You know that moment when you have seriously injured yourself, like mangled your hand or broken your leg or something, but it doesn't hurt yet and you are just staring at it in a kind of queezy horror?
That is how I feel about McCain's choice of Palin.
I don't know why this is bothering me so much.
It makes me very uneasy because it says things about politics, about John McCain, about those close to McCain, and about so many other people that I'd rather not believe. The pick is canny. It is mercenary. It is, through and thoroughly, a play. It demonstrates no faith in the electorate to better itself, but a scientific plot to exploit that electorate. It, in a gesture, is diametrically-opposed to so much of the Obama campaign and the Obama message.
A Times article I read recently touches on these points.
There are two core aspects to fighting wars and winning campaigns: tactics and strategy. Tactics allow you to seize opportunities or maximise your underlying strengths. But strategy matters more for the long haul; without it, you can be brilliantly successful from day to day and yet lose your direction and focus as time goes by.
So far, in the short time that we have had a real general election campaign in the United States, one team has shown some brilliant and daring, if occasionally crude, tactical skills. The other has shown a willingness to forgo sudden decisions or short-term strikes in favour of long-term goals. John McCain has been the tactician and Barack Obama the strategist. McCain has been the risk-taker, Obama the cool conservative.
[...]
Throughout all this, the McCain campaign remained hyperactive, almost succumbing at times to attention deficit disorder. They kept making somewhat crude appeals to the Clinton camp; they kept threatening to announce the vice-presidential pick before Obama’s speech; they went overboard on the Greek temple foofaraw. And then they unveiled their counterstroke: Sarah Palin as vice-president, a woman whose educational experience is limited to a journalism degree at the University of Idaho, who has no experience or even interest in foreign policy, and who has less than two years of experience as the 44-year-old governor of Alaska, a state with a mere 700,000 residents.
It was a brilliant, attention-grabbing move. It dominated the news cycle in the wake of Obama’s well received speech on Thursday night; it appealed to women and to the Hillary voters; it rallied the pro-life base, as Palin is firmly against abortion rights and has just given birth to a Down’s syndrome child; it offered a fresh face to rail against corruption in Washington; it helped McCain’s maverick image; and it enabled McCain to present himself as the candidate of change, rather than following the Clinton strategy against Obama of representing experience.
It was another tactic – guerrilla-style, clever, nimble, deft. But, one senses, also a little desperate, a little too risky, a little unserious. America is at war with lethal enemies, its economy is teetering, its people are unsettled. And McCain gave us a 44-year-old former beauty queen as the person who could be asked to take over the White House in an emergency if anything happened to the oldest first-term president in American history. Tactically: daring. Strategically: potentially disastrous.
I just got off the phone with my mom and my dad. Both of them are Rhode Island liberals like me, with my mom also being an ardent pro-Hillary second-wave feminist.
My mom asked me what I thought about Palin. I told her I thought it was a very canny pick by McCain but that it would probably not entice liberal, pro-choice women to vote for her. My mom said, "McCain thinks women are that dumb, huh?" I thought she was agreeing with me.
Then my dad takes the phone from her and a few minutes later in the chat says, "By the way, did mom tell you she's voting for McCain and Palin?" And I flip the fuck out. Dad said they'd just talked it over yesterday during lunch, that she's always liked McCain and she still feels Obama is dangerously untested and unqualified. Thing is, she HASN'T always liked McCain. I've been fondly telling my friends the story of when McCain voted against some bill and my mom sent him a letter taunting him about his skin cancer. I just couldn't believe that she'd flipped on this.
My dad sounded hurt too but he kind of shrugged it off. "Men just don't get it," he said, referring to how women felt anger and resentment to Obama's rise.
I seriously feel... betrayed... right now. I'd come to terms with my mom telling me that she'd vote straight dem but NOT for Obama. That sucked enough, but now this? I seriously can't believe that Palin is enough to make my mom vote for McCain, vote against every single policy and issue she holds dear. Maybe she's doing it cuz RI will go blue no matter what, but still.
I feel really, really disappointed in her. She's got a bumper sticker on her Honda that says "Get your laws off my body!" I want to fly home and draw an asterisk on it, then add a new bumper sticker underneath that says "Except when my feelings are hurt abloo bloo bloo"
Seriously, if you feel "betrayed" because your mother is making a personal political decision, you need to re-evaluate your emotions and get some new ones.
