Richard W. Rahn, Washington Times.com

 

Are all too many in the global political class doltish, or do they just appear that way? The current financial meltdown has revealed an amazing number of revelations from people who were surprised by the obvious.

 

For years, liberal Democrats in Congress and some Republicans pushed for banks and other institutions to make home loans to unqualified borrowers, and suddenly we find many of these people cannot repay their loans.

 

The reaction from members of Congress, like the "surprised" Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is to demand investigation of "greedy bankers," while ignoring the fact that it was her left-wing colleagues who created the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) that required the banks to lend to people who were poor credit risks in the name of "housing rights." A Chicago "public interest" lawyer named Barack Obama was active in this movement.

 

A majority of members of Congress seemed to be surprised that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became insolvent when many of the subprime mortgages they had been pressured to buy (by members of their oversight committees, such as Barney Frank and Chris Dodd) became nonperforming. Some members of Congress (including John McCain) did try to pass legislation to limit the size of Fannie and Freddie, but it was blocked by - surprise, surprise - Rep. Frank and Sens. Dodd, Charles Schumer, Barack Obama, et al. who just happened to have taken major contributions from Freddie and Fannie.

 

Mr. Obama was particularly surprised when some charged that his nonsupport of the reform legislation might have had something to do with the fact he was the second-largest recipient of campaign donations from Fannie Mae over the last three years. Oh my, how could we possibly think such a thing? Read article.

Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard.com

 

Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the whirlwind descent of Hurricane Sarah, it may be time to stand back a little and assess in perspective what the moose-hunting beauty from Wasilla, Alaska, has wrought. Things will change between now and November, but she has already had a sizeable impact, and four major themes do stand out:

 

Call off the funeral. Three weeks ago, the wisdom was that the conservative movement was over and done with. Then, as of midday on August 29, all of this changed. McCain's surprise pick of Sarah Palin is one of the few transformational choices in modern political history.

 

 In the wake of the Palin pick, the numbers in the generic polls started to shift: edging away from Democratic preponderance that prevailed from late 2006 onward, swinging back to the 50-50 (or 49-49, or 51-49) balance that existed through most of the past decade.

 

Palin's pick was a hand grenade tossed into the old-fashioned feminist movement's aged and tottering hulk. "Can someone please tell me what the hell happened?" pled Michelle Cottle of the New Republic, as Sarah made landfall. Read article.

 

Armstrong Williams, Townhall.com

 

Senator Barack Obama’s triumph over Senator Clinton in the Democratic primaries will undoubtedly go down as one of the most shocking upsets in American electoral history. Obama, a dark horse (no pun intended) with no national track record, was able to beat the formidable Clinton machine because he was a phantom. He confounded his rivals because he provided little of substance for them to stick their swords into. Because he lacked a track record, he could switch directions easily without seeming incongruous. He was flexible, and could not be locked in or nailed down on anything.

 

Along comes Governor Palin, who, like Obama, is also an unknown. Like Obama, she has a razor thin track record on any issues of substance; and her appearance on the national stage came almost out of nowhere. Thus far, her very presence has sucked the air out of Obama’s sails. He finds himself at a loss for words, veering sharply off script into ad hominem attacks that are so very uncharacteristic of him. Yet he finds that Governor Palin is proving somewhat difficult to impale. Read article.

 

Steven W. Mosher, Pop.org

 

On the corner of Euclid and Foothill Boulevards in Upland, California, stands a statue of a pioneer woman. She is striding forward, carrying a baby in her left arm and a rifle in her right. Clinging to her skirts for protection is a small boy.

 

At 10 feet tall, erected on an eight foot base, the statue looms larger than life, embodying in granite the sheer grit that settled the Great Plains and the West Coast. But it is the character written on the woman's face that catches the eye. For it is the kind and open face of a woman who accepts her responsibilities and is marching to meet them, trusting in God.

 

I thought of the Madonna of the Trail, as she is called, as I read the vitriol being heaped upon Sarah Palin by the Democrats and their allies in the media. The distortions of her record, the ridiculing of her background, and the outright attacks on her family have reached incredible proportions. Her firing of her public safety commissioner over budget disagreements is compared to Watergate. Liberal commentator Bill Maher ridicules her baby son who has Down's syndrome. Senator Obama himself has even implied that Governor Palin is a "pig." He denies it, of course, but his liberal audience clearly took his comment as a reference to the Governor, an impression that he did nothing at the time to correct.

