vice presidential debate

Watch the full debate if you missed it:

Full transcript here.

I don't know why people think these debates are boring (cough cough Lauren! hehe), this one was so entertaining. Especially when Palin says things like "Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again...Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future." or "Darn right it was the predator lenders." It's so fun to see a "regular" American go up against this veteran Senator and hold her own.

I don't think Palin won though. I think she won in the sense that she really put herself out there. This is the real Palin, real straight talk to the American people. No editing, no gotcha questions. I think she won over a good part of America's heartland last night. But Biden was also really good. He had a lot more substance going on (but that's not necessarily in his favor. Check out his 14 lies from last night here). I think he won at saying what America wants to hear right now...a lot of people want the war to be over, want the economy fixed. Hey I'm all for that too! But I don't agree with the way Biden & Obama want to fix those problems. I want victory in war. I want less government intervention in the economy and in my paycheck. But I feel like a lot of Americans today are just tired, or lazy, or want the government just to do everything. We forget that freedom & prosperity come at a price, and the government is not the answer to all our problems.

These are some of my favorite Palin quotes:
"In fact, too often you're the problem so, government, lessen the tax burden and on our families and get out of the way and let the private sector and our families grow and thrive and prosper. An increased tax formula that Barack Obama is proposing in addition to nearly a trillion dollars in new spending that he's proposing is the backwards way of trying to grow our economy."

"Unless you're pleased with the way the federal government has been running anything lately, I don't think that it's going to be real pleasing for Americans to consider health care being taken over by the feds."

And as usual, we were at the Fulton GOP HQ to watch. We got there around 8:15 and all the seats were already taken! Crazy crowded! There's a breakfast & volunteer activities on Sat...anyone in?

Check out this awesome cookie cake & cookies:


Special guest GA GOP Chairman Sue Everhart was there talking before the debate:

links of the day

Links of the day...

From Fox/via Ryan...if you took a US citizenship test today, would you pass it? It was recently updated, and you can check out the 100 questions here. Just thought you might want to brush up on your United States 101 while Biden & Palin brush up on their foreign policy :)

And here are some more links to help you communicate with your elected officials:

A one-click site to tell your leaders to vote no to the bailout - Vote No Bailout!

If you want to talk to your officials on any subject, check out the easy process on Congress's website. Just put your zipcode in and it will list all your officials, from state to federal to president. You can select which ones you want to write to (all of them if you want!), and fill out the form. Click send and you're done! Easy peasy.


And one last link for today..."As in a Bomb Going Off" by King Banaian (via Hot Air). This a pro-bailout article that conservatives should consider. When I say pro-bailout, I don't mean the bailout that is being voted on tonight. The government can (and should, since a lot of this mess is caused by previous bad govt decisions) take actions to help the markets, but do so without meddling so much with them & our money.

I like this paragraph:
"Free markets do not mean always private markets. Free markets mean markets with an absence of coercion. It is possible for government to step forward for a missing market and not be coercive. A bailout that did not consume taxpayer dollars would be one example. Forcing banks to alter their lending standards would be coercive and unfree. "

more on the 1st debate

So...did anyone happen to watch the debate on Fox 5? Yours truly was interviewed before the debate started...I was a little nervous at first, but the questions weren't hard. I don't think I let the Republican party down at all :) We were at the Fulton Co GOP HQ again for the debate. We'll be back there on Thurs for the VP debate between Biden & Palin. Let me know if you want to come with me!

Here's a cool video that puts together all the times Obama admitted McCain was right...12 times. How many times did McCain admit that Obama was right? 0 times. Just something to think about.

no love, no money

Interesting...Democrats running for seats in the Senate need help...and Obama says no.

Then Biden releases his tax returns and we see that over 10 years, Biden donated 1/8th of 1% of his income to charity. Wow.

respect & love

I like this - a sign at a rally - "America respects John McCain, America loves Sarah Palin." That really just struck me as wow. I want to respect & love my leaders. Could anyone say those 2 words of Obama-Biden?

On to the economy...McCain-Palin vs. Obama-Biden.

The funny thing here is how fleshed out & coherent McCain-Palin plan is. I really like the last words "In the first 100 days of our administration, we will look at every agency and department and expenditure of the federal government and ask this simple question: Is it serving the needs of the taxpayer? If it is not, we will reform it or shut it down, and we will spend money only on what is truly in the interest of the American people."

But then you get to Obama and the article is aptly named "Obama 3.0" - obviously he doesn't know what he's talking about and is continually having to change his plan. And then when you actually try to understand his plan, it's just a bunch of numbers and percentages that I don't really get. I wish he would be more straight with us about what he's going to do if elected.

the morning after

what's on CNN this morning after Palin's rockin speech?

