The Empire strikes back

The WSJ graciously allowed Nancy Pfotenhauer, national spokesperson for the McC campaign, to write up a glowing review of Palin, filled with little white lies that never hurt anybody. Possible even worse than their profile on Cindy McCain back in april (see my review here) this is just priceless. Below, the first few paragraphs. My comments are in light blue.

In Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain has found a fellow maverick to be his running mate -- one who can help bring the right kind of reform to Washington. Ms. Palin, like Mr. McCain, has a strong record of battling the status quo, restoring accountability and effectiveness to government, and working to secure energy independence, root out corruption and curb wasteful spending. (I'm not even touching this one since it's only the inital salvo, a summary, if you will, of the following crock.)

As the chief executive of the nation's largest state, (Largest in area, fifth smallest populationwise.) Ms. Palin oversees some of the country's largest energy reserves.(Alaska does have the some of the largest reserves in US but the largest is in North Dakota and part of Montana. So?) She came into office at a critical time in Alaska politics, facing a system plagued by corruption. Her response was to immediately begin cleaning it up. (the governor is currently under an ethics investigation by the Alaska state legislature ==> Palin Staff Pushed to have trooper fired) The results of her leadership today speak for themselves: Ms. Palin's approval ratings top 80% -- more than 60% higher than that of the Democratic Congress. (Correction, her approval ratings have fallen to 65%. Congress inherited its rating from the last 6 years)

Ms. Palin has a tangible, impressive record of achievement and executive experience. (¿? Palin's experience is couple of years as governor and six years as mayor of her hometown, with a population of 6, 500.) She is head of the Alaska National Guard (and tell us, Nancy, which crisis exactly did she use her chief executive skills?) and the chairman of two multistate agencies that make energy decisions that affect all Americans.
(Ted Anthony over at huffpo notes:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.)

While Barack Obama spent almost all of the past two years running for president, Ms. Palin has been running a state. (Sorry to repeat this. A conservative, red states, fifth smallest in population. Plagued with corruption. Where it seemed she was different, but Troopergate and the flipflopping on the bridge suggest more of the same. )

It's telling that Sen. Obama chose to give a negative, partisan speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Whenever Obama dares criticize, he is painted as being negative. (Doesn't this strike you as racist? He's jiving, and they'll dismiss him are puerile or pollyana-like. But he points out the bad stuff, and suddenly he's the angry black man, and nooooo, we don't want that.) He envisions a Democratic monolith in Washington that will solve all of our problems.(Huh? If anything, he's the community organizer guy, the one who tells everyone to work towards a common goal instead of just expecting a handout. )

Look, it goes on and on, and the full text can be found here: Ignore the Chauvinists, Palin has real experience Although judging from the comments, a lot of which say pretty much what I'm commenting on, readers aren't impressed. WSJ readers. Huh.

Shameless gossip

==>Sarah Palin hit by Internet rumors over fifth child

Already climbing up the ranks on digg. It seems Palin's fifth pregnancy was suspiciously announced in her seventh month and she hardly ever showed. They're saying it was really her daughter's kid.

True? False? Um, how do I know? Maybe she was keeping it quiet because of the Down Syndrome thing.

The Republican camp seems to be reacting today, by announcing that Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant and will marry "her baby's daddy". Reminds me of when Michael Douglas annouced he was a sex addict (and he was covering up something else supposedly, although I never found out what it was).

Poor kid. Now they (we) are going to set her up as an example of her mother's parenting skills, how she's unfit for VP, the American taxpayers' abstinence-only education tax dollars at work, the list goes on.


When I was reading the NY Times story, I found it very odd that Palin boarded a nine hour flight to Alaska when she already had contractions. She already knew her child had Down's Syndrome, and she was going into labor a month early. And she's 44. Miscarriage city? Is that what was really going on?

I've had a post drafted all weekend about the whole nomination, but have been arguing all weekend with Rusty and Ben and everyone about the effect. Rusty thinks Rove is a genius and this will only benefit McCain. They're bidding for the forgotten Hillary supporters, etc.

