Saturday, August 30, 2008

The wacky brilliance behind the Palin pick

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that selecting Palin was a brilliant idea. She is completely immune from personal attack, which means the only real debate in the upcoming election can be about policy.

Criticize her sex, and you lose the women's vote.

Criticize her foreign policy experience (or lack thereof), and you invite painful comparisons to Obama, who wants to be President, not just VP.

Criticize her executive experience, and you invite even more painful comparisons to Obama, the wannabe President.

Criticize her youth, and you again have a problem with Obama, since he, with only three more birthdays than Palin under his belt, is aiming for the executive office.

Criticize her U of Idaho degree and you (a) invite painful comparisons to Biden, no Ivy Leaguer himself; and (b) invite charges of elitism.

Criticize her kind of goofy Alaska accent and lack of European sophistication, and you further alienate the embittered gun owners and religious nuts the elite Obama denigrated a few months ago. (By the way, I'm sarcastically quoting Obama when I refer to those embittered gun owners and religious nuts. His view of them, not mine.)

Criticize her small town roots, same thing: alienate embittered gun owners and religious nuts who make up the heartland.

Try to raise Alaskan political corruption, and you run smack into the fact that she attacked corruption head-on. You also open yourself up to invidious comparisons with Obama (Annenberg and Rezko) and Biden (repeat plagiarism)

Add to this that she's a good speaker, who will make Biden look overbearing and bombastic during debates, and you're just looking at a brilliant choice. She's bullet proof.

I should add, though, that her appeal is to the undecideds among us. I live in liberal land, and was able to hear lots of gleefully negative opinions about Palin today. The personal ones involved smears (and it's amazing how quickly they got around) that probably don't have a lot of truth to them. The first smear was that she abused her office to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. Patrick Casey neatly rebuts that one.

The next smear is that she's a rabid creationist. There is no doubt that she is a creationist, a view that I consider to be in the realm of faith, and unrelated to the science of evolution. As for me, I'm an evolutionist and, if anything, hew to John McCain's view on the subject: "I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also." "The hand of God" -- a rather lovely and poetic phrase for the mysteries that even science cannot answer.

So, she's a creationist, which is a little unnerving to those of us who believe that science and faith don't intermingle well, but is she rabid? Charles Johnson, of Little Green Footballs, who is himself a rabid evolutionist, and who tangles repeatedly with conservatives on the issue, has examined her position and is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The actual fact of the matter is that Palin has said that, while she would not push for creationism to end up on the science curriculum, she believes that, if the subject arises in class, it can be discussed, rather than shut down. I agree with that too. Discussion acknowledges the existence of a heartfelt belief amongst many Americans, and allows students to understand that science can only deal with the physical record and the conclusions that can be drawn therefrom, and that it's smarter to leave to God knowledge of his role in that record.

What this means is that the two biggest substantive attacks against her are either false or exaggerated. Giving the full story, of course, won't change the liberal diehards, but should be interesting to for the undecideds among us -- especially since we know that it is they who will determine the outcome of this election.

Another thing I heard from the chattering libs was that "she's not one of us," meaning that Palin lives a lifestyle that is the opposite of that embraced in blue regions: she's pro-Life, she hunts, she actively believes in a traditional God, she doesn't support gay marriage, etc. The beauty of these charges against her, of course, is that they are all substantive. Her presence on the ballot allows a debate on the issues, without getting derailed by personal attacks. When it comes to Palin, no one can say, "Well, you may talk the talk on being pro-Life, Gov. Palin, but what would you do if that test showed your baby was defective?" Her life is an example of the depth of her belief systems.

Finally, when a few people nattered on about her inexperience, I politely pointed out that McCain might have been savvy by putting her on the ballot, because Obama doesn't have any more experience than she does and, quite possibly, less (which earned a nasty remark about small towns and Alaska) -- and that Obama is seeking on-the-job training in the President's spot, not the Vice President's.

