September 7, 2008

On Sarah Palin avoiding interviews for now... and the dumbest things Obama and McCain have said.

I've been thinking about the way Sarah Palin is avoiding interviews. She can't keep doing that, but I think it's wise for her to take some time to bone up on things and to develop rhetorical strategies. She's going to be severely tested, and she's got to take some time to get ready. Her opponents are right to make a big deal out of every minute she delays, but the price of making a mistake is great. You know any dumb thing that slips out is going to be used to the hilt. And something dumb is inevitable.

With this in mind, I was wondering what is the single dumbest thing Obama and McCain have said? Something has to be the dumbest. I'm thinking, for Obama:



For McCain:



The remix:

257 comments:

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Trooper York said...

How can you go lower than snail shit?

Roy in Nipomo said...

Re Firefox problems with videos:

Get the FLASHBLOCK add-on. Works for me...

Simon said...

Ken said...
"If Palin waited for the media to play straight, she'd give an interview about a month after the New York Times went bankrupt."

January 16th next year?

Simon said...

EnigmatiCore said...
"And Drudge says Olbermann has been demoted."

OH! Oh, that's going to leave a mark! Oh, if that's true, by golly I hope Keith landed on his ego and I hope it hurt. Vile, rancid excuse for a human being that he is.

Enigmaticore, I'd still like to know what it'd take to bring you over to the Dark Side.

Peter V. Bella said...

Roger J,
You are a former officer and a gentleman. You are trying your damndest to make sense out of people who have none. They have no horse sense; the sense that horses have that keeps them form betting on humans. That is why I use their hypocrisy and my sarcasm against them. You cannot argue or try to get a straight answer. If you ask them what time it is, they will tell you it is time to impeach Bush. If you remark that it is a nice day, they will say it is a nice day to indict Cheney. See? I do not expect you to stoop so low. As a former NCO, SSgt, I can.

When I was a very new and green police officer an old timer gave me the best advice ever- never argue with an idiot; they try to bring you down to their own level and beat you every time.

Unknown said...

MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat

Yes. That's going to leave a mark all right.

vbspurs said...

Here is the Drudge statement, with no link yet (I'm not a Drudge reader, so I don't know that's his usual MO -- if so, it's very unprofessional):

MSNBC drops Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from anchor chair... David Gregory will anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night.... Developing..

Remember I mentioned that David Gregory was on the anchor chair for Day 2 of the RNC? I thought both Chrissy and Olbermann had been demoted but I think now it was only a 'look-see' to see if it worked.

I think it must've.

Cheers,
Victoria

Unknown said...

I love this line: The success of the Fox News Channel in the past decade along with the growth of political blogs have convinced many media companies that provocative commentary attracts viewers and lures Web browsers more than straight news delivered dispassionately.

They don't understand Rush's success either, which is why they were sure that Air America was gonna clean up.

vbspurs said...

Also, do you see how she knows her stuff and there are no um um um errs?

I've watched all the Youtube videos I can, and I have yet to hear her utter an "um" either, Catherine.

(I also saw the Greta van Susteren report on her last night -- wonder if anyone else has)

Sloanasaurus said...

New USA Today/Gallup Poll has McCain up 4, by 10 among likely voters.

Wait, if you reread the article, McCain is up by 4 among registered voters and up by 10 for likely voters. I am not kidding. McCain 54 Obama 44 according to Gallup.

Wow, the media is really going to have the long knives out for Palin now. According to Drudge, the NY Times is getting set to slime their down baby on the front page Monday.

How is Obama supposed to close a 10 pt gap with nothing left until the election but debates, which Obama isn't very good at.

His only hope is that the media take down Palin. That is his only hope.

vbspurs said...

MCG, there were many daggers into the Countdown heart, I'm sure, but the RNC crowd shouting "NBC! NBC! NBC!" when Palin mentioned dismissive press, and then this:

“How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?” Mr. Griffin called the graphic “an embarrassment.”

