By Steve Rhodes
I guess what has always separated me from the Obamaphiles is that I actually believe in his rhetoric, though I’ve never believed in him. I believe in an elevated form of new politics. That would be one that didn’t demonize, caricature and slime Sarah Palin no matter how passionately you disagreed with her political positions. The travails of her daughter are nobody’s business, and attempts to argue otherwise are just rationalizations from liberals on the attack. It would be one thing if Sarah Palin was pro-life in public but in private urged her daughter to get an abortion. Instead, her private actions seem to jibe perfectly with her public positions. And to make this about abstinence education is a laugh. I think abstinence education is a joke, but to make Bristol Palin an example of how it doesn’t work is absurd. For one thing, we don’t even know if Bristol Palin believes in abstinence; we only know her mother does. For another thing, people make mistakes. Finally, plenty of teenage girls go through the most sophisticated, smartest sex education classes ever devised by humankind and still end up pregnant. Barack Obama – whose mother was 18 when she had him – is right. If only his followers believed his words as much as I do.
Media Madness
How in the world do the “revelations” about Sarah Palin equate to a poor vetting job? To make that argument is to suggest that anyone with a pregnant teenage daughter or a spouse with a 20-year-old DUI ought to be disqualified for national office. If you used to snort cocaine and wrote about it in a book, though, that’s cool. And nevermind the sleazy lobbying record of the other vice presidential nominee’s son. This is sheer madness. Let’s judge Sarah Palin – and Barack Obama (D-Rezko) for godsakes – on their records, not their family dynamics.
BREAKING NEWS!
* Palin has acknowledged smoking pot! You would too if you were a hockey mom – and the hockey moms out there know what I mean.
* Palin hired a lawyer to defend herself against corruption charges! What, she should act as her own attorney? You know how many lawyers Obama is surrounded by?
* Her husband once “belonged” to a “fringe” political group in Alaska supporting secession from the United States given the proper circumstances. Like, if the U.S. Army attacked! How is this any different from the “fringe” associations of Obama?
* Palin sought “pork-barrel” projects! Really? Are all federally funded social service and infrastructure projects “pork-barrel?” Or just the ones that Obama sent to Romeoville, Peoria, and the University of Chicago?
* Richard Roeper is right.
God’s Ticket
“And Palin, in a videotape that the Huffington Post is showcasing, told her former congregation in June to pray for a new oil pipeline – ‘I think God’s will has to be done.'”
“Make me an instrument of your will.”
– Barack Obama’s prayer left in the Wailing Wall
“I think I have an ongoing conversation with God.”
– Barack Obama
“He’ll win if it’s meant to be.”
– Michelle Obama
Todd’s Tab
We’re paying it. Thanks, Barack!
School’s Out
A powerful scene at New Trier. Really, can’t we just bus the kids up there every day for school? Better yet, we could build some safe and affordable housing up there and transplant entire families. Then turn Chicago’s ghettos into Olympic staging areas.
The Daley Show
“Mayor Daley accused the Rev. James Meeks, the event organizer, of using children as political pawns by leading an opening-day boycott,” the Sun-Times account notes.
“Why don’t you do it in June? Why don’t you do it in July when they’re out? Why do you tell ’em not to go to school today? It’s very selfish,” Daley said.
At least Daley did it in June. (h/t: Rich Miller’s “Serious Hypocrisy Alert“)
Blago vs. Palin
“Cook Voters To Get Say On Recalling Blagojevich.”
“The Most Popular Governor.”
BREAKING!
“Documents Detail Palin’s Political Life.”
“The document, largely a collection of newspaper clippings on local issues with no major revelations about Palin, details her socially conservative views – she opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest, and supported an amendment to the Alaska Constitution to ban it – and also some of the exceptions to them. At one point, Palin supported mandatory education for teenagers about contraception, something that political insiders in both parties will find ironic in the wake of her 17-year-old daughter Bristol’s pregnancy and upcoming marriage.”
No major revelations! Shocking!
But what about these findings?
* “Palin Made a Bet With Her Husband About Whether Murkowski Would Get Into the Race – the Loser Had to Get a Tattoo. Palin told The Associated Press that she and her husband, Todd, made a bet on whether Murkowski would run. If the governor says he’ll enter the race, Palin has to get the Big Dipper tattooed on her ankle. If Murkowski says no, Todd gets a wedding ring inked on his finger.”
* “Palin Supported Penalties for Using Skateboards on Public or Private Property in Wasilla. Beginning Oct. 15 – after the expected opening of the $233,000 Wasilla Skate Park – skaters will be breaking the law if they use their skateboards, in-line skates, bicycles, scooters (or any other recreational, non-motorized wheeled device) on public or private property where signs are posted forbidding their use . . . In the ordinance approved Monday, the penalty for first-time violators of the ordinance is a written warning and the skate device may be confiscated for 10 calendar days. For a second offense, a $50 fine shall be paid and the skate device may be confiscated for 30 calendar days. A third-time offender will have to pay a $100 fine and will lose his or her skate device permanently.”
She built a skatepark and was up for a tattoo. Not bad, huh?
The Beachwood Tip Line: Metered.
Posted on September 3, 2008