The response to that one was "But McCain's an old man," the implication being she Palin's is more likely than not to be the kind of VP who ascends to office via the President's death, rather than a full elecction. "Yes," I agreed, "but he's still unlikely to die within minutes of taking office."

Silence. "

Well, that's why Joe Biden is on the ticket. He has great foreign policy experience." I forebore to point out that he's had the experience, but seems to have learned little from it, since his understanding is limited and his choices are rather consistently bad. I'd rather have a smart neophyte, than a dumb old hand.

Back to my opening point, then:
With every passing second, I'm more impressed by the choice, and that's not even covering how impressed I was by the timing of the announcement, which sucked all the air out of that generic, unexciting, vicious Obama speech.

15 comments:

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

I agree with what you said; I would add that you made a brilliant analysis!!! Outstanding!

And thank you for directing traffic from your blog to ours. Definitely we experience a peak each time you send your people here ;).

TheMassMouth said...

The timing of the announcement was indeed brilliant. Big Mac has, recently, run a terrific campaign. Still, the selection of Sarah Palin was in almost every way an act of weakness. He has, to satisfy those in the party who have never supported him in anything, put a total non entity one heartbeat away from the Presidency -- and he at age 72. Not just a non entity, but a woman who holds radically extreme views on hot button issues that have scant place in political agendas.

I heard her give, in Washington, PA the EXACT same speech she gave at the DAyton announcement rally. The first time, it sounded very electric. The second time, it sounded rehearsed and...plastic.

Clearly she is being kept on a very short leash. One can imagine why.

The Not Ready To Be President argument -- a WINNING argument -- is gone. Wonderful, huh ?

Will she survive the brutal campaign, without looking ill informed or, more likely, goofy and provincial ? Sure small towns are honest, mythic American places, but most Americans, even rural ones, want our leaders to be fluent with complexity and with the diversities of urban life.

Most of you guys and gals here at this website live in or near San Francisco -- a city as sexually diverse as it is possible to be and one with enormous house prices, a city clearly awash with prosperity, very much American success. Few Americans live in San Francisco, comparatively, but a great many live in cities that are quickly becoming ever more San Francisco-like: and I am glad of it. Wouldn't it be nice to have a Republican ticket with at least ONE member who is conversant with city life and fluent in (and welcoming of) urban complexity as well as the healthy skepticism about spiritual quests which has always characterized merchant cities ever since Classical Greece ?

Moose burgers, hunting, and Iditarods are well and good for adventure travel, the NRA, or movies about pioneers in the 19th Century, but don't they seem a bit whacky in an assistant leader of the free world ?

Say what you want about Joe Biden. He is a fine man, a great friend of John McCain's, a man who has survived and overcome awful tragedy, a man with whom I disagree but who I always respect. And a man who is fluent in the post modern world.

This will be a very difficult election.

TheMassMouth said...

What I am hoping -- with fingers crossed -- is this:

that Big Mac, knowing that he is disliked by the most vocal, dedicated extremists in the Republican party, realized that he had no choice but to throw these folks a bone, to keep them in line, until he can get elected; and then, elected, can take the Republican party back to the center, away from the Talk Show Hosts, from the anti-immigrant types (the most anti-merican position one can have, since immigration IS America), the death penalty advocates (isn't it wondereful how all these folks scream like hell about not killing fetuses but have no problem killing criminals. I mean, a life is a life, isn't it?), the Terry Schiavo interferers, the no-stem cell research types, the creationists, (the Scopes Trial lives ?), the neo-Cons, and the evagelizers, who have made our party look more like William Jennings Bryan's party than like the Republican party that once hated Bryanism and was the best hope of progressive Americans.

John McCain is a conservative progressive. Barry Goldwater meets Teddy Roosevelt. Strong for our military, strong for free trad, strong for free immigration -- a policy written on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty; strong for cutting federal budget waste; strong for America's mission to the world, that of democracy; and, like Barry Goldwater, a man who believes that people should live as they wish, free of governmental preachers imposing their Biblical no-no's. He has been strong to attack the viruses that have invaded his party, and he has been strong for working with Democrats to actually achieve results. These reasons, plus his hero status, are why I have supported Big Mac since 2000. I only hope that his pick of Sarah Palin, to appease those who dislike him intensely, will in fact do so, long enough to win him the election and get him to the Presidency from which he and the coming Democrat majorities in Congress can move America forward pragmatically and away from the extremists of BOTH parties.

