Does America really want a change?

[Fish2006]

love how they say SHES GOING TO MARRY THIS MAN, of course they gotta say this to water down some of the **** thats coming, nice to see mom's view on birth control is kicking her right in the face :thumbs: :thumbs:

Cause we all know how marriages between horny teenagers tend to work out. Especially when you suddenly find yourself in the spotlight of national office.

It would be tragic if it weren't for the multiple levels of irony about all of it. The whole fact that Palin supports abstinence only education, the fact that this might bring some light to the rumor that her 5th kid is really the daughters (who knows now... right... release the medical records).

It happens to everyone - thats not the point. Its when you go on the record being anti-pre marital sex, and activley work to limit the choices of people, then talk about how brave your choice was. Hypocracy at its finest.

[Skinsfan]

I think i see fish's game.... totally different POV than you had two days ago...

love the fact you have been reading all the hyperleft blogs on the rumor about the "5th kid".... do the math.... it ain't possible

[Fish2006]

I think i see fish's game.... totally different POV than you had two days ago...

love the fact you have been reading all the hyperleft blogs on the rumor about the "5th kid".... do the math.... it ain't possible

Just curious, what do you think changed? I thought the whole thing was nonsense about the 5th kid until this bombshell dropped. Something is strange about the timing of it all.

[Skinsfan]

It happens to everyone - thats not the point. Its when you go on the record being anti-pre marital sex, and activley work to limit the choices of people, then talk about how brave your choice was. Hypocracy at its finest.

ACTIVELY work to limit choices? How so? Please furnish any evidence of this... Thanks.

SHE talked about how brave she was? Others did, but SHE did as well? She walked the walk.... something which is very rare today, no?

If good parents were held accountable for their children's actions after a certain age.... well... most good parents would be in jail I would suspect...

This has the potential of blowing up in the Dems face... it was the Dems, afterall, who demanded that children be off-limits in politics after the way Chelsea was treated.... now THAT'S hypocrisy.

[Skinsfan]

Just curious, what do you think changed? I thought the whole thing was nonsense about the 5th kid until this bombshell dropped. Something is strange about the timing of it all.

Not so strange at all... it appears as if the Obama camp started this rumor mill... and the Mccain camp is squashing it.... Like I said, do the math.... How would a 4 month old baby be her's if she is 5 months pregnant?

Anyhow, I can really see this backfiring.... the "Religious Right" is already rising in defense of her... plus this makes her look more "human" in that she is going through something LOTS of families go through.... this could make her more appealing to the center... and of course, the Dems come across terribly as they are the ones invading a 17 year old's privacy...

[Fish2006]

ACTIVELY work to limit choices? How so? Please furnish any evidence of this... Thanks.

SHE talked about how brave she was? Others did, but SHE did as well? She walked the walk.... something which is very rare today, no?

If good parents were held accountable for their children's actions after a certain age.... well... most good parents would be in jail I would suspect...

This has the potential of blowing up in the Dems face... it was the Dems, afterall, who demanded that children be off-limits in politics after the way Chelsea was treated.... now THAT'S hypocrisy.

Given McCains line several years ago about Chelsea Clinton being the product of Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno back in the late 90s, Ill take that bet :sm:

Palin is a well known anti-abortion crusader who has stated a belief that you should not be able to get an abortion even if you are a rap or incest victim. She is entitled to that belief - and I respect people on any side of that, but I doubt that most would consider Palin as someone who is working on expanding choices for women.

[homedawg]

Not so strange at all... it appears as if the Obama camp started this rumor mill... and the Mccain camp is squashing it.... Like I said, do the math.... How would a 4 month old baby be her's if she is 5 months pregnant?

Anyhow, I can really see this backfiring.... the "Religious Right" is already rising in defense of her... plus this makes her look more "human" in that she is going through something LOTS of families go through.... this could make her more appealing to the center... and of course, the Dems come across terribly as they are the ones invading a 17 year old's privacy...

We can not elect the best candidate for President, when his VP has a pregnant daughter!

