The Best, The Worst, and the Utterly Perplexing from the 2008 Election

My best attempt at non-partisan commentary wrap-up on this election season. I'm sure there are other moments, but just a few I threw together while wasting time on a Sunday morning.

For those having trouble viewing video on my site, I'm going to always try to include url links to embedded video.

Simply The Best category:

Yes we can. Greatest speech by a political leader in the United States in the 21st Century. Certainly the greatest concession speech ever given. January 8, 2008. For the full video of the speech, go here.



From the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally in Anchorage, AK, on September 14, 2008. h/t Mudflats.


























You can't argue with the power of 18 million cracks. Despite what anyone thinks I think, I actually do think that Hillary exited this hard-fought race with dignity and grace.











"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."
Video here.

Campbell Brown is my hero. Here she is giving her now famous "Free Sarah Palin" editorial.


Other clear winners in the media portion of this election cycle: Jack Cafferty, Rachael Maddow, and yes, Keith Olbermann. Jury still out on Chris Matthews. I have also been somewhat impressed by Pat Buchanan's ability to gain a broader, occassionally non-partisan view of reality. Jon Stewart's commentary didn't seem as biting this year as the folks on the legitimate news themselves.

Then there's The Worst. Who can forget these memorable moments? I get verklempt just thinking of these.

The hands-down winner? Or should I say the "hands-up" winners??

"Senator McCain....Do you believe in evolution?"

"Yes".

"I'm curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not believe in evolution?"

Question asked during the GOP primary debate.

For those of you scoring at home, from left to right that's Brownback, Huckabee and Tancredo with their stupidity showing hands raised. Video here.

"Our opponent … is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." Sarah Palin stump speech, various locations.

The Ashley Todd racism incident that wasn't.

Who can forget the mocking of community organizing that went on at the Republican Convention?
This goes beyond offensive in my book. Rudy Guiliani is a dick.

Head-scratching Moments:

Video here.

KATIE COURIC: "You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?"

SARAH PALIN: "That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land boundary that we have with, uh, Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to, char..., I don't know, you know... reporters."

KATIE COURIC: "Mocked."

SARAH PALIN: "Yeah. Mocked. I guess that's the word. Yah."

KATIE COURIC: "Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials."

SARAH PALIN: "Well, it certainly does because our..our next-door neighbors are foreign countries there in the state that I am the executive of."

I'd go on, but honestly, I find it too painful and I was trying to be non-partisan.

Pat Buchannan flip-flops on Sarah Palin selection. My favorite part is where he says "If I was a Republican I would have been disheartened going to my convention if they had chosen an good man, a nice guy, in Gov. Pawlenty, we wouldn't even be talking about this."

IF he was a Republican?

Holy Crap! Pants on Fire!

Cable television, talk radio and even shows like “Access Hollywood” seemed gripped with sartorial fever after campaign finance reports confirmed that the Republican National Committee spent $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue in September for Ms. Palin and her family. New York Times article here.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are." Chicago Tribune article here.

That's right Sarah Baby. It wasn't $150K, it was $124487. But in the world of campaign finance reports versus Governor Sarah Palin, I'm pretty sure I've picked a winner in this death-match. I just hope it doesn't burn too badly when those designer pant suits catch on fire.

It ain't a "gotcha" moment just because they've nailed your ass to the wall

If you replace the sweaty, smoke-stained terror of Nathan Thurm with the cutsie, dimple-laded scoff of Sarah Palin, the parallels are uncanny.





It was all a big joke then, but 60 Minutes used to actually make people sweat. Those were the days before the corporations took over the media outlets and got the de facto upper hand on the media. Why in God's name Katie Couric didn't say what everyone was thinking is beyond me. WTF is that woman talking about?

Sarah Palin is not a Joke. This is Drop-Dead Serious Stuff.

The election is 4 weeks away. At this point, for me, there is only one issue in this election that matters. I'll give you a hint. It's not the economy.

Sarah Palin's performance in the vp debate was, by media pundit standards, "not awful". And the bar has been set so low for her that "not awful" apparently translates into credibility as a candidate and potential vice president. I don't know how to tell them, but no it doesn't.

There is only one way for me to describe what I saw coming from Sarah Palin during the vice-presidential debate last Thursday night: The Stupid. It Burns.

What did she say that was so stupid?

