BrentAllen

"I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors," Barack Obama told a crowd in Elko, Nev. "I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face." Marching orders from the top.

SR540Beaver wrote: "Any scarier than what happened 6 of the last 8 years with Bush and a Republican House and Senate? God help us!!!" Did you watch that second video? The Republicans were trying to reign in Freddie and Fannie, but were shot down, even when they had a majority in the House and Senate. If you watched the video, you saw they were accused of "lynching" Frank Raines, of being racists. They can't win for losing! And now Pelosi blames it all on Bush's policies - that is too rich! With Dems in control of everything, who is going to guard the hen house? The Republicans blew it when they had full control. What is that saying - power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. I am quickly becoming a fan of split control. I'm also becoming a fan of term limits.

SR540, If you want to compare Ayers to Oliver North, that's your business. Last time I checked, Oliver North was not attacking his own country. Serving on a WB staff isn't comparable to running a foundation that handed out $50 million. I suggest you look into who received money from the CAC, and who gave money to Obama's campaign. I'm sure each and every one of those is just a coincidence. You weren't selected to serve on WB to hand out favors, or money. Obama's position was very political, and powerful. Exactly how much power did you wield on WB staff? The times I served, I can't say I had much at all. Do you actually think Obama was selected for that position in the same way you were selected to serve? No, those positions only go the politically connected, and those people are usually in bed with each other, politically speaking. Sorry, but I don't buy his story. Too many connections, going back for years. And that is just one of many bad relationships for him.

Beavah, I don't know of too many sports teams who claim the mantle of being tolerant, inclusive, open-minded. I've attended more than my fair share of college sporting events, and can't say I've seen that many middle fingers in all of them, combined! But maybe that's just how we are here in the South. As for party intellectuals and the financial mess, check out this video. Possibly some Obama cabinet members in the group? Listen carefully and you will actually here Obama's buddy, Franklin Raines, say that homes are "riskless investments." An Obama win, along with a Democratic House and Senate, is a very scary thought. Right now it looks like there is a high probability of that happening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&feature=related

Someone mentioned how ugly the political race has gotten, especially at Republican rallies. This video shows Democrats in NY at their best, being tolerant and inclusive, open to ideas, ready to reach across the isle and work with the other party. Very enlightening. Enjoy!

OK, gwd - this is what I haven't seen fully explored on Obama. He says he and Ayers just live in the same neighborhood, that they aren't even that close of friends, that he had no idea about his past. Have you heard that Michelle Obama worked with Ayers' wife (check out her own sordid history), at the same law firm? The same law firm where Obama worked for the summer after his first year at Harvard, where he met Michelle? That Obama launched his political career from Ayers' living room? That Ayers hired Obama to manage the Annenberg grant that he secured for Chicago? That they served together on the board of the Woods Fund? That they served together on several panels discussing education reform, some of which were set up by Michele Obama? All these connections, going back well over 10 years, and we are supposed to believe that Obama had no idea about Ayers past, and that he doesn't know him that well - he's just a guy in the neighborhood? Sorry, but that just doesn't cut the mustard with me. Would you launch any kind of career in just any one of your neighbor's living rooms?? Also, we are supposed to believe that Obama attended Rev. Wright's church for 20 years, and he never knew Wright was preaching those hateful sermons?? If Obama is that clueless, and is such a badge judge of character, he has no business being in the White House! We teach our Scouts you are a product of the company you keep, so chose your friends wisely. Applying that standard to Obama, I see his close associates as Ayers (see above), Rev. Wright (for 20 years), Tony Rezco (next door neighbor, fund raiser), ACORN (he worked as a community activist and lawyer for them). Sorry, but I see nothing honorable about anyone in that group. In fact, I see fraud, corruption, greed and hate. Would you associate with any of those people?

The Bible teaches that God notices even when a sparrow falls, that He even counts the hairs on our heads. If that is true, then I find it hard to believe He wouldn't notice something as monumental as this election. I believe God is involved in everything on earth. He invented it all, so why shouldn't He be? I think it is presumptuous for anyone to say they know exactly what God thinks. I may want McCain to win because I think he will govern better, so I will pray that he wins the election. That does not mean I think God is on McCain's side. I have been taught we should pray, and pray often. We should ask for what we want, but should utlimately ask that God's will be done, and that we have the ability to live with His will. While I think Obama is the wrong choice for a number of reasons, I am not worrying about this election. The Bible also teaches that we should not worry about things we cannot control, that we should trust the Lord with all our heart. As a Christian, I should recognize that whoever wins does so because it is God's will. That does not mean things will be a bed of roses, no matter who wins.