GOD DAMN AMERICA!

[homedawg]

[Skinsfan]

Given McCains line several years ago about Chelsea Clinton being the product of Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno back in the late 90s, Ill take that bet :sm:

Palin is a well known anti-abortion crusader who has stated a belief that you should not be able to get an abortion even if you are a rap or incest victim. She is entitled to that belief - and I respect people on any side of that, but I doubt that most would consider Palin as someone who is working on expanding choices for women.

Thats a hell of a lot different than ACTIVELY working against? Allow her constituency to decide seems to be fairly pragmatic....

**** it... what do i know? It's hilarious.... reading all the "comments" on the article from major news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, the NYTimes.... every one is crucifying her for ramming her beliefs down our throats and not following through... ramming her beliefs down our throats? That quick? For ****s sake, yesterday, the major complaint against her was that nobody even knew she existed!!!!

[homedawg]

By Mark Schlinkmannand Michele Munz
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/01/2008
O'FALLON, Mo. — John McCain presented his new vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to thousands of cheering Missouri supporters at a sun-drenched Sunday afternoon rally at the home of St. Charles County's minor league baseball team.

"She's exactly who I need," the Arizona senator said at a jam-packed T.R. Hughes Ballpark. "She's exactly what the country needs to fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second."

Many in the crowd seemed to agree, breaking out at one point in a chant of "Sar-ah, Sar-ah."

Wendy Riemann, a McCain spokeswoman, said about 23,000 people passed through security magnetometers to get into the park. They were in the stands, on the field and in other areas. An official with the River City Rascals, the team based at the park, gave a crowd estimate of 14,000.

The rally was in the heart of St. Charles County, an area rich with Republican votes where the size of the GOP turnout has been key in closely contested statewide races in recent years. The candidates' appearance was one in a series they plan before arriving at this week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

McCain recounted Palin's election as Alaska governor in 2006 and how she took on a "corrupt" political culture in her home state that he said had become a national disgrace.

He also said Palin had vetoed "one big pork-barrel bill after another" and, as a former union member, knows the struggles of average working people to pay their bills.

"When you get to know her, you're going to be as impressed as I am," McCain said. "She's got grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to common good."

Palin said she had fought special interests, lobbyists, oil companies and "the good-old boy network." She also said she had opposed the oft-criticized "Bridge to Nowhere" — a sparsely populated island — that an Alaskan in Congress had tried to get funded.

Thousands stood for more than an hour in heat that reached nearly 90 degrees to get into the ballpark. At one point, the line to get into the ballpark stretched for about a half-mile.

Many said they came to see Palin, hoping to learn more about her.

"She's a powerful speaker," Kris Weidenbenner, 49, of St. Charles, said afterward.

Weidenbenner took his spot along the third-base line soon after gates opened at 1:30, a half hour early. Standing in the hot sun for about four hours to see McCain and Palin, who began speaking about 5 p.m., "was worth it," he said.

Linda Bauwens, 58, of Weldon Spring, said she was impressed with Palin's record as governor. Her husband, Ron Bauwens, also 58, said Palin is "going to be a bulldog" for the GOP ticket.

Kathy Pfeffer, 56, of Fenton, cited Palin's reform and budget reduction efforts. "She's proven she can do it just as good as a man, if not better," she said.

Earlier Sunday, a top Missouri Democrat — Sen. Claire McCaskill — criticized Palin as a "risky" pick during a news conference in Bridgeton. "It shows he is perfectly willing to abandon the modern middle and wrap himself around the radical right in this country," McCaskill said.

But the choice of Palin has been lauded by many social conservatives who like her strong anti-abortion position, among other stances.

McCain and Palin arrived at the park after visiting an emergency command center in Jackson, Miss., to check on preparations for dealing with Hurricane Gustav on the Gulf Coast.

They arrived in St. Louis late Saturday night but decided overnight to take a quick round trip plane flight to Mississippi Sunday morning. Both referred to the hurricane threat in their O'Fallon talks. McCain called on the country to "put aside our political hats and put on our American hats" in responding to the crisis.

