My problem with Palin is a cultural one, and the GOP would be wise to take heed.

Barack Obama did not win the presidency because he’s an extraordinary candidate, but because he ran against an extraordinarily weak opponent who had an even weaker running mate in Sarah Palin. John McCain’s selfish, reckless decision to put Palin one heartbeat away from the presidency marked the beginning of the end of his presidential ambitions, and proved once and for all that John McCain did not put country first. Though he was a war hero, John McCain is not the man he used to be.

Explain as the pundits might, the McCain camp was not attempting to rally the social conservatives with the Palin stunt. Had the intent been to rally the base, the selection of the more experienced Mark Sanford or Rick Perry from the south and their ilk would have been more likely. The McCain camp chose Palin for two reasons: 1) They were so arrogant to think they could secure the women voters Hillary Clinton left behind by replacing one woman with another–this was evident with Palin’s call to women to “shatter the glass ceiling once and for all” in her first speech. 2) They wanted to win over Independents by touting Palin’s “reformer” and “maverick” image. McCain wasn’t aiming to rally the base of social conservatives, but simply to not alienate them. The pick of Palin was a huge miscalculation because women and Independents were largely repulsed by her, while her rallying of social conservatives was largely inadvertent.

As a registered Independent and a woman, I fall squarely into both demographics of voters McCain was aiming for. So, pundits, step aside. Republicans, if you’d like to win back the White House in 2012, take heed.

My problem with Palin is not an intellectual one. I don’t believe she lacks capacity; rather, she lacks knowledge and experience. She’s simply very inexperienced and not ready for the national stage. Twenty months of “executive experience” as governor, while significant, is not enough for presidential office. I, along with others I know, have had years of “executive experience” running companies; it doesn’t render us qualified to run the country. George W. Bush had years of executive experience as governor prior to taking office. His “execution” of the Iraq war strategy, the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and a host of domestic initiatives were disastrous by all performance metrics. To be qualified for presidential office, one must possess a unique blend of depth and breadth of knowledge, along with vision, experience, intelligence, and problem-solving propensities and facilities. In time, however, Palin may prove capable.

While consumed with demographics, the McCain camp ignored the equally important quality of psychographics. My problem with Palin is a cultural one. For one, her playing to the “Joe six-packs” was disturbing. No, I do not desire my president to be another “Joe six-pack”. I do not care to see my president pounding beers or moose hunting. I do not want my president to be “just like me”, like a next-door neighbor. The office of the presidency should be aspirational, not relatable.

I found troubling Palin’s political ambitions, given that she had four children plus an infant Down syndrome fifth. No, the media was not unfair to ask how she might balance family and career at the same time. In every society, without exception, the mother is the primary care provider of children, so this was a perfectly fair question to ask. I also know, from personal experience with a close friend, that a Down syndrome child demands a great amount of care. My friend was valedictorian of her engineering class in college, yet she quit her engineering career after giving birth due to the demands of attending to her Down syndrome child (she has only one child). True, many women successfully balance the demands of family and career, but few modern women have five children, let alone a special-needs child, and certainly no woman has had to balance that with a career as VP or President of the United States. While it’s not impossible to balance both, it’s not conceivable to be great at both.

Call me old-fashioned, but I was ill at ease with Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. Yes, people make mistakes and yes, sometimes people should not be harshly judged, but pregnancy before marriage is not a conservative value by any stretch. There’s a dignity, decency, and exemplary quality that comes with the Oval Office, and to put Palin’s family in the limelight is to send a permissive message to young girls of this and future generations that it’s okay if they encountered the same fate as Bristol Palin. After all, if it’s acceptable for the VP’s daughter, why isn’t it acceptable for all girls? While I sympathize with Bristol Palin’s predicament, our country would be better served to idolize an exemplary family who got it right. Parents have it hard enough trying to discipline children swimming in a cultural cesspool of filth; the portrait of permissiveness the Palin-family predicament would paint would only augment this burden.

