John McCain can't even competently choose a VP candidate who will help his campaign. He rushed off half-cocked and picked probably the single-worst possible candidate. GOP insiders and conservative analysts from coast-to-coast are in agreement that his impulsive pick of Sarah Palin is going to hurt him. the only question is, "how much". now, THIS is the kind of guy we want picking at least two (2) new Supreme Court justices, maybe more? THIS is the kind of guy we want deciding if and when nuclear force should be used against enemies?this guy can't even help himself. Its not like he didnt have MONTHS to choose a proper candidate, yet he waited til 3 days before the convention and in haste picked a candidate he knew nothing about, and now he's gone and shot himself in the foot. what makes anyone think he's capable of leading the largest economic and military power in the world?really, people. this is not bombast. this is serious. the guy has no capacity for clear judgement.
9/4/2008 1:04:22 PM
Would now be a good time to bring up Joe Biden's "bona fides" on civil liberties and the War on Drugs as a reflection of Obama's potential picks, or would this be deemed "irrelevant?"I mean, just wondering here if There Can Be Only One (fatally flawed candidate).
9/4/2008 1:57:23 PM
sure why not. no one else is biting.
9/4/2008 2:00:49 PM
Well, ever wonder how those quirky rascals in the Senate managed to whip up that laundry list of powers in the PATRIOT Act so quickly? Joe Biden, as it were, is not the only plagiarist in the Senate - hell, they ripped off a bill virtually point-by-point he introduced in 1995 (right after OKC) with virtually identical provisions:http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEED7103AF932A15757C0A963958260Incidentally, Biden then bitched about it getting "watered down" by anti-government conservatives and civil libertarians.http://www.tnr.com/columnists/story.html?id=ba9b09bb-ed01-4582-b6ec-444834c9df73But I'm totally, totally sure the pick of one of the least friendly Senate Democrats to civil liberties has absolutely no reflection upon the priority an Obama administration will put upon the subject. Particularly when it comes to judges. In fact, who would have known that Biden would be so stridently anti-civil liberties and pro-Drug War, unless they'd actually worked with the guy......oh, wait. Nevermind.
9/4/2008 2:08:40 PM
LOL at all the hate for Sarah Palin.I can't see how all this virtriol from the left won't be accompanied by a backlash from independents as they get to know her better.
9/4/2008 2:11:58 PM
9/4/2008 2:13:24 PM
^ too bad her Social Conservative Christian values platform has very little independent/libertarian/moderate appeal.
9/4/2008 3:16:22 PM
well, shit, you've gone and done it again.... something i can almost agree with 100%we gotta quit meeting like this. folks will talk
9/4/2008 4:40:44 PM
9/4/2008 4:42:32 PM
9/4/2008 6:17:56 PM
Hitler's speeches captivated and energized his audiences also. Doesn't mean he was the right guy for the job.
9/4/2008 6:29:29 PM
^Obama's entire campaign.
9/4/2008 6:30:54 PM
So....Democrats think that Palin is a bad choice? Surprise, Surprise.
9/4/2008 6:33:47 PM
^^ hey i don't even really support obama. I support/supported McCain until he picked Palin^ liberals should be happy w/ Palin as it helps increase their odds of winning[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 6:50 PM. Reason : l]
9/4/2008 6:49:34 PM
9/4/2008 6:54:10 PM
^^Not calling you out or anything. Just pointing out that Obama gives great speeches but really doesn't have much of a record, or specific plans.
9/4/2008 6:56:16 PM
9/4/2008 6:58:42 PM
The fact that liberals are wailing and slamming her makes its perfectly clear that McCain made the right move.
9/4/2008 7:55:40 PM
Palin could be the worst choice in the entire country, it's really kind of irrelevant to SCOTUS picks. We already know that they go through a brutal Congressional approval process, and it strikes me as highly unlikely that McCain is going to have a Republican majority in either house to make it easy.
