I do believe that any extreme is bad. Obama, in my opinion, will utilize ideas from both sides of the aisle.

Obama has the mask of a moderate; but is he truly such? He seems to have a history of gravitating toward those with extremist views. What in his public history indicates that he has ever “utilized ideas from both sides of the aisle”? His one or two examples of bipartisanship are shaky and based on fuzzy logic. Contrast that with McCain, who has a long paper trail of bipartisanship, often to the consternation of conservative Republicans. Obama’s voting “present” is not “coming to the center”. With his very, very, very liberal voting record, his idea of unity is this:

“I want everyone to unite — behind my values. I want everyone who disagrees with me to change the way they think so that we can all be united. I myself have no plans to change my positions on any important issues in order to achieve this unity. So in order to achieve it, I assume that all of you who differ with me will change your views and values and embrace mine.”

I don’t know who it was, but a conservative guest on a radio station described his meetings with Obama and said Obama seemed completely uninterested in his conservative ideas, despite Obama’s rhetoric about “coming together”. I think Obama’s already made up his mind that conservative ideas are wrong ideas, and would only feign interest, for appearance’s sake. I could be wrong, but where’s the evidence to speak to the contrary (I can think of one example you might bring up)?

We do need new, fresh ideas.

Does this include throwing the baby out with the bath water?

The changes Obama seems to advocate for would be hard to the left; and with Reid and Pelosi at his sides, they may do some irreparable harm.

Obama is the one of the two with those ideas, in my opinion.

Change is one thing; radical shift is quite another.

I also believe after he has been in office a little while, when people see he isn’t that bad, he will be able to bring our country back together.

Perhaps. And if he is “that bad”, then what?

In the last 8 years we have been terribly divided. Bush had an opportunity to unite us after 911,

I lay most of the blame squarely at the feet of those on your side. They have been completely deranged and out of bounds.

instead he says “keep shopping”.

Do you not understand the thought behind why he put that forth to the American public, at the time that he did? I know McCain pushes this criticism too, but it’s one of those hindsight critiques that forgets the state we were in at the time. In afterthought, yes, it would have probably been better to ask Americans to sacrifice more, and be involved more directly in the war we find ourselves in. But at the time, we needed to feel confident in ourselves and our way of life, to send a message to the terrorists that they did not take away our freedoms and cause us to cower in fear; it’s why when American airlines were back up in the skies, we were all encouraged to show our patriotism and fly as frequently as we could; it sent a message to those who attacked us, and it helped the economy and airlines that were struggling.

Had it been someone else, they would have seized the opportunity to unite us as a country.

The only options to possibly have done that would be Gore, or 4 years later, Kerry. How the devil would those two have “united us”, let alone create the tools (Patriot Act, NSA Surveillance, etc.) needed to protect us from the next terrorist attack?

The terrorists have suceeded in dividing us. Bush let it happen. Divide and conquer.

You can credit the terrorists if you’d like; they definitely deserve some of it. But don’t you dare lay this at the feet of President Bush. He has been at the center, reaching across party lines; it’s the Democrats who have spat at him, lied, distorted, maligned in hopes of regaining political power. When Pelosi and Democrats won House and Senate seats in 2006, how was Bush divisive? He was nothing short of gracious toward Pelosi. And how has Pelosi behaved? Nothing short of divisive. Just look at her recent speech in wake of the debate over the Rescue Bill, and how she politicized it, while denying all culpability when Democrats have had their fingerprints all over this economic mess.

The only person I have said was disrespectful in anyway shape or form was AYE, if you look back to all of his posts to me they have been nothing but antagonistic.

Oy! Here we go with the victimhood again.

I have called you out repeatedly on the false accusations. Not once have you responded with anything to support your claims.

Not once.

You claim that I have been “antagonistic”.

You claim that I have been “hateful”.

You’ve presented no proof. No evidence.

Not one single copy/paste, which is so simple even someone in their computer “infancy” can do it.

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

So, now that I’ve got that out of the way, let me say this to you:

You, madame, are a bald faced liar.

I’ve been temperate. I’ve been kind. I’ve challenged you to think, to research, to expand your mind beyond the 10 second sound bytes and snippets that you have picked up from the Internet.

I’ve encouraged you to dig yourself out of the sad, pathetic intellectual state in which you currently find yourself.

Instead of helping yourself out of the gutter, you respond with loads of poor, pitiful me victocrat mentality.

That’s OK though.

It is now a goal of mine to peg you to the wall each and every time you force out another piece of your inane, vapid dog squeeze and you can rest assured I always accomplish my goals.

You’re a mental midget amongst giants here. Post cautiously lest ye get squashed.

We’re doing the “Palin wardrobe” thing more in depth on Curt’s thread. Like I said, this was such an absurdity that I couldn’t bear posting on it. And I’m one of the main Palin authors here on her political history.

A few facts for you to absorb before you wander over there with your comments…

1: Paling didn’t buy the clothes. The RNC sent a shopper out to pick up a wardrobe. If Palin had the time, I doubt she’d be hanging in the Donna Karan or Oscar de la Renta departments. Just not her “bunny boots and fleece” style. Thus they handed her the duds.

And BTW, that figure is for dressing a family of seven, not just Palin.

2: The money was a donation from one or two RNC members. The clothes do not belong to Palin and will be auctioned off. If, as a Veep, she decides to keep them, they are declared as income and taxable. Thus “she” did not spend more than the family makes a year on clothes.

You might think of them as campaign props… sorta like greek columns… that will be returned. Speaking of, wonder how much those cost to rent, as well as that set. hummmm

3: The Obamas, Bidens and McCain’s income is considerably more than the Palin’s. No comparison. Frankly, I’m quite sure Sarah would have been just fine and content on the campaign trail in her own clothes. This was not her decision. She did not demand it. Show me that she did, and I’ll issue a huge mea culpa.

