Free Republic

John McCain isn’t Ronald Reagan, which is the principal reason I don’t like the guy. He also may be a tad too old to begin the job as POTUS. As with family, I feel free to mention that and not be accused of age-ism since he’s not much older than I am. In addition, McCain had that “Keating Five” stink of twenty years ago in which he was a very minor player, along with four Democrats who played much larger roles in the Lincoln Savings and Loan mess which cost taxpayers $2,000,000,000. For a review of that scandal and McCain’s...

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin was the most inspired decision of his long race for the White House. The ads lampooning Barack Obama's messianic pretensions were skillful as well. But the Palin pick accomplished several goals at once. It is, it must be acknowledged, a terrible year to be a Republican. A decidedly unpopular Republican president is finishing his second term. Republican party identification is at its lowest point in 16 years (27 percent, according to the Pew Research Center). All indicia of excitement — money raising, turnout at political events, buzz — strongly favor the Democrats. Further, the...

The real candidate of change accepts the nomination and promises to shake up Washington. There were a few code pink moments that the crowd shouted down with USA chants.

Sarah Palin did not take the vicious and sexist attacks on her lying down. ... At several points in her speech, Palin took on the media pundits and the Washington establishment; not content to let the media define her, Palin likened her “ordinariness” to that of “a young farmer and a haberdasher from Missouri” who “followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency,” referring to Harry Truman; and refuted assertions that she was “an affirmative action pick” and unqualified to be vice president. ... More than a few commentators echoed this enthusiastic thumbs-up by Time magazine Washington Bureau Chief...

Politics is not a topic I like to bring up around Los Angeles unless it's with other Republicans in our community (and we LOVE to talk politics.) But this morning I was at pilates class and I got to hear the unsolicited thoughts from single women who probably typify the attitude of the age groups they represent. The single, late 40's, secular Jewish female declared that she watched the speech last night and Sarah Palin is an impressive woman, a good politician, and she gave a good speech. "She's not my cup of tea, but she's a good speaker," this...

For those who say that the Maverick can't learn a new lesson, Bloomberg has a story that proves John McCain has at least learned this lesson; the media is not his friend. Pronouncing that McCain's "longtime love affair" between himself and the media is "on the rocks," Bloomberg reports on how McCain has been distancing himself from the media of late. Naturally, Bloomberg takes a few shots along the way, too. It seems that, instead of placing the blame on the media where it belongs for its mistreatment of McCain and its sycophancy for Obama, Bloomberg seems to suggest that...

Here is video of Sen. John McCain joining the Palin family onstage last night after Sarah Palin's stirring acceptance speech that electrified the Republican National Convention. . . . (see video at link)

The nomination of Sarah Palin has excited and moved me as no other candidate that John McCain could have picked possibly could have. Then the smears started with the attacks on Sarah, as expected, but then went on to her teenage daughter in a way that can only be called disgraceful and reprehensible. Is there no depth to which the left-wing operatives and their willing accomplices in the press can sink? I monitor both left-wing and right-wing forums. I am well aware that there are morons from both extremes who post slanders on the internet, but very little of the...

I’m sitting here watching the Republican convention, and I’m struck by the powerful endorsements just given by Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman for John McCain. I can’t help but contrast those endorsements with the tepid, self-absorbed “endorsment” that Hillary Clinton gave to Barack Obama just last week. Listening to Hillary Clinton, I tried to keep track of the number of times she used self-describing pronouns like I and mine, but I lost count after about two minutes.

The Telegraph is reporting that John McCain attacked Jimmy Carter's little snipe that McCain is milking his Vietnam service. Jimmy Carter is also an idiot.

Imagine this. Upon hearing of the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s daughter, John McCain chooses someone else off his short list for vice president, like Tim Pawlenty. Over the course of the week that followed, word leaks out that McCain had closely considered Palin — known at this point only as a maverick Republican woman who took on the Establishment — but went another way because of the pregnancy of her teenage daughter.

The Republican National Convention is filled with all sorts of speakers, ranging from "Independent Democrats" like Joe Lieberman to hardcore conservatives like Fred Thompson. In fact, just about the only thing they have in common is that they all support John McCain. Oh... and most of them are unemployed politicians hoping for a job in John McCain's cabinet.

Howard Wolfson, former spokesman for Hillary Clinton, just told Fox News that Joe Lieberman made "effective case for McCain" and gave "a pretty good speech." Chris Wallace, closing out his interview. "I guess payback is a... a whatever. Back to you, Brit."

Highlights of Fred Thompson’s speech at the Republican National Convention Sept. 2, 2008.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was not happy with Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech before the Republican National Convention Tuesday night.

