In case you haven't heard yet, Sarah Palin was on SNL last night. Check it out:
So funny. I love Tina Fey. I have a crush on her. In fact, I think I may have to start watching 30 Rock. But back to Sarah.... While I like her and respect many things about her, I do not think she is ready to be VP. In fact, I feel kinda bad for her. She's been thrown into this craziness and I just don't think she has the chops yet to pull it off. But man, is she giving SNL a lot of material to work with. I'm afraid she just isn't the most well-spoken of politicians. Case in point that was parodied on SNL: Last week, Palin came to the great state of North Carolina. During a fundraiser in Greensboro she said the following:
“We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America. Being here with all of you hard-working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans.”
Having grown up in a smallish town in rural Ohio, I'm all for small town pride, but what the heck is she talking about here? What parts of the US are not the "real America"? And what parts of our country are not "pro-America"?
Apparently, later on her campaign plane, reporters asked what she meant by pro-America.
“Every area, every area across this great country where we’re stopping and where also the other ticket is stopping and getting to speak at these rallies and speak with the good Americans, it’s all pro-America. I was just reinforcing the fact that there, where I was, there’s good patriotic people there in these rallies, so excited about positive change and reform of government that’s coming that they are so appreciative of hearing our message, hearing our plan. Not, not any one area of America is more pro-America patriotically than others.”
Alrighty then, Sarah. Thanks for clearing that up for us.
In less sarcastic news, Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama today. He was quite eloquent and very fair in his reasons for going against his party to endorse Obama. I am very impressed with Gen. Powell and his very thoughtful remarks. This video is about 7 minutes long and I'd suggest watching all of it, but at least watch the first couple minutes and the last minute.
Whatever your politics are, just be sure to VOTE!!! Here in NC, early voting has begun. I think I may take advantage of it and vote this week. You can even register and vote at the same time if you aren't already registered. It's so fun being in a swing state where my vote really counts!!!
You definitely need to watch 30 rock, it's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky, the Utah vote means nothing. Utah was slated as the #1 state that will vote for McCain. I loved the SNL bit, they have such a great cast right now!
ReplyDeleteI loved it when Tina Fey named all the "un-American" states as the definitely blue states, adn then talked about the swing states as the ones that could decide how American they wanted to be. I LOVE how SNL is lampooning all the weird crazy things in this election.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am right there with you on Palin. She just isn't ready to take on this kind of job, and McCain isn't healthy enough to really guarantee that she won't have to. Plus I still can't get over her interview with Katie Couric. I mean, really.
thanks for posting that Katrina! Regardless of party affiliation or who you're voting for it's just important to VOTE!
ReplyDeleteso go do it people
Tina Fey has done a great job. I think she does the strange accent pretty darn well. And whoever it is that does Obama and McCain are also really good. I think the Obama guy does the "aaaaaand...so." really really well. I do wish SNL was more balanced. Why not do a Biden skit on one of his many gaffes, like the president and TV (when TV wasn't around) or the mega messup with the energy independence? Both would have been good.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Palin is probably the worst politician I've heard with the media. But for that matter, Biden is bad too-and he's had 30 years, not weeks. And still, aren't there more important things in a president? I think positions are far more important than media readiness. And even sadder, though I suppose its a reality that McCain could bite the dust, lets face it. A president has advisors. If Palin became president she'd need help with the media but her advisors would do a lot of the work as they will for any president.
Speaking of growing up in a small town, did you hear about Michelle Obama in Zanesville? She assured the audience that she and Barack know of financial sacrifices-like paying $10,000 for annual piano lessons. That takes guts. Hardly a sacrifice for most Americans. I hope in fact Barack doesn't consider it a sacrifice.
Katrina and Rachael, please tell me that you aren't basing your vote on the fact that Palin is terrible with the media. I hope you have a host of many many many other reasons. The basics on morals keep coming back to haunt me. Economics, welfare, gun control, education standards, energy independence, tax raises, save the earth status aside, is it really okay to abort a baby when they're developed enough to survive (and they are-last spring the youngest baby was born at the partial birth week timeline)? Doesn't that say a LOT about someone? I've paid a lot of the issues and read countless hours and watched countless clips this election and I can't help but come back to basic morals. I can't wrap my head around it, how this important position okay? What other issues trump basic regard for human life and murdering? I would sincerely love to hear more of your reasons.
