Palin Power: Fresh Face Now More Popular Than Obama, McCain

[RC12L4]

The Democrats are inconsolable.


...following a Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed live by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters.
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Perhaps most stunning is the fact that Palin’s favorable ratings are now a point higher than either man at the top of the Presidential tickets this year. As of Friday morning, Obama and McCain are each viewed favorably by 57% of voters. Biden is viewed favorably by 48%.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/palin_power_fresh_face_now_more_popular_than_obama _mccain

[flatrat]

The Democrats are inconsolable.


...following a Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed live by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters.
.
.
.
.
Perhaps most stunning is the fact that Palin’s favorable ratings are now a point higher than either man at the top of the Presidential tickets this year. As of Friday morning, Obama and McCain are each viewed favorably by 57% of voters. Biden is viewed favorably by 48%.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/palin_power_fresh_face_now_more_popular_than_obama _mccain


Campaign money hurts Palin's outsider image

By MATT APUZZO – 2 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP vice presidential pick Sarah Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens.

The contributions, made during Palin's failed 2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how Palin, a self-proclaimed champion for clean government, has been part of an Alaska political system that is now under the cloud of an ongoing FBI investigation.

It's the latest in a string of revelations that raise questions about whether John McCain's presidential campaign had sufficiently investigated the background of Palin, 44, a little-known governor new to the national stage. Palin stunned delegates at the GOP convention Monday when she announced through the McCain campaign that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.

With the convention still abuzz, the list of potentially embarrassing details grew Tuesday:

_Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.

_Her husband once belonged to a fringe political group in Alaska with some members supporting succession from the United States.

_A private attorney is authorized to spend $95,000 to defend her against accusations of abuse of power.

_She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the past.

_And this: Bristol Palin's boyfriend, Levi Johnston, plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention, the boy's mother said. He left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family in St. Paul, Minn.

Defending his choice and the team that helped pick her, McCain said Tuesday "the vetting process was completely thorough." Campaign advisers at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., said Palin filled out a survey with 70 questions including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have you been faithful in your marriage? Have you ever used or purchased drugs? Have you ever downloaded pornography?

McCain's aides maintained that Palin was a finalist from the start

But a senior Republican familiar with the search, who requested anonymity when speaking without authorization, said Palin had all but fallen from the radar until late in the summer when McCain — apparently unsatisfied with his working list — asked for more alternatives. Suddenly, she was a finalist.

When she was introduced as McCain's running mate last week, Palin portrayed herself as a political maverick in McCain's mold: "I've stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies and the 'good old boy' network,'" she said.

But Alaska's first female governor has at times benefited from Alaska's entrenched political system.

As Palin campaigned unsuccessfully in 2002 to become lieutenant governor, she received contributions from executives at VECO Corp., a powerful Alaska oil field services company. Company founder Bill Allen has admitted the company steers its donations through a "special bonus program" in which executives received money and the company instructed them to donate it to favored politicians.

Allen pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges. He admitted the program violated federal tax laws and said it was used to keep his political allies flush with cash.

"If they're working with the oil industry, I'd like to help with their campaigns," Allen testified last year in the corruption trial of a former state lawmaker.

Since Palin's nomination last week, these issues also are raising eyebrows:

_In her earlier career as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin hired a lobbyist to help the tiny town secure at least 14 earmarks, worth $27 million between 2000-2003. McCain has touted Palin as a force in his long battle against earmarks.

_Under her leadership this year, Alaska asked for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects from Stevens, one of McCain's top adversaries. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress.

_Her husband, Todd, twice registered as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a fierce states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state. Sarah Palin herself never registered as a member of the party, according to state officials, though party members said she attended a 1994 convention with her husband.

_The head of the firm hired to defend Gov. Palin in a state ethics investigation was previously her family's lawyer and is permitted to bill the state up to $95,000 for work in the current case. It involves the dismissal of public safety commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced the governor's sister.

_Palin opposed the U.S. government's listing of a variety of animals as endangered, including the polar bear and the beluga whale, both of which inhabit areas also rich in oil and natural gas.

_Palin previously acknowledged she smoked marijuana but said in a 2006 interview she no longer used the drug. "I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled," she said.

In the fundraising corruption probe, VECO founder Allen is cooperating in an FBI investigation that has already sent several state political figures to prison. He is expected to be the Justice Department's star witness at Stevens' trial later this month when he testifies about home renovations and other gifts he provided the longtime senator — gifts Stevens is charged with concealing on Senate documents.

Palin received $500, the maximum amount allowed by law, from Allen and VECO vice president Rick Smith. Several other VECO managers, including Pete Leathard, who came up with the idea for the special bonus program, also donated the maximum. Allen's son, a VECO employee, also donated $500. All the checks were donated the same day, except for Leathard's, which was dated two days after the rest.

