Month: September 2008

Raddatz: Press is Paying So Little Attention to Bush He’s Happy to See Us

Trish

The Republicans’ omissions of praise at their recent convention for the man who’s been president the past eight years earned him the nickname, “He Who Must Not be Named.” The character Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter books is the original HWMNBN, a being so bent on death and destruction, and so feared, that his name must not be said aloud. Indeed, the many senators and couple of governors who pulled out of appearing at the convention seemed to share the view of the Potter wizards and witches. Not only were they not speaking Bush’s name — or McCain’s, for that matter — they didn’t even want to be in the same room.

ABC’s White House reporter, Martha Raddatz, knows how they feel. In blogging about a press conference today, she tried to figure out why her fellow journalists took so little interest in what Bush does, did, or will do, especially with the release of Bob Woodward’s new book. In it, the Bush administration is exposed as spying on Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al Malaki. There are also questions about Bush’s sagacity and understanding of what Iraq occupation leaders tried to tell him about “conditions on the ground.”

“The press is paying so little attention to Bush that he actually looks excited to see us when he ventures out. The briefings are so sparsely attended that practically everyone there could get a front row seat.”

…with those excerpts in hand I headed into White House Press Secretary Dana Perino’s briefing this morning ready for fireworks…I asked the first question about the book, zeroing in on the spying charges, which Perino had clearly come prepared to answer.

“I would just point to the fact that we would not comment on any of the assertions in the book regarding the allegation that you brought up,” Perino said confidently…She threw in a few lines defending the president, and then answered a brief follow-up, bracing for more. It didn’t happen. Perino seemed as surprised as I was. Reporters quickly moved onto Secretary Rice’s trip to Libya and the Pakistani elections.

…the most likely reason is that President Bush is a lame duck. Take it from me. The press is paying so little attention to him that he actually looks excited to see us when he ventures out. The briefings are so sparsely attended that practically everyone there could get a front row seat. I spent my first two and a half years covering the Bush presidency filing stories for World News almost every day. But with a riveting election, and a withering economy, the White House just isn’t garnering the attention it used to. I can only imagine what the remaining few months will be like.

But here is the problem for me: In terms of television coverage, the only difference between being a lame duck president and covering a lame duck president? Lipstick.

Palin Cut Funding for Alaska’s Special Needs Children by 60 Percent

Jon Ponder

At her speech before the Republican National Convention, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made this heartfelt-seeming claim, via CBS News online:

Palin: “To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.”

Sarah Palin might have changed her mind on this one recently. However, a comment here notes that Palin actually slashed funding for schools for special needs kids by 62 percent. Budgets: FY 2007 (pre-Palin), 2008, 2009 (all pdfs).

Analysis from Momocrats:

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Putnam Lies About His Greenness While Sending Junk Mail on the Public’s Dime

Buck Banks

adamputnam.jpgThe St. Petersburg Times reports that U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), recently sent out a mailer listing his efforts to lower gas prices and use environmentally friendly, domestic sources of energy.

Since he didn’t mention that he’s up for re-election this November, he was, according to House ethics rules, able to use taxpayer dollars to send his piece of junk mail to more than 600,000 constituents.

University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus noted, though, that in economic down times, voters tend to cast a jaundiced eye at such uses of public funds: “When people get stressed in their own pocketbooks, they expect government to do so too, and they watch government spending more,” MacManus said.

One problem with Putnam’s piece of junk mail is it’s junk, the second is that it touts his environmental leadership and the third problem is that he”leads” by padding his resume, not by example:

The mailer lists 13 points under headings that declare he’s working to “promote renewable energy” and “encourage energy efficiency.” It states that he supports researching clean energy sources, using environmentally safe energy to reduce carbon-based emissions, and building nuclear power plants.

In reality, however, Putnam’ playing fast and loose with the facts:

The League of Conservation Voters gave him Putnam five out of 100 points on its 2007 environmental scorecard. The low score came from his votes on 20 issues. He got negative marks for everything except his vote against offshore drilling.

Another group, the Republicans for Environmental Protection, analyzed 15 votes and gave Putnam 13 out of 100 on the 2007 congressional scorecard.