I think the Powell endorsement is more than strange. He voted Republican for how many years? In his original statement he mentioned that he liked his "style" and some other very shallow reasons. (I don't have a link, but I think you'd find the original endorsement very weak.) Yes, he is very polished here but wouldn't anyone be if you knew what question was coming and you could prepare for it? (I don't think Palin knew what was coming.) One thing that gets me about this-how do you meet the standard for being an exceptional president before you're president? I fear his reason is the same as the droves of folks who want Obama and are just now paying attention to politics for the first time their lives. I wish I could believe his rehearsed reasons but I don't. THIS election he ALL of a sudden is voting Democrat. If the Republican party was becoming too right in recent years (or whatever he said), why didn't he change his vote then? Obama is the most left politician yet. Republican to socialist...lets take a painful honest reality check. Its not his views they have in common.
I might vote early but I might be able to be a poll worker. If thats the case I think it would be nice to vote the day of, and I kind of hate being an early voter in Ohio, I'd kind of like to be disassociated with the early voter fraud.
Autumn, I really don't intend to make my blog a place for heated political discussions, which is why I tend to keep the opinions I post on here fairly mild. However, I think you really are genuinely curious to know how I feel. I don't think either of us are going to change the other's mind but I will address some of the points you made here. And know that we can disagree but I still love you!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst, Biden-- yes, he says stuff he shouldn't say. I think he needs to work on thinking before speaking. But at least he knows what he's talking about and has years of experience. I like his honesty. (I agree SNL should do a skit on him. It could be really funny.)
Second, I find the argument that advisers do most of the work rather disturbing. If that's true why have a president at all? Of course, presidents need advisers, but at the end of the day the buck stops with the president. He or she still makes the final call. I don't think Palin is ready to make those calls.
Third, I hadn't heard about Michelle Obama in Zanesville. I'd like to see a reference with her comments.
Fourth, Of course I am not basing my decision on Palin's poor media performance. I am basing my opinion on her apparent lack of understanding and knowledge of the issues and her lack of experience. She should be quite good with the media given her broadcasting background. The times she stumbles are when she must fend for herself and answer direct questions. If you are running to be Vice-President you should be able to adequately answer the kinds of questions she's gotten in interviews.
Fifth, I do not support abortion, but quite frankly that is not the most important issue to me. It's not that I don't take Life seriously. Believe me, I do. It's just that I do not see that as something that is going to be changed in our country. Roe v. Wade has not been overturned even with Republican majorities and a republican president. I just do not think it's going to happen. And I don't think that makes me a bad person. I am not a one issue voter, and I have to look at everything. When I do, I find myself more aligned with Obama than with McCain. As for partial birth abortion--it is my understanding that the bill Obama voted no on did not have an exception for if the mother's life was in danger which is why he voted no. He is not FOR partial birth abortions.
There are also other Morals to consider. What about all those who have died in the war? To quote a bumper sticker we saw once: War is Not Pro-Life. (Not that I don't think that wars can be justified but I'm not convinced the one in Iraq is.) What about the torture of prisoners under this administration? What about McCain cheating on his first wife? What about the fact that McCain "swears like a sailor" and is known to have a volatile temper?
Sixth, (man this is getting long) Powell's endorsement. Actually, the video I posted IS his original endorsement. He went on Meet the Press and made the announcement and that is what I posted. I absolutely do not find his reasons to be "weak". He did mention "style" somewhere in there, but I don't think he meant that he likes Obama's ties. I think he meant he likes his style of leadership. There is nothing wrong with that and it was certainly not the only reason he gave. I think his reasons are some of the most thoughtful, honest, and heartfelt I've heard. This was obviously not an easy decision for him. You brought up him suddenly switching parties. That is not what he's doing. I would bet he's still a registered Republican, but he really feels that Barack Obama is the right man to be president right now. I, too, voted for George Bush four years ago and was registered as a republican until last year. Now I am registered Independent. I don't believe completely in either party's platforms, nor do I agree completely with either candidate. But I do think that right now Barack Obama will make an excellent president. I think he's what we need right now in this time of turmoil. I am happy to say that I voted for him.
