I just finished the New York Times’ deeply disturbing overview of Sarah Palin’s record as mayor and governor.
I could go on and on, but I’ll simply quote Josh Marshall, who says that the article shows Palin to be —
a small-minded person who populates her administration with cronies and grade-school friends, fires those who dare to criticize her and uses the power of her office to pursue personal vendettas. In other words, someone in the habit of abusing official power who should not be let within a mile of being president.
That just about sums it up.
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But but but but that’s the *liberal* media Dan, so they can’t be taken seriously. You know, those East coast pointy headed intellectual liberal elites who don’t understand small town family values? *reads article* You mean there are Republicans in Alaska and friends of hers who don’t think she’s qualified either? The Times actually *talked* to people to get both sides of the story?Can you even imagine what Howie Carr would be doing to her if she were a Democrat given her record of personal vendettas and hiring unqualified friends for positions in government?
Dan, thanks for alerting readers to this article. I read it in this morning’s Seattle Times and hope that its message is absorbed by more than just us West Coast pointy headed intellectual liberal elites.By the way, I really count on getting this kind of cogent referrals from your blog. Thanks for keeping me (us) informed.
At least one of the candidates has a record of Executive experience that can be reviewed. Too bad the Dem candidate for the top job has no executive experience at all. US News and World Report columnist Michael Barone wrote it well today, “For more than a week we’ve seen the No. 1 person on the Democratic ticket argue that he’s better prepared than the No. 2 person on the Republican ticket. That’s not a winning argument even if you win it.”
o-f-l:I get it. Being an executive and showing horrendous judgment is better than no executive experience at all. That’s not a winning argument even if you win it.
Sarah Palin’s Alaska has a population about equal to Boston proper (560,000), with revenues many times greater due to the oil price increase windfall. I’ll bet that makes for some tough executive decisions during the budget process.
“[S]omeone in the habit of abusing official power who should not be let within a mile of being president.”Oh, you mean, like, George Bush?This is SOP for the GOP.
And now we find out that she did in fact ban two books, both about tolerance for gay people. Yup, it’s 4 more years of Bush– stifle anyone whose opinions disagree with yours. I’m sorry, but banning books is un-American, and even if she is opposed to gay rights, it’s a LIBRARY and people don’t have to read everything a library contains. This lady is very scary… I also wish she had spoken out against the speaker at her church who said suicide bombers are Divine pubishment because the Jews didn’t accept Jesus. If this had occurred at Rev. Wright’s church, my friends on the right would be outraged, just outraged I tell you. But to hold Gov. Palin to the same standard? Not so much
Apologies. I got the population number for Alaska incorrect. According to the US Census Bureau, the 2006 estimate for Alaska is 670,053, not 560,000, and Boston, 590,763. The new numbers are still close enough to make a comparison.
Devorah: What’s your reference on the two books.I have been following this very, very carefully, and I have not seen anything as specific as that.
The weird thing about the “In what respect, Charlie?” comment is that the Repug talking point on it is that the Bush Doctrine morphed from one thing to another (lol, Like the justification for war?), and that Charlie Gibson described only the “original” one, so he didn’t know what it meant either.But amazingly, they are so focused on the “press is out to get her” theme, that none of them posit her answer as an indication that she understood there were multiple versions; that in itself is an indication that she was not prepped to answer the question the way she did.If her preppers had instructed her to answer the way she did, you would have heard them talking about how she’s smarter than Charlie Gibson, rather than people like Krauthammer and George Will claiming to be regular guys who don’t know what the Bush Doctrine is either.It’s clear that, whether it was intentional or not, the McCain campaign felt that they would have enough time to “brand” Palin before shit started coming out.They’ve been successful in firing up the base. Besides her “God’s on our side” ‘tude, she also is a brazen liar, and the Repug base loves that.Remember how when Dole lost to Bush I in NH in 1988, how his “stop lying about my record” comment didn’t go over well in the rest of the Repug primaries.So the “L” word is a tricky thing for the Obama campaign to whip out, but looks like they’re going to do it (via McCaskill on ABC this morning), and good for them.If you’re going to do it, though, ya need to be specific, ya can’t just start using it as a mantra.
What is so amazing to me is that anyone … ANYONE … is shocked that “Once Elected, Pline Hired Friends and Lashed Foes …” Hello? What mayor, governor, etc., hasn’t “hired friends” after being elected and “lashed foes”? My Lord. Menino anyone? Celluch? Romney? Patrick? Give me a break. Politics is a combat sport. This stuff happens EVERYWHERE!
The difference may be that the population in Alaska is so small and insular that the choices to fill positions are limited, and without requirements to the contrary, office holders fall back into small, familiar patterns to fill jobs. Also, their way of conducting business is probably also affected by those same isolated lifelong associations. Crudely put, they don’t know any better, and don’t have much choice in the matter.
acf: There just had to be someone with more experience than “I like cows.”And look at the results.
For Liamstliam– my source on one of the 2 books she tried to ban was the author of one– he is a liberal pastor who wrote a book about being tolerant of gay people. His story is on salon.com and his name is Rev. Howard Bess. He spoke about how the one bookstore willing to carry his book had to drop it too because of all the threats and hate mail to the bookstore owner and to him. The other place I read about the two books was within the past day or so, and I believe it was on Talkingpointsmemo.com, but I’ll go check. The other banned book was “Daddy’s Roomate.”
Am I the only one who sees Sarah Palin and thinks Jane Swift?
No. Jane Swift has more experience than Sarah Palin.
Amused: Jane Swift was shunted aside in favor of Mitt Romney. Romney was shunted aside in favor of Sarah Palin. So at least there’s a cosmic connection. And, for Romney, karma.
