Hometown sees change with Palin's new role

Since I bash AP regularly, a bit of fresh air here. If the things are different were left out of the equation, which seems to be a forced discussion, and the interviews remained, there is a fair balance here. Completely balanced would be four out of five. I did not count, but assume that it favored Obama a bit more.

On the other hand, the comments are interesting and less biased than those from other mass media centers. For that, and a well-written article, thank you very much!

Who Am I?

I am under 45 years old,
I love the outdoors,
I hunt,
I am a Republican reformer,
I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,
I have many children,
I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in the governor's office.
Did you guess?

I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900

As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt prepared for and advocated war with Spain in 1898. He organized and helped command the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment — the Rough Riders — during the Spanish-American War. Returning to New York as a war hero, he was elected governor. An avid writer, his 35 books include works on outdoor life, natural history, the American frontier, political history, naval history, and his autobiography

(McCain never ORGANIZED OR COMMANDED anyone. He was a renown class clown, who killed mates playing around, didn't finish flight classes and got shot down and caught. Now we applaud him for serving, but that's it)

He is the youngest person to become President.[4] He was a Progressive reformer who sought to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved forty monopolistic corporations as a "trust buster". He was clear, however, to show he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against corrupt, illegal practices. His "Square Deal" promised a fair shake for both the average citizen (through regulation of railroad rates and pure food and drugs) and the businessmen. He was the first U.S. president to call for universal health care and national health insurance.[5][6] As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. After 1906 he attacked big business and suggested the courts were biased against labor unions.

(McCain/Palin is along with Bush, Cheny, Halliburton etc., Big Businesses who pad each other pockets. He has no concept of universal health care, nation health insurance but instead wants to privatize. McCain nor Palin attacks bug business or the courts on behalf of labor unions... the avg. worker)

I serve my country every day by being an upright citizen and helping my neighbors around me. And I live in a neighborhood with many many elderly people. During 9-11, I volunteered to helpa lot of people find places to live because they didn't live in NYC like I did and couldn't get home. I have donated to many foundations. I do not have to join the military to serve my country. This year I am volunteering to help register voters.

My father has served and I currently have a brother is currently in the Army. His profession is in Navel ship engineering. And as many times as the Gov't has mistreated me, I still due my duty for the people of the country because America is nothing without its people.

I don't believe in this war. I am 100% against it because it is happening for the wrong reasons. The surge isn't working (Iraq is not closer to forming Gov't, which was its purpose, despite the attempt to make people believe it is) and I'm tired of seeing people's family members die for no reason and do not want to see my own die either. There were no weapons of mass destruction and Bin Laden is in a different country.

Furthermore, all candidates are in position where scrutinizing is necessary in order to make the right choice for the country, not any particular party. But I'm not going to sit here and here what a great leader McCain is and he hasn't lead anything on any level. Palin is relate-able, but her foreign experience is saying Alaska is close to Russia. The fact is I am serving my country right now by not standing by while people support an underhanded campaign. America should stand for integrity.

As for Obama, here are some.

Worked for $13,000 / year helping inner city Chicago poor.
Registered 150,000 people to vote. Graduated first black
president of Harvard Law Review, passed over 600 high money
law firm offers to work for civil rights practice at fractional pay.

State senate :
Adds health insurance for 20,000 children, Welfare reform,
Earned income tax credit, increased minimum wage ($5.15 to
$6.50). Death penalty reform making interrogations be video
taped passed Senate 58-0, signed to law by governor who first
opposed Obama's bill. Sponsored bill probing police profiling.
Obama opposed Iraq war publically, long before the invasion.
Accurately depicted it as undetermined length, undetermined
cost, undetermined objective, resulting as civil war. Same
assessment Bush Sr. & Dick Cheney both gave in early 90's.

Federal senate :
Worked with republican senator Lugar to expand and author
program to locate & dismantle stray Russian WMD's left over
from the cold war after the disbanding of the USSR.

Jan. 2007, major ethics/lobbying reform bill, w/ Russ Feingold
insisted tougher measures banning lobbyist gifts/ meals/ jets,
disclosure of earmark & contribution bundling to candidates or
committees; restricts retiring Congress from going into lobbying
Toured Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories, he told
Palestinian Authority Abbas that US would never recognize
Hamas leaders until they renounced mission to attack Israel.

In Africa, publicly took AIDS test as example of responsibility
Obama cosponsored Secure Orderly Immigration Act by John
McCain. Passed 62-36. Makes undocumented persons who
have been here 5+ years only allowed to stay and apply for
citizenship, if pay back taxes, learn English and no criminal
record. 2 million undocumented persons who have been in the
United States for less than two years would be ordered home.
Called for increased fuel efficiency standards (3% / year)

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach teach children about sexual predators, you are irresponsible and eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that hates America and advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

There is a big myth out there that most Alaskans are Palin fans, and that this has intensified because she was picked as the VP nominee.

KUDO-AM Talk Radio 1080 in Anchorage is currently running an online poll. The question is simple.

'Is Sarah Palin Ready to be Vice President?' (not President)

Results: 86% of voters are saying NO. Even if a lot of the participants are Dem or liberal, this is pretty frickin bad in your home state. When Palin landed in Anchorage, the crowd that greeted her was the same size as the Alaskans for Obama crowd, but they kept the Obama supporters across the road.

Here's the problem - Alaskans are getting hip to Palin, and they really got angry when Palin tried to end-around the Troopergate investigation. (see below*) In a state like Alaska, with a mere 670,000 residents, it doesn't take long for people to turn on you like a pack of wolves.

(*Palin filed an ethics complaint against HERSELF last week in the Troopergate matter. By doing this, she was trying to move the investigation from the hands of the Alaskan Legislature over to what's called the Personnel Board. The Personnel Board are three political appointees - all selected by the Governor of Alaska. Palin appointed one of them personally after taking office. The other two she re-certified. Nice being judged by people who owe you their livlihood. The Legislature isn't buying it, and Alaskans are pissed off...)

"... increase sales tax and also cut social security and medicare benefits ..."

Sales tax are state and local only, no federal.
Social Security and Medicare are entitlement programs and these benefits did not change.