McCain To Gut Effective Programs

The McCain campaign has slipped up and told the truth.

According to an article in the 10/6/08 edition of The Wall Street Journal, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's senior policy advisor, has admitted that the tax credits for the wealthy promised by the Repub nominee will be paid for partially by cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, programs which aid persons who are old, disabled, or poor. John McCain also wants to cut Social Security, as indicated by what he told CNN on July 8, 2008:

I want young workers to be able to, if they choose, to take part of their own money which is their taxes and put it in an account which has their name on it. Now, that's a voluntary thing, it's for younger people, it would not affect any present-day retirees or the system as necessary. So let's describe it for what it is. They pay their taxes and right now their taxes are going to pay the retirement of present-day retirees. That's why it's broken, that's why we can fix it.

McCain wants to private partially Social Security because he opposes the concept of the program. He asserted at a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, Ohio in July

Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed.

It appears a President McCain would work to weaken Medicare and Social Security. And why would he want to undermine two very successful government programs? I think that's the answer.

Not For Real

Q. How do you tell that someone really is "just plain folks?"

A. When that person doesn't keep telling you that he/she is.

Take a look at Sarah Palin's phraseology in the vice-presidential debate of October 2, 2008. It was:

Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again.

We can speak in agreement here that darn right we need tax relief for Americans....

In the middle class of America which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives....

And that's why Tillerson at Exxon and Mulva at ConocoPhillips, bless their hearts....

Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans....

.... and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right?

We're going to fight for the middle-class, average, everyday American family like mine.

Think a speech at your local PTA. Or a job interview. Or a statement in front of the members of your church. Or an opportunity to talk to a prominent politician. A typical American or, as Governor Palin probably would term it, the "average Joe," placed into public in important circumstances will not use colloquialisms, but will do whatever possible to be impressive. He or she is not going to say "doggone it," "darn right," nor refer to the neighbors as "Joe Six Pack." No one who is middle-class would need to tell us constantly how middle-class her family is- and only someone of high social standing would strain to position herself as something less in status than she is. Only a boastful, self-aggrandizing "Washington outsider" posing as part of a "team of mavericks."

Palin Reads (A Lot)!

Carl Cameron of GOP TV interviewed Sarah Palin on October 3, giving her a make-up exam after she embarassed herself chatting with Katie Couric, and following the vice-presidential debate. Referring to Governor Earmark's interview with the CBS anchorwoman, Cameron asked "what happened?" and Palin responded

Well, OK. I'll tell you. Honestly. The Sarah Palin in those interviews is a little bit annoyed. Because it's like, no matter what you say, you're going to get clobbered. If you cease to answer a question, you're going to get clobbered on the answer. If you choose to try to pivot and go on to another subject that you believe that Americans want to hear about, you get clobbered for that, too.

But, in the Katie Couric interviews, I did feel that there were a lot of things that she was missing, in terms of an opportunity to ask what a V.P. candidate stands for. What the values are represented in our ticket....

The Governor of Alaska failed to answer questions because she was "annoyed" that she was not asked the questions she wanted to answer and instead had to "pivot" to go to those more to her liking.

But that was not the best answer. Asked by Cameron "Well, what do you read?', Palin replied

I read the same things that other people across the country read, including the "New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" and the "Economist" and some of these publications that we've recently even been interviewed through up there in Alaska.

The vast majority of Americans do not read either The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or The Economist. (And any self-respecting pro-Israel populist, as Palin pretends to be, would eschew that magazine.) According to Wikipedia, here are the 2007 circulation figures they've obtained for the publications which Palin claims to read and implies average Americans typically read: a) New York Times, 1,120,420 weekdays (more on Sunday); b) Wall Street Journal, two million worldwide; c) Economist, 1,300,000, approximately half of them in North America.

Even assuming the nearly impossible, that readers of these three publications are mutually exclusive (and that a majority of Wall Street Journal readers are citizens of the U.S.A.), approximately three million Americans, out of an adult population of 200-250 million, read either of the two newspapers or the magazine. Yet, Sarah Palin reads all three- and still poses as "Joe Six-Pack."

A Big Impression

Rich Lowry at National Review Online, gushed about Sarah Palin's performance in her vice-presidential "debate" with Joe Biden:


A very wise TV executive once told me that the key to TV is projecting through the screen. It's one of the keys to the success of, say, a Bill O'Reilly, who comes through the screen and grabs you by the throat. Palin too projects through the screen like crazy. I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.


That may be a common reaction to the governor of Alaska. Other than at an apparently very brief encounter at the Republican Governors Association meeting in 2006, John McCain and Sarah Palin spoke once, the morning of Thursday, August 28, 2008, after which McCain offered Palin the job. Did Palin wink at the Arizona senator and mesmerize him as she did Rich Lowry?

Biden On Obama, Palin On Palin

Friday, October 5, on Hardball, one day after the Palin-Biden debate, Chris Matthews said of Sarah Palin

"She recited answers that were off the shelf. They were not original answers.... She memorized answers for expected questions. " Citing the week-and-a-half the McCain camp "had to prep" the Veep candidate, Matthews asked "is there anything you heard last night that couldn't have been done by a B-plus college grad?" But the MSNBC host's assertion "we're talking about the number two job. I don't think it's about recitation" guest brought this defense of the candidate from Chris Cillizza:

The job of a Vice-President during the campaign is to advocate for the President's position.

