Political Punch

When people try to judge whether Sarah Palin would be capable of handling motherhood and a big job, I think they are putting themselves in her place. "It's too much. I could never manage all that," they conclude.

But we forget that those who strive for high political office are not like the rest of us. Their priorities are quite different from ours. Power is, as they say, an aphrodesiac.

In any case, while I'm not voting Republican, I do feel that running for VP does not make Sarah Palin a bad mother. Someone will raise those kids. Just not her (as much).

As someone said lets try to stick to issues.
However misinformation mongers ...

1 ) Gov. Palin is not for teaching creationism. What she SAID was that discussion of the idea was a valid topic in legislature.
Now let me understand? You do not like the topic so you do not even let it be discussed?
Isn't that called censorship?
Or is that ... oh yeah ... I seem to remember Pelosi saying no discussion on oil cause she was elected to save the planet not represent her contituents.

2 ) She DOES believe in Global Warming. Just does not necessarily believe it is man made.
But considering ... Mercury, Mars, jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, and the moon Titan are all experiencing global warming WORSE than Earth.
Maybe VP Palin can subpeona those little green men hop skipping around the solar system raising carbon footprints?

3) Drilling is not her only solution. Listen to her.
Drilling is a solution NOW to buy us time to research the others.

4 ) Her daughter had sex ed. Where she differs is she believes that abstinence should be taught AS well as condoms.
i.e. You CAN'T get pregnant if you do not have sex, but if you do ... then ...

5 ) That investigation for corruption?
She walked into the legislature and DEMANDED they hire a special investigator because she had nothing to hide.
They didn't WANNA investigate ...
A trooper who was caught driving drunk TWICE in his squad car on duty.
Hitting his 10-year old stepson with a POLICE issued tazer. ( child abuse !!! with government property! ).
And got a 3-day suspension?

And the threats against Palin, her sister, and her father?
He threatened to KILL them if they hired a divorce attorney.

SORRY, I am a COP. I get the divorce attorney, you are not allowed one!

Who cares if the whacko was her brother in law ... WTF is a drunk on duty, child TAZERING cop doing on duty other than a murder short of lawsuit?

Sheesh. She should let him stay on duty and have her sister sue for $80M for a POLICE OFFICER tazering his step son during a fight with his wife.

In other words, SOME people just pick the talking points off HuffPo and do not research for themselves.

Where does this idiotic notion come from that a pregnant woman needs support from her mother? I suspect from those who either never had kids or were entirely absent when their wife/girlfriend had kids.

"We don't go after people's families; we don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate, and it's not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I ever thought that there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired." B.H. Obama

Still waiting...

Face facts. The Democratic party has turned sexist against women and now invokes their version of God-given family values. I guess, along with throwing Hillary under the bus, they have thrown the entire dream of using the government village to raise a child, they now have, in the most anti-progressive manner, decided that the family is a good thing after all.
To be fair, they are not hypocrites, for they never have believed for a moment in fixed truth or immutable truth to begin with - any means to an end - and I mean "ANY."

And my question is: When will obama be asked if he goign to disown and return any money he received from this sexist man? He said he would "fire" people engaged in that type of behavior. Will anyone ask Obama?? I imagine not; he is the darling of the media.

Who is Mr. Hannity?? Relatives in Chicago say BOH was/is the most useless State rep. and US Senator in the history of Illinois.
His only objective was to keep his skirts clean by voting "present" and never introducing legislation on tough subjects which required him to make a decision.
All the characteristics of a 'wimp' not a leader.

Hurricane McCain Slams into Obama:

McCain 49% Obama 43%: Zogby
McCain 48% Obama 48%: Rasmussen

The Dems will begin turning on themselves soon, as they watch Obama gets his fussy little butt kicked by adults.

The Palin family's decision to enter the race for VP is none of our business, but because so many people seem to think it's our business, here are my two cents:

1. Everyone who is saying that Sarah Palin should stay home and bake cookies for her family is selectively overlooking all of the positives of becoming a white house family. I cannot even imagine all of the advantages that her children will get if McCain/Palin win.

2. To all the people that say/think, "OMG she has FIVE children!! They need her full attention!" Here's a newsflash: if you have four siblings, you don't get mom's full attention. BUT, you get the love and support of your siblings in exchange. This is how a large family survives.