 

What is it about this courageous young woman that the Left finds so frightening that they must destroy her? Read article and VIEW STATUE.

 

Erik Rush, NMJ.us

 

Two weeks ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation published a piece by Toronto writer Heather Mallick that sprayed far Left elitism like blood from a cleanly-severed carotid artery. In it, she described supporters of Republican vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin as “white trash” and ascribed more insulting terminology to the Alaska governor and her family.

 

Which presumably makes this black columnist “white trash.” Curious…

 

There are certain points that occasionally need to be repeated, and one is the far Left’s practice of projection. Something taught in Psych 101 classes, it’s the psychological trait of ascribing characteristics to one’s adversary that actually apply to oneself. Whether intentionally or subconsciously, progressives (read far Left socialists) are consummate masters of this.

 

Inasmuch as those on the far Left are internationalists, it is no surprise that a Canadian journalist might be alarmed at recent developments in the current presidential election cycle in America. The choice of Sarah Palin has gained Republican nominee Sen. John McCain massive ground, while the camp of Democrat nominee Sen. Barack Obama has reacted like someone reflexively blowing soda pop through their nose after a shock. Read article.

Aaron Bruns, Fox News.com

 

Memo to Barack Obama: don’t mess with Joe Biden’s guns.

 

At a fish fry for mine workers in rural Southwest Virginia, the Delaware Senator commiserated on being from coal country himself — and did his damndest to convince the blue collar, mostly white Democrats that he’s on the ticket to win over that Obama’s one of them as well.

 

One of rural Democrats’ biggest fears about Obama? That he’ll come after the Second Amendment. Not so, said Biden — and he’d better not try.

 

“I guarantee you, Barack Obama ain’t taking my shotguns, so don’t buy that malarkey,” Biden said angrily. “They’re going to start peddling that to you.”

 

“I got two, if he tries to fool with my Beretta, he’s got a problem.” Read article.

 

Howard Dean tells Muslims to run for office to achieve their goals

Infidels Are Cool.com

 

Thanks, Dean…Typical Leftist-Islamic alliance. This is the Enemy Within, folks.

 

He said these things at the ISNA conference. The ISNA is of course the a front group for the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood which has been named an an un-indicted co-conspirator in the federal terror trial of the Holy Land foundation.

 

So we have the leader of the DNC speaking at a conference of radical Muslims telling them to “run for political office”

 

Blind ignorance will get you killed… Read article.

 

Henry Payne, Online WSJ.com

 

Last year, the Big Three auto makers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached a historic labor agreement. In a move, fundamental to domestic automakers' competitiveness, the union reluctantly agreed to restructure workers' salaries and benefits and give Detroit a chance at erasing the $1,500 per-car labor-cost edge Japanese auto makers enjoy. This altered the state's political landscape in ways the Obama campaign has yet to understand.

 

Without the new labor contract, Detroit would have little hope of turning a profit on small cars as consumers shun gas-guzzling SUVs. And there would be no talk of $25 billion in federal loan guarantees to retool Detroit for the future because without the agreement there wouldn't be a future for Ford, Chrysler or General Motors.

 

This is the backdrop for the presidential campaign in Michigan. Ironically, the "change" candidate in the race, Barack Obama, fought the labor agreement.

 

Sen. McCain has always been popular here. But alone, Mr. McCain probably wouldn't be competitive. With Sarah Palin as his running mate, he has a real chance of carrying Michigan. Mrs. Palin has rebuilt Mr. McCain's bridge to the GOP base and energized voters that he needs to win in November. Read article.

 

Arnold Ahlert, Political Mavens.com

 

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden thinks paying more taxes is “patriotic.” You wanna talk patriotism, Mr. Biden? Here we go…

 

First and foremost, let’s talk about why Joe thinks people should pay more taxes: to fund a government run with no concept of fiscal responsibility. Zero. This year’s budget is close to three trillion dollars. That’s a number so large it’s almost meaningless, so let me put some meaning behind it: Since the population of the entire country is 300 million, every single American is getting charged an average of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS apiece by our “patriots” in Congress.

 

You wanna be a patriot, Joe? Here’s a few suggestions: Get you and your colleagues to stop taking earmarks. Cut down on your staffs. Pay for your own health and life insurance. Travel coach. Stop pretending you’re “one of us” when nothing could be further from the truth. Oh, and one more thing:

 

Stop spending us into economic ruin–even as you have the gall to tell us it’s for our own good! Read article.

