Sarah Palin and the Media

Dear liberal friends,

Are you really trying to lose this election for Barack Obama? Do you not see that attacking Sarah Palin is only helping John McCain?

After two weeks of the incredulous attacks against Gov. Palin, Sen. Obama has LOST his strong support amongst Women (notably White Women). He previously led by 20 something percent – now he trails by 12%. Americans simply don’t buy this media bullshit. They find it unfair and sexist. I have no problem with a strong, critical analysis of Gov. Palin’s background and policies – but the media/hollywood/liberal bloggers have taken it WAY too far, and the public backlash has been tremendous. I thought we were going to focus on issues instead of personality? Isn’t it Sen. Obama who wanted a campaign on ideas, and not experience. The new polls are damning.

That’s right folks. For the first time since Reagan, we are moving New York from the Democrats column, to the undecided column.

New York!!

Recent polling data released today suggests that among likely voters, John McCain has moved within the margin of error for the polling data, indicating a statistical tie. If you factor in the fact that public polling tends left a few points, John McCain may very well be WINNING in New York. That is not entirely unfathomable – NYC has a good portion of moderate Republicans, and the rest of the state outside of NYC is largely loyal to the Republican Party.

Needless to say, this has rippled into other states:

Pennsylvania from leaning Obama to undecided.

Minnesota from leaning Obama to undecided.

Michigan from leaning Obama to undecided.

Florida from undecided to fairly solid McCain.

I do not need to do the math for you. If New York or Pennsylvania goes GOP – it’s game over, even if the Democrats peel off Colorado and New Mexico.

I do not blame the Obama campaign. They have handled the past couple weeks as reasponably well as could be expected. On the O’Reilly Factor, Sen. Obama appeared frustrated with the unsolicited “help” from his followers – noting that if anyone on his campaign staff did that sort of thing, they would be fired.

I blame an overzealous media, incredulous Hollywood actors (do I really care about Matt Damon and Lindsey Lohan’s anti-Palin rants?), and the liberal bloggers of the DailyKos ilk.

So by all means, if you want Sen. Obama to lose this election, keep up this crap.

Sarah Palin’s Church

Oh boy – here we go again.

As if it wasn’t enough to go through the Rev. Wright affair.

As if it wasn’t enough to focus national media attention on all of Palin’s children and the baby drama.

But now they are going after her church. Liberal bloggers are already attempting to make a case that her religion as a Pentacostal and member of an Assembly of God Church in Wassila, AK somehow makes her a religious nut. Yes that’s right lefties… all of us Christians are composed of religious radicals.

Hasn’t Obama told us that his CHRISTIAN faith (emphasis on Christian) guides him every day? Hasn’t he said he routinely prays for a variety of patriotic things? So… it’s ok for him to be a Christian, but oh boy since Sarah Palin goes to Church she MUST be and uber right wing radical, right? Even Fox News was in Alaska today digging around her church… interviewing employees and the Pastor. Now I am sure that Fox was probably trying to defend Gov. Palin and paint her as one of the millions of Americans that go to Church every Sunday. But my problem is why are they covering this in the first place?

Seriously, the liberal media is FLIPPING OUT now that the Sarah Factor has taken them to task. Obama has plummeted in the polls and they don’t know what to do.

If the liberals INSIST on bringing religion and candidates’ churches into this election, then fine…

DJ, please roll the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s greatest hits:

The New Media War

The usually prescient veteran Peggy Noonan wrote in her WSJ column about Sarah Palin and more importantly her impressions on the media war being fought over her:

I don’t like the new media war. I don’t like what it has the potential to do to the election, and the country.

The media overstepped. The Republican party resented it. GOP strategists saw a unifying force rising: anger in the base. They too had seen this movie before. They slammed the media. The media shot back: “You’re attacking us for doing our job!”

How did the media overstep? By offending people by going so immediately and so personally into issues surrounding Mrs. Palin’s family. They did not overstep by digging, by deep reporting, by investigating Palin’s professional record.