Can't have helped.

Cheers,
Victoria

clint said...

Have to say: The "avoiding interviews" meme is really, really... let's call it 'audacious.'

The Convention ended less than 72 hours ago. Hours. Greta Van Sustren had an excellent hour-long piece full of interviewing and video of Governor Palin at home and at work, this weekend. She's already agreed to do an interview with a mainstream news guy later this week.

Finally, she's right to wait a few days and let all, or at least a bunch of, the silly stories get out and refuted so that she doesn't have to do her first interview knocking down AIP, creationism, library books, birth control, slashing funds for teen mothers, bigotry against eskimos, etc... where every answer is, "Um, no. That's just wrong."

Sloanasaurus said...

I wonder if the Matthews Olberman dismissal has something to do with McCain rising in the polls. Maybe MSNBC realises it isn't helping Obama win with Olberman and Matthews out there. They need more sub rosa biased media such as Tom Brokaw or Andrea Mitchell.

vbspurs said...

His only hope is that the media take down Palin. That is his only hope.

I feared this very much. I have a virulent pro-Obama neighbour, and he told me with spit coming out of his mouth, "I hope they destroy her".

It was very scary...honestly, I would prefer it had been a really tight race all the way until November 4.

Then let down the boom.

vbspurs said...

Clint! I'm glad someone else watched the Special.

I was commenting on it real-time last night, whilst others were watching the BoSox game.

I was amused to discover that she did the pageants to get college tuition (that's not why it was amusing, but that she described the swimsuit competitions, and having to show her "butt" to male judges) and that she plays the flute.

It wasn't a terribly insightful special, but it's early days.

Cheers,
Victoria

Roberto said...

David Frum: The National Review blog, "George W. Bush had very slight executive experience before becoming president. His views were not well known. He won the nomination exactly in the same way that Palin has won the hearts of so many conservatives."

And we ALLLLLLLLLL know how that's worked out.

Don't we????????

I'm Full of Soup said...

Looks like this election won't be close. People are finding Obama lacking in a history they can touch and feel and relate to.

As Reader and her husband wondered, who'd have thunk the Dems could screw up another one!

Time for the Dems to find their own Sarah Palin. When they do, it will be a good thing for the country.

Peter V. Bella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
vbspurs said...

AJ, don't nobody ain't have no quit in me!

(Sorry that was my attempt to sound like Hillary doing a black person's accent)

It's waaaay too early to cry victory, though it feels very satisfying to see this on Real Clear Politics:

USA Today/Gallup 09/05 - 09/07 LV 44 54 McCain +10

McCain/Palin +10 amongst registered voters, as Enigmatic and Sloany said.

I may faint.

Sloanasaurus said...

Looks like this election won't be close. People are finding Obama lacking in a history they can touch and feel and relate to.

Well, I think it will still be close. Obama will go on a bloody attack against Palin after seeing the poll bounce out of the election. That is his only chance. Of course this strategy could turn out to be a huge failure and Obama will lose big time come November. However, Obama could be successful in smearing Palin and bring the election back to even.

Or people could just get sick of Palin, but I doubt that will happen because the media hates her, so there will never be the endless positive reporting that would cause the sickening.

Sloanasaurus said...

Does everyone remember a week ago how the media was pointing out that Obama had finally reached that magic 50% number in the pools and implying how that was a very important moment. Lets see if they say the same thing about McCani's 54%.

Sloanasaurus said...

Such a giant bounce cannot be just Palin. It is also a reflection on McCain himself and his appeal to independents. Obama really only appeals to liberals.

Did anyone hear today that Obama announced that he may not end the Bush tax cuts anymore if we are in a recession.... This is so odd to me since Obama has more or less blamed the struggling economy on Bush's tax cuts?

It is another example of how Obama does not have any principles. His positions change with the poll numbers.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Enigmaticore, I'd still like to know what it'd take to bring you over to the Dark Side."