I was also very disturbed by the “Mr. Mom” image Todd Palin represented. As if the modern man isn’t confused enough about his role these days, we must shove down the public’s throat a “Mr. Mom” playing domestics in the White House? I’m all for female empowerment, but an approach that embraces the contributions and strengths of men, not one that diminishes. Without alienating their strengths, a man should embrace masculinity as a woman should embrace femininity. Todd Palin, by the campaign’s admission, was a full-time stay-at-home dad. Nothing would be odd about this if there were a bit of balance between Sarah and Todd’s roles and credentials. Say, Todd is more educated while Sarah is more powerful as a public official. Or maybe Todd is more prominent and respected in his career while Sarah makes more money. But when your wife is more educated, more powerful, more prominent, AND brings home the bacon, it doesn’t boast well for you as a man. Call me crazy, but there’s something very backwards and regressive about a man who’s been so emasculated.

The constant whining by Sarah Palin about the “sexist media” was dishonest and annoying. As a woman, she must admit that her gender has helped her at least as much as it’s hurt. Being attractive makes this even more probable. Any woman who does not acknowledge this is not intellectually honest. Case in point: If she weren’t a woman, she would not have received the VP nomination. To whine about the media is simply weak and unbecoming of a leader. We’ve come a long way from the days of sexual discrimination: We women have the ability to vote, to be educated, to have equal rights, and, as I’ve learned first-hand, have just as great of opportunities in the workforce when we’re as committed, talented, intelligent, and hardworking as our male counterparts. Sometimes, we even have a few additional perks, such as having our doors opened or meals paid for on dates. It’s time to stop pushing a feminist agenda; we’ve reached equilibrium. It’s time for women to be able to achieve based on our merits, not by falling back on excuses like Sarah Palin, or riding our husbands’ coattails like Hillary Clinton and Jeri Thompson, or calling largely upon our family’s wealth like Cindy McCain. Perhaps the media isn’t that sexist after all. Perhaps merit matters.

Let me be clear: I don’t discount any of the above women’s accomplishments, but the office or respect they seek should be commensurate with their qualifications and merit.

As an aside, it’s interesting that no one discussed the sexist treatment Mitt Romney encountered during the primaries, what with talks about his looks, his hair, his plasticity, and his Ken-doll attributes. For that matter, hardly anyone cared to discuss his being a victim of religious bigotry. Whining is not in a true leader’s DNA, and as such, Mitt Romney soldiered on. By whining, Sarah Palin displayed an opportunistic pettiness ill suited for a leader.

Some pundits and Republican partisans tried to explain the McCain loss by arguing he should have unleashed Palin and let her engage with the press more often. “Let Palin be Palin”, they said. Obviously, if Palin hadn’t botched the initial Katie Couric and Charles Gibson interviews, the McCain camp would have used her more often. Understandably, they kept her restricted because she performed embarrassingly. Stubborn GOP strategists insisted that Palin’s selection didn’t hurt the ticket, but the economy did, and they cited the jump in poll numbers prior to 9/15 as evidence. This theory is flawed. The public was excited about Palin initially because she gave a great speech crafted by a talented writer, and it was curiosity about an unknown that kept voters tuned in. Once the curiosity factor subsided and voters learned the facts about Palin, she crashed and burned, and would have encountered the same fate regardless of the status of the economy.

The downward economy was every bit an opportunity for candidates to showcase their prowess as it was a crutch. John McCain proved incapable and erratic as the focus of the election turned to the economy, and subsequently, voters had a hard time pulling the lever for an incompetent 72 year-old who might just expire shortly into his first term, leaving an unqualified, culturally undesirable, and overextended woman at the helm.

While I hope the GOP learned a lesson after this election cycle, I won’t hold my breath.

