Sarah Palin claims dinosaurs and people coexisted. Conservatives Begin Questioning Palin's Heft.
Monday Morning Reaction: Conservatives Fret (Daily Kos). Palin is even getting bad poll numbers in Kentucky!
Ha! Note that Fox News has removed this AP article from its site. I've reposted the whole article here.
Also, Sarah Palin has some scary and ridiculous fundamentalist Christian beliefs that could turn our nation into a hick town. She should immediately be disqualified for not knowing basic facts about the earth. America would become the laughingstock of the world if she ever got elected.
Conservatives Begin Questioning Palin’s Heft (AP):
Sunday, September 28, 2008
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/28/conservatives-begin-questioning-palins-heft/
A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah
Palin’s uneven - and sometimes downright awkward - performances in her
limited media appearances.
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says
the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez,
writing for the conservative National Review, says “that’s not a crazy
suggestion” and that “something’s gotta change.”
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance
isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to
have interviews like that and not take on water.”
“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the
same time, I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s-
t,” said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. “But she ain’t *** Cheney,
nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”
There is no doubt that Palin retains a tremendous amount of support
among rank-and-file Republicans. She draws huge crowds, continues to
raise a lot of money for the McCain campaign, and state parties report
she has sparked an uptick in the number of volunteers.
Asked about Palin’s performance in the CBS interview, a McCain
official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: “She did
fine. She’s a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate.”
But there is also no doubt many Republican insiders are worried she
could blow next week’s debate, based on her unexpectedly weak and
unsteady media appearances, and hurt the Republican ticket if she
does.
What follows is a viewer’s guide to some of Palin’s toughest moments
on camera so far.
Speaking this week with CBS’s Katie Couric, Palin seemed caught off-
guard by a very predictable question about the status of McCain
adviser Rick Davis’ relationship with mortgage lender Freddie Mac.
Davis was accused by several news outlets of retaining ties - and
profiting from - the companies despite his denials.
Where a more experienced politician might have been able to brush off
Couric’s follow-up question, Palin seemed genuinely stumped, repeating
the same answer twice and resorting to boilerplate language about the
“undue influence of lobbyists.”
These missteps could be attributed to inadequate preparation and don’t
necessarily reflect more deeply on Palin’s ability to perform as vice
president. But when reporters have tried to probe Palin’s thinking on
subjects such as foreign policy, she’s been similarly opaque.
In an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin gave a muddled answer
to a question about her opinion of the Bush Doctrine.
And given the chance to describe her foreign policy credentials more
fully, Palin recited familiar talking points, telling Gibson that her
experience with energy policy was sufficient preparation for dealing
with national security issues.
In the same interview, Palin let Gibson lead her into saying it might
be necessary to wage war on Russia - a suggestion that most candidates
would have avoided making explicitly and that signaled her discomfort
in discussing global affairs.
Then, asked this week by Couric to discuss her knowledge of foreign
relations - in particular, her assertion that Alaska’s proximity to
Russia gave her international experience - Palin tripped herself up
explaining her interactions with Alaska’s neighbor to the west.
Watch CBS Videos Online
On the economy, too, Palin has avoided taking clear stances. In a
largely friendly interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, Palin
spoke in tangled generalities in response to a question about a
possible Wall Street bailout - and even preempted her campaign by
coming out against it.
On Thursday, Palin finally took questions from her traveling press -
but shut things down quickly after Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel asked
her whether she would support Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been
indicted for corruption, and Rep. Don Young, who is under federal
investigation, for reelection.
Unlike her other interviews, at least this time Palin had the option
to walk away.
Some on the right are joining a chorus of criticism over Sarah Palin (LA Times): John McCain's running mate and his sharp reactions to the nation's economic crisis have led several prominent conservative columnists to slam the senator as reckless and strident.
George Will, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, David Frum (ex-Bush speechwriter), Charles Krauthammer, and Ross Douthat are some of the major conservative writers who have slammed Sarah Palin and John McCain. Kathleen Parker asked for Palin to drop out.
