Home > Jay Bookman > Archives > 2008 > October > 02 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USYour pre-debate thought for the day…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
… is from Quin Hilyer, senior editor at the conservative American Spectator, writing on the Spectator blog:
“I’m on a lonely island here. Conservative activists refuse to acknowledge any fault with the choice of Palin for Veep. Those of us who express doubts are barely tolerated. But, dammit, the reason she has sounded so godawful in some of these interviews is because she did a godawful job in those interviews. And until shown otherwise, it is fair to surmise that she did a godawful job because she doesn’t know what she is talking about. And THAT should worry all of us, even as we heartily wish for this woman of high character and principle to rise to the challenge.”
Comments
By The Truth is Out There
October 2, 2008 7:35 PM | Link to this
The Republican party, led by Bush, have called upon the Tibetan Buddhists to take them to another plane — a parallel universe — in which Republicans are a good compassionate peaceful people. Once in this magical world, the Republicans claim that they and everyone else will have no problem voting for McCain and Palin. The Dalai Lama, however, blew a gasket just trying to get a match on a single one of the desired descriptors for this elusive parallel world of Republicans. The Dalai Lama’s response was that he had found all possible prime numbers, the exact value of Pi, and even the Colonel’s secret recipe but no parallel world populated with Republicans possessing the desired characteristics.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 2, 2008 7:37 PM | Link to this
Aahhh, yes, I turned Jay on to AmSpec and, before long, I expect him to be a free market capitalist warmonger pro lifer, perhaps within the month?
Who will the Urinal keep, Wooten or Kookman?
You can only have one token wingnut at thee socialist rag, I believe.
By GodHatesTrash
October 2, 2008 7:39 PM | Link to this
High character? Please. Look at the disaster she calls her family.
Principles? Sarah Palin first last and always is her principle.
Like a hyena.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 2, 2008 7:42 PM | Link to this
Oh yeah, debate prediction.
I for one, sincerely hope that Hair Plugs doesn’t totally blow it and thereby revive thee talk of bringing Bruno back.
By NRB
October 2, 2008 7:42 PM | Link to this
Let’s take a peek at what precipitated the current mortgage bust:
Congress, by law, REQUIRED Savings and Loans to give mortgages to risky borrowers. Nobody seems to be talking about the foundation for this MESS, which is Community Reinvestment Act:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CommunityReinvestmentAct
Banks have been placed in a Catch 22 situation by the CRA: If they comply, they know they will have to suffer from more loan defaults. If they don’t comply, they face financial penalties and, worse yet, their business plans for mergers, branch expansions, etc. can be blocked by CRA protesters, which can cost a large corporation like Bank of America billions of dollars. Like most businesses, they have largely buckled under and have surrendered to their bureaucratic masters.
Consequently, banks in every community in America have been forced to hold a portfolio of bad loans, euphemistically referred to as “subprime” loans. In order to compensate themselves for the added risk of extending these loans, many lenders have increased the lending fees associated with mortgage loans. This is simply an indirect way of doing what banks always do – and what they must do to remain solvent: charging effectively higher rates of interest on riskier loans.
These are price control laws, and price controls always cause shortages. Normally, banks would respond to such laws by extending fewer riskier loans. But in this case the banks are forced to continue making the marginal loans by their bureaucratic masters.
For a hundred years banks made loans based on careful analysis of individual situations and finances. Large down payments were required and guess what? the free market worked. These old mortgages were safe investments for the banks and everyone involved (including homeowners) that are now being burnt by the governments actions.
By getalife
October 2, 2008 8:00 PM | Link to this
Cons get attacked by cons when they tell the truth.
Anyhoo, I was wrong. Not 100 billion but 150 billion added pork to the 700 billion.
I hope they address McCain’s flip flop on this issue. He spewed no pork but voted yes.
It is up to around 1.2 trillion so far so I guess they could not rob enough with Iraq.
She should ask them when we will collapse like other failed States.
By Tom
October 2, 2008 8:01 PM | Link to this
Well now - Palin IS God-awful. Who knows how she will sneak thru tonight?? She and the entire Repunk Party are like a sort of cheap soap-operaish circus sideshow featuring guns and skinned moose and outdated lipstick and speaking in tongues and rumors of witches here and there and everywhere. Sarah “Don’t ask me anything intellegent” Palin. Non-hero McCain’s choice of a “modern” train wreck. A freaking creationist who should be - but is not - embarrassed by her stunning ignorance of all things complex, political, and worldly. But the typical Republicant, aka “Joe Sixpack,” will continue to adore her no matter the outcome of the “debate.” “God Bless Thee Eweunited States of Murcuh.”
