong leader, effective reformer, and ready to take on Washington. To change Washington, it’s going to take a team of mavericks who have a record of accomplishment in shaking up the status quo. Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be vice president. Sarah Palin makes John McCain’s ticket even stronger because, like him, she is a leader and a reformer who knows how to get things done for American families. Washington is broken and John McCain will fix it with the help of Sarah Palin.”
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:11 pm
Lori Ann Miller, Women for McCain from Alexandria, Young Republican Federation of Virginia Chairman
“Sarah Palin’s speech tonight has energized voters in Virginia to back a presidential ticket of real, proven reform. John McCain and Sarah Palin are strong leaders with the undeniable reputation of shaking things up. That’s what we need in Washington in order to accomplish real reform and achieve real results when it comes to a stronger economy, stronger military and energy independence. Governor Palin has a record of accomplishment that Barack Obama simply doesn’t have. She has spent her time in office reforming government in Alaska while Barack Obama has spent his time in office running for president. Sarah Palin is exactly who we need in Washington to help John McCain get real results for hard working families like mine. As a young professional and mother-to-be, I am proud to campaign for John McCain and Sarah Palin.”
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:12 pm
That Levi looks as uncomfortable as all get out.
Brian Rostron on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:14 pm
An ok speech. If she had any experience, then she might be credible.
Stacey Strawn on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:17 pm
Palin’s speech left me feeling empty. One thing that moved me about Obama’s speech is that it truly seemed to come from the heart.
Wolf B. just described her speech as “obviously well-written” – that sums it up for me. Reading lines.
I’m not impressed. I was ready to give her a chance, but I don’t see anything here.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:18 pm
Funny skit on Colbert last night (I just saw it tonight). He suggested that the ticket was flipped upside down, and should be Palin-McCain. Except that Palin wouldn’t be dense enough to pick someone with McCain’s lack of experience to be her running mate. Leaving us with Palin-Romney. To the point, I thought.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:25 pm
I’m sure that speech appealed to conservatives. I doubt seriously that it carried any appeal to the swing voters and Democrats who a week ago could have been crossovers.
I think that’s important to point out because the electorate in ‘08 is so different than the electorate in ‘04. In ‘04, there were more self-ID’d Republicans than there were self-ID’d Democrats. Now the demographic data shows that there are 6-10 percent more self-ID’d Dems than Repubs. A GOTV election goes the way of the Dems, just as GOTV elections in ‘04 and ‘00 went the way of the Repubs.
chrisgraham on Wed, 3rd Sep 2008 11:32 pm
They’re talking on CNN now about the ‘08 campaign igniting into a culture war with Palin on the GOP ticket now. Exactly what we need. Intense debate on abortion and gay marriage and abstinence education when our economy is in a prolonged slowdown and we’re muddled in a trillion-dollar war with no end in sight.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 8:43 am
Hey Dems, real quick question. Not withstanding all the talk about experience and non-experience please without pointing a finger at the other side please give me 5 Notable things (accomplishments) that Barack has done since taking “elected” office? I will give you winning the nomination which is a feat in itself but give me the five that that nomination was based on. Just curious. Again give me something without pointing to Palin’s lack of experience or Pres. Bush’s credentials before being elected President.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 8:47 am
You first, since it’s RNC week. Five things that McCain has done (spotting you one, McCain-Feingold, if you want that one, and few seem to). Five things in 26 years in Congress. That ought to be easy.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 8:59 am
I’m looking right now at his campaign website. Surely that has his list of accomplishments.
“(R)emarkable record of leadership and experience that embodies his unwavering lifetime commitment to service.”
That’s too vague.
“In the Senate, John continued to demand that Congress put an end to loopholes for special interests and fix the broken system in Washington that too often allows lobbyists to write legislation and members of Congress to waste taxpayer money.”
Again, that’s pretty vague.