Am I an Obama supporter? YES. Do I like EVERYTHING about him? NO. Do I think we could have done better? YES. But I believe he is the best of the two. I don’t believe he will turn our country into a socialist country. I do believe that any extreme is bad. Obama, in my opinion, will utilize ideas from both sides of the aisle. We do need new, fresh ideas. Obama is the one of the two with those ideas, in my opinion. I also believe after he has been in office a little while, when people see he isn’t that bad, he will be able to bring our country back together. In the last 8 years we have been terribly divided. Bush had an opportunity to unite us after 911, instead he says “keep shopping”. Had it been someone else, they would have seized the opportunity to unite us as a country. The terrorists have suceeded in dividing us. Bush let it happen. Divide and conquer.

So let’s discuss your latest mud.

While the Obama crowd thinks his relationship to Wright, Ayers and ilk is not important, I see them as such for the man’s political philosophy. That you are so willing to subject your children to a social and economic justice education in public schools makes me believe that you know little of that philosophy, and it’s roots in Marxism. But if that’s what you want for your children’s future, then you are voting for the right ticket.

Ayers is not about his terrorist past. McCain’s campaign is pursuing that tact in error. But what Ayers *is* all about is his educational thrust, and Obama’s belief in that same philosopy.

What Wright is about is heavy handed affirmative action… or as I view both Obama and Michelle, they are black first, Americans second. His entire welfare policies are focused seriously on black and/or minority… just as his Public Allies program – a pet project founded by he and Michelle is an affirmative action leadership program designed to change the face of leadership to reflect what they believe “America will look like” in the future, is 67% “people of color”, and 15% LGBT (sexual preference).

I don’t know about you, but I want a President who doesn’t view American’s in financial classes and races.

You can go back thru the “categores and archives” link, click on Palin and find many stories and research on the Palin “scandal” headlines. But there’s a new one everyday. So let’s talk about the latest you seized on – Palin’s wardrobe. A subject I find so banal that I can’t even bring myself to create a post on it.

I find this judgment of yours tremendously disingenuous, and conveniently tolerant of the other ticket.

The Palin family is similar to America in their lives and budget. From a Feb 2008 Alaska Mag article:

When a reporter and photographers from Vogue magazine came to Alaska in December to do a story on her, Palin was sure she disappointed them. “In the interview you could tell that the writer was trying to get me to focus on the gender and appearance issues, but I kept talking about energy and national security, and not relying on foreign sources of energy,” Palin said. “Finally, she stopped me and said, ‘I know that’s what you want to talk about, but this is a women’s fashion magazine.’ I don’t know about fashion. It’s bunny boots and fleece and The North Face. So I tried to talk about that, but it’s just not the way I’m wired.”

~~~

Bristol, upon returning from a shopping trip in Anchorage, received Palin’s nod of approval for the $15 dress she bought for the night’s gala they were about to attend. No need for a $300 gown, Palin said.

But when Bristol revealed she spent $30 on leg waxing—“That was supposed to be gas money,” Todd Palin said disapprovingly—the governor wasn’t too happy, either.

“That’s a waste of money,” she said. “You have razors.

Perhaps you and the Obama faithful would be happier if she and her family dressed in their normal duds. Then you must remember in Anchorage, Wasilla and Juneau, the haute couture of apparel shops is the Gap, North Face and Banana Republic. There are no Neimann Marcus’s, no Bergdorf’s, no Sak’s 5th Aves in Sarah’s ‘hood.

But she is a VP nominee today.

Considering that the earliest of DNC charges were that she and family were “trailer trash”, perhaps you’d be happier that she also appeared that way on the national stage?

Now let’s take your guy’s wife, Michelle. I’ll be you think she’s wandering around the campaign trail in Walmart duds, right? But no… and she hasn’t been a budget apparel woman for quite a while.

Michelle has catapulted her personal favorite local designer, Maria Pinto, to even more national fame. Ms. Pinto’s ready-to-wear line isn’t found in Target or Walmart, Erika. Try Barneys New York, and Takashimaya. You can find yourself a nice ready-to-wear dress perhaps under $300.

But of course, Ms. Obama is not a patron of the “ready-to-wear” bit. She and Oprah are both part of the Chicago elite who have been mainstays of Pinto’s for quite a while.

Pinto’s luxurious designs have been a mainstay on Chicago’s elite, including Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, the stylish wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who is often photographed in a Maria Pinto design.

These are not the off-the-rack women shoppers, but the designer line.

Now shoppers will be able to have access to her beautiful ready-to-wear collection with an inviting new shopping experience. “The store will be a natural extension of my atelier,” said Maria Pinto. “My collections are known for well-edited luxury; each garment incorporates innovative materials and sophisticated tailoring from beginning to end. This attention to detail will be reflected in the environment of the retail space from the moment a client walks through the door.”

In short, Michelle’s clothing budget is hardly frugal by your or my standards. But then both Obama and Michelle make more in a month than the both Sarah *and* Todd Palin’s combined income annually.

But if Palin’s going to be campaigning on the national stage for VP of the US, it is only appropriate that she be attired befitting the job. The Palin’s can’t afford that on their family budget. She is a Joe-six-pack family, not the elite wealthy of Chicago, like the Obamas.

Try reading this in the HillaryClintonForum,, for a more reasonable perspective. Then you might want to consider that Palin’s not taking these clothes home to Alaska… but that they will be auctioned off for charity donation.

Now try and make this a scandalous case again to me, Erika.