It is hard to make the case that a discussion on energy policy is either interesting or uplifting. McCain VP (and Alaska Governor) Sarah Palin accomplishes both in her informative and frankly fascinating recent interview with CNBC money honey, Maria Bartiromo. In the 11 minute interview, Ms Palin does an outstanding job of explaining the benefits of drilling in ANWR, the minuscule risks involved and exposes the naiveté of Obama's renewable energy plan.
Below is a mere 2 minute teaser video. Be sure to watch the whole interview here.

Posted by: Open Blog at 05:59 PM | Comments (49)
Post contains 95 words, total size 1 kb.

Video intro says it was recorded on a flight following the Democrat Convention in Denver.

"The timing, at least as it appears now, is that it'll be there on Monday. That just demonstrates God is on our side".

You stay classy Democrats.

tip from Gran, in the Gustav thread below

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 05:45 PM | Comments (65)
Post contains 78 words, total size 1 kb.

Seven million since she was named VP candidate, as disgruntled Republicans find themselves pleasantly gruntled.

Thinking about donating? Better do it fast -- he can only accept donations through accepting the nomination Thursday. So if you're a-gonna do it, do it soon.

Even Sooner Than That? The Bronze says he thought the cutoff was tomorrow.

I don't know. I'll write someone at camp McCain to find out.

Posted by: Ace at 03:06 PM | Comments (118)
Post contains 77 words, total size 1 kb.

Apparently Second Rate Kos Diarist Excitable Andi got everyone, well excited, when he posted an email wondering if two of Palin's kids were named after TV witches (Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Piper from Charmed).

Turns out, nope. Not so much.

One big problem is the origin of the name Trig. According to Palin's husband Todd, "Trig is a Norse name for "strength.""

"Norse"? As in Scandi?

Oh well, Trig is a cute little bugger so I think we'll let it slide.

This time.

Posted by: DrewM at 01:36 PM | Comments (111)
Post contains 104 words, total size 1 kb.

I don't read Deadline Hollywood Daily for political analysis, but Nikki Finke was right on the money with this from yesterday:

Last night, NBC's Brian Williams and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann had an on-air bromance over, of all things, Aaron Sorkin's writing. Both men, twice on the telecast, compared Barack Obama's Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to a scene in Sorkin's pic The American President where President Andrew Shepherd rails against his political opponent...

Here's the thing: film reviewers found the weakest part of that Sorkin movie was its naive view of politics. As the Los Angeles Times' movie critic Kenny Turan wrote, the pic is filled with "fantasies [and] pipe dreams about the American political system and where it could theoretically be headed". I don't know which is more humiliating for Williams and Olbermann: that they couldn't compare Obama's speech to something real, like nomination acceptance speeches from the past ... or they tried to praise Obama's speech and wound up unwittingly dissing it... or that they think Aaron Sorkin is so quotable.

Obama is the fantasy candidate the Left has always dreamed of. It was only natural for Williams and Olbermann to compare him to those other fantasy politicians which they've so admired, presidents Andrew Shepherd and Jed Bartlett.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 01:09 PM | Comments (23)
Post contains 223 words, total size 2 kb.

Ummm...

Bring it on.

Thanks to Bruce.

More: The DNC and the MSM (but I repeat myself) keep repeating that Palin's gig as Mayor was a part-time job.

So was Obama's job as state legislator.

Posted by: Ace at 12:31 PM | Comments (76)
Post contains 53 words, total size 1 kb.

I didn't want to even acknowledge this, but most have mentioned the smear so it's not like embargoing it is doing any good.

I'll link Right Wing News on this. The big offer of evidence by the left is that Palin didn't announce her preganancy until the seventh month, and that it took people by surprise, because it wasn't showing.

As RWN points out, the trouble is by the next month it was showing --

Other proof? Why look, in this thumbnail, Governor Palin doesn't look pregnant!

Of course, she's wearing a big roomy jacket as a pregnant woman might, and, um, the daughter she's supposedly covering for doesn't look pregnant, either. She has the same body she has in all of her pictures. Guess they sort of overlooked that.

Anyway.