3. This is totally sexist. If she was a man, we wouldn't be discussing this. I haven't heard anyone question whether Obama or McCain are terrible fathers and then try to link it to their ability to lead the country.

4. I agree with the single dad that mom is not the only one who can raise the kids successfully. Another newsflash: even grandparents and non-relatives have raised kids successfully. Does anyone really think that the Palins going to be on their own in the white house?

5. Life is a series of choices and trade-offs and every family is different. Just because you may not have chosen this path for your family doesn't mean it's the wrong choice.

Maybe Sarah Palin is a terrible mother or maybe she's a fantastic mother. I don't know who can determine that other than her children. But either way, it's none of our business!

anon

Most thinking voters who are Christian know that in church we often prey that we are doing God's work, that we are doing what God wants us to do.

Listen to tapes or read just about any speeches made by FDR not in church, but broadcast to the whole country.

Read any number of speeches by our founding fathers and you will find the same.

Thinking people may learn something and not be afraid

" Lord,

Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair.

Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just.

And make me an instrument of your will."

Barrack Obama

And now Barrack is an instrument of God

Howard Gutman made the most terrible insult towards men.
Why can't fathers raise their children?
Is Howard Gutman saying that men are incapable of raising their children?
If so, how did Senator Biden raise his children by himself?
And most importantly, how did I raise my son by myself for the past ten years if men are so incapable of doing so.
I'm sure Mr. Palin is not going to stay in Alaska while his wife is living in Washington D. C.
I'm confident, Mr. Palin is going to do like REAL MEN do and support his spouse in her endeavors as REAL WOMEN do when their spouse's wishes to endeavor in like activities.
I'm also confident that Mr. Palin is not only going to continue his role as a father in raising his children, but gladly assume total responsibility for raising his children as Senator Biden and I, myself have successfully done.

Proud Father

Waiting for statement that Gutman has resigned or has been fired.

Jo said:
"How convenient that they had a choice. A choice which the Gov. would deny to all other women."

I don't get the logic when left wingers say this. Nobody is making anybody get an abortion. She doesn't need pro-abortion laws so they have no benefit for her either way.

Left wingers seem to forget that choice implies 2 or more. Otherwise lets just call it what is really is: pro-abortion. You either think all human life has value or you don't.

It seems like Obama distances himself from alot of people. Has anyone read Obamanation? This man is dangerous, be afraid. As far as Gutman goes, he should be very careful about what he says about other peoples' families. He is a spineless man who has yet to really discover parenting.

Time for Obama to publically fire his staffer Howard Gutmann for his comments regarding Sarah Palin and her family.

C'mon Barack, are you a man of your word? Prove it!

Laura,

Why in heaven's name would you invite someone like Howard Gutman on your show?

Have you ever seen him in person? He is one of the homeliest individuals in the world. Even the Palestinians would give him safe passage though their territory before the children gasp in fear. Next time, at least show his "mug" on the tube so they can see the face of atrue sub-human.

THE POINT

BHO said that anyone related to his camp who spoke about the family would be FIRED!

BHO is a coward and couldn't stand up to Hillary, which is why he didn't pick her. How in Gods name would he be able to stand up to Putin or any other crazy person. ANSWER: HE WON'T COWARD!

Fire this man and keep your promise Barry

Obama Loses 4 the Dems, this column was about taking comments out of context. So why does your response do exactly the same thing?

Obama's Election Strategy:
Step 1 - Mock small town people for "clinging" to their constitutional rights to own guns and express their religion;
Step 2 - Uh-Oh - I need to win Ohio to get elected;
Step 3 – Hire dufus Joe Biden to beg Ohio for a 'do-over' on step 1;
Step 4 - Mock Governor Palin for being Mayor of a small town and not aborting her children and grandchildren.
Step 5 - Ohio elects McCain next President of the US.
Step 6 & Final - Repeat Step 1.

The "progressives" commit political suicide, just like every election.

Mark: Who CARES? What does any of that have to do with anything? Gutman's views about Palin's parenting don't matter. Your views about Palin's parenting don't matter. None of it MATTERS.

