Clipmarks | wiccantexan's 'politics' clips

Palin pre-empts state report, clears self in probe

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:26:13 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Trying to head off a potentially embarrassing state ethics report on GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, campaign officials released their own report Thursday that clears her of any wrongdoing.

Lawmakers are expected to release their own findings Friday. Campaign officials have yet to see that report — the result of an investigation that began before she was tapped as McCain's running mate — but said the investigation has falsely portrayed a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and her commissioner as something inappropriate.

"It is tragic that a false story hatched by a blogger after drinks with Trooper Wooten led the legislature to allocate over $100,000 of public money to be spent in what has become a politically driven investigation," the 21-page report concludes.

The McCain campaign says the investigation has become "muddied with innuendo, rumor and partisan politics."

Tags: palin, ethics, legal, politics

Madame Palin Meet Mr. Mirror

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:04:28 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Not for the factually or logically adverse, nor those who believe that reality is an alien (and commie) concept.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: olberman, youg turks, video, youtube, special comment, palin, mccain, politics

Watchdogs make it harder for politicians to stretch the truth

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:38:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: features.csmonitor.com

Gilding the lily is nothing new to politics. From the 1840s when William Henry Harrison claimed to have been born in a log cabin (it was actually a Virginia plantation) to Ronald Reagan’s reminiscing about flying over Germany in World War II (he did, but only in a movie), politicians have taken perfectly good stories and embellished them.

This campaign is no exception.

Such exaggerations may simply be the product of a faulty memory or a desire to be “better” than one is in a political culture that requires larger-than-life idols. But with the advent of the fact-checking obsessed blogosphere – and a media racing to keep up – such self-aggrandizement doesn’t last as long as it once did.

“But now there are too many professional and amateur fact-checkers,” he says. “And there are hundreds if not thousands of bloggers who have detailed knowledge on specialized information, so you really can’t get away with stretching the truth anymore.”

Tags: politics, stories, obama, mccain, internet, bloggers

the "Odd Couple" on Presidential debates

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:15:59 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

The two former presidents who debated against one another said they were nervous at the time.

"I was nervous, Bush said. "I'm not a very good debater, and having a lot of time being tutored on what to say, if he says this, you say that and if she goes this way, you go that way. ... I'll be honest about it. I don't like the emphasis on debates, but it's a fact of life now."

Clinton concurred.

"What you sit there in mortal terror of is that your campaign will somehow be wrecked because you make a mistake that doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the larger scheme of things and that has no bearing on your fitness to serve and make the decisions that a president makes."

With two days until Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain face off in the debates, the former presidents offered their advice.

Tags: politics, debate, election, obama, mccain, clinton, bush

Grading the First Presidential Debate

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:23:32 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: Go to the article for details on each section.

Clip Source: www.time.com

John McCain

Substance:

Grade: B-

Style:

Grade: C-

Offense:

Grade: C+

Defense:

Grade: B-

Overall:

Overall grade: B-

Clip Source: www.time.com

Barack Obama

Substance:

Grade: B+

Style:

Grade: A

Offense:

Grade: B

Defense:

Grade: A-

Overall:

Overall grade: A-

Tags: politics, debate, obama, mccain

Sen. Kennedy taken to hospital

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:07:54 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy has been transported to a Cape Cod Hospital, FOX News has learned.

His condition was not immediately known.

The ailing Democratic senator has been undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor, after he was hospitalized for a seizure in May.

A captain in the Hyannais Port Fire Department confirmed that Kennedy was taken to the hospital Friday evening.

Tags: politics, health, kennedy

The Witch Hunter annoints Sarah Palin

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:56:17 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: palin, religion, belief, witchcraft, politics

Friday's debate: A bizarre game of chicken

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:00:21 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.salon.com

Never before in the tangled history of these high-stakes face-offs has a candidate tried to scuttle a debate this close to deadline. As Sidney Kraus, the leading historian of presidential debates and an emeritus professor at Cleveland State University, put it, "It is not unusual for the candidates to disagree over the place or the time, even after they've agreed to be there. But we've never had anything remotely like this."

If McCain actually boycotts the Oxford debate, Obama may score a public-relations coup while his Republican rival looks weak and evasive. Or the Democratic nominee may appear too political while McCain puts on his mantle as statesman.

The negotiations between the McCain and Obama camps quickly led to a 31-page agreement on debate protocols. But nothing in those 31 pages explains what to do if only one candidate actually shows up Friday night in Oxford.

Tags: debate, obama, mccain, politics, election

Theocrats to Pray for McCain's Death

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:55:10 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.talk2action.org

The more theocratic elements of the Religious Right have a disturbing habit, (more like a practice) of invoking "imprecatory prayer" -- a call for God to literally pour his wrath down on those they consider to be his enemies.

The most recent target of theoractic imprecations is none other than Republican presidential candidate John McCain. They hope that an act of God will make Sarah Palin president.

Well, that is quite a standard, and one that is arguably prone to abuse. That said, at least two people have written in recent days that hope that McCain/Palin are elected so that they can pray for God to crush John McCain and to elevate Sarah Palin to her rendevous with destiny.

