May 17, 2012
FSM HOT TOPICS
Exclusive: Thursday, September 4
by PRESIDENTIAL WATCH September 4, 2008
A Leading Hillary Supporter Defects to McCain - SEE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.
Bill Bennett, Live on CNN, Rebukes CNN for Exploiting Palin's Daughter to Score Political Points - CLICK HERE TO VIEW.
She Is Woman, Hear Her Roar
IBD Editorials.com
Sarah Palin has more executive experience actually running a government than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. Those who dismiss her as an adviser to McCain forget she is a sitting governor of an energy-rich state in a world in which energy is both an economic and national security issue.
She knows her stuff on energy. Barack Obama makes incredibly dumb statements about inflating our tires saving an equivalent amount of oil as is to be found in the Outer Continental Shelf. Governor Palin builds a $40 billion pipeline to bring Alaskan natural gas to the lower 48 states. Her steelworker husband works in the North Slope oil fields and she is the only candidate on either ticket who has actually been to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times calls her "Vice In Go-Go Boots" and calls Governor Palin "a cute, cool unknown from Alaska who has never even been on 'Meet the Press.' " We wonder if she makes MSNBC's Chris Matthews' legs tingle like he said Barack Obama does. Those boots were made for campaigning and they walked all over the corrupt good-ole-boy network in Alaska.
Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post says: "McCain runs the risk that Palin will turn out to be Dan Quayle with an up-do — except with less experience." She can not only spell "potato" but this union member can also fire an AK-15. Democrats run the risk of dismissing this working mother of five as a "Dan Quayle" with an up-do at their peril. Remember those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Read article.
McCain proves to be fighter when odds against him
Jonathan Gurwitz, JWR.com
One year ago, John McCain's campaign was broke. He had slashed his staff. He resorted to taking commercial flights to some campaign events. And very few people took the then-71-year-old candidate's presidential aspirations seriously.
A Quinnipiac University National Poll released Aug. 15, 2007, put Rudy Giuliani in the lead for the Republican Party nomination with support from 28 percent of likely voters. Mitt Romney followed with 15 percent. Then Fred Thompson with 12 percent. At 11 percent, McCain was struggling to stay above single digits.
He was on the losing side of the biggest public opinion issue of the day. The former naval aviator had staked his political fate on his faith that a new commander with a new strategy and more combat troops could pull Iraq out of a death spiral.
That was at a time when Hillary Clinton was telling Gen. David Petraeus that his report on progress in Iraq required "the willing suspension of disbelief." When Barack Obama declared at the Senate hearing with Petraeus, "The time to end the surge and to start bringing our troops home is now, not six months from now."
Even formerly strong proponents of the war in the Republican Party were bending to public opinion polls and looking for an exit.
McCain stood firm. "I would rather lose a campaign than lose a war," he said at a campaign stop in California.
Against long odds — very long odds — McCain will accept his party's nomination for president at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night in St. Paul. Against even longer odds, he is within striking distance of winning the campaign he was willing to lose. Read article.
Sarah Palin - From A Resident of Wasilla, AK
Dick McDonald.Blogspot.com
Sarah Palin is the U.S.'s answer to Margaret Thatcher! Anyone who thinks she cannot handle the job or deal briskly and efficiently with ANY issue, including foreign governments … well, they haven't met our Sarah .
As an Alaskan resident as well as a resident of Wasilla, AK, where Sarah
Palin was at one time Mayor … I can speak with confidence. Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska is exactly what she portrayed during her introduction this morning and exactly what our US Government needs. She is ethical to a fault (if there is such a thing), a refreshing change to the status-quo and as smart and determined a PERSON (gender really isn't an issue here as far as I'm concerned) as anyone could ask for at the head of government.
Sarah is no naive "small town mayor" – she just *started out* there. Btw, as Mayor of Wasilla, she brought this "small town" through a lot of GOOD changes and left it at the end of her term having grown to the 4th largest CITY in Alaska – a lot of growth and a stronger economic base than ever before.
