Did McCain Make A Big Mistake ?

[Apple Roof Cleaning 202]

John McCain just announced he picked Alaska's 44 year old Woman Governor as a running mate.

I think he would have done better with Mitt Romney as his running mate.

What do YOU think ?

[tattwd 14]

I think shes a perfect choice for him to show everybody that he is truly a politician at heart. He will do whatever it takes to get elected, then it don't matter anymore. I wonder if anyone will ask her, What qualifies you to be the VP?

[HotShot 34]

She's more qualified to be VP than the Messiah Nobama is to be Prez. She actually ran a state.

[newlook 265]

two worst topics to discuss......LOL Have a great Labor Day everyone!:usa:

Amen Tracy...oops....that's religious talk.....

Religion, politics and BBS's = FIRE

[HotShot 34]

I believe that the whole separation thing was directed towards Jefferson when he was a governor and they asked him if he would "make" his states religion the nations if elected. There is no seperation of Church and State.

The first schools here were church schools and the first text books were Bibles. Just look at the history of the oldest schools in the country. You might be suprised.

THought this story was quite interesting...I just may have to move to Texas.

Texas to teachers: Bible will be taught

[tattwd 14]

She's more qualified to be VP than the Messiah Nobama is to be Prez. She actually ran a state.

Ha Ha seriously that was a childish reply, I guess I should say no shes not you are. lol She ran Alaska man. She probably ran against a polar bear and a seal. Obviously the bear ate the seal and she supports the anwr drilling so the bear said f*#k it Im outta here. lol.

[Jeff 232]

McCain, picked her to get elected, not because she was the best for the job. Like ALL politicians they care more about getting elected than the American people. Their all a bunch of self absorbed A Holes. I have lost a lot of respect for McCain over these past few years. I wish he was the McCain of several years ago

He only met this women once before. I'll tell you if McCain ever dies any time soon, I don't want this Alaska Mom running our country. Scary

Sounds like she's to damn Conservative also. Just another 4 years of the same old crap of the past eight years

Well since McCain doesn't even really know her, at least we can bet as long as he's alive he really wont listen to her, he has no respect for women. Hell he cheats on his wife anyway

Vote Obama, we cant afford another 4 years of the same old same old

Sorry Republicans you all just sealed your losing fate with McCains pick. Should of gone with Romney, you would of gotten more independents and some democrats too. Plus you would of gotten a guy that knows economics and one that would of been a much better leader than Palin or even McCain. You lose, bye bye Republican president :lgjump::lgsad::lgsideway:wave:

Maybe in 2016 or 2032 we'll see another Republican President, maybe by then they will have figured out they are suppose to represent all people not just big biz and the far right.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Jeff

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

McCain, picked her to get elected, not because she was the best for the job. Like ALL politicians they care more about getting elected than the American people. Their all a bunch of self absorbed A Holes. I have lost a lot of respect for McCain over these past few years. I wish he was the McCain of several years ago

He only met this women once before. I'll tell you if McCain ever dies any time soon, I don't want this Alaska Mom running our country. Scary

Sounds like she's to damn Conservative also. Just another 4 years of the same old crap of the past eight years

Well since McCain doesn't even really know her, at least we can bet as long as he's alive he really wont listen to her, he has no respect for women. Hell he cheats on his wife anyway

Vote Obama, we cant afford another 4 years of the same old same old

Sorry Republicans you all just sealed your losing fate with McCains pick. Should of gone with Romney, you would of gotten more independents and some democrats too. Plus you would of gotten a guy that knows economics and one that would of been a much better leader than Palin or even McCain. You lose, bye bye Republican president :lgjump::lgsad::lgsideway:wave:

Maybe in 2016 or 2032 we'll see another Republican President, maybe by then they will have figured out they are suppose to represent all people not just big biz and the far right.

Another great post by Jeff!

GObama!

Beth

[plainpainter 217]

My neighbor across the street who has a son that served in the first gulf war and 3 tours as a marine this time - said O'bama has his vote. He really likes Mitt. I am meeting more and more guys that use to be staunchly republican, that are now switching over. All that Republican Rag time crap that filled the airwaves finally is dawning on many folks as being just a heap of lies. For the great majority of Bush's terms we had a republican controlled congress, supreme court, and presidency. So folks are now understanding what it really means when republicans are in control and all their heretic theories of trickle down economics and deregulation is just one big god awful mess. Buh Bye Republicos........