Then we get a lot about his military service. Which is admirable, no doubt about it. You’d have to be partisan to say, though, that it’s better or worse than Barack Obama’s service as a community organizer. I know that Sarah Palin made light of it last night to guffaws from the RNC crowd, but that was more her speechwriter trying to get a cheap pop than the mean-spirited attack that it would otherwise seem to be. Unless the GOP now wants to demean the efforts of people to work with seniors and people out of work and unwed mothers and people in general working to get back on their feet. Which is to say, the there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I’s out there.
This is why Democrats have a problem with the attacks on Obama’s experience. McCain’s bio page on his campaign website would seem to be the place to tout his experience, and we get nothing but the fact that he has served in Congress and served in the military and was a POW.
So now, Aaron, since you brought this up, could we get you to agree that this experience issue that the McCain camp has been trying to get us to hold as the key to this election is a wash, and move on to discussing things that actually matter, like how we’re going to get our economy moving again, and what we’re going to do about Iraq and terrorism and the rest? Because otherwise we’re going to end up debating a couple of thin resumes at the top of each party ticket for the next two months.
Brian Rostron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:08 am
I don’t understand why Republicans refer to “community organizer” is the same sneering way that one might say “drug kingpin.” Here’s the description from Wikipedia:
“After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago’s far South Side.[12][14] During his three years as the DCP’s director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants’ rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[15]”
So it was a faith-based program helping people in a disadvantaged area improve economically? I thought that this was what Republicans wanted.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:10 am
That’s a nice political answer and nice try at spinning the question but not exactly what I asked. I am asking an honest question in hopes for an honest answer. Nothing political just the truth about your candidate’s record.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:19 am
Back ‘atcha, Aaron. Your side is the one that has made experience the issue. Unless you can point to your own guy’s record and say that it is out of the park, then what’s the issue? Is the election supposed to be about McCain being on Capitol Hill for 26 years and getting his name on one piece of legislation and Obama being on the Hill for four years and getting his name on no significant pieces of legislation, or about what they would do when elected to lead our country from 2009-2013?
You’re the one who brought the issue up, so go with it. Tell us what is in McCain’s record that gives him and his backers the ability to say that he has experience and Barack Obama does not. Age and longevity notwithstanding, I think we both know what the answer there is.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:32 am
Again, no answer to my question. Why the rhetoric again about McCain and his record? I am asking you to give me 5 notable things that Barack Obama has done since being “elected” to public office and I am not seeing any answers. I am not commenting on this blog as a McCain supporter trying to bash Barack but as a curious individual. All questions are not political ones.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:32 am
Just so you know, Aaron, I’m really not trying to obfuscate here. You came out swinging a partisan jackhammer with the way you worded your comment. I have a long list of Obama legislative accomplishments that I’ve been compiling for a column on the subject. Maybe I ought to go ahead and write that column today, and to be fair, I ought to also do some research on McCain’s record and list some of the items on his record as well.
You seem to be trying to drive home the partisan point that Barack Obama is all style and no substance. I’ve been responding to drive home the point that two can very easily play that game. I understand why the McCain team is trying to make an issue of this. The issues just aren’t on their side right now. So instead of talking issues, let’s blow smoke about the fact that Obama is 47. Maybe they shouldn’t have put a 44-year-old beside McCain to buttress that argument, but I’m not running their show.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:33 am
Or should I say politically based.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:37 am
What jackhammer am I swinging? Why can’t I ask a simple question without it being deemed as partisan. Let me go back and read my original comment…..
Nope, don’t see anything partisan unless you really want it to look like that. No hidden agenda, just a question.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:48 am
Then I misread.
“Hey Dems, real quick question.” That comes across as partisan to me.
“Not withstanding all the talk about experience and non-experience please without pointing a finger at the other side please give me 5 Notable things (accomplishments) that Barack has done since taking “elected” office?” Argumentative, but you’re right, you’re asking a question.
“I will give you winning the nomination which is a feat in itself but give me the five that that nomination was based on. Just curious. Again give me something without pointing to Palin’s lack of experience or Pres. Bush’s credentials before being elected President.” Somewhat argumentative, again, maybe just to me,but that’s my read.
