The Anchoress
Button, button, who’s got the button? McCain/Palin merchandise is flying off the shelves.
Meanwhile, my pal Shana (she runs that rosary bracelet business in the right column ad) reports that she’s enjoying watching her buttons run huge numbers popular on facebook flair – not that I actually know what that means – but if you want to make your own buttons, while you’re waiting for “official” ones, these Palin vs Obama buttons are getting a lot of hits here.
Although I must say I like the look of the bigger, shinier McCain/Palin Audacity & Hope Button, myself!
11:39 PM
Campbell Brown invests two solid hours into bashing Gov. Palin? It’s the sisterhood again! (See my post at 9:37 PM)
Two hours of interviews with focus groups of supposed independent women who naturally don’t like her; an interview with the former state trooper Palin supposedly abused her power to get fired (he admits to tazing Palin’s 11-year-old nephew, by the way); interviews with a bunch of Alaskans who don’t like her (with an 86% approval rating that took some work); an entire segment — teased throughout the hour — devoted to exposing the truth behind Palin putting the governor’s plane on Ebay (Gasp, it didn’t sell on Ebay, but she still put it on Ebay Campbell)… And of course the new liberal media meme – being led by Roger Simon who practically broke down crying over it on Hardball – Palin must take tough questions from the same hostile, liberal, in-the-tank-for-Obama media who spent four days trashing her and her family.
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Things got so bad Bay Buchanan finally called her on it. Brown responded by accusing Bay of using Republican talking points. Classy.For two full hours it was segment after segment of the worst kind of attack journalism.
Because that’s done so much for their bottom lines, and their credibility, already. Also, let’s get some criticism of her parenting going, (H/T) because people appreciate seeing parents second-guessed and will not self-identify with Palin. My GAWD what idiots. See also. 10:26 PM
Gerard Baker, the man who brought you Biblical Obama now brings you, It’s Palin, Go West…
The very fact that Mrs Palin didn’t go to elite schools but succeeded nonetheless – the very ordinariness with which she so piquantly jabbed Mr Obama on Wednesday – is what will make her so appealing to Americans. And as a pro-life conservative she debunks in one swoop the enduring myth that all women subscribe to the obligatory nostrums of radical feminism.
But there’s more to it than that.
You’ll want to read it all. 10:10 PM
Can someone tell me what this is? I don’t get it. I mean, you know…on some things I’m dumber than on others. This, I don’t get. It’s above my pay grade! Help me! 10:03 PM
I dunno, this whole amorphous “community organizer” position and issue is getting weird to me. And, apparently, it’s a little weird to Sen. Obama, too. – H/T Larwyn 9:58 PM
With the Bigtime Official Women of Bigtime Official Feminism dissing Gov. Palin, I keep saying, “so much for sisterhood;” we always knew it only existed for the “right sort” of women anyway. But…there is a “Sisterhood of Sarah” of sorts. Seems authentic, anyway. 9:37 PM
When I didn’t love Hillary they told me I “hated” strong women; now they emphatically hate a strong woman, but in my email, somehow I’m still a “resentful idiot.” Hey, I’m not the one who keeps changing the rules! Like…I thought tax-exempt organizations were not supposed to endorse candidates. Is that rule over? I always miss the announcements. 9:26 PM
I love this stuff. Other interesting archaeological finds you may have missed. 9:18 PM
Dr. Sanity: Oh, did you draw a line, there? 9:17 PM
Joke of the Night 9:16 PM
Astroturfing: It could also be called, try to prove a negative. But I like “astroturfing” – laying something down that looks fine from a distance but is fake, fake, fake. 5:31 PM
What does it take for Palin to get a correction from the Professional Journalists? Bumped up from 1:10 PM: The Fuzzy Math of the Press by John Ham, about all those social programs Gov. Palin has “heartlessly cut!” Um, except, no, she hasn’t. Lorie Byrd sends this along and says “the Washington Post still has not issued a retraction or correction…” Byrd hopes to help correct the record that the “mediating intelligences and gatekeepers” in the press are umm…skewing. I’m sure Lorie will have to repeat herself again and again, aren’t you? Nothing is simple in politics; especially not the truth. 5:22 PM
You must watch this video. You must. Religious Fundamentalism at its most raw and interesting!
I think our excessive dependence upon instrumentation does come between us and our instincts, but I can’t help thinking that if these people would just become Catholic and avail themselves of the free-and-strictly confidential sacrament of reconciliation, they’d have less need for this sort of exhibitionism and catharsis. I’ve always been interested in how the rise of the self-help movement mirrored the decline of participation in reconciliation.
