Straight Talk

Maybe it's me, but...
Isn’t it time for a little “straight talk” about Sarah Palin?

I find it disturbing that John McCain chose her as a running mate having met her only once, and it would appear that she was not vetted for this nation’s second highest job.

In light of the material stated below, I find it terrifying to think that Sarah Palin may hold any elected office – let alone a position that could put her in direct sight of the presidency. Read on, then tell me, can you put any faith in this person?

When you are aware of the fact that McCain had met Sarah Palin only once prior to selecting her as a running mate, is there any way that you can deny why she was chosen? Sarah Palin was selected for one reason only -she is a reasonably presentable woman who might pull the Hilary Clinton voters. It’s a transparent effort on behalf of a very typical – and very dangerous - politician.

As reported by Mark Murray on August 29, 2008 on the MSNBC website.
See: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/29/1307122.aspx

The tick-tock from McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker:
"John McCain first met Governor Sarah Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February of 2008 and came away extraordinarily impressed. John McCain followed her career and admired her tenacity and her many accomplishments."

And among her accomplishments?

Abusing her office to avenge her sister –
“In naming her as his vice presidential running mate Friday, Sen. John McCain hailed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as “someone who has fought against corruption.” But Palin is under two ethics investigations springing from accusations that she abused her office to pursue a personal grudge.”

The investigations are reviewing the same accusation: that she dismissed the state’s top law enforcement official (Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan ) because of his refusal to fire a state trooper in a dispute that predated her election in 2006.

Monegan told NBC affiliate KTUU of Anchorage that he thought it was likely that he had been dismissed because he resisted pressure from Palin’s staff and husband to fire the trooper, who was involved in a bitter custody battle with the governor’s sister after their divorce in 2005.

Redecorating her office with public money –
(See: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10506822?source=rss)
“... she broke the law by spending $55,000 of road maintenance funds, without the {city} council's permission.

"When I braced her about that, her response, and I will never forget it, is 'I'm the mayor and I can do anything I want until the courts say I can't,'" he (Nick Charney} recalls.

Political debts;
Carney watched as Palin fired many of the long-serving city employees, including the librarian, police chief and museum manager. She hired the former lawyer for the Alaska Republican Party to be the new city attorney. He said she was simply repaying political debts.

"Always, her first question is: 'How is this decision going to affect me and my administration. It was never, 'Is this the best thing for the city of Wasilla?'" said Carney.

The McCain campaign defends Palin's tenure as mayor and boasted of her accomplishments.

Religious beliefs and banning books?
see: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html
Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

Couric v. Palin: Huh?
See: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml
Couric asked about the $700 billion government bailout of bad debt - and whether she supports it.

Palin: I'm all about the position that America is in and that we have to look at a $700 billion bailout. And as Sen. McCain has said unless this nearly trillion dollar bailout is what it may end up to be, unless there are amendments in Paulson's proposal, really I don't believe that Americans are going to support this and we will not support this. The interesting thing in the last couple of days that I have seen is that Americans are waiting to see what John McCain will do on this proposal. They're not waiting to see what Barack Obama is going to do. Is he going to do this and see what way the political wind's blowing? They're waiting to see if John McCain will be able to see these amendments implemented in Paulson's proposal.

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.

Does this woman know how to put together a sentence? These are the days when I wish for a candidate that reminds me of Jed Bartlett, or Andrew Sheppard – and I see that promise in Barack Obama. Simple decency... integrity... honesty... honor... these are the most important qualities in any man, but I will demand them from my president.

“Being President of this country is entirely about character”
- Andrew Sheppard (The American President, 1995)

“America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".”
- Andrew Sheppard (The American President, 1995)

"With the clothes on their backs they came through a storm, and those that didn't die want a better life. And they want it here. Talk about impressive. My point is this: Break's over."
-Josiah Barlett, The West Wing

As for Sarah Palin... my general feeling is this:
"Could I have a couple of aspirin, or a weapon of some kind to kill people with?"
-Josiah Barlett, The West Wing