Girl power? Palin is against abortion even when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest. Science and education? Palin wants creationism taught in the schools. Extinction of species? Palin did not want the polar bear listed as an endangered species. The environment. Palin wants oil drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Reserve.

These are not McCain's views but the views of the religious Fundamentalists whose votes McCain wants. He wants those votes so badly that he is willing to put one of that mindless bunch a heartbeat away from the presidency.

If Palin survives the various skeletons emerging from the closet she will represent a triumph for conservatism. Some might say another chapter in the 'dumbing' of America. She is ambivalent on global warming the same time as Alaska shows clear evidence such as road buckling due to melting permafrost. She supports drilling in the Arctic wildlife reserve when at best that might supply a few years extra oil to the contiguous US States. She declines to protect polar bears when experts say that species is endangered. If indeed she becomes VP then the US deserves the bigger reality check that awaits them.

I think that God and Guns just about sums her up,another narrow minded bigot

She might well fall flat on her face too, and take McCain with her.

God help America.

David

Sounds likes the sort of woman we need in leadership. She values the life of the unborn and is not gullible in believing in earth worshipers doctrine. What breath of fresh air.

If Palin does fall flat on her face, then feminists could always accuse her of being male (or not woman enough).

Runner,
She's not a breath of fresh air it's a whiff from the crypt or your breath blowing back in your face:-)

Guns? shooting wildlife for fun? pro oil exploration in pristine tundra? Pro war? telling other what they should think and believe? pro capital punishment? yep sounds 'right' to me.

We'll see how long she lasts. If a near-worst-case scenario sees this person ascend to the office of VPOTUS, I'll be praying hard that McCain lasts his entire term.

Obama had about 80,000 people listening to him in Denver, at his acceptance speech. The media commentators asked their rhetorical question: Was he preaching to the converted? Well, plainly, except for some die-hard Clinton supporters who couldn't be heard boo-ing. What isn't so widely appreciated is that Obama's acceptance speech was watched on TV by 38 million Americans: America's largest TV audience so far this year.

If all 38 million are Obama converts, cultists, moonies and groupies, then I expect he will certainly get in - unless the current administration's political machines resort very energetically to reducing the numbers of polling booths in suboptimal electorates, and re-jigging the works in the voting machines, and putting out nation-wide all-points bulletins on the prospective felons who haven't paid their parking fines recently.

I'm praying those things won't happen, like they have in the previous two elections.

If the world gets Sarah for VP, and John kicks the bucket, we have a very fresh face in global foreign policy, to put it charitably. I can see the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moving up to one-and-a-half minutes to midnight.

Maybe the voting rapturists will
get her over the wire,
in a fair-fought election - - - -

While I was at the snow last week I ovrheard a loud american (are there any other kind) say that New York City had cleaned up because the rich people lived in the city and the crime had migrated to the suburbs. He said rich people voted Republican.

So even though Obama might have more vision (like Kevin07) many poor whites will not vote for a black man so I think we are stuck with McCain & Palin who look very photogenic together.

Palin is a fright, her reward for coming runner up in Miss Alaska pageant was a scholarship to a college in Hawaii. She sacked the police commissioner and chief librarian for not supporting her in the mayoral race. She had her ex-brother-in-law fired. She continued with her fifth pregnancy knowing it was Downes syndrome flying from Idaho to Alaska while she was in labour, then back to work 3 days later leaving it in the care of the 17 year old daughter who we now know is pregnant. Surprisingly for the mother of teenage girls she is against abortion and contraceptive education in schools. More surprising given her Downes Syndrome infant she believes that the family should pay all their own health costs. Pity that poor girl and that baby!

What I find particularly vexatious is the idea that Palin will pull in votes from those who supported Hilary.

WHAT-THA!?

OK.

I will say this slowly.

Hilary is a DEMOCRAT.

Palin is a REPUBLICAN.

And a very conservative, evangelistic REPUBLICAN at that.

The only voters Palin will attract are other conservative, evangelistic REPUBLICANS. I cannot see how she would inspire those who have not yet made up their minds, given she is from the extreme right. These people would more likely vote McCain if they can't handle the idea of a black President, I can only imagine that his choice of VP would give them considerable pause for thought.

The man is an unhealthy 72 and the thought of this Palin stepping into the shoes of the most powerful person in the USA, is the stuff of nightmares.

And the hope that this is enough for Obama to win the presidency.

Fractelle, I wondered about that point as well. I suspect that there will be a small number who will vote based on gender and the idea of a female VP (with the possibility of a female President) may be more important than policy. Others will vote based on race - some votes will go to Obama because he is coloured and others against him for the same reason.

I guess some will have a difficult time weighing up which bothers them more, a coloured president or the possibility of a female president. Will Obama pick up votes from religious conservatives who could not cope with the possibility of a female being in charge?