Stop being all caught up in the soap-opera intrigue of this stuff. Not just this specific Palin side issue -- ALL of it. It's not important. It's dumbing down the whole thing. You're contributing to the degeneration of politics.

What's with all of the people that are projecting their own feelings and thoughts onto the Palins?

As a divorced Dad, I know that a man can raise his children just fine. But nobody wants to give Todd that credit. And Todd hasn't totally lost the support of his wife as I have.

Gutman says: "If you take a daughter who's got this emotional strife and subject her to the most intense scrutiny of the world at this time in her life, I think you've put your career above your family."

Is that your official psychological evaluation Mr. Gutman? Are you sure of that? Because maybe she doesn't have all this emotional strife, because she has a faith and a family that is supportive of her. Maybe she's got this tremendous joy of being a mother and having a baby, and maybe, despite the fact that she's young and it may be unplanned, she's looking forward to being married and making a good start with her new family.

Just so I understand. All of the positive aspects of her family are ok to put out there and address and talk about. All of the negative aspects of her family are their own private business.

I mean, is that how it works now?

Do any of you folks have any interest in IDEAS? Any interest in actual ISSUES? I don't mean an interest in the concept of issues -- I mean in the substance of issues themselves.

Reading the comments below just reinforces what the Internet has increasingly made clear: Many of you -- most, even -- engage with politics as a soap opera. You're all bound up in the personalities and stories. These people are all CHARACTERS to you. The campaigns are storylines. And you're infatuated with it all, breathlessly caught up in the latest twists, excited about where the plot will take us next.

None of it seems to be about actual policy. Yes, you reference ideology, but only in a contextual sense -- the way a "Sopranos" fan might reference the backdrop of personality traits that makes such-and-such character be such-and-such way. That's it.

You're ruining politics. You're ruining American governance. For God's sake, you're too caught up in PEOPLE. Try arguing about IDEAS and PREMISES for a while, and quit being so enraptured with the surface drama of all this stuff.

I know Howard Gutman well. He is a good man working for his beliefs. I am at odds politically with him, and have often told him so, but have no doubt as to the quality of his character. In addition, he is devoted to his family and has made great sacrifices on their behalf. There is no need to pile on this man, who says what he believes and puts family first.

Gov. Palin kept her pregnancy secret largely due to the knowledge she was carrying a Down's Syndrome child. Why else was the test done. She made a choice to have the child which has been applauded by the right wingers.

Gov. Palin exposed her daughter's pregnancy to stop rumors that the last child was an attempted cover-up of her daughter's pregnancy and was really her grandchild. Those rumors existed before she was selected. Her daughter chose to keep the child and marry the father sometime in the future. Mr. Palin apparently does not own a shotgun. She has been applauded by right wingers for her choice.

How convenient that they had a choice. A choice which the Gov. would deny to all other women.

I think she is a set up for the press. I hit Google and in 20 minutes I knew she was under investsigation for influence peddling, that she was a bookburner, Clues pointed to a cover up about her last child (not looking pregnant and a weird story about flying home for the birth, she was tight with Sen. Stevens, she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it. She set all records for pork as mayor of the small town and left the town $20 million in debt.

McCain's committee did as fine a job on this selection as Brownie did with Katrina.

Palin has made it family issue and that's why it seems hypocritcal to many. I am surprised the read that Democratic women would vote for McCain-Palin. If Democratic women vote for McCain then we've just handed the country over the Religious Right once again. Palin is against sex ed, she believes in teaching creationism is schools, she does not believe in global warming, drilling is her only solution to the energy crisis and lastly, has a very limited understanding of foreign relations. This is not the right woman for us and frankly, I was really turned off by her speech. Diplomacy does not seem to be her forte. Dems please stick to your core beliefs!!!

This whole campaign season has set the women's movement back 30 years at least. Hillary supporters saying they're voting out of spite simply reinforce the image that woman are too emotional to hold high office. This whole BS that because she's a woman she's a mother rather than a parent simply reinforces the whole stereotype of women must be caregivers exclusively.

Palin is a parent who happens to be a mother. Bayh is a parent who happens to be a father. They both should be viewed EXACTLY the same when they enter the same arena and that means accepting the SAME criticisms ALL parents get when they make a move that so highly affects their children.

