Testing ping.fm, because the Blog Diva sez its cool.

Let me say at the outset of this article that attacks on one’s family are a manifestly unfair tactic unfit for a campaign for President of the United States.  Whomsoever would use such attacks - assuming such attacks ever occur - rightly deserves our scorn.  In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say that undue media attention to such matters is also out of line.  Barack Obama has been quite clear in his objection to personal, familial attacks in this campaign, having suffered his share thus far.  No legitimate news agencies have yet run with the rumors that Sarah Palin is not the mother of her 4-month-old though the season is, in truth, still young.

And I really think it is an unfortunate, unfair and awful thing that a girl going through a (as rumors have it, second) pregnancy should also have to deal with an entire nation’s worth of scrutiny at the same time.  Life is more than hard enough as a teenager; life is hard enough as a pregnant woman, the extra media attention is not necessary at all.

Ok, happy?  Now let’s drop the “shoulda-woulda-coulda” talk and discuss the hard realities of campaigning.

When Thomas Jefferson ran for president, his dalliances with his slaves and rumors of illegitimate children - all later proven to be true, but entirely unproven during the campaign - all became fodder for both the press and his opponents over the course of the campaign.  Such fascinations predate even his race for the President’s job, and thus cannot be blamed on Phil Donohue, Inside Edition, Jerry Springer or any of the other modern scapegoats for the “coursening” of our culture.  However unfortunate it may be, it is hardly an unanticipated consequence of running for one of the highest offices in the land.  In fact, it’s like gravity: however unfair it may seem, it just happens.

So, when the McCain Campaign screams like they’ve had bamboo stuck under their fingernails over the “unfair” investigation of their here-to-fore unvetted Vice Presidential candidate, let’s keep in mind who brought this on themselves and the poor girl in this case.  After all, vetting of a candidate is all about avoiding exactly this kind of scrutiny.  Sarah Palin accepted the nomination to the Vice Presidential slot knowing her daughter was pregnant, along with a goodly number of other issues she must have known might present a problem.  Her ambition outwieghed her maternal duty to protect her kid, it seems.

Things are likely to go downhill from here, and even the reception of Sarah Palin at the RNC as it stands now is not overly warm.

But this article definitely shows signs of hopefulness for Republican operatives.  Clearly the Mike Murphys of the Republican Party are not happy.  But the moderate Republican woman who speaks in the article certainly is.

The question is: do these women represent enough of a positive upswing to get the Republican ticket though?  How much does the fact that she’s a woman outweigh her strongly Conservative views with moderates, for how long and with how many people?

Time will tell.

Political Animal is picking up the story of Sarah Palin’s connection to the Alaska Independence Party, which is dedicated to the establishment of an independant Alaskan nation, if you can believe it.  This is the kind of thing you might have expected a vetting process to have eliminated.  If there was one, which there clearly was not.

TPM has the video of a feisty Campbell Brown nailing McCain spokesman Tucker Brown to the wall on the “Experience Question” as it relates to the remarkable selection of Governor Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential nominee.  In an effort to defend the selection, Brown (Tuck, not Campbell) says that being in command of the National Guard serves as military command experience.  Certainly, this is true.  But when Campbell presses him on what decisions Palin has ever had to make, pointing out that equipping the troops is not the governor’s job, Tucker responds with this:

Actually, Campbell they do.  On a factual basis, they certainly do.  In Alaska, if you have any sort of emergency as things are happening in your state, the National Guard is under the command of the governor.

Fair enough.  In Alaska and elsewhere, if there are state emergencies (read: not national emergencies, in which case, the Army takes over), the governor is responsible for deploying the National Guard to respond.  So, how many times has this been necessary in the two years Sarah Palin has been governor?

According to Google News, not once.

Update: whoops!  Messed up that video link.  It’s been corrected, now.

MSNBC is reporting this morning that Sarah Palin hired a lobbyist to secure $27 million in federal earmarks for her city of 6,700 people whilst mayor.

Of course, due to Gustav’s landfall in the Gulf Coast - and the unfortunate track record of Republican response to crisis - the RNC’s first day festivities have been cancelled.  In the hall, at least.

And PBS needed to find something to fill in the time that would otherwise have been spent covering the convention.  So, what did they pick?  Something very similar: the Antiques Road Show.

Dig it.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Executive Experience in brick-and-mortar relief.

“Historic Choice, Either Way.” It’s not online, but it is the headline for the print edition.

And Tim Polenty is on Meet the Press saying, “it’s not just because she’s a woman.”

Who are they talking about, of course? Sarah Palin. And they’re both full of shit.

Since John McCain has decided to throw a young-un into the mix in his campaign - and since he’s obviously decided he doesn’t mind discussing the age issue - I thought it might be instructive to take a stroll down memory lane and see how other presidents have fared over the course of their tenures.

Abraham Lincoln, 1860 and 1865

Ronald Reagan, 1980 and 1988

Bill Clinton, 1992 and 2000

George W Bush, 2000 and 2008

And finally. . . .

John McCain, 2008 and forcast for 2016