*****

In the end it made Palin the underdog, and gave her the perfect platform for the perfect dive she made Wednesday night.

We have had these old press fights in the past—they were a source of constant tension when I was a child, when Barry Goldwater came forward as a conservative and the press scorned him as a flake, and later when Ronald Reagan came up and the press dismissed him as Bonzo.

But this latest fight commences on a new and wilder battlefield. The old combatants were old school gentlemen, Eric Sevareid and Walter Cronkite; the new combatants are half-crazy cable anchors, the lower lurkers of the Internet, and the anonymous posters on the comment thread on the radical website.

This new war on new turf is not good, and carries the potential of great harm. Everyone really ought to stop, breathe deep, and think.

I am worried they won’t. A friend IM’d the day after Palin’s speech, and I told him of an inexplicable sense of foreboding. He surprised me by saying he shared it. “Calling all underworlds reporting for duty!,” he wrote. “The bed is about to fly around the room, the puke is about to come out.” He meant: this campaign is going to engage unseen powers and forces. He meant: this campaign, this beautiful golden thing with two admirable men at the top and two admirable vice presidential candidates, is going to turn dark.

I am inclined to agree with Ms. Noonan, but don’t blame it on the GOP. Like most of the Republican base I was completely outraged when half the network (MSNBC in particular) completely suspended all attempt at journalistic integrity in order to attack Gov. Palin’s personal life. Indeed, most telling was MSNBC’s now infamous “How many houses does Palin add to the ticket?” breaking news banner. The President of MSNBC apologized for this remark the other day and Keith Olbermann and Chris Mathews have been removed from covering the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates.

A decent peace offering, but I’m not sure I am ready to take it. MSNBC was only one offender.

The GOP base backlash (along with Palin’s star power), however, have catapulted McCain into the lead by 10 points in the latest Zogby poll. Looks like we are winning this media war as of now.

Mary Fallin – A Congresswoman with Class

One thing that is always refreshing in politics is finding a national politician that hasn’t become completely detached from his or her constituency. Such is the case with Oklahoma City’s Congresswoman Mary Fallin (R-OK). I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Fallin on multiple occasions – from when she was Lt. Governor of Oklahoma to her present incarnation as Congresswoman. Her district includes Oklahoma City and parts of the metro area and she can frequently be seen at Starbucks in the Nichols Hills area talking with constituents, or at various events across the area.

In fact she is probably the most visible politician in Oklahoma. She is always the keynote speaker at Republican events – Sen. Inhofe’s kick-off campaign, the District GOP Convention, etc. I have seen so many Representatives (the technical term) lose that precious connection with their constituency. Growing up in Texas we had a saying: When you send a politician to DC and they come back without the cowboy boots, it’s time to elect someone else. The McCarville Report writes that she even made DC’s most beautiful list.

She is standard new Oklahoma GOP – we disagree on some social issues, but she remains steadfast on economic and national security issues. I would consider her a steadfast and reliable conservative.

Here’s to you – Congresswoman Fallin! Good luck on your re-election.

McCain and Obama by the Numbers

We have heard an awful lot about change and reform this election from both candidates. But as Rudy Giuliani noted last night, there is good change and there is bad change. I have gathered some data from both candidates, which has been confirmed by their own statements, and have reproduced it below.

You can see my main concern about Barack Obama. As a friend told me once, “Barack Obama is like a Ferrari; I like him, I just can’t afford him.” That basically sums up my thoughts entirely. I think Sen. Obama is a nice guy. He’s clearly bright, and even though he’s dealt with some shady characters in Chicago before, I don’t think he is corrupt or lecherous like Clinton and Edwards.

I do think his economic policy would crash our economy. Normally I wouldn’t be worried about this because Congress controls the purse strings, not the President. But since there is a real possibility of the Democrats getting a super majority in the Senate, an Obama Administration COULD be able to pass all of the proposals below.