In three recent House votes on energy- or environment-related bills, Putnam voted against the environmentalists’ positions 66 percent of the time:

  • On the Udall Amendment that would require 15 percent of retail electricity sales to be generated from specific renewable resources, Putnam voted no.
  • On an amendment would have removed a nonbinding expression of Congress’ opinion in the bill that supported mandatory policies for reducing greenhouse gases, Putnam voted no.
  • The only one he got right was a no against drilling for oil off Florida’s coast at 25 miles or farther, but his reasons were that the bill gave Florida no control or participation in the decision.

Let’s review: Putnam prints and mails a chunk of tree to more than a half-million people that lies about his environmental track record. Sounds like he’s right on track for re-election.

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

“The media doesn’t understand life membership in the NRA; they don’t understand getting up at 3 a.m. to hunt a moose, they don’t understand eating a mooseburger, they don’t understand being married to a guy who likes to snowmobile for fun. I am not surprised that they don’t get it. But Americans get it. A mooseburger means she is like one of us. She is not some jackass who’s ‘gone Washington.'”

— Congressman Adam Putnam (R – Bartow), trying to explain GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

Diddy’s Right about Black People in Alaska – and Arizona

Trish

People Magazine photo of the Diddys with their twin daughters at home. Which is not in Alaska. Or Arizona.

We came under some criticism after we posted a P. Diddy video in which the performer/producer/clothing designer/etc. declared war on the McCain/Palin campaign. Reacting to McCain’s choice of running mates, Diddy said, “John McCain, you are bugging the eff out. There’s no black people in Alaska.:

Commenter Debbie took exception. “Is it a slow day for providing news that you are resorting too this guy ?!? He represents nothing worth talking about & is not known for morals or integrity in his own life.”

I won’t debate Puffy’s personal life (although it’s always hard to argue with success) but he does seem to be on to something. There really are no black people in Alaska. Or Arizona. According to a 2006 U.S. Census estimate, black people are rare in both states.

Alaska Arizona
Whites 70.7% 87.3%
Blacks 3.7% 3.8%

There’s only one place African-Americans are scarcer than McCain’s and Palin’s home states: the Republican party.

Of the Republicans’ 2,380 delegates, only 36 are black, a 78 percent drop from the GOP’s 2004 convention and the lowest number in 40 years, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Kentucky and Indiana have no black delegates or alternates at this convention. Four years ago, Kentucky had two black delegates and Indiana three.

Black leaders in Kentucky and Indiana — and even some white officials — said that’s a problem for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and a long-term issue for the party.

“When you march into St. Paul without one African-American delegate, then you are saying: ‘We don’t have anything to offer African Americans,’ ” said Al Brown, who in 1992 was the first black chairman of the Jefferson County (Ky.) Republican Party.

Forgive me for asking, but what does the Republican party offer blacks? For that matter, what does it offer me? Or you? Somebody help me here, I got nothing.

Heart Tells McCain/Palin to Stop F*cking Them Over

Trish

You know you’ve hit a classic rock station as you punch the seek button when you hear the 1977 Heart hit, “Barracuda.” And probably the last thing the song connotes in your mind is the Republican party.

Heart cried foul after the first time the song was played at the Republican convention, in Sarah Palin’s honor on the night of her speech. When it was played again after McCain’s speech, the Wilson sisters issued a cease and desist notice to the McCain campaign.

“The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission,” [an email issued by Heart] read. “We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored.”

Nancy Wilson: “Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women”

But after McCain finished his speech accepting the GOP’s presidential nomination tonight, Palin joined him on stage, and the song was used again: Heart’s “Barracuda” played as balloons fell. With that elephant in the room, Heart’s Nancy Wilson felt compelled to personally respond. “I think it’s completely unfair to be so misrepresented,” she said in a phone call to EW.com after the speech. “I feel completely f—ed over.” She and sister Ann Wilson then e-mailed the following exclusive statement:

“Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song ‘Barracuda’ no longer be used to promote her image. The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”

Ironic indeed. With Palin’s creds so seriously in doubt that the McCain handlers are barring her from direct contact with the press, it seems an odd song selection. While most of us hum through a majority of the indecipherable lyrics, we can all belt out the chorus:

If the real thing don’t do the trick —
No? You better make up something quick

Heart was preceded by Jackson Browne in resorting to lawsuits to get the McCain campaign to stop distorting their work.

