McCain knew Tina Fey before he knew Sarah Palin.
McCain knew Tina Fey before he knew Sarah Palin.
Last week, Atrios highlighted a McCain-Palin image and remarked, “It just looks like something from a bad Hollywood sitcomish movie about a presidential campaign. Matt Yglesias added, “But what it really looks like — exactly like — is something from a movie where the joke is that Tina Fey is John McCain’s running mate. It’s the part she was born to play.” Ironically, in September 2004 — more than three years before McCain first met Palin — Life featured Fey and McCain on its cover:
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ThinkFast: September 4, 2008
Eight protesters at the RNC were charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act yesterday. The suspects’ lawyer called the charges ridiculous, saying the accusations are “an effort to equate publicly stated plans to blockade traffic and disrupt the RNC as being the same as acts of terrorism.” So far, nearly 300 protesters and journalists have been arrested.
“Sick Americans who travel far or frequently to get medical treatment are skipping or delaying appointments, leaving support groups and applying for grants,” because of the high price of gas.
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, “who pleaded guilty to a scheme to corrupt Congress, asked a federal judge for mercy on Wednesday, saying he was ‘not a bad man’ although he acknowledged he ‘did many bad things.’
When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) introduced Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) as his running mate, McCain “emphasized her role as the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard” and “her military command experience as governor.” Yet Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard, noted that Palin “has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the U.S. other than Alaska.”
On the trail: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will be in St. Paul, MN today, to accept his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be at a rally in Lancaster, PA. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sarah Palin Digest: What We Know About McCain’s Running Mate
The Sarah Palin Digest: What We Know About McCain’s Running Mate
Very little was known nationally about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) until Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) selected her as his running mate on Aug. 29. Tonight, Palin will be speaking in St. Paul, giving what the media are billing as “the most anticipated speech of the Republican National Convention.” The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza writes:
Palin is the most unknown vice presidential pick in recent history and, as such, her nationally televised acceptance speech will function as her first real introduction to the Republican Party and the average American voter.
McCain has admitted that he didn’t choose Palin as his running mate until the last minute, and it increasingly appears that his campaign did an incomplete, slapdash job vetting her.
With new information on her record coming out hour by hour, it’s hard to digest Palin’s full record. With that in mind, ThinkProgress has put together The Sarah Palin Digest, compiling what the public has learned in just a few short days about the former mayor from Wasilla, AK. We’ll continue to update the digest as more information comes out, and let us know in the comments section if there’s anything we missed.
Check out The Sarah Palin Digest here.
ThinkFast: September 3, 2008
Steve Schmidt, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) top campaign strategist, yesterday accused the media of being “on a mission to destroy” Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) by displaying “a level of viciousness and scurrilousness” in pursuing questions about her personal life. Schmidt said the McCain campaign feels “under siege” by news inquiries on Palin.
Sen. John McCain has long campaigned against Congress earmarking federal money for pet projects back home, having gone so far as publishing “pork lists” detailing these financial favors. However, “three times in recent years, McCain’s catalogs of ‘objectionable’ spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time — Sarah Palin.”
Yesterday, the state Supreme Court in Bronx County “dismissed challenges brought by a coalition of conservative activists, Republican state lawmakers and the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund to a directive by Gov. David Paterson that all state agencies recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York.”
Although Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has vowed to distance himself from lobbyists, CQ reports that “McCain and the Republicans gathered in St. Paul are sending a more nuanced message by integrating some of K Street’s brightest stars as managers of floor activities — suggesting that lobbyists could play important roles in advancing a McCain administration agenda.”
On the trail: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will be traveling to Minnesota for the Republican National Convention today. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be discussing women and the economy at Kent State University in Ohio. Read the rest of this entry »
Infuriated About Tough CNN Interview, McCain Cancels Larry King Appearance
Infuriated About Tough CNN Interview, McCain Cancels Larry King Appearance
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds appeared on CNN for an interview with Campbell Brown. Brown was tough on Bounds, refusing to let him spout typical campaign talking points. She repeatedly pressed him on Palin’s foreign policy experience and qualifications, asking him to name one decision that she made as commander-in-chief of the Alaskan National Guard. Bounds was unable to do so.
Today, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer revealed that because of that tough interview, the McCain campaign has canceled the senator’s appearance on Larry King Live tonight:
The McCain campaign said it believed that exchange was over the line and as a result the interview scheduled for Larry King Live with Sen. McCain was pulled. CNN does not believe that Campbell’s interview was over the line. We are committed to fair coverage of both sides of this historic election.
CNN also replayed the interview between Brown and Bounds. Watch Blitzer’s announcement and the interview:
The McCain campaign has repeatedly tried to intimidate the press. It is now angry about media coverage of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy, calling NBC’s reporting on it “irresponsible journalism.” Campaign staffers “even considered pulling out of one of the three presidential debates because it would be moderated by Tom Brokaw, a former NBC News anchorman.” When Newsweek wrote a cover story in May examining the hardball tactics conservatives might use in the general election, the McCain campaign “threatened to throw the magazine’s reporters off the campaign bus and airplane.”
ThinkFast: September 2, 2008
64 percent: People concerned that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “would pursue policies that are too similar to what George W. Bush has pursued,” according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll. Forty-seven percent fall into the “very concerned” category and 17 percent rate themselves “somewhat concerned.”