Disagree with those criticisms, fine. But stop using the fact that she's a woman to tell everyone to stop the criticisms.

Women fought for years to be considered EQUAL....not to get special treatment.

Howard Gutman has given us a chance to judge the truthfulness of Obama's claim that he will fire anyone on his campaign that makes comments involving Sarah Palin's family. Besides the fact that I think Gutman is a complete loser-of-a-human-being for making those statements, it is clear to me that he is representing Obama and that his comments are a direct attack on the family. Senator Obama, keep your word and make Gutman an example by firing him! How is Obama going to lead the country, when he can’t even get the democrats to stop picking on a little seventeen-year-old girl? That doesn’t seem like very effective leadership to me. He claimed he is in charge of his campaign and that shows his “executive” ability, but it doesn’t seem like anyone that works for him is actually listening. Gutman is a test for the Obama camp. Either Obama sanctions these attacks on the Palin family, or he will keep his word and fire Gutman.

Incidentally, I love the part where Mr. Gutman says: "If my daughter had just come home at 17 years old and said, 'Mom, Dad, I'm pregnant, we have a family problem..." He would probably take his daughter down to the local Planned Parenthood clinic and have his daughter abort her child.

hmmm...Gutman...I guess the Armani suit was cutting off the blood to his brain.
What a schmuck.......

A woman is no more than an amoeba to him and his kind!!!!!

The man is a sexist and fool.

"Just practice what you preach"

Tell that to the Fundies.

Obama is too scared to attack Sarah. He has his clowns do the dirty work, and he sits back and denies everything. Well, it ain't working democrats.

Just about everything that comes out of this woman's mouth is a lie, just like everything McCain and the self-righteous right said about Obama was a fabrication or at a bare minimum truth stretched to the snapping point. McCain's campaign may have actually at this point become more vulgar and vile than either of Bush's.

P.S. guys, when did Fox become so hated...after all, there is ABC,CBS,NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Newsweek, Time, LATimes, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal to name just a very, very few that are all agaga about Obama and never think to ask real deep questions. We should also not forgot that "tingle up my leg" business with Chris Mathews(?).....Even if Fox went totally gaga too, there are still a large portion of this country that sees the clothes don't have a person in them.

All those that are critical of Palin and the choice they've made!!! Get off your high horse. It's amazing that all are such experts on what she should or shouldn't do. Just practice what you preach and don't draw to your self righteous conclusion. I'm just thankful that there are those that can do what they do to support the effort and cause of this nation. Many children everyday are faced with far greater challenges and they have no choice. This one is at least a selfless act of service. Give it a chance with out your hypocracy!

Well, so much for reasonably decent, honest, caring, compassionate, fair, non
judgmental, intelligent discourse. But, in all fairness, from what little I've seen of the DailyKos, MyDD, Atrios, Huffpo, MoveOn.org, et.al. this is pretty tame. All of this back and forth may do some good. Even if it is only to allow for stress release.

"I agree 100% with Gutman. Palin has been exploiting her family and using their for photo ops. Geeze, she brought her 4-month old special needs child to the convention!! Who brings an infant to a loud, rowdy political convention?"

And everyone else disagrees with Gutman- even Gutman, who apologized.

You guys would be screaming cover-up if she did not bring all this out.

Obama's kids have been on magazine covers. They have been used repeatedly, so please........

For all you know-it-alls who think Sarah Palin is against birth control conduct a bit of research first. Sarah Palin believes that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy (duh) but she also supports birth control as well. Google it and you'll find she does support contraception.

As to her daughter becoming pregnant, we don't know if she was using birth control or not. It's possible she was and still got pregnant- that happens.

We don't know and we shouldn't make assumptions.

Sexist drivel. So a woman needs to stay home and be a mom rather than a working mom? No way! She's not a single mother folks. Her husband will be the primary caretaker. Why does it have to be the mom not the dad who takes care of the children? Isn't the father an acceptable choice as well?

No one complains about Obama's weekend parenting (as he was physically away from the family most of the time during his Washington Senate tenure) and Michelle works fulltime. Their girls are cared for by Michelle's mother. Is that a problem for any of you who complain that only Sarah Palin can raise her children?

At least Sarah Palin's children will have a parent looking after them- not a grandmother as in the Obama household.