 

Mark Alexander, Patriot Post.us

 

 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32)

 

"For I have learned the truth: There are greater pursuits than self-seeking. Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. It is not a prize for being the most clever, the strongest, or the boldest. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself. No misfortune, no injury, no humiliation can destroy it. This is the faith that my commanders affirmed, that my brothers-in-arms encouraged my allegiance to. It was the faith I had unknowingly embraced at the Naval Academy. It was my father's and grandfather's faith. A filthy, crippled, broken man, all I had left of my dignity was the faith of my fathers. It was enough." --John McCain in Faith of my Fathers, his 1999 book on military tradition, his family, and his faith.

 

John McCain is a man of strong faith -- a faith tested by torturous hardship few men have faced. It is a faith that wholly informs his character, his integrity, his purpose, his mission, his worldview.

 

Those who know John McCain well -- his family, friends, pastor, political colleagues, and those Patriot veterans who suffered beside him as Prisoners of War -- describe many facets of his personality. Their descriptions are of a man who is complicated and diverse, but to a person, they recognize him as a man of deep and abiding faith. Read article.

 

Linda Chavez, NY Post.com

 

The media have accusing John McCain the GOP presidential nominee of being dishonest in his campaign ads.

 

They're especially angry about an ad that accuses Barack Obama of supporting an Illionois bill that mandated comprehensive sex education for children in kindergarten. A look at the actual bill proves the ad was no lie - but the media couldn't be bothered to actually check.

 

Then the Obama campaign began airing ads in Spanish, accusing McCain of being "two-faced," using one set of words to Hispanic audiences and another to fellow Republicans. "They want us to forget the insults we've put up with . . . the intolerance . . . they made us feel marginalized in this country we love so much," a narrator says, as the screen flashes some pretty nasty comments by Rush Limbaugh.

 

The McCain ad turns out to be factually correct. Byron York of National Review reports that Illinois Senate Bill 99, which Obama supported in 2003, mandated that "each class or course in comprehensive sex education in any of grades K through 12 shall include instruction on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including the prevention, transmission and spread of HIV." Read article.

 

Professor Paul Eidelberg, Israel Commentary.org

 

Sarah Palm displays what is most lacking in many people in high office: character. Character is far more fundamental and important than “experience” because without good character, even an experienced officeholder will not he able to deal with the tough issues confronting our country. A person of character has moral integrity and courage; personal dignity and humility; a strong sense of justice and devotion to the common good; above all, respect for human life and a love of God. All this I discern in Governor Sarah Palm’s character — a strong, dynamic, yet humble person.

 

The Jewish sages regard humility as the highest virtue. Indeed, the Torah says Moses was the humblest person on the face of the earth. Humility is the only adjective the Torah uses to describe Moses. Why? Because humility is a pre-condition for achieving the highest wisdom. No wonder gentile as well as Jewish philosophers and states men esteem Moses as the greatest lawgiver of mankind.

 

I’m not suggesting that Governor Palm or any living person possesses the wisdom of Moses. I am simply saying that her fine character conduces to wisdom — a readiness to listen to diverse opinions while drawing rational and independent conclusions, as opposed to succumbing to emotion and popularity She’s a doer, not an image-maker. Unlike too many political novelists and aspirants, she does not avoid taking controversial stands on serious national issues.

 

Of course, it’s too early to assess Governor Sarah Palin as a national leader. Still, excuse my ruminations; I like her name, which in Hebrew means princess. I like the Israeli flag in her office, which signifies an appreciation of Israel’s importance to America. I like her dealing with issues and avoiding negative campaigning. Read article.

 

Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Live.com

 

You just knew that when Joe O'Connell, former head of the local AFL-CIO, got on stage here with John McCain and Sarah Palin things were not going smoothly for the Obama campaign among union voters.

 

"I am a lifelong Democrat, an intelligent Democrat, who is supporting John McCain," O'Connell said last week as a crowd of 7,000 waved "Another Democrat for John McCain" signs and roared its approval.

 

O'Connell assured the energized crowd that "organized labor will have a seat at the table when John McCain becomes president." It's the kind of statement that Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George does not want to hear. Democrats count on unions for get-out-the-vote efforts and for the support of members and their families. Without them, states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio -- which each have about 740,000 workers who belong to unions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- would move into the Republican column. Read article.

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