If it was just a question of curiosity, you could leave the “Hey Dems” out. And the line about not pointing to Palin’s lack of experience and George W. Bush’s credentials.
Let me respond below in a new comment line … thanks for the question, of course!
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 10:53 am
No, the reason I said Dems, was reading the comments on this particular post was that it was obvious that everyone commenting was voting Dem. this election. Just a generalization and the reason I said nothing about Sarah Palin or Pres. Bush was because you did what everyone else has done and turned it to her experience and what Pres. Bush’s experience was before becoming Commander in Chief.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:01 am
Palin’s experience today and George W. Bush’s experience in 2000 is of course quite relevant in any discussion of the relatve experience of the two presidential tickets. I hope that you can see that.
Scooping my own planned column, then, here are (at least) five Obama legislative accomplishments.
Illinois state senator
- Obama proposed legislation requiring that police interrogations and confessions be videotaped. It seems commonsensical, but the bill got caught up for a time in the old Republicans like to say they’re tough on crime, and Democrats don’t want to be seen as soft on crime tete-a-tete. Police groups also opposed the legislation initially, but the legislation eventually won approval in the State Senate by a unanimous vote. When it was signed into law, Illinois became the first state to require that interrogations and confessions be videotaped.
- Obama was also instrumental in the passage of Illinois’ first earned-income tax credit and the state’s first ethics and campaign-finance reforms since the Watergate era.
United States senator
- More on ethics reform: Obama sponsored legislation that created a federal database of federal grant and contract recipients, which is big for government transparency fans out there. He hasn’t been successful with his push to create an independent Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission and his bill to criminalize deceptive election tactics like deceptive robocalls (like the kind that I fell victim to in my local city-council campaign a few months ago). I admire the effort, of course.
- Foreign policy: There’s the bipartisan Lugar-Obama legislation that has helped decrease the threat of old nukes and biological and chemical weapons from the old Soviet Union getting in the wrong hands.
- Veterans affairs: The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act addressed the treatment of military veterans post-9/11.
- Katrina: Obama authored an amendment putting strict limits on the use of no-bid contracts after natural disasters.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:18 am
What I like about the work that Obama has done is that he has been able to work (like McCain has been) across party lines to get things done (evident in the Illinois interrogations bill and the ethics and foreign-policy bills in the United States Senate). And the focus on government transparency has been a highlight for me as well (which is something that the McCain folks are touting in Palin).
In one sense, the close-to-being identical records of Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin on bipartisanship and ethics and government transparency could be pushing the high degree of partisan bickering that we’re seeing from the two sides and will see through Eleciton Day. We basically have mirror images in Obama (young reformer) and Biden (old warrior) on the one side and McCain (old warrior) and Palin (young reformer) on the other.
To be sure, there’s a wide gulf between the two sides on where our country goes from here to 2013. I back Obama-Biden because I think we need to get our budget back into balance to restrengthen our dollar, which pushes the price of imported goods back down and pushes gas prices back down as well, and I think we need to let the Iraqis take care of Iraq and focus our efforts on fighting the actual war on terror in Afghanistan and whatever other hot spots might flare up in the future.
Obama-Biden has pledged to get the budget back into balance by expiring the Bush tax cuts on the superwealthy and by paring down federal spending. McCain-Palin would protect the tax cuts for the superwealthy and isn’t doing more than paying lip service to cutting federal spending. I fear greatly that we’re going to run ourselves into long-term economic distress if their way becomes the way.
Same for our foreign wars. Iraq was a mistake, but that debate is a debate of the past. The present and future dictates that we put ourselves in a position to be able to fight and win the war on terror in Afghanistan and be able to respond at a moment’s notice if other international situations develop. I fear that we are basically hamstrung right now as being overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan to a point where we couldn’t respond to another crisis should one come up in the future. Obama-Biden has put out there a plan of action to address this problem. To date, McCain-Palin has only promised (sloganeering alert) more of the same. (I couldn’t think of a better way to say it than that. Sorry.)
