McCain picks Sarah Palin as VP

[M.Night]

Originally Posted by Sarah Palin

your face!!!

Sarah Palin is my booty cal

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by TuralyonW3

NObama - No Way - KNOW McCAIN!

Q. Obama agrees with Sen. Clinton on most issues. Why not vote for him?
A. If agreeing with Sen. Clinton is all that is required then there would be 18 million of us running for president.

Q. What about Roe v. Wade?
A. The DNC backhands women and then dangles Roe v. Wade over their head... not working!

Q. Don't TRUE Dems vote Dem ?
A. TRUE Americans don't belong to racist churches for 20 years. I will not reward this!

i read that too and gagged. a catalogue of horrendous arguments. really, this should be put in some textbook on logic as a study exercise on spotting fallacies

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

So there are prominent scientists that you consider intellectual lightweights?

Edit: Creationists in the broad sense that sppunk described, my apologies

"creationist" has never meant "believer in a creator" or just a fact of "creation." either stop using it in this sense of pick a different word. its ludicrous that you guys are defending actual creationism by using some fake creationism

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

The VP doesn't really *need* foreign affairs skills... we're used to Bill Clinton/GW using their Veeps as sort of foreign dignitaries. The VP can be whatever the President wants them to be. McCain is solid in foreign affairs, he doesn't need Palin to help him out with that, like Obama needs Biden for that.

Blah blah blah, McCain could croak, yada yada... he's a healthy guy. Even if that did happen, it'd be a few years, long enough for her to get some OJT. VP is the ultimate in Presidential OJT.

As far as debate, when Biden brags about his years in the Senate and his foreign policy cred, Palin can turn it against him by pointing the Republicans have the foreign policy experience where it really counts... at the top of the ticket.

a VP needs every set of skills a president would possibly need, including foreign policy. this has never been more true with john mccain, a 72 year old who could keel over/have dementia set in at any moment

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by AndySlash

It wasn't clear since no one responded, but the spirit of my posts was in her defense. NOBODY knows what the VP does on a daily basis. Only one person mocked it here, but on other boards and news blogs people got a good chuckle out of that soundbite until it was pointed out that none of them had any fucking clue, either.

pffft. as if all things are equal -- they dont know, she doesnt know, its all the same! but, uh, theyre not running for the position of VP. it means something more for someone running for the position to not know what it is than for some TV pundit to not know.

[Future Boy]

Originally Posted by beef curtains

I sure as fuck hope you don't live in a battleground state

I dont. It's very liberating being in a state that doesnt matter.

[wally]

Originally Posted by Corganist

Just watch. Biden's been cut off at the knees now. If he goes negative (as he's so apt to do), then don't think for a second that the GOP won't pull out the "way to pick on a girl, asshole" card. And it'll probably work, since Biden has such a tendency to get nasty and let his mouth get ahead of his brain. It's gonna be hard for Biden to find the right balance I think.

If she can't handle Biden being tough on her, how the hell is she going to handle an international crisis?

Putin: "We're going to bomb your country"

Palin's husband: "Stop picking on my wife, she's only a girl!"

Fuck, this is presidential politics, not freeze tag.

[Fritter]

Well after reading that Hilary Clinton message board it's clear that rationalism doesn't count for shit in this race.

[Future Boy]

has it ever?

[killtrocity]

[Andrew_Pakula]

From: http://www.electoral-vote.com/

The Veep: A Short Play in One Act

Sometimes fiction is a better vehicle for getting inside someone's mind. Besides, it's all we have. Here is a short play for two actors. Let's call them Schmidt, a tough, savvy consultant, and McCain, a candidate. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Schmidt: McCain, Get your ass over here and look at this map.

McCain: It's the U.S. with the states red and blue. Seen it before. What's your point?

Schmidt: Obama's gonna win all the Kerry States. You have a small chance to pick off New Hampshire but 60% of the people think you're pro choice. When they find out you've been pro life for 25 years, forget New Hampshire.

McCain: Where does that leave me?

Schmidt: Bush won 286 to 252.

McCain: Fine with me.

Schmidt: But wait a minute. Obama campaigned like crazy in Iowa. Won the caucuses big time. You barely set foot in the state. The people of Iowa take their caucuses very, very seriously. You insulted them. Make that 279 to 259.

McCain: I still win.

Schmidt: We're not done yet. Obama has been leading in New Mexico all year. State's full of Latinos. They preferred Clinton but they're still Democrats at heart. I think we're toast there. Now its 274 to 264.

McCain: A win is a win. Still better than Florida was.