It's a double standard. It's why women will come out in droves to vote for Palin just to put a woman through that glass ceiling. Keep talking people, you're only pushing more of us towards protecting Sarah Palin not away from.

But then, if Governor Palin is running for office on her experience as a "hockey mom," shouldn't voters analyze whether she has been successful in this capacity?

If she continues to claim that being a mother qualifies her to be the Vice President, then it shouldn't be surprising that people want to know if she has been a good mother.

I agree 100% with Gutman. Palin has been exploiting her family and using their for photo ops. Geeze, she brought her 4-month old special needs child to the convention!! Who brings an infant to a loud, rowdy political convention?

The sexism charges are getting a bit much. If Palin wnats to be treated with kid gloves just because "she's a girl," then she should go back to Alaska and stay there.

It was PALIN and the GOP that made her 5 kids the #1 talking point when they rolled her out (she's a mother of five! we heard over and over). Now, they squeal like pigs if someone mentions her family. Pot meet kettle.

Gutman was correct

I would have say it against Pelosi when she ran for office with 5 small kdis

EXCEPT they were all grown by that time!!!!!!

Quinn is an idiot. And the fact that the Democrats and National Org of Women are choosing to use this same line of attack, shows just how hypocritical and narrow-minded they are.

They're all for women having strength and choice - as long as the woman shares their ideological views.

If they all had their way, they'd set back women's rights 100 years just so Obama could be elected. None of them have a shred of integrity or an ounce of shame.

It's amazing to me that thr track records on women's and family issues of both tickets can be there for all the world to see, and yet there is somehow a contest between the two tickets. Not about issues, indeed.

But beyond that, I think it's worthwhile remembering that Palin herself made her family / parenting / children an issue by dragging them out. It's one thing to acknowledge your children in the audience, or even occasionally have them on stage in a family photo-op. It's another matter entirely to run a convention with your family front-and-center at all times. I believe the last words of the convention were from no other than John McCain: "What a beautiful family!"

There's every reason to question a candidate who so willingly, obviously, shamelessly uses their family as a prop. (And, no, there's no comparison.)

Watch it ladies, if the big Ohhhhhh goes to Washington, this is what they will be doing.....Telling us how to live our lives. Remember when the Republians did that? How does it feel.
NO OBAMA NO WAY!!1

Does Sally Quinn think that we forgot about her past and her "reputation" in Washington?

As a Hillary supporter who now supports McCain/Palin, I cannot read listen to these so-called pro-women liberals without side-splitting laughter. C'mon, do they hear themselves? Someday they will pretty embarrassed by it all. I want them to keep it up because everytime they do, another Hillary supporter jumps ship to McCain. LOL

Obama said he'd fire anyone on his campaign that attacked Palin's family.

Obama also said he'd take public financing, vote against FISA...

Words. Just words.

Dems for McCain/Palin!

Fox news criticized Obama's for months that they let their children go to the controversial church and sit in the pews and they were baptized by the reverend. Fox was questioning their parenting.

Where was the outrage that Fox would do that?

Maybe the press should cover the church the Palin's attend and their controversial ministers.

I don't think judgment of any of the candidates parenting skills should be allowed.

Maybe all the press should do a better job and cover the real tough issues.

How many children did Bobby Kennedy have?

[to "Blackdog"]

You must be ill. P-diddy's mouth is angelic compared to the stuff Palin's soon-to-be shotgun-married future son-in-law posted on the internet about himself. Oh, and he says he doesn't want children.

I do not see any sanity in Sarah Palin's decision to give a speech and board a plane after her water broke just before delivery of her "special needs" child. Where was her concern for her own unborn child's safey and wellbeing? Where would her concern be for our safety if it interfered with her public appearance schedule/campaign contribution functions? Gutman is spot on because he pointed out how hypocritical and heartless this career-first woman is while the McCain camp introduces her as "mom" for America.

Obama 08!

I don't identify with her parental skills for several reasons, but one of the most important is the fact she could go on a national stage and rip another person apart to the extent she did - with her children setting just feet from her. The kids did look bewildered at times. They would look at her and then the crowd.

As parents, don't we want to be role models, don't we want our children to have our values and morals, don't we want their respect...

