Obama Defends Palin’s Children and Faith

Obama stays classy as usual.
Concerned in OH – the only one to call Palin a pig…is you.

It took a christian question to bring him to shame!

Oooh. Aaaahh.

This campaign has become so dirty. A lot of the dirt is being flung by random people and not by the campaigns themselves. It just puts a nasty taste in everyone’s mouth.
Here I am reading comments and honestly, when I see a whole lot of racist comments and they come by and large from McCain supporters, I start to hate Republicans. Of course that’s ridiculous. McCain himself isn’t a racist.
I imagine the same thing happens when Republicans see fawning from he Obama side. Honestly, there is a strong part of me who resists any sort of group-speak. The idea that someone would vote for Obama because of shallow concerns offends me. I’m starting to have a better understanding of it with the whole Palin nomination and the amazing support she has garnered when her views on many major issues has yet to be voiced.
I don’t think I’m alone in having trouble distinguishing between official campaign positions and positions espoused by unaffiliated people.
Maybe we would be better off without these forums.

I agree with you Jeffereson. Obama is always classy. It is his campaign staff, Al Sharpton, Union Chief that does dirty work for him.

Hmm Jim. You are right, well, about most of the topics on this blog having Obama in the title. I imagine that both campaigns want the media to focus on them, so I suppose it isn’t shocking.

Obama’s judgement continues to be questionable.

Palin replied by speaking in tongues.

Tim, I’m pretty sure Al Sharpton isn’t working for Obama. I’d be surprised if they were even friends. Sharpton is pissed that Obama completely eclipsed him and refused to give him any credit for his nomination (Sharpton seems to believe successful black people owe their success to him). I haven’t heard much at all out of Sharpton in quite a while.

The Republicans CAN’T talk about issues, about the functions of government because they’ve been in control of the government and have totally messed it up. McCain can’t claim a change in policy because he’s changed all f his to match Bush. McCain can’t claim to want to change to a bi-partisan unity government because he picked an anti-science, right-wing back bench bomb-thrower as a VP. He can’t even claim to be the best for the security of the nation because Palin can’t be trusted with the security of the nation.
Let’s see how much policy vs culture war the Republicans want to talk about.
Hate, fear and division is all they’ve got left.

Totally disingenuous. He’s playing the part of Mr Nice Guy while, at the same time,sending a small army of lawyers (30!) to Alaska to dig up dirt on her.
He plays dirty and I only hope karma is a b-tch.

Palins effect is wearing polls showing!!!oops!! McCane is not in news these days!!!

The idea that Obama hasn’t been vetted is odd. Clinton ran against him for almost a year. Of course she sent people to dig up every piece of dirt they could find. On top of that he was a state senator for 8 years and was elected to Congress. His opponents all went digging into his past.
However, the difference between Palin and Obama is that all the stuff on Obama came out years ago. Some of it, he wrote in his own book. The media doesn’t report on old news. They assume everyone knows. Palin however is a complete unknown, so the media is digging through everything, on one hand to find anything juicy they can print, but on the other to figure out who exactly she is. After all, she doesn’t have a public position on half the issues of this campaign. Most of her positions are on Alaska local issues.
Palin just needs to do a bunch of interviews to get where she stands on record. Until she does, the media is going to take whatever they find in her past, try to draw some conclusions from it and print it.

Eric,
wE ALL make mistakes, We are human. If you had anyone you cared about you would want to protect them too!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008
“Nowhere” Woman
Sarah Palin has claimed that she said “Thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere.
As Josh Marshall, in an excellent and definitive timeline, demonstrates–this is simply false:
“Sometimes when you’ve got a liar as big as Sarah Palin on the line only a timeline will really do justice to her fibbing ways.
So a lot of you have written in to ask: Okay, she says she said ‘Thanks. But no thanks’ to the Bridge to Nowhere. But how exactly did it all come out? What’s the order of events? Well, briefly, it went like this.
Actually, Congress put the kibosh on the Bridge to Nowhere back in November 2005. Since Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) was then head of the Senate Appropriations Committee he was able to force a compromise in which the earmark for the bridge was killed but Alaska got to hold on to the money — some $442 million of federal tax dollars.
Fast forward to November 2006. That’s when Sarah Palin was running as a staunch supporter of the Bridge to Nowhere — that is, after the feds had themselves already said ‘No Thanks.’
In 2006, the Democrats took over both houses of Congress. So by the time Palin got into office it was clear that not only was the first Bridge earmark killed but that Congress was not going to be ponying up any more money. That meant that Alaska was going to have to pick up the tab all on its own. So since she couldn’t pay for its with the federal pork barrel, in September 2007, Palin officially halted the project which was then a state project since Congress had said ‘Thanks. But no thanks’ two years earlier.
She couldn’t say ‘No Thanks’ because Congress had already said ‘Forget It’.
Still with me?
So the money Palin sent back to Washington? Well, she didn’t. She kept the money for other bridges and roads in Alaska.
So, to boil it all down, Congress pulled the plug on the Bridge to Nowhere in 2005. Palin was still for it in 2006. And when she finally ended the project because Congress had cut off funding, instead of saying ‘No Thanks’ she actually said ‘Thanks!’ because instead of sending the money back to Washington she kept it all in Juneau.
Next question?”