Schmidt: Yeah, but now Obama is just 5 EVs short of a tie (which means it goes to the House and he'll win there) and 6 EVs short of a clean win. Look, there are six swing states this time: Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Nevada. We have to win all six of them. Can't lose a single state or we're dead meat.

McCain: I'm a fighter. You know that. The gooks couldn't break me. I'll campaign like hell in all six. Don't worry.

Schmidt: I'm worried. We're 50-50 on all six. It's like flipping a coin six times and getting six heads. One chance in 64, roughly 2%. We have to do something dramatic. Something that will throw all calculations out the window. Something that completely shakes up everything. Something that gives us a fresh start. Gotta hit the RESET button.

McCain: Have something in mind?

Schmidt: Yeah. Pick a black or a woman for Veep.

McCain: You mean I can't pick Joe? He's my friend and a great guy.

Schmidt: Half the convention would walk out. Besides, Jews aren't a novelty any more. Thank Gore for that.

McCain:. Shit. But blacks are fine with me. Colin Powell is a great American and one of the most respected people in the country.

Schmidt: He doesn't want the job

McCain: No sweat. Condi's the smartest woman I know. Mind like a bear trap. She'll run rings around Biden at the debate. She'll say: "I've been there. I talk to Putin every week. You're just an old windbag"

Schmidt: She's got "BUSH III" emblazoned on her forehead. And Obama is a happily married man with two adorable little girls, Condi's a single black woman who is apparently not much into families. Won't work. What about Kay [Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)]?

McCain: She's tired of the Washington rat race. She wants to go back to Texas. Be governor or something, you know like Ma Ferguson.

Schmidt: Ma's husband, the governor, was impeached and convicted. Ann Richards would be a better role model. What other women do we have?

McCain: Jodi [Rell] and Olympia [Snowe] are smart and popular but pro choice. The Base distrusts me already. They'd mutiny.

Schmidt: Elizabeth Dole? Susan Collins?

McCain: With either of those we lose a Senate seat. I don't want to have 60 Democrats to deal with over there. Reid might grow a spine. Can't encourage that.

Schmidt: Lisa Murkowski?

McCain: Her dad appointed her. She won on her own later, but I don't need to deal with nepotism and cronyism. Smells like Bush. I'm a maverick, remember?

Schmidt: Got it. Some businesswomen? Sarah Palin?

McCain: Carly [Fiorina] is great on economics, but she nearly she ran her company into the ground so the board fired her and then gave her $40 million so she wouldn't feel bad. The 20,000 people she fired aren't too keen on her. Meg Whitman did a fantastic job at eBay but nobody's ever heard of her.

Schmidt: So Palin's the only one left? What about her?

McCain: I met her once, at a governors meeting. Cute as a button. She ran for Miss Alaska. Came in second. I woulda voted for her. But it's a real Hail Mary pass. She's popular up north there where the sun never shines (except for some minor problems when she tried to fire her state trooper brother-in-law). She was pregnant with a Down syndrome baby and didn't abort him. The Base will love that. Her hobbies are riding her motorcycle and hunting moose. The coal miners in Appalachia will go wild over her. How fast can we print a million 8x10 color photos of her for their lockers?

Schmidt: Fast. But what about her experience. I mean, she's only been governor a year and a half. What did she do before that?

McCain: I think she was mayor of some village with six igloos. Who cares? I think you're right we have to shake things up completely. Change the game. The Base will eat her up on abortion, the Hillary fans will see that we respect women (unlike their guy). We grab the mantle of reformers. The white guys will be transfixed by this hot chick who hunts moose. I get to be Maverick-in-chief. Sounds like a winner.

Schmidt: What about the debate with Biden? What if the moderator says: "What would you do if Russia invaded Georgia again?" and she says: "I'll get on Air Force One and fly to Atlanta immediately."

McCain: Most Americans can't find Georgia the state on a map, let alone Georgia the country. I'll get Lugar to tutor her on foreign policy. He knows everything about it. I'm sold. Let's go for it.

[JokeyLoki]

Originally Posted by Ol' Couch Ass

Man the dems are fucked. I don't think they have an answer for the massive number of housewives in bumfuck Ohio and Florida who are going to vote McCain just because he has a skirt on the ticket regardless of her evolution/abortion stances. BRILLIANT tactical move.

Kinda like all the black voters who will vote for Obama just because he's black?

Pretty irritating, isn't it?

[Fritter]

Originally Posted by Future Boy

has it ever?

Nope, but that's why "don't pick on her" shit will definitely be in play. The way elections are done in the US seams to completely pander to it. I'm not saying it's particularly better over here, but there's much more of "lets get this shit over with" attitude towards the whole process.

[Debaser]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

Kinda like all the black voters who will vote for Obama just because he's black?

Pretty irritating, isn't it?

