Maya Ingénue?

Is the doomsday prediction unfailin'
Or the year 2012 easy sailin'?
A potential world-ender
Not on the agenda:
Could the Mayans foresee Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama:

The approval gap silently shrinks to a few points

Equal time

The Savant received the following anonymous response that he cannot confirm as legitmate and may have come from one of those "fake" Sarah Palins that seem to have taken over the web world. He publishes it with the proviso that, like everything "Sarah Palin" these days, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

How dare you imply I'm a quitter!
I have reason enough to fell bitter.
If you'd been as maligned,
You might have resigned
In order to find a good sitter.

I don't know; Alaska!

Is she needin' to tend to her litter?
Does she think she's a heavier hitter?
So why is she bailin'?
It permits Sarah Palin
To become the prime twit with a Twitter?

Sarah Palin's exit as Alaska governor stuns, puzzles observers
By Mark Z. Barabak and Robin Abcarian
The Los Angeles Times, 7/4/09

McCain plumbs the depths

First, the Market's a bummer, we know.
Then we get dumb and dumber, in tow!
From McCain's bag of tricks,
He now offers this fix
We can call on a "plumber" named Joe?


Joe in the Spotlight
By Larry Rohter and Liz Robbins
The Caucus, NYT Blog, 10/16/08

Palin Comparison - Low expectations?

You betcha!

Folksy wisdom is kinda amusin';
But there isn't a chance we're excusin'
All the pale platitudes
About "kids," "moms" 'n "dudes;"
Or the notion "she won by not losin'."

Seems like the last time the American public allowed their low expectations of a candidate to influence their judgment in the debates, they got exactly what was expected; for eight long years! Let's hope we don't get fooled again.

Need I say that I was not impressed by Sarah Palin's bobbing and weaving to avoid answering questions? If you're going to employ a rope-a-dope strategy you better have the talent to deliver the knockout punch; and you better not be the dope. Joe Biden is certainly no dope. He presented authentic, thoughtful and articulate plans for how he and Barack Obama intend to bring about change and he clearly elucidated the differences between their ticket and the opposition. Sarah Palin's scripted performance, on the other hand, sounded like a broken record; stuck on "maverick, maverick, maverick" and offering assurances of change with no real substantive plan. She never delineated a difference between the McCain/Palin approach and that of the current Bush/Cheney administration.

After listening to Geraldine Ferraro comment on the debate last night, I remain surprised that talented, competent and experienced women are not showing more outrage at the Republican choice for VP. It's not that she is a woman but that she is a featherweight in a world of heavyweights. Why not choose Condoleeza Rice, for example, or any number of experienced conservative women who don't have a direct connection with the current administration? Are women so desperate for a female in the White House that they are willing to settle for less than the best they have to offer? Hillary must have been spittin' nails watching last night's bout. Eight years ago I said to a colleague that one would like to believe that their president is smarter than them, at least in the complex realm of world politics. I guess that holds true for my vice-presidential expectations as well.

In Debate, G.O.P. Ticket Survives a Test
News Analysis by Adam Nagourney
The New York Times, 10/30/8

A new campaign slogan?

What conservative thinking forbids
Could put Palin's campaign on the skids.
It's easy decidin'
On Obama and Biden
For the welfare of all of her kids.

**** Obama/Biden '08 ****
For the Sake of Sarah's Kids

[N.B. - I, for one, am not opposed to the McCain/Palin ticket for such a trite and sexist reason as her choice to be a working mom. It's that I can't imagine spending four years listening to that voice!]

A New Twist in the Debate on Mothers
By Jodi Kantor and Rachel L. Swarns
The New York Times, 9/1/08

Bringing Nome the bacon?

Quite frankly we don't give a fig
About Palin's distress at "the dig,"
For it cannot compete
With her blatant deceit.
As she gussies up pork, save the pig!

And to all those who would call Obama sexist for using the lipstick/pig metaphor, keep in mind that McCain has used the same phrase before and it seems to be Dick Cheney's favorite analogy. Maybe the McCain camp should read the book by his former advisor, Torie Clarke, Lipstick on a Pig, in which she suggests that honesty, not spin, is the best policy in politics or business. How's that one for irony? Or maybe they've been reading Mein Kampf?
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it" --- Adolph Hitler

Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims
By Elizabeth Holmes and Laura Meckler
The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/08

As my old pappy use to say...

"A lie can travel halfway around the world
while the truth is still putting on it's shoes."
---(sometimes attributed to Mark Twain)

No limericks today; just a song to be sung to the tune of the
Maverick Theme music by David Buttolph and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster


Who is that gray-haired, stodgy guy?
Maverick is the name.
They call him that, we don't know why,
Palin's his compadre,
Politics his game.

Slick as a lobby in D.C.
Maverick, John McCain.
Out of touch with you and me;
Part of Bush's cadre.
How is that a change?

Riverboat, blow off steam,
Don't buy into their scheme!
Liberty's the lady they will test!

From Natchez to Duluth
It's time to tell the truth
This "maverick's" the same as all the rest.

His campaign's blowin' smoke,
The concept is a joke!
He's claiming change; oh, surely he must jest!

From Natchez to Duluth
It's time to tell the truth
A maverick is no maverick, self-professed,
And John McCain's no maverick, hope you guessed.

For those of us who remember the 60's TV series, the "original Maverick" was James Garner (no, not Tom Cruise!) and there's no contest when it comes to who we'd rather be swindled by. So, when you get ready to vote this year, remember what my old pappy used to say,
"Always drink upstream from the herd."

McCain relies on his image, avoids issues
By Cynthia Tucker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/7/08