What the Main Stream Media Doesn't Want You to Know

Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama Campaign

"More than half of the whopping $426.9 million Barack Obama has raised
has come from small donors whose names the Obama campaign won't
disclose."

This headline and quote from Newsmax.com shines the light on an issue that, while not necessarily illegal, is certainly crossing the threshold of proper ethics. Obama's slogan has constantly been "Change" yet, his methods have been anything but. Mr. Obama claims that he has dotted the "i"s and crossed the "t"s, but that has not been the case. I don't know who gave him the money, but I, and many other voters shure would like to. If Mr. Obama wants the American public to believe his impassioned cries of hope and belief in his ability to reform Washington, he must match those words with his actions. As of yet, he has not done so.

Biden's Fantasy World

From the Wall Street Journal

In the popular media wisdom, Sarah Palin is the neophyte who knows
nothing about foreign policy while Joe Biden is the savvy diplomatic
pro. Then what are we to make of Mr. Biden's fantastic debate voyage
last week when he made factual claims that would have got Mrs. Palin
mocked from New York to Los Angeles?

AP

Start with Lebanon, where Mr. Biden
asserted that "When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah
out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, 'Move NATO forces in there.
Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah
will control it.' Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part
of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel."

The U.S. never kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, and no one else has
either. Perhaps Mr. Biden meant to say Syria, except that the U.S. also
didn't do that. The Lebanese ousted Syria's military in 2005. As for
NATO, Messrs. Biden and Obama may have proposed sending alliance troops
in, but if they did that was also a fantasy. The U.S. has had all it
can handle trying to convince NATO countries to deploy to Afghanistan.

Speaking of which, Mr. Biden also averred that "Our commanding
general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work
in Afghanistan." In trying to correct him, Mrs. Palin mispronounced the
general's name -- saying "General McClellan" instead of General David
McKiernan. But Mr. Biden's claim was the bigger error, because General
McKiernan said that while "Afghanistan is not Iraq," he also said a
"sustained commitment" to counterinsurgency would be required. That is
consistent with Mr. McCain's point that the "surge principles" of Iraq
could work in Afghanistan.

Then there's the Senator's astonishing claim that Mr. Obama "did not
say he'd sit down with Ahmadinejad" without preconditions. Yet Mr.
Biden himself criticized Mr. Obama on this point in 2007 at the
National Press Club: "Would I make a blanket commitment to meet
unconditionally with the leaders of each of those countries within the
first year I was elected President? Absolutely, positively no."

Or how about his rewriting of Bosnia history to assert that John
McCain didn't support President Clinton in the 1990s. "My
recommendations on Bosnia, I admit I was the first one to recommend it.
They saved tens of thousands of lives. And initially John McCain
opposed it along with a lot of other people. But the end result was it
worked." Mr. Biden's immodesty aside, Mr. McCain supported Mr. Clinton
on Bosnia, as did Bob Dole even as he was running against him for
President in 1996 -- in contrast to the way Mr. Biden and Democratic
leaders have tried to undermine President Bush on Iraq.

Closer to home, the Delaware blarney stone also invited Americans to
join him at "Katie's restaurant" in Wilmington to witness middle-class
struggles. Just one problem: Katie's closed in the 1980s. The mistake
is more than a memory lapse because it exposes how phony is Mr. Biden's
attempt to pose for this campaign as Lunchbucket Joe.

We think the word "lie" is overused in politics today, having become
a favorite of the blogosphere and at the New York Times. So we won't
say Mr. Biden was deliberately making events up when he made these and
other false statements. Perhaps he merely misspoke. In any case, Mrs.
Palin may not know as much about the world as Mr. Biden does, but at
least most of what she knows is true.

Conclusion

Biden came off as having a better command of the issues. However, Palin was charming and connected with the audience. It is fair to say that ultimately Sarah Palin did very well. She had no major "gaffes" and she was able to to go head to head with a Senator of nearly 40 years. While Fox (obviously) says that she won the debate hands down, I tend to look for the issues and substance of the arguments more than the style or showiness. So while her ability to perform on stage may help McCain - a result I am certainly hoping for - in the interest of objectivity I must say that I liked Biden a lot. Sen. Biden is good at serious speeches where he discusses critical issues with very little humor, Gov. Palin is good at connecting with the mainstream voter.

I am looking forward to seeing what the polls show tomorrow - how significant an impact will this debate have on the current ratings?

Personality

"Say it ain't so Joe!"  As I've said before, at the end of the night, it is her personality that will draw voters.  With a quick series of teasing jokes that nobody seemed to get, Palin has just warmed up.  As a whole, this debate is raather friendly, with neither side attacking to harshly, the weaknesses of the other.

Attack

I wish I was better at multi-tasking, because there is so much to comment on.  Essentially, Biden is coming off as strong, knowledgeable, and fed up.  The Senator seems to be frustrated with Governor Palin's "talking points."  I don't blame him.  Biden has an enourmous resume to boast of; he is one of the most knowledgeable Senators when it comes to foriegn affairs.

Palin's most potent attacks are coming in the forms of pointing out the hypocracies of both Biden and Obama, but of "Washington insiders" in general.  "I am just not used to the way you all talk."  While she is not completely devoid of substansive remarks, her most sailient comments are those that point out the records of Obama and Biden.  I can't help but notice that as Palin speaks, Biden chuckles and nods  - sometimes it seems that he is being condescending.  At other times, I think he actually likes the way palin is making her points.

Randomness

Biden just mentioned that Iranian President Ahmadinejad does not control the security in Iran.  "It is the theocracy that controls the security."  This brings out a very valid point: Ahmadinejad does not ultimately make the decisions in Iran, the mullahs do.  Therefore what really is accomplished by talking to him?  Anyway, moving right along...

[On a side note Jonathan Martin does a great job blogging the debate.]

Palin just botched the nuke debate: "A deterant... is a safe stable way to use those nuclear weapons."  While she is of course refering to the way America "uses" nukes, she has also opened the door (as if it really needed opening) to the double standard argument.  Not only that, but she has legitimized the argument that nukes for self-defense (i.e. a deterant) is okay. 

The VP Debate - First Impressions

My first thought: Palin looks like a kid trying to box with Muhammad Ali.  Its now half an hour into the debate, and Palin looks no more relaxed than she did 30 minutes ago.  That being said, Palin is handling herself fairly well in this debate.  Currently, the discussion has turned to the War in Iraq.  Palin seems to be sticking to the party line: the surge worked, we must stay the course and "it would be a travesty if we quit now in Iraq" because it would constitute a failure not only there but in Afghanistan as well. 

While Senator Biden is certainly coming across as the more experienced politician of the two, I am not convinced that that is a point in his favor.  As Palin keeps mentioning, she is just like the rest of us; her family and issues are most similar to those of the middle class voters that are so often mentioned.  While Palin is the more relatable of the two, for my part, I am enjoying hearing (and watching) Biden debate.  He is confident and while not always honest, certainly presaents an image of honesty and sincerity.  Biden very smoothly avoided Palins barb that he once stated that he would be honored to be on a ticket with McCain.  For her part, Palin likes to mention Obama's "story" - a referance to Gwen Ifill's forethcoming book on Obama?