1. The vice presidency has "flexibility" inherent in it. That is to say that she supports Dick Cheney's "unitary executive". Although I doubt very seriously she has any idea what Cheney means by that. I doubt she has any idea how Cheney has changed the vice presidency. I doubt she has any idea how Cheney has trampled the Constitution. I doubt she has any idea how Cheney's expanded role misled the country into war, threatened and continues to threaten our prosperity and security, was responsible for setting up prisons of torture, and did all of it with blatant disregard for the law, the Constitution, the will of the people, and basic humanity. IMO, Dick Cheney is a war criminal. I suspect that her original statement to the press about the vice presidency is reality: she has no idea what a vice president does all day. She doesn't know because she's probably never read the f***king Constitution of the United States of America. How in the world she could swear before her God and her country to defend something she lacks basic understanding of is beyond me. The Stupid. It Burns.

2. If Palin didn't know the answer, she answered a question she did know the answer to and justified it by implying that in doing so, she was a maverick like John McCain. At one point she said to Joe Biden, "I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you want to hear." Somehow, she was under the mistaken impression that Joe Biden and Gwen Ifill were her constituency. She forgot one little group that might have an interest in her actually answering the questions posed: the American public. The Stupid. It Burns.

3. A shout out to Sarah Palin. You are not the MC of the high school pep rally anymore. That comment about school kids wasn't cute. It said to me that you weren't taking the debate seriously. The Stupid. It what? That's right. Burns, burns, burns.

4. She has gone on record as saying that she believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible. That is to say that she fervently believes the Earth is 6000 years old, that dinosaurs walked with humans, that abortion is wrong in all cases except for saving the life of the mother (which I doubt seriously she believes as well, but this is likely a compromise), that she was helped in her campaign to become governor by a fundamentalist minister who prayed over her (a minister, who, BTW, claims to have chased a witch out of his village), that God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, etc. Just think of this. She believes in a Earth-cleansing flood, tablets carved by the hand of God, the tower of Babel, the parting of the Red Sea, water into wine, walking on water, the creation of all life in 6 days. You name it, she's buying it. She believes that life is unchanging, that the prophesies are real, and she looks forward to the apocalypse. As Matt Damon pointed out, I don't want THAT having the nuclear codes. Oh, and Sarah dear? It's nuclear not nuke-u-lure. And I've got a mushroom cloud of burn.

If anyone can show me some reason....any reason at all....to believe that this woman has grasped a fundamental understanding and preparedness for the crushing responsibilities of the position to which she aspires, please, please, please....I beg of you....point them out to me now.

In claiming that Dick Cheney was "the most dangerous vice president we've had in American history", Joe Biden only had it partially right. If McCain is elected, that honor will be lauded upon a Vice President Palin. It is the job of the vice president to serve as second in command. To take the President's place should he or she be incapacitated. She is patently incapable of assuming this responsibility and fulfilling her role. That means that someone else will be running the country from the sidelines, and THAT someone is not someone we voted for.

At this moment in history, Sarah Palin is the most dangerous woman in the world. And the reason she is so is all John McCain's fault. For me, there is no choice in this election.

The Stupid. It Burns. And if they win, there will be nothing left but scorched Earth.

The Ya-Ya Sisterhood of the Non-Dangling Pants Parts

Ok, this is a response to J's post, which itself was a commentary to Emily Bazelon's article on Slate.

Here's the question. Do I, by virtue of having girly bits, feel some kinship with Sarah Palin? Do I, deep down inside, secretly want her to win (or at least do well) because she's one of us? Am I conflicted by the fact that I don't share a single personal value with this candidate, but want to vote for a woman? Am I anti-feminist if I don't applaud her ascent to power? Do I feel sorry for her because she isn't doing well?

Fuck.That.Shit.

Oh it's not that I don't want to see a woman succeed. It's just that I don't believe in a vagina network. My version of feminism isn't that women are pulling for one another, working as a group to overcome. Save the kum-ba-ya crap for church camp. Hey! I didn't contribute one of those 18 million cracks in Hillary's glass ceiling. IMO, that's not the purpose of feminism. The objective of feminism is to create a world where what's inside my pants ceases to matter unless I am actually using it at the time. This means that no woman should get a free pass to the front of the line. That means that if a woman gets to the highest level in her field, they shouldn't move the goalposts so she can, you know, serve as a role model. When everyone is allowed access to the same opportunities, how far we go is an individual endeavor. I'm not a feminist, per se. I just believe in equal opportunity.