Hurricane Gustav struck the Gulf Coast with less strength than feared, “sparing New Orleans and the world’s densest concentration of oil-and-gas facilities.” While the emergency response effort went largely as planned, “officials said that at least seven people were killed” in the storm.
The death of a sailor in Afghanistan over the weekend marked the “500th U.S. service member to die in that country since the war there began in 2001.”
The Justice Department’s inspector general says Alberto Gonzales improperly handled classified materials about national security programs, including the Bush administration’s warantless wiretapping program, during his tenure as Attorney General. However, “officials in the Justice Department’s national security division looked at the inspector general’s report but did not find a case to prosecute.”
On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is scheduled to make a public appearance in Philadelphia and will then head to Cleveland, OH. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is in Chicago with no public events scheduled. Read the rest of this entry »
Palin has never been to Iraq.
“Speaking with evident condescension” earlier this year, John McCain assaulted Barack Obama for having visited Iraq only once. (Obama subsequently visited Iraq for a second time recently.) “Sen. Obama has been to Iraq once,” he said, “my friends, this is about leadership and learning.” Over on the Wonk Room, Matt Duss notes that McCain’s VP pick Sarah Palin has apparently never visited Iraq, though she does have a son who will deploy there next month. “McCain has shortchanged the issue which he himself insists is the most important — national security,” Duss writes.
UPDATE: Palin did visit troops in Kuwait in 2007. She didn’t disclose at the time whether she was also traveling north to Iraq.
UPDATE II: “I’m not here to judge the idea of withdrawing, or the timeline,” Palin said in a teleconference interview with reporters from Kuwait in 2007. “I’m not going to judge even the surge.”
UPDATE III: In an interview with Charlie Rose on October 12, 2007, Palin said “national security issues” will determine the election.
ThinkFast: August 29, 2008
President Bush is slated to appear at fundraisers for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in Oklahoma and Texas next month. “On the internal planning schedule, though, McCain aides are careful to point out McCain won’t be in attendance at either,” Politico reports.
U.S. forces have arrested a deputy of Ahmad Chalabi, who was once the Bush administration’s favorite Iraqi politician, “and implicated him in bombings that killed Americans and Iraqis.” The U.S. military says the deputy, Ali al-Lami, “was working with the ‘highest echelons‘ of the Iranian ’special groups’ criminals.”
As tropical storm Gustav approaches, “oil producers have begun to halt drilling and operations in the Gulf of Mexico” and are now “evacuating hundreds of workers from rigs and production platforms.”
As New Orleans prepares for another hurricane, a new report “presents the clearest picture yet of deaths from Katrina in Louisiana.” “Of the nearly 1,000 who died, almost half were 75 or older” and 51 percent were black, according to the study in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. The researchers hope the findings “will aid public health and emergency preparedness efforts” in the future.
On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is celebrating his 72nd birthday, will reportedly announce his vice presidential pick in Dayton, OH. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and his vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden (D-DE) will launch their presidential campaign in Beaver, PA. Read the rest of this entry »
ThinkFast: August 28, 2008
“The United States is spending more money than ever on private security contractors in Iraq as thousands of troops return home amid steady declines in insurgent attacks.” Over $1.2 billion will have been spent this year on “contractors, who protect diplomats, civilian facilities and supply convoys.”
A Washington law firm “filed a lawsuit yesterday against KBR, one of the largest U.S. contractors in Iraq, alleging that the company and its Jordanian subcontractor engaged in the human trafficking of Nepali workers.” The firm says 13 Nepali men were recruited for kitchen work in Jordan only to have their passports seized upon arrival and “told they were being sent to a military facility in Iraq.”
According to a new survey, 65 percent of American workers believe that this is a “bad time to find a quality job,” matching “the level of the 2001 recession.” In addition, “one third of workers said they often don’t have enough money to make ends meet.”
CNN reports that the number of people and businesses heading to bankruptcy court has spiked. “Bankruptcy filings surged 29% in the 12 months that ended June 30, according to government figures released Wednesday.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president with a speech at Invesco Field tonight in Denver. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has no public events. Read the rest of this entry »
ThinkFast: August 27, 2008
“There’s quiet buzz in Washington this week that convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and several colleagues — including scam-artist Michael Scanlon — will be sentenced soon for their roles in the 2005 tribes-and-bribes scandal.” The sentences “could come as early as next week, during the Republican convention.”
Though “President Bush has invested heavily in trying to forge a strong bond with key foreign leaders,” the Washington Post writes today that “new crises in Georgia and Pakistan are underscoring the limits of Bush’s personal diplomacy.” Bush “misjudged Putin” and when it was shown “his initial assessment of Putin was wrong, [Bush] tended to dismiss it,” said Stanford University professor Michael A. McFaul.
Embattled Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens “won the Republican primary in his home state” yesterday, “soundly defeating six Republican challengers.” Stevens, who “was indicted by a federal grand jury for concealing more than $250,000 in gifts from an oil services company” last month, will now face Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich in November.
New Orleans is rushing to complete a memorial to the victims of Hurricane Katrina “by Friday’s third anniversary of the storm.” The slow progress on the $1.2 million project has been “seen as another example of the sluggish climate that has characterized the city’s rebuilding from the 2005 storm that killed 1,600 people.”
On the trail today: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has no public events. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will talk with veterans and military families in Billings, MT. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and former President Bill Clinton will speak tonight at the Democratic National Convention. Read the rest of this entry »