She has EXECUTIVE experience *running a government* (something NONE of the other candidates can actually boast, even John McCain ) as Governor of Alaska and got there by defeating the *incumbent* Republican Governor, who was definitely part of the "old school" and who WAS very much in the pocket of the big oil companies. We in Alaska wanted change – and we got it in the person of Sarah Palin!
Sarah Palin is everything she looks to be and more. Her approval rating as Governor of Alaska has been as high as 95% and is currently leveled out consistently in the upper 80 percentile throughout the state (and in both parties) - the HIGHEST approval rating of ANY sitting Governor. Read article.
McCain Now Strong With Base
Fred Lucas, CNS News.com
Sen. John McCain has been both revered and reviled for being a maverick politician.
In recent years, the Arizona Republican and presidential candidate has bucked his party on issues such as campaign finance reform, illegal immigration, and global warming legislation.
Although this was a major issue during the Republican primaries, prominent Republicans told CNSNews.com that the party’s conservative base will not hold that against him going into November.
Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), who supported former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Republican primary, called McCain a “true conservative.” He also praised his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate.
“With Sarah Palin, he hit it out of the park,” Hatch told CNSNews.com. “She is tough. She’s smart. She has more executive experience than any candidate for president or vice president. She has more knowledge of energy than any other candidate. She is a tough gal who made her own way.” Read article.
Joe Biden's Mythical Blue-Collar Roots
Steve Chapman, Townhall.com
Joe Biden once got in trouble for plagiarizing a speech and inflating his academic record. So it will not surprise you to find that his famous working-class background turns out to be mythical. But it may surprise you to learn that Biden isn't the one who has trouble with the facts.
In his Wednesday night speech at the Democratic convention, Biden referred to "those of us who grew up in middle-class neighborhoods like Scranton and Wilmington." In the video preceding his address, he said that the people he knew as a boy didn't regard themselves as working class but as middle class.
So what did the news media report? "Sen. Joseph R. Biden accepted the vice presidential nomination of the Democratic Party with a speech that harkened back to his working-class roots in Scranton," said The Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal informed readers, "Sen. Joe Biden showcased his working-class upbringing." The New York Times said he "spoke frequently, and earnestly, of his blue-collar background."
No, he didn't. In fact, he did just the opposite. Anyone paying attention would have noticed as much. But the legend of Joe Biden, born in a welding shop, dies hard with political reporters, who find it easier to romanticize a gritty, hardscrabble childhood than a conventionally comfortable one.
The facts are there for anyone who wants to look at them. When Joe Biden Sr. died in 2002, his obituary in the News-Journal of Wilmington reported that when he married in 1941, "he was working as a sales representative for Amoco Oil Co. in Harrisburg."
It went on, "Biden also was an executive in a Boston-based company that supplied waterproof sealant for U.S. merchant marine ships built during World War II. After the war, he co-owned an airport and crop-dusting service on Long Island." Upon moving his family to Delaware, the News-Journal said, Biden "worked in the state first as a sales manager for auto dealerships and later in real-estate condominium sales."
Executive, co-owner and manager? Those titles identify the jobholder as solidly middle class, if not better. They fall in the category of white-collar occupations, not blue-collar.
And Biden Sr. clearly knew the difference. In his book, "Promises to Keep," Biden writes that his father was "the most elegantly dressed, perfectly manicured, perfectly tailored car sales manager Wilmington, Del., had ever seen." Read article.
All in the Family for Biden and the tort lawyers
Thomas Lifson, American Thinker.com
The tort lawyers have a great friend in Joe Biden and his running mate, and there is a smelly "intersection of interests" among them.
USA Today headlines the "intersection of interests" when Senator Joseph Biden
worked to defeat a bipartisan bill designed to curb asbestos lawsuits at a time his son's law firm was filing them in Delaware and a former aide was lobbying against the measure, according to public records and interviews.
As the article by Ken Dilanian notes, Senator Biden as been an "ally" of what Republicans should call "Big Tort" - the contingency-fee privateers who search for lucrative class action lawsuits and deep-pocketed corporate defendants, capable of forking over nine- or ten-figure judgments. The top tort lawyers earn wealth that dwarfs that of any CEO of Big Oil.