We shall see. Frankly, I have my strong doubts. What Big Mac has given up, for the sake of appeasing the haters, is immense: his willingness to fight his opponents, and the Experience argument especially.

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

themassmouth,

I don't think that the argument "Barak is inexperienced" is gone. Actually, as Bookworm points out, it just makes it even more relevant. We are not planing on electing a person (John McCain) who will die in January 2009. By historical standards, the recent presidents tend to live way more than 72 (look at all the presidents since Nixon). Every year Palin is a VP, will be a year she will become even more experienced to be the first woman to be commander in chief. Plus she doesn't begin from scratch, running a wealthy state of almost 700.000 people, a billion + dollar budget with a strong energy industry (with all the intricacies it entails) and still having approval rates in the 80's% after two years is a big achievement. No matter how the Obama's hardcore followers try, Mr Hussein hasn't run anything of this magnitude in his entire political career.

Obama's Biden pick was an act of desperation; an implicit acknowledgment that Obama isn't ready to be President and needs a mentor along the way. John McCain doesn't need to be mentored; he is ready right now to be our President. He had the room to pick somebody of his choosing to help him implement his agenda of stopping pork barrel and Washington reform. The more you think about it, the more you realize that Palin was the perfect choice; risky, but a very bold statement about how far John McCain is willing to go in order to implement the policies he thinks are right.

Regarding the comments you make about religious right, etc... I think that the Republican Party is first and foremost the party of individual freedom and free enterprise which is perfectly compatible with the rest. See, I was born in Spain, lived in France for 2 years and I know all too well the type of failed society the Democrats are trying to implement because I grew up in one of them. Under the disguise of "universal, free, social services" lies the truth about Europe: lack of innovation (thanks God that American companies/universities continue to provide the breakthrough treatments that have made some of the world worst diseases curable or manageable), dismal fertility rates (this week the EU released a note that by 2015 the number of deaths in the EU will surpass the number of births, failing universities , lack of choice in health care.... Even the demographics statistics tell you that the number of Europeans who leave the EU to settle in the United States (despite being a very tedious and painful process) is way higher than the number of Americans who settle in Europe. At the peak of the .com bubble the combined number number of British, French and German people who came to the Bay Area alone could be counted in the several hundred of thousands. You just don't see the same happening with Americans leaving for Europe or Canada. As a matter of fact, I don't know a single American who has left the US for professional reasons (ie, searching for opportunities that he/she cannot find here).

The Republican Party is far from being monolithic, and I think that's a good thing. There are several sensibilities inside; had McCain picked a pro-choice VP, he run the risk of alienating a part of the base of the Republican Party who is absolutely necessary to make John McCain the next President of the United States.

RICHARD K. MUNRO said...

Good comments. I am amazed at the pundits who said this move was "stupid" (see Financial Times) or Maureen Dowd's ugly hateful satire which has Mac dying on a pretzel day one of his presidency. As you point out Mac is not immortal (who is?) but I think odds are his presidency will be longer than JFK's or William Henry Harrison. Sarah has smarts and is a proven campaigner and a prove vote getter. More importantly SHE HAS REAL CORE BELIEFS. As a teacher I know the federal governmen DOES NOT SET SCHOOL curriculum any more than Arnold sets the abortion law in California. I am not a "creationist" in the sense I think -but do not know- Mrs. Palin is. I am a Catholc. I have always loved fossils -have read Darwin and have believed in evolution. But John Paul II also believed in evolution and so did Catholic priest Teilhard de Chardin author of the PHENOMENON of MAN. But I respect the ESSENSE of the creationst view that GOD IS AN ACTOR IN OUR LIVES AND IN THE CREATION OF HUMAN LIFE ON EARTH. If evolution be true it is because God's hand made it so. He is the Great Architect the Great Designer. But in this there is much mystery. We are just at the beginning of our knowledge. We are small mortal bounded beings; God's cosmos is great. We are limited to space and time; dust we are and to dusk we will return. The universe is endless and infinite. We can know a little and we can ask more but there are so many things we will never know nor fully underdstand. The stars are shinning cheerily above and obey laws we did not make, we cannot conrol and let's be honest here we only dimly understand. Thinking is vital to human life but it never can encompass all. "Myself when young did eagerly frequent, doctor and saint and heard great argument but EVERMORE BUT EVERMORE, I can in by the same door wherein I went...I came like water and like wind I go...."