Simple. A few years of clean governance and policies that have unambiguously positive results.

Reagan almost had me convinced. Then I found out that his party wasn't what he was, and I found out that his policies either don't always work or, possibly, his party abandoned his policies while they were working. Either way, not good for the GOP.

It would help if GOP primary voters stopped tolerating the intolerable. Stevens again, really? I mean, really?

It would also help if every few months you didn't get a story like the one about the GOP pol calling Obama 'uppity'.

It would help if there was some acknowledgment that while maybe every so often an exceptional person can rise above the crap in the ghettos to make something of themselves, the average schmo isn't going to be able to and is going to have learned habits that will help hold him or her back-- and that sucks and while we can't condone it we also should not condemn them for it. We have to figure out how to get opportunity to more people. Real opportunity, not just 'in theory, we all have the same opportunities.'

That's what it would take.

Unknown said...

The One is desperate.

vbspurs said...

Sloan, I wouldn't hold my breath about the 50%. They'll spin it as negatively as possible -- probably by saying, not entirely incorrectly, that only the State polls count. Of course, they'll have remembered that just now, when they're guy is tanking not before.

Alongside Chrissy and Olbermann's demotions, that Daily Kos are trying to salvage whatever shreds of credibility they have left.

A recent front-page diary purports to shame progressives for their sexist treatment of Palin.

But the commenters are having none of it. If they can't attack her as Caribou Barbie, they'll transform her into the Second Coming of Dubya.

Palin is...

an amoral killer. She shoots animals for fun. She uses her family for political profit.

She looks cute, but she is far, far more dangerous than most people seem to have realised.

Sociopaths are often very believable and charming. It wouldn't be fair to attempt diagnosis at a distance, but the common threads through most of her scandals include reckless disregard for the law, a need to control and dominate every situation, clannishness and a vicious petty tribalism, and a hatred of the natural world.

You can bet she doesn't like liberals.

She's not Bush in a skirt, she's Bush squared. She makes overt everything Bush pretends to hide.

A Palin presidency would make the Bush years seem like a golden age.


I wish I knew the cure for incipient PDS, but I am afraid science is SOL as yet.

vbspurs said...

The One is desperate.

GASP. The ultimate card from the bottom of the deck. Poor Obama will have to go under his desk.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Wait, if you reread the article, McCain is up by 4 among registered voters and up by 10 for likely voters"

Isn't that exactly what I had said?

Sheesh! It is like you quoted me and acted like you were correcting me! :-)

vbspurs said...

Enigmatic, I blame the going "over 200" comments thingie. By the time you click on Post Comment to do so, you forget your point.

Sloanasaurus said...

I was thinking about how both Obama and Palin would do together in a meeting with someone like Vladimir Putin. Most likely, Putin would think both Obama and Palin are jokes. However, at least Putin could chat with Palin about the joy of hunting wild animals in Siberia. With Obama, there wouldn't be any ice breaker at all.

Peter V. Bella said...

mcg said...
The One is desperate.

So, the One is putting on the knee pads hoping the Ole Uncle Festus is gay enough to think he is an intern. Interesting, very interesting.
.

I'm Full of Soup said...

If I was McCain and Palin, every other word I utter from now until elction day would be "reform" or "fight" or stand up" and "We are not seeking approval from the MSM or Beltway elite".

They found the magic button - keep pushing it!

Sloanasaurus said...

I am still waiting for McCain to go to town on Obama for not taking public funds. As a conservative, I think Mccain Feingold is dumb and I am against the public funding thing and McCain was smeart not to mention it at the convention, however, when I was an independent in my 20s, the issue of campaign financing and lobbying etc. mattered more to me than the more important issues of abortion and taxes etc.. Why? Because nothing matters more to independents than being independent. Public funding is one way to maintain independence. This issue will sell well to the swing voters and McCain should hit Obama hard on it now that he has solidified his base with the Palin pick.

