[kenberg]

I imagine all of awm's comments are solid. But there is also just instinct, which of course may vary with the person applying it. I mentioned to my daughter, the night after the debate, that Cov. Palin reminded me of a student who had tried hard to remember as well as she could what all the answers were but had no idea of what they actually meant. It turned out that my granddaughter, who is a student, had watched the debate and made the exact same observation.

I would be happy to buy her and her husband a drink and hear about their hunting experiences in Alaska, but as a candidate I don't think that she is wearing well.

[TimG]

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

[blackshoe]

The question is not whether he was a terrorist forty years ago, but whether he still is.

[jdonn]

The experience argument is so laughable, like when people claim hers is more or better than Obama's. I did a comparison in the 'old' Palin for VP thread. Compare their educations, and compare their resumes pre-politics (hers is something like fisherman and sports broadcaster). Just go to wikipedia and list their full resumes side by side, Obama's is actually extremely impressive! And it's funny how this term "executive experience" was not mentioned a single time by anyone in either party until she was chosen. Who cares! A state senator is more impressive than a mayor, and a national senator is about equally as impressive as a governer. In both of those comparisons, he represented exponentially more constituents than she did.

The more time that goes by, the more clear it becomes she is an absolute joke. There is simply no question about it.

[Gerben42]

Quote

The more time that goes by, the more clear it becomes she is an absolute joke. There is simply no question about it.

Let's just call it a high-variance decision. Either the people will love her and McCain wins, or not and he hasn't hurt what seemed like a hopeless situation to start with anyway.

Given that it shouldn't be possible for the Republican Party to win this election after their achievements, I think making a high-variance choice was probably the right thing to do for them.

[cherdano]

Gerben42, on Oct 9 2008, 03:07 PM, said:

Quote

The more time that goes by, the more clear it becomes she is an absolute joke. There is simply no question about it.

Let's just call it a high-variance decision. Either the people will love her and McCain wins, or not and he hasn't hurt what seemed like a hopeless situation to start with anyway.

Given that it shouldn't be possible for the Republican Party to win this election after their achievements, I think making a high-variance choice was probably the right thing to do for them.

It was a high variance decision when you didn't know much about her. If they had actually tried to find out something about her, they would have noticed she had hardly been interested in politics, that the Trooper-gate allegations are credible, etc. etc.

I guess I can always defend bidding 4♠ over a 4♥ preempt by saying "it was a high variance decision before I looked at my hand, and we were behind". But when it turns out that I have a 3244 with 5 hcp....

[jdonn]

Thinking about it, I believe my current resume at age 26 qualifies me better to be a mayor than hers did when she was elected! I'll let you know when I decide to run, Pahrump here I come!

[Al_U_Card]

Can you say, "Karl Rove"?

They may not expect an elected Republican president, but the party insiders were obviously more interested in securing their evangelical right wing than in selecting a credible candidate such as, say Mike Huckabee. He is on the outs so therefore not interested nor interesting.

Can you say "Jeb Bush" for President in 2012? (Talk about end-times!)

[cherdano]

TimG, on Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

Depends on your definition of terrorist I guess. Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

[luke warm]

cherdano, on Oct 9 2008, 04:56 PM, said:

TimG, on Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

Depends on your definition of terrorist I guess. Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

what's your definition, arend?

[blackshoe]

cherdano, on Oct 9 2008, 05:56 PM, said:

Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

IMO, yes. Others' mileage may vary.

[awm]

In general I think the candidates try to pick VPs to fill apparent holes in their resumes. For Obama, the main issues were:

(1) He is quite young. This makes him "inexperienced" just because he doesn't have a 30-year record in politics. It makes it harder for him to connect with older voters.

(2) His experience in foreign policy is particularly lacking; serving in the Illinois legislature and/or as a community organizer helps you understand domestic issues but not so much foreign policy.

So Obama made a sensible pick of Joe Biden, who is older, with many years in the senate and service on foreign policy committees.

When John McCain picked Palin, I think the main issues were:

(1) McCain is very old and has been in Washington for a long time. It is hard for him to claim that he is a "change candidate" under these circumstances.

(2) McCain has trouble connecting with the evangelical part of the Republican base because he is not that religious and doesn't feel comfortable talking a lot about opposition to abortion and gay rights (and in many cases has taken sort of mild positions on them).

Picking Palin must've seemed reasonable at the time, because she is young and an "outsider" with a record of reform and strong evangelical credentials. And in fact it did help McCain for a while. The big problem now, in addition to Palin's own missteps is:

(3) McCain does not understand the economy, has supported deregulation that was partly to blame for the current crisis, and stated "fundamentals of the economy are strong" time and again when people were losing their jobs.

Sarah Palin does not offer any help to McCain on the economy. If he knew this crisis was coming (which he obviously didn't, although Obama interestingly might've suspected) then he would've done better to pick Romney.

[cherdano]

luke warm, on Oct 9 2008, 04:12 PM, said:

cherdano, on Oct 9 2008, 04:56 PM, said:

TimG, on Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

Depends on your definition of terrorist I guess. Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

what's your definition, arend?

A terrorist is someone who tries to terrorize the population by attacking and killing civilians.

[hrothgar]

cherdano, on Oct 10 2008, 03:11 AM, said:

luke warm, on Oct 9 2008, 04:12 PM, said:

cherdano, on Oct 9 2008, 04:56 PM, said:

TimG, on Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

Depends on your definition of terrorist I guess. Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

what's your definition, arend?

A terrorist is someone who tries to terrorize the population by attacking and killing civilians.

I still like the (traditional) distinction between states and "non state actors"

[pclayton]

cherdano, on Oct 9 2008, 01:56 PM, said:

TimG, on Oct 9 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

awm, on Oct 9 2008, 02:21 PM, said:

Ayers was founder of the "Weathermen", an anti-vietnam protest group that set off pipe bombs to protest the war. So it can be considered that he was a domestic terrorist...

How could it not be considered that he was a terrorist?

Depends on your definition of terrorist I guess. Are animal rights activists who set up a bomb in an empty lab terrorists?

I can't tell if you are serious Arend.

Obviously someone that plants a BOMB with the intent to harm is a terrorist.

I just hope your 'demonstrators' (if thats what you choose to call them) make damn sure the janitor isn't around when they pull this stunt.

[Lobowolf]

They should have a word for using bombs to blow things up and cause massive damage to property that doesn't belong to oneself.

[Lobowolf]

Quote

I just hope your 'demonstrators' (if thats what you choose to call them)...

Please, Phil. "Freedom fighters."

[TimG]

pclayton, on Oct 9 2008, 07:35 PM, said:

Obviously someone that plants a BOMB with the intent to harm is a terrorist.

I think some people would draw a line between "intent to inflict bodily harm on humans" and "intent to inflict harm to property".

But, I agree with you, either is a terrorist.

[smiffy]

Lobowolf, on Oct 9 2008, 07:38 PM, said:

They should have a word for using bombs to blow things up and cause massive damage to property that doesn't belong to oneself.

Maybe destructionalist?

[han]

Vandalist?

Somebody who destroys property and is careful not to hurt any people is not a terrorist. Not every criminal is a terrorist.