"Bill pokes at Scientologists, Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, everybody. He's an equal opportunity offender." Exactly. Why would I want to spend my good money to go get offended? I'd much rather go see something with a positive message. But that's just me. funscout - the acting is much better in Fireproof, along with the filming, editing, etc. The Kendrick brothers are quickly getting up the learning curve on making good movies. Also, if you haven't seen "The Ultimate Gift" yet, be sure to check it out (on DVD now). Fantastic movie! Everyone in our family loves this one!

Yes, I think I'll pass on that one. Bill Maher and his movie do not strike me as being respectful of other's religious beliefs.

That is the name of the new movie out from the Kendrick brothers, who also made Facing the Giants. My wife and I saw it yesterday, and both loved it. Kirk Cameron plays a captain in the Albany, GA Fire Department, whose marriage is falling apart. He can save lives from burning buildings, but he can't save his marriage. The movie doesn't provide any Academy Award performances from its volunteer cast, but it does provide an Academy Award message and emotions. This is a great date movie. If you haven't been on a date lately with your spouse, make a movie date to see this movie.

"Seems fair (neutral) to me." So.... why does the title of the article end up being "Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says" if they said it actually was a tie?

Lisa, Based on all the "independent voter" surveys and polls I've seen, I'd say Luntz is just as objective as the rest of them. Meaning, they all have some bias. I would say his independent groups are much more independent than groups hosted by CNN or MSNBC. As for general polling, I recently read an article that stated the polling numbers from CNN after the McCain-Obama debate were "slightly" biased in numbers of Democrats in the group. This "slight" bias was 41% Democrat, 27% Republican, 30% undecided in the group polled. The result of the poll? "Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says" Interesting. Obama over McCain, 51 - 38. That difference is a little less than the difference in the group. 41 - 27 = 14 51 - 38 = 13 But of course, CNN is neutral, right?? What really cracks me up is the line in the arcticle says that due to bias, the debate was a tie. I wonder why the title says otherwise?? http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/27/debate.poll/index.html

I guess it depends on which polls you read or follow. The Luntz polling of undecided voters had independents giving the nod to Palin, with many more voters in that group saying they had made up their mind to vote McCain after the debate. My prediction is McCain is going to get a boost from this debate. Palin did much more to help McCain that Biden did to help Obama, would you not agree? If you do, then the advantage went to Palin. At the end of the day, no one will really remember who won, and I don't think it will matter. Lloyde Bentsen pretty well creamed Quayle, but his side lost the election. Palin had become a negative; she is now a positive on the McCain ticket.

Sarah exceeded expectations; Joe met expectations. Advantage Palin. Sarah Palin is a winner. She has proven that throughout her life, whether it be basketball, cross-country, beauty contests or politics. When she ran for governor, she had to beat an incumbent Republican who had the backing of the party, and then went on to beat a Democrat who previously held the office. Now, after being tapped for VP just 5 weeks ago, she goes toe to toe with an experienced Senator in front of 70 million viewers. Yes, gwd, she is one of us, an exceptional one of us. Most of us wouldn't have been able to remember our own name on that stage. She has worked hard to get up the learning curve in 5 weeks, which is impressive to me, and she came out swinging. I don't think you can teach that kind of courage, that kind of winner mentality - you either have it, or you don't. We'll see if McCain can take it from here. I only wish Sarah would have stated that man-made global warming is the biggest hoax ever perpetuated on mankind in our lifetime.

"Palin is popular because she basically is one of us who has made it to the top." The Dems just don't get this. When they go after her, much of the public is going to sympathize with her. How would we feel if there were 30 hitmen digging into our past in our hometown? Sure, this is part of the political game, and you probably won't hear Palin or McCain complain about it. That doesn't matter. What does matter is how the public feels about the story, and it is easy for the public to put themselves in her shoes. From the WSJ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122098190668515511.html?mod=opinion_journal_political_diary "Democrats understand Sarah Palin is a formidable political force who has upset the Obama victory plan. The latest Washington Post/ABC Poll shows John McCain taking a 12-point lead over Barack Obama among white women, a reversal of Mr. Obama's eight-point lead last month. It's no surprise, then, that Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background. My sources report the first wave arrived in Anchorage less than 24 hours after John McCain selected her on August 29." John Fund

