TWITTERING: They Have Nothing To Run On

Some Brief Thoughts:

• First impressions are important, and while Sarah Palin gave a strong speech, her mocking and condescending belittling of the Democratic opponent will not play well down the middle. The McCain camp is breaking hard right. Goodbye Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado.
• Rudy Giuliani should stick to eating meatballs.
• After two full days at the RNC they have yet to propose any vision for the future. No mention of the economy, no mention of Iraq, no mention of the challenges posed by a nuclear Iran, and how those challenges should be addressed.
• NOVELTY: The Republicans are not running on issues. The McCain campaign has run entirely on the themes of Service, Courage, Honor, and now Maverick Women. This is a big issue election. People want to know about how Washington is going to help make healthcare more available, jobs more plentiful, energy more affordable, and how they plan to restore America's standing in the world. NOVELTY wears off quickly in an election that is about issues. Look for this happen as we approach the end of September.
• They are lying through their teeth and the media should not be intimidated by charges of sexism and elitism. They should be called on every lie.
• The one and only barometer to judge the selection of a VP is whether or not that person is qualified to become President if necessary. Governor Palin did not make the case that she is ready to be President in her speech tonight.

When you're on the right side of the issues, you don't need to retort to gimmicks.

The McCain approach to the RNC tells you exactly who's on the right and wrong side of the issues.

Is This Executive Experience?

**Before becoming Governor of Alaska (population 600,000), Sarah Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (Population 6,700)**

IS THIS THE EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE THAT REPUBLICANS ARE TOUTING?

Note to John Edwards and Sarah Palin: It is Our Business!

NOW LET ME TELL YOU WHY

Another day, another revelation.

This time it's the news that Bristol Palin, the 17-year old daughter of Alaska Governor and newly minted McCain VP Sarah Palin, is five months pregnant. This coming on the heels of John Edwards half-hearted 'admission' to engaging in an affair behind the back of his cancer-stricken wife.

Lying, cheating, and teenage pregnancies are all realities of everyday life, in America and abroad. We are all human beings, and we are all subject to making mistakes: as my mother always says, it can happen to anybody.

But, let me tell you what really has me riled up with the cases of John Edwards and Sarah Palin. These are two public officials who have cultivated their entire public lives on one assumption:

That their families are perfect, and yours are not.

Let me explain. John Edwards cultivated an entire political career based on his good looks, boy next door charm, college sweetheart wife, and three beautiful children. The portrait of the perfect American family. Whether he was running for President or Vice President, you always so those two adorable children not far behind, always on the road, and always within camera range. He talked about 'Two Americas', how he was the son of a mill-worker and through hard work and dedication to God and his family he was able to live the American dream.

This was all storybook, the stuff dreams are made of; and the media ate-it-all-up.

It turns out that the only dedication Edwards had was to himself and his personal ambition. If his timeline is to be believed, he confessed of an affair to his wife in September of 2006, well before the first-in-the-nation primaries will be held in January of 2008. And with rumors of the story already circulating around alternative news agencies, he, and his wife, yes she is complicit in this, decided to say 'the heck with it' and forge ahead with the nominating process, all while lying through their teeth, continuing to assert that the stories of any affair were completely false.

'Trash' Edwards once called it.

So here we have a man, who for his own personal ambition of becoming President of the United States, decided to potentially 'throw-under-the-bus' the Democratic party, and the forty-million or so voters who voted during the democratic primary season.

And when finally admitting his transgressions, what did John Edwards have to say?

'I had gotten to a point in my life where I though I could get away with it.'

Thanks John, that's comforting.

This is not a private matter.

Now onto Governor Palin. The Alaska Governor has really energized the conservative base of the Republican party since John McCain tapped her to be his running mate this past Friday. All we heard about her was how strong her Christian faith was. How strong her family values were. How great it would be for America, to bring a women with such strong faith in God and such strong family values to the White House. How she could serve as an example for other mothers, who juggle their professional careers with raising a family.

These are all admirable traits, now only if they were actually true.

I am tired of politicians ramming down my throat, and yours, how great their family values are. And when there's a slip-up on their part, or on the part of someone in their family, they quickly shuffle behind this vague line:

'This is a private family matter, we ask the media to respect our privacy.'