Call me cold. Call me an anti-feminist. (You'd be dead wrong, but give it a go anyway.) I don't believe in double standards. There is one standard. If you are a woman and want to enter a traditionally male field, don't expect a paradigm shift to accommodate you. First woman entering the field? Little head's up for you. You are probably going to suck at it. You are probably going to be put down, second guessed, and judged more harshly than they'd ever judge one of their own. Is it worth it to you?

Ask Hillary Clinton that one. I think she'd say yes.

Maybe I'm insufficiently sentimental, but I have, without even knowing or understanding it, approached my entire life based on the idea that my gender doesn't limit me, excuse me, or condemn me. The only thing that truly limits me is me. I have met exceedingly few obstacles in my life that couldn't be driven over, around, or a detour found. Oh, I have experienced sexism. I just haven't allowed it to make a victim of me. I consider myself successful. Not a blazing light in the wilderness, but a little more than a bic lighter. A sea of bic lighters might make it easier to see, but it isn't the same as being the blazing light.

I know I'm going to hear it. The old "you're harder on women than other minorities."

Not really. Because I think the same should be true of all irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, place of birth, yadda, yadda, yadda. I didn't grow up in this "let's give all the kids a trophy so they feel good" era. I grew up where accomlishment and recognition were earned. And not everybody made it. Sometimes I failed. Sometimes I succeeded.

I do not want to be judged by a woman's standard in a man's world. I don't want special accommodation. I want to know when I make it that I made it on my own merits. If I had to work harder, my accomplishment is all the more satisfying. And I don't mind that other women have to work as hard. Intelligence, competence, ambition, hard work, and a little luck. You have to have drive to achieve. You have to want it and never say die.

I didn't buy into Clinton's "I'm doing this for Chelsea" bologna, and I don't feel sorry for Sarah Palin because she bit off more than she could chew. I remember once I found myself in the finals at a summer swim meet. THE FINALS. Ok, so I was in the far outside lane indicating that I made the finals by the skin of my teeth, but there I was. And I swam my heart out. And when I finished and looked up, everyone else was already done. More than one girl was already out of the pool. I came in dead last. Embarrassingly last. Slinking out of the pool and hoping no one asks my name last.

Welcome to my world, Sarah Palin. Sometimes the competition is vastly superior to you. And you have to learn to be okay with that. And not because you are a woman, but because that's how it is. America is a tough town. You can believe in yourself all you want, but sometimes you just come up lacking.

Sarah Palin isn't getting my vote...not because I don't want to see women succeed. She won't get my vote because she took an end run around to the front of the line. She didn't earn it. Ok, so she's also a neanderthal in her thinking and grossly unsuited and unqualified for the job. That's just gravy.

SNL just keeps getting better

Whoa. You don't see this on television every day

Jack Cafferty is a bit upset about Sarah Palin. The volley with Wolf Blitzer at the end is the best.

Cafferty's lead in: There is a reason that the McCain campaign away from the press. I want to play an excerpt that Palin did with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric where she was asked about the bailout package.

He then plays the now infamous Couric bailout question.

His response?

“Did you get that? If John McCain wins, this woman will be one 72-year-old’s heartbeat away from being President of the United States. If that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, it should. Here’s the question: is Governor Sarah Palin qualified to be President? Go to CNN.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog.“

(To Wolf Blitzer) “I’m 65 and have been covering politics, as you have, for a long time. That is one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen for someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country. That’s all I have to say.”
Blitzer: “Yeah, but she’s cramming a lot of information….”

Cafferty: “That’s…there’s no excuse for that. She’s supposed to know a little bit of this. You know. Don’t make excuses for her. That’s pathetic.”
Blitzer: “It was not her best answer. I…I agree with you.”

Also here:
Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria eviscerates Sarah Palin's selection as McCain's vp.

McChicken Little: The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling

Ok, only a quick note this morning because I have to teach and I can't find the slides the kids are supposed to use.

John McCain has suggested that both presidential candidates suspend their campaigns and cancel the debate this Friday to concentrate on passing a bailout for the beleaguered financial markets (i.e., Wall Street). He is actually saying he's not going to show up for the debate unless some bailout is passed by Friday.

*crickets*

If you are very, very quiet, I think you can hear John McCain blink. How do you feel about a candidate that wants the world to stop so he can concentrate? On a crisis (supposedly) that no one has *IMO* given a strong and compelling reason the American public should shoulder. Weigh in with your opinion here.

