Paul Ryan v the truth

Because facts are tiresome.

I know it's past Halloween

But I thought I'd scare you a bit more:



How the rightwingers see her:

The joke wrote itself at the convention

And it turned out to be true:

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

A Palin associate, however, said the candidate is simply trying to "bust free" of what she believes was a damaging and mismanaged roll-out.

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan.

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

Looking out for herself and not giving a shit about anyone else? Isn't that what a maverick is supposed to do? How on earth can anyone be surprised?

Clickable terror

Palin as president.

Annie, get your gun

Sometimes the joke is too close to the truth

But I laughed anyway.



(via Eli at Multi Medium)

Putin invades Alaskan airspace!

According to Palin's world view...

Update: forgot to cite Palin:

We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.

Update 10/4: I have found proof that Palin is telling us the truth! Behold the face of the evil empire above Alaskan airspace!!

Sarah Palin prepares for the debate

No, actually we're being told it's all a setup and Palin will be snarky and brilliant and clever. Don't underestimate her perkiness saving the day.

Mad Kane takes her down a peg:

Sarah Palin, who likes to refer to herself as “Joe Six Pack“, is trying to dupe us into believing she’s “an everyday, working-class American.” Palin even claims that her “Joe Six Pack” status is why “the Washington elite” don’t think she should be running for Veep. (Apparently it has nothing to do with her making Dan Quayle look like a genius and George Bush look coherent.)

They want us to think she'd be fun to have a beer with? ... Didn't they say that about the last guy?



Eureka Springs of Firedoglake:

You might be an idiot if:

• You nominate the former head of The Harper Valley P.T.A. to be Vice President of the United States.

• You keep meeting up with Katie Couric.

• You graduated with a degree in journalism, but can't name one newspaper you've read.

• You don't understand the source or value of your husband's Union provided health care benefits.

• You think your friend of 30 years "made a choice" to be gay.

This is going to be interesting...

Don't make excuses for Sarah Palin.

Jack Cafferty:

"I'm 65 and have been covering politics, as have you, for a long time. That is one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I of ever seen for someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country."

Watch the video.

Why they don't want Palin to debate Biden

She doesn't have the verbal skills, the depth of knowledge, the ability to think on her feet, does she? It's just now dawning on the McCain campaign?:

Her lack of depth was painfully on display last week when she was asked at a Michigan town meeting, "I'd like to know that all that oil we're going to drill here is going to stay here domestically and it's not going to be exported by the oil companies." You can listen to her answer here:

Oil of coal, of course, is a fungible commodity and they don't flag, ya know, the molecules where, where it's going to, where it's not, but and in the, in the sense of the Congress today they know our very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So I believe that what Congress is going to do also is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it's Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here; it's gotta flow into our domestic markets first.

Not quite Miss Teen South Carolina territory, but borderline gibberish, self-contradictory, and kind of pointless.

Let's forget that she starts by saying "of coal" instead of "of course." Could happen to anyone who is nervous. She is correct that oil is a fungible (i.e. completely interchangeable) commodity -- the world market doesn't care or have any way of knowing where the original oil comes from. But why add the "flag the molecules" line? Obviously nobody would flag molecules. If she thought "fungible" might not be understood by her audience, how could "flag the molecules" add either simplicity or clarity?

I betcha they won't be able to have the vice presidential debate. It will just be too hard for them to organize it around this awful ... ah... (a) economic disaster (b)war in Iraq (c)hurricane season (d)airplane part missing (e) dog that ate the debate schedule....

(Via JJ of Unrepentant Old Hippie)

Of course mayors can censor books that are offered at the local library!

Right? Isn't that what mayors do? Or is it what vice presidents do?

Give 'em hell, Joe!

I couldn't say it any better than this.

Which is why I'm hijacking this post.

Nate of FiveThirtyEight: (my bold)

On the other hand, when a vice president takes over for a president, the nation is necessarily undergoing a crisis, because the death (or resignation) of a president is perhaps as traumatic an event as can reasonably be imagined (in the "best" case resulting from a slowly-developing illness, and the worst, an attack by terrorists or foreign adversaries).

From Lincoln though Clinton, Americans have frequently been willing to gamble on a relatively inexperienced President, exchanging some assurances of near-term readiness for longer-term upside (what might be described as "vision"). But the optimal skill set for a vice president is somewhat different. "Vision" hardly matters; a vice president taking over for a president will not get to name his own cabinet, and will initially at least be left to execute upon somebody else's agenda. Instead, the readiness component is rendered more important.

I suspect most Americans grasp this on a gut level, even if they aren't quite able to articulate it. Which is why, to my gut instinct, I think Americans can feel sympathy for Sarah Palin, can believe she's the sort of person they'd want to have a beer with -- and still find her a detriment to McCain's case for the White House.

Exactly.

What we need in a Vice President

A man to bloody noses...

Update: Better video and transcript at Huffington Post. The following videos aren't complete.