By AJC/DNC Management
October 2, 2008 8:02 PM | Link to this
Tom Coburn, Republican, Oklahoma, gets it:
COBURN: We have a patient with cancer, and they have secondary pneumonia because of the cancer and we’re going to treat the pneumonia. But we’re not going to fix the cancer. We’re gonna ignore the cancer. Let me tell you what the cancer is. The cancer is Congresses for years upon years have totally ignored the Constitution of the United States and taken to us areas where we have no business being. There is no way you can justify in the US Constitution that the country ought to be the source of mortgages for homeowners in this country, and yet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac control 70% of the mortgages in this country.
By Felix
October 2, 2008 8:07 PM | Link to this
NRB
October 2, 2008 7:42 PM
The bad loans wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t been packaged and sold as MBSs. The loan originators went way beyond the guidelines and even the home builders were involved. How they were rated AAA is beyod me. Some day some crooks will probably go to jail.
If the Republicans would just admit the obvious we could move on and let Palin sink or swim. But they can’t, just like they can’t hold Bush accountable.
I hope she doesn’t do any better than she did in her debates for governor. I thought the other two candidates were more impressive. Whatever happens it will probably be forgotten by election day.
By Charles
October 2, 2008 8:11 PM | Link to this
Hopefully Sarah Palin’s opening remarks will include:
“Gwen, I want to wish you limited success on your upcoming book about Senator Obama. Since you are supposedly an ‘unbiased reporter’ which is required normally for a venue like this I hope you won’t let your personal views sway the way you frame and ask questions tonight”
The hypocricy of the mainstream press is such a joke!
By Class of '98
October 2, 2008 8:14 PM | Link to this
Good grief. Can you imagine if Palin ever said anything truly stupid? You know, like how President FDR went on TV in 1929 after the crash?
Liberalism is a mental illness.
By hillbilly ragger
October 2, 2008 8:17 PM | Link to this
So Jay, remember when you deleted my post about how the conservatives think the economic crisis is due mostly to them Negroes buyin’ homes they don’t deserve?
Still think I was out of line?
Anyway, enjoy McCrank’s Skank. I think I’ll go watch some baseball.
By Midori
October 2, 2008 8:22 PM | Link to this
do any of you ignorant scumbag conservatives realize that Gwen Ifill is Condi Rice’s best friend?
Good thing the intelligence gene ran away from your embryos, screaming all the way.
By RW-(the original)
October 2, 2008 8:23 PM | Link to this
There won’t be any obvious bias from Gwen Ifill tonight. Any bias that’s there will be in what she’s preselected as questions, but it’s an incredibly blatant financial conflict of interest for Ifil to not tell the debate commission she had a book about one of the candidates coming out on inauguration day. It’s a pretty meaningless release date if her candidate doesn’t win the election.
By T
October 2, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this
O’reilly Just called Barney Frank a coward. Anybody watching this?
By getalife
October 2, 2008 8:25 PM | Link to this
Andy,
Coburn is holding bills to “save the taxpayers money”. He voted yes on the 850 billion bailout. He is a hypocrite.
By Midori
October 2, 2008 8:27 PM | Link to this
Gwen Ifill divulged the book in JULY
By getalife
October 2, 2008 8:28 PM | Link to this
T,
He called BO dumb. BO cut him off and shouted over him as usual. That was good stuff.
By Greg Mendel
October 2, 2008 8:31 PM | Link to this
I’m looking forward to watching the debate in about a half-hour. “Watching” because I’m not sure I can listen to it. The specter of hearing Sarah Palin’s smoke-alarm voice for an hour is a painful thought.
It probably doesn’t matter. As long as she doesn’t uncontrollably cough up blood, she’ll be judged a combination of Will Rogers and Demosthenes.
Facing an opponent known for his foreign policy experience should pose no threat to her. She has “horse sense,” which is preferred by many, if not by many surgery patients.
Although she’s a Pit Bull and a Barracuda, Biden will have to be excessively polite, or women will be offended — except for the women who will be offended if he IS polite. Sean Hannity will be offended, no matter what.
If Biden tries to unsettle her by citing arcane statistics, Palin will trump such boring drivel with the finesse of a Zen master. Biden may be a five-term senator, but he’s never gone toe-to-toe with seasoned beauty contestants. “In numbers, senator,” she might say, “there is quantity.”