I guess we should stop the world for McCain, because, you know, a president might not have to deal with the pressures of two wars, suicide bombings in Israel and Pakistan, the escalation of a new Cold War, your daughter's illegitimate pregnancy and underage drinking problems, and an economic crisis of epic proportions at the same time.

Ok, IMO, John McCain has already suspended his campaign by his own failure to have his ticket communicate with the American public to the legitimate news media. But let's give the old man some slack. The youthful running mate isn't much help in the economic department either. An interview between Sarah Palin and Katie Couric emerged last night. She doesn't think America is interested in Obama's approach to this crisis? Is she daft? And the McCain ticket doesn't want to help homeowners who are caught between the cross-hairs because they made bad decisions and doing so might help predatory lenders. She can't even offer even one specific example of McCain's pushing for more regulation on anything without "getting back to ya". Spoiler warning: it's painful to watch. She just keeps repeating the ticket's idiotic lies and rambles incoherently.

Another video emerged of this witch-hunting African preacher praying for Sarah Palin to win the governor's house. Hat tip to Mudflats, where you can find breaking and facinating updates on the Troopergate investigation.

Happy Thursday!

Campbell Brown is my Hero of the Day

I have embedded a new video on the sidebar featuring D-fav Campbell Brown's latest rant.

Enjoy her completely accurate rationale.

Troopergate Firing Tied to Anti-Sexual Violence Trip

So Sarah Palin is saying that she fired Walt Monegan for taking an unauthorized trip to Washington, D.C. to seek funding for an anti-sexual violence program. According to ABC News, the program, expected to cost $50-100 million dollars over five years, would have been the first of its kind in Alaska, which leads the nation in forced rapes.

She fired the guy for seeking funding for a program to help end forcable rape in the state with the worst rates for that crime in the nation?

I consider the lack of support for Mr. Monegan's trip to be nearly as criminal as her unjust firing of him. However, she may well have shot herself in the foot on this one, because apparently her chief of staff approved the trip. Last I heard, perjury is a felony.

This is the scariest shit I've ever heard

Charlie Gibson's Sarah Palin interview, part 3. I'm sitting here trying like hell not to let this idiot woman talk about putting women back into the dark ages send my blood pressure through the roof.

No to abortion in the case of rape or incest. Keeping in mind that victims of incest are usually juveniles. Sarah Palin supports forcing children to have children fathered by close relatives....pregnancies that occurred by force.

That is so fucked up, I have to repeat it again.

Sarah Palin believes with all her heart that children victimized by sexual predators should then be victimized by their government. No choice in getting pregnant. No choice in whether or not they must bear the resulting child.

My question to Sarah Palin is: Do you just assume that these children will offer up their children for adoption? Is that your answer to everything? Adoption? So, the child that was forced into motherhood by an act of violence is now forced into giving that child up to someone else?

That is so seriously fucked up that I can't even imagine it.

I don't know why this is so personal to me. Sure, I'm a woman, but I was never a victim of incest. Was never raped. My one run-in with violence in a sexual relationship left some haunting emotional scars, but eventually they healed and I was wiser, more wary, and just a tad more militant. The humiliation is the thing that took a bit longer. In any event, I've never been pregnant to the best of my knowledge. I don't think that abortion should be used as a form of birth control. I get pissed at teenagers (everyone for that matter) who don't protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy.

But why do I get mad at these people? I get mad because abortion isn't something to be taken lightly. Women make a decision and sometimes that decision haunts them the length of their days. But no matter how irritated I get at the irresponsibility that sometimes results in unwanted pregnancies, I think that outlawing abortion is certain to marginalize women in our society.

I think there are times, circumstances, and reasons for abortions. Reasons beyond rape, incest, and health of the mother. There are times when not having a baby is the right answer. If Sarah Palin gets her way, women who are faced with these circumstances will become outlaws. And back-alley abortion clincs are proven to harm women.

My grandmother had an abortion between the birth of my aunt and my mother. She nearly died. I nearly wasn't born at all. But even that isn't the reason. I don't know what the reason is. Compassion maybe? Understanding maybe? Knowing what it's like to panic at the thought of being pregnant. (Oh, I HAVE been there.) I got lucky. I just don't know where my passion about this arises.

I do know that Sarah Palin is just about the scariest woman on the planet at the moment.

What Did You Just Call Me?

The other day, Pat Buchanan and Chris Matthews got in a shouting match (about 2:09 into this video) when Buchanan refered to Palin as a "gal". Matthews rightly said that the appropriate term for a female vice-presidential candidate is not a "gal", you refer to her as a "woman". I can't believe I'm saying this, but Chris is right.

