Palin proves TIMING is EVERYTHING - again.

Sarah Palin burst into the national consciousness almost two years ago, and for a short while news services could talk of nothing else, and following the VP candidates debate pundits said she'd won because she didn't completely blow it. By November the bump Palin provided McCain's ratings faded as the country learned more about his new running-mate, and U.S. voters elected the Illinois Senator with the "funny name and big ears." It wasn't so long after Obama's night in Grant Park that Palin calculated her title as Governor of Alaska was more of a hindrance to her career than a help, remember?

Most of the pundits assure us that Tea Party activists (or at least coverage of them on TV) bolstered by Palin's photogenic smile tipped the balance against incumbent Utah Senator Robert Bennett when he failed to secure his party's nomination at a state convention.

Naturally, Palin has bestowed her Tea Party blessing on John "Complete the Danged Fence" McCain, yet by all accounts McCain is in danger of being upset in a primary. There's no question Arizona is currently the focus of the immigration storm in the U.S., but it's shaping up as the epicenter of the anti-incumbent earthquake since McCain's well-documented "toughening" of his rhetoric on that issue hasn't staved off the challenge from former congressman/talk show radio host J.D. Hayworth.

Like former President Bush, as recently as 2007 mavericky Senator McCain had championed less-extreme solutions to immigration reform before consulting the tea leaves and getting his position right. Unlike Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, McCain's not in a primary today, but he may wish he was as Hayworth continues to make inroads in McCain's lead. By the time the late August Arizona primary happens the Palin endorsement will be ancient history, and McCain's staff will be struggling to dominate the news cycle much the way Specter's struggled to be "bigger news" than Joe Sestak.

The "re-assignment" of Campaign Manager Shiree Verdone and Aide Mike Hellon reveals just how precarious McCain's situation really is -- and that demonstrates how little impact Palin's early endorsement had. Given her own notoriety it's hard to say if Michelle Bachmann is getting any boost from her connection to Palin, but she's already worried about the Democratic front runner, State Senator Tarryl Clark, who hasn't even secured her place on the November ballot yet (MN primary: August 10th.)

Palin's endorsement may not be enough to preserve McCain's power. Specter's calculated change of parties hasn't looked very effective. Bachmann's running negative ads before her own presumed challenger has even won the primary. Meanwhile the Obama administration is moving forward fast on Wall Street reform, and the unholy trinity of BP, Haliburton, and Transocean squandered that same administration's willingness to let off-shore exploration move ahead.

Drill, baby, drill? Timing is everything.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Sarah Palin Says McCain Campaign Lacked People She Could Pray With

In a long and stemwinding speech before the Alaskan Republicans, Governor Sarah Palin let loose with a comment that's sure to contribute to the slow erosion of the Republican Party.  According to the Huffington Post , which broke the story, Palin said of the McCain Campaign there was no one around she could hold "hands and pray with" when she needed support.

Wow.  What she's saying is she questions their Christian faith.  That's a hard blow if you think about it.  I'm going to wade through the rest of her speech soon.  It's a doozy, it seems.

Sarah Palin attends Alfalfa Club Dinner - Video

Even though the Alfalfa Club Dinner was reportedly closed to the media, someone forgot to tell this New Media maven, who posted this video at a YouTube channel called nxrisetaker2003 but which is really about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, shown walking into the event in this video. It's reported that Palin attended the Alfalfa Club Dinner specifically because President Barack Obama was there.

I don't yet know if Palin managed to talk with Obama. directly, but stay tuned.

As for Palin's new political action committee, it has a new website called Sarahpac.com, and has this message:

Dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.

SarahPAC believes America's best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.
SarahPAC believes energy independence is a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.

SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all. Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals. Join us today!

But other than that message and a page to donate, there's a bio about Palin, and that's it. If one's going to give money to a PAC, the website has to be more substantial than this. Take MoveOn.org as an example. That site has pages explaining its current campaigns. You know where your money is going. With SarahPac, the only person that seems to collect money is...Sarah Palin.

Maybe that's the idea.

Sarah Palin's Daughter Bristol Gives Birth to Son But What Does He Look Like? | ajc.com

More from ajc.com: “ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has given birth to a son, a magazine reported Monday.

Bristol Palin, 18, gave birth to Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston on Sunday, People magazine reported online. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol’s grandmother, told the magazine that “the baby is fine and Bristol is doing well.”

-- But everyone wants to know if the Baby has even a hint that the father may be black!? I talked about this in my video on Kevin, who claimed he was the father of the child and is Black .