If we are going to blame everything any Democrat says on Obama, then we will have to also blame everything any Republican says on McCain. And that is a contest you do NOT want to have! Why don’t we just stick to the candidates and quit trying to make up ways to make them look bad by inuendo.

johnTX,
I can see how you would think that. However, I urge you to look up online some of the discussions that are happening NOW on myriad topics surrounding Obama.
For example, look for things like this:
“Most Americans are clueless about the depth of Obama’s relationship with William Ayres and Bernardine Dohrn, unrepentant founders of the terrorist group Weather Underground. When the time came to throw them under the bus, the Senator wasted no time erasing his 13-year relationship with this charming couple. ‘They’re just folks in the neighborhood,’ he said, or something like that.
“Truth is, Obama, an ambitious newcomer to Chicago who was eager to meet left-wing power brokers, sought out Ayres and Dohrn and they became friends. In 1995 Ayers and Dohrn hosted Obama at their home for a private fundraising soirée in advance of his first election.”

There’s this little thing called “separation of church and state”. When a candidate’s religion dictates policy, that’s where we all have a real problem.

Geeez – has anyone seen Michelle Obama. Lipstick won’t help her. I think she began her disappointment of America when she looked in the mirror.

QGt7, if you have a reputable source for this close relation Obama and Ayres are supposed to have, I’m happy to read it.
Online discussions aren’t a reputable source of information for me. I’ve seen online discussions about aliens, 9/11 being masterminded by Bush and about how Jews are genetically inferior to white people. I’ve learned to take psuedo-anonymous online discussions without a considerable grain of salt.
Vietnam was an awful war and one of the darkest eras of America’s history. We should have never, ever been there. We killed millions. Do I condone bombing of buildings even if authorities were notified ahead of time? No. Would I have done the same thing if peaceful movements to end genocide failed? Hell, I might have tried staging a coup and overthrowing the US government if I had been alive back then.

johnTx,
McCain’s former spokesperson Torie Clarke wrote a Book with the title “Lipstick on a Pig:….”.

alex, I’m not sure you could call them stupid. The Republican mantra is alluring – lower taxes, money trickles down from rich to poor naturally and keep government small. Never mind that Republicans never actually deliver on this. The message itself is powerful.
Can you blame people? The economy, foreign policy, etc. are complex issues. When politicians run for local or state government, people can much more quickly identify if the candidate is spouting nonsense. They have a much firmer grasp of local issues.
However when you start talking about running for President, the average person has no personal knowledge to refer to. They have to look at character. They try to judge who is most like them because that is what they understand.
This is why character assassinations and fear mongering work so well in Presidential elections. People need to be able to trust a candidate to tackle issues they themselves don’t fully understand.

I’m not sure spouses should be off limits. If the Clinton administration has shown us anything, it is that spouses can insert themselves into the political process.
Children or parents on the other hand are completely irrelevant. I honestly wish Palin would have stopped intentionally bringing hers into the political arena. McCain has avoided bringing them in altogether. Obama had his little girls on stage, I kind of wish he didn’t. I’m not even sure I know what Biden’s kids look like.

Ryan C – you forgot the sun glasses. I love that movie… I live in Chicago.

Obama did compare Palin to a pig. Is that better than calling her “sweeting”.
WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES; WE DO NOT NEED OR CAN WE AFFORD TO HAVE THIS MAN OBAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE. VOTE FOR PALIN AND IN FOUR YEARS FOR CLINTON…..

I remember, a year ago, foolishly thinking, this election would be different; this election would be about the pressing issues our country faces and there would be solid, thoughtful, solutions presented by serious candidates who, actually, did put their country first……Oh my, what is that saying from Bush? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice……ummm, can’t get fooled again?

Palin is still lying about the bridge to nowhere even after she was caught in a lie several days ago…now they are supposely outraged about the freddie mac bail out….even though it was rick davis(lobbyist and mccain campaign manager) that led this bail out for years….why is mccain so mad about these lobbyists and “talking” change when he can’t even change his campaign…mccain is a puppet!!! like palin….