God made humans rational and free with God-given powers to search and to choose and to behave in accordance to the principles of Right and Wrong (the Natural Law). As we search for knowledge we must have awe for the mystery of our existence of the cosmos abobe and about us and of day and of night and of bandit time and of the great MYSTERY OF CREATION. And of death and what comes after as well.

God demands a proper reverence for divine transcendence and an abundant hope for divine nearness.

But the Old Book tells ust there are many diverse dreams. Truly there are many roads to Rome. Darwin may have been right about many things -and so were the writers of the Genesis who -if you pay attention- outlined correctly (did they use the fossil record?) the origins of life in the sea and then to land and then to the air.

But Social Darwinism -"root, hog or die" has had bitter and evil fruit. Darwin did not create this path himself but he did clear the way for these many horrors. And getting back to the original point, intelligent design may be closer to the truth than Darwinism and so people like Sarah Palin for sticking to their guns about the ESSENTIAL TRUTH OF GOD'S CREATION OF THE EARTH, OF THE GAlAXY of the UNIVERSE may be proved to be right in the end about THIS PART OF THEIR ARGUMENT. Not that dinosaurs co-existed with man (it appears they did not) not that genetically apes are close to mankind, not that natural selection or something like it seems to have happened for reasons we cannot yet fully explain.

But perhaps Christians are right, philosophically about a great many things. The Bible teachers us to struggle for what is right while proclaiming ONLY GOD CAN ACCOMPLISH IT. "Except for the Lord...the watchman waketh in vain..." (Ps 127).

God is one. God is the King. God is the Good Shephed. God is the Father. God is the creator and it is He who has given us life and endowed us with unalienable rights, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As John F. Kennedy put it: "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." This is the theist point of view and this is the natural rights point of view. Men are not Gods and we are one nation, under God. I believe this, Sarah Palin believes this and 80-90% of Americans believe it too. That is what really matters; not arguments about dinosaur bones and homo habilis. I personally do not believe in the classical fundamentalist view of creationism. But as a Christian I deeply respect those who do and sense that they have something there something that is very true in its essense. Far be if for me to dismiss it or them.

TheMassMouth said...

al el meu nou amic ferney:

As you have raised the matter of Spain, can I tell you that I am a committed Catalanophile (as you see) who visits Barcelona almost annually. On my most recent visit, I found a vibrant city, awash in money, full of shoppers at boutiques where everything costs 50 to 500 Euros and dining at restaurants where an average meal (with sangria) costs 40 to 60 Euros! Indeed in the Placa Reial, an open square in the Ciutat Vella filled with lively outdoor restaurants, I found LONG LINES of people waiting to get seated, as late as midnight...for meals at 40 to 60 Euros each. And not only there. And I am talking about on a Monday night!

Barcelona streets are filled with young people chic and lively, socializing, clubbing at fabulous house-music clubs like Catwalk, Fellini, and Club 13, enjoying life in a Barri Gotic that has been expensively renovated in the finest manner. (And in the Eixample, El Port Vell, and in Gracia too)

Even the beach restaurants, such as Escriba (my favorite), serve meals for 40 to 60 Euros. And they were FILLED!

Barcelona is an entrepot for internet companies, software firms, design, fashion, etc. Frankly I know NO U.S. city as busy, lively, and clean and cultural as the Barcelona I know, although my home city of Boston is doing its best to emulate "Barna."