Sarah Palin Claimed Dinosaurs and People Coexisted (HuffPo).
Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy (LA Times):
Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct -- the teacher said.
After conducting a college band and watching Palin deliver a commencement address to a small group of home-schooled students in June 1997, Wasilla resident Philip Munger said, he asked the young mayor about her religious beliefs.
Palin told him that "dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time," Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said "she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks," recalled Munger, who teaches music at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and has regularly criticized Palin in recent years on his liberal political blog, called Progressive Alaska.
The idea of a "young Earth" -- that God created the Earth about 6,000 years ago, and dinosaurs and humans coexisted early on -- is a popular strain of creationism.
Though in her race for governor she called for faith-based "intelligent design" to be taught along with evolution in Alaska's schools, Gov. Palin has not sought to require it, state educators say....
Stein said Palin displayed only hints of her fundamentalist Assembly of God upbringing when he first backed her for a nonpartisan run for Wasilla City Council in the early 1990s. But in 1996, when Palin ousted Mayor Stein with the aid of pink-colored antiabortion mailers and busloads of Christian grass-roots activists, she grew more overt about her plans, he said.
She combined her staff meetings with prayer sessions, Stein said, and upset the town's chief librarian by asking what the process would be for banning books. According to Stein, bans were never carried out only because "the library director was horrified and stood up to her."
Geri McCann, who ran the town museum under Mayor Palin, counters: "Sarah brought it up because she knew there was a moral majority in Wasilla who needed their voices heard."
During an October 2006 debate in the Alaska governor's race, Palin urged that evolution and creationist ideas be taught together in state schools. "Don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides," she said....
ABC Panel from "This Week" Tears Into McCain (HuffPo):
Palin's favorable/unfavorable difference drops to -10:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/28/75413/3350/471/612782
Yesterday's polling, the first after the debate, was the strongest Obama day picked up by the Research 2000 tracking poll. He led 51-42, and therefore, Obama had a +9 on Sa to go with +5 Th, +7 Fri (MoE +/- 5.1 for individual days.) Sarah Palin's fav/unfav are now -10 (40/50), and Obama is +27 (his improvement is via dropping his unfav to 32.)
Ha! Note that Fox News has removed this AP article from its site. I've reposted the whole article here.
Also, Sarah Palin has some scary and ridiculous fundamentalist Christian beliefs that could turn our nation into a hick town. She should immediately be disqualified for not knowing basic facts about the earth. America would become the laughingstock of the world if she ever got elected.
Conservatives Begin Questioning Palin’s Heft (AP):
Sunday, September 28, 2008
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/28/conservatives-begin-questioning-palins-heft/
A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah
Palin’s uneven - and sometimes downright awkward - performances in her
limited media appearances.
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says
the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez,
writing for the conservative National Review, says “that’s not a crazy
suggestion” and that “something’s gotta change.”
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance
isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to
have interviews like that and not take on water.”
“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the
same time, I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s-
t,” said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. “But she ain’t *** Cheney,
nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”
There is no doubt that Palin retains a tremendous amount of support
among rank-and-file Republicans. She draws huge crowds, continues to
raise a lot of money for the McCain campaign, and state parties report
she has sparked an uptick in the number of volunteers.
Asked about Palin’s performance in the CBS interview, a McCain
official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: “She did
fine. She’s a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate.”
But there is also no doubt many Republican insiders are worried she
could blow next week’s debate, based on her unexpectedly weak and
unsteady media appearances, and hurt the Republican ticket if she
does.
What follows is a viewer’s guide to some of Palin’s toughest moments
on camera so far.
Speaking this week with CBS’s Katie Couric, Palin seemed caught off-
guard by a very predictable question about the status of McCain
adviser Rick Davis’ relationship with mortgage lender Freddie Mac.
Davis was accused by several news outlets of retaining ties - and
profiting from - the companies despite his denials.
Where a more experienced politician might have been able to brush off
Couric’s follow-up question, Palin seemed genuinely stumped, repeating
the same answer twice and resorting to boilerplate language about the
“undue influence of lobbyists.”