No doubt the number crunchers in the parties have spent time on all those possibilities.

R0bert

What a comedy of errors it all seems to be.

Not that I care, but there is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that her last child was actually borne by her 16 yo daughter:

http://mparent7777-1.livejournal.com/1515044.html

Flow chart (to make it really simple):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=6855834

The baby search at Mat-Su hospital doesn't list Trig Palin (born April 18)
http://www.matsuregional.com/nursery/nursery_name.php?start=60&step=30&count=506

Hmmmmm......
http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/palins-spokesman-didnt-know-about.html

*

I think that according to the laws of their land, making a 16 yo pregnant is technically rape if the father is 18 or over. So you can see that there might be more to this than a simple face-saving exercise.

But how do we account for the choice of Sarah for VP, if America is so obsessed with a candidate's personal details?

http://cryptome.org/sarah-palin.htm

- unless the Republicans don't care any more, because they already have the theft of the next election in the bag.

If the normal, sane world, had wanted to pick the worst nightmare for a VP in the US election, there was no candidate more suited for the job than Sarah Palin.
She is a total clone of Dubya and with a dash of extreme sisters of the right thrown in.
With a very aged president that could fall off the perch at any time she is waiting in the wings to jump in and continue the march to the right that the US has been engaged in for the last 8 years.
It is an obvious (to the thinking person) move to try and capture the disenchanted Hillary supporters to run a woman as VP.
It is so obvious that it is hard not to believe there is sardonic laughter coming from the Republican camp.
I am not a Hillary supporter but I am a bit amazed that Obama did not pick her as his running mate because it would have almost made sure of the presidency for him.
I live in hopes that reason will prevail in this election although with the voting machines programmed for a Republican win, it will probably not make a lot of difference.
Please Mr. Rudd, do not follow on behind the US blindly as your predecessor did.
We cannot afford any more illegal invasions.

I would agree Sarnian,

Considering their choice of candidates for President and Vice President, the Republican party must be extremely confident in their voting machines.

However if the Democrats did (by some chance) win office, I think it highly likely that the voting machines would be reprogrammed for the next election.

The current political system in the US is the best reason why we should not have electronic voting in this country.

The kid ain't hers.

Hehe, first we have Chaney, now Sarah Palin. There was me, thinking
things could not get any worse in the USA :)

I'd say that McCain decided that he might not win by conventional
means, so he might take a chance and copy Rove, who got Dubya
over the line with his scheming.

*The only voters Palin will attract are other conservative, evangelistic REPUBLICANS. I cannot see how she would inspire those who have not yet made up their minds,*

Well as Carl Rove showed, its not just about making up their minds,
but about getting them to actually turn up and vote on election day,
that is the secret. He knew how to push the emotional buttons
of the relgious nuts and the trailer park trash, just enough to
give George the extra votes. The rest was history.

I really think that Obama shows great judgement, compared to other
US politicians. If Americans show bad judgement once again in their
choice of leaders, the resulting disaster will be a sad story to
watch. Unfortunately it will affect all of us.

This is a politically master stroke on the part of McCain. Palin like a ‘honeycomb’ will attract the feminist swarm of bees, that Senator Clinton stirred up in her campaign, which are discomfited with Obama and fly away from him, to her own beehive. Dare I say Palin, among some of the other nails, one of them being race, will be putting the last nail on the coffin of Obama’s presidential aspirations.

http://avant-gardestrategies.typepad.co

A touchingly ingenue approach to American politics. More likely McCain needed a stunt to boost his campaign. Perhaps the author does not remember that lovely ditty from the Idi Amin era: "If you don't want to vanish with a kick up de bum, ya gotta give de population somethin' to hum." How Americans will end up voting on Nov. 4 is still very much an open question. But my bet is Sarah Palin isn't the central issue in voters' minds.

Themistocles: "This is a politically master stroke on the part of McCain. Palin like a 'honeycomb' will attract the feminist swarm of bees, that Senator Clinton stirred up in her campaign"

I think that this is overestimated on two fronts. Firstly, I suspect (although I have been unable to find suitable studies so far) that the majority of feminists habitually vote Democrats. Feminists are also much more likely to be pro-choice. Secondly, the female as VP is still playing second fiddle to the male, and so the feminist effect is less.

I think Sarah Palin was an inspired choice.
Clearly, McCain wants Obama to win too.

Oh how the chickens come home to roost.

No sex education + abstinence promotion + no abortion = shotgun wedding.

A pity her daughter will have to bear the consequences and not her.

I am all for womens' rights not right wing women.

Er ....just for basic 'feminist equallity' how come we are not allowed to even utter 'boy power' oh that's right they don't have any....

*Clearly, McCain wants Obama to win too.*

Hehe I love it and wish it were true :)

Sounds like McCain's hand might have been forced,
after he had chosen Liebermann. The extreme end
of the party hierarchy stepped in and forced his hand.