The Plainpainter's forecast for the '08 elections......texas will go 'Blue' this time around! GOBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Did you see his acceptance speech or catch the convention that night? It was AMAZING. GObama!

Beth

[plainpainter 217]

How about all those citizens that were lifelong republicans talking about how all they wanted to do was put in an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. I'm sorry - those folks weren't 'whiners' as McCain so eloquently put it. They were hard working Americans who thought republicans best represented them. They aren't looking for handouts from the Dem's - they just realize that Democrats are about fairness. They realize that when you increase the debt 'ceiling' and spending - that you have indeed increased taxes, perhaps not now - but at some point someone is going to pay for this war. And they realized how the republicans finally got their control of both the congress and the presidency - and all they got for it was big business interests being represented, good jobs exported overseas, loss of employment benefits - and 3 months of severance for 25 years of loyal service to a company.

It's sad that so many here have this staunchly republican attitudes of 'rugged' individualism, and not depending on anyone. This is crazy. We're human beings, we need the help of each other in a society that maintains a high degree of solidarity - without the fundamentals of society, of helping each other - we would still be hanging from tree tops flinging cr@p at each other. Government shouldn't be big - but there should be government to maintain the control - I for one am done with unfettered capitalism and deregulation and trickle down economies - all proven failures. Anyone who still maintains these beliefs just doesn't accept facts - instead they believe in fiction. I read someone refer to global warming as 'nonsense' on ptstate!!!!!! Just because a highly corrupt presidency that wants to rape our nations resources wants to make believe global warming is fiction - doesn't make it so. The facts are in, anyone who still thinks global warming is a myth might as well believe the earth is flat at this point. The assault and disrespet of the Sciences is the one main reason the republicans have lost my vote for all time.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Ha Ha seriously that was a childish reply, I guess I should say no shes not you are. lol She ran Alaska man. She probably ran against a polar bear and a seal. Obviously the bear ate the seal and she supports the anwr drilling so the bear said f*#k it Im outta here. lol.

Yeah, dude...she ran Alaska...a state filled with very independant, no-nonsense people. That says a hell of a lot.

[HotShot 34]

Ha Ha seriously that was a childish reply, I guess I should say no shes not you are. lol She ran Alaska man. She probably ran against a polar bear and a seal. Obviously the bear ate the seal and she supports the anwr drilling so the bear said f*#k it Im outta here. lol.

and you say my post was childish? :deal:

You tell me exactly what Nobama did in his 140 days of vast experience in the Senate that qualifies him to be the leader of the greatest country in the world. There is a reason that governors usually become presidents instead of senators. Governors actually have responsibilities.

[Apple Roof Cleaning 202]

Do you have a problem with displaying a flag as a show of patriotism? Of course hanging/wearing/displaying a flag doesn't make one a patriot, no more than wearing a cross or going to church makes one a Christian.

No problem at all Mike, freedom for ALL/

If you want to tatto a flag on your Buttocks, go for it.

I am for Personal Freedom.

Just siding with Beth on this one, in that I feel no Personal need to display a Flag.

If you wanna do it, thats OK by me/

[Apple Roof Cleaning 202]

I think they need to drug test McCains VP choice Palin and her husband, they are smoking some pot up there in Alaska. Their kids names are Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow & Piper. I heard they grow some good grass up there :groovy3:LOL

Oh ya, she was for the bridge to no where before she was against it.

Oh Yes, they grow some GOOD stuff up there.

Many Alaskans "look down their nose" at us in the lower 48.

I was in a Redneck Restaurant, eating Breakfast today, the Rednecks were talking about her!

One said "Well, we don't know much about her"

I said "Well, she's 44 years old with 5 KIDS, so we know ONE thing she is in Favor of"

[floridaprowash 14]

McCain - Palin all the way, she may be lacking in experience but dont we all when we get a new position? Thing is, I think she has the record and reputation for getting things done and thats what we need. She makes more decisions at an executive level in one week than the Democrat team makes in a whole month...combined!

