I Think I Figured Out This Sarah Palin Thing

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• Hi Beet!

  You explained it so nicely! And you are sure to make your point very clear.

  But think about it, she was indeed chosen as a veep PRECISELY because of McCain’s desperation – shouldn’t she be considered a “puppet” of the party? I can only see her as a victim in this political race – like you, I believe in the entire opposite of her opinions – but when I think about her as a way to attract votes but will not have any sort of power once elected into office… it’s kind of a pity.

  And really, even if she is that mama bear every person in America longs for, you will NEVER see, hear, or sense that mama bear if McCain sits in Washington.

• What an awesome entry! Not an angle I’d thought about, but you make really excellent points. Eloquently said.

• Anybody that votes from their heart and not their head is a fucking moron. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fucking morons in America.

• That’s nice and all, but having ol’ googly eyes prancing her babies in front of the cameras and acting like your next door neighboor does not make me like her more. Knowing what she believes in is enough for me to dismiss her.

• Klipper, I have to agree. People are too fucking lazy to make a change. Although I do not necessarily like Obama or Mcain (I prefer Ron Paul for being more informed) I think I would still choose Obama. Mcain is fed his words and Palin is two faced. I have to say she did an excellent job giving Obama some extra voters!

• right on Klipper!

• Beet….this is so UNLIKE you…. kudos… Lets let a woman from Wasilla tell her story. This was sent to me. Tell me what you think…?——-

  I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
  Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
  first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
  father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
  first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
  City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
  residents of the city.

  She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
  girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
  won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
  she is a “babe”.

  It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
  kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
  for seven months. She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

  She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
  She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
  there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
  Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
  champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
  sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
  work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
  so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
  major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
  like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

  She’s smart. Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

  During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
  this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
  pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
  gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
  given rise to a recall campaign.

  Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
  years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
  33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
  City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
  (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
  regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
  promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
  benefited residents.

  The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
  weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
  money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
  with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
  the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
  she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
  new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
  multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
  of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
  still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
  involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
  community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
  would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
  could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

  While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
  redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
  proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

  In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
  recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
  she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
  surplus, borrow for needs.

  She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
  or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
  her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
  basis of who proposed them.

  While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
  City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
  the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
  rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
  attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
  her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
  Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

  Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
  Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
  fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
  Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
  creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
  grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
  to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
  case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

  As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
  her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
  cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
  and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
  an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
  fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
  for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
  contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
  later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
  replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

  She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
  help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
  introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
  became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
  abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
  like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

  Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
  publicly about her.

  When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
  the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
  of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
  background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
  job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
  high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
  structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
  Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
  engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
  undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
  her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
  garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
  gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
  exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

  As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
  Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
  politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
  nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
  As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
  guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
  projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
  action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
  because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
  she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

  She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
  leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
  them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
  fiscal conservative.

  Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
  They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
  predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
  stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
  point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
  mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
  experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

  As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
  of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
  to the beat of her drum.

  Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
  Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
  global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
  initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
  pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
  state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
  lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
  bears as threatened species.

  McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
  heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
  However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
  regretting it.

  CLAIM VS FACT

  •“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
  •“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
  school, not since
  •“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
  •social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
  that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
  (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
  •pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
  promote it.
  •“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
  BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
  legislation
  •“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
  residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
  No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
  supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
  administrator to run town of about 5,000.
  •political maverick: not at all
  •gutsy: absolutely!
  •open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
  explaining actions.
  •has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
  •”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
  and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
  •fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
  •pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
  without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
  streets to early 20th century standards.
  •pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
  residents
  •pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
  government in Wasilla’s history.
  •pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
  doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
  that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

  WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

  First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
  voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
  programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
  Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
  government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
  Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
  when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
  few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

  Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
  of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
  fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
  cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
  Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
  or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
  attempt at censorship.
  Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
  say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

  CAVEATS
  I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
  spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
  from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
  Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
  for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
  for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
  swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

  You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
  population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
  day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
  current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
  5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
  2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

  Anne Kilkenny

• This is a big improvement to your “motherfuckers” post. :]

  I appreciate the rather unbiased stance, and I think the points you made were great. I hadn’t thought if it this way, but it really does make sense.

