GOP leader: Palin trumps Obama and Biden

This is like saying my husband would play golf as well a Tiger Woods since he's been playing longer .... it's not time of service, its a record of performance and success at tough jobs. Send this little lady to Chicago for a while before being so quick to equate her track record with Obama's.

What exactly has Obama done in Chicago that gives him executive experience? ... Obama is going to lose the experience argument once the American people can here the full story, a think about it ...

Can you tell me what Obama has acconplished as a public servant? I don't think he did much in 18 mos. as a Senator before concentrating on a presidential bid. I know he was appointed to be the chair of some committee, but never convened for any meetings. Obama should be real careful on the experience issue, and I think that is part of why Palin is there. If he brings it up much it only highlights his lack of experience. Combined with his other flaws he will not prevail in November. Guaranteed and Thank God for that.

Besides being the president of the Harvard Law Review...Obama's been running the largest campaign in the history of the United States and he has been vetted right in front our eyes over the past 18 months...but I guess that's just liberal jibberish...

Palin on the other hand went to University of Idaho and apparently loves Moose Stew. Yeah! Has she ever been to even half of the United States?

What are Palin's accomplishments ? two-time runner-up Miss Alask, Mayor of Wisilia and governor for two years---that's change we can't believe in. The choice of Palin really puts McCain's judgement at the forefront--to put an unknown doll-face to get Hillary Clinton supporters is completely insulting to women and to the political process. Palin has no national experience---period. Obama, at least, was in the Illinois state senate for 8 yrs and us senate for 3yr. And the fact that republithugs are getting defensive about Palin, reveals a growing level of uncertainty about Palin.

I wouldn't write the Democrats off so quick.

She's been a governor almost 2 years with a very thin resume. What little Palin had accomplished is unimpressive for a governor. Get real. You guys act like she just finished a tenure as Governor of New York or California. It's Alaska folks, not a lot going on there, okay.

Does anyone think Sarah Palin will do anything but hit the ground running if she wins? This dynamo who happens to be female could very well transform the office itself. She brings an amazing level of energy and focus to everything she does. Is there any reason to think she'll be satisfied with ceremonial duties? She's no token. She's a dynamic leader still entirely "in touch" with her roots, because she lives her roots every day. Her selection shows the world just how differently we in America view govt. Paying lip service to govt. BY the people is about to get a rude awakening as Palin actually does it.

Cindy what does your Husband mean when he says Sarah is his soulmate and when has this become a qualification for a VP.

We are stuck with this person with no experience because she is your SOULMATE.

The difference between Obama and Palin is democracy. 18 million people voted for Obama-"We the People". Palin received one vote, thanks to McCain. The American people voted for Obama because he had the judgment to realize that the Bush-McCain war was reckless. He had the judgment to realize that we should be fighting in Afganistan; Bush and McCain heeded his advice and the plans have changed. Obama also had the judgment to realize we needed to set a time line to end the war in Iraq; Bush heeded his advice and now we have a time horizon. Thanks to Obama, Bush is finally heading this country in the right direction.

Which is better experience or judgment? Bush had experience and look at this country. What he lacked was judgment, Obama has proven it.

For what it's worth, I'm one conservative Evangelical who is SUDDENLY ready to take on all comers. Up until Friday, anybody who dared to oppose Obama had to be a covert racist (the meme of the week had been "racism is the only way Obama could lose this election"). Now I GET to start cheerleading for Sarah Barracuda, a gun-toting, Bible-thumping, pot-somking (it was legal at the time) babe from as far away from the Beltway as you can get. ("Coldest State/Hottest Governor!")

If executive experience is that important, then McCain needs to switch places with Palin. HE doesn't have any executive experience either.

Obama was right about Iraq, McCain was wrong
Obama has a better handle on the economy than McCain
Obama has a better approach to Iran than McCain
Obama has a better position on the environment than McCain
Obama demonstrated greater wisdom than McCain with his VP pick
Obama knows how many houses he owns.
Obama's children know who Daddy is.
C'mon, if you use common sense it is easy to see Obama is way above McCain.

Shortly before her selection by McCain, she was actually quoted saying that she hadn't even THOUGHT about Iraq.

