Me: Frank Lynch. Bio These are my daily rants, mostly political. For something less spontaneous, I maintain The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page (over 1,800 Johnson quotes), perhaps your best online resource for insight into his thinking.
KEY IRAQ SPEECHES/REMARKS: Bush: 9/19/02, on the vote to authorize force 10/7/02, Cincinnati 1/28/03 State of the Union 3/16/03 Bush, Blair, and Salazar 3/21/03 statement of goals 5/1/03 Ship speech, "Mission Accomplished" 7/2/03, Bring 'em on 10/21/03, WH veto threat on troop support 10/27/03, Bush on threat to veto troop support Cheney: 8/26/02, "Simply stated, there is no doubt..." Kerry: 9/6/02,New York Times' op-ed piece. 10/9/02, on the authorization of force 7/29/04, DNC convention speech 9/20/04, at NYU Powell: 2/5/03, U.N. speech Rumsfeld: 3/30/03, "We know where they are... Tikrit..." Wolfowitz: 1/23/03, on disarmament Debates: 9/30/04,
Bush-Kerry 10/5/04,
Cheney-Edwards 10/8/04,
Bush-Kerry 10/13/04, Bush-Kerry
Sunday, September 7, 2008
(A day that will live in infamy, according to Pappy...):
So it seems God wants a pipeline. Sarah Palin knew. Governor Palin was invited to speak at an evangelical graduation, and did so. A state-funded trip, as it was in her capacity as governor that she was invited. Her remarks were in keeping with the context of the occasion, but there was this part:
"What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys as you go out throughout Alaska — I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline." Palin said. "Pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that. But I can do my job there, in developing our natural resources, and doing things like getting the roads paved, making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded.
"But really, all of that stuff doesn’t do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts isn't right with God. And that's going to be your job," she said. "As I'm doing my job, let's strike this deal. Your job is going to be: to be out there, reaching the people, (the) hurting people throughout Alaska, and we can work together to make sure God's will be done here."
It goes without saying that there is a certain degree of presumptuousness at work here; and it also goes without saying that it was just this kind of presumptuousness which possessed President Bush when he launched our war against Iraq. Not only was he certain that the inspections were worthless, he felt as if he'd been called by God to do so. Never mind that he had to create a new concept in international relations when other countries tried to stop his foolhardy venture (you'll remember the abandonment of the U.N. in favor of the "Coalition of the Willing"), never mind that the Roman Catholic Church didn't consider it a just war (as well as Human Rights Watch, belatedly). Bush would have his war, because he knew what God wanted.
There is great danger in electing another pair that presumes the same way as Bush does; Iran is too obvious a target for their way of thinking. War is sure to be too high on their list of considerations, as we can imagine from McCain's post-9/11 reactions. The anniversary of 9/11 is approaching, and we shouldn't forget its lessons. But it's myopic to think that all the lessons of 9/11 were taught on that day alone; our leaders' failure to react judiciously in the day's wake presents just as important a lesson as any other.
Link | | |
11:25 AM
He was born in Georgia, in 1950, and had no idea. Really. Truly. Oh my yes.
Link | | |
12:03 PM
Party of corruption? McCain is asking us to believe that he and his running mate will change Washington. Oh, really? Alaskan delegates to the Republican convention were given "stay positive" talking points in case they spoke to the press. Among them was this:
If reporters asked about indicted Sen. Ted Stevens, it advised the delegates: "As long as he does not receive jail time, he is legally capable of serving."
So the GOP is essentially saying it's acceptable to have a convicted criminal on the floor of the Senate. Of course the Senate has a lot to say about it, too, but for the GOP to distribute a talking point which focuses on a technicality is something that they never accepted from Clinton or Gore. Every time, now, that you hear McCain claim to change Washington, you'll know he's lying though his teeth. Remember, he was honored to accept his party's nomination.
Link | | |
11:47 AM
Friday, September 5, 2008:
Buckle up your seat belt and enjoy. Something for you to do while I figure out what picture to put up tonight. (Warning, it ends like "I Want You.")
McCain-Palin as the ticket for change? Really? As I noted last night, Governor Palin's Wednesday night speech was filled with lies, which undermined any pretense on McCain's part that he's interested in changing the tone in Washington. (Pathetic, really, how the Republicans want to "change" Washington, given how long they've controlled the seats of power there, (Perhaps the brightest moment of their Terri Schaivo exploitation was when a Republican federal judge in Georgia got in the way and shut it down.)
Well, that consideration of McCain is applicable had he actually given a truthful speech last night; but he had his share of lies, too.
Senator McCain: what kind of change do you really want in Washington, to make it even worse? Seems like that's where you're headed. Glad your patriotism increased over the years; too bad it didn't mean embracing the truth.
Link | | |
7:12 PM
Thursday, September 4, 2008:
Palin is a lying snake, and the GOP are fools for her speech last night. Word has it that Governor Palin's speech last night had to be recrafted because it was originally designed to be delivered by a man. Well, based on the number of lies it contained, either they foolishly left a lot of lies in, or she inserted them herself.