I'd say that the bigger issue is that she only met with McCain once prior and doesn't appear to have been vetted at all. It seems off the cuff, and I'd rather my President didn't act off the cuff when he's had 19 months to think about the decision he's making. The experience thing isn't all-consumingly important for a VP, even to the extent that it let's you know about the person, it can just act as a negative against you. Biden isn't a good VP choice because of his rolodex and resume, they just make him a better than average VP choice. Palin, though? So far she seems to violate the 'first do no harm' prerogative of the Veep.
They are still trying to pull the experience argument even when they have the least qualified VP nominee in the last 100 years.
Amazing.
I can't imagine that not blowing up in their faces in some fashion.
The thing is this: I think most people don't really give a shit about who the VP is. I mean it's a talking point for people but at the end of the day, they care about the P with no V.
That's not to say nobody cares. *I* care. And I think a lot of people claim to care. But ultimately I don't think it informs the voting decision of most people. Some may use it as a scapegoat to justify their vote, but that's about it.
They are still trying to pull the experience argument even when they have the least qualified VP nominee in the last 100 years.
Amazing.
I can't imagine that not blowing up in their faces in some fashion.
The thing is this: I think most people don't really give a shit about who the VP is. I mean it's a talking point for people but at the end of the day, they care about the P with no V.
That's not to say nobody cares. *I* care. And I think a lot of people claim to care. But ultimately I don't think it informs the voting decision of most people. Some may use it as a scapegoat to justify their vote, but that's about it.
The choice of the VP informs me further on the P and the people he's surrounded by. For me, this is the largest implication of the choice of Palin -- I care less about her specifically, and more about what her choosing [because of the facts surrounding her] reflects on McCain and the other high-ranking Republicans backing her wholeheartedly and to the point of soliciting :rolleyes: from me.
I'd say McCain's VP choice matters slightly more than normal to me because, you know, he might die of old age in office or something. :P
To you.
But most Americans are lazy, even lazy thinkers. I'm excessively cynical but unless someone can prove (ha!) otherwise, I'm just going to assume that this:
a) Doesn't occur to most people
b) Occurs to some people and they shrug and move to other random thoughts about dropping the kids off at day care and fucking the Yankee Candle cashier girl on the way home or whatever it is American adults do
They are still trying to pull the experience argument even when they have the least qualified VP nominee in the last 100 years.
Amazing.
I can't imagine that not blowing up in their faces in some fashion.
The thing is this: I think most people don't really give a shit about who the VP is. I mean it's a talking point for people but at the end of the day, they care about the P with no V.
That's not to say nobody cares. *I* care. And I think a lot of people claim to care. But ultimately I don't think it informs the voting decision of most people. Some may use it as a scapegoat to justify their vote, but that's about it.
The choice of the VP informs me further on the P and the people he's surrounded by. For me, this is the largest implication of the choice of Palin -- I care less about her specifically, and more about what her choosing [because of the facts surrounding her] reflects on McCain and the other high-ranking Republicans backing her wholeheartedly and to the point of soliciting :rolleyes: from me.
"She has experience not only in politics but in life," former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee said Sunday on CNN.
What does that even mean?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: "Palin is commander-in-chief of the Alaskan National Guard." The state's Guard has about 4,000 members.
Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.
But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.
Stephen C. Donehoo, managing director of Kissinger McLarty Associates in Washington, and former military intelligence officer specializing in Latin America:
"No doubt the campaign staff have her hooked up to a fire hose on foreign policy issues," said Stephen C. Donehoo, managing director of Kissinger McLarty Associates in Washington and a former military intelligence officer.
"No doubt they fear a debate with Joe Biden that touches foreign affairs," Donehoo said. "My guess is Graham and (Joe) Lieberman are doing a lot of tutoring."
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota appears to have no such worries, given what he considers to be Obama's lack of experience.
So unless there has been some major disaster in Alaska in the last 20 months that I haven't heard, she has jack experience with the national guard.
HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
Even FoxNews(.com) is expressing doubts about Palin.
3 of the 6 Headlines in the Politics section:
What Does McGovern's 'Oath' Say About Palin?
