The 2008 Presidential Campaign (was Obama Phenomenon 2)

[The Watcher]

I know what I would do if I were Powell, which is just what I think he will do.



Hey, I would love it if he DID go out for Obama, but I do not myself see Powell doing that. I think he will remain silent, myself. He may secretly support Obama, or more so someone like HRC, but, I do not see him trying to harm McCain in this election.

Heck, I have been wrong before, lots of times!!

[narya]

It would be interesting if narya could give some perspective seeing as she lived in Alaska for many years...but I'm not sure if she's reading this forum anymore?

Well yes, I do pop into The Hall, but rarely. And I seldom venture into political threads. Actually, I just did a search for my name to see if anyone mentioned me. Thanks for remembering me.

I did spend little time reading the VP thread because this Palin character interests me, and all I can say is "my eyes, my eyes, it burnssss....." I don't believe I've ever seen such a caustic thread in this self-proclaimed bastion of civility.

Can I shed some light on her from personal experience? No. I escaped from Alaska 3 years ago (as of next Tuesday) and at that time, she was the mayor of a sleepy little bump-in-the-road suburb 30 miles from Anchorage. I don't recall reading anything about her in the paper other than that she was elected.

Maybe not such a bad idea. A friend of mine who taught in Alaska for several years tells horror stories about what alcoholism is doing to some of the isolated villages—many of the kids had FAS, .

One quarter of the kids, so I've heard, have fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effect, which includes developmental delays and inappropriate understanding of personal boundaries. The ravages of alcohol on the Alaska Native population are horrific. It is a form of genocide. Governors come and go, and all sorts of important people wring their hands, but nothing has been done to stop the blight. The Anchorage Daily News won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for documenting "A People in Peril". They are still in peril.

As for whom Catholics should vote for, they should vote for someone who is truly pro-life. Someone who does not advocate killing unborn babies, prisoners on death row, or large numbers of Iraqis. Someone who stands up for the dignity of all humans, regardless of their wherewithall to make a political contribution. Someone who says "right-to-life" includes "right-to-the-basic-healthcare-needed-to-stay-alive", regardless of whether or not you are working or can afford health insurance.

Unfortunately, we Catholics have no one to vote for.

From my point of view, the Democratic party is the closest to Pro-Life of any of the parties I'm familiar with, so I'll be voting for Obama.

I'm reading Obama's "Dreams from my Father", that he wrote back in 1995. Having grown up in a multi-cultural family (White, Alaska Native, Latino), I can relate to what he went through. Though as an "apparent" all-white person, I didn't have to deal with it every day, as he did, as an "apparent" all-black person raised in a white culture. I'd like to think that the multi-cultural background he has will serve him well in dealing with the world, not in the way that the "black and white" (sorry for the pun) thinking of others has gotten us into so many messy conflicts. If you are entirely in one camp, it is easy to have an "us" vs "them" mentality, and easy to justify doing inhuman things to "them" if you have dehumanized "them". Hitler did this sort of polarizing superbly. And we did it with the Japanese during WWII. But if you have one foot in the "us" camp and one foot in the "them" camp, then life gets much more complicated.

Sorry if this has been discussed before. I have not read all 143 pages of this thread. Please carry on.

[Teremia]

[narya, has it really been three years? I think from time to time of the enormous courage you showed in making this move, and I'm amazed all over again. ]

and, more topically, thank you for reminding us of a different sort of "Alaska" than the one we've been hearing about the last couple of weeks.

[vison]

Thanks for chiming in, narya.

Everything you say about the native people in Alaska is true about the native people in Canada - well, why wouldn't it be? They're the same people. And the various state, provincial, and national governments treat them the same way . . .

I was thinking of you again the other day, as I looked at Vanaladiel's wedding picture, remember our lovely visit at the Denny's in Mt. Vernon. In one way it seems like last week, but in another it's part of that year, and I don't have a good grasp on the time of that year, what with one thing and another.

[vison]

Jack Layton? Well, he's got about as much chance of being PM as I have.

I can't abide Stephen Harper, but I think Dion is an inept ninny. Besides, the Tory MP in our riding has about the safest seat in Canada and I can't imagine what would have to happen for him to lose to a Liberal!!

It's weird. BC won't return many Liberals (to put it mildly) but our provincial government calls itself "Liberal" and is really Conservative . . .

Canadian politics are so different from American and who cares? I don't even care that much.

[Nin]

Narya, I like your definition of pro-life. It's the first which I find bearable.

I read this thread, but abstain from comment.