America is at war. And she hasn't even thought about it.

Her duties as Governor didn't include foreign policy. So she wasn't being irresponsible. But to make her your pick for vice president?

I thought McCain cared about experience and putting country before politics. Now he picks a blatant pander to his base and puts the country in danger of having someone who hasn't even thought about national and international situations in charge of defending us from the likes of Putin. That thought scares me.

Iris,

I know Sarah Palin personally, you are way off course with your comments. Anyone that follows politics knows that Palin trumps Obama in almost every single category of leadership. She will be the first female VP and possesses a genuine ability to communicate not just a teleprompted feel good form of inspiration.

****TROOPER GATE*******
She'd fit in with the rest of the
Republicans. If you don't like
someone, use your political
office to destroy them.

"This is a chief executive of a state and administrators have to make decisions," he told reporters at a luncheon sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. "Senators and congressmen get to vote yes or no."
Wouldn't this also include McCain? Maybe the ticket should be Palin/McCain, since she is the one with the executive experience and command decisions.

God, bad spelling and an insufficient grasp of the facts seem to go together in the above comments . . . but I guess that makes me "elitist." And who knows, Peter G. could be right -- he seems to have gotten a divine message about the results of the election. The rest of us secularists will just have to muddle through, with a choice between genuine hard-won intelligence, based on real experience and "facts on the ground," on one side, and . . . what, dogma on the other?

I'll tell you what Senator Obama has accomplished. He has done what no other African-American in the history of the U.S. has done. He has worked for the last few years building a huge grassroots movment and surrounded himself with the smartest and most intelligent organizers and advisors he could find so that he could run for the highest office in the World. That of POTUS.

And he succeeded in securing the nomination of the Democratic Party for President....not Vice President.

I would say that is quite an accomplishment. The fact that he was a State Senator in Illinois, which has a population of 12,831,970, including Chicago, which has a population of 2,833,321...and then look at the entire state of Alaska, with a total population of only 670,053 and tell me who has had the most governing experience. And she has only been Governor for one and 1/2 years. Before that she was the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska with a population of only 5,469 people. And the Mayor really does nothing. The mayor doesn't even have an office. It's only a 'title'.

I think it's important to note that in Alaska there are only 3 percent black people and over 65 years of age only 6 percent. I don't know how Palin could possible relate to blacks of older people on social security!

In Illinois, where Obama served as a Senator, the statistics of blacks and over 65 is: blacks - 15 percent and 65 and older 12 percent.

And we are talking much higher numbers because of the increased size of the overall population in comparison to Alaska.

Alaska is only about the size of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota put together. It's almost impossible to find a major city in any state in the US as small as the entire state of Alaska.

Palin has really done nothing but abuse her power as Governor since 'barely' being elected.

The last two Democrat presidents were state governors, as were four out of the last five presidents. I for one am very excited bythe choice of Governor Palin, and I can't wait for her to kick Biden in the butt at the debates.

The liberals are showing their true colors.

For those who claim that "executive experience" (no matter how trivial the scope) is the benchmark qualifier for President, I offer George Bush as a counterpoint.

And remember: putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact that it's just a pig.

Obama has had experience that has taught him to stand up against what is out and out wrong.like the Iraqi war .McCain has only known war back to his grandfather. HE WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF HIS MILITARY CLASS. We neeed a president who has the mental capacity to see the huge picture and deal with numerous diverse views.

When you say National Security,Just look up the very powerful "Stars and Stripes" magazine, and you can look at statistics from the military heroes that have fought in an incredibly poorly run war .With all the extra bases being built, one seargent figured we could be there for 50 years!!

NATIONAL SECURITY ALSO MEANS HELPING THE 48,000,000 with no health care.It also means correcting the rediculouis attitude that only those wealthy at the top deserve special treatment. Each year 100,000 persons die due to improper health care errors and numerous outhers due to lack of care.Will the hundreds of thousands of veterens receive necessary health service after surviving the hell of war?? OBAMA FOUGHT FOR IMPROVEMENTS ALREADY!!!!!