Admittedly "Barna" is not Spain. But it IS Europe. Frankly, I would love to live in "Barna." The U.S. fashion writer Michael Tonello -- now enjoying fame for his book about The Birkin (handbag) has moved to Barna as his home. He is hardly alone. Neighbors of mine right here in Saem moved there for professional purposes (architects) in 1998 and continue to live there.

This does not mean that I am not a proud American. My ancestors came here to find a better life and did find it. But America, culturally, is, compared to Europe, a philistine and tasteless place, often uneducated, rife with Bubbas and goof bslls and for the most part ludicrously ignorant of the rest of the world beyond the oceans that protect but also isolate us fatally.

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

TheMassMouth,

I think we'll have to disagree on this one :D.

I profoundly dislike Catalan Nationalism and all ethnic Nationalisms which are ravaging Spain today. Barcelona is the poster child of Catalan Nationalism and I have heard very good positive feedback from foreigners who visit the city.

For non Catalan Spaniards it's a different story altogether. The truth of the matter is that economically, Madrid is by far the largest contributor to Spain's GDP; Spaniards in general don't feel welcome in Barcelona. I am talking about personal experience here. My little sister spent a few months in Barcelona 3 years ago interning for a PR company (she was finishing at the time a Masters in communications at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Navarra. She did her undergrad in Madrid. She was so pissed off with the treatment she received in Barcelona because she was not Catalan that as soon as she finished her internship, she went back to Madrid where she still works in this day. My family lives in Navarra , a region that also has its share of radical and bloody nationalism although fortunately my family lives in the South of Navarra, where that Basque Nationalism is very tiny.

I think that Europe is morally and intellectually bankrupt, which is why I, and many others have gone through the extremely painful process of leaving the continent behind to seek opportunity in America. My favorite European city is Paris, where I spent two years as a exchange student. I then went on to work in Madrid for another two years before moving here to the Bay.

Europe has nothing to teach the world today. It's a decadent continent which only found peace after World War II (and that's because the US had to save them from both Nationalsocialism and Communism). For hundreds of years before WWII, Europe was ravaged by wars, ruled by tyrants (which is why your ancestors left the continent) and only found "peace" after the bloodiest conflict the world has ever known (somewhere between 70 to 100 million people died during WWII).

So! I when I hear the Democrats looking at the EU for inspiration it gives me headaches. America is truly the last bastion individual freedom that remains in the world. This coming election is very critical in many ways. It's probably the most critical election since 1980 since Bill Clinton was a centrist in his own party. Obama's rhetoric reminds me too much of the standard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy rhetoric which has proved itself to be a complete failure wherever it has been adopted.

America is better than what we have seen in the last 8 years, sure, but is also way, way, way better than the catastrophic EU policies that are leading that continent to extinction.

Please keep coming back to our blog :D.

McCain/Palin '08!

TheMassMouth said...

molt estimat En Ferney : I fully understand that as a non-Catalan you will feel the heat in Barna. But you must remember that Barna has been brutally "suppressed" many times by Castellanos: by the Austrian Habsburgs, by the Bourbons, by General Espartero, and lastly by Mr. Franco. Barcelona was a democratic society 800 years ago, when Castille was still a feudal kingdom. As for the Navarrese, here is yet another proud little nation, half in Spain, half in France, with which Catalunya could have much to share.

I see no reason why "Spain" could not become a federal nation, much like the United States, if it could just get to that. Gallegos, Basques, Navarrese, Catalans, Aragonese, and, yes, Castellanos.

If Madrid is currently the major force in Spain, that is new. As recently as 1940, 2/3 of ALL the busineses incorporated in Spain were based in Catalunya.

It is true that Europe has been, as British author Lawrence Durrell called it, "the old boneyard." But Europe is still the incubator of all Western culture, in just about everything. Its linguistic diversity, its many nationalities, and its infinitely deep and complex inheritence of wisdom and, of late, tolerance makes it a haven for the oppressed.