• Thank you, Ann. What Beet says is nothing new. People have been voting emotions, personalities and their pocketbooks for years. And then they have the audacity to wonder why we are in such trouble as a country. You get the government you deserve. People just don’t know Palin, and to vote for her would be the most irresponsible act they could possibly accomplish…the same irresponsible act they performed when they put Bush in office. I think when people hear more facts, about how she has lied and misrepresented herself to the general public, they will change their minds. Mother figure, indeed. Nothing could be further than the truth.

• And that is why this planet is doomed beet.

• To Ew…

  Absolutely. Palin stated in an address she made to students at her church (and I heard this one with my own ears): “Our presence in Iraq is God’s will.” How could ANYONE in their right mind vote for this power hungry nutcase? She can hide behind the “family image” and use her children as a tool to get elected all she wants. No sale!

• I will just say – were Palin Muslim, we would be fucking terrified with her opinions. She’s always talking about God. Change “God” for “Allah”, and you’d get what Bush would call a terrorist.

• Nice entry… However, I must say I don’t feel anything nurturing from this woman. I also don’t think she represents me in any way regarding being a mother or as a woman. She has creeped me out from the beginning and I don’t like her opinions or experience (lack thereof). I think she is just another tool used by the republicans and I think it will definitely help their campaign, but I don’t want 8 more years of the same bullshit. The US needs to keep up with other nations and actually go forward and be progressive instead of going backwards and continue being conservative. If McCain/Palin win, we will lose even more respect from other nations and be a bigger laughing stock in the eyes of the world. That is, if the Large Hadron Collider doesn’t blow us all up first.

• I so totally don’t buy any of your rhetoric. And change “Allah” for every time she says “God.” Get a life, get a brain, get a job. The alternative is a Muslim leader that allows his brother to live in a 10 X 8 shack in Africa on a pay of $12.00 per annum! Why don’t all of you feel empowered enough to send $100 bucks his way since his brother certainly won’t. And why allow someone you support to sit in a GOD DAMN AMERICA church for 20 plus years. PUHLEEZE, ya’ll make me wanna puke

• Thank you Ann for all the information – plainly laid out, by someone who sounds as if they have first hand experience. Unfortunately, the average American would not have the education to get past your second paragraph. An example of the sorry state of our country. I am raising a young daughter, who I teach daily that her current goal is to go to college and not consider marriage or motherhood until she’s in her 30’s ( obviously, she will earn her high school diploma). I truly fear that as Sarah Palin would be a heartbeat away from the presidency, that the example of “womanhood’ she and her family present will be in direct conflict with all that I am, I teach and I pray for my daughter’s life and future.

• Beet, you’re right on.

  My husband is hot for Sarah Palin – I could not for the life of me figure out why. Yesterday, he said, “People like her because she’s a mom of five. She’s like some sort of fertility goddess we’re all supposed to worship.”

  I, as a mother, do not believe that SHE is ANYTHING like ME. We both have a uterus, that’s it. I don’t know how to describe it, really, except to say, I feel like I’m a REAL mother, she’s just sort of a pretend, half time mother. BTW: Hilary could never have shown a nurturing side – she would have been eaten alive – but it’s some how o.k. for Palin to be nurturing as a complement to McCain.

• I think that if we want change or a least something to look forward to it would be OBAMA hes ok, but if we want the same shitty country that we have now thanks to BUSH we should stick to McCAIN, Palin shes being tough just to show that even tho shes a woman her feelings they don’t control her, but to tell you the truth I don’t know anything about her, one thing that really bothers me about her is that she shows so much interest for mentally challenge people/kids just cuz her baby is like that but if it wasn’t like that she wouldn’t fucking care at all

• Palin is a nurturer? You have been watching too much CNN and FOX.