My family and I were considering not participating in this election. Sarah Plain as vice president has changed our mind.
Her faith is so important to the future of this country.
we believe that it is Gods will that Sarah Palin will be vice president, and then become president.
What America, and the world, doesn’t understand is that we are in a war not just with nations, but with forces we cannot see.
Sarah Palin understands this and she do Gods will in fighting this war.
It is so important for those who have not accepted Christ to do it now. We are in the last days, and those who are not redeemed will spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Only those who have accepted Jesus will escape this judgement.
Your souls, and the souls of those you love is at stake. Gods will will always be done. God Bless

how come palin has to practice for a week to speak out on anything….a week to do her acceptance speech….a week to have a major interview (scripted by karl rove), and when she goes off script she still manages to gaffe it up!!! even dan quayle gave interviews after he was selected…will america have to wait a week for palin to make any decisions in the white house vp/ or president(god forbid)….she is not ready for any position!!!!

“biden needs to explain hows hes conected to the bankruptcy bill of 2005 his son who is a bank lobbist and this bail out this is costing us billions and it started with the bill biden sponsered” — I suggest you get a copy of last week’s Meet the Press. He discusses all of these charges quite thoroughly.

Senator Obama statements on religion and families hit on decency. However, he does not have any control or even want to control his paid staff and supporters on the SMEARS against his opponents. If he can not get these people to be honest or shut up, how will he lead a country?????
Sarah Palin and her family and values are main stream America.

To Mary
what lies have obamas supporters told?
……still waiting….

bitterindependent says “OBAMA IS TOO INEXPERIENCED AND TOO IMMATURE!” After reading your post, I think you should look in the mirror. Looks like you’re the one who’s immature, and from the context of your message, not too swift either.

While I doubt that Sarah Palin needs Obama or Biden to stand up for her rights or values, Obama is doing the right thing in vowing to leave family out of the partisan politics.
Perhaps Obama should pass along that position to Biden and insist that he do the same.
And, while they are at it, perhaps Obama and Biden should take credit for some of their actions in the Senate.
We keep hearing about the “Bridge to Nowhere”, an issue that has little relevance to the important issues.
So, the next time Obama or Biden mentions the bridge in Alaska, it would be appropriate to mention that they both voted in favor of funding the “Bridge to Nowhere.”
John McCain did not.
Anybody But Obama…

One correction…. the American dollar is currently .06 over the Canadian dollar. Bush must have beat the Prime Minister at Golf.

Very well said by Obama. Better than I’ve heard any other politician put it, and amazingly gracious considering how he’s been treated. Leave the civilians alone. Stick to issues and track records.

I appreciate Obama’s chivalry, but I must respectfully disagree.
I think is is fair game to talk about her daughter, when she believes in taking away OUR daughter’s choices!!! And when she doesn’t want to provide sex-ed and insists on abstinence only training. then her daughter is an issue as far as it proves the absurdity of this type of training.
And I think religion IS an issue when she herself says that her plans are God’s will. I’m sure you’ve seen the videos by now. In that case we MUST know what type of God she believes in and she thinks his will is (I only say “HIS” because that’s what the Christian’s think. I think God is beyond any one sex.).
So Obama has to take this type of road. But we and the press MUST press the religious issue. Does she believe that we are in an international holy war with non-Christian cultures. Does she believe in Alaskan superiority? Perhaps that would explain her coziness with the AIP!
Wake up people!!!
Ask questions!!!
Challenge positions!!!
Remember what happened when just believed the WMD’s claim?

Thank You Mr. Obama. Even though America . Did not respect yor family and beliefs. But for Palin, everything in her life is off limits. She want to become President , Opps! Vice President.We have the Right to know about her personal life. When I hire employees, Background checks is done.

Considering neither McCain nor Palin is highly educated, it should come as no surprise that they do not support the field of science. We have all heard of the Dark Ages, “an era of ignorance and social repression, a suspension of time and progress, a period of cultural stagnation.” Let us hope that we Democrats prevail this November, for I fear if we do not, America will continue down the dark path that George W. Bush and the Republican Party has laid at our feet.
P.S. I do not believe Palin’s religion is off limits at all. Religious fanaticism is something to be questioned. Now I see why Jesse Jackson got pissed.

I feel that here Obama is being too conciliatory with regards to this trashy wingnut who would give him and his beliefs (in, say, the rights accorded us by the Constitution, the Establishment Clause, and so on) not a bit of ground. Who should be surprised that a representative from Jews For Jesus should be invited to indulge the conversion fantasies of the congregation at the Wasilla Assembly of God church? These people are witch-hunters, in essence–Robertson, Dobson…and the host of blinkered followers like Palin whose salvation lies in stamping out *your* freedoms. I know that Obama has the decency in him not to stomp on someone, and even to bend over backwards, to be decent. But, really – these censorious hypocrites need to be exposed and stomped on.