No commentary needed. No analysis. No ranting. No complaining.  We should all be confident in who we think won this debate.  It’s obvious. Chime in and let your voice be heard:

It’s clear that almost everyone on this site agreed that Obama won the last debate at Belmont University in Nashville. Out of 800+ votes, 70% of those voted that he did win; and 23% voted for McCain. This is probably because this site has been infiltrated by Dailykos weirdos and the Obama Geek Squad (Rapid Response team).

It’s also important to note that Obama has taken double digit leads in almost every poll known to man:

• CBS poll has Obama with a 14 point lead
• Zogby poll - Obama 48%, McCain 44%
• Rasmussen poll – Obama 50%, McCain 45%

It’s no secret that McCain has run the most disgusting and horrible campaign ever known to man. He was WAY TOO SOFT. No balls, no cojones and always worried about damaging his honor; and unfortunately, it is his honor that will cost him this election.

Well “my friends”, I guess it’s time to usher in the next Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama (and, no…I’m not going to threaten to move to Canada like those silly liberals did when Bush got reelected.)

Tags: who won the final presidential debate, who won the third presidential debate, 3rd presidential debate, Obama or McCain, campaign, 2008 election, 2008 debate, zogby poll, rasmussen poll, cbsnews poll, Hofstra University

Advertisement

A MESSAGE FROM URBAN
==================================================================================
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our feed. You can also follow Urban Conservative on Twitter. Let us know if you need blog marketing or social media consulting. And, if you want some serious traffic to your site, you can also buy advertising on Urban.
==================================================================================
VISIT OUR SPONSORS

Hosted and moderated by nonetheless Tom Brokaw of NBC News. I am sure they could have found someone a little more objective but oh well … that’s what happens in the main stream media. Tonight’s debate took place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and was similar to that of a townhall meeting. I actually prefer these venues as it appears to be more real and personal.

Both candidates not only took questions from Brokaw but they also fielded questions from folks in the audience and from Internet participants as well. Most of the questions revolved around economic policies, the bailout plan, healthcare, social security reform, medicare, nuclear energy, entitlements, war in Iraq, obama doctrine, mccain doctrine, pakistan, russia, putin, and Israel.

Senator Obama, if you really want to play the political game of guilt by association; if you truly want your level of judgment to be determined by the company you keep, I’d be more than happy to entertain that discussion.

You’ve attempted to tie me in with George Bush because his approval ratings are low. Obviously his presidency has been filled with difficult times, tough decisions and controversial positions but I’m not here to defend him. George Bush is not running for president. I am.  If tying me to President Bush is the best argument you have for proving my inadequacy to lead this country, then you have a very poor argument.  While I have worked in unity with the Bush administration and my party on many occasions my record - available for all to see - clearly demonstrates that I have also fought against President Bush aggressively and often on important issues. I’ve challenged them on immigration, spending, the handling of the war in Iraq, climate change, the torture of prisoners, Guantanamo Bay, you name it.

For your part in this discussion you launched your presidential campaign from the home of William Ayers (aka Bill Ayers); a terrorist during the 60’s and 70’s responsible for the bombing of the Pentagon among other atrocities. To this day your friend William Ayers is unapologetic for his actions. As a community organizer you looked to the leadership of Saul Alinsky. Controversial in his own right, Alinsky was a self described radical whose hope was to tear down the establishment. His book “Rules for Radicals” proudly cited Lucifer (also known as Satan or the devil) as the example of the first radical in history. As a community organizer you worked closely with ACORN, a group found to be corrupt and under investigation for voter fraud every election cycle. For 20 years you sat under the spiritual leadership of Jeremiah Wright who is known for damning our country, cursing white America and preaching hatred from the pulpit. You have admittedly turned to James Meeks for spiritual mentorship, a man whose views mirror Jeremiah Wright

Senator Obama, if our level of judgment should be determined by the company we keep then I would suggest, based on your company, that you have no good sense of judgment whatsoever.