I think it is also important to remember she didn't request the earmark for the bridge - that was her predecessor. So, make of it what you will, based on your political leanings. I find it interesting that Newsweek has to publish an article debunking a list of false rumors about Palin, which is spreading around the internet. http://www.newsweek.com/id/157986 FACTCHECK.ORG Sliming Palin False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate. Summary We've been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain's running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading. Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn't cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years. She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time. The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian continued in her job through most of Palin's first term. She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United States. She's been registered as a Republican since May 1982. Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once wore a Buchanan button as a "courtesty" when he visited Wasilla, but shortly afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in the state. Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part of the curriculum." A few of these claims were included in a chain e-mail by a woman named Anne Kilkenny. We'll be looking into other charges in that e-mail for a future story. For more explanation of the bullet points above, please read the Analysis. See full article for the analysis.

gwd-scouter writes "Pixiewife: she did, in fact, keep the money to be used at the State's discretion for other infrastructure projects. She also was for the bridge project...before she was against it." Yes, when Sarah Palin was running for governor, she was for the bridge. After she was elected governor, she saw the project had grown tremendously in size and cost (as do most projects, the closer they get to final design). When she found out how much it was really going to cost, she decided it was too expensive, that it wasn't a good deal for the taxpayers. She pulled the plug on the project. Yes, she did keep the money for the state and used it for other needed infrastructure projects, and for other alternatives to the bridge.

At the end of the day, Joe Six-Pack votes for someone they can relate to, someone they would enjoy having a beer (or iced tea) with. I think that is why Bill Clinton won, and why George Bush beat Gore and Kerry. So, who would Joe Six-Pack rather have a beer with? War hero, Senior Citizen McCain, or Ivy League, big city liberal Obama? Or Moose hunter, hockey mom Palin? A Brit posted a pretty good article on the election, which is pretty insightful. It starts off as follows: The best line I heard about Sarah Palin during the frenzied orgy of chauvinist condescension and gutter-crawling journalistic intrusion that greeted her nomination for vice-president a week ago came from a correspondent who knows a thing or two about Alaska. What's the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama? One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let's be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy. The other kills her own food. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4677799.ece

Sarah Palin had to do three things last night: 1. Introduce herself to the American people, let them get to know her and decide if they like her. 2. Show she can handle the spotlight, the big stage. 3. Rally the base, get them excited about her. By my count, she went 3 for 3. She even had Wolf Blitzer and the gang at CNN drooling over her! He went so far as to say she not only hit a homerun, she hit a grand slam! Watching the Dems on Larry King respond was pure entertainment. They were having a cow over the "Hottest VP from the Coldest State" buttons. As was said several times last night, "Game On!"

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities." Governor Sarah Palin

Diversity - the condition of being different. When the word is mentioned, most of us think race. To broaden your thinking, get with a group of co-workers for a few minutes and look at each other and list the ways they are all different. They might come up with a lot of ways - age, religion, sex, education, marital status, number of siblings, oldest/youngest in family, number of children, income, ethnic background, and on and on and on... Hopefully one of the lessons learned in Wood Badge is that we tend to call on the same people when we need something done. And often those people look just like us. We know them, we know what we can expect from them. If you agree that diversity makes us stronger, then we should look carefully at who we are inviting into our groups - do they all tend to be the same, or are we looking for diversity? Do we invite new people to join us in running a Camporee or Webelos Woods, or are they the same folks who helped us last year, and the year before? One of the members of the patrol for which I was a Troop Guide is an LDS Scouter. He said very few LDS Scouters attend the training courses put on by their district. He thinks this might be because none of the staffers are LDS members. One of his ticket items is to help staff their next SM Training, and push it with the LDS units. Hopefully they will see more LDS Scouters getting involved in training, and in other areas with the district. I think this is a very good diversity ticket item. I don't think the diversity ticket requirement has anything to do with being politically correct, or worrying about not offending anyone. I think it is all about learning to recognize we are stronger through our diversity and finding ways to build on that strength.