My guess is that the initial reaction will be that she “held her own,” a verdict by straight-faced pundits who will later covertly hold their own heads in their hands and weep.
By Goldie
October 2, 2008 8:33 PM | Link to this
My pre-debate thought: Sarah needs to show any kind of knowledge of the world and its workings that goes way beyond her own moose-filled backyard that looks out over a view of Russia — or else she and McBush can say “BUH-BYE” and suspend their campaign indefinitely come tomorrow!
Bwaaaaaaaaa! Go Joe — he’s the real Joe 6-pack!
By Josh
October 2, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this
Folks calling Gwen Ifill biased have no clue what they’re talking about. She’s writing a book on African-Americans in Politics*. She also has a chapter on Colin Powell, supposedly favorable. Republicans are great at screaming media bias when none exists. Ifill has always been a thoroughly professional journalist. Maybe if they’d bothered to find out what her book was about before talking out of orifices that are best kept quiet, they’d have a clue.
By T
October 2, 2008 8:36 PM | Link to this
getalife
LOL, I can’t help myself from watching him.
By RW-(the original)
October 2, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
Midori,
Back when journalists had ethics Ifill would have declined the moment she was asked about moderating a debate for an election she had a financial interest in.
Jay B might even remember that from journalism school since he looks old enough to have been instructed back when they taught things like ethics in journalism.
By mike hussein smith
October 2, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
I think it’s a hoot that the Republicans failed to vet either woman who will be on the stage.
By getalife
October 2, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this
T,
I can’t stand him. Cutting mics, shouting over guests, he is the worst.
By AJC/DNC Management
October 2, 2008 8:44 PM | Link to this
Sarah could come out tonight and say something totally stupid and untruthful as hell like “my helicopter was forced down in Afghanistan” and it won’t make a bit of difference to me because my only other choice is to vote for the socialist surrender monkey tax and spend America hating junk science baby killers, and guess what, that ain’t gonna happen.
I’m not a scumbag like they are.
By Felix
October 2, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
Take a look at this if you’re killing time before the debate.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23318320/maddogpalin
By AmVet
October 2, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
T and getalife, Bill O’Reilly would know a LOT about being a coward. Firsthand.
And a liar.
Remember when this mother of all the gutless chicken hawks said:
O’REILLY: Have you been in combat Colonel?
CROWLEY: Yes.
PUCKETT: Me? No, sir, I have not.
O’REILLY: How ‘bout you, Colonel?
CROWLEY: Yes.
O’REILLY: So you know what we’re talkin’ about. “Cause I was in combat and when you are there your adrenalin is flying through your ears. And you know you’ve got the gun and I just couldn’t understand - we had a guy in here from one of the human rights saying you have to try this marine and I almost got - I was incensed. How did you feel about it?
BTW, Al Franken had an absolutely hysterical sendoff of this loser’s outright lie…
By Charles
October 2, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
Hopefully, Joe Biden will be himself tonight. This arrogant, lying, inept buffoon (well, he IS a Liberal after all) is such a repulsive person in comparison to Sarah Palin. If she admitted to being a member of a racist church, was friends with a terrorist and had ties to a convicted felon who gave her a sweetheart deal on her property it wouldn’t matter what she said in the debate - oh wait, that’s Obama that has those problems! Ha!
By T
October 2, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this
Sorry, about that.
I can’t help my self. Got to watch him. (Martini’s are the devil’s drink)
By mike hussein smith
October 2, 2008 8:49 PM | Link to this
Whine, GOPers, whine. The Ifill book was announced in July. Afterward, the McCain camp approved her as a moderator. Maybe they were planning to scream “foul” when debate day got here and their candidate was in a ditch.
Goldie, maybe Sarah can whip up a good Eye-talian lasagna before her 90 minutes are up.
By Goldie
October 2, 2008 8:52 PM | Link to this
I’m not a scumbag like they are.
No, DUH-Management — you’re just the worst scumbag in the blogosphere.
By JAY BOOKMAN
October 2, 2008 8:53 PM | Link to this
We’ll be moving upstairs to a fresh debate room, folks….
Newly made beds, fresh towels, chocolates on the bed.
By Bookman's Homie
October 3, 2008 7:02 AM | Link to this
It’s chocolates on the pillows, Bookman.
BOOKMAN!!!!