  The female pitbull went back to work 3 days after giving birth. Is that what you call a good mother? Give me a break.

  She is a christian moron that will wind the clock back just like Bush. She will send the country to war killing every muslim she can find and put you deeper in debt even more than your 400 Billion you are at now.

  In many ways I hope you guys vote her in. You will collapse just like the Soviet Union.

• How come you’re getting spam again while messages are still getting mediated?

  Also, I agree to a point, but I second Klipper and Donkey Punch; I’ve lost faith in the American masses to act at all rationally and Palin is no nurturer, she just plays it on tv.

• very well said and prolly very true!!!

• Very good post. I am sad to say you are right. I don’t vote that way, and I hate this women but I do agree most Americans don’t think things through (Bush, anyone?) She doesn’t feel nurturing to me though, she feels cold, distant and scary because I know what some republicans are capable of. The destruction that she wants to create is just too much. But I see where you are coming from

• I wish Obama were a masterful orator. Unfortunately that’s just not the case. Go watch this:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxxGUeZtno

  and then ask yourself if someone who self-admittedly can’t even put together a coherent sentence when short of sleep should be answering the phone at 3 am.

  I really really hoped that the Democrats would put a quality candidate out this election cycle. I’d rather see an election between two fantastic candidates who I really believe have the best interests of the country at heart, rather than the choices we’ve been stuck with this year. If the Dems had bothered finding someone even mildly centrist, who could actually unify the country, they’d have the election in the bag – McCain is not widely loved on the right. Instead, the Dems made the same mistake they made in 2004 – they picked the most liberal member of the Senate to top their masthead, someone that it would be difficult for most people to vote for.

  And anyone who is deriding Palin for going back to work so soon after the birth of her child, when she’s got an amazing support system in place to help her out, is trying to push the ‘women should be barefoot and pregnant’ meme without actually saying the words. A good woman recognizes her strengths and limitations, and I think Palin is doing a good job of knowing her own. And she’s done a good job of surrounding herself with people who love and support her, which is where she has Hillary beat in spades. But then, the people around you are a reflection of the person you are.

• nice one BEET

• Sarah Palin scares the political daylights out of me. She would do this country great harm. But the average bear/US citizen really isn’t very bright and a fair amount of people seem to have fallen for her bullshit “I’m a woman/mother just like you or your mother, sister, etc.”. She’s June Cleaver with a semi-automatic rifle people! I hope they figure it out before the election…

• she’s what we call a REDNECK!!

• beeltejuice, you’re assuming that the average bear/US citizen doesn’t want June Cleaver with a rifle.

  And frankly, that ‘the average bear/US citizen really isn’t very bright’ attitude is a big part of why the Democratic party is in trouble right now. It’s a short distance from there to saying that US citizens aren’t smart enough to govern themselves.

• It’s people like you who buy into the hype about this hateful whore that scare me the most, beet. Get past appearances for once in your life!

• John McCain is senile and Sarah Palin has no grasp of the issues (she just spews out the party line rhetoric, no matter what it happens to be at the moment).

  One thing is for sure, this is going to be a very interesting 2 months.

  LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLMAO!

• John McCain is a liar and a bully. It looks like he’s found his “soul mate” (as he, himself, so eloquently pointed out).

• @tvf – You just made my point. If they want June Cleaver with a rifle, then they really aren’t all that bright. It has been my experience that people have the ability to think for themselves, but many, for whatever reason, chose not to. And, yes that is a sad state of affairs. Maybe I just run into the minority, I certainly hope so. And it’s not just the Democratic party that is in trouble right now, it’s the entire nation. Putting McCain/Palin into office would only exasperate the problem.

• This is why Americas voting system annoys me so much – it is just a popularity contest. A lot of people should really grow up.

• Average Americans don’t want to analyze anything. They want sound bites and talking points. When McCain puts out an add claiming that Obama wants to teach explicit sex education to kindergarteners, that’s what the people believe. It doesn’t matter if McCain is telling a disgusting, offensive, LIE (Obama actually supports age-appropriate education for kindergarten students to warn them against sexual predators).