Without further ado:

Capital Gains Tax
McCain – O% on home sales up to $500,000 (per couple). No change.
Obama – 28% on ALL home sales, regardless of price or income. So when you sell your house, the government gets 28%. This is particularly difficult for the elderly that want to downsize their houses and use surplus as retirement income.

Dividend Tax
McCain – 15% (no change). Personally I think this is too much.
Obama – 39.6%. So basically, if you have any stocks, IRAs, retirement funds, mutual funds, or any account that pays and reinvests dividends, you will be paying 40% tax. The word on Wall Street is that this would substantially decrease the profit in stock acquisition, which could lead to a collapse in stocks, and the under capitalization of American companies. For the less versed in economics, this means unemployement, inflation, and failing banks.

Income Tax
McCain – No change. This will maintain the Bush Tax Cuts.
Single making 30K – tax $4,500
Single making 50K – tax $12,500
Single making 75K – tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K – tax $18,750
Married making 125K – tax $31,250

Obama – Repeals the Buch Tax Cuts.
Single making 30K – tax $8,400
Single making 50K – tax $14,000
Single making 75K – tax $23,250
Married making 60K – tax $16,800
Married making 75K – tax $21,000
Married making 125K – tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

Inheritance Tax
McCain – 0%. President Bush repealed this tax.
Obama – Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

New Taxes
Obama has proposed new taxes for homes over 2,400 sqft, gasoline taxes (we already pay 15 cents/gallon), retirement account tax, natural resources, medical services, and others.

Republican National Convention – Day 3

Even better than Day 2! Giuliani went off on Barack Obama and eloquently said all of what most of us Republicans have been thinking all along. It was Rudy at his finest and reminded me why I supported him in the GOP Primaries. I was concerned, however, that he would out shine tonight’s star speaker – Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP’s nominee for Vice President. But… I my fears were unfounded.

Gov. Palin not only lived up to the high expectations we had for her, but greatly exceeded them! After minutes of applause, the governor wowed the convention and the world with not only great rhetoric (Obama has that afterall) but she really laid down policy objectives. This has always what has separated the Republicans from the Democrats, at least in my relatively short lifetime. The people are tired of ubiquitous promises of vague ideas. They want concrete ideas with a concrete direction to take this country in.

Governor Palin gave the world an excellent look at what she and John McCain stands for. I think I speak for the party as a whole when I say that, screw what the media and liberals thing, we LOVE this woman!

Alaska too “Tiny” to Govern

So says the Angry Republican. Definately take a look. I was laughing my ass off.

As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin doesn’t really have to keep books, or budgets, or make payrolls for state employees.

Hell, in Alaska, they keep all state government business on “sticky notes” and they paste them on Sarah Palin’s refrigerator.

Illinois has terrible snowstorms. Snow can get really deep in Illinois.

As senator of Illinois, Obama would have to rush to a meeting room and vote on stuff, if a snowstorm occurred.

Brilliance.

Meet the OKC Thunder!!

Oklahoma City unveiled it’s new NBA team today. All the rumors were true: the team will be named the Oklahoma City Thunder! I watched the elaborate press conference this afternoon. Several area kids as well as Damien Wilkins and Desmond Mason helped to unveil the logo and name today. The team’s colors will be primarily Oklahoma blue, with highlights of red and orange. But, as Clay Bennett joked, “not too much red and orange.”

Clay Bennett, an Oklahoma City native and part owner of the former Seattle Seahawks, now OKC Thunder, was largely responsible for the somewhat contraversial move. In March, OKC voters approved the extension of a a sales tax in order improve the Ford Center and build an NBA practice facility.

The fans got it right this time. I know the buzz here has been that it was going to be the Thunder, and so it was not a huge surprise to most people here.

The OKC Thunder will begin their first season as an Oklahoma City team in October.

Republican National Convention – Day 2

Wow! How great were the speakers today?

Some of my favorite exerpts from Fred Thompson’s speech:

Speaking of the vice presidential nominee, what a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is.

 

She is from a small town, with small town values, but that’s not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family.

