Bluebelle

Jack Cafferty: Palin should "scare the hell outta you"

From The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (9/26/2008):

CAFFERTY: There's a reason the McCain campaign keeps Governor Sarah Palin away from the press. I want to play an excerpt from an interview that Palin did with the "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric where she was asked about the bailout package. Listen to this.

     (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE COURIC, "CBS EVENING NEWS": Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries, allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy, instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping -- Oh, it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes, and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans.

And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today.

We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

     (END VIDEO CLIP)

    

CAFFERTY: [stares at camera for a few withering seconds in silence]

Did you get that? If John McCain wins, this woman will be one 72-year-old's heartbeat away from being president of the United States. And if that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should. [. . . .]

I'm 65 and have been covering politics, as have you, for a long time. That is one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen for someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country.

[shrugs] That's all I have to say.

BLITZER: Yeah, but she's cramming a lot of information --   

CAFFERTY:  There's no excuse for that.  She's supposed to know a little bit of this.  You know, don't make excuses for her.  That's pathetic.

BLITZER:  It was not her best answer.  I agree with you on that. 

Compare and contrast

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, with Amy Poehler as Katie Couric:

POEHLER AS COURIC: "On foreign policy, I want to give you one more chance to explain your claim that you have foreign policy experience based on Alaska's proximity to Russia. What did you mean by that?"

FEY AS PALIN: "Well, Alaska and Russia are only separated by a narrow maritime border. (using her hands to illustrate) You got Alaska here, this right here is water, and this is Russia. So, we keep an eye on them."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "And how do you do that exactly?"

FEY AS PALIN: "Every morning, when Alaskans wake up, one of the first things they do, is look outside to see if there are any Russians hanging around. And if there are, you gotta go up to them and ask, 'What are you doing here?' and if they can't give you a good reason, it's our responsibility to say, you know, 'Shoo! Get back over there!'

POEHLER AS COURIC: "Senator McCain attempted to shut down his political campaign this week in order to deal with the economic crisis. What's your opinion of this potential 700 billion dollar bailout?"

FEY AS PALIN: "Like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this. We're saying, 'Hey, why bail out Fanny and Freddie and not me?' But ultimately what the bailout does is, help those that are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy to help...uh...it's gotta be all about job creation, too. Also, too, shoring up our economy and putting Fannie and Freddy back on the right track and so healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reigning in spending...'cause Barack Obama, y'know...has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans, also, having a dollar value meal at restaurants. That's gonna help. But one in five jobs being created today under the umbrella of job creation. That, you know...Also..."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "What lessons have you learned from Iraq and how specifically, would you spread democracy abroad?"

FEY AS PALIN: "Specifically, we would make every effort possible to spread democracy abroad to those who want it."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "Yes, but specifically what would you do?"

FEY AS PALIN: "We're gonna promote freedom.  Usher in democratic values and ideals.  And fight terror-loving terrorists."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "But again, and not to belabor the point.  One specific thing."

(several seconds of FEY and POEHLER staring at each other)

FEY AS PALIN: "Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "I'm sorry?"

FEY AS PALIN: "I want to phone a friend."

POEHLER AS COURIC: "You don't have any lifelines."

FEY AS PALIN: "Well in that case I'm gonna just have to get back to you!"

Sarah Palin as Sarah Palin, with Katie Couric as Katie Couric:

On Alaska being next to Russia, and therefore somehow having something to do with national security: see this post.

On the economic crisis, and inexplicably, several other issues:

Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin is either really funny because it was so close to Palin's actual interview, or it was really terrifying because the sketch and the actual interview were nearly identical.

"And I can see Russia from my house", round 2

Oh dear heavens.

Obviously, I think Palin is a terrible choice for VP, especially considering that she'd be the next in line after McCain (age 72 with a history of recurring cancer). Even putting that aside, this interview is phenomenally bad.

I actually started to feel sorry for Palin. She's in waaay over her head. Maybe if she had another 5-10 years, she'd be ready to run on a national ticket, but this came much too early for her.

Watch CBS Videos Online

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

McCain's not having a good week. (I know this happens every week, but this week is particularly bad.)

So McCain freaked out today and decided that he wants to postpone/cancel the first presidential debate (potentially causing $5.5 million in economic ramifications) ...and postpone or cancel the VP debate....ostensibly because there's economic turmoil on Wall Street.

Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org puts McCain's proposal to suspend the debates in perspective:

So, because there's a financial crisis, Senator McCain cannot take 90 minutes to address how he will face challenges around the world, including how and when he will send American troops to fight, and possibly die.

Wow.  Troops would sure love that luxury.

Unfortunately, though, insurgents in Iraq don't stop shooting at us, or setting IEDs, because our Commander in Chief needs a breather to figure out Wall Street.

 

McCain also postpones his campaign (whatever THAT means), cancels his appearance on David Letterman tonight by claiming that he had to get to DC right away, and then goes over to Katie Couric's studio (in NYC) and films a live interview. Dave wasn't too happy about that.

 

In COMPLETELY UNRELATED news:

McCain is behind Obama by 9 points in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, by 3 points in the latest Gallup poll, and by 6 points (45-39) in the latest Fox News poll. (Oops! Edited to add latest Time/CNN poll, which shows Obama making signficant ground in swing states.)

Again, that's COMPLETELY UNRELATED.

 

Laura Bush says Palin doesn't have foreign policy experience (direct quote: "Of course she doesn't have that.")

 

Campbell Brown snaps:

Frankly I have had it, and I know a lot of other women out there who are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end.

She was in New York on Tuesday meeting with world leaders at the U.N. And what did the McCain campaign do?

They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking Gov. Palin any questions.

I call upon the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment.

This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong, she is tough, she is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff.   

Allow her to face down those pesky reporters just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today. Just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions.

By treating Sarah Palin differently from other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves.

Free Sarah Palin.

Free her from the chauvinistic chains you are binding her with.

Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. 

So let her act like one.

     

And Sarah "Flailin' Palin" flails again:

Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

(Shouldn't she be able to answer that question? God, this was a painful interview -- even worse than the one she did with Charlie Gibson. Yeah.)

 

In summary -- not a good week for McCain . . . and that's only through Wednesday.

Ha.

Conservatives are committing mutiny (or, "Republicans now eating their own")

From David Brooks at the NYT:

In the current Weekly Standard, Steven Hayward argues that the nation’s founders wanted uncertified citizens to hold the highest offices in the land. They did not believe in a separate class of professional executives. They wanted rough and rooted people like Palin.

I would have more sympathy for this view if I hadn’t just lived through the last eight years. For if the Bush administration was anything, it was the anti-establishment attitude put into executive practice.

And the problem with this attitude is that, especially in his first term, it made Bush inept at governance. It turns out that governance, the creation and execution of policy, is hard. It requires acquired skills. Most of all, it requires prudence.

Ouch. I certainly wasn't expecting that from David Brooks, but kudos to him for valuing the truth over party loyalty.

Richard Cohen in the Washington Post writes:

Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised. [. . . .]

I am one of the journalists accused over the years of being in the tank for McCain. Guilty. 

[. . . .]

What impressed me most about McCain was the effect he had on his audiences, particularly young people. When he talked about service to a cause greater than oneself, he struck a chord. He expressed his message in words, but he packaged it in the McCain story -- that man, beaten to a pulp, who chose honor over freedom. This had nothing to do with access. It had to do with integrity.

McCain has soiled all that.

I guess Cohen doesn't plan on attending any more of McCain's legendary BBQ cookouts for the press. Then again, I doubt that he'd be invited again.

To top it all off, McCain himself got McSnarky with Mika Brzezinski on today's Morning Joe.

Sam Stein at the Huffington Post writes about the exchange here:

Most glaringly, McCain openly sparred with Brzezinski, whom he accused of being an open supporter of Obama. Asked by the host to assess whether an ad attacking him on the economy was out of bounds, McCain replied:

"I'll leave that for the American people to decide. I still say to you, and I know you are a supporter of Senator Obama, if you would urge him to come and do town all meetings with me as I have asked him to do time after time the whole tenor of the campaign would change."

The charge created an awkward and tense environment for the rest of the segment, with Brzezinski forced to note (as she has done in the past) that one of her brothers works for the McCain campaign (another brother works for Obama, and her father was once an adviser).

"Senator," she said, "as a characterized Barack Obama supporter, I take objection. I'll just say, take care of my brother working at the campaign."

"Thanks," replied McCain, "that was a cheap shot."

No, Mittens isn't looking ahead to 2012 . . . of course not!

Wow, when someone as unctuous as Mitt Romney blasts McCain for lying, you know it's bad.

I think Senator McCain was called for what everyone has said is a false accusation. The New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, Bill Bennett -- everybody is saying what he said is simply wrong, reprehensible. I think it was a huge mistake on his part. He wants to stick with it, so he is going to take the shots for it, as long as he is doing that. I think people are going to say, "What is the heart and soul of the Republican Party going forward?"

Now for the fun tidbit: This video is from 1/31/08. Still is perfectly usable though, isn't it? It shows that McCain still hasn't kicked his Pinocchio habit.

The gloves are OFF

Now THIS is an attack ad.

Script:

Barack: I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.

Words on screen: John McCain, then

Video clip of McCain: "I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land."

Announcer: What's happened to John McCain?

He's running "the sleaziest ads ever." "Truly vile." "Dishonest smears." That he repeats even after its been "exposed as a lie". "Truth be damned." A "disgraceful, dishonorable campaign."