TasteBudPolitics.com - An Interesting Site Combining The Election and Eating

It's interesting who you meet at airports.  A simple question I asked while at Denver Airport and to a person about a couple of buttons they had on their shoulder bag led me to this interesting site called "TasteBudPolitics.com."  


Developed by Denver-based "Motive" (thanks for the info Taylor Woodward!) as a promotional product for Odoba Mexican Grill, the website is a cleaverly designed survey that asks you to answer some wacky but logical questions.  For example, who of a set of cartoon icons would you want to be stuck on a desert island with?  I picked Captain Kangaroo because he's got a boat so I can get off the island!  


At any rate, the final outcome of the survey was that I was a "NACHO": an independent person who was most likely single!  (Got that right!)  I then cast my vote for Barack Obama, as did 55 percent of the people surveyed. But what's interesting is McCain won no state at all.


What was also interesting is that the candidates have designations: Barack Obama is a "TACO SALAD" whereas John McCain is a "NACHO" like me.  A Taco Salad person is easy going and empathic, whereas a Nacho is one who kind of "does their own thing" without care of what others think.  Hmm.  Reads like me, again!  


if you're wondering, Sarah Palin is "CHIPS and SALSA" and Joe Biden is a "QUESADILLA".  


You've got to check this out. Ok.  So it's after the election, but it's still fascinating. It cries for a video-blog component of some kind.  Can you imagine asking these questions to random people?!  That would be a hoot!


Hmm....

Oprah: Sarah Palin Is Snubbing Me

Oprah: Sarah Palin Is Snubbing Me Personally, I don't think Oprah should lose sleep over this. Palin's issue may be one of skin color and politics. I hope I'm wrong, but Governor Palin has a lot of growing to do in the area of race-relations. She's still in the 20th Century.

Gov. Sara Palin For Saxby Chambiss - Another Ill-Considered Palin Decision

Governor Sarah Palin made another opps again.  After being interviewed as a Turkey was being slaughtered in full view of TV cameras, then saying she basically didn't care, we have the Gov of SNL traveling down to Georgia to support a man who dodged the draft four times and called a decorated war veteran in Max Cleland, who lost both legs in war, soft on terrorism.  


Wow.  


Well I guess Sarah's not thinking about her future at all.  Because none of that was missed by the Alaska news folks .  

Gov. Sara Palin For Saxby Chambiss - Another Ill-Considered Palin Decision

Governor Sarah Palin made another opps again.  After being interviewed as a Turkey was being slaughtered in full view of TV cameras, then saying she basically didn't care, we have the Gov of SNL traveling down to Georgia to support a man who dodged the draft four times and called a decorated war veteran in Max Cleland, who lost both legs in war, soft on terrorism.

Wow.

Well I guess Sarah's not thinking about her future at all.  Because none of that was missed by the Alaska news folks .

Mayor Mark Begich Ahead of Sen. Ted Stevens By 814 Votes In Alaska Senate Race

In the race for Alaska Senate, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is ahead of embattled Republican Senator Ted Stevens by 814 votes according to Begich's website .  If that lead holds or expands, Begich wins the Alaska Senate race, giving Democrats 58 seats versus 41 Republican seats -- two shy of a filibuster-proof majority.  

SARAH PALIN STILL DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE VP DOES!!!

Man, enough is enough.  I applaud the Draft Palin movement for their work, but a little more vetting was in order.  She's got the VP role wrong , yet again.  On Fox News, which gave her a pass because it doesn't want a smart Black President Obama over a not so with it White President or VP (or maybe they don't know themselves), she said this :  

"Well, they've got to be exclusively, of course, concentrating on the administrative side of governance and there again, that's where my executive experience will be put to good use."

NO.  Sarah, why not admit that you are not well-informed.  But on second thought, since Election Day is one day off, keep talking!  This is great!!  OBAMA 08!

Zennie Abraham on CNN International - Video

I was featured in a discussion on the role and impact of bloggers in the political campaign that was hosted by Errol Barnett, who's a reporter for CNN International and produced by Jessica Ellis, of CNN's Special Projects unit.   If you remember Errol's name, he is the same person who interviewed me regarding my use of New Media at the Democratic National Convention.


The idea was to have two bloggers, one Democrat (me) and the other Republican.  The Republican choice was Adam Brinkley .  Adam's the blogger known for the "Draft Sarah Palin" movement, and since it obviously succeeded, he's due a measure of both congratulations and blame for Governor Palin's political rise and her gaffs along the way.


That aside, one has to give him his props on his achievement.


The talk appeared on CNN International, which means that it was seen around the World, but not in the United States (Rats!)  Which at first may read as a "less than" until you realize that you're seen in probably every airport and hotel in the industrialized World.  I even got an email -- right off the bat of the airing of the segment -- from a friend of mine who lives in Oakland, but was visiting Africa!