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Off topic but to follow Dan...

Respecting science would be agreeing that throughout time this Earth has had up and down cycles without us that we can hardly comprehend and that we truly do not know what temp or conditions it would prefure. With or without us it has its way. Theres been plenty of science proving interpritations of science are constantly flawed. i.e. just trake a close look at that Al Gore thingy.

Hey Dan, watched a show last night where they were experimenting with cloud seeding to brighten the clouds. Was comical. My solution?..a few nuke a year down a few volcano or a trip to a small asteroid to attach guided missile too.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Panel: Palin abused power in trooper case - CNN.com

Beth

[Mathew Johnson 123]

Wow, I hope he was using his noggin here. I wonder what his wife thinks?

I would have expected someone like Bill Clinton to pick her, .... But what was Johnboy thinking?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I would have expected someone like Bill Clinton to pick her, .... But what was Johnboy thinking?

Simple....he wanted the Hillary voters to swing right.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

What the Troopergate Report Really Says - TIME

Who didn't see this coming?

Beth

[Kirk 14]

Caribou Barbi took 3rd the year she competed in Miss Alaska. Why didn't McCain choose the woman that actually won?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

This was in our local paper today. How Much Would You Pay in Taxes? | PARADE Magazine

Had to share it.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

YES he made a mistake. Here's another story....

Beth

Palin charges Alaska for kids' travel - CNN.com

Palin charges Alaska for kids' travel

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. She also has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.

As governor, Palin justified having the state pay for the travel of her daughters -- Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7 -- by noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor's schedule.

But some organizers of these events said they were surprised when the Palin children showed up uninvited, or said they agreed to a request by the governor to allow the children to attend.

Several other organizers said the children merely accompanied their mother and did not participate. The trips enabled Palin, whose main state office is in the capital of Juneau, to spend more time with her children.

"She said any event she can take her kids to is an event she tries to attend," said Jennifer McCarthy, who helped organize the June 2007 Family Day Celebration picnic in Ketchikan that Piper attended with her parents.

State Finance Director Kim Garnero told The Associated Press she has not reviewed the Palins' travel expense forms, so she could not say whether the daughters' travel with their mother would meet the definition of official business.

On August 6, three weeks before Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin as his running mate, and after Alaska reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters' travel.

In the amended reports, Palin added phrases such as "First Family attending" and "First Family invited" to explain the girls' attendance.

"The governor said, 'I want the purpose and the reason for this travel to be clear,' " said Linda Perez, state director of administrative services.

When Palin released her family's tax records as part of her vice presidential campaign, some tax experts questioned why she did not report the children's state travel reimbursements as income. Watch Palin's interview with CNN's Drew Griffin »

The Palins released a review by a Washington attorney who said state law allows the children's travel expenses to be reimbursed and not taxed when they conduct official state business.

Taylor Griffin, a McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, said Palin followed state policy allowing governors to charge for their children's travel. He said the governor's office has invitations requesting the family to attend some events, but he said he did not have them to provide.

In October 2007, Palin brought daughter Bristol along on a trip to New York for a women's leadership conference. Plane tickets from Anchorage to La Guardia Airport for $1,385.11 were billed to the state, records show, and mother and daughter shared a room for four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House hotel, which overlooks Central Park.

The event's organizers said Palin asked if she could bring her daughter.

Alexis Gelber, who organized Newsweek's Third Annual Women & Leadership Conference, said she does not know how Bristol ended up attending. Gelber said invitees usually attend alone, but some ask if they can bring a relative or friend.

Griffin, the campaign spokesman, said he believes someone with the event personally sent an e-mail to Bristol inviting her, but he did not have it to provide. Records show Palin also met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs representatives and visited the New York Stock Exchange.

In January, the governor, Willow and Piper attended the Alaska Symphony of Seafood Buffet, an Anchorage gala to announce winners of an earlier seafood competition.

"She was just there," said James Browning, executive director of Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, which runs the event. Griffin said the governor's office received an invitation that was not specifically addressed to anyone.

When Palin amended her children's expense reports, she listed a role for the two girls at the function -- "to draw two separate raffle tickets."