Palin is a joke. I applaud her for having an interesting life. That does not equate to preparedness on the national (and international) stage. McCain has done this wonderful person a huge disservice by shunting her into the media spotlight. She will crash and burn in the heat of it. I would choose Obama and Biden in a heartbeat, as much as I admire the Alaska governor for her chutzpah.

If I am reading this correctly, she has more executive experience than Sen. McCain. I am at a loss, then, as to why she is not at the top of the ticket rather than him. She should have been able to handle the primaries easily enough with all of that experience in organizing and leading people. In fact, someone reported the other day that she was the governor of the largest state. I am just hoping that McCain is deferring to her and her experience in putting together a response to Gustav. If he isn't deferring to her, it sounds like he may be dangerously dismissive her executive experience.

Ha! I see the GOP talking point arguments around the 'net already. Something like this:

- oh no! if you want to have a debate about experience Obama better watch out!!, -she has more "Executive" experience
-Alaska is close to Russia therefore she has foreign policy experience *Cindy McCain
-She will learn (from the master) as she goes!
-John McCain, what a maverick!

Since when does 6 yrs as mayor of a town of 7000+/- ,less than 2yrs as a Governor, and a journalism degree - beat
2 masters degrees (Harvard and Columbia), a law practice, 12 years of teaching constitutional law, 8 yrs as Ill. state senate, 3 yrs congress, two bestselling books, and an audience of 38,000,000? This man has assembled the best executed political campaign in history. McCain is targeting a certain section of conservative the white female voters who hate obama but were not excited about McCain enough to rally for him. I call them "hillary republicans"

Just wait until the Palin family cover-up comes out this week... It's gonna be entertaining! Hint: Sarah isn't the mother of the newborn.

Palin, in her local and state positions, has had to make real policy decisions. She's demonstrated courage in staking out positions that run against her party's entrenched old-boys club.
Biden and especially Obama have neither made hard decisions nor shown courage except in their self-serving, self-aggrandizing pursuit of the White House.

What has Obama accomplished? So far the only thing he has mangaed to change is putting himself on the presidential ticket. Whereas Gov Palin has been shaking up Alaskan politics since before becoming governor. All evicdence is that she has challenged "buisness as usual" , taken on the Oil companies that are so important to Alaskan economy, adderessed taxes education reform, and done it all while demanding ethical behavior from herself as well as other elected officals. Sounds like someone who will actually make a Change in Washington.

You're right, I guess he has not shot an elk or moose. For that matter Governor Palin has not written a book either. I don't necessarily think that Sarah has demonstrated the quality of her thought processes, or perspectives independent of the same old tirade.... playing to the oil industry. She has a log ways to go in demonstrating competency. Give her a few months on the campaign trail. The blistering that Obama has taken shows a certain degree of resilience.
In closing, I don't think Obama is under a current investigation,which, according to media reports Palin is Guess the juries still out on that one.

I love how the Republicans keep labeling Democrats as "elitist" when "W" was a Yale graduate and the third-generation millionaire. McCain graduates from the Naval Academy -- another elitist school.

The Democrats don't slam McCain's war service. The Republicans attacked Kerry with glee, and with zero facts. Every surviving member of his swift boat crew appeared with him and backed his version of the story. What'd McCain do? He got shot down. Heck, according to the Bushies and his followers, McCain wasn't even tortured -- he went through "enhanced interrogation."

I like McCain (less now that he's pandering to the crazy evangelical part of the right-wing base), but we can't reward the Republican party for their behavior or their results in the last eight years.

Obama has an education. She isn't qualified to be your English teacher with a BS in Journalism. Never traveled outside the country only recently getting a passport. This woman is seriously NOT a HRC!

Look at the person and what he or she has actually done in his or her short or long lifetime. I do not doubt that Palin is a good human being, who has rapidly risen to prominence in Alaska. But I do doubt that she thought much about what has to be done by the next President and Vice-President of the White House. She is honest about the fact that she has no clue what a VP does. Didn't McCain offer her advice on this matter before deciding to select her? With all due respect to McCain, I believe he picked her because he has a thing for pretty young women. It is fine for a man to like pretty young women, but he should know better than to mix that with this particular decision. Can he really say that she is more capable than his longtime good friend and colleague in the Senate, Joe Biden?