Biff said...

Is it just me, or was it incredibly rude and jarring when the audience questioner referred to Hillary Clinton by her first name in the Obama video? Calling her Hillary on a blog post is one thing, but as an audience member at a presidential debate? Would the questioner have dared to refer to Obama as Barack, or Biden as Joe, or Edwards as John? Maybe, but I doubt it...

Synova said...

Hehe, I like that caribou barbie. LOL.

And an amoral killer... she kills animals for fun! And babies! She eats babies!

"It wouldn't be fair to attempt diagnosis at a distance, but..." she's a sociopath I tell you!

Not a mild second comming of Bush that McCain would be but BushSQUARED... evil incarnate!

This is like... ROVE... hanging out at KoS enjoying his retirement, right?

Because I'm torn... torn!.. between laughing my rear right off and bellowing an enthusiastic HooRAH.

Amoral killer. How cool is that? Just like an action movie!

(Gonna go cook some dead pig and boil some corn on the cob and contemplate my carnivore nature.)

Simon said...

Michael, that's the best you can do? A lame attempt to tie her to Bush? Desperation...

Simon said...

Enigmaticure, I don't disagree on the points you're making, but you ask the impossible. You ask them to have a track record in office before you'll vote for them and we don't have that kind of time.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Anyone heard from Howard Dean and his 50 state strategy lately?

garage mahal said...

The One is desperate.

Because he accepted an offer for lunch from Bill Clinton? O-k-a-y.

vbspurs said...

Synova, I confess I like Caribou Barbie too. ;)

This is like... ROVE... hanging out at KoS enjoying his retirement, right?

This scenario beyond Rovian. It's Atwaterish. I'm thinking that someone gave these moonbats a Chinese whisper (as mentioned by an Althouse commenter) and they allowed them to run with it. The media fed the frenzy, and everyone looked completely stupid by Wednesday. It brought down Olbermann and Matthews, as well.

I'm going with Grassy Knoll Door Number 3.

P.S.: Just so that there's no doubt, I'm just kidding. I believe that one can never truly underestimate the propensity people have to believe the worst of another human being. It's why journalism exists, and politics flourishes.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Because he accepted an offer for lunch from Bill Clinton? O-k-a-y.

Timing, said Jack Benny, is everything in life.

Peter V. Bella said...

Michael said...
peter,…

The denigration of being a community organizer is nothing more that right wing talking points to dissuade people from voting for Obama.


There was a group of community organizers in Chicago. They opened up youth centers, clinics, and all that good blah blah blah jazz. They also sold dope in the same neighborhoods that they were helping. They committed brutal crimes in the name of social justice. They were amassing firearms for a racial revolution. The name of that humanitarian group- The Black Panther Party. One of their community organizers is a US Congressman and acquaintance of Barak Obama. His name is Bobby Rush.

There was another group of community organizers in Chicago. They were mostly concerned with the plight of Puerto Ricans; those in Puerto Rico. They were called the FALN. They organized rallies, they gave speeches, and all that good blah blah blah stuff. They also blew up buildings and committed crimes in the name of social justice. One of the community organizers is also a US Congressman and acquaintance of Barak Obama. His name is Luis Guiterrez. Oh, and Bill Clinton pardoned some of these urban terrorists even though they never repented their crimes at the behest of Luis Guiterrez.

Then there is the current famous national community organizer who claims to be a Civil Rights leader. He preaches from the pulpit, he travels to other cities to get his face on TV and he does all that good social service organizing blah blah blah. He is responsible for a smear campaign against the NYPD- the Twana Brawley case. He is responsible for race riots in New York where people were seriously injured and he is responsible for an arson that killed people. He even ran for president. This community organizer is Al Sharpton.

So, I guess being a community organizer is much more involved than church socials, asbestos clean up, and youth programs.