But let us move on from this discussion. Leave the possibility of guilt by association behind us. Let’s act as though our affiliations should not influence the vote in our bids for the White House; just base our campaigns on our public service records alone.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve crossed the aisle and stood up to my own party to move legislation forward for the good of the country. Four years ago I, along with many of my Republican colleagues stood before congress and expressed our grave concern that something needed to be done about Fannie and Freddie. Your democratic allies waived us off and your current economic advisor Franklin Raines, who was the Fannie Mae CEO at the time, stated that he was simply offended that we would paint Fannie Mae in that light. Two years ago I attempted to pass legislation that would reform the oversight of Fannie and Freddie but the bill was defeated. You voted against it. President Bush requested over 16 times for regulatory reforms over Fannie and Freddie and every time your democratic allies defeated the reforms.

The deregulation of these two firms occurred during the Clinton administration under the guidance of Allen Greenspan. The weaknesses in our economy were then exasperated when the Democratic party encouraged lenders to provide mortgages to consumers who were not able to afford the loan. This came to be known as low-income housing.

In addition to you and your colleague’s impact on the current state of our country’s economy you should also know that the 2nd most contributions provided by Fannie Mae were received by you last year; the top recipient, Chris Dodd, one of the Democratic architects of the bail-out plan that just passed.

In your discussions on the economy you attack me for only giving tax breaks to the rich! This is a bold faced lie that Democrats have been trying to sell for years. Unlike your tax plan, our tax cuts treat every American equally. The same tax rate is applied to everyone across the board whether you are making $25,000 or $250,000. There is no special treatment being given to anyone. You purposefully select a group of hardworking Americans to tax at a higher rate in order to support another segment of the population. Who is the government and who are you to have the authority take money from a select group of private individuals and distribute it as you see fit? It’s not your money to play with. You’ve stated in many speeches that you would force people to become engaged. Force! The government should not be forcing its will on anyone, let alone discriminate against a select group of the American population.

Senator Obama, you’ve come here declaring yourself as the unifier and the agent of change yet you have never once voted against your own party. Not once have you stood up to them on any issue. In fact your positions have proven time and time again that your place in government is far too the left and out of touch with mainstream America. You’ve gone so far as to vote 4 times against a bill in the Illinois legislature that would have provided child care for unwanted babies born alive. The consequences of your actions resulted in babies being allowed to die from neglect in the nearest hospital utility closet.

In your campaign for change you’ve chosen Joe Biden as your running mate; as senator who has been in Washington longer than I have. Your plans for the war in Iraq have been declared dangerous by the generals on the ground, your stance on Russia has proved weak and erroneous and your diplomatic philosophy on negations without pre-conditions is touted by many as naïve and damaging.

I have a record of reform and bi-partisanship, what record you have is consistent with party lines and dangerous in your economic, social and foreign policies.

Senator Obama, I am no George Bush and you are obviously no agent of change.

McCain doesn’t have the balls to be this forthright as it might damage his honor. And unfortunately, it’s his honor that might cost him the election. Wake up John. There is still some time!.

tags: Bill Ayers and Obama, Jeremiah Wright and Obama, james meeks and obama, Acorn and Obama, Franklin Raines and Obama, Fannie Mae CEO, Economic Advisor, Chris Dodd

Advertisement

A MESSAGE FROM URBAN
==================================================================================
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our feed. You can also follow Urban Conservative on Twitter. Let us know if you need blog marketing or social media consulting. And, if you want some serious traffic to your site, you can also buy advertising on Urban.
==================================================================================
VISIT OUR SPONSORS

So Drudge is running a poll right now and McCain is blowing Obama out of the water.  Out of 118,000 votes 69% have voted that McCain won tonight’s CNN Presidential Debate.  They battled over federal spending, taxes, the economy, Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq. Who do you think won and why? Chime in.

