Topics in today’s show include: Sarah Palin’s high approval ratings; Joe Biden’s saggy breasts; Iraq’s Anbar province; Barack Obama’s teleprompter-driven career; Los Angeles’ ban on fast food in poor neighborhoods. This marks their 100th episode.
Category Archives: 2008 Election
Obama's Energy Plan For Independence Runs On Hope
In the last few days, Democrat candidate for President Sen. Barack Obama gave us the benefit of two one-on-one interviews to get to know some of what he has planned for an Obama administration. One was with Bill O’Reilly last week and the other was at Columbia University in New York tonight called the ServiceNation Summit Forum. In both settings, Obama addressed his plan for energy independence. And where energy independence is concerned, he has no plan, and here’s why.
With Bill O’Reilly on the subject of energy independence, Obama said he has a plan. It is to spend $150 billion (coming from oil companies) over ten years to develop solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. To be realistic about it, $150 billion over ten years is not all that much considering the task at hand. He didn’t say anything about nuclear power until O’Reilly asked him about that specifically. He then said ‘oh yeah, sure we’ll expand nuclear power.’ He did not mention drilling for more oil and gas. Instead, he rested his case on the hope that we will be able to actually become energy independent with scientific breakthroughs that he hopes will come. And he justified this position by saying ‘Kennedy didn’t know how we were going to get to the moon.’ I’m beginning to see what he means by hope and change. The change is we’re going to govern on hope.
Obama addresses energy one more time near the end of the interview when discussing the problem with Putin invading Georgia and threatening the United States if we put a defensive missile system in Poland, and what he would do about Putin. Obama’s said short of a military response, there are two levers we can use. One is economic which would require help from Europe. Because Russia is economically tied to Europe and to a lesser extent the United States. The other he said, was to ‘get our energy policy straight.’
Fast forward to tonight at Columbia University. The sum of his statement on energy was this one sentence. From the transcript . . .
We’re going to have a bold energy plan that says that we are going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 20 or 30 percent over the course of a decade or two.
Twenty or thirty percent over a decade or two? In a matter of a week, his plan went from 10 years to 20 years. And he is not sure by how much he can do it. 20% OR 30%? Is that even a goal? And even at that, there is no independence. Right now, we import 70 percent of our oil. Do the math with me here. If Obama can cut that by 20 or 30 percent then his definition of energy independence is to import 40 to 50 percent from foreign sources instead of 70 percent.
If this is what Barack Obama calls energy independence, and getting our energy policy straight, then he isn’t the one to get us there.
links: O’Reilly interview video | ServiceNation Summit Forum transcript
RNC’s Night And The Obama Campaign, part 2
The Republican National Party’s convention ended on a much different note than last night. Last night was for the base with the introduction of Gov. Palin, a conservative by most peoples definition. She also answered her critics, primarily Obama himself, with a smile and in a humorous way. Tonight, John McCain gave us his life’s story, putting into context his theme of America first. He pointed out some differences between what Obama wants and what he wants which were issues characteristic to the parties, not attacks of a personal nature.
McCain spoke of his record of reaching out in order to serve Americans of all parties. He asked for the support of democrats, independents, and undecideds, promising to fight for them all. I thought it was unusual to go there at a party convention, but then, that’s John McCain. And, I think he was somewhat successful in his attempt to enlarge the political tent.
McCain also hit on specifics that most Americans want and need to know about like education, the economy, security and the war, freedom, jobs, trade, and the size and role of government. Voters now have a clear choice.
As for the Obama Campaign, they seem to have been taken off message because the only thing I’ve heard Obama talk about for the past week is John McCain. His war room is sending out campaign contribution emails making up stories about the McCain campaign. Obama is touting his role as a community organizer as one of his qualifications to run the country. And about Sarah Palin, Obama is claiming that being a mayor is no qualification to be vice president. So last night, in explaining the difference between a community organizer and a mayor, Gov. Palin was responding to Obama’s claim when she pointed out the obvious, the difference is responsibility.
So the Obama campaign immediately sends out emails saying that by her explanation, Gov. Palin does not care about the jobless, the homeless, and the hopeless. It is as though they were looking at a different show last night than I did. By responding in this way, and buttressed by the media-wing of his campaign, Obama is beginning to look like a whiner by making up stories about his opponent. All the while he is not getting a positive message out to the voters. And to that, I say to the Obama campaign, keep it up.