Palin Switched Colleges Six Times in Six Years – and McCain Doesn’t Know

Trish

Sarah Heath, who later become Mrs. Todd Palin, had a hard time finding a college she liked, according to a report from the Associated Press. After high school, Sarah sampled schools like a cruise passenger samples the buffet. She went back for seconds on only one, the University of Idaho, where she finally graduated in 1987.

When the news agency contacted the schools, they were prevented by privacy laws from viewing her academic records. The most astounding finding, however, might be that no one else had asked about the alumna.

…none of the schools contacted by The Associated Press could say why she transferred. There was no indication any were contacted as part of the background investigation of Palin by presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

“Our office was not contacted by anyone,” said Tania Thompson, spokeswoman for the University of Idaho in Moscow.

Palin’s higher ed journey ended in Idaho, where she was born before her family moved to Alaska when she was a few months old. The rest follows.

  • University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1982. Left after a few weeks “because of the constant rain.”
  • Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, a private, nonsectarian school. Attended as a freshman in the fall of 1982 in the business administration program.
  • North Idaho College, a two-year school in Coeur d’Alene. Stayed two semesters, in spring 1983 and fall 1983, as a general studies major.
  • University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho from fall 1984 to spring 1985.
  • Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer, Alaska in fall 1985.
  • University of Idaho in spring 1986, fall 1986 and spring 1987, when she graduated with a degree in journalism.

At none of the schools did anyone specifically remember Sarah Heath — no professors, no former classmates. She wasn’t listed as a member of any club or organization, nor was the journalism major on the staff of the college newspaper or campus television station.

There’s something odd about Sarah Palin and I suspect that before it’s all over, we will be able to put our fingers on it. In the meantime, we’ll just keep peeling that onion.

Viguerie: ‘Palin the Next Reagan’

Buck Banks

richard_viguerie.jpg
In another sign that right-wing nut-job Richard Viguerie has gone completely off the rails, his latest e-mail goes beyond even his usual bombast and veers into the realm of the insane:

With her acceptance speech, “Now we know why liberal Democrats hate and fear Sarah Palin,” Richard A. Viguerie said.

“A week ago, conservatives and most Republicans were down-in-the-dumps, listless, unengaged. That lack of enthusiasm is a thing of the past. Tonight, thanks to Senator McCain and Governor Palin, conservatives and Republicans are fired up as they have not been since Ronald Reagan was president,” he said.

“Sarah Palin is the next Ronald Reagan,” Viguerie said.

“In less than a week, Governor Sarah has captured the heart and soul of this convention, the Republican Party, and the conservative movement. She brings together social conservatives, and economic conservatives and libertarians, and people who are fed up with the Culture of Corruption that infests our nation’s politics,” he said.

“From this moment forward, there’s no limit on where Sarah Palin might go,” Viguerie concluded.

How about back to Alaska ….

ABC: Palin’s Speech Full of Lies and Distortions

Trish
Shame on you, Sarah

ABC did a great job of researching some of the claims made in Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican convention. The speech was composed by a Bush speech writer, which would explain why I was unable to listen to it. It also explains why it was so untruthy.

PALIN: “[Obama] is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word ‘victory’ except when he’s talking about his own campaign.”

FACT: On July 15, in a speech in Washington, D.C., Obama twice used the word “victory” in reference to Iraq.

Palin hired a former chief of staff for Sen. Ted Stevens to lobby Congress for earmarks. Wasilla, population 10,000, received $27 million in federal money, about as much as Boise, Idaho, population 200,000

“In fact,” he said, “true success in Iraq — victory in Iraq — will not take place in a surrender ceremony where an enemy lays down their arms. . . I want Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future, and to reach the political accommodation necessary for long-term stability. That’s victory. That’s success. That’s what’s best for Iraq, that’s what’s best for America, and that’s why I will end this war as President. A week later in Berlin, Germany on July 23, Obama used the word “victory” three times to describe Allied successes during World War II. And in a June speech about the prospect of universal healthcare, he said Sen. Hillary Clinton “will be central to that victory.”

PALIN: “There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate.”

FACT: The meaning of “major” is open to debate, but Obama worked with Republicans, including Sen. Richard Luger of Indiana, to pass legislation that would expand efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. While a state senator in Illinois, he sponsored two contentious bills, one that studied racial profiling by police and another that ordered interrogations in potential death penalty cases to be recorded.

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