The current fuss with Palin personality is a one-month wonder. The DEMs have been 10x more effective at mobilising their base than the REPs.

Also, the economy stupid continues to head south. This is always the most accurate predictor of electoral success.

FTR I will repeat my prediction made in May 08. Obama will win the 2008 election comfortably. But I do concede that I underestimated the importance of personality. So Obama will possibly not win by a landslide 3%+.

Wait one month.

It looks like the Palin bubble has burst. THe RCP average now has Obama about 1% ahead of McCain. Thats a 3% turnaround from the 2% advantage that McCain enjoyed for most of this month.

She was fun whilst she lasted. But she was just a flash in the pan.

The floor under the REP vote may have been raised by the recent spurt of growth in the US economy, which appears completely disconnected from the US fiduciary. However there are so many reasons to vote against the REPs that even this good news wont save them.

I havent been wrong about a US or AUS federal election since the end of the Cold War. Not about to start blemishing the record for this race, which Obama should win in a canter.

(How are the other psehp bloggers doing on this? Mumbles was betting on McCain. I dont fancy his chances.)

He is one cool dude. THe Cool Hand Dude, with a handful of aces.

By the way. This is an incredibly civil site for a left leaning blog.

Partly because for most of us, our stake in the election is indirect. Kim has American citizenship, but most of us don’t. I have one godfather (as in baptisimal, not Mafia) in New York, and my wife has family in Maryland, but I have no direct relatives in the States.

Another thing is that a good site is like a good garden – sometimes you have to prune. Abuse isn’t tolerated here, and posts which abuse generally get deleted. A lot of the comment sites I’ve seen in the US suck. Threads consisting of talking point alternating with talking point – whether “Conservative” or “Liberal”, it doesn’t matter. The effect is of 200 homeless people along some run down street in a run down city, ranting to themselves. In contrast, the people who run the site (Mark mainly, plus Kim and others) try to get a conversation going, and generally they succeed. Mucho gracias to them.

Finally, many of us are lukewarm on Obama. We just think the other bunch is worse.

Mama73:

O.K., I’ve got about a 90% chance of voting for McCain/Palin if I make it to the booth.

Good for you. So would that 90% chance decline to 50% or less if you learn Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for rape medical exams? That would be a deal-breaker if I were American. Choose to vote for Obama, or Barr, or abstain altogether, but why would you vote for such an odious woman? This is not about elitism or condescension. This is about simple decency.

I really don’t appreciate you guys implying that they’re mindless, drooling, Rush Limbaugh worshiping zombies.

Yes, perhaps all those references to drooling were a bit out of line.

I’m educated (Masters Degree), northern, urban, female, married, mom, working.

The thing about the “She was for the Bridge To Nowhere before she was against it”, is that I don’t really think it sticks. I don’t believe that she had the political capital before the national fuss to do anything about it. When she got the capital, she did the right thing.

Also, although I know Alaska kept the money, I’m not sure what sort of infrastructure it went to repair. If it went to infrastructure that helps keep the oil and gas pumping (even roads to areas that are important to oil and gas industry) I figure I got a good deal from that money.

…also, despite my urban, educated status, my family’s from West Virginia. I get the feeling you’re not going to believe me when I tell you…but my relatives talk about stuff like this! And although most don’t have more than a high school diploma they are pretty well informed, and they’re SMART…and I really don’t appreciate you guys implying that they’re mindless, drooling, Rush Limbaugh worshiping zombies.

I agree, but it will never happen. The press protects Obama from questions like these. There was a slip on CNN today where the reporter referred the the Democrats as “we.” Not that I care, as the main post notes, Republicans are quite adept at using media support for the Democrat candidate against the Democrat.

Obama has re-iterated his support for Georgia to join NATO since the Russian incursion, so he has not backed down since things got hot.

By the way. This is an incredibly civil site for a left leaning blog. Congratulations on that, I didn’t think it could be done. I think if the Democrats in the US were more civil, and spent less time demonizing the voters they need, they might do better in the elections, but please dismiss this comment as “concern trolling”, I wouldn’t want the Dems to change.

Hillary, unlike Obama, has run for statewide office in a state where these “bitter clinger” voters that Obama supporters despise make up a decisive part of the electorate. She gets elected anyway. That reason alone should have been enough for the Democrats to choose her.

