What $150,000 Can Do For You
Day: October 22, 2008
Quote du Jour
And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God’s hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4.
— Gov. Sarah Palin, in a radio interview with James Dobson
World Not Undecided About Obama
It’s a blue world.
The Canadian newspaper Globe & Mail is reporting the results of a worldwide poll of 70 countries that was conducted between May and September that found that most of the world supports a Barack Obama presidency:
Around the world, respondents favoured Mr. Obama 4 to 1 over Republican John McCain.
In Canada, 67 per cent chose Mr. Obama and 22 per cent Mr. McCain. And 75 per cent of Canadian respondents said the presidential election would make a difference for their own country.
The Democratic nominee also enjoyed levels of support higher than 60 per cent in Australia, Germany, England and Japan, where the U.S. election was viewed as having a global impact.
Around the world, only Georgia, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines backed the Republican candidate.
Poll: The Early Line 10/22
Obama/Biden 47%
McCain/Palin 42%
Undec 8%
– McCain now leads men by 8% — his largest lead among them in more than a month. In the survey completed 9/19, McCain also led men by 8%.
– Enthusiasm continues to grow among supporters of the GOP ticket. 54% of McCain voters now say they are enthusiastically supporting the AZ Sen., up from 45% one week ago (in the survey completed 10/14). Among Obama supporters, enthusiasm has also climbed, 4% to 69%.
– McCain now carries only 20% of Bush disapprovers; a week ago, he pulled 24% of these McCain Mavericks. Look for more on this Keys To The White House group in today’s Latest Edition.
Today’s Diageo/Hotline tracking poll, conducted 10/19-21 by FD, surveyed 782 LVs and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5%. Party ID Breakdown for the sample is 41%D, 38%R, 17%I.
GOP Rep. Hayes Caught Lying, Tape Proves He Said ‘Liberals Hate Real Americans’
Rep. Hayes’ statement starts at 00:40
It’s hard to say what could be worse for a GOP pol two weeks before an election in a tight race — saying liberals (ie., roughly half his suburban consituency)”hate real Americans,” or the fact that he denied saying it, only to find out there’s audio of him uttering the exact phrase.
But that is exactly what happened to Rep. Robin Hayes over the weekend. At a rally for John McCain in Concord, N.C., Hayes included this vile smear in his introduction of the GOP candidate:
“Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God. That’s a great comparison.”
Ironically, just a few seconds before he declared that liberal U.S. citizens are not “real” Americans, Hayes stressed the importance of civility and of taking care with one’s words:
Before Hayes’ comment, he had told the crowd, presumably as part of his effort to keep the audience respectful, that he wanted to “make sure we don’t say something stupid, make sure we don’t say something we don’t mean.”
Later, when national news outlets, including the New York Observer, reported Hayes’ smear about liberals, his spokeswoman denied he made the remark, perhaps hoping no one had noticed because only 7,000 people had turned out to hear McCain speak:
Hayes spokeswoman, Amanda Little says that Hayes absolutely denies making the comments that appear in the [New York] Observer article. She noted that other national reporters were at the event and didn’t pick up on what the Observer reported.
In fact, a reporter from WFAE, the Charlotte NPR outlet, had tape-recorded Hayes’ remarks. Upon learning about the hard evidence of his smear, Hayes, who is 63, said he couldn’t recall making the remark:
What Economic Crisis? Palin Spends $150,000 on Clothes and Shopping
How much was that polar bear pin anyway?The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.
According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.
The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.
The McCain campaign’s response:
“With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses,” said spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. “It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign.”
Yeah, because that’s what Joanne Six-Pack would do — donate $150,000 of crap to charity. It’s funny that the statement mentions pantsuits. I haven’t seen Palin photographed in one of those, but it seems like there was another female candidate recently who wore a lot of them. Now, let’s see, who was that?
The McCain campaign is doing the same thing it’s done since their ill-fated pick for vice president. When someone criticizes Palin, they scream sexism. Trying to equate the treatment Palin has received with that Hillary Clinton got, by citing pantsuits, is a false argument. It just ain’t happening.
McCain Makes Another Hilarious Gaffe on the Trail
What was he trying to say?
Since you’re smarter than John McCain, you probably already know that his running mate, Sarah Palin, got called on the mat by Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, for saying that parts of America love this country more than others. But in trying to refute Rep. John Murtha’s characterization of some in his Western Pennsylvania home district as racist, McCain got all tangled up.
McCain: ‘Obama’s supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And I couldn’t agree with them more’
“Sen. Obama’s supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know I couldn’t agree with them more. I couldn’t disagree with you. I couldn’t agree with you more than the fact that Western Pennsylvania is the most patriotic, most god-loving, most patriotic part of America. This is a great part of the country. My friends, I could not disagree with those critics more,” McCain said.
Yes indeedy. As McCain was mangling these words, people lined up at a Johnstown, Penn. rally to hear Palin. They passed the time screaming at Obama supporters and cracking each other up with such items as a Curious George ape doll wearing an Obama bumpersticker fashioned as a hat, which its maker referred to as, “Little Hussein.” See for yourself, if you can stand it:
Poll: Palin Is Bigger Drag on McCain Than Bush
The new NBC/Wall St. Journal poll shows Barack Obama opening up a 10 point lead — 52 to 42 — over John McCain. The Democrat’s lead was six points in the same poll two weeks ago.
Interestingly, the biggest factor driving voters away from McCain is not his close ties to George Bush, it’s his choice of Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential nominee:
Palin’s qualifications to be president rank as voters’ top concern about McCain’s candidacy – ahead of continuing President Bush’s policies, enacting economic policies that only benefit the rich and keeping too high of a troop presence in Iraq.
Among voters’ concerns about McCain, “V.P. candidate not qualified” ranked at 34 percent, while “will continue Bush policies” ranked at 23 percent. Dissatisfaction with McCain’s economic policies ranked third with 20 percent.
The poll’s responses about Palin reveal deep concerns among voters:
Fifty-five percent of respondents say she’s not qualified to serve as president if the need arises, up five points from the previous poll.
In addition, for the first time, more voters have a negative opinion of her than a positive one. In the survey, 47 percent view her negatively, versus 38 percent who see her in a positive light.
That’s a striking shift since McCain chose Palin as his running mate in early September, when she held a 47 to 27 percent positive rating.
One of the most often-repeated truisms in presidential politics is that a candidate’s vice presidential choice has little effect on the outcome of the election. Until now, there has been one notable exception to this rule: John F. Kennedy’s choice of Lyndon Johnson helped him win in 1960. Conversely, George Bush’s pick of meagerly gifted Dan Quayle did not prevent Bush from beating former Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988.
But if the numbers in this poll remain consistent, and McCain loses on Nov. 4, Sarah Palin will achieve a second place in president political history. In addition to being the GOP’s first female vice presidential candidate, she will become proof positive that making a poor choice for vice president can ruin a candidate’s chances in November.