Impressive:

Glenn Beck on what John McCain should speak on tonight.

He writes out a speech for McCain...and I'll go ahead and spoil the end for you. The speech he presents is actually excerpted from Ronald Reagan's 1980 Republican Convention acceptance speech.

Not so impressive:

Biden's response makes me wonder if he actually was listening to Palin's speech. CNN titles the article "Style but no substance." He does say that her speech was impressive & well-delivered, but then he mentions the things that she didn't say. Hello! She didn't have to say the word "middle-class" - we all knew who she was talking to because she is the "middle-class." She skillfully spoke on our energy crisis, which she directly related to the economy & foreign powers. It was anything but empty rhetoric!

best surprise yet

This has been a really fun, unpredictable election year, and McCain's pick of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is the best surprise yet. Funny because I first read up on her last month and became a fan, and was alerted by a reader back in May of the liberal fear of her being added to the Republican ticket. Here is a great article in the NY Times about the process.

I still haven't watched Obama's acceptance speech. From what I've heard, it wasn't anything we haven't already heard from Obama. He's a good speaker. He likes to talk change. He likes to put himself in front of a temple - what's up with that? But what I really like about his speech is that instead of everyone talking about it the next morning, everyone was talking about...you guessed it. Sarah Palin. McCain stole your thunder Obama. I wonder how mad Obama was about that.

I think Palin is an awesome choice, for a couple of reasons. It's unexpected, but she is a solid leader. Exactly the breath of fresh air McCain needed in his campaign, and what we need in Washington. Who better to take on the bureaucracy than someone who fearlessly stood up to corruption in her own political party? And so what if she was mayor of a small town and governor of a far away state? I think the farther she is from Washington politics, the better. She is a true outsider. And she has real executive experience, something Obama, Biden, and McCain don't have. And while she may not have much foreign relations experience, McCain does, so I think that balances out, and she can learn a lot in the months to come from him and his advisers.

If you want change, then you want someone like Palin. Not Obama, not Biden. What real change has Obama brought to this country in his years in the Senate? What real change has Biden brought in his many many years in the Senate? Here we have a woman who hasn't even finished her first term as Governor and has brought IMMENSE change to her state.

The one thing that makes me really angry already...I was at a party on Friday and overheard a woman co-worker say to another co-worker "I don't think she can be a mother and the Vice President." Is that not the most sexist thing? I don't know if this co-worker is a Republican or Democrat, but either way, that mindset is really disappointing. Why can't women be wives & mothers AND follow whatever dream/career path they want? Women have come such a long way, and to dismiss Sarah Palin on this ludicrous idea that you can't be a mother and VP of the US is a slap in the face to all American women. I really admire Palin for what she has been able to accomplish: good wife, good mother, good leader. What a shining example she is to American women everywhere, regardless of your political affiliation.

quick thoughts on the Dem convention

I haven't watched too much of the Democratic convention, mostly because I can catch the highlights the next day. Based from the highlights, all I've seen from the Democrats are a bunch of emotional speeches that have little to nothing to do with the actual issues at stake. I don't want to sound negative or bitter, but if I was a Democrat, I think I'd be feeling a little empty right now. Stories are good...but there is so much more at stake here than happy feelings.

First we had Michelle Obama (click for video & transcript) and the kids. A nice speech on her family, upbringing, why she loves America, etc etc. Nice. It's a lot easier to say you love your country in a contrived speech. But when you're out on the campaign trail and really speak your mind, and your words there don't match up to your speeches, then I have a hard time believing you. I kind of wanted her to apologize for the things that she has said, because she truly offended me. And then, the kids are cute...but is this campaign about cute kids talking to their daddy or is this about the American people and the struggles we are facing right now?


Then Hillary...oh Hillary. How sad I am for you. This was supposed to be your convention. You did what you had to do...but I don't think you really believe in his candidacy. And I'm sorry but I really laughed when you said "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits" (did you really go there?) and when you said "no way, no how, no McCain." Is that even correct grammar?


Then Bill, then Biden. I hear Biden's speech has been the weakest. "Standard and uninspiring" according to the U.S. News & World Report. Is Obama already rethinking his VP choice? Hillary anyone?

And tonight we have Obama...I don't expect anything less than full throttle praise in the morning. If he delivered the worst speech in the world, would people still praise it? I find it increasingly hard to believe that the world would criticize him, even when it's due to him.

And in other news, McCain is airing an ad congratulating Obama right around the time that he does his speech. Surprise or not?