Future of the GOP?

Governor, may I suggest an extended study break wherein you actually get to know at least something about policy matters and serious issues that face our government? How about some semblance of intellectual curiosity and rigor ? Or, an attempt to move beyond awkwardly phrased nonsensical platitudes? Perhaps, these things are too challenging for you. May I recommend hiring a speech writer who can at least make you sound half-way serious when you are on the national stage?

Politico:

Two events were added to the annual Republican Governors Association meeting especially for the Alaska governor and former vice presidential nominee, but her objectives were unclear and her message, mixed.

...“As far as we’re concerned, the past is the past and we’re all focused on the future,” she said, surrounded by many of her fellow Republican chief executives.

But then, immediately after addressing reporters, she walked across the hall and delivered a speech before a session titled “Looking Towards the Future” that was largely a nostalgic trip back through the last two months, replete with mention of Joe the Plumber and the other memorable campaign trail moments.

... She said at the press conference that the GOP governors “want to reach out to the new administration and offer our assistance, our support, offer solutions.” ... But in the same speech she implicitly offered the same criticism of President-elect Barack Obama that Republicans leveled throughout the fall. “We are not the many voting yea or nay or present,” she said of her fellow governors, a veiled reference to Obama’s “present” votes as an Illinois state senator.

... Asked about what the party could do to appeal to women and Hispanics — two demographic groups which tilted toward the Democrats this election — Palin had little to say about a topic that has been a focus for many of her colleagues...

Michael Barone's Attempt at Humor?

Politico: A roomful of academics erupted in angry boos Tuesday morning after political analyst Michael Barone said journalists trashed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential nominee, because "she did not abort her Down syndrome baby."

More Dirt

LA Times:

There WAS tension between between John McCain staff members and Sarah Palin (as other news outlets previously reported), and part of it stemmed from some rather glaring gaps in what the governor of Alaska knew about the rest of the world.

Cameron, the Fox beat reporter for the Republican presidential ticket, said he had been told by unnamed sources -- and on the condition he not report the details during the campaign -- that Palin could not name all of the countries that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

He did not mention which one (or ones) she whiffed on, but there are only three: Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Nor, according to Cameron, was Palin aware that Africa is a continent. (Perhaps she was hamstrung by the fact that no part of that land mass can be viewed from her homestate.)...

And the Dirt Begins to Fly

An upcoming article from Newsweek portrays Palin as a profligate shopper who spent even more on her wardrobe than was originally reported.

One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family — clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent ‘tens of thousands’ more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband.

Who the F*** Is Todd?

On the campaign trail today, Palin brought new charges -- the Democrats are soft on terrorism. More vapid spewing from an utterly unqualified source but we've gotten used to this.

Using stronger language than she has in the past, Palin also questioned Obama’s readiness for office. "If you think about it, Barack Obama's record -- what is in his record? What has he accomplished?” she said, adding she had discussed the issue with her husband, Todd, in recent days. “Has he ever wielded a veto pen? Has he ever had to make the tough decisions on how to govern best for the people whom he should be held accountable to? He is untested, as his own running mate said, throughout the primaries.”

It's the "discussed the issue with Todd" part that gets my goat. Who is Todd Palin? He's neither an elected official, nor a candidate, and certainly no authority on national security (by dint of proximity to Russia or otherwise). What sort of delusional echo chamber does Sarah Palin live in to be able to criticize Obama's experience or lack thereof?

Palin 2012

CNN: At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign décor — John McCain’s... But on closer inspection, the GOP nominee’s name was literally nowhere to be found on any of the official campaign signage distributed to supporters at the event.

Flipping Burgers

Via Think Progress, Former Reagan Chief of Staff, Ken Duberstein: You know what most Americans I think realized is that you don’t offer a job, let alone the vice presidency, to a person after one job interview. Even at McDonald’s, you’re interviewed three times before you get a job.

Eagleburger: Palin Not Ready

Huffington Post:

A former Republican Secretary of State and one of John McCain's most prominent supporters offered a stunningly frank and remarkably bleak assessment of Sarah Palin's capacity to handle the presidency should such a scenario arise.

Lawrence Eagleburger, who served as Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush and whose endorsement is often trumpeted by McCain, said on Thursday that the Alaska governor is not only unprepared to take over the job on a moment's notice but, even after some time in office, would only amount to an "adequate" commander in chief.

"And I devoutly hope that [she] would never be tested," he added for good measure -- referring both to Palin's policy dexterity and the idea of McCain not making it through his time in office.

Potato Chips

Conservative columnist George Will excoriates John McCain and his running mate in an op-ed for the Washington Post. Many of the criticisms you've probably heard before but this little factoid with which he ends the column, is memorable

The Center for Responsive Politics calculates that, by Election Day, $2.4 billion will have been spent on presidential campaigns in the two-year election cycle that began in January 2007, and an additional $2.9 billion will have been spent on 435 House and 35 Senate contests. This $5.3 billion is a billion less than Americans will spend this year on potato chips.

Thanks for the tip, Tony!

Hot Potatoes

Is going rogue a pattern for Palin?

Doesn't Romney spokesman Eric Ferhnstrom sound a lot like Bill Clinton?

Is there a method to Bloomberg's madness?

Does Alaska not allow early voting or does Palin just want to be fashionably late for the party?

Odds and Ends

According to the World Bank definition, China can no longer be classified as a low income country.

Israeli sources indicate that French President Sarkozy has grave concerns over Obama's Iran policy.