John Cramer, one of Palin's treasurers for her 2002 campaign, said he doesn't remember any indications that the money came from a special company program.

The donations aren't evidence of corruption and Palin is not among the lawmakers under investigation in the VECO case. But they undermine arguments that Palin has broken from Alaska's Republican machine, including Stevens.

"If you can take on Ted Stevens and that crowd in Alaska, you can handle the Russians," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, told ABC News this week.

But Palin didn't reach the governor's office picking fights with the Senate's longest-serving Republican. She was a director for a nonprofit group Stevens set up to increase the number of Republican women in government. Stevens also campaigned for Palin in 2006 and appeared in a political advertisement for her.

Palin has had her share of run-ins with Stevens, including a dustup earlier this year in which Stevens accused Palin of not being enthusiastic enough about his efforts to bring federal earmark money to Alaska. She has also called on Stevens' son, Ben, to resign as national committeeman for the state party.

She was among the first Alaska Republicans to urge Stevens to answer questions about the FBI investigation. But she did not urge him to resign after his indictment, as she did after a state lawmaker was indicted. She said Stevens "has dedicated his life to the betterment of the state."

Associated Press writers Sharon Theimer contributed to this story from Washington and Ron Fournier contributed from St. Paul, Minn.

[RC12L4]

Wow flatrate, all that and she still smoked your candidate in ratings. haha...better luck next time. Speaking of money, do you believe Obama doesn't get his palms grease (pun intended) from big oil?

[flatrat]

Wow flatrate, all that and she still smoked your candidate in ratings. haha...better luck next time. Speaking of money, do you believe Obama doesn't get his palms grease (pun intended) from big oil?

Well, R2D2, last time I checked, the election was done by votes, not ratings. See you in November.

[john12774]

Republicans are all the same....made up of old-fogies force feeding you their conversatist point of view to do one thing: bebfit THEIR party and THEIR agenda.

[RC12L4]

Well, R2D2, last time I checked, the election was done by votes, not ratings. See you in November.

I'll ask again, how much experience does Obama have dealing with the the evil "big oil"?

[rapuda]

It goes to show you just how stupid the average voter is. We don't know hardly anything about this woman and yet she's more popular than McCain or Obama. That doesn't say a whole lot for McCain when people like his VP choice more than him. Some have even said the ticket should be reversed. It's very scary the amount of people that vote by image and not substance.
I saw an interview by someone who said Americans love entertainment and mystery. Right now Palin has both.

Vote for Palin because she's new and exciting. Who cares what her policies and views are as long as she continues to entertain us. It doesn't matter that McCain is 72 and will be the oldest elected president. It doesn't matter that there is a strong possibility that Palin could be the commander in chief, as long as she stays exciting. An action doll of her has already been made. Everyone that votes for her should get one.

Please people. Watch the debates, and study the candidates before you vote. This country is in the toilet and we're circling the bowl. We need strong leadership to save us from going under, not entertainment.

[RC12L4]

It goes to show you just how stupid the average voter is. We don't know hardly anything about this woman and yet she's more popular than McCain or Obama. That doesn't say a whole lot for McCain when people like his VP choice more than him. Some have even said the ticket should be reversed. It's very scary the amount of people that vote by image and not substance.
I saw an interview by someone who said Americans love entertainment and mystery. Right now Palin has both.

Vote for Palin because she's new and exciting. Who cares what her policies and views are as long as she continues to entertain us. It doesn't matter that McCain is 72 and will be the oldest elected president. It doesn't matter that there is a strong possibility that Palin could be the commander in chief, as long as she stays exciting. An action doll of her has already been made. Everyone that votes for her should get one.

Please people. Watch the debates, and study the candidates before you vote. This country is in the toilet and we're circling the bowl. We need strong leadership to save us from going under, not entertainment.

Why marginalize your candidate by comparing him to the bottom of the ticket Republican? I can't believe how easy it was for Republicans to put the Democrats on defense, defense is not the Democrats strong suit. See the 2004 election for reference.

As far as why Palin is doing great in the polls? This is what happens when your candidate comes out referring to Palin as a former mayor of a small town in Alaska when it fact she's the sitting Governor. This is what happens when you try to belittle her standing of running and managing a state with a small population, if the population of a state is an issue I offer this:

Delaware: Population: 853,476
Alaska: Population: 670,053

Now if being from a state with a small population scares you you must be equally petrified of Biden seeing as he's from Delaware, not to mention the fact that he doesn't even manage that state. Oh but wait that's different right?