UPDATE 9/10/08: One week later, the addition of ‘Sarah Palin’ makes this post still current. As for the Obama Campaign, they seem to have been taken off message because the only thing I’ve heard Obama talk about for the past week is John McCain and Sarah Palin.
This post was originally posted on Sept 4. The day after Gov. Palin’s introductory speech at the RNC.
Obama, The Man Of Conviction
Not sure exactly which sense of the word ‘conviction’ applies. But it is amusing nonetheless. Without a teleprompter, a political cartoon will do. It brings out the ’empty suit’ in the candidate.
related links: Obama borrows line from Tom Toles cartoon | Editor & Publisher: Obama Uses the Anti-McCain Words of a Tom Toles Cartoon
Obama's Sleight-Of-Hand Move With Your Money
Since about the time the Democrat(ic) party decided to change their mind on the war in Iraq, which took all of about 4 months after it started, what has been their complaint? After the ‘he lied to get us into war’ and ‘there were no WMD’s,’ Democrat’s main concern was its cost. We can’t afford it. It will break our economy.
True, the cost of the war is great. Unfortunately, the cost of losing it is greater. Early on in their chorus of the immense cost of the war, I suspected that they were basically looking at the ‘cost’ of the war as opportunities lost for all sorts of entitlement and other socialistic programs that build (read ‘buy’) voter constituencies.
Today, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) just proved my suspicion was well founded. Apparently, Obama and his party have gotten used to spending $10 billion a month on the war, and they have seen that the country is still here, and still growing, despite all the obstacles and challenges that have happened to us since the war began. They are no longer saying that we can’t afford it. Instead, in responding to President Bush’s announcement to draw down troops in Iraq, and to put more troops in Afghanistan, Obama is saying that he has better uses for that $10 billion a month.
It’s time to change our foreign policy. I will succeed in Iraq by responsibly removing our combat brigades and pressing Iraqis to stand up for their future. I will rebuild our military. I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan – with more troops, more training for Afghan security forces, more development resources, more anti-corruption safeguards, and more of a focus on eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border. And I will stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq so that we can invest in our economy here at home.
What is the answer to the enormous cost of the war? When it ends, the cost also ends. Who knows, we might need it again some day.
'What If' Is Not A Strategy For POTUS
It’s no secret that playing on Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) age has become a talking point, albeit ‘winning’ strategy on the Left. Obviously, those that do this have not met McCain’s ninety-six year old mother. This is how it goes, ‘yea, he has military experience, but because he is so old, if he dies in office and Palin takes over, then where will we be? She has no experience.’
This strategy works well with the unsuspecting masses because it takes no thought whatsoever. First of all, it presumes their new nemesis, Sarah Palin, has no experience. Actually, she has more executive experience than both men on the Democratic ticket combined. And as an added bonus, she is not part of the Washington crowd. She is the one who is ‘in touch’ with Americans and their ‘values’ that the Left would like you to believe they have. And the Left will exploit those at the bottom of the barrel to ‘prove’ it.
Secondly, this ‘what if’ strategy acknowledges that there is a war going on and that the world is a dangerous place that requires the United States to be and to stay strong militarily. This flies in the face of the mantra of McCain’s opponents, who have been saying for years that our military should come home and just get out of the zones of conflict where we are currently engaged, then our enemies will not bother us. In other words, quit.
If you’re going to be using the mortality of a candidate to make a judgment, then you can’t ignore this one. The real kicker in this ‘what if’ strategy is, it totally ignores what will happen to our country if Obama becomes President and lives. To me, that would be worse for our country than if McCain becomes President and dies.
RNC's Night And The Obama Campaign
The Republican National Party’s convention ended on a much different note than last night. Last night was for the base with the introduction of Gov. Palin, a conservative by most peoples definition. She also answered her critics, primarily Obama himself, with a smile and in a humorous way. Tonight, John McCain gave us his life’s story, putting into context his theme of America first. He pointed out some differences between what Obama wants and what he wants which were issues characteristic to the parties, not attacks of a personal nature.
McCain spoke of his record of reaching out in order to serve Americans of all parties. He asked for the support of democrats, independents, and undecideds, promising to fight for them all. I thought it was unusual to go there at a party convention, but then, that’s John McCain. And, I think he was somewhat successful in his attempt to enlarge the political tent.
McCain also hit on specifics that most Americans want and need to know about like education, the economy, security and the war, freedom, jobs, trade, and the size and role of government. Voters now have a clear choice.