Regarding the segment, it was a short, but great conversation which one can see below in the embeded video.  But that written, either Errol or someone edited out the part of the conversation where I pointed out to Adam that more than one McCain advisor was openly critical of Governor Palin (I thought I'd liven things up a bit), and Adam said that whomever was doing that should be fired.


He's totally right.  McCain should listen to Adam more often.  Plus, Governor Palin should give part of whatever riches she gets from now on to Adam.  Were it not for him, she'd still be hunting moose in Alaska.


Here's the video:

Woman Yells "N-Word" On Obama, Sarah Palin Says Nothing

Ok.  This is not right.  Sarah Palin, who's known for stopping in the middle of a rally to take on a heckler, didn't do so this time, and let a woman in the crowd who yelled the "N-word" when Palin referenced Barack Obama go on without a verbal correction of the heckler.  Does that mean she agrees?  


At least the Alaska Gov. could have said "Now, you know, that's not allowed here!  Barack Obama is a true Patriot that we disagree with."  

Anne Marie Cox Says Sarah Palin Isn't Qualified To Be VP; Staying Here Doesn't Help

This from the infamous AMC .

An Evangelical Christian Argument for Obama

Evangelicals have taken a beating this election cycle, but not all of us support McCain/Palin and refusing to support the GOP does not mean evangelicals are abandoning their principles. Here are some excerpts from my stinging critique of the GOP and my argument for why Christians can support Obama:

I am an evangelical Christian with a record of voting in line with the Republican Party. This year, however, I am casting my vote for Barack Obama. My support for Obama stands on its own, and has been well documented throughout this blog. But why would an evangelical Christian vote for a Democrat? The answer is as much a reflection of what Obama stands for as it is what the GOP does not.

Last week I received an email from Dr. James Dobson – whose internet ministry I subscribe to – imploring me to “vote my values,” meaning to vote for the candidate whose “pro-life” and pro traditional marriage rhetoric carried Dr. Dobson’s stamp of approval. My immediate thought was: Why should I vote two of my values to the exclusion of all others? In that question lies the problem of the Christian allegiance to the Republican Party...

GOP leadership has (perhaps with the willing participation of some Christian leaders) twisted and distilled our values to the point where we are just hot-button sound bites wrapped up in a platform designed to benefit the wealthy and corporate classes. In the process, they have turned uninformed Christians (me among them) into “single-issue voters,” sheepishly towing the Party line while it exploits the name of God and bastardizes our ideals to foment hatred, division and racism and to engender animosity toward Christians by associating us with a platform that is anathema to God’s love.

The full article is here.

Rob J.

Sarah Palin will become an Independent

 

Sarah Palin will become an Independent, breaking ranks with the GOP within two or three years.  The reason is that Palin has been treated terribly within the Republican Party of late and this, combined with the fact that she's still learning about World politics, will change her world view.  Palin will become more of a centrist and realize that she can have better success away from the GOP.  

Sarah Palin Said To Be "Defying McCain Aides" - Remember My Video "Palin Stabbing McCain in The Back?"

Today, Politico's Ben Smith has an interesting top story (which I first saw at the Huffington Post) charging that Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin is "defying aides", specifically going against the message of the heads of the campaign and establishing internal divisions.  All to the point of setting herself up for a brighter future in politics. Remember my video on this?  I called it weeks ago:

GOP Conservatives For Barack Obama

Many Republicans are coming over to the side of Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden and in this video some of them explain why. Personally, I think Governor Palin really wants to be an Obama supporter. (Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for spotting this video.)

Palin's $150,000 Makeover - Socialist Charge Is Racist

My commentary on the RNC's expenditure of $150,000 for Governor Palin and her family, and my assertion that the McCain / Palin Campaign's charge that Senator Obama is socialist is a racist claim that has it's basis in American civil rights history.

On iReport

Palin Doesn't Get That We're In Economic Trouble

I just watched CNN's Drew Griffin's interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and I've got to briefly share that she doesn't get the economic problem we're in.

On the matter of the Bailout plan and our financial problems, Palin fears that it would be used as a reason to "spend" and to have "big government" and that the "private sector" would be forgotten.

Man.

Memo to Governor Palin: it was the private sector that created the problem we're in.

Geez.

Sarah Palin Tackled By Terry Tate - Literally

This is undoubtedly hard to watch, at least for me. Then again, I just discovered "Terry Take" more myself today. In this video he tackles -- I mean tackles -- Sarah Palin just as she's being interviewed by CBS News' Katie Couric.

Take says he's an "equal opportunity hitter" -- the best office linebacker ever.