So...if the measuring stick is "Executive Experience", then Palin is more experienced than McCain himself.

Can we move beyond the zero sum argument here?

Obama has been vetted nationally and has relevant politcal experience, education, and training...

If you want to talk experience, what Barack Obama has done while working as a "public servant", the truth is readily available. All you have to do is set aside your b-s filled partisan agenda. Palin is a gimmick, a puppet, an attempt to pander to the lowest common denominator of our society.

During the first 8 years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced...

233 regarding healthcare reform,
125 on poverty and public assistance,
112 crime fighting bills,
97 economic bills,
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
21 ethics reform bills,
15 gun control,
6 veterans affairs and many others.

His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427.

These included:
-The Coburn Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006
-The Lugar Obama Nuclear Nonproliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act
-The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act
-The 2007 Government Ethics Bill
-The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill
-Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act

Bills Obama has supported:
-Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act
-Secure Fence Act
-Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act
-Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
-Iraq War De Escalation Act
-Defense Authorization Act
-Iran Sanctions Enabling Act
-State Foreign Operations Appropriations bill
-Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007
-State Children's Health Insurance Program (amendment to provide protection for Family members caring for wounded soldiers)

In all, since entering the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 (eight hundred ninety) bills and co-sponsored another 1096 (one thousand ninety-six).

Come to think of it, she has more "executive experience" than John McCain does.

18 months ago, she was the mayor of a town of 7,000 people (and one who left the town's finances in tatters, at that).

She has no national security experience, since national defense activities which involve the Alaska National Guard are overseen by the federal government, and the governor is not even briefed on situations.

She is under investigation for abusing the power of her office to engage in a personal vendetta against her former brother-in-law.

She said in a recent interview that she has no idea what the vice-president does every day, and it appears that she doesn't have much working knowledge of what's happening in Iraq.

Barack Obama spent eight years in the Illinois Senate at the same time that he taught Constitutional law at one of the most prestigious law schools in America. He has now spent four years in the U.S. Senate. So I'd say his experience (for those who put such considerations above all others because that's what their preferred candidate wants them to) still trumps that of someone who was a small-town mayor in the nation's 47th largest state up until 18 months ago.

Even then, he has run a successful national campaign and is deeply versed in all the important issues which a prospective President needs to know. In contrast, she appears to be distressingly underinformed about many of these same issues, and for someone who is first in line to the Presidency behind a 72-year-old man with a history of cancer, that is simply unacceptable.

Lastly, McCain appears to have made this pick in a great hurry without doing much vetting of her before inviting her to join the ticket, which certainly raises troubling questions about his management style and, for all his years in Washington, his fitness for the job.

Let's face it. This pick was designed to try and wrest disenchanted Clinton supporters away from Obama. That not much thought seems to have gone into what effect that would have on providing good governance in office is sadly par for the course for a Republican candidate for office. If McCain had really wanted to put a woman on the ticket, there are six female Republican members of the U.S. Senate with more national experience than Palin, as well as more than two dozen female Republicans in the U.S. House, all of whom have to be familiar with the issues facing the President of the United States as a condition of their own jobs.

All the experience in the world won't help you if your judgment is lousy. John McCain is a hothead whose judgment has been proven over and over again to be lousy. And he's just put a dangerously underprepared neophyte on the ticket with him. God help us all if he manages to pull this one out.

Governor Palin rocks! Die-hard Obama fans seem to be panicking.
A successful Governor, mother of 5, former athlete, beauty pageant winner, outdoors woman. Her kids also ( 1 going to Iraq, 1 baby w/ down syndrome).
Walks the Talk! ... It's also funny how some Obama supporters get all irratated with her, I do hope Obama is better than her, since he is on Top of the ticket. LOL.

To Bryan Bender,

I take it you didn't care for my comments comparing Palin's experience in a podunk State to Obama's in a great big huge metropolis.

So is that why you culled my comments earlier?

Thanks a lot, Baldy!

;)

What has Obama done.......DO RESEARCH!!!!!

He was a state legislature from 97-04 and a Senator from 05-Present.........

This lady was a mayor of 8000 people and she has been gov. for under 2 years...