In the original travel form, Palin listed a number of events that her children attended and said they were there "in official capacity helping." She did not identify any specific roles for the girls.

In July, the governor charged the state $2,741.26 to take Bristol and Piper to Philadelphia for a meeting of the National Governors Association. The girls had their own room for five nights at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for $215.46 a night, expense records show.

Expense forms describe the girls' official purpose as "NGA Governor's Youth Programs and family activities." But those programs were activities designed to keep children busy, a service provided by the NGA to accommodate governors and their families, NGA spokeswoman Jodi Omear said.

In addition to the commercial flights, the children have traveled dozens of times with Palin on a state plane. For these flights, the total cost of operating the plane, at $971 an hour, was about $55,000, according to state flight logs. The cost of operating the state plane does not increase when the children join their mother.

The organizer of an American Heart Association luncheon on February 15 in Fairbanks said Palin asked to bring daughter Piper to the event, and the organizer said she was surprised when Palin showed up with daughters Willow and Bristol as well.

The three Palin daughters shared a room separate from their mother at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks for two nights, at a cost to the state of $129 per night.

The luncheon took place before Palin's husband, Todd, finished fourth in the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race, also in Fairbanks. The family greeted him at the finish line.

When Palin showed up at the luncheon with not just Piper but also Willow and Bristol, organizers had to scramble to make room at the main table, said Janet Bartels, who set up the event.

"When it's the governor, you just make it happen," she said.

The state is already reviewing nearly $17,000 in per diem payments to Palin for more than 300 nights she slept at her own home, 40 miles from her satellite office in Anchorage.

Tony Knowles, a Democratic former governor of Alaska who lost to Palin in a 2006 bid to reclaim the job, said he never charged the state for his three children's commercial flights and did not claim their travel as official state business.

Knowles, who was governor from 1994 to 2002, is the only other recent Alaska governor who had school-age children while in office.

"There was no valid reason for the children to be along on state business," said Knowles, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. "I cannot recall any instance during my eight years as governor where it would have been appropriate to claim they performed state business."

Knowles said he brought his children to one NGA event while in office but didn't charge the state for their trip.

In February 2007, the three girls flew from Juneau to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines. Palin charged the state for the $519.30 round-trip ticket for each girl, and noted on the expense form that the daughters accompanied her to "open the start of the Iron Dog race."

The children and their mother then watched as Todd Palin and other racers started the competition, which Todd won that year. Palin later had the relevant expense forms changed to describe the girls' business as "First Family official starter for the start of the Iron Dog race."

The Palins began charging the state for commercial flights after the governor kept a 2006 campaign promise to sell a jet bought by her predecessor.

Palin put the jet up for sale on eBay, a move she later trumpeted in her speech at the Republican National Convention, and it was ultimately sold by the state at a loss.

That left only one high-performance aircraft deemed safe enough for her to use -- a 1980 twin-engine King Air assigned to the public safety agency but, according to flight logs, out of service for maintenance and repairs about a third of the time Palin has been governor.

[Scott Stone 604]

She is still the only one of the four candidates that has ever Governed at an executive level. The rest have always been legislators. And she does not put her foot in her mouth nearly as much as Biden.

If you want to talk experience, let's talk Obama. In this race, any talk of experience is a non issue, as long as Obama's experience is not included. And Change??? How can you have the Change that he is touting when your running mate is the second or third longest sitting US Senator?

I do agree with Biden, from the primaries. Obama is not ready, and McCain is fully qualified.

[Mathew Johnson 123]

The issue I have with the McCain ticket is that Sarah has been asked 4 different times what the duties of the VP are.

She has missed with four separate answers. It is pretty clear what the job entails appears in some paperwork filed in DC...Oh yea, it is the constitution of the United States. If she is going to run for office where she may be required to step in as the prez and take an oath to uphold the constitution of the US, perhaps she should take the time to read it.

If McCain had picked anyone other than her as a running mate, he would be in a runaway landslide position on his way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Do I think Obama has it in the bag, No... But I am certain McCain doesbt have a clear victory.

PS: She does look pretty hot in the 150K worth of clothes that we all bought her.