  Sarah Palin repeats the same lies over and over again, but people will believe them because, “she’s a tough lady”, “she’s a mother”, “she’s a christian”, “she’s purdy”.

  It’s all garbage, but if it’s tied up all nice with a bow, people will buy it and take it home.

• I completely agree with you, Beet.
  I hated Hilary, but love Palin.

  The McCain party has my vote.

• LOL! I’m much more of a Daddy’s girl :)

• Beet, you make a good point, although I hope you’re wrong and people don’t vote for her because she projects a ” mother-bear” image. (Doesn’t she shoot bears, by the way?) I don’t watch television so I haven’t had the opportunity to fall under her spell. I just know I’m opposed to her views, as I’ve read about them.
  TVF, I don’t think questioning Palin’s going back to work 3 days after giving birth (if that’s true) is the same as wanting women to be barefoot and pregnant. If she really knew her strengths and limitations, maybe she would have fewer kids. I’m not saying only a mother can be a good parent, but really, why keep having them if you don’t want to care for them? I really don’t get that. That won’t keep me from voting for her–everything else she stands for will–but it certainly doesn’t make me think of her as a “mother figure.”

• I think that you put this into beautiful perspective! Well said!

• tvf you are absolutely one hundred percent right and I agree wholeheartedly.

• She reminds me of Nicole Kidman’s character in “To Die For”. I find her very scary and don’t see the motherly warmth in her, but others might.

  However, I think you’ve made a good point Beet, let’s just hope for the sake of us all that this madness ends here, eight years has been eight years too many. Anyway, her appeal would wane once in power. When more bloody and pointless wars and ignorant and hateful policy keep coming your way, the fake image of a caring person won’t comfort anyone anymore. Appearances are just that, we need someone who can actually make things better.

• Beet! you are Stupid!!!!

• Sorry folks,

  http://news.yahoo.com/s/cnet/20080824/tc_cnet/83011357831002416338

  Obama’s support of George W and Cheney’s FISA bill shows that he’s *anything but* hope or change.

  You can hate Palin or anyone that dares label themselves a republican all you want, but Obama and Biden are *not* a change for the better – they’re not even a change at all.

  Bonus reading? Look into each one’s voting record. Obama couldn’t be less about change and what’s better for our country, whereas Daschle and McCain saw eye to eye on many things since McCain voted on a per-issue basis.

  Wow. Issues. Must be such a foreign concept to you dems, but whatever, keep hating on Palin on a completely non-issue-related basis.

  McCain’s ahead in the polls to. Put that in your bongs and take a puff!

• You know the past 8 years have been abundant with very serious issues and yeah the issues will always be here. Beet I love ya but this is coming from a woman that hops on a plane to go visit a friend! I’m not saying you haven’t earned that lifestyle but for the people that are working just has hard as you,under different circumstances and can barely keep food in the fridge and gas in the car, this year has been pretty dismal. We’re glad Obama is preaching for change.

• “We vote from our hearts, not from our heads — especially at a time like this. Americans may have thought they wanted some abstract notion of change, but that was before they realized they could have a mother instead. World issues are scary. Mothers are not.”

  I mean, seriously what the fuck is wrong with you?

• Beet! You are Stupid

• Spot on! I think you’ve nailed why she appeals….

• @ cj you said: why keep having them if you don’t want to care for them? REALLY? I’m not a huge Palin fan but that is a completely bull shit thing to say. No one says that about a man in office. You can be a (hard) working & caring mom & still work outside the home. And I’m not really even talking about Palin at this point, just working moms in general. AND I happen to be a stay at home mom. My m.i.l. has 5 kids & is a RN & has been since she was 20 & my f.i.l. only worked part-time when my husband & his sisters were growing up. They kept having kids because they wanted them & the arrangment worked out well for them. Just like it seems to be for Palin & her family!