As for the Obama Campaign, they seem to have been taken off message because the only thing I’ve heard Obama talk about for the past week is John McCain. His war room is sending out campaign contribution emails making up stories about the McCain campaign. Obama is touting his role as a community organizer as one of his qualifications to run the country. And about Sarah Palin, Obama is claiming that being a mayor is no qualification to be vice president. So last night, in explaining the difference between a community organizer and a mayor, Gov. Palin was responding to Obama’s claim when she pointed out the obvious, the difference is responsibility.
So the Obama campaign immediately sends out emails saying that by her explanation, Gov. Palin does not care about the jobless, the homeless, and the hopeless. It is as though they were looking at a different show last night than I did. By responding in this way, and buttressed by the media-wing of his campaign, Obama is beginning to look like a whiner by making up stories about his opponent. All the while he is not getting a positive message out to the voters. And to that, I say to the Obama campaign, keep it up.
UPDATE 9/10/08: One week later, the addition of ‘Sarah Palin’ makes this post still current. As for the Obama Campaign, they seem to have been taken off message because the only thing I’ve heard Obama talk about for the past week is John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Palin's Speech And Media's Reaction
I tuned to CNN last night to watch the speeches of Thompson, Huckabee, Guiliani, and Palin since FOX, for whatever reason, only carried Palin’s speech live. Watching CNN turned out to be an added bonus for me.
The three men that preceded Gov. Palin all gave good speeches. And the enthusiasm seemed to build on the previous speaker as the program continued, and Gov. Palin’s performance topped them all. Prior to last night, no body knew who Sarah Palin was, where she came from, and what she believes government’s role should be. Answering those questions was her mission last night, and as they say, she hit it out of the park.
The bonus? Immediately after her speech, the camera returned to Wolf Blitzer and his panel, and every one of them looked stunned at what they had just witnessed. They were in fact, speechless. For me, it was one of those ‘priceless’ moments.
Then I checked in on MSNBC, or as Rush affectionately calls the network, pMSNBC. Chris Matthews had a similar panel at his side and were assessing Palin’s speech. Much to my surprise, well, not really, Matthews leads the discussion with this, ‘how are we going to get her?’ Meaning of course, how are we going to take her out? Will the McCain campaign protect her from a reporter asking a question that can, in their mind, end her campaign?
Reporting news, reporting on a campaign, is not the objective of the Media of 2008. It is clear by this MSNBC panel, and the front pages of the New York Times, that the McCain-Palin ticket is not just running against Obama and Biden. The McCain-Palin ticket is running against the mainstream media as well. Which is why I especially liked Palin’s comment about the media.
‘Here’s a little news flash for those reporters and commentators. I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion, I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.’
Gov. Palin, For The Right Reasons
The speech she gave tonight was terrific, and John McCain was right, the more we see of Sarah Palin, the more we’ll like her. For this conservative, she did very well. And as good as Romney, and Huckabee, and Guiliani were with their speeches, she topped them all.
Immediately after the speech, watching Wolf Blitzer and his panel at CNN said it all. They were speechless.
Earlier in her speech, Palin told the story of the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Lipstick. There were many good points that Palin made. One of my favorites was when she derided the media for saying how she was not qualified over the last few days. Her response was priceless. It went something like this . . .
‘Here’s a little news flash for those reporters and commentators. I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion, I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.’
The crowd was on their feet. For all intents and purposes, she told the media, ITS ON!
Women's Movement, The Left, And Gov. Palin
It did not take more than a few milliseconds for the left in the media and the blogs to jump into Gov. Palin’s family matters. And they do it for a host of reasons. Primary of which is to use her decision to have her baby rather than abort it, and add her daughter’s situation to derail the Republican ticket. And oh, how in the world can she be vice president when she has 5 children. Especially when the last one was born with Down syndrome?
Laura Ingraham correctly pointed out on FOX last night that the so-called women’s movement, with their take on Gov. Palin, show themselves to be all about and only about liberal women, and not women.
Remember when the so-called feminists, and the political left, were just fawning over Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), saying how courageous and strong a woman she is being able to run a family and the government? She is, you know, second in line of succession for the presidency. Gov. Palin has shown that she can do both, but is now being derided for not just staying home.
What Nancy Pelosi said. . .
‘Maybe it takes a woman to clean house.’ Asked if her remark was deliberately sexist, she replied, ‘It is. Because the fact is a woman represents what’s new, because it’s never happened before.’
related link: The humiliation of a young girl