I think this is only brilliant n the surface and not even the U.S. voters would fall for such obvious pandering. Hillary's holdouts, impressed with a staunch prolifer? Who sued the federal government for placing the polar bear on the endangered species list?

Let's say Clintonites are a stupid bunch and they will go for Palin because she's a woman. That they're rabid manhaters and totally bitter. Ok, let's suspend disbelief for a moment and go ahead and buy this. So they'll vote for a happily married 44 year old with five children? Who is VP under McCain? Naaahh. I don't think so.

Look, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Either the Christian right embraces this move or the Clinton fans. Not both. Possibly neither one.

Right now, conservative christian right folks are relieved about this pick, if the MSM is to be believed. Yet the loony right blogs are eating up this story about Palin having faked her pregnancy.

This is very muddled right now, but I stand by my original reaction. The VP pick was only brilliant on the surface. Even without this prurient gossip, it opens up McCain for a host of criticism. It makes him seem too old. Yes, everyone else says he's too old, but this pick means he agrees with them. Biden complements Obama. But he doesn't fill in gaps in a way that spotlights Obama's failings.

Oh, and wtf with Cindy McCain saying that Palin has foreign policy experience because Alaska is close to Russia? Someone shut her up. And the republicans criticized Clinton when she flashed her ex-First Lady credentials and tried to pass it off as experience!

According to an AP article, Mrs. McCain asked Palin how she was feeling about her son being deployed to Iraq, etc.

“And she looked me square in the eye and she said, ’You know something? I’m a mother. I can do it.’ ”

Ugh. Someone get me a barf bucket.

Ok, so he's the annointed one now. We are on track, set to go. Don't choke. Please, U.S., don't fuck this up.

I keep thinking, shiiit, they're gonna get all resentful that he's like the prom king and too cold and pragmatic and they're gonna shun him! They need to keep in mind that of the options they have, he's the best man for the job. They need a pragmatist, not a beer buddy!

Although that kind of reaction is more likely to happen in Mexico, not in the US where the American dream is alive and well and that's why people don't pick on and resent the rich or the elite so much, since they live in hope that they too, will be one of them, some day.

Still, I'm not totally sure it can't happen. Anything can happen. Karl Rove got George W. Bush elected. Twice.

The so called American people had an earnest, dorky pol in Al Gore, and they chose Goober. Never mind Florida, 'cause the margin had to be really slim in the first place for that to have happened. So now they have this smart guy from a very different background, and people are in love with him. And I'm hoping the love affair will last.

He's not really a prom king ya know, not with a middle name like Hussein and a free spirited mother that sometimes went on food stamps. Don't be fooled, he may be charming but he didn't lead a charmed life. Sure, things are "easier" for Obama than for other politicos, but he still had to fight to get there.

Does this sound like incoherent ranting? I'm sorry, I just need my morning coffee, and I'm using this poor blog to vent, since most of the subjects du jour can't be published right now. They are embargoed, so to speak. But I'll find a way around it.

What's going to happen when Obama wins the election? Ok, ok, if he wins the election.

This isn't about his capacity to govern etc, I'm just wondering about the media aspect of it all. I mean, will they phase out his Twitter updates? The presidency is not a West Wing episode. It's not all glamour, and some national security issues can't really be discussed over Web 2.0, can they?

Maybe his fans know that, and I'm subestimating them. Although they shouldn't be called fans in that case. And therein lies a problem.

First of all, there's the candidate / elected official transition. Vicente Fox was a good candidate but not such a good president. And people expected miracles and didn't lift a finger, etc... But now this is a very mediatic (is that a word?) candidate, one who's in touch, so to speak, with his constituents or whatever, through the web. And I'm wondering if all this closeness will continue once in office.

Chic y bonito

"Obama es un buen tipo, chic y bonito".
- Caetano Veloso

Does it matter?

Edwards is endorsing Obama, we found out yest at around this time precisely. Does it matter anymore? I was quite psyched at first, but really isn't he just lemming? The tipping point was about a week and a half ago I think. Although Hill doesn't seem to be winding down yet.

Jesus, Hil, way to polarize the issues!

I find the Senator extremely annoying with her simplistic sales tactics. Is she really willing to ruin her party, her country, just to win?

