Monthly Archives: August 2008

Straight Talk Shock: McCain Tells Fox News He Had ONE, and ONLY ONE, Serious Meeting with Palin Before Offering Her the VP Spot—Then Misleadingly States That Palin Opposed the “Bridge to Nowhere”

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

In the below video interview with FOX News, McCain reveals that he met with Palin ONCE, on Thursday of this past week—and then offered her the VP job the next day, on Friday! In other words, he barely knows her. In total, McCain … Continue reading →

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McCain’s VP Pick Appears to Have Abused Her Office, and Lied About It: Sarah Palin’s Troopergate Scandal Is Not Complicated and Can Be Easily Recounted

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Josh Marshall, of Talking Points Memo, nicely sums up Sarah Palin’s troopergate scandal: We rely on elected officials not to use the power of their office to pursue personal agendas or vendettas. It’s called an abuse of power. There is … Continue reading →

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“Palin is as Tough as Nails”: On the First Day of Sarah Palin’s VP Rollout, Camille Paglia is Impressed

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

According to the Times of London (August 31, 2008), literary and cultural critic, and author of Sexual Personae, Camille Paglia, is impressed by McCain’s VP pick: “We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling,” … Continue reading →

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“Alaska is the Closest Part of Our Continent to Russia”: Cindy McCain Makes Alaska’s Proximity to Siberia a Foreign Policy Qualification for Sarah Palin!

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

The brazen insincerity of Cindy McCain’s response, the lack of adult seriousness, the wrecklessness, and the underlying contempt for the intelligence of voters that it represents, would be funny if this were a faux news clip from the ONION. But it’s not. … Continue reading →

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McCain’s Troopergate Problem: VP Pick Sarah Palin Caught in a Blatant Lie and Abuse of Power Scandal Investigation

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella
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“Near Suicidal”: On VP Pick Sarah Palin, Neoconservative Commentator Charles Krauthammer Gets It

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

The Washington’s Post’s Charles Krauthammer’s response to McCain’s Palin VP pick: To gratuitously undercut the remarkably successful “Is he ready to lead” line of attack seems near suicidal.

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VP Pick Sarah Palin: Young Earth Creationist?

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Back in late October of 2006, during the Alaska governor’s race, in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Sarah Palin seems to have talked about the age of FOSSILS as an example of something that reasonable people might have different … Continue reading →

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Low-Lying Fruit and the Temptation of John McCain: By Obama Not Picking a Woman VP, McCain Thought, “I’ll Do It—and the Presidency Will Be Mine!”

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

The weak bench of Republican female politicians may prove to have been John McCain’s undoing. At some point over the past week, McCain realized that there was not a single politically moderate female politician in the Republican party who also had substantial gravitas and … Continue reading →

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Who’s the Mature Grown-Up Now?: McCain’s Selection of Sarah Palin for VP Sharpens the Distinctions Between Obama and McCain—to McCain’s Detriment

Posted on August 31, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Suddenly, it’s Obama-Biden that looks like the mature, sober, grown-up ticket to ride. For months McCain has been tauting his foreign policy sobriety and experience, parading around the Middle East with dour and seasoned daddy-figures like Joseph Lieberman and Lindsay Graham. … Continue reading →

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“Anchorage Daily News” Quotes Alaskan Republican Politicians Flatly Declaring Palin Unqualified for VP Spot

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Under the headline “Choice Stuns State Politicians,” the Anchorage Daily News offers a disturbing report on the local Alaskan reaction to Sarah Palin’s recent elevation to the national stage as John McCain’s running mate. Below are the opening paragraphs of the article. (Note especially the … Continue reading →

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Fatal Attraction: With VP Pick Sarah Palin, John McCain Wrecks His Moderate Brand and Reminds Voters He’s OLD

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

John McCain’s VP pick may prove to be his presidential bid’s “fatal attraction,” for in this single decision, McCain does three things: (1) perhaps ruinously damages his centrist brand, picking a far-right running mate; (2) reminds people that he is … Continue reading →

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Book Review of “Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation”

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Christopher Frilingos’s Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation (University of Pennsylvania Press 2004) is a great academic text about the Book of Revelation, but it is also a fascinating uncovering of Roman cultural curiosities. The author, for example, … Continue reading →

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How Many People Could the Ancient Colosseum in Rome Hold?

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Answer: According to BBC’s website, about 50,000 adult men. Constructed in the 70s CE, the ancient elliptical amphitheatre was originally called the Amphitheatrum Flavium, and was the largest stadium in the Roman Empire. The Book of Revelation, in its imagery and … Continue reading →

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“This Could Be Ballgame Over”: CNN’s Jack Cafferty and His Viewers React to McCain’s Apparently Ill-Considered VP Pick, Sarah Palin

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella
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VP Pick Sarah Palin: Hillary Clinton Near Beer?

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

She’s a woman, like Hillary Clinton, but the comparison stops there. Will moderate and liberal women drink McCain’s version of political near beer—Sarah Palin?

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Senator McCain Gives Us “Diet Hillary!”: VP Pick Sarah Palin Is a Tepid Substitute for Pro-Choice, Super-Smart Hillary

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Will moderate and liberal women drink McCain’s version of political Diet Coke—Sarah Palin?

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John McCain, Put in a Double Bind, Makes a Bad VP Choice

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

What was John McCain thinking? Clearly, his advisors and pollsters told him, if he wanted a serious shot at being president, his VP pick had to excite: the Republican base (read fundamentalist Christians) and women who wanted Hillary for president This … Continue reading →

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Conservative David Frum, of National Review, Is Unsettled by McCain’s VP Pick, Sarah Palin

Posted on August 29, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

David Frum, after just one day of rather tepid “Palinmania,” questions McCain’s judgement: The longer I think about it, the less well this selection sits with me. And I increasingly doubt that it will prove good politics. The Palin choice … Continue reading →

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VP Candidate Sarah Palin’s Position on Gay Equality and Gay Marriage is Unequivocal: NO

Posted on August 29, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

According to Allison Mendell, an Alaskan attorney who has followed Sarah Palin’s career, McCain’s VP pick is not warm and cuddly with gays:  “She spoke on radio programs all throughout the campaign saying, ‘I want a constitutional amendment, I think these … Continue reading →

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If 72 Year Old McCain Wins, Will a Young Earth Creationist Be One Health Crisis from the Presidency?

Posted on August 29, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

It appears that John McCain’s VP pick, Sarah Palin, is a young earth creationist. Back in late October of 2006, during the governor’s race, the Anchorage Daily News reported the following: “It’s OK to let kids know that there are … Continue reading →

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