The level of dishonesty in this campaign is reaching new record highs, and it is up to the voters to sort out the truth for themselves. UrbanMysths is keeping track of the whoppers that McCain and Palin are telling about themselves, so what can’t the mainstream media do the same thing instead of letting them repeat the same fake stories over and over again?

I hold the media accountable for not fact checking before spreading all kinds of idiotic rumors — see the comment above about the “pig in lipstick” for an example of something taken entirely out of context.
In the effort to be the first to break new, the media is doing a lousy job of breaking accurate news.
What happened to the responsibilities of the Fourth Estate?
Lately, when a retraction has occurred, it’s only in print — never on the evening news where more people would see it.
Kudos for Obama trying to stay on the high road.
Shame, shame on the media for pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Republicans know how to win election, mostly by lying. One can not have a conversation with a lier? And so, they may win again with the same tactics…it’s a very depressing thought, but empires collapse and, I guess, it’s our time…indeed, very sad.

to nyopath:
Call your local Obama’s office and volunteer. that is all we can do right now. I am, for the first time in my life, at the age of 56 volunteering and giving money…If Obama loses this, we are in really, really big trouble. I really do not want to move to another country, but McCain/Palin would do it for me.

I, and I think anyone should, give Obama a lot of credit for this. I have not YET seen the GOP say ANYTHING positive throughout this entire election. They STILL haven’t even said how they’re going to fix all of our problems. They’re too selfish and spiteful to say anything nice and for that I think obama deserves a lot of credit, he won’t sink to their level of “Rove politics”.

I have already sent a letter to the View concerning Elizabeth’s remarks at the McCain luncheon regarding Cindy McCain being so nice and cooperative, allowing anything goes whereas she insinuated that Michelle Obama was just the opposite with that nasty condesending voice of Elizabeth. Now, all we need is C. Gibson to lob some soft ball questions at Palin and that will be all she wrote for the American public to say no more ABC TV. I am aware of hundreds on the internet who are going to watch this very closely. So he needs to treat her just as he would Obama or Biden. We will see.

Sarah Palin is not a champion of Republican values. Records show how counter-intuitive her beliefs are to the established Republican tenets. She is vehemently anti-choice on abortion. Republican doctrine promotes individual choice over government intervention; ‘…we believe in Limited Government always subservient to the electorate…’ Palin is a proponent of the creationism curriculum in public schools, while the tenets iterate the danger of injecting personal belief into public policy; ‘We eschew the hypocrisy of imposing personal doctrines or dogma as bounden for political convictions…’ Gov. Palin publicly supported federally-funded infrastructure projects in Alaska. Established Republican maxims decry pork barrel spending; ‘…plundering of the public treasuries by “pork” or “earmarks” which so shamefully corrupt the halls of power…’ The attempted firing of local and state officials is a glaring contradiction to the fifth tenet. ‘…we believe in Political Integrity, the right to criticize; to hold beliefs; to protest…’ Sarah Palin’s recent Vice Presidential acceptance speech illuminates the contrariety of her actions to Republican convictions; ‘We remain prohibited from obtaining electoral victory on the backs of the Four Horsemen of Calumny: Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear…’ Gov. Palin’s record on the environment is in stark juxtaposition to GOP philosophy, including dissention on endangered species classification, denial of scientific global climate change findings, and support for expanded oil and gas exploration; ‘we shall conserve and maintain our environment not for the exploitation to satisfy greed of the elite but for the universal benefit all people, including generations yet to come.’

“Contrary to what Karl Rove would have you believe, repeating lies over and over again does not make them true.”
__________________________________
That, my friend, happens to be a rational statement. This campaign is not about reason…or issues. The lunatics will see to that, and don’t you forget it.
This campaign is about tricking and triggering millions of irrational and deeply ignorant people to vote against their own best interests so that the self-anointed ‘elite’ can continue to exercise an increasingly repressive power over the rest of us…who don’t happen to be as willing to play the game of lying, cheating and stealing in order to destroy the lives of others.
In short, it’s a clear campaign to enshrine fascism as the basic ruling principle of American society. Installing another bumbling moron in the White House is just a by-product of that effort.
If we’re very lucky, the Rovian plan for the destruction and recreation of American society as a fascist oligarchy won’t succeed (this time) but it will certainly be a close call until the end.

WHY DO THE MEDIA CONTINUE TO TRANSCRIBE OBAMA IN THE VERNACULAR?
“Gonna” = “going to”
Have the decency to transcribe accurately. This isn’t a Faulkner novel. This is journalism. You are making Obama out to look thuggish and YOU KNOW IT.