This is an interesting conversation. However, I am tired of the argument that religious Republicans are basing their vote on one moral issue. And to clarify, there are two major moral issues at hand, abortion and gay marriage. The reason this is important is not because that on the president's first day in office he will be able to overturn or pass some type of legislation on either. Rather, he is responsible for nominating up to three Supreme Court justices during his term. Two of those justices being liberal already, wouldn't they want to retire under the leadership of a liberal majority, and secure the next seat for another liberal judge? But maybe this time with two of the most liberal Senators in power, they will nominate judges like those in California who legalized gay marriage. This is an important issue. Here are Barack Obama's stances, taken from his website.
ReplyDeleteOn abortion: "Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case." (Need I emphasize the word "priority?")
A quote to Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Tran-sexuals(LGBT): “While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”
— Senator Barack Obama
Now here is what the The Family: A Proclamation to the World, issued by the LDS church states: "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. . . We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."
I find the warning at the end very interesting. Maybe that is what Sen. Joe Biden was referring to when he said, "Mark my words, it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. (hmmm...Cuban Missile Crisis?) The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy." There goes the notion of avoiding war. Even though, this is what Barack Obama has said about the surge in Iraq, "I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated. I've already said it's succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."
I realize this is long, and I don't mean it to be offensive. As election day gets nearer, and the future is up for grabs, I would feel better knowing that my opinion was stated before rather than after. And while I have only focused on moral issues, my opinion also rests on many other important issues. Katrina, thanks for providing this forum. Happy voting!
Katrina, thanks so much for appeasing me, especially knowing that I wouldn't feel the same way. Muchos appreciatos! :) I'm going to try to keep this short.
ReplyDeleteAdvisors, I think that's disturbing too, but I think its true. Speech writers...there are a lot of brains behind the "president's" name. Why have a president if that's the case? It just wouldn't work to report to a slew of advisors.
Michelle's Zville stop (this is even worse than what I had heard-and happened to be the first link I hit from my google search)
http://fetchingjen.blogspot.com/2008/03/michelle-boo-hoo-obama.html
I definitely agree that you should be able to respond much better than Palin has in her interviews, MUCH better.
I definitely definitely assumed you were prolife. I don't think its realistic to base a vote on that issue alone and had forgotten about it entirely for months until someone mentioned him supporting the partial birth abortion recently and the grave images won't leave my mind. I don't think Roe V Wade will happen either. I do think the partial birth could be stopped.
Here's a link to his record on abortion (at least 2 bits on partial birth, I only skimmed)
http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Barack_Obama_Abortion.htm
(And on the note of the link above, I think not voting one way or the other, not just by the rule, is loudly saying you don't have a firm position.) And as a sidenote, I'd love to know what you think of his absent senate voting record if you're willing to answer another. Does that concern you that he wasn't willing to take positions?
Morals and war/pro life. I don't think I could briefly respond to that one.
My understanding is that McCain definitely has plenty of personal flaws like those that you mentioned. They're certainly not admirable and still I don't think its the type of thing that would influence a presidency. Infidelity is a BIG BIG deal to me. I can't say how strongly I feel about it. Definitely a major mistake. While I don't respect him in that regard at ALL I don't think its the type of moral that comes into play with the role of a president. I do think the value of unborn life and same sex marriage does because there are laws against those things (at least laws that people pay attention to).
I might listen to the Powell endorsement again sometime. The original announcement I heard was shortened on the radio. I was definitely listening with a critical ear and am obviously on the other side but nothing rang really true to me. This is probably because I don't believe him. I would also bet that he's a registered Rep still.
Thanks again for answering some burning qs! :)
Autumn, thanks for the respectful discussion! :-)
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Obama voting "present" so much. I sympathize with how difficult some of the votes are in the Senate and that he may have wanted to steer clear of taking a definitely stance on certain issues at that time. I dont know. I'd be interested in hearing his reasons.