Felt kinda dirty about that.

What Does This "Scandal" Even Get Them? It's just nastiness. The "scandal," if true, doesn't hurt Sarah Palin at all. It makes her and her husband look like pretty damn loving parents.

No, the only one it hurts, reputation-wise, is the daughter, who is not, as far as I know, running for office. But that's the point, of course. To inflict pain on the family through nasty rumors, to hurt the parents by attacking their children.

Posted by: Ace at 12:22 PM | Comments (76)
Post contains 230 words, total size 2 kb.

As usual, around but kinda sick of the computer.

Posted by: Ace at 12:00 PM | Comments (18)
Post contains 15 words, total size 1 kb.

I'm putting this up for Slublog who is having some access issues. Here's his post:

Never saw that coming.

So unconventional was McCain's choice that it left students of the presidency literally "stunned," in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. "Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who's of presidential caliber," said Goldstein.

...

Palin, on the other hand, is a total "wild card," said Stanford historian David Kennedy.

GOLDSTEIN, JOEL
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
6/16/08
$250 Obama, Barack (D)

KENNEDY, DAVID M
STANFORD UNIVERSITY/PROFESSOR
4/20/07
$2,300 Obama, Barack (D)

Five minutes on OpenSecrets netted me that information. Fred Barbash and David Mark, the reporters for this article, couldn't be bothered to do the same? Let's just say it doesn't come as much of a surprise that two guys who donated to the ticket running against McCain and Palin aren't all that impressed with her. A simple line providing information about their donations would allow the reader to put their comments into some context.

I have no problem quoting liberal scholars who may disagree with the policies of a particular president. Quoting scholars who have actually donated to the candidate this sort of criticism helps, though, is just journalistic malpractice. Either find scholars that didn't donate to the candidate, or be upfront about their donations.

Posted by: DrewM at 11:51 AM | Comments (63)
Post contains 268 words, total size 2 kb.

With Hurricane GustavÂ’s landfall predicted for Monday night or early Tuesday morning, mandatory evacuations orders are being issued and transportation hubs have already been turned into evacuation points for residents of New Orleans.

Unlike 3 years ago when Katrina hit, authorities in Louisiana (led by new Republican Governor Bobby Jindal) are taking a far more active role in preparing for Hurricane Gustav.

New Orleans officials dispatched 40 city buses at 8 a.m. Saturday as part of a plan to evacuate an estimated 30,000 who could not get themselves out of harm's way. Similar scenarios played out in Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines.

State-chartered buses were in place at the Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans and at other central sites across the suburbs to ferry residents out of low-lying areas en route to shelters in north Louisiana and Tennessee. Elderly and infirm residents were slated to board Amtrak trains to Memphis.

Jeb Tate, spokesman for the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, said staffers would give each bus and train occupant a once-over to make sure they were fit for the trip, then fit each traveler with a green wristband.

"This is what we practice and train for, " Tate said, following his second trip into City Hall to unload all of his personal items. "We are ready for the duration of this storm."

Also in place at the downtown transit station were rows of Louisiana National Guard vehicles sent from across the state to guide the evacuation process and to protect property in an increasingly empty city. About a dozen news media trucks also had gathered in the parking lot.

In Jefferson Parish, a steady stream of cars and trucks, their headlights beaming, turned onto major thoroughfares and began pouring onto Interstate 10, even though the state's contraflow plan was not expected to go into effect for several more hours.

Despite the fact that the criticism of the federal response has been blown out of all proportions for the last 3 years (including by John McCain) itÂ’s good to see that lessons have been learned and competent leadership seems to be on top of things this time.

Yes, we could have a discussion about how itÂ’s not a federal (or even state or municipal) responsibility to get people the hell out the way of a hurricane but thatÂ’s not the world we live in.

As was the case during Katrina, the Times-Picayune in New Orleans is providing great coverage.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone in that area, especially any Gulf Cost morons. We're hoping for the best for you.

New map courtesy of Dave in Texas who likes pretty, shiny things.

Posted by: DrewM at 09:25 AM | Comments (58)
Post contains 447 words, total size 3 kb.