Joining McCain and Palin on stage were their spouses, Cindy McCain and Todd Palin. Two of McCain's former rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, ex-Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, spoke briefly.

Many in the crowd followed campaign organizers' suggestion and wore red — to signal their interest in keeping Missouri a red, or Republican, state in the Nov. 4 election.

John Rich, of the country music duo of Big and Rich, pumped up the crowd with his song, "Raisin' McCain." He also attempted to rebuff criticism that McCain lacks support among young people.

Several top Missouri GOP politicians also spoke before the arrival of McCain's "Straight Talk Express" motorcade, among them Gov. Matt Blunt, Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond and gubernatorial nominee Kenny Hulshof.

They praised McCain's character and experience and his choice for vice president. "Is that a home run or what?" Blunt said to the stadium.

Back in February after the state's presidential primary, county GOP Chairman Tom Kuypers had said he was concerned there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm among Republicans in the county for McCain and his leading opponents for the nomination.

"Oh boy, let me tell you, has it ever changed," he said Sunday, in part because of a surge of interest by younger women in McCain's choice Friday of Palin, who is 44.

[homedawg]

With Palin On the Ticket, Evangelicals Are Energized

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 1, 2008; A15


ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 31 -- Outside his evangelical church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday, David Chung was mobbed by friends and church members suddenly excited about the Republican ticket. "I had half a dozen people come up to me," said Chung, a delegate to the Republican National Convention. "It's a night-and-day change."

Ralph Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition, reported the same reaction at his church in Atlanta to John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. "It's really extraordinary," Reed said.

For Christian conservatives, who watched with dismay as their issues were ignored or trivialized during the long Republican primary, the surprise addition to the GOP ticket of a woman raised in a Pentecostal church, who once described herself as "pro-life as any candidate can be," has transformed an election many had come to regard with indifference. Now Republicans such as Reed -- who describes the Palin selection as a "shot directly into the heart of the evangelical movement" -- hope the party will benefit in November from a crucial part of its base that is as energized as the young supporters of Democrat Barack Obama.

Democratic electoral gains, the loss of vocal champions such as former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and the failure of any GOP presidential candidates to emerge as a successor to President Bush in championing their causes were signs that evangelicals' influence was ebbing. The emergence of McCain, who famously denounced leaders of the Christian right in his first presidential race in 2000, seemed to signal further decline.

"Everybody was depressed. Everybody," said Colleen Parro, executive director of the Republican National Coalition for Life.

But McCain's performance at the Saddleback Church candidates forum two weeks ago -- in which he solidly reaffirmed his antiabortion stance -- "perked up" social conservatives, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. That was followed by the GOP's adoption of a party platform that pleases conservatives.

Now, many evangelicals say Palin offers a fresh opportunity to rejuvenate their movement.

"These are people who have been beat up and beat up by their Republican allies time and time again," said Alan Wolfe, who directs Boston College's Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. "Their gratitude is actually unseemly. They have leapt up to embrace her without knowing much about her."

Palin's political résumé meets all the essential tests for social conservatives: She opposes same-sex marriage and providing benefits to domestic partners; she backs banning embryonic stem cell research and has raised the idea of teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools.

In her private life, her religious background -- a spokeswoman for Palin said she regularly attends many nondenominational churches -- and particularly the decision she said she made to have her fifth baby despite being told he had Down syndrome, are powerful testaments for many Christian activists.

Cathie Adams, Texas's incoming national committeewoman, said she is elated to have someone like herself running for one of the nation's highest offices. "It's very exciting to have a person who holds the faith," Adams said after arriving in St. Paul. "I'm sure this is a woman who believes, as I do, let's present evolution and creationism on a level playing field, because when that happens, we know education is happening, not brainwashing, not politics in the classroom."

Jessica Echard, an activist with the Republican National Coalition for Life, said she "wasn't going to put a McCain bumper sticker on my car or a yard sign up" at her Northern Virginia home. "Now, I can't wait to get my McCain-Palin bumper sticker."