Voters Doubt Palin's Qualifications
Cindy McCain Defends Palin's Credentials
Edit: From that last article:
“I asked her, how do you feel about this? This is two things you have to do, is not only possibly be a vice presidential candidate, but also, you know, listen, to worry about your son,” Cindy McCain recounted of her conversation with Palin before the vice presidential announcement. “And she looked me square in the eye and she said, ‘You know something? I’m a mother. I can do it.”‘
Setting aside Cindy's atrocious grammar, what kind of answer is that? "Are you prepared to be a VP candidate?" "Yes, I'm a mom."
You know that moment when you have seriously injured yourself, like mangled your hand or broken your leg or something, but it doesn't hurt yet and you are just staring at it in a kind of queezy horror?
That is how I feel about McCain's choice of Palin.
I don't know why this is bothering me so much.
Because you declared this as one of the best elections ever, with the two right candidates, and one of them betrayed your innocence.
Even FoxNews(.com) is expressing doubts about Palin.
3 of the 6 Headlines in the Politics section:
What Does McGovern's 'Oath' Say About Palin?
Voters Doubt Palin's Qualifications
Cindy McCain Defends Palin's Credentials
Edit: From that last article:
“I asked her, how do you feel about this? This is two things you have to do, is not only possibly be a vice presidential candidate, but also, you know, listen, to worry about your son,†Cindy McCain recounted of her conversation with Palin before the vice presidential announcement. “And she looked me square in the eye and she said, ‘You know something? I’m a mother. I can do it.â€â€˜
Setting aside Cindy's atrocious grammar, what kind of answer is that? "Are you prepared to be a VP candidate?" "Yes, I'm a mom."
But did she stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
You know that moment when you have seriously injured yourself, like mangled your hand or broken your leg or something, but it doesn't hurt yet and you are just staring at it in a kind of queezy horror?
That is how I feel about McCain's choice of Palin.
I don't know why this is bothering me so much.
Because you declared this as one of the best elections ever, with the two right candidates, and one of them betrayed your innocence.
I think it's because it illustrates how damaged modern reality is.
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No-QuarterNothing To FearBut Fear ItselfRegistered Userregular
Even FoxNews(.com) is expressing doubts about Palin.
3 of the 6 Headlines in the Politics section:
What Does McGovern's 'Oath' Say About Palin?
Voters Doubt Palin's Qualifications
Cindy McCain Defends Palin's Credentials
Edit: From that last article:
“I asked her, how do you feel about this? This is two things you have to do, is not only possibly be a vice presidential candidate, but also, you know, listen, to worry about your son,†Cindy McCain recounted of her conversation with Palin before the vice presidential announcement. “And she looked me square in the eye and she said, ‘You know something? I’m a mother. I can do it.â€â€˜
Setting aside Cindy's atrocious grammar, what kind of answer is that? "Are you prepared to be a VP candidate?" "Yes, I'm a mom."
But did she stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
I keep having trouble uploading strips, my apologies, but here you are.
One would hope that after a few years exposed to Gabriel's "unique" perspective, any ideas you might have had about him not being a reprobate have dissolved entirely. If his callous acts and intense, serial frivolity were not enough to set you right, behold! Incontrovertible proof of his true nature, from the GamerTag Database. The young man in the comments section there has described, indeed, compressed Gabriel into twelve words. He was, of course, overjoyed.
Because I like rumors, and I think that rumors are fun, lets talk about a rumor for a second.
I believe I'm on record as saying that the only console capable of Splinter Cell was the Xbox and maybe the GameCube. Clearly, I fucked that one up. For better or worse, the game is even coming out for the GameBoy Advance, though I'm not sure that counts for these purposes. I still think I'm sorta right, but you can be the judge of that - there's still very little chance of downloadable episodes on any other platform, right? I'm sure they'll make me regret that, too.
This Eurogamer article is all sunshine and roses for the PS2 port, which is fine by me. I won't know until I play it how good it is. But I think that it had to be good, great in fact, and it had to have exclusive content, because Splinter Cell was one of very few cases where you could say, "Here is something you simply can't have on the PS2." Visually, it challenged the Playstation 2 to do better. I am of the opinion that the PS2 release of the game is one part product and one part press release about the system's continuing technological viability.
The rumor I heard goes like this: Ubi Soft had no problems doing the GameCube version, but they had misgivings about trying to make the jump to the PS2 hardware. So it is told, they refused to convert the game at all unless Sony itself paid for the graphics engine to be rebuilt from the ground up. Like I said, I loves me some rumors so who knows if it is legitimate. It does, however, fit my natural biases!