UPDATE: Is it satire? I don’t know, but great satire is rooted in truth, right? We’ve certainly seen some like behavior from environmentalists (and other religious folk).
And yes, Carolina Cannonball does find the oddest most unique stuff! And yes, extreme environmentalism is certainly a kind of religion, with all of the over and undertones, the sins, rituals, sacraments and even the savior (in their case, Al Gore). And if it isn’t religion, it’s still alarmism. I’ve never been much for doomsday scenarios, myself. 3:42 PM
Identity Theft: For when you hate yourself, and the clown you’ve become. 3:33 PM
“Public Allies,” has anyone heard of this? 3:24 PM
Standing in the trenches, or the lines, today, to try to see McCain/Palin. $10.00 parking and I’m betting no press pictures of the crowds, but this blogger may post some later. More here. 3:17 PM
Making a cop’s job even harder. Because that works so well in England. 3:05 PM
Was Bobby Kennedy selfish to seek office? “Why can’t they take the time to demand that their side hold a woman to the same standard they would hold a man of their own party?” A different perspective and an interesting read. 2:38 PM
Revealing the bugs under the rock of “tolerance”. It only counts if you’re the right sort of person to be tolerated. 2:36 PM
In the NY Times, it’s “Mrs.” Clinton and “Ms.” Palin. Deacon Greg explains why (H/T Reader Ryan for the question). 2:32 PM
The Democrats Control Both Houses of Congress. just saying. In case you were wondering. 2:27 PM
Sarah Cruise-Missile? I called her an “alpha female grizzly” in the wee small hours. Some quotes from Hanson:
The Geraldine Ferraro Democratic Vice Presidential nominee appointment was an inspired stroke of genius that advanced the cause of feminism; Palin’s was tawdry tokenism.
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Insulting “small town mayors” and “good looking” women is funny; suggesting that “community organizing” is often a farce is a felony.
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Joe Biden bravely continued as Senator after the tragic death of his wife and daughter left his injured young sons with a single parent; Sarah Palin selfishly shorted her children by running for VP and endangered her infants by flying while pregnant.
Criticizing Clinton’s engaging in sex in the oval office and lying about it to the American people were once “the politics of personal destruction”; lying that Sarah Palin might not have been the mother of her 5th child is the mere overreach of the blogs caused by the improper vetting of the McCain campaign.2:20 PM
Someone must have had wild dreams of success, or they wouldn’t have planned it. More: Is Hope a Strategy? 2:14 PM
From Kesler: A rather intriguing video, an Iraq vet talks to Sen. Obama. The vet, Joe Cook, is one of those easily-denigrated “small town” people, who elect folks like Sarah Palin to be their Mayor and their Governor. More on Cook, and that small-town spirit and quiet heroism that is so “corny” and so “typically American” here. Frank Capra would have loved this story. And it has the added effect of being true. 2:02 PM
Jennifer Rubin: On the floor during Palin’s speech. Um, the convention floor. 2:00PM
A request for Anna’s Butter Cookies 1:41 PM
Bishops of San Fran: Naaancy, you have some ‘splainin’ to do!” Not all are impressed with the Bishop. 1:34 PM
More Palin fun facts 1:32 PM
Dumb memes: “Jesus was a community organizer; Pilate was a Governor?” No. He is Messiah, the One. Pilate was a Procurator. They happen every election, these dumb memes, but Treacher is clever about them
I think it’s a mistake for left or right to play these games, but here’s more: Bull Connor was a community organizer; Wallace was a Governor. Sigh. Gonna get ugly. Needlessly ugly. 1:27 PM
Another “quote of the day?: Pretty clever (Thanks, Lar) 1:21 PM
Lorie Byrd: Palin owes the Dems. Yes, it’s true. But I think the Dems gaining 10 million in contributions after her speech has kind of paid down that debt! Also, it’s very good that the Dems are putting this petty pique to rest 1:18 PM
Hey, thanks guys! That’s pretty nice! 1:14 PM
The Fuzzy Math of the Press: John Ham
Yesterday, Paul Kane of The Washington Post reported that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had “slashed funding for teen moms.” Kane based his story on a page from Alaska’s budget, which had hand-written line-item changes showing the amount going to Covenant House had been changed from $5 million to $3.9 million.
You can probably tell where this is going. It turns out that $5 million is the highball request for Covenant House and the $3.9 million is what Palin felt the agency deserved. As it happens, the $3.9 million actually represented a three-fold increase over the previous year. It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a “slash” in the budget.
The Washington Post has not yet corrected this mistake, which resulted in The New York Times running the same mistake today.
As an editor for many years, I can tell you that reporters are notoriously poor at math, but this is getting ridiculous. It’s happened again.