The report which I heard, claimed that due to Palin,
the religious nuts contributed another 10 million$ on
her first day of being chosen.

Never understimate the power of the religious end of
Republican politics, it matters significantly!

All this abstinence preaching and no sex education, means
that those many Xtian teenage moms, might outbreed those
nasty muslims after all. That is how their thinking goes, sadly.

Wonderful, isn't it? Of all the potential VP candidates the GOP could select, they pick one who could have stepped off the set of the Jerry Springer show.

The chances of the USA electing its first African-American President grow stronger daily.

McCain, you've done it again!

Sam's

Indeed they do. The majority of feminists will be voting for the Democrats. But as you know from my post, I was not referring to this majority but to the discomfitted, to the disgruntled feminists who are running away from Obama, and it's to these that Palin will appeal.

Themistocles wrote:

"But as you know from my post, I was not referring to this majority but to the discomfitted, to the disgruntled feminists who are running away from Obama, and it's to these that Palin will appeal."

I hope the gruntled feminists will vote for Obama in large numbers.

I hope all the comfitted do too :)

Yes, inventive use of English indeed.

This phrase though to describe fellow humans..

"trailer park trash"

really plumbs the depths.

david f and CJMorgan

Do both of you happen to have a degree in smart 'alecry'?

*The chances of the USA electing its first African-American President grow stronger daily.*

Ah CJ, lets really really hope so! But don't forget, they are the
same people who voted for Dubya, so nothing would surprise me lol.
Perhaps they have learnt something, perhaps not, we'll see. I have
learnt not to trust the good judgement of the American voter :)

*"trailer park trash"
really plumbs the depths*

That's what the Americans call it, who am I to argue with their
language?

CJ, this might appeal to your sense of humour, a snip from an
article:

* In a satirical vox-pop about Mrs Palin's nomination on humorous news site The Onion, everyday
American "Scott Wise", a line cook, said: "Finally, somebody who can pull in the
Alaskan/pro-life/moose-hunting/woman vote."*

Hehe, I love it!

Yabby wrote:

Ah CJ, lets really really hope so! But don't forget, they are the
same people who voted for Dubya, so nothing would surprise me lol.
Perhaps they have learnt something, perhaps not, we'll see. I have
learnt not to trust the good judgement of the American voter :)

Dear Yabby,

In 2000 700,000 more Americans voted for Gore than for Dubya. US presidents are not elected by direct popular vote but by electoral districts so a president may be and sometimes is elected with a smaller popular vote than the opposition. Many more Democratic votes were lost by ballot manipulation and disenfranchising probable Democratic voters. The 2000 election was decided by a Republican dominated Supreme Court. If the votes had been counted fairly and the lies of Dubya putting the US in Iraq had been fully exposed the Democrats might have won in 2004.

The same thing has happened in Australia where John Howard has been made prime minister with a smaller popular vote than the Labor candidate because prime ministers are selected by the parliamentarians of his party rather than by the popular vote.

Australia has exported Murdoch who has manipulated the US vote by slanted news media favouring the Republicans. Australia can be partially blamed for Dubya.

I am a dual citizen of the US and Australia and one of the majority of Americans who has voted for the Democrats.

Very droll, Yabby. How about these:

"Palin and McCain are a good pair. She's pro-life and he's clinging to life." –Jay Leno

"John McCain's VP pick is the governor of Alaska, a unknown hockey mom named Sarah Palin that no one ever heard of. The only other job she had in politics was the mayor of a small town known as Wasilla, Alaska, and now she has the opportunity to be on a ticket opposite of Barack Obama, the first black man she's ever seen." –Bill Maher

"By the way, here's good news, ladies and gentlemen: the Palin family crisis that we were talking about on Sunday and Monday, that has been solved now, and, today, the baby is being adopted by Angelina Jolie." --David Letterman

"But we're learning more and more about Sarah Palin, boy, are we. Listen to this: it turns out she and her entire family once had a chair-throwing brawl on 'Jerry Springer.'" --David Letterman

"Some people are saying that McCain picked Sarah Palin to appeal to women who supported Hillary Clinton. This is crazy. You can't just replace Hillary Clinton with another woman. Bill tried that, it didn't work out." --Craig Ferguson

There's more out there every day...

Nice ad hominem with the supposed "elite" media. What does that even mean?

The "liberal media" (any media critical of Palin?) have not sought to portray Palin in any negative way. The simple fact is she is conspicuously under qualified to even be in the executive of the US government, let alone president. How does barely two years spent as the governor of the second or third least populous state in the US, preceded by being the mayor of some backwater town with a population of less than 10 000, even remotely qualify you to run the most powerful government on Earth?