These kids can read, think and access the internet...so they know much of what she viciously said were lies.

would that be the same finance committe that flip flopped on public finance for obama? the same one that when obama lied the media made NO stink about?

Mr Gutman is a typical Liberal! They want to tell individuals how they must run their lives. And many of you really want them running both the White House and the Congress? Are you really so anxious to give up your liberties?

Incidentally, I love the part where Mr. Gutman says: "If my daughter had just come home at 17 years old and said, 'Mom, Dad, I'm pregnant, we have a family problem..." He would probably take his daughter down to the local Planned Parenthood clinic and have his daughter abort her child.

Dave in lv,

The Obama family does not have two working parents. Michelle has been on leave from her job for a long time.

And the Obamas have two children.

The Palins, both of whom work, have five children, one of whom is a newborn handicapped child and the other of which is a pregnant teenager.

Now it looks like Palin is continuing it by not seeing that Trig gets the extra care he needs to develop to his full potential.

Typical of right-to-lifers, once the baby is born, they are clueless about its quality of life.

[Both Dobson and Dr Laura have expressed support for Sarah.]

Dr. Laura is opposed to her becoming VP, as I noted below.

[So, you really think Obama is going to make things better? ]

Yes and you can post all the crap from Fats Limbaugh that you obviously believe AND I still KNOW things will be better.

[ isn't there something called the Annenburge files ]

Yes and in Hannity's tiny mind, these are the equivalent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

[If ABC and the left wing media had spent as much time investigating Barack H Obama's background of Wright, racist, Rezko, crook,"Frank", communist and Ayers, unrepentant terrorist]

Thank you, Mr. Hannity, but we've already determined that you are a lying #####.

[Both Dobson and Dr Laura have expressed support for Sarah.]

And that's why he's a despicable hypocrite. Mullah Dobson is an arrogant politician who should have much voice in our politics.

Exactly what will Palin have to worry about after Bristol's wedding? They both seem like upwardly mobile youngsters. Stop acting like their lives are over. Maybe in Barack's alternate reality hell-on-Earth America they'd be screwed, but in actual day to day America I think they'll do just fine on their own. If she were just a few months older this wouldn't even be worth talking about.
P.S. I can't wait to watch Trig age in the White House.

Good post! Two quick suggestions:

1. I respectfully submit you should have reposted or displayed more prominently the fact the independent voters you posted about from the Detroit Free Press were actually anti-war protesters.
2. You have blogged that Sen. Obama wrote in one of his books the time he was most proud of his brother was when his brother converted to Islam. I assume he wrote this after his becoming a Christian. So respectfully, what did Sen. Obama mean by being most proud of his brother when he became a muslim? It seems logical that a Christian would be "proud" of sibling becoming a Christian, not a muslim.

If ABC and the left wing media had spent as much time investigating Barack H Obama's background of Wright, racist, Rezko, crook,"Frank", communist and Ayers, unrepentant terrorist, as they have on Governor Palin's daughter, he would have been found to be only a glib, smooth talking operator on a par with Ponzi scheme promoters, boiler room stock salesman and the run-of-the mill grifters who pry on the both the greedy and the innocent.

Jake:

What drives me crazy about Gutman's stance is his smarmy faux-concern for Palin's children, even as he gleefully participates in their public humiliation.

If Obama's surrogates can and will treat Sarah Palin like this, they would certainly do the same with me and those I love. I, too, am Sarah Palin, and Obama's folks are abusive louts who will stoop to gutter rumormongering, sexism, and who knows what else to get Obama elected. To hell with them.

I'm sorry. I'm making too many grammatical mistakes and need to get some sleep.

I wish you all well, even Steve and Willem!!!

We have one family with a stay at home parent and another family with two working parents.

Why Palin being viciously attacked for not staying at home when they have a stay at home parent, while the two working parents get off without a single attack?

Why are "Independents" only attacking Palin and never Obamas for the same thing?

As for the vetting, isn't there something called the Annenburge files that have some WILD rumors but news organizations have not sent a single person to investigate? Meanwhile the one person is is looking at the files is being harrassed, intimidated and marginalized while he just BEGINS to look?