I'm guessing it wasn't Pat Buchanan. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=74137 Johnny's got a new girl Posted: September 02, 2008 5:55 pm Eastern Patrick J. Buchanan The risk John McCain took last Friday is comparable to the 72-year-old ex-fighter pilot knocking back two shots and flying his F-16 under the Golden Gate Bridge. McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his co-pilot was the biggest gamble in presidential history. As of now, it is paying off, big-time. The sensational selection in Dayton, Ohio, stepped all over the big story from Denver Barack Obama's powerful address to 85,000 cheering folks in Mile High Stadium, and 35 million nationally, a speech that vaulted him from a 2-point deficit early in the week to an 8-point margin. Barack had never before reached 49 percent against McCain. As the Democrats were being rudely stepped on, however, Palin ignited an explosion of enthusiasm among conservatives, evangelicals, traditional Catholics, gun owners and right to lifers not seen in decades. By passing over his friends Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge, and picking Palin, McCain has given himself a fighting chance of winning the White House that, before Friday morning, seemed to be slipping away. Indeed, the bristling reaction on the left testifies to Democratic fears that the choice of Palin could indeed be a game-changer in 2008. Liberals howl that Palin has no experience, no qualifications to be president of the United States. But the lady has more executive experience than McCain, Joe Biden and Obama put together. None of them has ever started or run a business as Palin did. None of them has run a giant state like Alaska, which is larger than California and Texas put together. And though Alaska is not populous, Gov. Palin has as many constituents as Nancy Pelosi or Biden. She has no foreign policy experience, we are told. And though Alaska's neighbors are Canada and Russia, the point is valid. But from the day she takes office, Palin will get daily briefings and sit on the National Security Council with the president and secretaries of state, treasury and defense. She will be up to speed in her first year. And her experience as governor of Alaska, dealing with the oil industry and pipeline agreements with Canada, certainly compares favorably with that of Barack Obama, a community organizer who dealt in the mommy issues of food stamps and rent subsidies. Where Obama has poodled along with the Daley Machine, Palin routed the Republican establishment, challenging and ousting a sitting GOP governor before defeating a former Democratic governor to become the first female and youngest governor in state history. For his boldness in choosing Palin, McCain deserves enormous credit. He has made an extraordinary gesture to conservatives and the party base, offering his old antagonists a partner's share in his presidency. And his decision is likely to be rewarded with a massive and enthusiastic turnout for the McCain-Palin ticket. Rarely has this writer encountered such an outburst of enthusiasm on the right. In choosing Palin, McCain may also have changed the course of history as much as Ike did with his choice of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan did with his choice of George H.W. Bush. For should this ticket win, Palin will eclipse every other Republican as heir apparent to the presidency and will have her own power base among lifers, evangelicals, gun folks and conservatives wholly independent of President McCain. A traditional conservative on social issues, Palin has become, overnight, the most priceless political asset the movement has. Look for the neocons to move with all deliberate speed to take her into their camp by pressing upon her advisers and staff, and steering her into the AEI-Weekly Standard-War Party orbit. Indeed, if McCain defeats Barack, 2012 could see women on both national tickets, and given McCain's age and the possibility he intends to serve a single term, women at the top of both Sarah vs. Hillary. The arrival of Palin on the national scene, with her youth, charisma and vitality, probably also portends a changing of the guard in Washington. With Republicans having zero chance of capturing either House, and but a slim chance of avoiding losses in both, a Vice President Palin, with her reputation as a rebel and reformer, would surely inspire similar revolts in the Republican caucuses. As Thomas Jefferson said, from time to time, a little rebellion in the political world is as necessary as storms in the physical. The Palin nomination could backfire, but it is hard to see how. She has passed her first test, her introduction to the nation, with wit and grace. And the Obama-Biden ticket, having already alienated millions of women with the disrespecting of Hillary, is unlikely to start attacking another woman whose sole offense is that she had just been given the chance to break the glass ceiling at the national level. Her nomination, which will bring the Republican right home, also frees up McCain to appeal to moderates and liberals, which has long been his stock in trade. With his selection of Sarah Palin, John McCain has not only shaken up this election, he may have helped shape the future of the United States and much for the better.

SMT, I can't for the life of me figure out what you are trying to say, or what you think should happen. "moral issue is being shoved aside and buried" "Condoning a behavior" How is that happening? After Daily Kos published some really nasty lies (par for the course - and yes, they are democrats, NJCubScouter) the Palins came forward with the story about their daughter. They said she has decided to keep the baby (moral issue - not having an abortion) and she is going to marry the father (moral issue - both parents take responsibility). How is any of this condoning a behaviour? Should she be burned at the stake? BadenP - let me guess, someone stole your password again, right?(This message has been edited by BrentAllen)

Please show me where the GOP or the family have said this is OK and are celebrating. The family has said she made a mistake, and she is going to live with that mistake for the rest of her life. They have stated she is going to find out very early how hard it is to raise a child, that she is going to grow up much faster than they had planned. She is going to have the baby and marry the father. I'm curious, SMT224 - what else would you have them do?

In presidential elections, governors generally beat senators. We now have a senator/governor team vs. a senator/senator team. It all depends on what kind of experience you value or think is important. Being a chief executive is a much different experience than being a member of a legislative body.