Here is what Senator Joe did for his wealthy buddies:
He proposed a series of amendments in 2003 and 2005 that backers of the bill viewed as "poison pills" designed to kill the bill, said Lawrence Fineran, a lobbyist who supported the measure. Read article.
Who Broke Politics? The name is Joe. Joe Biden.
Chet Arthur, NRO.com
Harry Truman said that for the first six months he was in the Senate, he couldn’t believe he’d gotten there. After another six months, he couldn’t believe they’d gotten there.
Barack Obama didn’t hang around the Senate cloakroom long enough to pick up the word on Joe Biden. He didn’t realize that Biden is something of a joke in the Senate.
Isn’t it curious that in 36 years, Biden’s never even been mentioned for Majority Leader, or even for Majority Whip?
Obama’s claim to be a “post partisan” candidate is belied by his choice of the vicious, knee-groining Biden as his running mate. Barack Obama, in his electric acceptance speech, claimed that “politics is broken.” A reasonable question then is: Who broke politics? Much of the credit for the brokenness of politics must go to that political leg-breaker, Joe Biden.
One leading example of how our politics is broken is the judicial-confirmation process. Judicial confirmations used to be civil affairs. They used to be honorable contests in which both sides sought to review the record of the distinguished jurists who sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Joe Biden can claim the lion’s share of credit for turning judicial confirmations into lions’ dens. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden presided over the “Borking” of Judge Robert Bork. He was the chief Kleagle for the “high tech lynching” of Clarence Thomas. He tried to go after Roberts and Alito as well. He is not known as the “smiling barracuda” for nothing.
Ironically, not one of the men and women who have come before his committee would have survived one day if they had been proven to have plagiarized major speeches and law review articles — as Biden has been found to have done. Read article.
Deferments, asthma kept Biden out of Vietnam
Randall Chase, AP.com
Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden received five student draft deferments during the Vietnam War, the same number of deferments received by Vice President Dick Cheney, and later was disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.
Officials with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign released Biden's Selective Service records at the request of The Associated Press. Less detailed records were available from a National Archives facility in Philadelphia.
According to the documents, Biden, 65, received several deferments while he was an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and later as a law student at Syracuse University. A month after undergoing a physical exam in April 1968, Biden received a Selective Service classification of 1-Y, meaning he was available for service only in the event of national emergency.
"As a result of a physical exam on April 5, 1968, Joe Biden was classified 1-Y and disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager," said David Wade, a campaign spokesman.
In "Promises to Keep," a memoir that was published last year and became an instant best-seller after he was tapped as Obama's running mate, Biden never mentions his asthma, recounting an active childhood, work as a lifeguard and football exploits in high school. Read article.
Obama's Radical Delegate
Guy Benson, Townhall.com
Ever since Obama decided to run for president, he’s been doing his very best to dismiss, deny, and obfuscate his longtime relationship with Ayers and Dohrn. After all, mainstream politicians don’t often have close working relationships, let alone friendships, with people who once declared war on the United States government. Katz, on the other hand, appears to have been welcomed into the Obama presidential campaign with open arms. She serves on his national finance committee, she is listed as a fundraising “bundler” on his website, she has hosted fundraisers for him, and she has personally donated thousands of dollars to the cause. Katz also traveled to Denver as part of the Illinois delegation last week, serving as a member of the credentials committee.
There are so many objectionable figures in Obama’s social milieu, new revelations about yet another garden variety radical may elicit shrugs at this point. How have we arrived at such a place? His supporters have made it clear that his close ties to unrepentant terrorists—unrepentant terrorists—are no big deal. In fact, those who raise concerns about the Obama-Ayers nexus are labeled vicious neo-swiftboaters. So perhaps it follows that someone who preferred lobbing guerilla nails at police over planting pipe bombs in federal buildings would be integrated into Obama’s official campaign apparatus without so much as a second look. Read article.