Again I think of Barna, with its fabulous nightlife; its cornucopia of nightclubs, straight gay lesbian and mixed, filled with beautifully dressed (and undressed) people; its gorgeous transvestites and spectacular techno DJs (and DJ booths); its Rambla, with outdoor cafes open till 2 A.., bird sellers rabbit cages and city guides featuring everything; its easy, post-Catholic acceptance of the multitudinous lifestyles; its cuisine; its noise; its brightly lit shopping arcades and narrow streets in which lovers can embrace; its outdoor cafes where people can converse, read AVUI, drink FONT VELLA water, and people-watch; its matchbox-sized cars...

In America maybe only Seattle or San Francisco compares.

My ancestors had to leave; but today, beset by religionists and cultural philistines, not to mention bureaucrats everywhere, they might move back.

What Aerica DOES still offer -- uniquely -- is its optimism, its willingnes to experiment, invent, and change everything; its enterprise and our willingnes to work hard AND To sacrifice in defense of our mission. This is OUR gift to the world, in the wake of which momentum Europe can flourish culturally as it has and does.

Vote! said...

Yes, indeed, a brilliant pick. For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country...wait...oh...oops...wrong speech. But seriously, picking Palin got me excited about the campaign again!!

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

themassmouth,

Very quickly, one of the reasons why I am happy here in the US is because I don't have to stand stupid Basque or Catalan Nationalists and their nonsense, invented "national" claims (yeah, invented; their "national" movements can be traced to the hallucinations of pretty crazy people at the end of the XIX-th century ). No, thank you!

As to which region is Spain's economic powerhouse,

Lugar

Nombre

PIB per capita (2006)

Renta relativa a la media nacional
1 Comunidad de Madrid 28.850 € 130,2%
2 País Vasco 28.346 € 127,9%
3 Navarra 27.861 € 125,8%
4 Cataluña 26.124 € 117,9%

So yeah, it's Madrid. Another of the lies of those Catalan nationalist guys.

The greatness of the US is that everybody has his or her space. Classical "European thought" is totalitarian; democracy as a concept was born in Athens, several centuries BC but died off quickly and was only put to practice and "perfected" by the founding fathers of the US. During the 2000 years prior to the XIX-th century, most of Europe knew only totalitarian political regimes. That passion for "totalitarianism" and ethnic hate is very pervasive even today.

I, for instance, am not a fan of what you call the "gay/transsexual" scene. I rarely go to San Francisco for that very same reason (I only go there for conferences or bureaucracy; and I have a hard time every time I have to be there). I am a South Bay, geek type of person ;D.

Yet, I don't have the slightest problem with the people who are that way as long as they don't bother me. I live in Palo Alto, they (actually the most exhibitionist of them) live in SF, we don't bother each other, fine. I don't see where is the problem there.

Individual freedom means that we respect each other, not that we impose onto other people our "particular view" of the world, which is what many in Spain are doing in what you call the "post-Catholic world".

I am very happy that I left Europe behind and I don't feel the slightest sympathy for its decadent ways :D.

McCain/Palin 08'!!!

Anonymous said...

These posts are truely waking some patients from the sanitarium. Anyone who looks at this new running mate with cold facts can prove McCain/Palin will lose and lose big by 15 or more electorial votes easy. I like Palin. She's smart and well spoken but THIS is not he time.

She wont win less than 5% of Hillary fans with her radical stand on no abortion even for the life of the mother, pro gun and fundamental christian creationist. Yep, sounds like all Hillary supporters will be falling in line any moment now.

She wont win voting class but far right Jesus campers. That will help only in the south and mid west which McCain need NO HELP in.

This is a jaw-dropping disaster, for some it sounds like it will take weeks to understand it and see the polls. The debates will be rediculous. She will be asked about her creationism, far right gun policy, lack of ANY command of world affairs worthy of a VP let a lone Senator. Good Lord!