You might remember the piece I did on Zettai Zetsumei Toshi for the Rising Fun section. Looking online, I see that the U.S. release - called "Disaster Report" - should be in stores today. I had no idea it had just come out actually, the reason I brought it up was this screenshot over at Gamespot that illustrates some of the points in my article.
Posts
You misplace one letter and that sentence becomes really confusing to read. I should wear my glasses more often.
A Times article I read recently touches on these points.
I've never heard of an owl rigger.
My mom asked me what I thought about Palin. I told her I thought it was a very canny pick by McCain but that it would probably not entice liberal, pro-choice women to vote for her. My mom said, "McCain thinks women are that dumb, huh?" I thought she was agreeing with me.
Then my dad takes the phone from her and a few minutes later in the chat says, "By the way, did mom tell you she's voting for McCain and Palin?" And I flip the fuck out. Dad said they'd just talked it over yesterday during lunch, that she's always liked McCain and she still feels Obama is dangerously untested and unqualified. Thing is, she HASN'T always liked McCain. I've been fondly telling my friends the story of when McCain voted against some bill and my mom sent him a letter taunting him about his skin cancer. I just couldn't believe that she'd flipped on this.
My dad sounded hurt too but he kind of shrugged it off. "Men just don't get it," he said, referring to how women felt anger and resentment to Obama's rise.
I seriously feel... betrayed... right now. I'd come to terms with my mom telling me that she'd vote straight dem but NOT for Obama. That sucked enough, but now this? I seriously can't believe that Palin is enough to make my mom vote for McCain, vote against every single policy and issue she holds dear. Maybe she's doing it cuz RI will go blue no matter what, but still.
I feel really, really disappointed in her. She's got a bumper sticker on her Honda that says "Get your laws off my body!" I want to fly home and draw an asterisk on it, then add a new bumper sticker underneath that says "Except when my feelings are hurt abloo bloo bloo"
WHAT
THE
FUCK
Amazing.
Chill.
Seriously, if you feel "betrayed" because your mother is making a personal political decision, you need to re-evaluate your emotions and get some new ones.
I can't imagine that not blowing up in their faces in some fashion.
You guys' opinion of me is quite niggardly.
The thing is this: I think most people don't really give a shit about who the VP is. I mean it's a talking point for people but at the end of the day, they care about the P with no V.
That's not to say nobody cares. *I* care. And I think a lot of people claim to care. But ultimately I don't think it informs the voting decision of most people. Some may use it as a scapegoat to justify their vote, but that's about it.
To you.
But most Americans are lazy, even lazy thinkers. I'm excessively cynical but unless someone can prove (ha!) otherwise, I'm just going to assume that this:
a) Doesn't occur to most people
b) Occurs to some people and they shrug and move to other random thoughts about dropping the kids off at day care and fucking the Yankee Candle cashier girl on the way home or whatever it is American adults do
Let me stop everyone right here
I am not talking about people in this thread
Thanks
Yeah, I understand where you are coming from and agree. I just felt the need to respond to your post, neener-neener. :P
I don't know what 75% of the words in this sentence even mean.
"stupid"?
"seem"?
"think"?
Christ both my PARENTS who're conservative catholics from fucking Ireland in their 60s/70s think Palin is shitty idea and irresponsible idea.
So unless there has been some major disaster in Alaska in the last 20 months that I haven't heard, she has jack experience with the national guard.
You could show her this clip and see if she feels any shame
What is the speech supposed to be about?
I have no idea. I heard people here talking about her speaking yesterday.
It's funny how a satirical "news" show tells it like it is.
Up is down, left is right, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength....
It was more or less just her acceptance speech repeated, right down to the references to Clinton, the glass ceiling, and the good old boy network.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
3 of the 6 Headlines in the Politics section:
Edit: From that last article:
Setting aside Cindy's atrocious grammar, what kind of answer is that? "Are you prepared to be a VP candidate?" "Yes, I'm a mom."
Because you declared this as one of the best elections ever, with the two right candidates, and one of them betrayed your innocence.
But did she stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
I think it's because it illustrates how damaged modern reality is.
Ghazzkull Mag Uruk Thraka '08! - Green is Best!