• “Put that in your bongs and take a puff” – oh how original!! My god, you are a genius!!!! That’s it – all democrats are pot smoking hippies – what a complete effing moron you must be.

• I have enough of this ignorant shit. Bye bye! *removes from favorites*

• Only 60 years ago, here in Italy, every woman wanted Benito Mussolini as a father, as a lover, every young man believed in him, every one was LOVING him, and every one was so happy when he declared war as an ally of Germany. Families sent their children to the army, even the Pope raised his arm doing the roman salute in front of Benito Mussolini.
  War was not scary with a father so strong, he valued so much FAMILY, GOD, FATHERLAND!! you only had to:, “credere, obbedire, combattere” (believe, obey, fight).

  Always the same old story, and it amazes me that so many americans whose fathers died for freedom in the world (and i do not know how to thank them), many americans are falling for exactly the same rethorics.

  I am not saying tha McCain/Palin will start a fascist dictatorship but, to me, from outside, thay seem so distant from the real american values that i simply do not understand.
  But maybe USA must fall, like the Roman Empire did so many years ago
  They also had an Eagle as a symbol.

  Good luck

• Anyone voting with your ‘heart’, please don’t bother. Voting with ones heart got us 8 years at the special olympics.

• I think that it would be a good idea to do some research to see if John McCain was ever involved in any of those “Tail-hook” type parties in the early sixties before he became a prisoner of war and saint. Those were the parties in which Navy officers got drunk and sexually assaulted women either at the parties, or, just passing by the rooms where the parties were held. McCain seems like the kind of swaggering asshole (pre-sainthood of course) who would have participated in one of those drunken, grab-ass events.

• Great link, tvf. Thanks for sharing. I wonder how the Obama supporters back up his orator skills after seeing that?

  I used to be a huge liberal, because my parents were but the more I get informed this election to less I like liberal policies and political figures, and the more I’ve leaned towards the right. I really don’t like either candidate. But the fact that McCain is not well-liked amongst most Republicans because he isn’t conservative enough makes it a lot easier for me to support him. :)
  I just wish people would look past the political party label and take a minute to actually examine the candidate. Just because McCain is running for the Republicans doesn’t mean he will be the same as Bush, the same way Obama will not be the same as Clinton.
  So you know, I suppose we all just have to wait and see what happens..

  Anyway Beet, nice outlook. Palin really does look ultra-maternal compared to Hilary. I think if she’s elected it could be potentially a nice change, having a mom in such a high position of authority.

• Got to you tube see “John McCain Lost in Space”

• hit the head on the nail

• it’s fascinating to me that she inspires such significant emotions in people really true extremes: people either lover her or hate her.

  interesting perspective beet and well written.

  i wonder if the people that truly hate her also have difficult relationships with their own moms? ;-) i see years in therapy for folks.

• Interesting take – maybe her appeal is that she actually connects with people – whether it be a “mother image”, sex symbol – guys want her (in some cases they may go hand in hand), successful professional woman, enjoys sports who knows – but I think a lot of people can relate. I’m not sure that a lot of people can relate to Obama.

• I would never have exploited my infant son in the manner in which Palin has sought to do in the media. Now she’s pictured on magazine covers, cradling her son? Absolutely hideous. When you bring children into this world, if you want to be a good mother, you give that child love, oceans of patience, and a lot of quality time. You are involved in their lives, you encourage their dreams and goals, and help to guide them through their childhod into adulthood. This inevitably leads to certain sacrifices, but that is what a mother’s love is truly all about. Palin is a mother figure? She is the ultimate opportunist, and hardly an example of motherhood at its finest. Period.

  McCain, you just lost my vote.

• By the way, to hear that people would vote for Palin because they think they “can actually relate to her” is probably why this country is in such dire trouble.

• Was this a serious comment?

