Sunday Morning Spoor

Several readers have sent me the link to Mudflats, an Alaska blog written by an East coast native who's lived and worked in Alaska since 1991. This blogger offers more insider specifics on the curious case of the rise of Sarah Palin. First up: Palin's Big Lie that she opposed "the bridge to nowhere" earmark. T'ain't true. "Total fabrication," says Mudflats, who proceeds to offer the irrefutable evidence.

The giggling over Palin among the Sunday Morning Gasbags was under tight control, though the only talking head worth listening to, Republican operative Mike Murphy, who ran John McCain's campaign back in 2000, delivered the only opinion worth the combined hot air: Sarah Palin can make the religious right giddier than the prospect of themo-noookalar war with Russia, but if all she does is solidify McCain's base, she's done NOTHING toward winning this election.

The big giggle moment of the morning came when Cindy McCain said Sarah Palin had foreign policy cred on the basis of Alaska's being so close to both Russia and Canada, two of our most despicable socialist enemies, after Obama, of course. By this reasoning I consider myself an expert on oil and gas, since I grew up adjacent to the oil patch in Texas. Hell, all my uncles were roughnecks on oil rigs, so maybe I ought to be Secretary of Energy! George Stephanopoulos, bless his heart, kept a straight face throughout Cindy McCain's rap.

Under the topic heading ... The Things a Whore Has To Say and Do: A couple of weeks ago Karl Rove belittled Tim Kaine as a possible Democratic Veep pick on Face the Nation:

With all due respect again to Governor Kaine, he's been a governor for three years, he's been able but undistinguished. I don't think people could really name a big, important thing that he's done.

He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. And again, with all due respect to Richmond, Virginia, it's smaller than Chula Vista, California; Aurora, Colorado; Mesa or Gilbert, Arizona; north Las Vegas or Henderson, Nevada. It's not a big town.

Oops. It takes a whore to swallow the big ones. Friday on Fox News -- and exhibiting absolutely no involuntary gag reflex -- Rove bragged about Sarah Palin:

She's a former mayor. She's the mayor of, I think, the second largest city in Alaska before she ran for governor.

For the record, Wasilla, Alaska, was not even the 10th largest city in Alaska. It's smaller than Chula Vista, Aurora, Mesa, Gilbert, North Las Vegas, and Henderson.

With all due respect.

Denominational Inexactness

The Religion Blog at DallasNews.com has been trying to determine Sarah Palin's professed religion, with mixed results. (HT: Brother Doc.) Consensus seems to be that she's Pentecostal but possibly just an ecstatic practitioner of non-denominationalism, though the Wall Street Journal, that most establishmentarian of Republican rags, says she's a Lutheran.

Meanwhile, John McCain is supposedly an Episcopalian (according to some sources) and a Baptist (according to others).

And the allegedly "Baptist" Virginia Foxx outs herself (again) in The Hill's Congress Blog as a Catholic, and not just ANY Catholic either, but one ready to call down the wrath of the Pope on fellow Catholic Nancy Pelosi's head for deviating from church doctrine on abortion. Which leads, naturally, to this...

FOOTNOTE: When the Madam ran for the NC Senate in 1994, she ran as pro-choice, which is why the local pro-choice group, 100 Women, contributed to her campaign. She lied. She's a liar. The truth is not in her.

The Runner-Up

The consensus this a.m. at Farmer's Market -- where I go for deep political analysis -- was that McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his veep was an insult to women ... that he would think that Hillary voters would be magnetically and magically aligned with ANY woman despite her political agenda. "A clumsy political move" was one of the more printable reactions. Laughter was more common. Laughter and derision that McCain would so undercut his own campaign's attacks on Obama as "inexperienced."

One gentleman wanted to know why McCain didn't choose the WINNER of the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, instead of the runner-up.

That Was Quick

Let's see now. Palin was announced officially during the noon hour, and now there's already merchandise available commemorating "McSame & Failin'" ... hats, tote bags, coffee cups. (HT: MW)

Ain't free enterprise wonderful!

In other news, we learn from GOP battlebots that Palin/Failin' is a BRILLIANT choice, 'cause she'll induce former Hillary supporters to forget all about the reasons they supported Hillary and cause them to vote for McCain/McSame. Well, yes, IF they become zombies, or if somebody slips enough of them a good dose of roofies on votin' day. Then, by all means, stand by for a stampede among Hillary women for the McCain ticket.

We can certainly agree with Shyster (posting on another site somewhere in Right Blogistan) that at least Palin is a LOT hotter'n Biden. In those glasses (see down-column) she reminds us a little of an x-rated movie character from "Midnight Librarian."

Coach Carter Launches on TV

Coach Roy Carter has released his first TV ad. It doesn't name his opponent, Madam Foxx, but does offer an economic message.

McCain's Veep?

Politico.com is saying it's Sarah Palin. WHO? The Guv of Alaska ... apparently the only woman they could find who isn't pro-choice.

Apparently, McCain had been saying, "I need me a woman."

It turned out eventually to be "any woman."

The Republican brand is pretty damaged in Alaska these days, so it's so far unclear just how much Palin will help him win ... Alaska.

Her pick also subverts all that "lack of experience" mantra that the GOP wants to chant in the general direction of the Democratic ticket.

Strange pick ... if it turns out to be Palin. The only thing that makes sense about it is McCain's f*** you streak, directed particularly at Karl Rove, who was reportedly telling him he HAD to pick Romney. (Romney WOULD have been the smart choice, but who are we to quarrel with a total unknown?)

Republicans at the Podium in Denver

We were compulsively switching last night between Fox, MSNBC, and CNN, to catch the spin, but if you wanted to watch the actual convention, C-SPAN was the only place to be. Without C-SPAN we wouldn't have seen Ike's granddaughter Susan Eisenhower (pictured here), the most prominent Republican on hand to endorse Barack. (Text of her short speech is here)

The cable news networks may have shown a bit of her remarks, because she's, you know, kin to someone famous. They showed absolutely NONE of the short speeches by ordinary, non-famous Republicans from around the country who came to endorse Barack. Prominent among them -- and a strong presence in her own right -- was Pam Cash-Roper from Pittsboro, who admitted she had voted for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush twice. "But no more," she said. "I can't afford it."

It was gratifying to see North Carolina represented by a nurse with a strong voice, a clear vision, and a sense of personal history intersecting with national destiny. She was one of the highlights of Thursday night.

GOP: Convention Interruptus?

Republicans consider postponing their convention next week because of the hurricane.

Gosh. Now they're calling Barack Obama "the hurricane"?

Oh, you mean there's an actual storm drawing a bull's-eye on the Gulf coast?

Does this perhaps indicate, incidentally, that God has a sense of humor? Or might the Republicans consider fingering as the culprit the preacher who said he was praying fervently for God to send buckets of rain down on Obama's outdoor acceptance speech tonight? Maybe God heard but was feeling ironic.

Not only are Republicans now on the wrong side of history. They're on the wrong side of the weather.

Easley Steps Up

Not ONLY does The Guv show up in Denver, he actually seems to be enjoying himself! According to the N&O, he's given more than 20 media interviews. He's also had the temerity to stand up against the hoax of off-shore oil drilling:

Easley expressed skepticism about the value of drilling for oil off North Carolina's coast.

He said the oil companies already have 38 million acres off the Gulf Coast where they are not drilling. He said drilling off the North Carolina coast had the potential to provide six months' worth of oil for the U.S.

"This is not a solution," Easley said. "This is a slogan."