America's Moral Standing
Editorial, NY Sun.com
Speaking before a Denver Democratic National Convention crowd that was smaller than the one he attracted in Germany, Barack Obama promised to "restore our moral standing." In the excerpts that were released in advance of his speech, he didn't specify what he meant, but it was in a section of the address that focused on national security and foreign policy.
It was a phrase that speaks volumes about how out of touch he is with the American mainstream. Most Americans, we think, believe their country already has a high moral standing in the world, one that doesn't need any restoring.
After all, the war in Iraq that Mr. Obama has opposed from the beginning was one that was fought to liberate the country from a dangerous dictator and to allow freedom and democracy and the rule of law to take root. Under the Bush administration, America has spent billions to fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa, so that Mr. Bush was greeted with adulation when he visited that continent. It's America that is siding with Georgia against Russia, with Israel against Iran and Syria, with South Korea against the North Korean Communists, with Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The notion that America no longer occupies the moral high ground in the world comes straight out of the hard-left, anti-Israel, Bush-hating playbook of Human Rights Watch, whose director, Kenneth Roth, marked the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks with a statement referring to Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and "secret CIA prisons" and claiming that America had suffered a "loss of the moral high ground" in the battle against the terrorists. Read article.
And Along Came Palin
David N. Bass, Spectator.org
While media pundits write the evangelical movement's obituary, political reality shows that the Christian right is far from dead, and that social issues are and will remain a major component of conservative governance.
The proof: John McCain's announcement on Friday that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be his running mate. The news came after weeks of GOP insiders floating names like Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge as potentials to fill out the ticket. Instead of these pro-abortion alternatives, McCain picked a reliable pro-lifer.
It was a calculated blow against Obama, who has been courting evangelicals for months in hopes of carving off a few votes for himself. The Christian right, in general, hasn't trusted McCain. The choice of Palin assuages some of that concern. It also might pry away some disgruntled women who had supported Hillary — an unmistakable jab on McCain's part considering Obama has been vying to swipe a few evangelical voters.
Some will argue that Palin's pro-life views don't matter because, if elected, her post as vice president would have little policy-making power. That would be true with an ordinary candidate on the ticket's top slot, but the likelihood of McCain seeking a second term at the age of 76 is slight. If McCain wins, his veep pick would be the presumptive Republican nominee in 2012 and the standard-bearer for the party. More important than the strategic wisdom of Palin, however, is that she stands true to many core principles of social conservatism. And that, to quote a trite saying, shows that reports of the evangelical movement's death have been greatly exaggerated. Read article.
Sarah Palin, McCain's Ticket to Victory
JR Dieckmann, GreatAmericanJournal.com
Rather than showing up at the polls just to vote against Obama, conservatives now have a reason to support the Republican ticket - not just a reason, but a good reason. McCain could have gone the other way and chosen a VP who would appeal more to the left, in keeping with this own views, but he not only did the right thing, but the smart thing as well when he picked Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin for the position.
Today when Barack Obama commented on the Palin nomination, he looked absolutely horrified, as though he knew his chances of winning the election had just dropped dramatically. He wanted to say something demeaning but he tempered his response with controlled politeness. But his face told a story of disaster, one he didn’t count on Thursday night as he was speaking out of both sides of his mouth in Denver. Nearly every sentence was aimed at the political centrists, then followed with a liberal counterpoint that he can then use later in his defense when challenged on it. He was trying to appeal to everyone with his phony speech.
These are things you won’t see from Gov. Sarah Palin. She is a solid conservative, always has been, and is proud of it. Her prime motivation is in doing the right thing for the country, not for herself. She openly and confidently stands up for what she believes in and speaks up when she sees dishonesty, corruption, and harm to the country. You could say she is Fred Thompson in drag, but a whole lot more attractive. Read article.
As Goes Missouri, So Goes The Election!
Doug Edel, Edeldoug Blogs.com
For 104 years, the winner of Missouri’s electoral votes has gone on to win the presidency in every case except 1956, when Missouri voted (by a very slim margin) for Adlai Stevenson, a popular Governor of neighboring Illinois. Missouri’s status as a Bellwether is even cited on the University of Missouri’s website.