Mark Halperin said on CNN last night and Ted Koppel repeated this morning on Diane Rheam that the media is asleep at the wheel during this campaign. This story is proof of that. Instead of reporting on real issues, like the fact that Iraq is not going so well and that the Shiite government has begun arresting the Sunni militias that the US pays to keep the peace, or that much of John McCain’s stump speech or campaign rhetoric consists of lies that have been proven to be lies by independent groups (for example that he will cut taxes and Obama raise them–which has been disproven by independent review) we have this kind of nonsense. The only difference between this story and most of what has been “reported” lately is that this is not a McCain talking point. Clearly, Halperin and Koppel’s criticisms have fallen on deaf ears.

Cindyp, Joe Biden did *not* call Palin a pig. He used a metaphor, “putting lipstick on a pig,” to describe how the campaign was trying to make attractive those facts which were unattractive. That’s what the expression *means*. You never heard him call her a pig. Please stop listening to second- and third-hand sources and please pay attention to what people actually say and the context. This is an important skill if one is to be a useful citizen.

Obama has to find a way to counter those who are worried that he will merely support “minority” interests. Of course, it’s crazy that Obama has to reassure in this way (he couldn’t win the election, if he were running as the minority candidate) but many Palin supporters feel a connection.
I saw an article in the letter from two female supporters of McCain/Palin. One woman was in her 50s; the other in her 60s. They said that they were lukewarm to McCain until he picked Palin. One went so far to say that she wouldn’t vote for Obama because she didn’t trust him. Of course, this raises the question: How can you trust Palin when you’ve only known her for 10 days? Obviously, they like her because they can identify with her.
The only way that Obama can win in such an election is to keep hammering away at Palin’s record. He has to keep making it clear that her positions and policies do not address the concerns of poor whites. He also has to keep reminding them that they did not fair well under Bush — another politician whom they can identify with.
Finally, in the debates, Obama has to destroy McCain. He cannot afford to be nice. If McCain is left standing after these series of debates, then older white voters will find reason to vote for him.

You people who are voting for McCain and Palin are idiots. It i clear, I am sorry- someone has to tell you, you are making a huge mistake. Wait and see, but i do not want to. You elected Bush but this time it is even worse you cannot even learn a lesson, so yes you make absolutely no common sense. FOR the decency of mankind vote smart.

People do not trust Obama, bottom line, this country is still racist. It sucks. Wake up everyone in doubt. please he is brilliant and actually has a plan to pull us out of this mess. If he were white it would be 80% Barack.
We are in deep crap if mccain gets elected goodbye womens rights, goodbye environment, goodbye endangered species list, goodbye middle class, goodbye civility, forget what will happen with us in foreign relations, perhaps more wars. it is really sad that people are falling for this. I actually cannot believe it at all. It is sickness, this country has a sickness of trusting people who play dirty and lie. Because she is white and pretty and is like a school principle. that is why they trust her. Obama is smarter than they are and darker, wait, that scares them.

this pig in lipstick thing is just another example of the republican party playing dirty. I remember when i was little and my brother would kick me under the table and get me upset, then i would get in trouble for being upset, he never did it face to face or for others to see. they play like bullies that are 5 years old.
they lie over and over on tv and people are up in arms about the lipstick comment. wtf.
she will not even candidly interview to her own supporters, what does that tell you, she cannot think on her feet. how is she going to negotiate foreign policy???? what are you guys thinking , if you want to shop at walmart with her and go out for coffee fine, but do NOT ELECT HER>

Well, normally I’d agree with Obama about this, except that there are reports of a witness who says that in 1997 Palin was “filled with the spirit of the Lord” and began to speak in tongues. Now, she can practice any religion she wants. But I have real doubts about putting in the White House any person who is periodically overcome with the spirit and starts talking in tongues. Does she play with snakes, too? I know that’s a Pentacostal tradition as well. I think in view of her church activities that this is a legitimate debate.

Typical–the media coverage is skewing everything to Obama’s disadvantage. There was that recent study that showed that the media coverage of Obama has been 76% negative, whereas their coverage of McCain has been 47% negative. When we end up with another four years of ruin, we will know who to blame–the media. So, since Sarah refuses to talk to the press, why aren’t they making hay out of her mistaken remarks this weekend about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Talk about a really PERTINENT gaffe! Here is solid proof that she hasn’t a clue about any topics other than drilling and moose!