9/5/2008 1:22:02 AM
I think McCain is a lot more centrist than he says he is, specially in regards to social conservatism. He just realized in 2000 that to have any chance at becoming president he needed to pander to the social conservatives. So, if he is elected, and that is a big if, I don't foresee him picking any crazy judges. I'm more concerned with Obama for 8 years, and him installing a Warren like court.
9/5/2008 1:28:32 AM
I think his pick will only highlight his age. Apparently he's like 72 and has had cancer 4 times or something like that. The hypothetical situation of McCain kicking the bucket and Palin becoming President is going to come up a lot. Does anyone really think that she's ready to be President? I mean really? I can't even imagine how poorly she would run the country. I'm not saying she won't ever be ready to possibly be President one day, but she is not ready RIGHT NOW. I think the possibility of this even happening is enough to kill any desire I might have had to vote for McCain. And it hasn't even gotten to the debates yet which is where I would really decide. He's going to have to run an absolutely perfect campaign to pull this off and I don't think he can do it.
9/5/2008 2:59:37 AM
Wow. GrumpyGOP thinks that Palin is the worst VP ever. Yet...The Iraq war was not a bad idea (even if it was predicated on false information) and Bush was justified in starting it.
9/5/2008 8:56:14 AM
So you get your talking points from Rudy Gullani?If something pisses off Democrats, it must be right. is that it?
9/5/2008 8:58:07 AM
That's right.Kick 'em in the voonerables.
9/5/2008 9:39:31 AM
Wow, I didn't know that about Biden, DrSteveChaos. I'm a little scared now. I also see he's a big supporter of copyright protection.
9/5/2008 9:52:08 AM
SCOTUS picks are actually the ONLY reason I'm voting for Obama v McCain. I really don't care for either one at all, but I think McCain (or fate forbid, Palin) would make worse and more damaging choices than Obama in that category.
9/5/2008 10:08:16 AM
9/5/2008 10:12:56 AM
^ To go along with that, I prefer people who don't have that "experience." Why do you have to be in politics for x number of years in order to be President? Why can't you be a distinguished X(pick a profession) and want to serve and lead your country? I would love to see one and done term limits. You know, have people become politicians for 4 years as a break in their actual careers, instead of politics becoming a career.
9/5/2008 10:31:31 AM
I didn't say shit about experience. I just said I don't think she would make a good president at all.
9/5/2008 10:46:35 AM
Your statement implied that she doesn't have enough experience, but given that you and I both aren't particularly fond of her, I don't think its a point worth debating.
9/5/2008 11:09:37 AM
9/5/2008 11:18:00 AM
9/5/2008 12:17:05 PM
^ so, you are OK with Obama appointing terrorists like Bill Ayers, though, right? give me a break.
9/5/2008 12:17:45 PM
9/5/2008 2:46:43 PM
Dude. They invented the "right to privacy." Out of thin air. You can't deny that fact.As for the 9th Amendment, surely you aren't suggesting that an actual part of the Constitution is comparable to Supreme Court justices adding to it without authority to do so, are you? And "10" was not just a round number. There were several other amendments included in the original Bill of Rights. not all were ratified. don't show your ignorance. [Edited on September 5, 2008 at 2:52 PM. Reason : ]
9/5/2008 2:50:27 PM
Do you even know what the Ninth Amendment is? I'm serious, here, since you're going out of your way to avoid my question. The "nice, round number" remark is precisely because of the fact that you're simply pretending it doesn't exist.Also, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Hardly seems like a counter-intuitive leap to make it from there to privacy, Judge Bork.
9/5/2008 2:59:06 PM
uh, dude. Where are the words "right to privacy" in that? "Privacy" is a concept which is far different and more encompassing than simply saying you a right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures."The 9th Amendment, as I understand it, off the top of my head, is that all rights are not explicitly enumerated. Looking at Wikipedia, that is what it is.By the way, an amendment doesn't have to grant a right. Take the 18th. Or the 27th.