The gas tax thing is just another one of her little ploys to make people believe she stands for "normal Americans", for the little people.

“I believe it is important to get every member of Congress on the record. Do they stand with hard pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas station or do they once again stand with the big oil companies? That’s a vote I’m going to try to get, because I want to know where they stand and I want them to tell us - are they with us or against us?”

It wouldn't save the individual consumer much. Yet she pretends tobe taking on big oil by proposing to cover the cost of this tax holiday through a “windfall profits” tax on oil companies.

Demonizing oil companies won't help. Bush and his cronies are far more responsible for the current price of oil than they are, with their cronyism and their war. I know it sounds like I'm excusing the snakes 'cause they can't help being snakes, but think about it.

And yes, there are plenty of other factors like China and other emerging economies, OPEC and a diminishing supply, but taxing companies 'cause they're "too profitable" is a crock and it goes against the so called American way.

In any case, reducing this tax would NOT help the States wean itself off fossil fuels, or even foreign oil at least. Yet she wants to play this as David vs. Goliath. Anybody who doesn't agree is cast as an arugula eating elitist or guilty of cronyism.

Sleaze sells more than moral corruption, and Get out the vote money

Bear with me, I'm full of primary news this morning.

-About the NYTimes article from yest, the reactions came in.

McCain denies his affair, dissapointed, who are the sources, etc. MSM completely misses the point (IMHO), focusing on the supposed affair. Well, they know morbid sells. Shame on them, though.

As Joe Carville, from the Clinton '92 campaign said, It's the economy, stupid! The point is McCain is just as shady as the rest of the Republicans, despite his claims to the contrary. At least that's what the article hints (quite forcefully).

-Obama raised 36 mil in January. Hillary raised 13.9, and added 5 mil of her own money. McCain raised 11.7 million last month, more than what he raised in the last three months of 2007 combined.

And the Games Begin...

For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk

So, someone finally remembered McC's Lincoln Savings & Loan scandal back in the 90's.... He was one of the Keating five.

I have no memory of it (I was ten), but I have seen it mentioned so I looked it up a couple months ago.

The NYTimes brought it up, since they're pitching for Hillary. They also take him to task for banning soft money but then turning around and founding the Reform Institute, which he uses to promote his causes and hence, his career. Since it's not officialy affiliated to the GOP, it can accept unlimited donations, and it does.


McCain is not the official candidate yet, but he's as good as, the way the primaries are going. He's been THe candidate for a while now, he just can't say it until Huckabee resigns. Which is actually kind of a good thing for the Democrats, since McC can't really focus on them yet until he's official. He's started, though. But the Dem's allies have just fired right back with this piece. Let the games begin..

Obamarama!

LOL!

http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/

Obama is your new bicycle.

Like the cult of Chuck Norris, except funnier.

Tampoco cantan mal las rancheras...

I like Michelle Obama.

She seems real and smart, not an airbrushed political wife well versed in sound bite strategies.

Sometimes she comes across as someone with a chip on her shoulder, or it seems she is undermining her husband (snorey and stinky?).

This has a lot to do with some local six o'clock news producer's idea of American News, also known as infotainment. Selectively highlighting someone's comments and then taking them out of context, alas, is a common and enduring practice.

However, her Feb. 18 comments are kinda hard to swallow.:

“For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country,” she told a Milwaukee crowd, “and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.”

Really? your whole adult lifetime? Never once? Well. How embarrassing.

At first, it's like, cool, let's take back America, people. Let's leave a legacy we can be proud of, etc. BUT, it also means she hasn't been proud of her country for twenty something years. Of the U.S. as a country, as a collective people, as a culture?

This reeks of "leftist sophistication", something you see amoung us indie poseurs, but not something I would want to hear from a dedicated, earnest politico. It reminds me of Billary crying in New Hampshire, e.g., if you don 't choose me this country is going to have it soo baad, sniff.

Feel free to cast stones. I'm apalled at myself for thinking she needs to tone down the righteousness, too. Maybe I'm turning into my parents now.

Conspiracy Theory of the Day

We all love those....

Was losing Wisconsin a sneaky Hillary strategy?