Folks you are witnessing the inside destruction of thought in the Unites States. Intelligence is no longer important. America should be ashamed of itself. John McCain has run a subtley racist campaign, I’m white and I see it. I’m sick and tired of people skating around this issue. John McCain’s campaign has called him the Mesiah, different, it’s DISGUSTING. But hey, America deserves what it get when it votes. You were told Bush is like us. The multi-millionaire oil man is like us? And you believe it. You were told he was conservative. (Sound familiar) Conservative? We have the largest debt in the HISTORY of the entire world. You were told gay marriage was SCAREY. Guess what? More states have gay marriage after Bush than before Bush. Did abortions decrease under Republicans? NAW! We wouldn’t wanna protect! Idiots. Wake up or our days as a world power are over. Billions of cracks in the US ceiling. If you can’t see this, you deserve what’s coming.

So, Jake, here is how responsible news media do it. Why don’t you send this list of questions from the Anchorage Daily News to your bud, Charlie?
Here are some of the questions Palin should be answering, for Alaskans and the rest of the country:
• You present yourself as a Republican maverick who took on your own party’s corrupt political establishment. In November’s election, your party is running an indicted U.S. Senator, Ted Stevens, who is awaiting trial on charges he accepted more than $250,000 of unreported gifts from the state’s most powerful lobbyist. Will you vote for his opponent? Will you urge Alaskans to help you change Washington and vote him out of office? If not, why not?
• Sen. Ted Stevens’ trial is still pending; he has declined to say whether he would accept a pardon from President Bush before Bush leaves office in January. Do Alaska voters deserve an answer to that question before they cast their vote for or against Stevens in November? What is your position on a president pardoning a public official before a jury has ruled on guilt or innocence?
• Alaska Congressman Don Young appears to have won his Republican primary, even though you endorsed his opponent. Will you vote for your fellow Republican Don Young, who has spent over $1 million on legal fees without telling his constituents what sort of legal trouble he is in?
• Why have you reneged on your earlier pledge to cooperate with the Alaska Legislature’s investigation into Troopergate?
• In spring of 2004, the Daily News reported that you cited family considerations in deciding not to try for the U.S. Senate: “How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. senator?” What was different this time as you decided to run for vice president?
• As governor of Alaska, you have not pushed for laws or regulations that put your personal views on abortion, same-sex marriage and creationism into public policy. As vice president, will you push to outlaw abortion, restrict same-sex marriage and require the teaching of creationism?
• If you were a fully qualified vice-presidential candidate from the get-go, why did you wait more than 10 days to face reporters?
• McCain spokesman Rick Davis told Fox News the media didn’t show you enough “deference.” How much deference do you expect to get from Vladimir Putin or Hugo Chavez?
• You have said victory is in sight in Iraq. In July 2007, when you visited Kuwait, you said, “I’m not going to judge the surge.” In the March 2007 issue of Alaska Business Monthly, you were asked about the surge and quoted saying:
“I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. . . . While I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.”
Define “victory” in Iraq? What is the exit plan?
BOTTOM LINE: The nation deserves to hear Palin’s unfiltered answers to serious questions.

What I see over and over again in comments about this article are OBVIOUS McCain supporters that are saying Obama is hiding something by saying family should be off limits. These are the same people the screamed and whined when the media frenzy was about Palen throwing her pregnant, unwed, teenage daughter under the campaign bus. The same people that screamed and whined about every other personal detail that’s come out about McCain or Palin each time it’s made the rounds. So Family is off limits when it’s their candidates family, but when it’s the dems candidate it a question about what are they hiding.
More of the same. Republican double standards. Until you people can suck it up and play an adult game, as if you’re adults instead of whining children, nobody will take you seriously.

I’m sick of this notion that all of our officeholders have to swear up and down that they’re totally devout Christians. There was a reason that the separation of Church and State was built into the constitution — have we thrown that down the toilet with the rest of that poor old document? Sarah Palin’s religious beliefs obviously DO influence her political behavior, so they do need to be part of any halfway rigorous political dialogue surrounding her nomination and campaign.

Also, it’s the people who tried to flip the “lipstick on a pig” remark into a reference to Sarah Palin who needed to apologize to her, not Sen. Obama. My grandmother used to say that, and all it means is that B.S. is B.S., no matter how you try to disguise it. Only a complete moron or drooling political opportunist (not that the two are mutually exclusive) would think that use of the word “lipstick” in that downhome saying makes it a sexist attack. And the media actually bothered to give that airtime is just another example (and we had enough, thanks) of how the Fourth Estate has officially thrown their responsibilities out the window in favor of ratings — the big networks have no more journalistic integrity than the National Enquirer at this point.

What a great candidate.
I know in 4 years I won’t be telling everyone I am sorry about my vote.
I am sorry that I was a Bush backer in 2000.

Please note: Obama DID “have a talk” with Moveon and the other left-wing 527′s and told them not to run negative ads. Moveon, at least, has stopped and is totally focused on organizing grass-roots canvassing and registration.