Big difference in what they can do.....Barack Obama has had opportunities to vote on national and international issues.....whereas Gov. Palin only worked in one state.....

Obama has met our world leaders, signed bills into law, and been vetted on the campaign trail for 2 years........his on the job experience has been gained during that time.......

gov palin has not mentioned anything about her experience on a world stage, the war, heathcare, education........But Ive heard her speak about Hillary Clinton and her 18 million supporters in her 2 speeches.......sound like her mission statement, getting hillarys supporters.....

palin is not hillary

Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 570 bills in the 109th and 110th Congress.

Senator Obama has sponsored or co-sponsored 15 bills that have become LAW since he joined the Senate in 2005.

Senator Obama has also introduced amendments to 50 bills, of which 16 were adopted by the Senate.

His record is in fact quite impressive for a junior Senator from Illinois.

Most of his legislative effort has been in the areas of:

* Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (25 bills)
* Health care (21 bills) and public health (20 bills)
* Consumer protection/labor (14 bills)
* The needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces (13 bills)
* Congressional Ethics and Accountability (12 bills)
* Foreign Policy (10 bills)
* Voting and Elections (9 bills)
* Education (7 bills)
* Hurricane Katrina Relief (6)
* The Environment (5 bills)
* Homeland Security (4 bills)
* Discrimination (4 bills)

And the full details including bill numbers? Keep reading. I promise you will be impressed!

Not only do I ask you to Recommend this should you like it, but bookmark either this TPM page or this page with details for future reference - for the next time someone asks YOU: "Where's the beef?" Don't let the slime machine win!

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Do not underestimate Governor Pailin! If you search on internet on what obama accomplished as senator, you will see none, NOTHING, NADA. It was even brought out by hillary clinton during the primary that obama does NOT have impressive record as a senator!

Wake up americans! do not be fooled by a man who is all MEDIA HYPE BUT NO SUBSTANCE. He was created by Ophra winprey's media machine.

The problem with Palin is that she is under-educated. Obama starts off as a graduate from Princeton and Harvard law School. Few Americans are smart enough to have this on their resume. Palin just has a bachelor's degree in communications from a college in Idaho.
She was mayor of her home town and won the office with a TOTAL of 909 votes. Figure family and friends contributed about 200 votes.
Obama's education has groomed him for leadership. He has taught law school in Chicago. Palin isn't even qualified to be one of his students. She cannot write policy because she is not a lawyer-- she can only sign policy. That may be fine for Alaska but it's grossly inadequate for the lower 48 states. Palin's interns will be better equipped to interpret legislation than she is.
Had Obama stayed in Hawaii, he probably could have been chief in his home town as well.
Add Palin's B.A. to McCain's graduating at the bottom five percent of his class at the Naval Academy and you have dumb and dumber running the country in these hard times ahead. These two are strickly BUSH-league.

Obama & Biden....Two Mules for Sister Sara!

This is an important election. The differences between the candidates is very clear. The choices for the voter are clear. We may have fought a primary over personalities and prejudices, but now we need to to decide who we are and what we believe. Are we focused on the future or the past? This election will teach each of us a lot about ourselves. That's what I believe presidential politics is all about. Who are we? As reflected by the candidates, what do we really, really believe? It saddens me that we are so easily sidetracked by the power brokers on both sides. The "experience" issue is a false issue. All of these people could do the job. The only question is what do you want them to do. Who are you?

Barack Obama has been the executive of one of the most impressively run campaigns in American history. He beat the Clinton machine and managed to remain above the name-calling fray. He selected his VP running mate as a counterpoint to many of his views. There is obvious thought and attention to detail in his decision-making abilities, from the full content of the Democratic Convention to the process by which he selected Joe Biden, which was praised by Carolyn Kennedy in a recent interview on Meet the Press. This is in stark contrast to the approach used by John McCain. He wanted Joe Leiberman, but was vetoed by the ideologues of the Republican Party. So, he then selected a woman unknown to him, who he had met only once. A woman with ZERO national and
foreign policy experience. The media calls her "charming." Perhaps she will be
able to charm the terrorists into abandoning their cause. Her own mother-in-law has been quoted as saying that Sarah Palin is NOT prepared to be VP. (And, who knows a woman better than her mother-in-law!) As far as her experience goes,
the Republicans are including her years of service to the PTA, while dissing Obama's 20 years of community service. There is NO excuse with the resource
of the internet for Mel and Peter (see comments 2&3, above) and anyone else to
not be fully informed about Obama's accomplishments. Look it up! Bi-partisan ethics reform, nuclear non-proliferation, veterans services, aid to Katrina survivors,
children's health care -- to name a few. It probably will shock you to learn that Obama's record with the Disabled American Veterans is near 75% while disabled vet McCain's is 32%. In fact, McCain scores lower than Obama with many
veterans groups. PLEASE take the time to inform yourselves and cease relying on the tactics of fear and smear generated by the right wing .