Bottom line: You will not get middle america to vote for Palin when the two top issues are IRAQ WAR and ECONOMY. She will not be percieved as an expert at either and for good reason. This is laughable and very concerning as to the decision making of McCain. Is there REALLY no better republican than a no body from Juneau?

Romney would have won MI and likely the election for McCain, a VERY sad day for republicans. Its over.

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

Anonymous,

As a matter of fact, I heard the other day in Fox News that according to polls somewhere around 1 in every 5 Clinton voters voted for GW Bush in 2004.

Sarah Palin is a terrific pick.

McCain/Palin '08!!!

RICHARD K. MUNRO said...

Time will tell but the polls are shifting...there were 23,000 at the McCain-Palin rally today in St. Louis....remember Missouri is a swing state too but Palin will win it and probably Virginia and maybe Ohio and Pennsyvania. if Obama loses all those states he is in big trouble. This will be a close race but Barak will have no landslide. I thought he might win in April but he just backed in the nomination...remember?? And then he wimped out on Hillary as VP (a big mistake) When he did that and Mac responded with Palin he may have checkmated Obama.

(and just a feww weeks ago he was dreaming of winning ALASKA -he opened five offices there and has spend hundreds of thousands of dollars)...there is no doubt he can kiss Nevada, Idaho,Alaska goodbye and also Montana,South Dakota, North Dakota.

Wisconsin and Michigan and Virginia are all in play ....

LET US HOPE AND LET US PRAY
MAC AND PALIN ALL THE WAY

TheMassMouth said...

to ferney : wow. obviously I have never, ever heard the sort of response tha I hear from you re: Spain and Catalunya. I am glad though tha you love America so much. Hopefully Aerica will do well by you.

Re Catalunya, I could mention that Catalan nationalism in no way was invented in the 19th Century. Catalunya was an independent political entity from approximately 850 A.D.until the early 18th century, with its own language, literature, cuisine, and culture. And yes, I do enjoy immersing myself in the multi-sexual, multi-cultural, fashionista, design-ista, noisy ebullience of 21st century "Barna." But enough of that.

to anonymous: I do not agree that Sarah Palin is a disaster or that her time is not now. First of all, it is not HER time. It is John McCain's time. Ms. Palin is along for the ride. Secondly, EVERYBODY now wants to watch John McCain, if only to just see what he and his new-found "Moose burger Gal" look like on stage together. She is electric! She has MEDIA appeal --and guess what ? Those who look will find that she speaks well, abeit very much the rookie; and John McCain ? He speaks eloquently, with informed conviction. Palin provides the INTRODUCTORY energy, John McCain brings it to a high pitch of perfection. Our ticket now has steady dependibility AND has the Excitement of The New. We are the EXPERIENCE and also we are the CHANGE. You'll see...

As long as she doesn't get toasted by Joe Biden. Which could well happen. Have you heard him speak ? He is MAJOR LEAGUE.

Ferny for McCain at Stanford said...

TheMassMouth,

You are certainly mistaken about Catalonia; it was never "independent" the way we understand it today. Since the XXII century was part of the Kingdom of Aragon. Catalan Nationalism was invented during this time, late XIX-th century by crazy Romantics, the same type of people, in the sense that they were influenced by XIX-th century Romanticism, who invented what later became Nazism.

Basque Nationalism was invented by this guy, one of the most racist individuals who ever lived.

Regarding democracy in Europe (in Catalonia, or elsewhere), give me a break!!!! Universal, liberal democracy (ie, what we associate with the concept of "democracy" today) is a late XIX-th century, early XX-th century development. These crazy Basque and Catalan Nationalists have been trying to be revisionists even with that. Alas, history is not on their side and only lunatics believe their lies. I just hope you are not one of them (all too often I have met non Spaniards brainwashed by their Basque/Catalan nationalists "friends").

Ideologies as crappy and repugnant as Basque/Catalan nationalism, where emphasis is put on the superiority of collective identities based on ethnicity or race, are incompatible with the ideals of individual freedom that are at the core of America.

McCain/Palin '08 and to hell with Basque and Catalan nationalists!