1:10 PM
The Anti-Palin “October Surprise”: Wooten is such an unsympathetic character that the Dems will be using “Alaskan process” to try to hurt Palin. That doesn’t sound like ignoring her. More here 1:05 PM
Keeping count of who attacked more, Obama or Palin. Also, it goes on and on 1:00 PM
A 15 inch waist? Of course, as my friend Bev says, it does make her hips look big. 12:57 PM
Is Oprah afraid of Sarah Palin? Oh, come on, I’m just teasing because it sort of ties into this piece, and the question of whether Sen. Obama is afraid of Gov. Palin. And anyway, the Oprah people are denying that this is true:
At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates.
Good call, I’d say, especially when her initial steps into endorsing Obama cost her viewers and ratings.
Oprah is perfectly entitled to invite whoever she wants on her show. It’s her show. She’s also entitled to support her own candidate (although I wonder if someone will, sooner or later, talk about “in kind contributions” in the media) But much of her audience is comprised of people who are like Sarah Palin and who like her. Oprah is being careful not to alienate a large slice of her audience. That’s probably why, when President Bush asked her to go talk to the women of Afghanistan, she refused him, too. It was perfectly within her right to do so.
Ed Morrissey wonders, too, if Oprah is afraid.
I wonder if some of this is the Mickey Kaus strategy: “ignore Palin. Just ignore her, and we’ll win.” But I don’t get a sense that Palin is a woman who can be ignored. And frankly, ignoring her and closing doors to her just makes the Dems look, yes, terrified. 12:52 PM
Redemption for Peggy Noonan?: After writing the other day, “Gone in 60 seconds: Peggy Noonan’s credibility”, Deacon Greg finds her back in form in her review of Palin’s convention speech, and he culls this as his quote of the day: “She has the power of the normal.” 12:43 PM
Quinn again, begin again: Sally Quinn has demonstrated more than once that she is rather clueless about the household of faith, and about the sensibilities of the faithful, yet she writes a weekly column on faith for WaPo/Newsweek. In that capacity she throws up this travesty of a piece, displaying for all the world to see how utterly she lacks understanding of either the modern conservative woman, or those people of faith who embrace dogma and doctrines to enhance their understandings and worship. It seems to me if she’s going to write this column, she needs to actually get to know the sorts of people she’s writing about, like Catholics who mind when non-Catholics take communion and then lecture them about it (with a taste review of the Host, for good measure) or – you know, those mindless creatures: conservative women. Attorney Athena de Paul, ably takes on the task of responding to Quinn It is too good to excerpt fairly – you’ll want to go read it:
…after both conventions, it looks like this election is going to degenerate, as so many do, into an all-out culture war. It’s fair for you to raise questions, but the vitriol coming your way stems from the assumptions underlying your concerns (the naivete, the lack of integrity, the simple-minded understanding of the role of formal religion). It’s particularly galling to be called to account for one’s faith to, of all people, the founder of “On Faith”!
Quinn – and perhaps Democrats in general – should perhaps try to meet up and actually get to know some women like DePaul – maybe then they would put away the stereotype they seem to carry about conservative women, that they are all an amalgam of The Stepford Wives and Kathy Bates in Misery. 12:20 PM
Tensions at CBS last night, from emailer TK:
Last night there was an interesting moment in the CBS coverage: Jeff Greenfield (former RFK speechwriter) was underwhelmed by the McCain speech. And Bob Schieffer interjected, “Well, I have to strongly disagree.” And he explained, very coherently and sensibly, why it was effective and played well in the hall. You could cut the tension with a knife.
Interesting. I wonder if Schieffer will get the first big Palin interview for that? Hey, not being cynical, just asking! I kinda like auld Schieffer, as I’ve written here. 11:59 AM
Why 2008 is shaping up to be A Millenial Election, Complete with Savior and Devil Icons. 11:51 AM
Children’s books for the candidates! This is a pretty cool idea! Your kids hear you jammering on about both candidates, why not buy them some books and let them “vote” based on their gleanings? If my kids were little, I would definitely do that. These both look interesting: Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope and My Dad, John McCain. 11:50 AM
My Li’l Bro Thom sends appreciation of this little clip in the NY Times piece I cite here, “Advisers to Mrs. Clinton said that she stood ready to help the Obama-Biden ticket, but they urged the campaign not to overestimate the impact Mrs. Clinton could have, noting that she had other commitments this fall, like campaigning and raising money for Senate candidates.”
Writes Thom: Guess she’s got more important things to do now, huh? 11:47 AM
Melissa Clouthier on stale identity politics. 11:39 AM
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