BTW, Barak Obama is associated and/or friends with all of these former and current community organizers cum criminals and terrorists.

Denigration of community organizers? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?



Anybody with a computer can Google Obama and see exactly what he did while helping those less fortunate.

Why not lay out ANYTHING you've ever done...EVER… Talk is cheap: Tell us what YOU'VE ever done or accomplished.


Do you really want to go there? I spent almost thirty years in real public service, actually helping people, as a Chicago Police Officer.

There is not enough room or time here to document almost thirty years of police work; saving lives, delivering babies, rescuing babies, arresting parents for abusing babies, arresting bad guys, trying to keep dope off the street, protecting and comforting the weakest of society, keeping the streets safe for ALL, no matter what I thought of them, running into burning buildings, seeing the daily blood shed and evil that humans do to each other. I also contributed to the large number of the Black men in prison your side empathizes with and bemoans about.

I never cared what race, creed, color, religion, or political persuasion anyone was. If they called I went. If they needed help, I helped. If I had to kill someone to help them I would. If I had to get killed to help them I would have been killed. I spent four days at Ground Zero in NYC after 9/11 helping out.

I even have foreign policy experience, as I have dealt with people at various foreign consulates. I met the head of the Chinese government law enforcement agency; sort of their equivalent of the FBI/CIA. He spent a night riding with me and denigrated our methods. According to him, the Chinese would never let anyone treat them the way we let people treat us.

What the fuck have you ever done for anyone in your rotten miserable fucking life except piss, moan, whine, and complain about what you are entitled to and how bad you have it? And who the fuck are you to ask me or anyone else to detail anything or justify what we did?

So, asshat, I guess I am more qualified than that former pissant community organizer pal of yours to be president.

garage mahal said...

Timing, said Jack Benny, is everything in life.

Bill Clinton lives in Harlem. Obama is visiting NYC. I think it's desperate thinking there is something desperate about it? LOL.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm.

"The only way I've found to watch Althouse videos is to paste the URL into an IE window when necessary. Quite annoying."

Go to Firefox Extensions and look up the IE tab extension.

I normally run Firefox without Flash installed because I despise all of those annoying Flash advertisments. When I need Flash, which is installed with my IE, I simply choose to reload that specific tab as an IE page.

Firefox Extension: IE Tab

Anonymous said...

Hitting or even thinking about hitting women is not funny.

I used to think it would be fun to hit Cindy Sheehan when she was behaving stupidly, but then she descended into pathetic, which took away the fun.


And we ALLLLLLLLLL know how that's worked out.

Don't we????????


Yep, two brutal dictatorships overthrown and 60 million people given an opportunity to build new countries based upon freedom and democracy.

We won't know for another generation or two whether freedom has taken root and is able to grow in the sands of the Middle East, but this is the best opportunity those people have had in 100 years.

But I'm guessing this isn't what you had in mind when you asked the question.


and he told me with spit coming out of his mouth

The left is so very, very afraid of Palin. If you think your neighbor was spitting a lot today, well, just make sure you have an umbrella handy if you speak to him on election day.


It's waaaay too early to cry victory

Absolutely, but I am going to enjoy the glow of potential victory just for the evening because I never thought the GOP ticket would be close, let alone leading in the polls after the conventions.


Calling her Hillary on a blog post is one thing, but as an audience member at a presidential debate?

It is an indication of comfort and familiarity. You don't call your friends by their official titles, do you? The fact they feel close enough to Hillary to call her by first name is an indication that they connected with her.


caribou barbie

If Mattel was smart, they would release an election-year special Barbie for the occasion. They would sell millions.

Peter V. Bella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peter V. Bella said...

garage mahal said...
Bill Clinton lives in Harlem. Obama is visiting NYC. I think it's desperate thinking there is something desperate about it? LOL.


For someone who claims to demand facts, you sure can throw out the bullshit.