So to avoid these kinds of injustices in the world from ever happening again, I am going on record as officially co-opting the word "gal" to describe women.

Listen up gentlemen.....you are no longer allowed to use this word to describe me or my sisters. Got it?

I'm allowed to use this word to describe other women (not that I would because there is nothing so apt to finger you as a geezer as saying something as unhip as "gals"), but, you know, we have a shared cultural experience that you just wouldn't understand by virtue of having a "package" between your legs.

Oh we are still allowed to call you guys, dudes, dogs, pigs, man-sluts or anything else we like, but the term "gals" is off limits.

You want to see the wrath of God? Let Pat Buchanan use the G-word when half the nation has PMS.

You, Too, Can Be a VP...

Think you've got what it takes to go toe-to-fuck-me-pump with Sarah Palin? Think you could give Joe Biden a few tips on debating the "worst vice-presidential pick in history"?

Find out here.

Sarah Palin is an uninformed woomeister

Sarah Palin has demonstrated that she has no idea about national politics, being caught with her thong down around her pumps in not being able to respond intelligently to the question about the Bush doctrine.

Further, her nonsensical response about the Iraq war being a "task from God", I can only say that I don't want ANYONE who thinks that God is in charge of international relations running my country.

She is a woo-spouting wackaloon.

Really, I'm gonna stop soon.....

but I'm like a moth to a flame.

24 hours in, the analysis is finally starting to trickle out. Sarah Palin is grossly unqualified to lead this country and has a slightly better than average chance of actually doing it. Robert Creamer points out in his very interesting analysis:

"I originally thought that Palin's choice would take the question of experience off the table in this race. Now I believe it will put that question back on the table -- in reverse. It will also serve to reemphasize the ever present question of McCain's age. At 72 the actuarial tables say he has a little less than a one in six chance of not surviving his term. And that doesn't account for his history of health problems. That means that if Americans vote for the McCain-Palin ticket they have to seriously consider that she has at least a one in six chance of actually serving as commander-in-chief. Already, by 44% to 29%, the Rasmussen poll shows that they do not believe she is ready to be President."

And when your own mother-in-law hasn't decided whether or not to vote for your ticket, ho-lee crap-a-roni Batman!

"Faye Palin admitted she enjoys hearing Barack Obama speak, and still hasn't decided which way she'll vote."

I know mother-in-laws have a reputation for being bloody hell, but according to Faye Palin:

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh. "People will say she hasn't been on the national scene long enough. But I believe she's a quick study."

I bet it's a cold Thanksgiving dinner reception at the senior Palin's house this year. Would you like some gravy with that lame duck, dear?

Sarah Palin: She's No Hillary Clinton

• "Not convinced" global warming is man-made (MSNBC)
  
• Evangelical Christian who does not support abortion rights except to save the life of the mother. Just so we're clear: this includes denying abortions in cases of rape and incest (see my earlier posts). Of course, this should be no indictment of Gov. Palin. This is also the platform of the Republican party.
  
• Staunchly supports drilling in ANWAR (Wall Street Journal)
  
• Wants to have polar bears removed from the Endangered Species List (NY Times) and sued the Interior Department to have the decision reversed (Grist)
  
• Has only held state-wide office for two years, has no national or international experience, and only entered politics 12 years ago when she was elected mayor of Washilla, AK (pop 5470). That's smaller than DuQuoin, IL, the nearby town where I go to buy groceries.
  
• Supports the teaching of creationism in public schools (Boston Globe interview). At least she has the balls not to couch it in "intelligent design" terms.

Sarah Palin is governor of Alaska (our largest state!!) with a population of 670,000. That's less than the population of DuPage (930,000), Will (673,583), or Cook (5,288,000) counties in Illinois. I picked these counties because I lived in all three of them when I lived in Chicago and neighboring suburbs.

• Or as the Dallas News put it: Governor of Alaska = Mayor of Memphis? I'm not voting for the mayor of Memphis to be veep either.
• Robert Eisenberg over at the Huffington post calls her The Worst Vice-President Nominee in US History.
• Linda Berthgold calls her The VP Choice that Lost the Presidency for McCain. Van Jones tells Palin: You're No Hillary Clinton. I couldn't have said it better myself.
  
• The comparisons to Dan Quayle are too numerous to cite.
• Then again, she is apparently "smoking hot".
  

Man, this election was exciting, exhilarating and left me breathless right up until the Republicans gave up.