Ok, I'll cut the crap. It sounds absolutely ludicrous, and it's unlikely they planned it that way. But maybe losing Wisconsin will generate sympathy from women voters for Hil, since once again it seems that she's poised to lose. At least that's what the mainstream media would have you think. I still believe this is a very close race.

But anyway, picture this.

1) It seems she's just about to topple off the horse,
2) so people suddenly care enough to get out and vote,
3) just in time for Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.


One more thing (á la Steve Jobs, heh): is it me or is Ga ga ga ga ga a very political album? The lyrics to the Underdog, especially.

Democratic musings

Fridays are slow at the office.

Some thoughts on the Democratic candidates:

Obama has to figure out how to give women permission not to vote for Hillary.

The same way Vicente Fox's marketing people figured out how to make us feel good about voting for change without making us feel bad about not doing it on previous elections.

HRC is a Transformer's love child....

A new description for Hillary: "It's like Optimus Prime fucked a bumper sticker."

Oh, and has anybody seen the Infiniti's EX commercial? Really, what were they thinking?
"Ordinary is getting into yout car...extraordinary is never wanting to leave it" ....No, that's just creepy and agoraphobic.

What the Huck?

Is he hoping for a miracle? You know, being a pastor and all....

After last night, Huckabee needs to win 123% of the remaining delegates to secure a nomination. I know all those creationism people aren't big on match and science, but just a quick heads up. THAT IS MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

Tuesday night, Huckabee said:

"I've not been one who believes that you leave the field because it's gotten difficult. You stay, and you keep playing until the last second of the clock has sounded."

Despite knowing Maryland and D.C. polls had him losing. And now that results are in, even Virginia was a loss. So what gives? Romney dropped out, what is he waiting for? A juicier incentive from McCain's camp? For the money to run out? A job at Fox News?

"There's the mathematics of these things, and there's the metaphysics," John Pinkerton, senior Huckabee aide, told Salon.com.

Oh.

Obamarama!

Se proyecta sobrepase a HRC en delegados! mil 202 delegados vs mil 184. Si Clinton no gana Texas, Ohio y Pennsylvania con amplios márgenes, qué pasará?

Hoy fuimos Rocío, Ben, Jorge, Rusty y yo al Infinito. Faltó Andrea, y Chío se tuvo que ir temprano, pero estuvimos bastante a gusto. Platicamos de, what else, las primarias. Ya mareamos a la gente con nuestra obsesión, jajaja.

También hablamos de como en los camiones mexicanos hay pobres pero no locos, que en Los Ángeles no hay clase ni estilo, y que no queremos mudarnos a una ciudad donde la única ventaja cultural es poder dar vuelta a la derecha en un semáforo en rojo.

Pero bueno, las primarias. Ahora que Romney se salió, McCain ya puede decir que es el candidato virtual de los republicanos. Pero los conservadores tipo Rush Limbaugh y Ann Coulter odian tanto a McC, que va a tener que escoger a Huckabee como su vicepresidente o algo para convencerlos. Ann Coulter incluso publicó que prefiere a Billary sobre McCain, y eso fue antes del supermartes. Aunque dudo de sus motivos.

Me enteré hoy, existe la posibilidad que ninguno de los dos demócratas reúna los suficientes delegados antes de llegara la convención. Osea, es estadísticamente posible, y como van las cosas hasta hoy, incluso puede llegar a ser probable.

Siguen estados de vino (y queso) que favorecen a Obama. Pero de ahí siguen otros estados de cerveza (y cheetos) que son terreno de Hillary. Otra cosa, ¿seremos subsconscientemente machistas al decirle Hillary en vez de Clinton?

Por último, ¿quién diablos es Diego Beas? ¿Quién dijo que podía escribir?

Aparte del cero estilo, no aporta mucho. Se quejó de las encuestas de California, pero nunca mencionó que casi una tercera parte de los votos son enviados por correo, absentee ballots, por lo tanto esos votantes no se reflejan en los exit polls. El pedo es de los medios por no tomar eso en cuenta, no realmente de la encuesta.