I apologize if this comes across as partisan. It’s not intended to be partisan. I’m not the type to vote for any jackass as long as he’s a Democratic jackass. This election is too important to reduce the issues to soundbites and zingers and one-liners. The long-term social and economic viability of our republic is at stake.
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:22 am
Thanks. I am looking into all these especially the earned-income tax credit. In looking for this info I found this that I thought you may be interested in.
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats have talked about repealing President Bush’s tax cuts for upper-income Americans. But those who earn the most money – and invest the most in the economy – are already paying almost all federal personal income taxes, a recent report reveals.
Congress’ Joint Economic Committee disclosed that the richer half of the American population pays nearly 97 percent of income taxes. Most of that, 54 percent, is paid by those in the top 5 percent, Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) disclosed.
And the richest of the rich – just the top 1 percent – pay a hefty 34 percent of all personal income taxes collected by the federal government.
Meanwhile, about 14 million lower-income Americans have been removed from the income tax rolls since 2000 due to the earned income tax credit and the per-child tax credit, IBD reports.”
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:31 am
I appreciate your honesty and to be honest with you I do not agree with some of the things you stated but that is what makes our country great. I do agree that wasteful spending needs to stop and that the budget needs to be balanced and the less we depend on other countries the better.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:34 am
That’s from our friends at Newsmax.com, the conservative website.
I would quibble with their partisan observation that the superweatlhy “invest the most in the economy.” Consumer spending drives our economy now, and working-class and middle-class families commit a much, much higher proportion of their income to consumer spending than do the superwealthy.
This news bit also fails to take into account a complete picture of taxes that includes monies paid in sales taxes, property taxes and FICA (working- and middle-class families pay a much higher share of their income in sales taxes than do the superwealthy).
Newsmax has a reason for leaving this information out of their analysis.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:38 am
I’ll point out as well for posterity (and I’ve said this more than once here on the AFP) that I voted for McCain in the 2000 primary. I liked the 2000 McCain. The 2008 McCain I think has sold his political soul to the Bush team. The people in charge of his campaign (Steve Schmidt et al) are former Bush campaign people who have taken the McCain that I once liked and until a few months ago thought would have been a good second choice if my preferred choice of Obama didn’t make it in and turned him into Bush Light.
I don’t want a Bush Light or Bush Heavy or Bush Anything. It’s time for a change. If Obama loses, then I’ll pray that McCain comes to his senses and tells the Bush people who helped get him elected to go to hell. I have to say that his selection of their favored candidate for VP makes me worry more than I was before.
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:41 am
Aaron, by the way, I’m still hanging out here waiting for McCain’s accomplishments …
Aaron on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 11:47 am
I’ll see if I can’t dig up a couple things from the ‘ole Mavrick to put on here. Your last comment on the VP has me wondering why the worry?
chrisgraham on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 12:21 pm
The reporting on the selection matter has it that McCain was intent on going with Lieberman, to me a bad move politically, if only because it would have completely de-energized the base. But he was going that way, and Lieberman himself has confirmed that this week, at least from his base of knowledge. And then the campaign people started lobbying to go in another direction, and Palin was ushered in without the thorough vetting that had been given the other top candidates.
I don’t care a bit about her family issue. My focus is on her record as Alaska governor, where spending is much, much higher per capita than it is in Virginia, and her record in the town where she served as mayor, again where spending is out of line with what most people that I know would be comfortable with. That’s one. Two is this ethics issue that would worry the heck out of Republicans and supporters of the McCain ticket. I don’t think that one’s going to go away that easily. And don’t dismiss it as being partisan. The legislature that is investigating her is majority Republican.
So back to the worry that I hinted to above – McCain seems to have been pressured into doing something that could end up hurting him badly in November.If he survives that and is elected, I wonder if his caving in to the Bush crowd won’t be a sign of more of that kind of thing to come.