Am I the only one who sees Sarah Palin and thinks Lady Macbeth?
Just FYI: The Washington Post did a similar Palin story yesterday as well.
a small-minded person who populates her administration with cronies and grade-school friends, fires those who dare to criticize her and uses the power of her office to pursue personal vendettas. In other words, someone in the habit of abusing official power who should not be let within a mile of being president.Ever take a close look at Cook County family politics?
a small-minded person who populates her administration with cronies and grade-school friends, fires those who dare to criticize her and uses the power of her office to pursue personal vendettas. In other words, someone in the habit of abusing official power who should not be let within a mile of being president.Ever take a close look at Cook County family politics? I’d like nothing more than to layout Palin’s Alaska and Obama’s “friends-and-family” plan with Todd ‘the Toddler” Stroger (son of his predessor on the Cook Cnty Board) and Emil Jones (Obama’s mentor in Springfield) and his son Emil “ThreeMil” Jones III just slated by the Cook County Reg Dem Org to replace the old man on the ballot.Democrats practice Family Politics with a vengence and as Old Man Daley said, there is nothing wrong with it…….bring this comparison on. The GOP will cream Obama with it.
Need a laugh. try http://www.palinfacts.com/ I would submit one of my own: While Al Gore may have invented the Internet Sarah Palin is the sole moderator and can shut it down at any time.
So suddenly Obama *has* the executive experience where he fired people he perceived as disloyal and hired his high school friends into positions they weren’t qualified for? But I thought Obama never had responsibilities like that. If you’re going to tar Obama with Cook County, then Palin gets hung with the entire Alaska Congressional delegation.I say bring it on too, because all it reminds people is that Palin behaves just like the current GOP administration and represents more of the same….
Ms. Lane -“If you’re going to tar Obama with Cook County, then Palin gets hung with the entire Alaska Congressional delegation.”Did Obama ever recruit and endorse an opponent to a sitting corrupt Congressional Democrat? Because Palin did find and back a primary challanger to Don Young.About the books – TPM is hardly unbiased, and I’d be interested to know – did the hate mail the minister receive came from Palin? If not, why is she blamed?BTW – yes, you ARE the only one to see Lady Macbeth. You seem to have many such unique experiences, and tout them as factual.
Politics as usual. Surprise!
Color me impressed PP. Palin worked the Alaska Congressional delegation for earmarks, jobs, and every other meager accomplishment she’s had in her career. I will give her credit for being able to sell out her friends when expedient–it’s a trait that will serve her well in her career.”You seem to have many such unique experiences, and tout them as factual.”Okay Mr. “Trans fats only exist because of progressive goo-goo’s, convinced the world needed saving from rancidity.”
Well, Palin reminds me of George Bush, but without the educational and familial pedigrees. If that’s what a majority of our electorate prefers, I’m not sure where that leaves the rest of us. Under Bush, good will for us abroad has been squandered, our economy is a mess, in no small part due to unregulated financial profiteering on the backs of people encouraged to buy homes they could not afford … I think the most worrisome thing is the lack of ability to respond to the feedback and adjust policies accordingly — Cheney shaking his fist at Russia of late is just one example.
Any local administrator, mayor or governor would try to get as many dollars from the federal government to pay for projects they would like to see done. That’s and accepted fact. The Big Dig would never have taken place without it. OTOH, trying to burnish a thin resume and curry favor with an anti government crowd by claiming, crowing even, that you are anti pork, and opposed a notorious, discredited pork project such as the Bridge to Nowhere is something else, entirely. Hypocrisy doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Did Obama ever recruit and endorse an opponent to a sitting corrupt Congressional Democrat?Todd Stroger… Alexi Ginnialius……and then of course it was Tony Rezko who recruited Obama. And Emil Jones, ComEd’s man in Springfield, who took him under his wing in the State Senate.The boodlers in Illinois ran Obama a lot more than Obama ran the boodlers. It wasn’t till he fill into the Senate seat that he turned around and endoresed Todd Stroger and unearthed Alexi G.Believe me… you want to take a campaign down this road… especially with an indictment very possible on Gov Blagojevich before Nov… go for it…Chicago ain’t ready for reform and Obama’s got a long record with the heavy hitters here…. and except for Lisa Madigan, it’s a decidely macho-male bunch… with lots of talk of who has balls etc… Google Blagojevich and testiculear virility. Illinois Democrats are a colossal embarressment on many levels
Bill, as you are completely aware, the former Gov. Jim Thompson sat on his hands while chairing Hollinger Corp., whose head is headed for jail because of fiscal shenanigans that screwed ordinary shareholders and that directors like Thompson were supposed to catch, and (tried to) interfere with Fitzgerald’s investigation of ex Gov Ryan, who is now sitting in the big house. Republicans both.So any criticisms you have of the Illinois Democrats pale in regards to the outright felonies committed by their counterparts. The bigger issue, of course, if Old Man McCain lacks the judgment to handle the presidency. Over time, he alienates just about everyone. His so-called reforms of the DoD spending are the equivalent of Warren Buffet pinching a few pennies. He is looked down upon by the ranking generals. He has a horrendous personal track record, from the lackadasial effort in school to all the wives and questionable finances etc. Politics means getting along. He doesn’t get along with anyone. Oh, and he wants to spend even more of your money to protect the oil interests of George Bush’s friends.Real stellar guy.
**And now we find out that she did in fact ban two books, both about tolerance for gay people.*****Devorah: What’s your reference on the two books.***Reference? Why, do you want to let the truth get in the way of a good smear?Just keep repeating it, true or not! The thing about smears, they work even if they aren’t true!Right Dan?