FDP, the CAP thing all week was humiliating & disturbing. And the betrayal by some so called “Lefties” has saddened this Bear. The CIRCLE has been broken. In some ways I contributed to it…but owned up to that in comment 88. Instead of empathy I had my one true hobby bar gardening & film watching ripped into…my good will thrown back in my face. I need time to repair & reflect. My catharsis is on RTS. Cheers
N’

You might want to have a look back at how you’ve reacted, cos you’ve never struck me as a precious, humourless git before.

Selfish hedonism. At the expense of babies

Someone’s gotta pay the bill, nasking. Might as well be little Jayyeighdn.

Pretty judgemental & assumptive comment tigtog. Michael Ruppert, Steven Vincent, Tom Feeley…all I can think of now…quite a number in Iraq.

Pavlov’s Cat, your sarcasm after the justification demonstrates the lie.

Attack my writing style all you like. Your schoolgirl attitudes & sneering apathy reveal the true nature of your cause. Selfish hedonism. At the expense of babies. And animals. And elections. And in the long run, many lives.

I attempted to create a bridge. You blew it up. The type of piling on today shows the nature of this blog. And to think I promoted your blog time & time again tigtog…& even you occasionally PD. I’ve heard similar complaints from other commentors. Now I fully understand their grievance.

And Mark…yer quite welcome re the donation. Common courtesy mate.

i will not post here again.

N’

So is Georgia part of Europe or Asia?

It depends on where you think the boundary of Europe lies in respect to the Caucasus: Greater Caucasus? Asia. Lesser Caucasus? Europe. Kura River? Both.

If in doubt, consult Eurovision. I’m going to back them on this occasion, albeit with the mute on.

Writing long raves that look like the backs of album covers by minor bands in 1969 and then expecting everyone to spend precious time deciphering them is just unrealistic.

I think Nasking´s got the gig for the liner notes on Moby´s next album.

Article 5: “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” The limiting term “Europe or North America” precedes the deeming provision re: other territory that I have already mentioned.

Very helpful, aren’t I?

BBB

BBB

Remember the Falklands War, Katz.

How could I forget?

And how could I forget that NATO applies only to “Europe” and to “North America”. The last time I looked the Falklands were neither in “Europe” nor in “North America”. Correct me if I’m wrong.

However, the question arises as to whether Georgia or Ukraine are in “Europe”. This tricky question will no doubt furrow the brows of the current members of NATO, at the appropriate time.

Adrian, did you honestly not realize how patronizing this was when you wrote it? How you were fulfilling the very theory you were purporting to disprove?

Believe it or not, even poor whites in swing states have televisions, radios, the Internet, newspapers, movie theaters and the like. They even have the electricity to operate them (newspapers excepted, which don’t generally require electricity). If you think there is any section of the country that doesn’t get an earful of liberal opinion on a regular basis then you don’t get out enough. Swing states are no exception.

Your statement was actually so ridiculous and factless, that I really think you must have said it tongue-in-cheek. If that’s the case, it’s a good start but it needs some polishing.

Asked whether the United States would have to go to war with Russia if it invaded Georgia, and the country was part of NATO, Palin said: “Perhaps so.”

“I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you’re going to be expected to be called upon and help,” she said.

Pressed on the question, Palin responded: “What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against … We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.”

She added: “It doesn’t have to lead to war and it doesn’t have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to help us do that in this mission of keeping our eye on Russia and Putin and some of his desire to control and to control much more than smaller democratic countries.”

You may disagree with all that, but to say Palin is ‘talking about war’ is dodging the real reason why war was mentioned: she is giving a fairly direct and candid answer to a very direct question. Anyone who says an attack on a NATO member doesn’t raise the real possibility of war with the aggressor is full of rubbish (remember this is what Moptop said – it raises war as a possibility). Similarly, anyone who says they want Georgia in NATO but its admission would not increase the probability of war with Russia is also full of rubbish. Obama doesn’t seem to have been given the opportunity to make a fool of himself on that point, and in any case it is doubtful he would have taken it. In the end, this whole back and forth is about the differences between the questions asked.

BBB