"There is no other state like Missouri," said Marvin Overby, professor and Frederick A. Middlebush Chair in the Department of Political Science. "Missouri is the southernmost northern state, northernmost southern state, easternmost western state and westernmost eastern state. It is geographically and demographically in the middle. It's in a unique position that tends to reflect well where the rest of the country is politically."
"Since the Civil War and the issue of slavery, Missouri has always been in the position as a bellwether state, and this year is no different," Overby said. "Presidential candidates are likely to make more stops in the state and test their messages in Missouri. Missouri is a pivotal state. If you win Missouri, you win the White House."
With that said, it is interesting to note that polling data over the last month or more has shown McCain leading in Missouri by as much as 10 points. Given Missouri’s “bellwether” status, one might think that the media would be paying attention, however those outlets which even pay attention to a state by state accounting of the vote tend to list Missouri as “Leaning” to McCain rather than solidly behind him!
If there was any doubt as to the enthusiasm of Missouri voters toward the McCain/Palin ticket, yesterday’s “Road to the Convention” rally at T R Hughes Ballpark in suburban O’Fallon, Missouri should cause analysts to sit up and take notice. Read article.
Between McCain and Obama, an Energy Gap
Robert Maginnis, Human Events.com
Voters this fall will have a real choice between the presidential candidates on critical energy and security issues, and it behooves every thinking American to closely study those differences before casting their vote. The differences between the two are stark.
The next president’s plan for energy access and our security are arguably the most important issues facing the country. Interruptions to energy access could devastate our economy. Our security depends on our military being ready to protect the nation from growing foreign threats, and its ability to do so also depends on its access to energy.
The candidates are not equally prepared for the office, however. Republican John McCain is a retired navy combat veteran with nearly 30 years of congressional experience working national security and foreign affairs issues. His running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, has worked on energy issues in Alaska and is her state’s chief executive officer.
Obama frequently states that “we cannot drill our way out of the problem” because foreign producers would “…reduce the amount of oil they pump … guaranteeing that whatever the price was will be sustained.” He promises that as president he will reduce oil consumption by at least 35 percent by 2030 but never says how.
McCain would accelerate the exploration and drilling of American oil sources. He favors drilling in oilfields off the nation’s coasts and at proven fields in Montana and Alaska. He favors developing recoverable shale oil ready for development in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Read article.
Colorado Ladies Love McCain
Kimberley A. Strassel, Online WSJ.com
Colorado is up for grabs, one of a handful of states that could swing this year's presidential election. That was partly the Obama campaign's argument for holding last week's acceptance speech in Invesco Field, making room for tens of thousands of extra spectators, including many locals. And so Wednesday I pulled up a chair at a downtown restaurant with Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado State Republican Party, to hear what factor is mostly likely to determine the winner of Colorado's nine electoral votes. His answer: Women.
In particular, women aged 30 to 50, located in several suburban counties to the south of Denver. According to Mr. Wadhams, who's also running Bob Schaffer's Senate campaign, suburban women have been the must-have constituency of recent elections. These suburbanite females tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative -- but place their voting emphasis on the latter. Polls show him tied with or pulling ahead of Barack Obama. What really had Mr. Wadhams smiling, though, is that these polls are coming out even as Democrats have been hosting their convention in his home state. And though we spoke before Sarah Palin -- the pro-drilling, pro-fiscal restraint governor of Alaska -- emerged as Mr. McCain's Veep pick, presumably Ms. Palin can only help close the deal with so many like-minded suburban women of Colorado.
Polls show him tied with or pulling ahead of Barack Obama. What really had Mr. Wadhams smiling, though, is that these polls are coming out even as Democrats have been hosting their convention in his home state. And though we spoke before Sarah Palin -- the pro-drilling, pro-fiscal restraint governor of Alaska -- emerged as Mr. McCain's Veep pick, presumably Ms. Palin can only help close the deal with so many like-minded suburban women of Colorado. Read article.
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