  “I so totally don’t buy any of your rhetoric. And change “Allah” for every time she says “God.” Get a life, get a brain, get a job. The alternative is a Muslim leader that allows his brother to live in a 10 X 8 shack in Africa on a pay of $12.00 per annum! Why don’t all of you feel empowered enough to send $100 bucks his way since his brother certainly won’t. And why allow someone you support to sit in a GOD DAMN AMERICA church for 20 plus years. PUHLEEZE, ya’ll make me wanna puke”

  Are you really saying that Obama is Muslim? Check your facts, he’s a Christian, BUT NOT THAT ANYONE’S RELIGION MATTERS ANYWAYS. You people that think all Muslims are American hating terrorists are extremely ignorant. There is not one thing in the Koran that condones violence. I can’t even begin to describe how much YOUR quote waned to make me puke. Open a book and open your eyes.

• Well said, Beet!

• @mimi in mo–Sorry, I knew when I pressed the submit button I should have clarified–I’m not at all against working mothers. I am one myself. But going to work 3 days after you have a baby is pretty extreme. And it’s not a gender thing–many fathers who are able to take advantage of parental leave so they can have a couple months with a new baby, because they feel it’s important to bond. Why not the same with Palin? I was trying to make the point that it’s ironic if people vote for her as a “mother” figure, because some of her actions don’t send that message to me at all. (Not that being a mother should influence votes one way or another, anyway.)

• so… you’re saying a female is good for nothing in politics besides being “nurturing”, “maternal” and all the other virtues that makes them mothers?

  women are so much more than just mothers. thats only one facet of a female.

• EvilB – there is a slim, SLIM chance that you may soon be cured of your disease: Liberalism. Good job with this post! You call the election correctly (McCain will indeed win; probably in a LANDSLIDE) but not for any of the reasons you mention. McCain will win because 2 of every 3 Americans are CONSERVATIVE – and Palin is a CONSERVATIVE. Keep it simple Evil – you are over thinking it.

  Start with this – who told you a Corporation is evil? What power does it have over your life? Or are FREE TO CHOOSE IF YOU WANT TO BUY A CORPORATION’S PRODUCT? WHO HAS MORE CONTROLLING POWER OVER YOUR LIFE? A corporation? Or the government?

  Spend some time thinking about that and then spend some thinking about *WHY* liberal politicians cheat and lie (Clinton, Edwards, Obama). Why do they tell you that corporations are evil? What’s in it for them? Think carefully.

  You may be Evil, but we conservatives still love ya. See you in your next session, you’ve made some real progress here today.

• Brooke you got to remember Republicans view women only as whores and mothers. They really don’t expect Palin to think for herself just like they don’t expect Bush to. They are just front men to a criminal organization known as the GOP.

• As a foreign observer of the US elections, I really do want McCain to win in November
  This is not because he is better than Obama. He will only fast track the downfall of the US as
  the most powerful country in the world. America’s standing in the wold has diminished over the last 8
  years and many people in Asia Australia and Europe can’t wait for it to finally collapse
  both economically and politically. History teaches us that empires reign but they also fall at some
  point. A lot of people outside the US really like Obama and believe that he can lead America
  back to the position it was during the Clinton years of prosperity and global respect.
  However, we dont want him to win because the world is tired of America’s dominance. Hence, John McCain
  will better serve the purpose of finally putting to rest the American dream. ha!ha!ha!
  Please vote for the dullard and unintelligent JOHN MCCAIN and SARAH PALIN who is a fraud and liar and puppet. A people deserve the type of leader they vote for from the heart.

• In the 80’s it was not chic to be a Dem. It was all Reagan. And Nancy. The wealth the, status, the patriotism,,, the Berlin Wall. Noe the Reps sound like the Dems of the the 80’s. and the Reps are saying the Dems are ‘elite’ interesting. I was in middle school, I recall very well and my parents LOVED the Reagans. anyway, whatever.

• Geewhiz – On this side of the Atlantic we know that dead-culture Europe has hated and feared the U.S. since our founding. The U.S. is not an Empire, we work harder than any European country. There is no better indicator of Obama’s upcoming loss than the sterile evil Europeans being in his corner.