Unfortunately, he’s expecting the McCain campaign to appreciate his remarks and concur. Instead, they will take them out of context and somehow, try to use them against him and his campaign.
I think it’s awful that the McCain campaign doesn’t think in this economic state of the country that we deserve to know everything about him and his running mate, Sarah Palin; their religious and any other potentially social impacting beliefs; and their specific plans for the country as to our safety and getting out of this mess. It’s also terribly disappointing and scary that his supporters, my fellow citizens, – who mostly are experiencing some sort of hardship in this economy like the rest of Americans – are not demanding the same. Are you truly ok w/his selection being more of a political move to win an election than choosing someone who could get us out of this situation?
I am in that income and tax bracket that usually votes Republican. However, I have never voted party line. I truly try to do my research to evaluate each candidate on their potential to do what’s best for the country as a whole. In fact, that research and my experience have proven to me that when the higher income people are paying an adequate share of taxes, the country as a whole does great.
Regardless of your party or candidate choice, WE DESERVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM AND THEIR PLANS FOR THE COUNTRY. After all, they will not be the Pres and Vice Pres for the Repubs or Dems, but for all of us.
Let’s join together and demand that both sides stop the dirty politics that only benefit the MSM ratings and stick to the issues.

Reasonable pigs everywhere are insulted….

Why is Obama constantly being so magnanimous with those people? He turns the other cheek and they hit him with the other fist. Enough already.
Don’t defend Palin OR her kids. Do as they do, stay silent when other people are attacking your enemy. The American voting public has shown its too stupid to appreciate magnaminity and only mistakes nobility for weakness.
Can anyone imagine McCain or Palin or any Republican coming to his defense over a perceived or manufactured slight or inaccuracy?
The stakes in this election are WAY to high to let this thing slip away – again!

McCain and Co. have used the same set of words before. By making it an issue now, they are simply playing politics by other means–i.e., by manufacturing a crisis for their own political end. Don’t forget who is running McCain’s campaign–Lobbyists (seven of them), Karl Rove, Rove proteges, and other Bush operatives. They even wrote Palin’s acceptance speach! They are giving us more of the same type of politics that in the past created much division in the country. They don’t want to talk about issues nor are they willing to consider your real concerns.AMERICA, WAKE UP FROM YOUR SLUMBER. MCCAIN WILL TAKE US TO WW III–unless we act now to stop his politics of deceipt. Be warned. Don’t say later you didn’t know this would happen. Older suburban women, think about the future of your children. Young people, think about the kind of future you would like to live in. Do it now! If we play dumb this time, we will again elect the wrong people.

All day long I’ve been watching MSNBC and CNN about this lipstick remark. The McCain apologists are outraged at Obama’s use of a saying that McCain himself used about Hilary’s healthcare plan. Outraged and calling him sexist and his supporters sexists also, bringing up the “sweety” remark. Obama apologized for that remark. An apology here is uncalled for.
Should the Obama people be outraged when Westmoreland of Georgia called Barrack and Michelle “uppity”? How did HE think those words would be interpreted coming from a southern white man? What about when King of Iowa said because Obama’s middle name is Hussein that if he were elected the terrorists around the world would be dancing in the streets? Did he mean that Obama was their leader, that Obama is a terrorist? Then Geoff Davis of Kentucky (like the name) said that he couldn’t sleep at night if he knew that “boy’s” finger was on the trigger. “Boy”? What does that connotate when referred to a man of color? The Obama campaign could charge the McCain campaign with racism, but they haven’t. When Republicans refer to Obama as elitist, that’s their code word for “uppity”. No code book is necessary to explain the use of the term “boy” referring to an African-American.

I support Obama, and will vote for him, but I hate it when he says things like “This is a nation of believers, and I’m one of them, and we may not agree on every single aspect of our faith, but what we can agree to is that faith is important in our lives and it shapes our values, and we should be respectful of each other’s faiths.”
I love my fellow man, my wife, and the earth. But I am an atheist, and I do NOT agree that “faith is important in our lives.” I mean, I agree that it is important in SOME people’s lives, and that is fine. But it is not important in MY life.
How about “We may not always agree when it comes to matters of faith, but what we can agree to is that we should be respectful of each other’s personal beliefs.” That would be more inclusive.

Ditto, Matt from L.A. I want to hear the Constitutional scholar who’s running for President reaffirming the establishment clause, not asking us to play nice with his opponent’s theocrat running mate.

I can’t wait for the debates to begin. I hope Obama raises one point or makes one true statement about John McCain that would just send him into orbit! Then people will see how “quick on the trigger” he is and what a hothead he can be. Then maybe they’ll think twice about voting for a man who is out of control!