Well, I am sorry. I will not respect your privacy. Do not come into my home through my television set and talk to me in front of the media cameras that you have invited into your home just for the purposes of showing me how 'strong' your family values are. And for you to then turn around, when a transgression occurs, and tell me 'respect my families privacy'.

There's a reason America is in love with Bill Clinton. It is not because he's a great speaker, or that they necessarily agree with him on all of the issues. It is because he is vulnerable, and he doesn't hide it. Bill Clinton showed us the good, the bad, and the ugly during his eight years in office, and he never tried to hide that. He didn't present himself as a perfect man, and he never described his family as the perfect family.

And neither should you.

So yes, John and Sarah, this is my business.

But only because you made it mine.

Politics as Usual: The Art of the 'Bad News' Dump

With nearly all media attention directed at the ongoing situation on the Gulf, the McCain camp has decided today would be an opportune time to drop a few tidbits on us:

Tidbit #1:

"Sources close to Sarah Palin tell The Brody File that the husband of the GOP Vice-presidential choice, Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time. He was driving in a truck with some friends in the small southwestern Alaska town of Dillingham when he was pulled over for the DUI. As is customary, he was taken to jail briefly. Sarah and Todd Palin were high school sweethearts so they were dating at the time. The Brody File can also report that there was no accident or injuries."

"Sources close to Sarah Palin also tell The Brody File that Todd Palin has been 'forthcoming about the situation and has indicated that it was a lesson learned from when he was younger.'"

Tidbit #2: Governor Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter, Bristol Palin, IS 5 MONTHS PREGNANT

Reuters: "The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain aides said. 'We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,' the Palins' statement said. 'Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,' the Palins said."

McCain Campaign Statement:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

Did the McCain Campaign know before today?

Why did Palin not refer to 'this blessing' in her introduction on Friday?

How will the Evangelical community react?

Begs the question: Was Sarah Palin properly vetted?

If the McCain campaign did know about Bristol Palin's pregnancy, how will the Republican base react to his brushing it aside as a 'non-issue'?

Why choose this moment to release the news?

Is the McCain campaign taking advantage of the unfortunate circumstances in the Gulf?

**STAY TUNED FOR MORE MEDIA REACTION**

 

TWITTERING

Some Brief Thoughts:

• Is Hurrcaine Gustav keeping President Bush away from the RNC a godsend for the McCain camp?
• How will the media play this week? Lives at risk usually trump politics. Look to see how the hurricane coverage competes with the RNC.
• No Bounce? No Problem. People keep pointing to polls where McCain/Palin edge Obama/Biden nationally. At this stage these polls mean nothing. The fact that McCain selected Palin, and that he is behind in almost every battleground, with the exception of Florida, and that traditionally strong GOP States such as Indiana and Montana are being contested suggest this election might break big for Obama in late September.
• Opposition Research: The trickle is about to turn into a flood. Look for the media to unearth anything and everything they have on Governor Palin once the 'honeymoon phase' ends.

SEPTEMBER SURPRISE?

Where's Colin? Colin Powell has gone into hiding. Will he endorse Obama after the RNC?

**STAY TUNED FOR MORE THROUGHOUT THE DAY**

Palin's Israel Connection: Pat Buchanan? (FLORIDA, FLORIDA, FLORIDA)

disclaimer: as a T.V. personality, I love Pat Buchanan

Does John McCain suddenly have a Florida problem?

Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler lashed out at John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin, saying the choice was an insult to Jewish Americans because of her support for Pat Buchanan.

"John McCain's decision to select a vice presidential running mate that endorsed Pat Buchanan for President in 2000 is a direct affront to all Jewish Americans, "Wexler's announcement said. "Pat Buchanan is a Nazi sympathizer with a uniquely atrocious record on Israel, even going as far as to denounce bringing former Nazi soldiers to justice and praising Adolf Hitler."

Buchanan has said that Palin indeed backed him in the past. However, the Alaska governor's support may have been related to Buchanan's domestic policy, rather than his foreign policy views.

ELDERLY JEWISH-AMERICANS IN BROWARD AND PALM BEACH COUNTY WON'T SOON FORGET 'ACCIDENTIALLY' VOTING FOR BUCHANAN IN 2000.

WILL A VOTING BLOC THAT HAS BEEN SUSPICIOUS OF AN OBAMA CANDIDACY BEGIN TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK?

COULD THIS BE THEIR OPPORTUNITY FOR PAYBACK?

**STAY TUNED**