9/5/2008 3:04:18 PM
Now for some critical thinking time. What exactly do you suppose it means if we say that rights not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution are not to be taken as evidence of their absence or lack of protection under the law?Hint: Looking for the word "privacy" as your first grasp indicates you fail at the concept.And the idea that privacy isn't the same as search & seizure is the point. It's an extension of an existing principle which undergirds the structure of the written framework (i.e., the Fourth Amendment). That common law principle might be... why we have a Ninth Amendment! Such that jackasses don't go poking around saying, "Well, that's not written in the Constitution! Anything not prohibited to the government is expressly allowed!"
9/5/2008 3:08:49 PM
Nice counter. The purpose of the 9th Amendment is NOT to allude to some "ghost rights." It is to prevent the gov't from saying "hey, we can do this because it doesn't say we can't." Even YOU say so. It is to say "we haven't necessarily listed them all." However, that does not EQUATE to "we haven't listed them all." And it certainly does not equate to "there are some rights hidden in here like easter eggs that we didn't explicitly mention."
9/5/2008 3:23:32 PM
Do the words "common law" have no meaning to you? This would be what these "ghost rights" you're talking about are. Rights enshrined in common law principles, which are the foundation of the Anglo-Saxon model of jurisprudence which we happen to follow.The Ninth Amendment explicitly exists to protect the idea of common law. And you were to actually read the Federalist papers, pretty much the Founding Fathers say explicitly - "It would be stupid and counter-productive to try and enumerate everyone's rights." This principle, in fact, was why FFs such as Madison opposed the very idea of the Bill of Rights - they feared some crackheads in the future might do exactly as you are doing and pretend that written list is exhaustive.
9/5/2008 3:31:44 PM
Christian conservatives and Neo-cons i can understand. For other republicans like TT and aaronburro who seem to be more concerned on economic conservatism and not really social conservatism; please explain what the appeal is with Palin??I don't get it. Wooo McCain is your boy and i still like him too. No one though has yet to answer my previous queries about what the attraction we have with Palin. Beyond just being a Washington outsider it seems like her politics are contrary to the movement we tried to move by choosing McCain in the primaries.
9/5/2008 3:35:57 PM
^ I like Palin on her own merits, mainly due to her actual conservatism. But I'm still not voting for McCain.
9/5/2008 3:58:19 PM
i think as we "get to know" Sarah Palin better and better, this election is going to get more and more entertaining. But, you're not going to hear a lot about Sarah Palin from Sarah Palin herself because she's not talking to the press...which I know I'm shocked about. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/05/no-questions-palin-wont-t_n_124256.html
9/5/2008 4:04:26 PM
9/5/2008 4:05:53 PM
I know. She really should want to talk to people who dragged her daughter through the mud less than 3 days after meeting her. She really should want to talk to people who insinuated that she faked a fucking pregnancy.Tell me, if I walked up and fucked you in the ass after having just met you, would you want to have a civil conversation with me afterwards? Would you at least cuddle?
9/5/2008 4:07:01 PM
^^
9/5/2008 4:13:21 PM
I'm just bringing up the point of how justices that Obama would likely nominate will shit all over the 2nd amendment...schmoe obviously didnt mention that in his original post...but he also claimed that all conservative analysts thought Palin was a bad pick, when all the conservative analysts i've heard over the last few days love the pick
9/5/2008 4:15:20 PM
she's running for vice president.. she should be willing and able to answer questions and do interviews... are you dumb enough that you can't see that the republicans are not letting people learn more about here because maybe (just maybe) they will find out that she is not qualified?
9/5/2008 5:05:01 PM
speaking of not qualified, what does it say when the Democratic PRESIDENTIAL candidate feels the need to try and compare his own accomplishments and experience to the Republican VICE PRESIDENTIAL candidate?
9/5/2008 5:06:03 PM
so you completely avoid the topic (the transparent strategy to hide Sarah Palin from any sort of situation where she'll actually be tested), and switch to another attack about Obama's lack of experience. nice
9/5/2008 5:11:47 PM