 

Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit. Well, give me a tough Alaskan Governor who has taken on the political establishment in the largest state in the Union — and won — over the beltway business-as-usual crowd any day of the week. ***

And I can say without fear of contradiction that she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt. ***

She and John McCain are not going to care how much the alligators get irritated when they get to Washington, they’re going to drain that swamp. ***

When his captors wanted the names of other pilots in his squadron, John gave them the names of the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers.

 

Whenever John was returned to his cell — walking if he could, dragged if he couldn’t — as he passed his fellow POWs, he would call out to them.

 

He’d smile … and give them a thumbs-up.

 

For five-and-a-half years this went on.

 

John McCain’s bones may have been broken but his spirit never was.

 

Now, being a POW certainly doesn’t qualify anyone to be President.

 

But it does reveal character.

 

This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders. ***

History making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee to ever run for President. Apparently they believe that he would match up well with the history making, Democrat controlled Congress. History making because it’s the least accomplished and most unpopular Congress in our nation’s history.

 

Together, they would take on these urgent challenges with protectionism, higher taxes and an even bigger bureaucracy.

 

And a Supreme Court that could be lost to liberalism for a generation.

 

This is not reform.

 

And it’s certainly not change.

 

It is basically the same old stuff they’ve been peddling for years. America needs a President who understands the nature of the world we live in.

Brilliance. I have always said that among the Republicans running in the primary, Fred Thompson was the best orator. His booming Tennessee accent and southern wit are always a treat to listen to. His speech has been the best of the RNC so far. I would dare say it has been the best of either convention, but I am obviously biased. At least I admit it, as opposed to MSNBC.

Joe Lieberman also made an excellent speech tonight that showed that John McCain’s appeal crosses party lines. He makes an excellent point: Can anyone name a time when Barack Obama has crossed party lines or gone against his own party? I think not. How about John McCain? Even President Bush admitted that John McCain is his own man and will stand up for country first.

Is it wrong that it seems Sarah Palin is getting more applause than John McCain? Not necessarily. I think Republicans are sending the message loud and clear: Gov. Sarah Palin is our pick for Vice President, and no amount of media invented scandals will make us decide otherwise. The Republican base is energized and ready to go!

Sarah Palin’s Daughter Pregnant

One thing that drives me nuts about liberals is that they have complained up and down about Karl Rove’s tactics during the Bush Administration as if he is some crazy magic man, a modern day Rasputin, that keeps his bosses in power by manipulating the process.

But then they hypocritically use the same tactics themselves and fail miserably. Sorry, Dailykos, MSNBC, and Ms. Huffington, you are NOT Karl Rove.

The latest example of these tactics backfiring is the entirely fabricated rumor being spread by the socialists at Dailykos that Sarah Palin’s 4 month old Downs Syndrome baby is in fact her grandbaby, and that she is covering for her daughter.

They got a surprise today when the Palin family released a statement that their daughter is in fact 5 months pregnant! That proves that the fabricated lies by Dailykos and the far-left are false, just like the NYT’s assertions that McCain had an affair with a lobbyist fell on its face. Palin’s daughter is engaged and will be married soon. The left has made light of a situation that many American family’s find themselves in. Indeed, Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy was no secret in Alaska. Personally, I think that this fact makes Gov. Palin more relatable to American voters. McCain also knew of this fact during the vetting and did not believe it affected her performance in any way.

Barack Obama agrees.

This really disgusts me. The same thing happened in the 2000 South Carolina primary when rumors were spread that John McCain’s adopted daughter from India was a love child he had with an African American mistress. George W. Bush’s campaign denied any connection to the rumors, but let’s get real folks. The same people at Dailykos spreading this crap are the same people who are footsoldiers in Barack Obama’s campaign.

Bloggers have largely been responsible for the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain’s VP as well as some of these terribly conceived scandals. As newly minted members of the media, bloggers MUST maintain some semblance journalistic integrity or else we will only have succeeded in denigrating public debate instead of enhacing it. Join me in condemning these rumors and promoting ethics in blogging.