These missteps could be attributed to inadequate preparation and don’t
necessarily reflect more deeply on Palin’s ability to perform as vice
president. But when reporters have tried to probe Palin’s thinking on
subjects such as foreign policy, she’s been similarly opaque.
In an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin gave a muddled answer
to a question about her opinion of the Bush Doctrine.
And given the chance to describe her foreign policy credentials more
fully, Palin recited familiar talking points, telling Gibson that her
experience with energy policy was sufficient preparation for dealing
with national security issues.
In the same interview, Palin let Gibson lead her into saying it might
be necessary to wage war on Russia - a suggestion that most candidates
would have avoided making explicitly and that signaled her discomfort
in discussing global affairs.
Then, asked this week by Couric to discuss her knowledge of foreign
relations - in particular, her assertion that Alaska’s proximity to
Russia gave her international experience - Palin tripped herself up
explaining her interactions with Alaska’s neighbor to the west.
Watch CBS Videos Online
On the economy, too, Palin has avoided taking clear stances. In a
largely friendly interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, Palin
spoke in tangled generalities in response to a question about a
possible Wall Street bailout - and even preempted her campaign by
coming out against it.
On Thursday, Palin finally took questions from her traveling press -
but shut things down quickly after Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel asked
her whether she would support Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been
indicted for corruption, and Rep. Don Young, who is under federal
investigation, for reelection.
Unlike her other interviews, at least this time Palin had the option
to walk away.
Some on the right are joining a chorus of criticism over Sarah Palin (LA Times): John McCain's running mate and his sharp reactions to the nation's economic crisis have led several prominent conservative columnists to slam the senator as reckless and strident.
George Will, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, David Frum (ex-Bush speechwriter), Charles Krauthammer, and Ross Douthat are some of the major conservative writers who have slammed Sarah Palin and John McCain. Kathleen Parker asked for Palin to drop out.
Sarah Palin Claimed Dinosaurs and People Coexisted (HuffPo).
Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy (LA Times):
Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct -- the teacher said.
After conducting a college band and watching Palin deliver a commencement address to a small group of home-schooled students in June 1997, Wasilla resident Philip Munger said, he asked the young mayor about her religious beliefs.
Palin told him that "dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time," Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said "she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks," recalled Munger, who teaches music at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and has regularly criticized Palin in recent years on his liberal political blog, called Progressive Alaska.
The idea of a "young Earth" -- that God created the Earth about 6,000 years ago, and dinosaurs and humans coexisted early on -- is a popular strain of creationism.
Though in her race for governor she called for faith-based "intelligent design" to be taught along with evolution in Alaska's schools, Gov. Palin has not sought to require it, state educators say....
Stein said Palin displayed only hints of her fundamentalist Assembly of God upbringing when he first backed her for a nonpartisan run for Wasilla City Council in the early 1990s. But in 1996, when Palin ousted Mayor Stein with the aid of pink-colored antiabortion mailers and busloads of Christian grass-roots activists, she grew more overt about her plans, he said.
She combined her staff meetings with prayer sessions, Stein said, and upset the town's chief librarian by asking what the process would be for banning books. According to Stein, bans were never carried out only because "the library director was horrified and stood up to her."
Geri McCann, who ran the town museum under Mayor Palin, counters: "Sarah brought it up because she knew there was a moral majority in Wasilla who needed their voices heard."
During an October 2006 debate in the Alaska governor's race, Palin urged that evolution and creationist ideas be taught together in state schools. "Don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides," she said....
ABC Panel from "This Week" Tears Into McCain (HuffPo):
Click to viewPalin's favorable/unfavorable difference drops to -10:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/28/75413/3350/471/612782
Yesterday's polling, the first after the debate, was the strongest Obama day picked up by the Research 2000 tracking poll. He led 51-42, and therefore, Obama had a +9 on Sa to go with +5 Th, +7 Fri (MoE +/- 5.1 for individual days.) Sarah Palin's fav/unfav are now -10 (40/50), and Obama is +27 (his improvement is via dropping his unfav to 32.)