The Boston Herald reports that Palin spent $51,000 of taxpayer money to remodel her office and the governor's mansion.

The ADL condemns a GOP email to Pennsylvania Jewish voters comparing the rise of Obama to the Nazi victories before the Holocaust.

Mock Interviews

Via Think Progress, Palin asks reporters to submit interview topics ahead of time.

Palin's Pipeline

AP:

Governor Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment - a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 - emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows.

...Despite Palin's boast of a smart and fair bidding process, the investigation found that her team crafted terms that favored only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited the winner, TransCanada Corp.

And contrary to the ballyhoo, there's no guarantee the pipeline will ever be built; at a minimum, any project is years away; TransCanada must first overcome major financial and regulatory hurdles.

Fashion Faux Pas

Image Source

Not Terrorism Victims

Here's a list of people who (according to Palin) were not victims of terrorism. (And in case you thought McCain's better on the issue, read this.)

Donald L. Catron
Claudia Gilmore
Shot 12/28/91 at
Central Health Center for Women in Springfield, Missouri
Victims: Wounded

Dr. David Gunn
Shot 3/10/93 at clinic in Pensacola, Florida
Victim: Murdered

Dr. George Tiller
Shot 8/19/93 at clinic in Wichita, Kansas
Victim: Wounded

Dr. Wayne Patterson
Shot in Mobile, Alabama
Victim: Murdered

Dr. John Britton
James Barrett
June Barrett
Shot 7/29/94 outside clinic in Pensacola, Florida
Victims: Murdered (John and James) and wounded (June)

Dr. Garson Romalis
Shot 11/8/94 at home in Vancouver, British Columbia
Victim: Wounded
Terrorist: At large.

Shannon Lowney
Leanne Nichols
Shot 12/30/94 at clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts
Victims: Murdered
Terrorist: John Salvi.

Anjana Agrawal
Antonio Hernandez
Brian Murray
Jane Sauer
Richard J. Seron
Shot 12/94 at clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts
Victims: Wounded

Dr. Hugh Short
Shot 11/10/95 at home in Ancaster, Ontario
Victim: Wounded

Dr. Calvin Jackson
Stabbed 12/96 outside the Orleans Women's Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana
Victim: Wounded

Unidentified Victims
4-7 victims of 2 bombs 1/16/97 outside the Northside Family Planning Services clinic near Atlanta, Georgia
Victims: Wounded

Unidentified Doctor
Shot 10/28/97 at home in Perinton, New York
Victim: Wounded

Dr. Jack Fainman
Shot 11/11/97 at home in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Victim: Wounded

Officer Robert Sanderson
Bombed 1/29/98 outside New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama
Victim: Murdered

Emily Lyons
Bombed 1/29/98 outside New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama
Victim: Wounded

Dr. Barnett Slepian
Shot 10/23/98 at home in Amherst, New York
Victim: Murdered

Desperately Seeking Pennsylvania

McCain and Palin will make multiple stops over multiple days in Pennsylvania.

The scheduling reflects McCain's tough electoral math. With some -- though by no means all -- advisers all but conceding Colorado, McCain would be forced to win a blue state in order to recoup the electoral votes. New Hampshire wouldn't give him enough, and Pennsylvania, the McCain campaign believes, is the most brittle of the remaining states. Public and private polls give Obama a double digit lead in the state, but McCain advisers believe that Obama is underperforming in the suburbs and exurban counties around Pittsburgh.

Tensions

A new article from Politico describes tensions between Palin and her handlers.

Even as John McCain and Sarah Palin scramble to close the gap in the final days of the 2008 election, stirrings of a Palin insurgency are complicating the campaign's already-tense internal dynamics. Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them.

2012

A Newsweek poll asks Republicans who they would like to see as their nominee in 2012 if John McCain does not win the election. The results:

Mitt Romney 35%
Mike Huckabee 26%
Sarah Palin 20%

Questionable Credentials

A LA Times investigation calls Palin's self-touted reformer credentials into question.

100-plus jobs went to campaign donors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications. Several donors got state-subsidized loans for business ventures of dubious public value.

***

* More than 100 appointments to state posts -- nearly 1 in 4 -- went to campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications.

* Palin filled 16 state offices with appointees from families that donated $2,000 to $5,600 and were among her top political patrons.

* Several of Palin's leading campaign donors received state-subsidized industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures of questionable public value.

* Palin picked a donor to replace the public safety commissioner she fired. But the new top cop had to resign days later under an ethics cloud. And Palin drew a formal ethics complaint still pending against her and several aides for allegedly helping another donor and fundraiser land a state job.

Foresight Is 20/20

Josh Goodman wrote on April 9, 2008 (i.e. way before Palin was chosen):

Palin's emphasis on ethics has earned her high approval ratings in Alaska and flattery from Republicans nationally. The logic behind her as a running mate seems to be that she's a youthful, likeable outsider who would help John McCain attract female voters (she's due to give birth to her fifth child in May).

But really, John McCain is going to pick someone who has presided over a state of 683,000 people for a mere 16 months as the potential leader of the world's lone superpower? The most popular mayor in the history of Austin, TX (population 710,000) wouldn't even warrant a mention in the veepstakes. (In fairness to Palin, she does have additional executive experience as the former mayor of Wasilla, population 9,236.)

Palin's qualifications would be the subject of intense scrutiny. Any kind of foreign policy flub, such as mixing up the Shiites and the Sunnis, would cause serious problems for the ticket.