I am surprised to see so many posts comparing Paltin with Obama. The comparisons should be between Obama and McCain or between Paltin and Biden. Get real people! Also, I live in Illinois and know he had done precious little for our state other than to go easy on gang bangers. He voted "present" so often we figured he either couldn't make a decision or didn't want to leave a voting record that could be pointed to. Now we know which it was. Hey, he seems like a nice man, just not ready for prime time. Afterall, you don't make someone who just graduated from Harvard Law a CEO of a company. He should have spent more time learning and actually VOTING than preparing speeches. Actions speak louder than words, no matter how eloquent.

McCain had the good judgement to find a governor to put on the ticket. It is the voters that must take the lead in insisting that the top of the ticket be governors. Once this happens people like McCain and Obama and Hillary will run for governor before they submit their resume in a presidential election.

When someone first runs for political office they want to be honest, get rid of corruption, high taxes, overspending etc., but as time goes by they change and are sucked into the system they were against in the first place.
So far being elected 3 times to the City Council, Mayor and now Governor, Sarah Palin has maintained her commitment to honest goverment.
I cannot think of another elected politician on the scene today, Democrat or Replublican who has gone after corrupt self-serving elected or appointed politicians (more so in their own party) than Sarah Palin. The only one that comes close was Rudy Giuliani when he was US District Attorney( and that was an appointment not elected position).
I rather vote for an inexperienced woman a heart beat away from the presidency instead of voting for an inexperienced guy running for the presidency

I don't agree with Sarah Palin being on the ticket because she don't have the confidence right now. She don't even beleive she can be a VP I think she is just gonna make the best of it. Everyone on the short list know the had what it takes to be VP. She knew she didn't

Hey, Robert (Comment #45),

Sarah Palin has been the Governor of a state with a slighter greater population than Albuquerque NM. Her only true expertise is with the issues facing Alaska. And, according to the President of Alaska's State Senate (a Republican), she has done a poor job as the executive. Her much-cited 80% approval rating has dropped to 65%, and continues to plummet (shades of George W. Bush). Read the recent editorials in Alaska's two major dailies, the Anchorage Daily News and the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks. One calls McCain "reckless" in selecting Palin.

There are plenty of qualified Republican woman who were overlooked by John McCain when he chose his running mate. He, instead, appears to be smitten with beauty queens.

Is this dingbat the most qualified Republican (man or woman) that the search team could find to succeed the president? No, she's a ploy to get votes, and America has had enough of that over the last eight years.

Palin more qualified than Obama? The GOP has really gone off the deep end. I guess the absurd can become true to Republicans if it's repeated often enough.

What? Weren't there any Hooter's girls that would take the job? Given that McCain is the oldest presidential candidate and given his medical history, wouldnt you think he could find someone better than the beauty queen from Alaska? My guess is that Romney, Pawlenty, Ridge, Huckabee et. al. must have turned the offer down. If "executive experience" is so important, how did McSame get selected?
Lets get serious......this woman is maybe qualified to be the mayor of some city, but hardly has the qualifications to be our President. She makes Dan Quayle look like Presidential material.
This selection by McCain brings his judgment and mental alertness front and center.