If anything, the selection of someone so conspicuously underqualified only serves to demonstrate what sort of reckless and ill thought out decisions McCain might make if America has the misfortune of electing him president.

CJ, thanks for those. I'd say that if Sarah Palin becomes VP, perhaps
Prez, the best job to have in the US will be as a comedian, for she
will provide them with material for years! Sensible Americans will
have little choice but relief by laughter, as the place goes from
debacle to disaster area. But then they say that people get the polticians
that they deserve, so perhaps old Dubya has not given
them enough pain to learn, as yet.

*Australia can be partially blamed for Dubya.*

Hang on David f, or my first thought was perhaps Mr Foxy :)

I remind you that we don't partly blame America for our election
results, when US tele evangelicals preach to our gullible and take
their money. Rupert is not much different. He knows how to push
emotional buttons and make a fortune. Be that from the page 3 girl
with big breasts, all the way to whatever show makes a quid. Are
so many Americans so gullible, that Rupert can now swing US elections?
Perhaps they are :( They are after all, the most
religious Western nation on earth.

Anyhow, it will be interesting to watch the reactions of the
sisterhood to Sarah Palin's election, should she win. They have
been telling us for years that it is men that are the problem and
we should have more women in Govt. We live in interesting times.

She described soccer moms as pit-bulls with lipstick, not a bad
description of herself really.

.

Dear Yabby,

Everything is connected to everything else. I partly blame the US for the Australian electoral results. When FDR was elected US industrialists formed the American Enterprise Institute. They realised they could not get rid of FDR, but they could work to create a climate where unions would be curbed or eliminated, tax policies would favour corporations, future presidents would be more to their liking etc. Reagan and the Bushes are the results. US money founded the Australian Enterprise Institute to do the same thing in Australia. Howard was the result. His AWAs went too far so he got booted out.

Another example of US influence on the Australian elections is Family First electing Senator Fielding. US evangelical money help fund Hillsong, other megachurches and Family First.

Look up the Enterprise Institutes and "People in Glass Houses" (about Hillsong.)

The US and Australia have been influencing each other elections.

David f, sure there is influence, there is even the butterfly effect,
but that is a bit different to blame. I think that you are
oversimplifying things. All sorts of factors come into play, when
it comes to politics and elections. At the end of the day however,
its up to the voters. Gullible voters get sucked in etc.

Luckily in Australia the religious lobby hardly matter when it
comes to elections. That is not the case in the US and the
marketing campaigners know how to use that fact to their advantage.

Strategists like Carl Rove, who understand these factors, matter
hugely in elections.

I think it was generally accepted that Howard had passed his use
by date. Rudd and Co did actually present a credible alternative,
unlike Latham or Beazely before them.

The way I read it, over the last 20 years or so, the standard of
political debate has actually improved quite a bit, wheras in the
US it seems to be going backwards. We are back to guns, abortions
and other true believer stuff as issues. That is sad really.

IMHO Obama is finally a US politician who is showing some intelligent
judgement. If the average American can't see it and they prefer
to go back to the "fighting God's war in Iraq" kind of politics,
then the US will continue heading downhill, as it is heading right
now. If the last 8 years has not woken them up, then what will?

Speaking of 'girl power', I think I've found the perfect theme song for Sarah Palin's forthcoming campaign:

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2096#44555

Dear Yabby,

I agree with you about the direction of the political process in the US and Australia.

I am heartened by the thoughtful way in which Obama deals with issues. I am concerned that he will be defeated for two reasons - racism and not sufficiently concealing his intelligence. The latter is a skill that intelligent candidates need to get elected in the US.

Ahhh Sarah Palin is the reason the US will elect John McCain as president.
To all you bitter sexist guttersnipes. Watch out for the pit bull will leave you with lipstick all over your spreadeagled backsides.

Wanna make a small wager?

David

She might be a perfectly nice woman; she's obviously a hard worker. I don't know her and don't care about her personal life; but I do know that I disagree with her politics.

To the people who think this woman will attract the feminist vote - I doubt it. Not all feminsists are women. Not all women are feminists, even though a good number of them stand on the shoulders of those who have fought for justice. What we're seeing here is not "girl power".

In any case I could never support someone who would sidle up with man who could speak to a member of the public he is supposed to represent like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CazKanlYDg&feature=related

He is a patronizing, narcissistic thug.

*I am heartened by the thoughtful way in which Obama deals with issues. I am concerned that he will be defeated for two reasons - racism and not sufficiently concealing his intelligence. The latter is a skill that intelligent candidates need to get elected in the US.*

David f, I have to agree with you here. I personally think that
Obama shows good judgement, I don't have the same opinion of attack
bull-pit Palin. Perhaps Obama is simply over the heads of many voters
and that is the real worry. Would I trust my life to Palin's
judgement? I would move to Australia lol

.