  In 100 years, German and French will only be spoken in HELL. Good riddance. America is tired of protecting your ugly little cultures & as a foreign observer of Europe *I* can’t wait to see it slip into the belly of Islam. You fools are already half way there.

  Be careful what you wish for and know that the Faith is Europe and Europe is the Faith.

  No faith?

  No Europe.

• @almostchosen – it’s no wonder you like McCain/Palin, you are a complete and utter whackjob just like Palin and unable to form your own opinion. You should get off of this site and back to your herd. Wouldn’t want to stray to far and have to think for yourself.

• What – you don’t know me at all. Would you like to try to answer my questions above?

• No, I don’t know you, but your blog speaks volumes on what YOU believe to be true. Answer your quetion on who told me corporations are evil?? Nobody told me corporations are evil. I don’t think corporations are evil and I don’t think that Europeans are evil. Do you only think in terms of good or evil or black or white? I do however think, based solely on your blogs that you are completely nuts. You’re entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.

  PS – you better brush up on your German and French, you’re gonna need it.

• Please have pity on Geewhiz, he knows not what he says. He actually sounds American to me in the piece above. But think of this Gee W; When the Chinese come marching across the mountains into Europe— who ya gonna call? Ghost Busters?

  But Gee W. does bring up a point. I think Americans are being a bit shortsighted about how much their influence travels around the world. If we just consider the films that Hollywood makes which are marketed around the world, perhaps we can understand the phenomena. These films promote our lifestyle and our surface ideals. Those would be the high ideals that we profess and perhaps because will are all human, we don’t quite live up to. They are very believable however to so many of the people all over the world. When it becomes apparent that we are very far away from our ideal, they just get disappointed…. and then they get angry. They become angry because the Americans seem to be destroying what had become their dream also, a dream that they have bought into because our films are so convincing. They want our dream to be true, because it is a dream of hope and redemption for the downtrodden and oppressed all over the world. Is that so difficult to understand?

  As your dream of winning the lottery perhaps can keep you going when times get tough, the American dream of liberty and freedom keeps people all over the world going. It is their escape valve, there destination of imaginary or real escape. This last 8 years of this Republican administration has harmed more than our economy. Get them the hell out of the White House!

• Geewhiz’s logic is twisted to say the least. If America does come to a crash, it won’t implode, it will explode. And the repercussions will be far reaching. It doesn’t do anyone in the world any good to hope for the downfall of America. Hope for us to become more humble, more far-sighted, more neighborly–anything positive you choose. But don’t hope for us to fail.

• How about this then. Between the two, which institution (Federal Government or Big Corporations) has more of a coercive, controlling influence on American society? Every liberal I’ve ever met has answered “Corporations.” It is one of the many liberal lies, and it’s an easy one to debunk.

  The fact remains that the demographic reality of Europe today and the European denial about their own national future points towards an Islamic Europe in the next 50-100 years. They prefer their own cultural death. Do you have anything that shows otherwise for France and Germany?

  Yes, “What” I do think in terms of Good & Evil. Freedom is good, tyranny (often the state) is evil. Radical Islam is *EVIL* and the U.S. is an existential threat to it. Of course you’re entitled to your opinion, no matter how mistaken. Is there a gray area with radical Islam? No. Evil. Unless you would like to enlighten us otherwise?

  cj – Europe has hated and feared America since our founding. The only risk to the economy is the failure of the Democratic Frankenstein’s (Fannie & Freddie) and the actions that have recently been necessary to save them.

  American Liberalism has left a 50-year legacy of failure and it takes a SoCal level of denial to not see it. Remember the Great Society? Can anyone name one constructive accomplishment of Liberalism in the last 50 years?

  It’s guiding principal is the tolerance of evil, and shall be called out as such.

• So, let me get this straight – your answer to all of that paranoid rhetoric is a feeble old man and an inexperienced hockey mom from Alaska?

• You LIKE Sarah Palin? She is the most hideously gratuitously disgusting moronic thing that’s ever happened to this country. Get ANGRY, STUPID!