Let's see...an ex-beauty pagent winner...with a undergraduate degree in jounalism...who does not believe in global warming...who does believe a woman should have no control over her own body and for 9 months should be viewed as nothing more than a baby container...who's main attributes seem to be stubborness and vicious competiveness... who has had next to no experience in goverment...who has a currently very messy family situation given that she had recently given birth to a downs syndrome baby, has a 17 year old daughter who is unwed and pregnant and is facing investigation for using her political office to smear her ex-brother-in-law and get him fired (he is in a custody battle with her sister)...who seems to be in bed with big oil...who is running for VP...whose running mate is 72 and is a cancer survivor...who has no foreign policy background and in fact has only been out of the country twice...who may become President of the country I love at a time when it faces the most complex foreign policy issues, economic issues and domestic issues it has in decades...Why does this sound like a totally unbelievably bad novel???? I for one am terrified and can not understand what Mr. McCain was thinking!!!!

Shhhhhhh......whatever you do don't speak a word! We must not say anything about this because we've told we shouldn't. Why should it concern us anyway? After all this person who is running for VP could be the next President soon if the Republicans are elected in November. But....we should never ever mention anything about this subject matter because it involves a young teenage girl and she is pregnant and should have her privacy and we have no right to know anything or to say anything about this very extremely delicate issue!

Uhhh.......okay, but gosh! I mean, I thought that Governor Palin was a pro-lifer and against birth control and for abstinance. I'm confused here. Will someone please help me understand this? Okay....here's where I'm hung up. Does Palin think that it's just okay to engage in pre-marital sex at such a young age, without the protection of contraceptives? I mean...shouldn't I, as a voter, know how she feels about things like this? It seems reasonable to me to ask vital questions like this, especially in lieu of this latest development. Why is it that I have this nagging feeling in my gut that says to me that Governor Palin is somewhat irresponsible and probably not the greatest parent around? Could it be the way she handled her own pregnancy? Assuming she was indeed the one who was pregnant. After all, there are rumours to the contrary and this latest announcement doesn't really nullify those rumours. In a way it makes them appear somehow more plausible.

Am I condemning anyone here for this 'situation'? No, I really am not. I'm not condemning Palin or her daughter in the slightest. We are all humans and we all make mistakes. Some of us get caught and some of us don't. But basically what happens to us is because of the way we are raised and that's a fact. It seriously is a fact.

Psssssttttt.....don't tell anyone but I had a child out of wedlock when I was a teenager too. This is not a secret as I had it on my radio website and also spoke of it often on my radio talk show in which I spoke of True Love. I shared this information with my listeners and my fans not to make them think it was okay, but to let them know the truth and to help them to understand the consequences of what can happen when we don't follow the rules of society. I encouraged them not to be promiscuous ever. Now I'm not saying that I was promiscuous because I wasn't and I'm also not saying that Bristol was promiscuous. I have no idea what her sexual behaviour was like. But I will say this. I feel that I can blame my parents for what happened to me. Oh it was really my fault. Ultimately the fault was my own. I knew better. I really did! But the biggest reason I got pregnant was because the opportunity was there and the need to be loved. I had no supervision at that crucial time in my life and my parents were too busy with their own lives and work to wonder or even ask what was going on in my young life. I didn't have that "Leave it to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" upbringing. Okay, most kids don't these days but the lack of moral values in our society today is not only shocking, it is alarming!

As for my own pregnancy, I chose to not have it terminated as well and was 'sent off' to a home for unwed mothers. My family didn't want me to marry the boy, who was too young to earn a living or to be a good father. The decision was reached by all concerned, including the boy's parents, that I would give the baby up for adoption. I felt at the time it was a good decision, even though it saddened me deeply. Unfortunately, when my baby was born it had an abnormality that would be fatal, within two weeks. When they informed me of his condition it was the most horrible news of my life. It was the first time I knew what depression was like.

The baby died and I went on with my life but I can assure you that it had a profound impact on how I would feel about this subject matter, birth control, teen pregnancy and family values for the rest of my life.

