It doesn't seem so. I've been holding back on this, hoping beyond hope that the insanity that has sprung forth from the minds of the media and the activist left-wing of the Democratic party (referred to in other locations as the "netroots" and in others as the "nutroots") would resolve. I hope no more.
It seems that Palinmania is not just the excitement generated among Republicans by the nomination of this accomplished and strong woman. Yes, I wrote "accomplished and strong." It's not just any mom of five who starts with a stint on the PTA and ends up nominated for VP, succeeding, to the tune of 80% approval ratings in her home state, at every step of the way. Palinmania appears to also be the development of an obsessive derangement with psychotic tendencies among that group of left-wing activists and much of the traditional media (but I repeat myself). You may wish to compare the list of questions given to Mrs. Palin by Charles Gibson of ABC in the recent interview vis-a-vis questions given to Mr. Obama three months ago, as The Anchoress did (hat tip: Ed Morrissey, who explores it's meaning). There was some "liberal" editing of the interview, as well.
A few examples are in order. Joe Klein in Time, which will need to be renamed "It's Democrat Time" if they keep it up.
Not enough venom for you? Try this one, from Andrew Sullivan, who apparently has little understanding of double entendre when it comes from his candidate.
We are being asked to believe that he called Sarah Palin a pig. If the people making that accusation have half a brain they know it's not true. This is not a question of interpretation. It is a fact. So we now find out again that John McCain is prepared to tell an absolute lie - in public, verifiable, uncontestable.
He does not have the minimal public integrity to be president of the United States
But, Mr. Sullivan, it is indeed a question of interpretation. Mr. Obama's turn of phrase, when read literally, does not directly call Mrs. Palin a pig. However, given her association with the word "lipstick" and given Mr. Obama's use of the word "old" added to the fish line Mr. Obama's turn of phrase can easily be interpreted as referring to both members of the Republican team - as the audience he was speaking to obviously did.
How about the apoplectic Keith Olbermann, recently pulled from anchor duty for the duration of this election due to not simmering but boiling partisanship, resenting that Republicans seem to "own" 9-11 with a thoroughly unhinged rant?
This was a 9/11 Tribute. Not to the dead, nor to the unity. But a tribute to how valuable 9/11 has been as a political tool for the Republican Party. 9/11... (TM.)
Sen. McCain, you had promised us a clean campaign. You could be Snow-White the rest of the way, Sir, yet that manipulative videotape from your convention should tar you always in the minds of decent Americans.
Perhaps this is why they "own" it. "Happy Twin Towers Day?" Give me a break.
From the left we have bizarre fantasy sexualizations of the Governor. Can you say "sexist?" Yeah, I thought you could.
I rarely remember my dreams, but for the past week, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has been haunting me. Night after night, she appears in my dreams, always as a scolding, ominous figure.
Oh, but Mr. McCain has lied! He's questioned Mr. Obama's patriotism, hasn't he? How 'bout the other way 'round.
"So, when American workers hear John McCain talking about putting 'Country First,'" Obama said, "it’s fair to ask –- which country?"
Um ... isn't that pretty much the dictionary definition of questioning someone's patriotism?
The Wile. E. Journalists of the media parachuted into Alaska upon hearing of the governor's nomination, and apparently began taking their cues on top stories from the Democratic activists who parachuted in simultaneously, all looking for "dirt." This same media has shown little interest in exploring any of the past relationships of Mr. Obama with his pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright; his terrorist associates William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn; the Chicago political machine from whence he came; his association with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, tied together through the common denominator of Rev. Wright, with Time Magazine even going so far as to suggest that the Democratic mayor's fall was a "boost" for Mr. Obama, and with most media outfits going out of their way to ignore the former mayor's party affiliation.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander, and if Mr. McCain and Mrs. Palin lie call them out on it. But some lies are indeed worse than others, and the obsession over the "bridge to nowhere" is bordering on preposterous. Here's a reasoned summary. Bottom line? I'm against earmarks, and a few hundred million here and a few hundred million there and pretty soon you're talking about real money. At least she eventually ended up against it, unlike the opposing team, even when given a second chance. This is more an exaggeration than a lie, and the accusations coming from the Obama/Biden team and their supporters are amusing at best, disingenuous at worst. It's also not as if the other side has been scrupulously honest in all they've said (c.f., Supreme Court decision on D.C.'s gun ban).
In the latest in a series of policy reversals for the Democratic presidential candidate, Obama came out in support of yesterday's supreme court decision overturning a gun ban in the city of Washington that had been a model for fighting urban crime.
He had previously supported the Washington ban, the strictest in the US.
It was the second time in 24 hours that Obama had shifted towards a more conservative position. On Wednesday, he took issue with the supreme court for striking down the death penalty for cases of child rape that do not involve murder.
I keep seeing references to the McCain team running a "racist" campaign, but have yet to see evidence. Apparently there's some super-secret racial code to the use of "community organizer" that makes it okay when you say it about yourself but abhorrent when opponents remind others of that activity. Investor's Business Daily and the American Thinker have read the tea leaves on some of the grander plans for organizing the American community.
Mr. Obama has as much as admitted that he was wrong about his economic plan, recognizing that in an economic downturn it would make matters worse to raise taxes on producers.
Now with the big vote less than 60 days off and John McCain pounding him as a tax-raiser and pulling ahead in some polls, the Democratic nominee has decided to release ObamaTax 3.0, the most interesting upgrade so far. If the economy is still weak in January, a President Obama might defer all of the planned increases.
That's a tacit admission as well that, even if the economy were strong, his tax plans would weaken it. He was also wrong about the Iraq War when he called for a complete pullout by March 2008. Not eighteen months from now. Six months ago. There would have been no surge. There would have been no impending victory. Al Qaeda would have a base of operations in the crossroads of the Middle East.
Wrong about the economy. Wrong about the war. Aren't those the two biggest issues in this election?