So how did the Governor of Alaska "advocate" for the fellow she is presumably trying to get elected? In a response about taxes, Senator Biden concluded his remarks by stating

Gwen, the governor did not answer the question about deregulation, did not answer the question of defending John McCain about not going along with the deregulation, letting Wall Street run wild. He did support deregulation almost across the board. That's why we got into so much trouble.

Asked by moderator Gwen Ifill for a response, Palin characteristically boasted

I'm still on the tax thing because I want to correct you on that again. And I want to let you know what I did as a mayor and as a governor. And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also. As mayor, every year I was in office I did reduce taxes. I eliminated personal property taxes and eliminated small business inventory taxes and as governor we suspended our state fuel tax. We did all of those things knowing that that is how our economy would be heated up. Now, as for John McCain's adherence to rules and regulations and pushing for even harder and tougher regulations, that is another thing that he is known for though. Look at the tobacco industry. Look at campaign finance reform.

Note the nouns and pronouns: "I'm.... I.....I.... mayor and as a governor.....I....I'm....my.....as mayor....I....I....I....as governor we....we (Alaskans)." Then Governor Earmark managed to throw in a word about the guy she wishes were at the bottom of the ticket.

Presumably, the objective in a debate during a presidential campaign is to help drive the ticket to victory, but Sarah Palin, I believe harmed (though very modestly) the Arizona senator's effort. Some Republicans want to claim that the Alaska governor "won" the debate, which is irrelevant except in terms of her future role in the GOP if the ticket is defeated, which she expects.

John McCain's running mate likely improved her still-limited stature by performing reasonably well reciting talking points and avoiding answering questions. Meanwhile, Joe Biden spent the evening promoting Barack Obama. Sarah Palin spent the evening promoting Sarah Palin.

Palin As Vice-President

Late in last night's vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, the latter was asked by moderator Gwen Ifill:

Governor, you mentioned a moment ago the constitution might give the vice president more power than it has in the past. Do you believe as Vice President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the vice presidency, that it it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?

Palin responded

Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are.

As this video (at the reference to 10:49 of the site's live blogging) from thinkprogress.org indicates, Chris Matthews, fearing another Dick Cheney. was (appropriately) disturbed about Palin's intent to expand the powers of the vice-presidency. He commented, accurately and as an under-statement, "not too much humility here."

He need not be concerned, however. Sarah Palin cannot have increased powers unless each of two events occurs: 1) John McCain is elected; and 2) President McCain chooses to give Vice-President Palin the increased authority she seeks.

Even if scenario #1 occurs (despite Palin's presence on the ticket), scenario #2 isn't likely. Article 1, Section 3 of the United States Constitution lays out the authority of the Vice-President: "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. " And it's improbable that Mr. McCain has a different view of the role of the vice-president. As this website reminds us, "even John McCain has joked that a Vice President has two main jobs: checking on the health of the President and attending funerals of foreign leaders." Although that regarded speculation that he would be selected as George W. Bush's running mate in 2000, the Arizona senator as recently as April of this year, "joked" that the main function of a vice-president is to check daily on the health of the president.

No, if John McCain wanted a vice-president whose advice he could rely on, he probably would have selected Joe Lieberman. If he wanted a vice-president he could assign important duties to, he probably would have selected Tom Ridge. And if he wanted a vice-president with proven management experience, he probably would have selected Mitt Romney. Instead, he chose as his mate an individual who, in a performance widely hailed as far superior to her recent interviews, declared "it's a toxic mess, really, on Main Street that's affecting Wall Street."

Palin On Abortion

I can't resist making one more comment about the interview Katie Couric recently conducted with Sarah Palin.

The CBS anchor woman asked Governor Earmark whether "it should be illegal....for a girl who was raped or the victim of incest to get an abortion?" The V.P. nominee responded ".....and, um, if you're asking, though, kind of foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an … abortion, absolutely not. That's nothing I would ever support."

Couric bravely persisted and asked.....but you also think it should be illegal, that there should be no punishment if a woman does break the law…" And Palin, who had adamantly asserted "I am pro-life," wisely avoided in her rambling answer again addressing the matter.

Wise, but as I've noted before, apparently hypocritical. Echoing very likely a majority position in this country, Palin stated also "I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception" and has stated her opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. If the ruling is overturned and abortion made illegal (to one extent or another) in a given jurisdiction, it certainly would be done so in the belief that abortion is killing. And no indication comes from Mrs. Palin that she would want the individual requesting the killing of a baby to be prosecuted.

If not hypocritical, it is instead a dazzling display of consistency in Mrs. Palin's positions. Before she became mayor Wasilla, Alaska, Wasilla (alone among Alaskan municipalities) had enacted a policy charging reported victims of rape for the cost of the forensic rape kit used by law enforcement in prosecuting the alleged perpetrator. Wasilla's chief of police, Irl Stambaugh, regularly included a line item in his budget so that the town instead would pay for the cost of the exams. However, Stambaugh ran afoul of Mayor Palin and was fired, in part for angering the National Rifle Association and for moving closing time of Wasilla's bars from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. to cut into the incidences of drunken driving arrests and accidents. (His suit for breach of contract was dismissed because chiefs of police in Alaska serve at the pleasure of the mayor.) Stambaugh was replaced by Charlie Fannon, who removed the line in the budget, signed by Mayor Palin- and, unsuccessfully protested the proposed law requiring municipal government to pay for the rape kits.

Sarah Palin. Tough on rape victims, soft on drunken driving, and soft on individuals who would (in her view) solicit the murder of a baby.