Bill Clinton does not live in Harlem, unless Hillary Kicked him out of their multi-million dollar abode in upstate New York.

Bill Clinton pimps and panders in Harlem. He visits there once in awhile. As those hillbilly's say, he does bidness in Harlem.

Unless you know for a documented, verifiable, vetted fact that he is shacking up with a Black intern in Harlem.

Michael The Magnificent said...

PatCA: BTW videos still not working. Firefox problem?

So it's not just me, then?

I can't even enter this thread with Firefox 3.0.1 under Ubuntu (Hardy) Linux without Firefox crashing instantly.

Using Firefox 3.0.1 under Windows, I'm not having any problems.

reader_iam said...

Because nothing matters more to independents than being independent. Public funding is one way to maintain independence.

Regarding sentence one: Yes.

Regarding sentence two: Yes. But it's not the only one.

(My personal preference and judgment was struck down by the SCOTUS, and so I respect that decision and continue to agree to live by it. And will continue to do so, until such time ... which such time is totally unlikely to take place, at any time in the near- to mid-future. That's how it works, and so it goes.

But I still disagree with it; I still think it was wrong. But that--as I just wrote--is how it goes, and so how it works.)

Steven said...

Michael, you've never been tempted to strike a woman? How wonderful for you.

But, see, you've demonstrated the exact same degree of virtue as the guy who hits a woman every time he's tempted to do it. Because it requires no virtue and no character to refrain from a sin you aren't tempted to commit.

Imagine, if you will, Jay Rockefeller talking to a guy who considered knocking over a liquor store. Imagine the guy was a high-school dropout, desperate for money because his daughter was sick, and he knew his cousin would loan him a gun, and it would have been so easy, and he seriously considered it . . . but he didn't. Imagine Senator John D. Rockefeller IV telling that guy, "I'm a better person than you because I've never considered robbing a liquor store."

Yeah, Michael, you are fully the moral equal of that hypothetical Senator Rockefeller.

reader_iam said...

Free speech--specifically political speech--should absolutely be free. I believe that profoundly, even radically.

I do not believe in the perversion and corruption of the concept of free speech to mean any which-way-willy redefinition into "freedom of [instead] expression that has, does and will come down the pike. Including--especially including! specifically noting!--expression via money.

That's a perversion. Oh, yes, it is. No matter who does it.

Jim Hu said...

Palin in a 25 min interview on CSPAN last Feb at the Moderate Voice

dick said...

Using Firefox 3.0.1 with Mandriva Linux, with Pardux Linux, with Ubuntu Linux - no problems with flash videos at all. I am using the FLASHBLOCK add-on and the video shows with a scrolled f. CLick the scrolled f and you get the arrow. Click the arrow and the video plays. That is with Linux. Don't know about anything else because I don't allow Windows on my computer.

xavier lew masset said...

Maybe Barack Obama was concerned with the dehydrated Baby-democracy of Iran...Moreover Condy Rice was in Syria a few days ago, "preconditionning" for the next President, so no big deal no more.
I think Maccie got confused with his own use of hot-water bottles and the future feeding bottles he'll have to handle to rescue his VP Sarah and Bristol.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Enigmaticure, I don't disagree on the points you're making, but you ask the impossible."

Not the impossible, just the highly improbable.

"You ask them to have a track record in office before you'll vote for them and we don't have that kind of time."

Actually, when McCain chose Palin, I decided to vote for his ticket. I thought you were asking what it would take for me to become a Republican, and the answer is for the Republican party to act worthy of me being a member.

Chris Of Rights said...

I have a different view on the dumbest thing Obama has ever said

What an Idiot.

Henry said...

Then there's the time the young McCain refused to give William Howard Taft a hand out of the bathtub when the former Governor of Cuba got stuck. That got him banned from the White House until the FDR incident.

Simon said...

Jim - that site's been advertising a false bill of goods for quite some time. There's been nothing remotely moderate about the moderate voice for quite some time.

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