Best of Sunday Op-Eds
The guilty pleasure I miss most when I’m out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick.
So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hokey chick flick came out on the trail, a Cinderella story so preposterous it’s hard to believe it’s not premiering on Lifetime. Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.
Sheer heaven.
It’s easy to see where this movie is going. It begins, of course, with a cute, cool unknown from Alaska who has never even been on “Meet the Press” triumphing over a cute, cool unknowable from Hawaii who has been on “Meet the Press” a lot.
For the past several years, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, has been embroiled in a bitter family feud that has drawn in the state police, the attorney general, the governor’s office and the state legislature.
A bipartisan state legislative panel has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether Palin improperly brought the family fight into the governor’s office. The investigation is focusing on whether she and her aides pressured and ultimately fired the public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, for not removing Palin’s ex-brother-in-law from the state police force.
The trouble between Wooten and the governor’s sister broke into the open after an alleged incident in February 2005. Palin told an internal affairs investigator that she overheard on a speakerphone Wooten arguing with her sister and threatening to kill their father. Fearful for her family members’ lives, Palin said she drove to her sister’s house and watched the argument through a window.
Delighted because one of our own has burst into the national spotlight. You go, girl!
Stunned because a woman from such ordinary circumstances — a self-professed hockey mom from a small Alaska town — is running for vice-president.
Alaskans are delighted because the eyes of the world will be on Alaska as Sarah Palin campaigns for the vice-presidency.
And it’s stunning that someone with so little national and international experience might be heartbeat away from the presidency.
Gustav Blows Out GOP Convention
What a reminder of everything they didn’t do last time. President Bush and Cheney are staying away from the convention so they can be prepared to ignore respond to Gustav when it hits the Gulf Coast. From CNN:
In addition, “substantial” changes to the Republican National Convention program will be announced Sunday because of the storm, two Republican officials said.Sen. John McCain said Sunday it wouldn’t be appropriate to hold a political celebration during the storm [or a birthday party!!!]. He said there would be significant changes, but did not elaborate.
“We must redirect our efforts from the really celebratory event of the nomination of president and vice president of our party to acting as all Americans,” said McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
McCain said it’s likely the event would change into a “call to the nation for action.”
Why This Nomination is a Joke
This first question deals with foreign policy. [Crowd laughs] Iraq’s Prime Minister and the Bush Administration have said they would like to have American troops out of Iraqi cities by next June and from the country by the end of 2011. Do you think this is realistic, or do you see the need to commit more combat troops to Iraq?
Biden: “I’ve said for quite a while now, as has my running mate, that we need to force the Iraqis to stand up on their own. The time is long past for the United States to withdraw from Iraq. In fact, I even pushed the Iraqis to create a federalism style government so we could get out of there faster. When I met with Iraq’s President last year he seemed open to the idea. So, yes. I think it is realistic that troops be pulled from there and I hope to see it happen sooner rather than later.”
Ifill: Governor Palin?
Palin: Well, my son is serving in Iraq so of course I would like to see our troops home soon. “I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.”
Biden: [Long Pause] You heard on the news? [Laughs] That’s all.
Ifill: Governor Palin?
Palin: No, I don’t have a lot of foreign policy experience, but I love my son and I will do everything I can to keep him safe.
And that’s just on Iraq. Can you imagine the questions about Georgia? China? Bin Laden? Give me a break. This pick is a joke.
Olbermann: You Just Got McPunked!
Howard Fineman on the choice: “Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams.”
Carter: McCain ‘milking’ POW time
Former president Jimmy Carter said Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been “milking every possible drop of advantage” from his time served as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
read more | digg story
Sen. Hutchinson: "I don’t know too much about Palin"
Talk about making lemonade out of lemons!
Republican Senator, and should be Vice-Presidential nominee,Kay Bailey Hutchinson:
“The fact that I don’t know her, the fact that others, maybe in Washington, haven’t, uh, known her, and she doesn’t know the ways of Washington might be the very best thing of all.”
h/t JedReport
Three Homes for Palin
In case you’re counting homes, Palin has three. According to Jonathan Martin:
Per The Center for Public Integrity:On house ownership, the Palins can’t match the McCains’ eight homes, but her real estate portfolio is respectable, thank you very much. Palin owns three houses, according to her 2007 financial disclosure form. The forms don’t list the value of the properties, but indicate that one is residential and the other two are used for recreation.
Daily Show: Obama’s Biography Video
MSNBC: The Real Democratic Debate
Things are apparently pretty rocky over at MSNBC. I could explain it all to you, hissy fits, on air personality clashes, etc. Let’s just let Jon Stewart sum it up for us.
Hillary Supporter and Congressional Member: Palin is no Hillary
I know Hillary Clinton, and Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton.
Update:
The Miami Herald reports more of her comments:
“Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton….Women in this country don’t want a candidate on the ballot just because of the parts that she has….It’s not just electing a woman for the sake of getting a women over there.” Instead, she said, women want equal pay for equal work, protection of reproductive rights, access to affordable health care for their children etc.
Update:
Democrats are already hitting hard her “experience.” From Jonathan Martin:
Democrats, however, are pouncing on the pick and expressing a mix of shock and incredulity.Wasilla, they note, has a population of just 5,400 people. She has no foreign policy experience and said just last month that she didn’t even know what the vice-president does.
