September 1st, 2008
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ABC News is REPORTING that presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her husband were members of a quasi-secessionist political organization called the Alaskan Independence Party in the mid-1990s.
The party’s motto is “Alaska First — Alaska Always.”
POSTSCRIPT: This throws a whole new light on Palin’s already infamous interview with Larry Kudlow on CNBC in which she said:
“As for that VP talk all the time. I tell ya, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me — what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in this administration. We would want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S. before I can even start addressing that question.”
POSTSCRIPT: At the very top of the Alaskan Independence Party’s WEB SITEÂ — above the masthead even — is this pleasant little quotation from the group’s founder:
“The problem with you John Birchers is that you are too damn liberal!”
September 1st, 2008
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The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden has taken a 48-40 lead over the Republican team of John McCain and Sarah Palin in the first CBS POLL covering all four nominees.
Tradition suggests that the Republican ticket will close the gap at least a little with the party’s national convention this week.
Still, Obama can take encouragement from this new poll’s finding that more than more than twice the percentage of enthusiastic supporters as McCain has.
Biden leads Palin in favorability ratings, but most poll respondents say they haven’t learned enough about the Republican veep choice to form an opinion.
UPDATE: A new USA Today/Gallup poll released within the hour SHOWS Obama up by seven points.
The survey, which was conducted Saturday and yesterday, has John McCain’s unfavorable rating at its highest level for the year. Also, public confidence in McCain’s ability to handle terrorism has declined dramatically.
September 1st, 2008
 
I don’t let politicans tell me how to run this blog, but I’m going to heed Barack Obama’s advice on a certain matter.
The following is from ABC News. I’m not providing a link to it because I don’t want to spread some of the things that are in the comments just below the piece by Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller quoted here:
At a brief press availability in Monroe, Mich., ABC News asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he had any response to Gov. Sarah Palin’s statement that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.
“Let me be a clear as possible:Â I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits,” Obama said, “and people’s children are especially off limits.
“This shouldn’t be part of our politics,” he continued, “It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.
“And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he said. “You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off limits.”
Asked about the insinuation from the McCain campaign that the liberal bloggers trafficking in rumors about Palin write for websites that mention Obama, the senator said, “I’m offended by that.”
The Democratic presidential nominee said, “There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us. I hope I am as clear as can be – so in case I’m not, let me repeat: 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.”
Concluded Obama before getting on his campaign bus headed to Milwaukee, Wisc., “Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought that it was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired.”
September 1st, 2008
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A new CNN national poll SHOWS a virtual dead heat in the presidential race (although state-by-state surveys indicate a SIZABLE lead for Barack Obama in terms of electoral votes) and middling acceptance of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate.
Half of all respondents in the CNN poll say Palin is not qualified to assume the presidency if that becomes necessary.
September 1st, 2008
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Thanks to Roy Edroso at Alicublog for his collection of skeptical right-wing comments on John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Check HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.