On Tuesday night, 700 antiabortion activists are expected to attend the "Life of the Party" reception at the Crowne Plaza ballroom in St. Paul. Palin had been selected as the guest of honor long before she became McCain's running mate, but since the announcement, Parro said, calls have been flooding in from delegates wanting tickets.

In hotels and restaurants throughout St. Paul and Minneapolis, evangelicals are discussing how best to steer their party toward the right even as its candidate has played down his conservative credentials.

Several evangelical leaders said Sunday that the glee in their community may be more intense because of a sense that they avoided something much worse. For days leading up to last week's vice presidential announcement, evangelicals and conservative Christian voters were tightly coiled, ready to explode in anger if McCain picked a supporter of abortion rights as his running mate.

Conservative activists working on the party's platform traded worried e-mails, discussing how to react if McCain betrayed their values by choosing Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) or former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, both of whom favor abortion rights.

"There was such a palpable fear of what might happen to the party had McCain gone in a different direction," Reed said. "Given the often complex and difficult relationship that McCain has had in the past with this pro-life community, he has exceeded their expectations."

Reed said McCain's public flirting with Ridge and Lieberman was a brilliantly executed "head fake" to make people even more excited when Palin's name was announced. "It made the normal enthusiasm go off the charts," he said.

Although evangelicals across the country and those in town for the Republican convention heaped praise on Palin, many acknowledged that they were still researching her policy positions and personal background. Chung said he is focused on the fact that she is "pro-life, pro-family, pro-smaller government," even if he doesn't know to what church she belongs.

"I'm more concerned that the candidate hold the same views that I do than if they have the same religion as I do, though it would be nice," Chung said.

At the New Hope Church north of Minneapolis, the Family Research Council's Perkins preached at two services Sunday morning about the responsibility of Christians to be involved in their communities. But afterward, he said, everyone wanted to talk about Palin.

"The campaign has turned around in the past 72 hours in terms of the enthusiasm," he said.

[homedawg]

September 1, 2008


Statement From John McCain On Today's Handover Of Responsibility In Anbar Province



ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, U.S. Senator John McCain issued the following statement regarding the handover of responsibility in Anbar province:

"Today's handover of responsibility from the U.S. to Iraq in Anbar province is a solemn and proud moment for the Iraqi people and for the people of the United States. We have sacrificed much together to make this day possible. Eighteen months ago, many people considered Anbar lost. It was the hard core of the insurgency, the place where Iraqis were thought most supportive of the insurgency and least willing to accept the new political order a democratic Iraq promised.

"But the people of Anbar and their leaders chose a different course, and the surge I advocated supported them. Violence has dropped by over 80 percent in Anbar. Sunni sheiks advocate provincial elections that will give them greater representation in government. Iraqi people are gaining the normal lives they yearn for. Together, we are succeeding in Anbar.

"Today, we should commemorate the political courage of Iraqis in Anbar who stood up to lead the Awakening. The Iraqi Security Forces are leading operations, with our forces in support. America must continue to help them succeed. Our Marines have done a superb job fighting alongside Iraqis to defeat Al Queda, supporting the positive political developments, and helping rebuild Anbar. So have the soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, and the sailors of the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment. Thank you for your service.

"We must not forget that there is still work to be done in Anbar, and throughout Iraq. Political reconciliation needs to be furthered. Economic opportunity needs to be expanded. Reconstruction needs to advance, funded primarily by the government of Iraq. Provincial elections need to be held. And there are seven more Iraqi provinces yet to be returned to provincial Iraqi control."

[homedawg]

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[dananderson32]

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country first picking a VP not for the countrys sake, but to help his chances of winning with as much foreign policy experience as me or you HD, but Cindy McCain is sure shes qualified cause palin is the governor of the closest state to Russia :laughing: :laughing:

[homedawg]

Soon you will see what Palin can do! :thumbs:

It's not too late to:




:beerbang: