The Problems with Palin

When it comes to the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate, I'm with David Frum...I think it's an irresponsible choice that could (will?) come back to haunt McCain.

Of course, there are scurrilous charges that have no merit. Of course, there is media bias. But here are some details that are coming out that are issue-based, and much more troubling to me:

She favored many earmarks as Mayor that John McCain specifically criticized (reformer? or opportunist?)
She favored the "Bridge to Nowhere" before she opposed it
She said in an address to her church that the Natural Gas Pipeline was a "task from God" and that people should "pray for it" (yes, it's the Huffington Post...but they have video)

My take:

I think it's clear she was a rash choice. I'm not at all comfortable with her as VP. I would strongly have preferred someone like Romney, Pawlenty, Cantor, even Mike Huckabee to her. I think (and I get no pleasure from saying this) that this choice will hand the election to Obama.

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Bill Clinton: 'Screw It, I'm Running For President'

This is a hilarious article from "The Onion"...and, as with all satire, has a sprinkle of truth...here is a snippet: Although some have pointed out that it is unconstitutional for Clinton to run for a third term in office, he has silenced most critics by urging voters "not to worry about the Constitution for now" and assuring them he will address those legal issues immediately after regaining control of the White House. "All I am asking of the American people is four more years," Clinton said at a fundraiser Tuesday where tens of thousands of South Carolinians gathered to stare in gape-jawed wonderment at the former president. "Well, maybe eight. Actually, you know what, definitely eight. Eight more years."

Negative ads

Questioner mentioned Gordon Smith's offer to stop negative ads on both sides. Merkley - "I don't have negative ads, I have ISSUE ads." Audience laughed - I don't think Merkley was trying to be funny. Bad moment for Merkley.

U.S. Tax Rates Compared to the rest of the world–a.k.a “U.S. Corporations are not the evil empire”

Below is a graph showing our tax rates compared to the rest of the industrialized world (taken from Wikipedia): Two things to note: Our personal income taxes are not as bad as some anti-tax zealots would have you believe…they are lower than most. Our corporate rates, however, are horrific. They are higher than any other industrialized country save Japan. Lesson to be learned: it’s easy for politicians to sell lower taxes for individuals. Much harder to sell lower rates for corporations. And very easy for liberals to paint corporations as getting off easy (the “big, bad conglomerate” schtick). However, it’s just not true. “Facts are stubborn things.” - John Adams

Oregon Elephant

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