[Jim N]

It goes to show you just how stupid the average voter is. We don't know hardly anything about this woman and yet she's more popular than McCain or Obama. That doesn't say a whole lot for McCain when people like his VP choice more than him. Some have even said the ticket should be reversed. It's very scary the amount of people that vote by image and not substance.
I saw an interview by someone who said Americans love entertainment and mystery. Right now Palin has both.

Vote for Palin because she's new and exciting. Who cares what her policies and views are as long as she continues to entertain us. It doesn't matter that McCain is 72 and will be the oldest elected president. It doesn't matter that there is a strong possibility that Palin could be the commander in chief, as long as she stays exciting. An action doll of her has already been made. Everyone that votes for her should get one.

Please people. Watch the debates, and study the candidates before you vote. This country is in the toilet and we're circling the bowl. We need strong leadership to save us from going under, not entertainment.
"Watch the debates, and study the candidates" excellent advice. It brings to mind the fact the only candidate we can really study is Sarah Palin. The others already have their plastic lives in place. They've been in the public eye for so long their skeletons are well concealed in the closets and we only see what the PR people want us too. In addition the media determines how deep they'll dig, I guess that's based on how much the corporation that controls the media likes or dislikes a candidate. Palin is new her whole life is much more of an open book then these professional politicians she is now competing with.
As far as debates go at that level they are almost like professional wrestling with the moves and questions already planned and laid out. Unless a candidate screws up beyond belief or freezes, the media on their side claim they win. No honesty no reality just more hype. It almost doesn't seem to matter who wins, nothing changes.
Obama is not a strong leader he is a junior senator who hasn't even completed his first term. He was as you said about Palin "new and exciting" in the beginning and that's how he beat Hillary. Now he's old news and Palin is in. Palin is a leader, that is the job description of a Governor and the Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard. It going to be interesting.

[RC12L4]

Here is how you don't win middle of the road voters:

Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra.


"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig."

"You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

"We've had enough of the same old thing."

The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

Multiple sources:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_Lipstick_on_a_pig.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/09/obama-attacks-gop-tickets-mantra-of-change/
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/obama-says-mc-1.html

[flatrat]

Here is how you don't win middle of the road voters:

Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra.



The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

Multiple sources:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_Lipstick_on_a_pig.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/09/obama-attacks-gop-tickets-mantra-of-change/
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/obama-says-mc-1.html

The Lipstick on a Pig reference has been around for ages, Sarah Palin hasnt. It was taken out of context by the Rovian Mccain people. Politically is it brilliant, but fundamentally dishonest.

What is also fundamentally dishonest is McCain posing as a reformer, when he votes in sync with Bush. Remember Bush? He is a republican. But then McCain hired the same Bush advisors that trashed him on a very personal level in the 2000 campaign. Remmber the "McCain fathered a black baby" smear in the 2000 primary?

Lets not talk about the economy or the war, lets talk about Lipstick...Keep diverting us from the issues with fluff.

[flatrat]

Here is how you don't win middle of the road voters:

Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra.



The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

Multiple sources:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_Lipstick_on_a_pig.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/09/obama-attacks-gop-tickets-mantra-of-change/
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/obama-says-mc-1.html


Its John McCain's people that are implying its about Palin. How sexist of them. Obama was referring to McCains economic policies, not Palin. You will see this clearly if you watch in context.

John McCain, Paragon of sensitivity:
Called his wife a *****. (rhymes with itch)
Called Hilary Clinton a ***** (rhymes with itch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Nt5ADY7ug
Said that Chelsea Clinton was so ugly because her mother was Hillary and her father was Janet Reno. (of course we shouldnt attack candidates children if their Palin children)
and his famous "Bomb Iran" song sung to the tune of the Beach Boys Barbara Ann.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg
Said on numerous occasions that he "hates gooks."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZh0Y0x75XA

Never let the truth interfere with a Republican thought process. What a class act, to represent America to the world.

[RC12L4]

Its John McCain's people that are implying its about Palin. How sexist of them. Obama was referring to McCains economic policies, not Palin. You will see this clearly if you watch in context.

John McCain, Paragon of sensitivity:
Called his wife a *****. (rhymes with itch)
Called Hilary Clinton a ***** (rhymes with itch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Nt5ADY7ug
Said that Chelsea Clinton was so ugly because her mother was Hillary and her father was Janet Reno. (of course we shouldnt attack candidates children if their Palin children)
and his famous "Bomb Iran" song sung to the tune of the Beach Boys Barbara Ann.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg
Said on numerous occasions that he "hates gooks."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZh0Y0x75XA

Never let the truth interfere with a Republican thought process. What a class act, to represent America to the world.

Do you have another link to McCain calling Hillary a ***** because the one you've provided shows him being asked the question "How do we beat the *****"