UPDATE — here is what Kissinger really said:

Kissinger: “Well, I am in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one utility of negotiation is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East, of a stable Middle East, and our notion on nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it. And, therefore, I actually have preferred doing it at the secretary of state level so that we — we know we’re dealing with authentic…”

Advertisement

Tags: CNN Presidential Debate, Poll, Obama or McCain, Who won the 2008 Presidential Debate?, who won debate mccain obama, presidential debate polls, who won the debate 2008, presidential debate who won, cnn presidential debate

A MESSAGE FROM URBAN
==================================================================================
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to our feed. You can also follow Urban Conservative on Twitter. Let us know if you need blog marketing or social media consulting. And, if you want some serious traffic to your site, you can also buy advertising on Urban.
==================================================================================
VISIT OUR SPONSORS

Just saw this on the news.  Senator John McCain has just ended three days of suspense and announced  this morning that he will leave the negotiations in Washington and make his way to the University of Mississippi for tonight’s presidential debate. This comes after McCain said that he would suspend his campaign until an agreement was reached on the administration’s $700 billion mortgage proposal.

Apparently, no such agreement has yet been reached, but Republicans said the standoff was hurting McCain’s campaign, and he didn’t show up at the debate tonight while Barack Obama was eagerly ready to go toe to toe. Here is the full text of the statement:

The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners.

I am not sure how I feel about this, but these are the facts.

Tags: $700 billion mortgage proposal, financial crisis, obama, mccain, debate, cnn, university of mississippi, 2008 US Presidential Debate

Day two and David Letterman still has his panties wet about McCain’s cancellation. New flash schmuck – the economic crisis is more important than your bullsh#$ late night show; and just because you aren’t affected by the current financial conditions doesn’t mean that it’s not a problem.  He then had the nerve to bring in MSNBC’s “Countdown” host and another left wing schmuck — Keith Olbermann.

Of course, Letterman’s ego was even more damaged when McCain sat for an interview with Katie Couric instead of him on Wednesday — and even more perturbed to learn that McCain didn’t leave New York until Thursday.  I actually think it’s funny and I wish the McCain camp would stand up for themselves.

And then … and then the hideous Joy Behar of the View had to open her fat mouth today and express her worthless point of view on the matter. Yes, Joy Behar does suck; and David Letterman sucks too.

On a side note, I can’t wait to see An American Carol. I am in need of a really good laugh. I was invited to see a sneak preview and post a review about it online, but I was away on business. Darn.

Tags: mccain cancels the letterman show, an american carol, david letterman, late night show, mccain suspends campaign, katie couric, joy behar sucks

While no presidential campaign is innocent when it comes to trading jabs, the recent Obama ad that targeted John McCain’s inability to use a computer set a new low for standards and political sportsmanship.  In the ad, the Obama campaign painted McCain as “out of touch” and painfully unable to operate computer technology.

In formulating the ads, the Obama campaign thought it would be clever to tie together outdated imagery (a picture of McCain from the 1980s with large glasses and an out-of-style suite, a disco ball and other such images) with accompanying words about the economy, tax cuts and other Republican positions on important economic issues.  In the end, the overarching goal was to tie McCain to Bush, thus showing that McCain’s policies and world view do not jive with contemporary realities.  But, the method of reaching this conclusion and the words used to do so are unsettling and unbelievably insensitive:

1982, John McCain goes to Washington. “Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn’t. He admits he still doesn’t know how to use a computer, can’t send an e-mail, still doesn’t understand the economy, and favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the middle class…

Why would a legitimate presidential candidate authorize an advertisement that makes fun of one’s literal disability?  McCain’s physical inability to use a computer has been published in the past.  The Obama campaign must have assumed that the American people would be too inept to know that McCain’s past war injuries prevent him from regularly using computers.  Or, the campaign was simply so desperate to regain a lead in the polls that it sunk to such subhuman levels.

John McCain cannot lift his arms high enough to comb his own hair, let alone sit at a computer desk and endure the unbelievable pains it would take for him to string together a few typed sentences.  Thus, making fun of this makes Obama a political playground bully — a title both candidates pledged they wouldn’t hold during this presidential campaign.  Sure, both campaigns have told half-truths and distortions in their political advertisements, but this targeting of a well-known disability is disheartening and wrong-headed on all counts.