Blackdog

You forgot that while Iran has repeatedly stated the US will soon be destroyed, is developing uranium capabilities that could be turned into bombs and has recently test fired an ICBM, Barry wants to cut ALL FUNDING for our ABM missile defense shield and substantially cut funding for ALL new weapon systems.

Dave, I know a bunch of guys at my office who really don't like Michelle. To the extent that they say she's probably too stern with the kids. What does this have to do with anything? Hell if I know, but they've projected something onto her and don't like her. And they can't enunciate it past "I just get the feeling she's really a taskmaster with those kids". There's no telling what the takeaway is on this stuff.

Again, Palin is being vetted to the hills because NO ONE'S DONE IT and she's a step away from the presidency and it is scaring people. There were plenty of low-level rumours about Obama that were circulated, vetted and discarded during the primary season, but the general public didn't notice because there just wasn't a huge focus on Obama, so no rush. Palin is currently the top search engine query, and there are only two months to find out about her, so small-town rumours are almost instantly hitting blogs and wires where many, many eyes are looking at them. This isn't a conspiracy, it's a perfect storm of a little-known and barely scrutinized candidate getting thrust onto a very national stage where all eyes are on her. Reporters are following leads; if they find interesting things, they find interesting things.

And it's got something to do with the kids' ages, too. I can't see a reporter looking into Malia and Sacha's social interactions and criminal records, they're too little.

Grace

"When Palin hauled her kids into the spotlight and kept referencing her motherhood, she had to know that some moms who believe they do it better might vote differently because of that contrast"

Didn't Michelle bring her children onstage during the Dem Convention while mentioning motherhood? Is Michelle brought to task re: her working and their dad traveling all the time?

Did the same people say either Michelle or Barry should be a stay at home parent or attack them in any way regarding their parenting skills?

Have news organizations sent teams of reporters to track down any rumors like CNN reported they did with Sarah's children?

"Senator Obama opposes new drilling. He has said it will not 'solve our problem' and that 'it's not real.' He's wrong, and the American people know it."

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently gushed at a San Francisco fundraiser that Obama was "a leader God has blessed us with."

The liberal media would have you believe that he is a "messiah." (Please note, that we spell it with a small "m" although, dare I say, there are probably some folks in the liberal media who wouldn't…)

So, what does this "messiah" say to struggling Americans who are barely surviving because gasoline still costs too much at the pump?

What does this "messiah" say to those of us who are having a difficult time feeding our families because transportation costs have driven prices through the roof at the grocery store?

What "real" solution does this "messiah" offer? What does this "messiah" advocate to "solve" the problems of all of us "bitter people" who "cling to guns and religion?"

B. Obama tells us to "inflate our tires." He tells us "we can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times," lest third-world tyrants who already hate our guts anyway, won't like us for it.

And then, to add insult to injury, tells us that drilling for more oil is "not real" and won't "solve our problems."

You already know that inflating your tires, sweating like a pig in the summer or freezing in the winter isn't going to drive the cost of gasoline down or put food into the mouth of a hungry child.

You already know that demand for oil is worldwide and that no amount of depravation (that's liberal-speak for conservation; Conservatives understand the true meaning of the word) is going to stop the rapidly increasing demand for oil that is coming from developing countries such as China and India.

And you already know that if Obama has his way, we would use LESS OIL, demand would STAY SKY-HIGH, PRICES WOULD continue to RISE and Americans would just have to GET USED TO LIVING WITH LESS!

I am hearing some truly insane remarks about the Bush Administration.
First of all, Bush has been attacked by the same people that have no clue about their own government and how it works. People that Do know how things like spending bills become law for instance. It's your idiot Democrat leadership responsible crafting and passing bills. The president can veto a bill but the veto can be overruled in a veto proof Senate. So, get a clue...DUH!

Second, I'm sure you don't remember that we had 911 or Katrina, Charlie and real issues of national security. In case you didn't know it, this is a very dangerous world with people that want to kill you. DUH!
People that have declared war on US. See, here in my country we aren't real in to measured response. When people threaten us, tell us they will kill our folks and have done it.... Well, some of us take it seriously and go after their asses. You give me a leader that defends and protects the country over your clueless fool.

So, you really think Obama is going to make things better? Seriously? Well, if that were the case his district in South Chicago would have been cleaned up...don't you think? DUH! The corruption of the Daily machine would