We ran into actor Matthew Modine (remember "Full Metal Jacket"?!?) at Denver's La Rumba restaurant and, while the Obama supporter had plenty to say about John McCain's policies, he also had plenty of critiques of McCain's military service -- a topic that almost no one dares denounce. "I mean, he got shot down three times!" said Modine, taking on one of McCain's most lauded personal accomplishments. "That's not success!" While on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, McCain was shot down and held as a prisoner of war. When McCain's father was named commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, the...

Reviewing speeches at the Dem convention, Keith Olbermann was like a mother describing her child's performance in a middle-school musical. "A grand slam across the street," enthused Olbermann over Hillary's effort, only to outdo himself by calling Obama's speech's "spellbinding" and "extraordinary." But when it came to reviewing Fred Thompson's speech at tonight's Dem convention, Olbermann suddenly morphed into Frank Rich with a migraine back in his theater critic days. Sniffed Olbermann: "We have heard two speeches in the last forty minutes or so, Chris, first from President Bush and now from former Senator Fred Thompson. I think it's fair...

Fred Thompson will forcefully defend the selection of Sarah Palin tonight in a speech Republicans are characterizing as "red meat." He will argue that the feeding frenzy over Palin's is the result of "panic" from the Democrat-friendly mainstream media. "What a breath of fresh air Governor Sarah Palin is. She is from a small town, with small town values, but that's not good enough for those folks who are attacking her and her family. Let's be clear, the selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a...

Barack Obama makes a lame attempt to describe his ability to govern.

Hi all, I've posted this graphic on several threads, and a few people said they'd like to print it and stick it up somewhere. The original version wasn't high enough resolution to print at a decent size, so I've cobbled together a high-res version. Feel free to print, post, and share, especially if you're affiliated with the McCain/Palin campaign. Have at it! High-res version here: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FzbQlTrfln8/SL3KoGM1XMI/AAAAAAAAADA/C5YrxzXELKU/s1600-h/Sarah300.jpg

At the Philadelphia Daily News, Fatimah Ali warns: If McCain wins, look for a full-fledged race and class war, fueled by a deflated and depressed country, soaring crime, homelessness - and hopelessness! Sounds like a pretty enfeebled bunch of warriors to me. Deflated, depressed, homeless, and hopeless. What makes Ali so sure this gloomy mob will be able to rally themselves and rise up against the rest of the country? Oh yeah, that’s right: hope.

IF only Sarah Palin were just some famous guy's wife. Then, as with Hillary Clinton, the women's groups and activists could love and pet her like a victim. But the Governor of Alaska has torn up the script. Confounded the simpering stereotype. Here is a caribou-hunting, moose-gutting, corruption-busting, oil-drilling, anti-abortion, beauty-pageant queen whose husband's greatest claim to fame is to win the world's most famous race for snow machines. Her power is entirely her own. And it's the equal of any man's. No wonder she's unleashed the fury of the castrated Left, which in fear has attacked her and her...

It is rare that we are witnesses to the kind of smear campaign launched against Sarah Palin by Democrats, the left, and the media. The shocking virulence with which the attack has been conducted takes one aback with its audacity and nauseating hypocrisy. The goal of the other side is nothing less than forcing John Mccain to withdraw Palin's name. Or failing that, making things so unpleasant for Palin that she asks to be let go. On both scores, the left has mounted an enormously vigorous challenge to Palin, going so far as to overthrow their own long held political...

Campbell Brown is blaming Sarah Palin for accepting the vice presidential nomination, and thus putting her daughter in the media spotlight. She also questions whether or not a good mother would have made this decision. This is irresponsible journalism, to say the least -- and a further example of liberal bias which is permeating most cable news networks these days. Following is the an excerpt: BROWN: Yeah. I want to begin by asking, you know, what we've been discussing before you sat in the chair. Governor Palin sharing a difficult personal story today. The news her unmarried teenage daughter is...

Tom Brokaw’s Meet the Press this week was as prosaic as ever, but for one little line uttered by the increasingly partisan Andrea Mitchell. In a discussion about the McCain VP pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, guest Doris Kerns Goodwin, plagiarist/historian, said that the choice of Palin is a “very strange choice,” showing how little she bothered to even think about the facts. But the most outrageous analysis came from Mitchell who said that only uneducated, female voters will be drawn to Sarah Palin, not those smart, college educated ones.At about 5:57 into this clip Andrea Mitchell was brought...

In a completely idiotic and incoherent rant (video; extremely vulgar language) titled “Diddy Blog #16 – ‘John McCain Is Buggin The F%^k Out'’!” so-called rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs puts on his political pundit hat to “analyze” presumptive GOP nominee John McCain’s choice of AK Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. From what The Stiletto can make of the gibberish, here’s a few of the reasons Diddy objects: "Alaska, MFer? ... There's not even no crackheads in Alaska. There's not even no blacks in Alaska. There's not even no crime.”But guess what, Diddy? AK’s got oil. Lots...