As an ex-republican, I’m not surprised by the arrogant dishonesty of the RNC, but I’m disappointed to see John McCain follow in the Carl Rove mold. I used to believe (Year 2000) that he was better than that style of dis-honest political discourse. It’s amazing to me that winning the presidency for McCain has cost him his sole. I did precinct work for Barry Golwater (an honest man), who McCain has said in the past…Goldwater was one of his heroes. I no longer believe McCain to be an honest man! And, I now believe that George Bush’s criticism of McCain’s temperment was a valid reason to vote against McCain. I will vote for Barack Obama!

As a lifelong Dem and current Obama supporter, I can state unequivocally that I am pro-life. I believe that’s EXACTLY how long Karl Rove’s sentence should be.

It is an unholy union between the evangelical groups and the republicans that is anything but Christian.

Why is it when Obama changes his mind/opinion on an issue the liberally bias media calls it a flip-flop but when the republicans flip-flop, like with the bridge to nowhere, they call it a lie?
Are these Obama Flip-Flops or Lies:
Rev Wright – I can no more disown him than I can the black community. Then a month later he disowned both Rev Wright and his church.
Illegal immigration – First he opposed cracking down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants, now he supports it.
Marijuana – First he supported the decriminalization of marijuana now he opposes it.
Cuba Embargo – First he said “to end the embargo with Cuba” now he wants to continue it.
Public Financing – Obama became the first candidate to reject public financing for the general election after earlier promises to accept it.
Gun Control – First Obama endorsed a handgun ban now he supports “an individual right to bear arms”.
Smoking – Obama promised his wife he would quit smoking when she negotiated an agreement in which he would give up smoking in exchange for her support as a Presidential aspirant. Obama broke that promise and was still smoking through his own admission as of Aug. and probably still is. This not only demonstrates a lack of character for not keeping his word and lying to the media about it, but also shows a lack of will power, self discipline, self-control, self-regard, dignity and intelligence.

Actually, I have listened to those tapes, and low and behold, Biden NEVER called Palin a pig. Of course, if someone wants to make something out of nothing, they can do it, but never expect me, a Republican to think dissembling is as good thing to do. This sort of statement about Biden calling Palin a Pig is just silly. Palin brought up the lipstick and pig analogy so try to understand Palin IS responsible for her statements and distorting his statement about her statment about a pig is truly nothing more than a lie.

As a swing voter who has given money to the Obama campaign twice, I am now sorry that I gave money to Obama. He is wasting valuable time spinning stories about pigs with lipstick and what he really meant. Please, we all know exactly what he meant.
He should talk about his plans and not address such banal garbage thrown about by the media.
As for sexism? The media fried Hillary and now they are doing it to Palin.
It’s really a shame to see the double standard that still exists for women in the work force, even if it’s in politics.
Early this year, I continually urged fellow Republicans to consider voting for Obama, that was prior to the Rev. Wright scandal and the revelation regarding his many seedy associations.
It is so ironic, that Obama’s supporters are so critical of Palin’s lack of experience, when she in fact has far more executive decision making experience then he has had.
The other concern that i have for obama is the fact that despite his very rare appearances in the Senate, he voted present over 132 times. This is unacceptable. Either he is extremely indecisive, or he refused to take a position because he didn’t want to have to later defend an unpopular position.
In either case, it’s more than troubling and very revealing as to his nature of character and integrity.
Between the outrageous comments of his “mentor” Rev. Wright, and his former terrorist bomber friends, many Americans have been drunk on Obama Koolaide.
I am off the Koolaide and will NOT be supporting Obama. I want a first lady who has been proud to be an American at least more than once in her life.
At this point I am leaning toward voting for Ralph Nader. I like Sara Palin and I don’t like waht the media is doing to her. it’s like watching a witch hunt from the dark ages.
Obama’s speech this morning even said “it’s a game we play…it’s a sport.”
Time to play a different sport Obama.
YOU HAVE LOST MY VOTE!!!!

For the last time: The context in which Obama used the “lipstick on a pig” figure of speech was purely about McCain’s policies. Palin wasn’t mentioned in the sentences before or after.
Her telling the lipstick and pit bull joke did not get her first right of refusal on all further uses of the word “lipstick” in the campaign.

So if Johnny McSame is so concerned about the sexism (after having started it with Hillary Clinton) why does this faux concern not translate to supporting equal pay for equal work laws? Let’s go to actual issues.

you have not reported todds response to mr obamas political posturing you quote here.
the unthankugram i heard about from todd to barack told him to mind his own business since he had aleady shown off his girls on oprah and other national media where they indicated their father was a whiner? you will have access to this exact info where i do not
thanks sincerely for reporting the exact quote.
sincerely, raymond