And while I am no fan of Joe Biden, his statements on the matter are quite intriguing.  Even Biden believes that the computer ad went way too far.  When asked about the matter in an interview with Katie Couric he said the following:

“I thought that was terrible, by the way.  I didn’t know we did it and if I had anything to do with it, we’d have never done it.”

At least there’s someone in the Obama camp who has the integrity to speak the truth.  Forget worrying about the “teaching sex ed to kindergartners” issue; Obama seems to have a “let’s make fun of those who are disabled or less fortunate” mantra brewing.  Anything to win the presidency, I suppose.

Billy Hallowell writes a regular column at www.billyhallowell.com and is actively involved in political advocacy and conservative projects.

John McCain today selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.

Smart move by the McCain camp and I think this is one of the smartest decisions he has ever made. This bold move might also prove to appease a high percentage of the potentially millions of irritated Hillary Clinton supporters who yearn to vote for a woman candidate in the November election.

At a youthful 44 years of age, she brings to the table several characteristics that will encourage the Republican base: She is an avid fisher and hunter, a member of the politically powerful National Rifle Association. She is opposed to abortion rights, and favors expanded drilling in Alaska. Her husband is a native Eskimo and they have five children, one of whom suffers from Down’s syndrome and the eldest of which recently enlisted in the US Army will be deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008.  She also breaks that perception that not all Republicans are grumpy old white men; and she is HOT!

The only issue with Palin — that I am sure the Obama camp will try and exploit — is her lack of political experience; yet she is really the only one on both sides that has true executive experience, even if it’s in the small state of Alaska. She has been in office less than 2 years, and will be challenged when she goes head to head in debate with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden, a veteran Washington insider with several years of foreign policy experience.

Let the games begin folks; this should be fun.

Tags: sarah palin, vice president nominee, running mate, john mccain

These were words from Hillary Clinton when she presented at the Democratic National Convention this evening in Denver Colorado.  I know, I know … these are just words coming out of the mouth of woman who has finally accepted defeat and it shouldn’t bug me.

But I am a little emotional right now.

It is comments like this that clearly exemplify that most (I said most, not all) democrats put their beloved party before everything else; and the truth is that most of the readers on this blog who claim to be democrats do the same damn thing. It’s like the pathetic Oakland Raiders fans who claim every year that their team will be going to the Superbowl. They are loyal but unrealistic.

That’s one reason why I left the Republican Party; because I refuse to rely on a political party or a “savior politician�? to solve all of my problems. The sad truth is that democrats of today are not the democrats of yesterday and for her to say the following is absurd:

Whether you voted for me or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose … No way, no how, no McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate and he must be our president.

I ask, what the hell is the purpose of the Democratic Party? What are your goals and objectives other than “change�??  What’s your vision? How is selecting Joe Biden as a running mate support the vision of “change�? when he is a lifelong politician? I ask the same questions to Republicans too. Don’t get me wrong, I am supporting John McCain during this election; but I am not going commit suicide or move to Canada if he loses, which I think he might depending on who he chooses as a running mate.

And here is the irony in this situation, in which McCain capitalized on.

McCain released a new ad (see below) that replicates Clinton’s famous “3 a.m.�? theme from the primaries, in which she challenged voters to think about who they wanted handling a late-night global crisis from the White House. In McCain’s remix of the video, Clinton is quoted from the primaries praising McCain’s “lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House�? and belittling Obama by comparison saying “and Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002�?.

These politicians are a joke and have no core at all! They stand for NOTHING!

Meanwhile, I heard from the grapevine that anti-war lunatic Cindy Sheehan told about 200 demonstrators in Denver yesterday that not much has changed since her month long war protest outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2005. At least she stands up for what she believes in and isn’t glued to the Democratic Party like most liberals.

Tags: Clinton speech at Democratic National Convention, Denver, Latest McCain Ad