To the amazement of many, Republicans find themselves positioned quite well as they head into their nominating convention this week in St. Paul. It's incomprehensible to some that John McCain is running in a statistical dead heat with Democrat Barack Obama this Labor Day weekend. An unpopular war, a challenging economy, and liberals offering that deceptively sweet elixir of "change" -- not to mention Sen. Obama's groundbreaking run -- should have Obama in a double-digit lead. But while the electorate flirts with being enamored, it's also reserving its right to be skeptical. Consider: Obama is the most inexperienced presidential candidate...

Last Thursday evening at the Democratic National Convention, presidential nominee Barack Obama tried to score a political touchdown on the 50-yard line at Denver's Invesco Field. Instead, he won the all-time governmental convention award for the best over-the-top political spectacle of sight, sound, speech and pyrotechnics — complete with superstar performances, "Braveheart"-like epic music, and an Olympic-sized fireworks show. For a week prior to the event, newscasters, commentators and pundits were trying to guess what exactly that Greco-Roman column-structured stage backdrop was and what it was supposed to be representing and stating on behalf of Obama. Despite the fact that...

Video Interview: http://www.blogsforjohnmccain.com/john-mccain-interview-nbc-news-brian-williams-video-9108

First we had a former national chairman of the Democratic National Committee laughing over the effect of Hurricane Gustav hitting New Orleans would have on Republicans as they prepared to hold their convention this week. Now we have a writer for The New Republic, Nate Silver, worried in the other direction in an article titled, "How Gustav Could Benefit the Republicans." Silver lists the ways he perceives that Republicans could benefit from this storm: 1. Allows McCain to Appear Magnanimous. By potentially delaying or canceling his "date" at the GOP convention, McCain appears as though he is giving something up...

If John McCain hoped for an off-season cruise in November, he just may get it if recent polling data is correct. Zogby International reported that since he announced Sarah Palin as his V.P. running mate, John McCain is now leading Barack Obama 47% to 45%. A previous Gallup poll taken before the announcement had Obama leading McCain 49% to 41%. Note: This polling data appeared in a Wikipedia article early on Sunday, August 31. Curiously, the poll results were later deleted even though the data was correct. When I first heard that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was McCain’s choice, I...

John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is not being universally well-received (particularly among Democrats nervous about the attributes she brings to the GOP ticket) but I think it is the best choice McCain could have made and that Palin is likely to be the rare "game-changing" Vice Presidential candidate. I had the opportunity to discuss the reasons for my enthusiasm with the good folks at Fox News Chicago on Sunday and Monday mornings. Take a look. --DP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirHBVwNnJI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UoRkZjIoOA

An angry Senator John Kerry is also an entertaining John Kerry. And on ABC's This Week yesterday, Kerry provided us with a lot of comedy entertainment including his assertion that John McCain was forced to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate by Rush Limbaugh and "the rightwing." There are a lot of other comedy nuggets in this interview conducted by This Week host George Stephanopoulos who fails to challenge Kerry on most of his absurdities including the notion that that merely traveling though countries overseas on a brief campaign stint counts as foreign policy experience. The transcript is below...

Look at the video. Morons at Daily Kos now suggest sexual appeal between McCain and Palin and imply this was the reason she was chosen ! Here is the line of DK added to the linked video : "You know, there was a time when he didn't stare at an ass for five and a half years..." Outrageous liberal pigs. Stand to them !

WASHINGTON -- If John McCain becomes president, he will be confronted by a Congress with significantly larger Democratic majorities than today's -- majorities furious about high hopes dashed by an eighth Republican victory in 11 presidential elections. And if the normal pattern of off-year elections obtains in 2010, those majorities will expand. So McCain would have to deal with a hostile legislature for four years, as Arnold Schwarzenegger has done for almost five years. For that reason, and because these two self-styled post-partisan, reach-across-the-aisle mavericks admire one another -- McCain has given Schwarzenegger a starring role Monday at the Republican...

With another hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the so-called “bridge to nowhere,” championed by Alaska’s Congressional delegation on behalf of the people of Ketchikan, just won’t go away. Three years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the plan to spend hundreds of millions to connect Ketchikan with its airport on Gravina Island became a national symbol of Congressional excess, much to the dismay of Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young. Sen. John McCain has made it a habit to ridicule the bridge project during his presidential campaign. McCain has promised to veto any bill sent to...

Interesting look at him on many interviews on his book tours.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson notes that Spike Lee has taken to “grandiloquently divid[ing] American history into two epochs, “B.B.” and “A.B.” - Before Barack and After Barack.” With John McCain’s selection of AK Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, Obama went from making history to being history in the span of 12 hours.The announcement was like a giant fly swatter that killed Obama’s buzz. ... A quarter century separates McCain and Obama, but the older man showed himself to be the more daring, unconventional and forward-thinking of the two. Significantly, only McCain was man enough to choose a...