Do you know what percentage of the U.S. population is black?

[sppunk]

Originally Posted by Debaser

Do you know what percentage of the U.S. population is black?

Thank you.

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by wally

If she can't handle Biden being tough on her, how the hell is she going to handle an international crisis?

Putin: "We're going to bomb your country"

Palin's husband: "Stop picking on my wife, she's only a girl!"

Fuck, this is presidential politics, not freeze tag.

I'm not saying she won't be able to handle Biden being tough on her. I'm just saying that if Biden attacks her then it could be to the GOP's advantage to play the "he's picking on a girl!" card, especially if Biden is his usual smug and bullying self. It's more about playing up how big an asshole Biden is than it is about how well she handles him. I'm sure she can take whatever Biden (or Putin, for that matter) can dish out...but the voters don't necessarily have to know that.

[sleeper]

corgy, youre voting republican this fall, yeah? does palin make you more or less enthusiastic about voting republican? which republican candidate do you wish won the primaries?

[M.Night]

is sarah palin related to mike palin from monthy pyton?

[Corganist]

Originally Posted by sleeper

corgy, youre voting republican this fall, yeah? does palin make you more or less enthusiastic about voting republican?

There were some names floating around there that could have spelled total disaster if McCain had picked them, and I wasn't confident that McCain had enough sense in his head to not pick them anyway. The fact that he avoided the pitfalls and didn't shoot himself in the foot is probably the most encouraging thing to me. There were a lot of picks that would have made me less enthusiastic about voting GOP this fall, and a couple that I would have been okay with, but only in a "least of all evils" sort of way. Palin doesn't really fit either of those categories (mainly because she wasn't really on my radar), so I guess all in all I'd consider the pick a net positive in my mind.

It's also a bonus that people seem to be excited about the pick. When you compare the reaction to this pick to the "ho-hum" reaction that came on the heels of Obama picking Biden, it seems like you've gotta say the GOP has done something right for once. I dare say the buzz surrounding this pick has made people already forget about the "greatest speech ever given" (#12948934859) by Obama Thursday night.

which republican candidate do you wish won the primaries?

Of the ones that ran? That's like asking which venereal disease I'd prefer. I think Romney and then Huckabee were probably the two I'd have voted for if I had a gun to my head. But I pretty much abstained during the primaries rather than vote for any of those guys (plus McCain had already sewn it up by the time my state's primaries came around). I wanted a do-over with some real Republicans.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by Corganist

I'm sure she can take whatever Biden (or Putin, for that matter) can dish out...but the voters don't necessarily have to know that.

Hmmm, I wonder what you might be basing that on considering her weak political background and that fact that she, of your own admission, was not on your radar.

But the Republicans have been busy the last 24 hours trying to convince voters that she'll be a "quick study" and has great foreign policy experience because Alaska is right next to Russia and her son is going to Iraq. I'm sure she's qualified to be president, as all mothers are.

[Future Boy]

Originally Posted by Debaser

Do you know what percentage of the U.S. population is black?

Well to be fair the population of housewives in bumfuck Ohio and Florida cant be much bigger.

[ryan patrick]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

Kinda like all the black voters who will vote for Obama just because he's black?

Pretty irritating, isn't it?

do you realize that around 90% of blacks voted for Gore and Kerry?

[Euronomus]

[jm9843]

McCain is going to be pissed that there is a photo of his vagina floating around on the internet!

[TuralyonW3]

Originally Posted by JokeyLoki

Kinda like all the black voters who will vote for Obama just because he's black?

Pretty irritating, isn't it?

Ignorant statement. How many blacks do you think would vote for a Republican ticket after Katrina, no matter who the democrat candidate was? And in a broader note, the Republican party has been completey disconnected from, and frequently straight up racist to, the black population for years. That builds up a valid mistrust. Look at this disgusting worldnetdaily article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=73276

[TuralyonW3]

Palin:

* She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.
* Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
* She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.
* She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
* How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.



Alaskans on Palin:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

[skippy]

Originally Posted by TuralyonW3

Palin:

* She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.
* Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
* She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.
* She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
* How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.



Alaskans on Palin:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

Looks like someone got the moveon.org talking points e-mail lol.

[TuralyonW3]

Originally Posted by skippy

Looks like someone got the moveon.org talking points e-mail lol.

I try to get a few different ones from both sides, it's interesting to see the different perspectives. MoveOn.org is pretty rabidly left and silly sometimes.

[jm9843]

Maybe she'll be a better veep than she was a sportscaster? I doubt it.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/9...sofdogsbr6.jpg

Link.

[jm9843]

From the Anchorage Daily News: Palin's responses on radio talk show very unbecoming