Political Critic Archives

I won't mix words here. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is the most unqualified person to ever be nominated as Vice President of the United States. Unfortunately, rightwing nutjobs actually believe that Sarah Palin's experience is equal or better than Barack Obama's resume. So let's take a look at the two candidates.

Barack Obama received his bachelor's degree from Colombia University and his law degree from Harvard University. He became an attorney for a prestigious law firm. He was a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago for over ten years. He was a State Senator in Illinois for eight years. He then won election to the U.S. Senate, where he has served for three years. He currently sits on the Foreign Relations Committee and has visited over a dozen countries on official Senate business. He won his party's primary race against the Clinton machine, arguably the best political structure in history.

Sarah Palin received her bachelor's degree from the University of Idaho in 1987 at the age of 23. It took her six years to finish her degree as she transferred twice. She worked briefly as a local sports reporter and worked with her husband in fishing. She worked for the city council in the small town of Wasilla, Alaska from 1992-1996. She then became mayor of the small town from 1996-2002. She was appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003, but resigned in 2004 after disagreeing with the Republican Party Chairman. She became Governor of Alaska in December, 2006. While her approval rating was 80%, it has dropped to 67% as she is currently under investigation for a controversial firing.

Not only does Sarah Palin have zero national political experience and zero foreign policy experience, she doesn't even have an opinion on international issues.

Equating her experience to Obama's is laughable. This is the worst pick of a Vice Presidential running mate in history. Heck, even Dan Quayle had twelve years of experience in the House and Senate.

My prediction: Sarah Palin withdraws her name as John McCain's running mate within the next few weeks. John McCain will then come to his senses and pick a real candidate, male or female.

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 10:38am

McCain Selects Sarah Palin as Vice President

Senator John McCain has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The stunning announcement comes after many had expected Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota or Mitt Romney to be selected.

This is a blatant attempt by John McCain to pick up the Hillary Democrats and other women who won't vote for Barack Obama.

The problem with this pick is that Sarah Palin has only been the Governor of Alaska for a year and a half. She is only 44 years old and has very little political experience. Prior to being the Governor, Palin was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for six years. Wasilla is a small town of 5,500 residents.

This is a very weak selection. It is purely a political calculation by McCain to get female votes.

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 11:15pm

Obama Hits a Home Run!

Damn, this guy is good!!! That's all I can think of after watching Barack Obama's incredible acceptance speech.

An extraordinary performance that exceeded even lofty expectations. Obama took the gloves off and went right after John McCain and the GOP. If people were looking for red meat during this convention, they certainly got it tonight.

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 7:15pm

Obama's Big Night

The future President accepts his party's nomination tonight at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. Expectations are high for the most important speech of Senator Barack Obama's career. I expect him to deliver an exceptional performance, one of his best ever.

This is an historic night, whether you are an Obama fan or not. On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, the first African-American will be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States. It says a lot about how far this country has progressed.

Indications are that Obama is already getting a bounce in the polls. A great showing tonight will restore his 5-6 point lead in the polls headed into the Republican National Convention. With two hurricanes set to bear down on the U.S. beginning next week, I'd be surprised if many people even watch the GOP.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 11:15pm

Democrats Fired Up and Ready to Go!

It's not easy to follow speeches by Michelle Obama and the Clinton's, but Senator Joseph Biden did an admirable job in accepting the nomination for the Vice Presidency. An emotional and feisty Biden ripped McCain to shreds over his foreign policy blunders and his economic strategy. However, he took very few shots at the Bush administration and never mentioned Dick Cheney.

After Senator Biden's speech, a surprise appearance onstage by Barack Obama fired up the convention crowd.

This was a very good night for the Democrats. There are things they could've done differently, but overall it was a successful third day of the convention.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 9:39pm

Convention - Day Two

The one thing I've noticed about the Democratic National Convention is that nobody is truly showing it. The pundits on all the networks keep talking about the convention, but they refuse to show any of the speeches until very late at night. On MSNBC, you'll hear Matthews and Olbermann, but you won't see many of the convention speakers. The same goes for Wolf on CNN and the clowns on the state-run Fox News.

Basically, the cable networks only take the cameras off themselves for the last hour, despite being on the air at 7pm. You saw it last night with Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama. You'll see it again tonight with Mark Warner and Hillary Clinton.

Monday, August 25, 2008 - 8:40pm

Selfish Hillary Supporters Out to Ruin Convention

Talk about sore losers. Supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton are coming out in full force to exhibit their scorn on Barack Obama's victory in the primaries. They are resentful that their girl lo

st and that she was not picked for the ticket. Obama chose Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his Vice Presidential running mate.

Hillary Clinton's fans are as dumb as they are ignorant. First of all, Hillary Clinton is a corrupt politician. She has a long history of unethical conduct. Unfortunately, her voters never looked at her ethical character. They only saw a woman running for the highest office in the land. All else was irrelevant to them.

Secondly, her husband is even more of a scumbag than she is, and that's saying a lot. Third, this Democratic National Convention is about Senator Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton. Causing trouble during the convention only serves to undermine the party.

Senator Obama beat Clinton fair and square. If anything, it was Hillary who tried to steal the nomination from Obama by trying to change the rules in the middle of the game. Yet, after all she did to destroy Barack and help Republicans, her supporters are still crying like little babies. Are her supporters really going to vote for a pro-life Republican?

One more thing. There was no way in hell that Obama was going to pick Hillary to be his running mate. She cannot be trusted and neither can Slick Willy. How in the world can you pick someone for Vice President when you know they're evil at the core?

Clinton's supporters need to go away. She lost! Get over it!!!

Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 12:52pm

McCain Doesn't Know How Many Houses He Owns

On the campaign trail yesterday, Senator McCain was asked how many homes he owns. His comment was "I think - I'll have my staff get back to you." He literally didn't know.

You would think John McCain could remember how many homes he owns, no matter how many. Does McCain not remember buying them? How can he not know such a basic question?

The Obama campaign believes John McCain owns seven houses worth $30 million, but some estimates are as high as a dozen.

This story points not only to McCain's memory, but also his attack on Obama for being an elitist who is out of touch with ordinary Americans. It's hard to relate to the economic meltdown and the homeowner struggling to make a mortgage payment when you own a dozen houses.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 12:30pm

Obama's VP Announcement Comes This Week

The Democratic National Convention starts in just six days and Senator Barack Obama has yet to announce his Vice Presidential running mate. Word on the street is that the news will finally come down before the week is out.

The short list of names are Governor Tim Kaine from Virginia, Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana, Senator Joseph Biden from Delaware, Governor Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas, and former Senator Tom Daschle. Beyond those five names, it appears that everyone else has been eliminated from contention. No, it will not be Hillary Clinton. Despite the media's annoying fascination with her, she was never on the list.

Right now, my money is on Joe Biden. He has the most foreign policy experience of any Democrat and is widely viewed by both sides of the aisle as an expert in the area. He has been in the U.S. Senate for more than thirty years and would be an excellent complement to Barack Obama's background. However, he does have some baggage. He has a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth (see his Dunkin Donuts comments) and he plagiarized a speech by a British politician twenty years ago.

I would argue that Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine were floated as possibilities only to help Obama win the battleground states of Indiana and Virginia. Floating Sebelius' name on the short list is purposely designed to help with female voters and in her home state of Kansas. I throw in Tom Daschle's name only as a wildcard, as he is Barack Obama's senior advisor.

We should know definitively by Saturday. The media will then sicken us with wall-to-wall, nonstop coverage of Senator Obama and his VP all the way through the convention next Thursday.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 9:27pm

U.S. Powerless to Stop Russian Invasion

The Americans are sending the incompetent Condoleezza Rice to the country of Georgia in an effort to stop Russian military action in the country. Unfortunately, she is not going to be able to do much. The academic can huff and puff on behalf of the Bush administration, but the fact is that the United States has little power in this situation.

America certainly doesn't have the moral authority to tell Russia to cease fire. After all, George Bush directed the U.S. to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq only five years ago. It would seem quite the double-standard for his administration, of all people, to condemn another major power from invading a smaller country.

However, the occupation of Iraq by the U.S. does have influence in Moscow. The American military is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has stretched their resources thin. Russia is clearly taking advantage of that fact. They know that the United States has few options in which to stop an invasion and subsequent occupation of Georgia.

The Russians are not likely to back down in this incident. They may actually target more west-leaning nations on their borders. They despise the influence the United States has on Eastern European countries and are vying to pull them back into the communist fold. The governments of Ukraine and Moldova are increasingly worried that they could be next.

So Bush can send his unqualified lightweight to Georgia to make a few threats, but it won't do any good. In the end, the Bush administration will make the situation worse. That has been their track record on foreign policy affairs for over seven years. Why would it change now?

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 9:48pm

Wall Street Journal Becomes Propaganda Machine

The Wall Street Journal is typically regarded as a distinguished and renowned newspaper. Although it has a moderate conservative bent, the paper has a reputation for being very professional. However, it looks like they are going the way of Fox News in terms of dirty political stunts.

On the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal, a large color photograph of Barack Obama is shown and directly underneath is a large-font article about Muslim land. A quick glance of the newspaper makes it appear that Senator Barack Obama is a Muslim. This "accusation" has been perpetuated by right-wing nut-jobs since Senator Obama began running for President.

Just for the record, Barack Obama is Christian. This cheap stunt by the Journal is absolutely pathetic. They have gone down into the gutter and I'll bet they stay there throughout this election cycle. Of course, it will come as no surprise that the Wall Street Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., who also own Fox News.

I'm glad I cancelled my subscription to the Journal recently. Hopefully more of their readers will wise up and do the same.

Saturday, August 2, 2008 - 5:11pm

Democrats Cry About Oil Profits

On Thursday, Exxon Mobil (XOM) reported record earnings of $11.6 billion for the second quarter. It was the most profitable quarter for any American company in history. Rising crude oil prices helped Exxon achieve the staggering figure.

Despite the remarkable success of the public company, Democrats everywhere are crying foul. They believe that Exxon is making too much money and that they should give it back. Senator Obama has re-iterated his stance that he would impose a windfall profit tax on companies like Exxon and give it back to lower income workers...those people who are too lazy to find a better job.

Unfortunately, liberals don't understand capitalism. The role of any public company is to grow the business and make money. That is exactly what Exxon is doing. They make billions of dollars when the price of oil rises. The price is rising because demand is increasing and supply is finite. If consumers did not demand so much oil, Exxon would not be nearly as profitable.

If Barack Obama gets into office, the worst move he'll make is to tax a company solely for making a profit. The concept is completely un-American. Where will he determine how much is too much? What if another company makes "too much" in earnings? Where is the incentive for that firm to produce more?

One more thing....Exxon employs over 107,000 people. How many of them will get laid off when the government decides to steal their money?

If Democrats are concerned about oil company profits, then they should give higher tax credits for hybrid and plug-in vehicles. The problem is not the oil companies. The problem is the American consumer, who drives a gas-guzzling SUV, lives miles away from where they work, and lives in too large of a house to pay the heating oil bill.

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