No sé si es por ser políticamente correcto, pero al examinar el fracaso de Romney, no toma en cuenta el factor Mormón, que para mi si jugó un papel importante. Muchos cristianos en EU consideran a los Mormones una secta, no parte de la tradición judeo-cristiana. Si eso es correcto o no me vale madre, el hecho es que se lo toman a mal.

Yyyyy, ahora sí por último, ¿qué a nadie le importa que Huckabee es ministro? ¿Dónde está la separación Iglesia-Estado? ¿No han escuchado sus discursos de la Constitución y la Biblia? Neta que entre esto y el "debate" acerca de la tortura acuática (waterboarding), Estados Unidos nada más muestra el cobre y su morboso suboconsciente puritano medieval.

Chiaroscuro para los asnos

Pues los republicanos ya tienen a su gallo, no? McCain all the way.... en cambio los demócratas siguen en la pelea....la neta eso no me agrada, porque solamente puede degenerar en una división dentro de su partido.

El pedo es que hay mucho voto duro de parte de los republicanos. Hay conservadores que no aprueban del divorcio de McCain, o de sus intentos de llevarse con los demócratas, pero a la mera hora se fajan y votan por él, a huevo.

Sin embargo los Demócratas tienen menos votos duros. Aparte hay muchos que con tal de no ver a Hillary Clinton en la Casa Blanca son capaces de votar por el GOP o por Ralph Nader.

¿Y dónde queda Estados Unidos con esto? Posiblemente igual que en el 2004. Los medios liberales, las costas Este y Oeste estaban tan seguros que Bush iba de salida, y de repente....gana el baboso por un margen mayor al del 2000. La fiesta de Harvey Weinstein se convierte en un velorio...neta, busquen eso en Google.

total....aún con esto, Obama ganó 13 de 22 estados! Esta a 50 delegados de Clinton.

Super Tuesday

Clinton seems to be winning on the Democrat's side so far....eh...

It's not that I don't find her capable, I do, as she said, she's ready from day one; but I find her highly divisive, much more so than Obama. And there are so many insane Hillary haters, at least on the web, that I doubt she can carry a national election, especially against McCain.

I was raised in panismo and voto ùtil, I haven't voted for Patricia Mercado or Gilberto Rincòn Gallardo, not when there was an election to win or lose for the PAN. The problem here is that there are no reliable national polls to see who could really carry a national election not just a caucus or a closed primary. But I still doubt Hillary's power with females is enough to counteract her detractors.

With McCain vs. Obama, the differences really stand out, and I felt this pairing would have been tough on Obama but it also gave him a chance.

Clinton-McCain, on the other hand, aside from the gender card, what's really so different about them to the voters? We'll just need to wait and see....

Oh, and another thing, what's this shit about Huckabee winning so many votes? Come on USA how can you vote for a pastor? Where's the separation between Church and State? It's such a basic concept, only Americans could have forgotten about it. And let's not even go into his gift list, which I'm sorry, but is really poor ethics, not to mention totally agains his aw, shucks humble persona. Really, if you don't want snake oil salesmen just say so, don't go voting for Huckabee...hell, vote for Ron Paul if you want

Funny 'cause it's true...a super Tuesday anecdote

Esto sucedió en realidad. Me reí sola como loquita el resto del día. Es verídico, la mercadotecnia se ha adueñado de nuestras mentes. La persona en cuestión quedará anónima, ya que no queremos balconearla. ¡Pero ella sabe quién es!

Yo: Ya quiero que sea super martes.
Anon.: ¿Cómo que super martes? Es super lunes.
Yo: No, es mañana.
Anón.: No, es hoy. Siempre ha sido super lunes. (gesto de exasperación, y ¿cómo puedes ser tan babosa?)
Yo: No creo, tradicionalmente es martes, por eso Super Tuesday.
Anón.: Es super Lunes, siempre lo ha sido. Voy al Carl's casi todos los lunes desde que eran cuatro hamburguesas y cuatro papas, ¿te acuerdas de la canción? Ahora nada más son tres y tres.

Hillary Clinton Is Tracy Flick

Hilarious, from Slate:




See it at the original site:

http://slate.com/blogs/blogs/trailhead/archive/2008/01/30/guess-who-s-back.aspx