McCain was paying attention when Obama and his bag of tools went to work denigrating and insulting Hillary Clinton. McCain figured that if Obama managed to lose 18 million Hillary votes with boorish behavior toward women, maybe he would do it again, this time to Sarah Palin. And so the trap was set. And the bait was taken.

From the New York Times (quote via email alert only). Republicans Suspend Most of Convention Activities Monday With Hurricane Gustav heading toward the Gulf Coast, Senator John McCain announced that Republican Party activities on Monday in St. Paul would be suspended except for necessary business. He called on his party members to "take off our Republican hats and put on out American hats."

Father Raymond J. de Souza: McCain unveils a secret weapon for culture wars Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska is not your typical governor. And she is now a very atypical vice-presidential candidate. Yet her selection foreshadows an American election which will run along the well-worn grooves of the culture wars; 2008 will not be that different from 2004 and 2000. Last summer I found myself, improbably, at the governor’s mansion in Juneau, Alaska -- a reception for our visiting group had been organized to meet the new governor, sworn in less than a year earlier. There was a considerable buzz...

The left-wing smears against Governor Palin have already started, so it's a good idea to get some facts out as there will be many more smear attempts.

John McCain not only stole, but ran a play from Barack Obama’s playbook Friday. One of the cornerstones of Obama’s campaign has been change; but his selection on Senator Joe Biden, D-Del., a Washington insider certainly did not mirror that philosophy. McCain on the other hand, surprised just about everyone when he tapped Sarah Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska to be his running mate. Bypassing Republican stalwarts including Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge, McCain’s pick was definitely a change from a party that is often portrayed as an elite good ol’ boys club. Palin was elected governor in 2006....

The conventional wisdom among Republicans is that since America is a center-right country, John McCain, a center-right candidate, can win the presidency simply by stressing Barack Obama’s record as, according to National Journal, the most leftwing senator last year. But Republicans should remember this: John Kerry and John Edwards were respectively ranked by NJ as the most liberal and second-most liberal senators in 2004 and came up a mere 118,000 Ohioans shy of victory. This suggests that while playing the “liberal card” is certainly a necessary strategy, it may not be enough in a year when the GOP brand is...

Sarah Palin has executive experience. Barack Obama has been running for President since being elected to the Senate. All the Democrat talking points won’t be able to dissuade many Hillary supporters from voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. Full speech by Palin at her introduction to America in Dayton, Ohio August 29, 2008

Some how, the Old Media has missed the good news on Iraq. On August 27, the Rasmussen polling organization published a poll that showed American confidence is at its highest level ever in support of the War on Terror since they've begun tracking in January of 2004. This poll got little notice by the Old Media, of course, but it illustrates an issue that McCain should exploit to his benefit -- especially after Obama's acceptance speech last night. Rasmussen found that Fifty-four percent of American voters now think that the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq and forty-eight percent...

I just saw this on CNN five minutes ago.... Don Lemon telling Dana Bash that Sarah Palin is "a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and that's a 72-year-old heart!", to which Dana agreed and went on to say that Palin's executive experience for the past 13 years includes "a year and a half in the Gvernor's mansion and the rest as mayor of a small town in Alaska!" (emphasis made by her on the words "small town" and "Alaska"). This MSM 'meltdown' is so blatantly obvious........

https://uascentral.uas.alaska.edu/onlinelib/Spring-2008/ALST600-JD1/Menge_GasPresentation_May10.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Natural_Gas_Pipelinehttp://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/angtp.asp Basically, the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline has been fumbled about for a few years now. Work is finally started on it, and legislation appears to be passed on it. It is a coup for the state of Alaska, but it is also a coup for the Western United States as well the Plains states and Northern Midwest (Minnesota and Wisconsin). If one can imagine getting 45 billion cubic feet of natural gas to the lower 48 each day, one has an idea of the benefit of this project. Because of our dependence on foreign oil, I would have...

Lot's of guesses about the music-- Hoosiers, Forrest Gump, -- Medved just said "Seabiscuit"-- but the music is for sure Jerry Goldsmith's brilliant theme from the football movie "Rudy." You can hear a clip of the score from the climactic final game on the link. This is the music that was played when she came out and took the stage.

Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that John McCain is “milking every possible drop of advantage” from his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, USA Today reported Thursday. Carter focused on McCain’s interview earlier this month with author and pastor Rick Warren at his parish, the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. McCain used every question, whether it was about religion, domestic or foreign affairs, to talk about his five-and-a-half years as a POW, Carter claimed