After voting with Bush 90% of the time . . . proposing the same disastrous economic policies . . .

It seems "deception" is all he has left.

SMACK!

"And I can see Russia from my house!"

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:

PALIN: Good evening, my fellow Americans. I was so excited when I was told Senator Clinton and I would be addressing you tonight.

CLINTON: And I was told I would be addressing you alone.

PALIN: Now I know it must be a little bit strange for all of you to see the two of us together, what with me being John McCain’s running mate…

CLINTON: And me being a fervent supporter of Senator Barack Obama, as evidenced by this button.

PALIN: But tonight, we are crossing party lines to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign.

CLINTON: An issue that I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about.

PALIN: You know, Hillary and I don’t agree on everything…

CLINTON: Anything…I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.

PALIN: And I can see Russia from my house.

CLINTON: I believe global warming is caused by man…

PALIN: And I believe it’s just God huggin’ us closer.

CLINTON: I don’t agree with the Bush Doctrine…

PALIN: (giggling) And I don’t know what that is.

I *heart* Tina Fey. (And Amy Poehler too!)

Obama Strikes Back (or "Campaign Ads: Now with Facts!")

I was hopeful when I heard that the Obama campaign pledged last week to unveil a new, aggressive, hard-hitting tone against McCain's disgraceful attacks. However, I was skeptical because I didn't think Obama would really be effective with the counter-punches. (I have long believed that Obama's strength in governing is being unflappable, cool-headed, and willing to listen to all sides of an issue, but thought that this attribute was more of a liability in campaigning because it probably prevented him from being an attack dog.)

I am happy to say that I was wrong. Break out the old-school Batman sound effects, because Obama's fighin' back!

"THE SAME" (This one is a couple of weeks old, but it's still good!)

Announcer: "They share the same out of touch attitude. The same failure to understand the economy. The same tax cuts for huge corporations and the wealthiest one percent. The same questionable ties to lobbyists. The same plan to spend ten billion a month in Iraq when we should be rebuilding America.

Mr. McCain: "I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues."

Announcer: "We just can’t afford more of the same."

"STILL"

Announcer: 1982. John McCain goes to Washington. Things have changed in the last 26 years. But McCain hasn’t. 



Source: New York Times, 7/13/08

He admits he still doesn’t know how to use a computer, can’t send an email. 

 


Boston Globe, 12/18/07


Still doesn’t understand the economy.

 


Tax Policy
Center, Analysis of Candidates' Tax Plans, 8/15/08


And favors two hundred billion in new tax cuts for corporations, but almost nothing for the Middle Class. 



After one President who was out of touch... We just can’t afford more of the same. 

 




Barack: I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message. 


"IT'S OVER"

McCain: It's over! It's over for the special interests!

Announcer: Wait a second. John McCain’s chief adviser lobbies for oil companies even from Russia and China.

His campaign manager lobbies for corporations outsourcing American jobs.

The campaign chairman he picked last year — a bank lobbyist.

If seven of McCain’s top advisers are lobbyists, who do you think will run his White House?

John McCain. We just can’t afford more of the same.

Barack: I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.

Announcer: His campaign is run by lobbyists.

Now we find out McCain’s White House will be lobbyist-run too.

McCain just picked a Washington super lobbyist to plan his administration.

A "consummate insider" who lobbies for oil companies. The credit card industry.

Corporate special interests rigging the system against hard working Americans...pushing failed Bush economics. Does that sound like change to you?

We just can’t afford more of the same.

"REAL CHANGE"

Barack: We've heard a lot of talk about change this election. The question is..change to what? To me, change is a government that doesn't let banks and oil companies rip off the American people. Change is when we finally fix healthcare, instead of just talking about it. Change is giving tax breaks to middle class families, instead of companies that send jobs overseas. Change is a president who brings people together. I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message, because this year, change has to be more than a slogan.

And my favorite, from a statement released by the campaign this weekend:

"We will take no lectures from John McCain who is cynically running the sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern Presidential campaign history. His discredited ads with disgusting lies are running all over the country today. He runs a campaign not worthy of the office he is seeking."

BAM! ZING! POW! SNAP!

UPDATE: In response to Karl Rove's comments about the McCain campaign using ads that don't pass the "100% truth test", the Obama campaign released this statement:

In case anyone was still wondering whether John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest campaign in history, today Karl Rove - the man who held the previous record - said McCain's ads have gone too far.

UPDATE: Another statement from the Obama campaign:

"The McCain campaign said Governor Palin opposed the Bridge to Nowhere, but now we know she supported it. They said she didn't seek earmarks, but now we know she hired a lobbyist to get millions in pork for her town and her state. They said she visited Iraq, but today we learned that she only stopped at the border. Americans are starting to wonder, is there anything the McCain campaign isn't lying about?"