What a badly played hand: if you presume that only the cogniscenti were up on all the scandals and questions swirling around her head, she arrived on the dais as a blank slate; but giving a speech so rife with easily-refuted lies, that opportunity clearly wasn't capitalized on. She could have come out as a genuine reformer, truly interested in cleaning up politics, and helping move the country forward, but by taking the tack they did, she came across as someone well-practiced in dishonest politics.
And if you presume that people did know that there questions surrounding her lobbying for earmarks and flip-flopping on the Bridges to Nowhere, they could still have taken an opportunity for her to "rise above" the petty politics of her past as she moves to the national stage, by taking different themes altogether. Instead of belittling Obama's career and time as a community organizer (did she never encounter any community activists in her time in Alaska?), she could have tried to make a case for where his vision and plans fall short of changing America for the better.
Forgive me for this, but I think they really squandered an opportunity with someone who seems so charismatic and likeable. With the speech she gave last night, she came across as one of those aliens from the mini-series V. There's some kind of snake in there, I'm sorry.
Link | | |
9:29 PM
Nothing in "code" here. Today a member of the House of Representatives, from the Great State of Georgia, called the Obamas uppity. Yes, that word specifically, and he was given a chance to clarify it.
I'd have thought that by this time even Lester Maddox would have reformed, but not this guy. Probably doesn't know his a** from a hole in the ground, as some song goes.
Link | | |
8:55 PM
Your "must read" is a fact check of Palin.Here. And by all means share the link.
Link | | |
7:06 AM
Wednesday, September 3, 2008:
Huh? Most will be impressed? John Hinderaker is doing what he does best, blindly cheering for his team. In this post he looks forwards to high ratings number for Governor Palin's speech tonight, and concludes:
Notwithstanding the slime campaign against Governor Palin, the large majority of Americans want to see for themselves who she is and what she has to say. If she performs as expected, most of them will be impressed.
I'm not sure what to make of that conclusion, given that viewers are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats, she hasn't spoken publicly since Friday (when most first heard her name), and expectations are already runnning low, given the close scrutiny she's been given over a host of issues having nothing to do with her daughter. How could you not impress?
But at the same time, there's this off-camera quote from Peggy Noonan (you remember her - - she was all atwitter over the firemen at Ground Zero, Real Men are back and all that), that the whole idea of Sarah Palin as a VP nominee is just a base appeal to a narrative:
The most qualified [woman they could have found]? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --
Well, I wonder if she'll be another silent water bearer like Rush admitted to being after the Republicans lost the Congressional majorities in '06? (Cue Atrios' "simple answers to stupid questions" post.)
Link | | |
9:17 PM
Stop us before we talk about the unimportant stuff again! If you read the post below, you know McCain pulled out of an interview with Larry King because of a CNN interview Campbell Brown conducted with a McCain spokesperson. The clip they showed on Wolf Blitzer's show was fairly benign, and focused on Palin's experience with the National Guard.
But in complete fairness, before the National Guard decisions were discussed, Brown focused on the spotlight being cast on Palin's daughter, and how questionable it was to put yourself in the spotlight. (The full interview is below.)
How come it doesn't occur to Campbell Brown that the media is itself a partner in casting a spotlight here? It's not all Governor Palin's choice; the media doesn't need to dwell on it.
Link | | |
8:19 AM
Tuesday, September 2, 2008:
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the house. The McCain campaign didn't like the specific questions one of its people got about Governor Palin's National Guard decisions; so McCain is withdrawing from an interview with Larry King. Larry King!
Next up, McCain's Ministry of Information Advisor discusses the details surrounding the recent trademarking of "McCain" and how using the word will require advance approval and applications in triplicate.
(And I thought he wanted more attention? No?)
Link | | |
8:55 PM
Difficult to keep up with the Governor Palin revelations. They happen pretty fast and furious, which is probably why Powerline hasn't mentioned yet that Governor Palin once belonged to a political party whose goal was to have Alaska secede; her membership was as recent as 1996, when she was, uh, not old enough to be President. Her husband was a member as recently as 2002. I presume that they both saw the error of the affiliation, and are wiser now.
But Powerline hasn't mentioned it yet, which is odd, seeing as how they usually mention Robert Byrd's membership in the KKK in at least a third of their posts on him. I guess they'll catch up eventually.
UPDATE: The source for stories that the Governor was a member of that party has retracted the account.
Link | | |
8:34 PM
Monday, September 1, 2008:
Not the most thorough vetting, apparently. It would seem that "McCain" efforts to vet Governor Palin didn't include reading her local newspaper for information about her. They may have done a superficial examination of the few articles archived online, but there are far more about her which only exist in physical archives.
In the comments for another thread, Judy points us to an article suggesting that the focus should be on McCain and his selection process. Good arguments there; one major point left unsaid, though, is that this is indicative of what we could expect from McCain as a President. Remember how thoroughly Bush vetted Bernie Kerik, to head Homeland Security? Remember Brownie's qualifications for FEMA? The failure to vet Governor Palin more thoroughly is perfectly in line with the failed politics of the Bush Administration.
That's not change, my friends.
Link | | |
11:47 AM
