Featherweight

Wow. She really is a lightweight. Sarah Pailin didn't know what the Bush Doctrine was ( h/t TPM) You can see her struggling with her talking points and it'spainfully obvious that she doesn't have a clue.



I'm frankly beginning to see why they've been keeping her closeted for so long. Progressives should start hammering the press for more interviews. Seriously. If she doesn't improve soon we might not have much to worry about.

Also, is it just me or does anyone else want to smash the chalkboard when she calls Charlie Gibson "Charlie" ? For example, right after that first question on the Bush Doctrine she asked, "In what respect Charlie?" She just sounds so insincere to me.

UPDATE: See Joan Walsh's take on the interview. She nails it here. <3

"What a mockery Palin made of all that. I'll get criticized as sexist for saying this, but I would say the same thing about a man who sounded this ignorant: Talking to Charles Gibson tonight, Palin sometimes reminded me of poor Miss South Carolina, who, asked why many Americans can't find the U.S. on a map, famously said: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps. And I believe that our education, like, such as in South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere, like such as, and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children.""

McCain's Campaign to Nowhere

If's funny how these things just write themselves. McCain has bet on Pailin's stalwart courage in striking down the bridge to nowhere this last week. Only.. they are lying. Pailin was for it before she was against it and simply following the herd (the maverick is apparently a lot more social than we were led to believe).

As more and more papers point out the lies surrounding her reformer image McCain and Pailin will have to forge a new path for their campaign to follow, because their current goal is going down that "bridge no nowhere."

You have to love life's little ironies.

h/t TPM

Nixon All Over Again

From Newsweek, not minor news mag.

Key Alaska allies of John McCain are trying to derail a politically charged investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner in order to prevent a so-called "October surprise" that would produce embarrassing information about the vice presidential candidate on the eve of the election.

It really does smell of Nixon, all over again. They gotta win, so what do they do? They move at all costs to cover up and delay.

Will the news pack keep braying and loping after the scent?

Obama's Reaction To Last Night's RNC

From his website:



It's as I said before. Attack is all the Republicans have. If Barack keeps up the ju jitsu "use the McCain camp's attacks against them" political art, I think we'll be ok.

This Sums Up McCain

beautifully



John Bush!

RNC Finally Over

Thank goodness.

Now we can see what kind of bounce/thud mr lime green backdrop POW-reformerwithstaleoldpolicies- gets out of this in the polls and move on. Yep, it's going to be a slug-fest from here on out and I think we can expect a really nasty campaign of name calling. If you don't hear anything about policies from the Republicans, no worries. It's all going to be "we're great, you suck."

It's all so sad, really. There shouldn't be any need for partisan feelings. We should all just be Americans. Lately, however, we've all been divided against each other and things just look like they're going to get worse from here on. Even if the Democrats do take the Whitehouse things wont calm down. Remember the Clintons? When Bill took the WH it was nonstop fake scandal since he first took office 'til he walked out the door.

If Obama wins things will likely follow the predictable pattern.

Those Shell Shocked Republicans

Howard Kurtz talks about how McCain's campaign seems to be gearing up into war mode over the press' coverage of Sara Pailin, McCain's October surprise running mate.

He was absolutely furious as he unloaded on the journalistic community for, in his view, unfairly savaging Sarah Palin.

Sure, it is in his interest to try to get the press to tone things down. But Schmidt -- a hard-headed, no-nonsense, on-message strategist -- really sounded shell-shocked. And so he was saying things on the record that senior aides usually say only under a cloak of anonymity.

My own pet theory is that the Republicans have become so extreme and the press has let them get away with whatever they like for so long that when finally confronted with something that hurts them many of them are starting to throw tantrums. Their message isn't very rational in the first place, so when they get to a point where they can no longer rationalize their bad choices away, the gloves come off and it's WWF night in Washington.