[WampusCat]

narya for president!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Gallup now has McCain up by 3 points.

[sauronsfinger]

And unless the Dems quickly counter this with some strong defining of who the opposition is, I am afraid this is merely the shape of things to come.

Here we are in some of the worst economic times in decades and the Dems have somehow, someway permitted this election to be defined by the Republicans and their biographical storyline.

Interesting stories this morning on NPR - one of which was on Sarah Palin as seen by a journalist from Alaska.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=94365311

He mentioned that when she ran for governor she was not big on policy and issues but instead ran on her own personality and story.

[Primula Baggins]

It's McCain's convention bounce. It may move higher in the next couple of days. But they usually don't last; we'll see what happens through the coming week.

The Rasmussen tracking poll has them tied, also a bounce for McCain.

[anthriel]

You don't want to face tough questions from an experienced host who's an admitted backer of the other candidate—not unless you're confident and fast on your feet. She's safe in Alaska and not talking to the press because, clearly, she doesn't want to do that (or the campaign doesn't want her to).

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5747205&page=1

Here's an article where it says Palin will interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson. I don't know much about him-- is he known as a hardnose interviewer?

I was glad to see Obama interview with OReilly. Although Hillary was the one who was taking NONE of it from old Bill. That was a fun interview to watch.

BTW, this article also says Palin was campaigning in New Mexico today (Sept 7th, Sunday). I guess she isn't safely in Alaska right now (or did you not mean physically?)?

As for the criticism of her not being available for interviews, I think she will be. She has only been on the public radar for what-- less than two weeks? She did have that big convention in the meanwhile, with other trips in there, as well.

I don't think she'll be one for keeping a low profile.

[vison]

Not so sure, though:

You gotta be deferential to this lady or you don't get to talk to her.

[sauronsfinger]

The ABC news article does not indicate on which program the interview will take place, what its length will be or if there is a specific subject. Hopefully, those details will be forthcoming.

Anthriel - you ask if he is a hardnosed interviewer. He can be when he wants to be. I personally do not care for his manner or style. And I keep coming back to his disgraceful moderator job he did with George Stephanopolous in the big Obama - Clinton debate. Since that debacle, I cannot even watch his evening newscast and avoid it intentionally.

[Primula Baggins]

They did change her plans, didn't they? She's getting some chances to deliver her stump speech.

As for the interview, a pre-taped, edited sit-down with a single star journalist who is not hostile (as O'Reilly was to Obama, as Olbermann would probably be to McCain) is not the same as appearing on Meet the Press, or as a press conference, or as taking questions from reporters at a campaign stop. The campaign will have a great deal of control over what she's asked, I have no doubt; she'll come across very well, I have no doubt. And I don't think Charlie Gibson will be hard on her. They want access; they'll pay what it takes.

[narya]

You don't want to face tough questions from an experienced host who's an admitted backer of the other candidate—not unless you're confident and fast on your feet. She's safe in Alaska and not talking to the press because, clearly, she doesn't want to do that (or the campaign doesn't want her to).

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5747205&page=1

The most important thing that hit me when I read this article was, of course WHY ISN'T SHE WEARING AN AMERICAN FLAG PIN????/////:P

[vison]

Well, in 4 or 5 months it's entirely possible that this woman could be POTUS, and she can't even appear now to answer questions unless the event is scripted.

Hm. What if that phone rings at 3:00 am?

And, do you know, someone said to me, "Oh, she'll be up anyway, nursing the baby."


It is to laff.

[Túrin Turambar]

Anyone seen the latest jibjab animation, 'Time for some campaignin''? it's a couple of months old now but should show up on the sidebar on that page.

[yovargas]

I think someone posted that a while ago and just like last time I at Obama's part.

[halplm]

I laugh when I see people complaining about Palin avoiding the press... what has Obama been doing for months now?

He finally sat down with O'Reilly, and I'm interested to see if he answered the questions well over the next few days... and how much he's changed positions again.

I'm astonished at the polls coming out. USAToday has McCain up by 10 in likely voters:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/e ... poll_N.htm

I never would have thought he'd get that big of a bounce. I don't think that will stick, but things seem a lot different than two weeks ago.

[anthriel]

You don't want to face tough questions from an experienced host who's an admitted backer of the other candidate—not unless you're confident and fast on your feet. She's safe in Alaska and not talking to the press because, clearly, she doesn't want to do that (or the campaign doesn't want her to).

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5747205&page=1

The most important thing that hit me when I read this article was, of course WHY ISN'T SHE WEARING AN AMERICAN FLAG PIN????/////:P