After I married later on (not pregnant I will add) I had two beautiful daughters. I began to teach them sexual responsibility at an early age, always encouraging them to use abstinance but knowing that there was a probability they would not, once they reached a certain age. At this age I arranged for my physician to give me birth control pills for them and when they reached the age of 15 I told them where the pills were and told them that if they ever felt the need to use them that I would prefer for them to do that than risk becoming pregnant. I in no way encouraged them to have sex prematurely or without being married but I wanted to do what I felt was the responsible thing. I told both my daughters that they could either tell me they were taking the pills or not tell me, but that I would prefer if they did. Now, to protect my daughter's privacy as I'm not running for public office, much less the Vice Presidency of the United States, I will not reveal if they chose to take them or not. I am only saying what I did. Neither of my daughter ever experienced what I did. The shame and the guilt and the experience of having a child out of wedlock and then the horror of having that child die. Another thing is this. I was there for them! And I was employed at the time as well. But I still was with my children and saw to their emotional needs as much as any parent I have ever known of.

I have no ill feelings toward Governor Palin and certainly none for her daughter, Bristol. I don't know if there is any basis for the rumours that the child known as Trig could also be the child of Bristol and as I have posted here before it would be of importance here in that if it was proven to be true it would also prove that she was involved in a lie and a cover-up and this would not be acceptable for the person who could conceivably be our next President one day.

What I think should happen here is that Governor Palin should quietly back out of this race for the Vice President and should go back to Alaska and take care of her family.

I think we, the American people, deserve a Vice President who is more responsible and more accountable and who will not threaten to take away the rights of women everywhere to use birth control as a means of contraception and also who would threaten to have Roe vs Wade struck down.

In ending let me also say this: God bless little Trig and God Bless young Bristol and the child she is carrying.

In fact I will go a step farther in saying "God bless the Palin family." But at the same time I call for her to suspend her campaign as running mate of John McCain's in the unfortunate event that they just might get elected in the fall.

If the last eight years haven't taught us something then we are impossible to educate.

We simply must insist on accountability in our elected officials and their conduct.

It's really that simple!

~ Jazziette

Joe Biden is full of hot air. Always has been. He's extremely liberal - 3rd most liberal Senator in the Senate. His son and brother are both Washington lobbyists.Suprise. Suprise. He has made a career out of being a partisan smear merchant. When it comes to foreign policy, he has been wrong more often than not. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was wrong on Arms Race and the Soviets, wrong on the 1st Gulf War, wrong on Rwanda, wrong on Somalia, and wrong on "the Surge". His New Hampshire Campaign Chairman, Jim Ryan, is behind bars right now. Joe Biden's judgement is proven to have been poor at best. Oh yeah, he's also a draft dodger.

"Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican National Convention Chair, bemoaned what he called "the shots she is taking, especially from liberal elitist Democrat senators about her experience."

This guy's name says it all, BONER.

Hey BONER, slap a few more adjectives on there will you?

By the way, is he saying that Democrat senators are more elitist that Republican ones? Just what definition of elitist is he using?

Obama's twisted logic that merely running for office provides him with the qualifications, experience and credentials to perform in that office, is as laughable as his twisted logic that a whirlwind 9 day, six country, overseas photo op qualifies him as an expert on foreign policy. Obama is an empty suit who is obviously trying to create the illusion that he is something that he is not. If its a choice between an experienced mayor and Governor, with an approval rating of 80% for V.P. versus. a community organizer, and junior senator, who spent most of his time in office running for President ... I choose Palin. No Wright, no Farrakahn, no Ayers, no Rezko, no mean Michelle, NOBAMA

A couple of points, let's say Obama was actually present in Washington for 300 days ( which may be a stretch considering he spent half his time running for President), he allegedly introduced or co-sponsored 570 bills. That is 1.9 new pieces of legislation a day! That would be astonishing.
Of the alleged 570 bills, how many of those were worthy for a vote, which surely the Democratically controlled Congress supported, right? Considering he was eligible for only 568 during his Senate stay and he "No Voted" 40%* of the time, the probability is very low that many of his offerings were worthy of consideration.
Folks be careful of numbers that are presented.
* Source: Project Vote Smart web site. Check it out.

McCain is senile

Republicans comparing Palin to Obama, should remember Obama beat the Clinton machine. Could Palin go toe to toe with the Clintons? Doubtful.

Talk to me when she can organize and manage a campaign like Obama and can actually prove herself.

Republicans were right in 2000 that McCain is insane, impulsive and now we know he is also incompetent and a hostage to the "agents of intolerance" too.

you and palin are both puppets for the fascist amerikan empire !