Shelter dogs
Friday, November 7th, 2008Is Sarah Palin Being Unfairly Scapegoated?
At a time when Republicans are pondering Senator John McCain’s decisive loss in the Presidential race against Democratic Senator Barack Obama and looking to assess what went wrong, a noisy battle is raging between McCain’s Veep pick Gov. Sarah Palin, the McCain camp and, some suggest, a more furtive campaign by supporters of former Gov. Mitt Romney to define Palin.
In an important sense, the no-rest-for-the-weary timing of this symbolic Republican battle with implications for 2012 is not shocking. Obama himself came under immediate attack from talk radio and Republicans via email almost nonstop since Wednesday morning (with one host running audio of Reverend Wright). So the end of a campaign now means a new one IMMEDIATELY begins — so an excruciating two year presidential election campaign has now morphed into to a dentist-drilling four-year one.
But now Palin — freed of her McCain handlers — is striking back.
In recent weeks, via leaks to the press and inside unnamed source material coming from Newsweek’s usual excellent comprehensive look at what really went on the campaign and some other reporters, lots of allegations have come out about Palin: that she didn’t know Africa was a continent, could not name the three countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement, shocked McCain operatives by going on a spending spree, was a political diva who made her own staffers cry and that she wanted to give a speech on election night that had to be nixed by McCain’s staffers. Etc.
The only thing she hasn’t been accused of yet was being asked about Mississippi and saying “The river or the state?”
But now Palin is having her say.
She finally got to talk to reporters in her Anchorage offices without access and comments being supervised by McCain staffers — and labeled her critics “jerks” and flatly denied the charges:
Ms. Palin spoke to reporters from several news organizations, including the Anchorage Daily News, defending herself from a slew of criticisms that have been aimed at her from unnamed McCain aides ever since the McCain-Palin ticket was defeated Tuesday.
She responded to a recent Fox News report that quoted anonymous McCain campaign staffers who said she did not know Africa was a continent, not a country, and could not name the three countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“If there are allegations based on questions or comments I made in debate prep about Nafta ? about the continent versus the country when we talk about Africa there ? then those were taken out of context. And that’s cruel, it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it taking things out of context, then tried to spread something on national news,” Ms. Palin said.
She has also denounced critics who claimed she happily ran up a big clothing tag at RNC expense:
“I never asked for anything more than a Diet Dr. Pepper once in a while,” Palin said as she returned to the governor’s office from her two-month odyssey as the GOP vice presidential nominee. She said the Republican National Committee paid for the tens of thousands of dollars in designer clothes and accessories.
“Those are the RNC’s clothes. They’re not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything,” she said.
Republican Party lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was purchased for Palin at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, what was returned and what has become of the rest.
What can be made of this? It is a fact — in professional journalism even moreso than in day to day life — that there are two sides to every story. The original allegations against Palin came out via insider stories or unnamed source revelations. There is nothing wrong about unnamed source revelations. But sources sometimes have motivations for giving reporters information. The original reports didn’t have big chunks of Palin’s response, since she was still basically handled by McCain’s staffers who are being accused of spreading the info about her now to deflect blame for McCain’s defeat on McCain, or, some say, on his judgment in picking her.
Criticism about McCain picking her comes mostly, though not exclusively, from Democrats and independents. Palin still seems to resonate well with many i …
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this is the week where most likely you are going to get the idea a lot of posts about how it’s your duty to vote. and i want to make as cleanse as practicable that i hold dear that we be enduring the right to vote. it is absolutely, without scepticism, an amazing privilege and freedom. i know that real blood was pour to make that right available to us. but as powerfully as i believe that i also on that we entertain in equal measure the right to abstain from voting.the freedom to vote gives us the gall, also, to not vote.i know people…smart, conscientous, compassionate, and socially aware people who resolve not vote by going to a ballot box. they will not vote because it is their shrewd belief not to. for many reasons. as a replacement for some, because there are too many conflicting moral issues, and they are unable in good conscience to cast a vote either distance. for others, because they believe by voting they are acting against their broad felt feelings of dependence. agree or squabble, i think it’s glorious that they attired in b be committed to that make right to opt not to against. four years ago, i originate myself unfit to be informed how to plebiscite. i was despairing and i talked it over with a friend from the uk. “i don’t even know if i can vote,” i said, “and still sleep at night.” at first he was shocked, but then he looked at me and said “well that’s what a democracy** is all about isn’t it? if neither of the candidates has inspired your trust than they’ve failed. it’s your right to not vote.”that was a life-changing jiffy for me. i have always felt like person should back up, it’s instilled in us from a innocent age in america that we should vote. the idea of not voting makes me have a funny feeling sick with guilt. yet, i have claimed it before on young issues i thought of little purport…why not the large issues, that include d arrive lots of press? people who don’t vote are often portrayed as lazy or apathetic…but i distinguish that’s simply not true. there are many reasons one might not vote. some people i value immensely do not desire support.i did vote four years ago, but i haven’t voted since. today pleasure be the end of a voting fast in which i examined why i vote and the role it plays in my get-up-and-go. i thought about how much faith i ignore in the political process and how much faith i put in my god. i examined my motives…(being motivated by guilt hardly seems a shapely reason to do anything.) and i’m ready to uphold again.the gadget with respect to freedom is that it has to be for every Tom in order for it to be worth anything. freedom of expression means i have to put up with hearing things i disagree with, even things that i hate. freedom of worship means if someone wants to worship big bird or not worship at all, they accept every right. the freedom to vote means that if someone chooses not to…that right is protected. so while i think it’s great to encourage people to take an active into a receive in the voting process (and we should it forward it on account of smaller elections, too) i will warn up for the right of those who choose not to preference according to conscience. at the end up of the day, we can solely counter-statement to our consciences. and the freedom to be able to act according to morality is a pulchritudinous thing indeed.**i have been reminded several times this week that we are not in truth a democracy, but a republic. these were his words, though, so i chose to keep them intact.
daylight savings habits 2008 is upon us again. that means we miss to fall back anyone hour in the early morning hours of sunday, november 2, 2008. many families in fact readjust their clocks on the evening before 