Tags: mccain, palin, politics, religion, god

Palin rants against Iran, canceled invite, and Democrats

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:22:56 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: AWww.... Sawah got her widdle feelings hurt. So she's going to inflame a potential nuclear power and blame Obama for getting disinvited to a rally.

Clip Source: blogs.abcnews.com

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin warned against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pursuit of nuclear weapons for a "second holocaust," while blaming "Democrat partisans" for forcing rally organizers to withdraw her invitation to speak before an anti-Iran protest in New York next week.

In an interview last week with ABC News' Charles Gibson in Fairbanks, Palin spoke of the need to ensure "that these weapons of mass destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them."

Palin also publicly addressed for the first time her canceled appearance at the "Rally to Stop Iran Now"

"Unfortunately, though some Democrat partisans put politics first and now no elected official will be able to appear at that "Stop Iran" rally. Iran's pursuit of these weapons should concern all Americans; this should not be a matter for partisan politics," Palin said.

Tags: politics, palin, dangerous, iran, war

"God is on our side"

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:49:24 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: newsweek.washingtonpost.com

Whenever I hear someone say, "God is on my side," I think, "Yep! Just another argument for polytheism." Because, hey, Sarah Palin's God may want her to build the pipeline, but I've had personal communication from Thundering Herds of Reindeer Gods that say, "No way!" Ereshkigal the Goddess of the Mesopotamian underworld is raging mad at the number of innocent children's souls she's had to process since the U.S. started bombing Iraq--she doesn't like that sort of thing. And the great, protective Earth Spirits who sleep in the bottom of oil reserves are roaring in my ear, "Disturb us at your peril!"

You think I'm kidding, perhaps. Think again.

Sure, we could do politics on this level. We all like to believe we're right, and we all like to think our righteousness is shared and affirmed by the very highest authorities. So bring on the Battle of the Gods--how much more dramatic and interesting than the battle of the policy wonks!

Tags: politics, religion, god, palin, goddess

Despite gaffes, Biden effective on the campaign trail

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:39:51 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Joe Biden has a “bad habit” of telling voters what he thinks, he told a gymnasium full of Montana supporters recently.

But that’s not his only bad habit.

In the four weeks since becoming Barack Obama’s running mate, Biden has been a reliable fount of gaffes, awkward statements and hyperbole. He is a candidate in the highest-profile election in the world, operating under the unrelenting scrutiny of the media Hydra, but he seems constitutionally incapable of conforming his quirky and anachronistic political style to the punishing and unforgiving modern news cycle.

Yet somehow, despite an effusive, loose-lipped and emotive manner seemingly better suited to the urban ward-style politics of another era, Biden is proving to be an effective campaigner even as he validates Democratic fears about his undisciplined and garrulous ways.

Attendees at his events report a genuine connection with Biden, saying they feel as if he’s a regular guy, telling it like it is.

Tags: politics, obama, biden, campaign

Palin calls for end to investigation she initiated

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:01:12 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin shifted her tactics for the second time in three weeks on the "Troopergate" investigation, this time calling to end the very investigation that she herself called for and the one the McCain campaign had said was the only proper venue for a probe.

Palin's Attorney General, who initially launched an internal probe into Palin, even before the legislature began theirs, is now asking the legislators to withdraw their subpoenas of Palin aides and Palin's husband.

When the Alaska Legislature's Legislative Council,

voted to investigate the firing of former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan in July, Palin pledged her full support.

But almost immediately after joining the GOP ticket, Palin's Troopergate strategy veered sharply. Despite her earlier vows of full cooperation with the probe, she declared it unlawful.

Tags: palin, politics, legal

The Sarah Palin Phenomenon Is Doomed

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:16:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

The primary reason why the Palin bubble will burst is that the media will decide that they are bored with her. They'll need to move to shine a light on a fresh issue or individual.

This is how the world works in the age of 24/7 news cycles. Whether the subject is Britney Spears, Michael Jordan or Sarah Palin, we inevitably raise stars to mythic levels, out of all reasonable proportions. Then we knock them down.

It isn't a case of quixotic behavior by reporters and editors. Internet sites, blogs and cable news operations all thrive on presenting fresh headlines and updated story angles as often as possible so readers think we're on top of things. The news world moves at warp speed.

I'll be interested to see how Palin -- not to mention McCain and the Republican campaign machine -- reacts when the media's disillusionment sets in for real. Their actions may determine the course of the 2008 race.

Tags: palin, mccain, celebrity, politics, media, internet

Obama's 'Yes we can' theme needs second act

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:09:53 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

In theater, they say the second act is the hardest to write. It requires relentless focus and discipline. The writer must give himself fearlessly to one central idea and never waver, though temptation is the opposite: There are many paths a story can take.

So it is in politics, as Barack Obama's campaign is learning.

The clear campaign of change ran into trouble in Act II when it was tasked with explaining what change actually meant. Obama, as they say in show business, "ran out of script."

The wind in his sails stalled in the hot calm of August and he has yet to recover.

it is Obama who finds himself clawing back, forced to attack, launching uncharacteristic partisan and personal attacks against a McCain who has "lost track" of and is "confused" about how many houses he owns.

How did the soaring campaign of change become grinding politics-as-usual and crash so thunderously to earth?

Tags: obama, politics, mccain, change, theater