American Conservatism's Assisted Suicide

[Michael Tee]

What I like about plane is his resourcefulness.  ALWAYS, you can count on this man to come up with something.  Anything.  A straw, if he were drowning.  A match, if he were in a dynamite factory.

This is the first time I have heard the Vice Presidency of the United States of America described as "on the job training."  Here I always thought that the Veep was there to step in any time when the roof falls in, nobody but God knowing when that would be.

Ah, but this time round, we have better than God.  We have Candidate John Insane, "war hero," 72-year-old four-time cancer survivor with some weird growth blowing out the whole left side of his face who KNOWS (and don't ask him how, he's got a very short fuse) that he won't be called to that Great War-Crimes Prison in the sky unless and until Miss Almost Alaska has completed her course of "on-the-job training" with the Master himself.  Proving in her case only the utter unimportance and insignificance of "experience" and "ability to be Commander in Chief" because believe me folks, when and if the time comes, she will be ready.

plane, your candidate is FUCKED.  And he did it all to himself.  There is no way on this fucking earth that he will be able to weasel out of this one.  Either he gambled the "security" of the entire nation on his own ability to out-live Miss Almost Alaska's training period, or "experience" was never the factor he claimed it was.  And nobody's gonna believe he gambled with the nation's security, especially when there were plenty of more "experienced" candidates to choose from.

[Cynthia]

"Not only that but it is obviously misogynistic."   

We agree on this one, BT. Some men  see women as sexual objects. It cuts into the pride of a woman.. I suppose they can not hide such borderline 'hate'.... obviously

[Plane]

What I like about plane is his resourcefulness.  ALWAYS, you can count on this man to come up with something.  Anything.  A straw, if he were drowning.  A match, if he were in a dynamite factory.

This is the first time I have heard the Vice Presidency of the United States of America described as "on the job training."  Here I always thought that the Veep was there to step in any time when the roof falls in, nobody but God knowing when that would be.

Ah, but this time round, we have better than God.  We have Candidate John Insane, "war hero," 72-year-old four-time cancer survivor with some weird growth blowing out the whole left side of his face who KNOWS (and don't ask him how, he's got a very short fuse) that he won't be called to that Great War-Crimes Prison in the sky unless and until Miss Almost Alaska has completed her course of "on-the-job training" with the Master himself.  Proving in her case only the utter unimportance and insignificance of "experience" and "ability to be Commander in Chief" because believe me folks, when and if the time comes, she will be ready.

plane, your candidate is FUCKED.  And he did it all to himself.  There is no way on this fucking earth that he will be able to weasel out of this one.  Either he gambled the "security" of the entire nation on his own ability to out-live Miss Almost Alaska's training period, or "experience" was never the factor he claimed it was.  And nobody's gonna believe he gambled with the nation's security, especially when there were plenty of more "experienced" candidates to choose from.

Does it indeed make more sense then, to hire a Veep with experience so that as President the Veep can train the president?

[Plane]

A letter posted on Andrew Sullivans blog today:


I had been reluctant to acknowledge how flawed and dead the conservative movement has become; that's over now. No more excuses, no more clinging to old visions of rational discourse and principled debate. I really have witnessed the death of conservatism and its replacement by a kind of toxic babbitry which would be merely laughable or cringeworthy if it were not also so extraordinarily dangerous.

This election year has been a series of revelations and disillusionments--the crudely ugly tactics of Limbaugh and Hannity (and--worse--their embrace by Buckley's heirs at National Review), the thinly-veiled racism and nativism of the campaign against Obama, the transparently cruel and God-hating ideology of movement Christians; but--even though dismayed by McCain's bizarre campaign--I had retained some illusions as recently as this morning. I believed McCain to be at least a patriot, sincerely concerned with issues of national security.

His nomination of Sarah Palin ended that illusion, too.
No remotely serious politician--no honest patriot--would think of placing this individual a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, however admirable she may be, however lively her biography.

Moreover, the elation on the right regarding Palin's nomination made clear to me that none of them has ever been remotely serious about national security, either. On the contrary, as the left has insisted for years, for them it really has all been about political advantage, noise and bluster and ugliness with no core of principle, no genuine strategic commitment.

The very same people who, only yesterday, insisted that Obama's resume was too dangerously thin to entrust him with the oversight of our national security, today are celebrating Palin's accession as a triumph for conservatism (evidently this is because she is hostile to both abortion and polar bears). Their hypocrisy is staggering--they truly do believe in nothing but their own entitlement to power by any means.

And I'm very much afraid I must conclude this is as true of McCain as it is of his ghastly cheerleaders, the Limbaughs and the Hannitys. Nothing else could explain the elevation of a woman so singularly unqualified in every aspect save gender.

SO WHAT - vote for the person you want to run the country. If you want Obama then vote for him if you want McCain then vote for him. Conservatives aren't going anywhere. They will vote for the best choice for them. This person that wrote this is just another run of the mill sniveling sack of shit.

I have beentrying to find a historical prescident .

I think I do have one  Sarah Palin situation resembles the situation of Vice President Theodore Rosevelt.

[Michael Tee]

<<Does it indeed make more sense then, to hire a Veep with experience so that as President the Veep can train the president?>>

What makes sense is for a qualified President to hire a qualified Veep.

What does not make sense is for a candidate to bitch that his opponent is unqualified because his hair is red, and then himself hire a red-haired Veep to be his own replacement at any time if need be.

One might think the candidate who bitched about red hair is some kind of fucking hypocrite.

One might also think that his opponent's red hair (up to then the strongest point in the candidate's pitch) was really no big deal after all.

One might think, absent the alleged red hair as a factor, there were no reasons left to vote for the hypocritical old fart any more.

[Michael Tee]

<<I think I do have one  Sarah Palin situation resembles the situation of Vice President Theodore Rosevelt.>>

I know.  He was runner-up in the Miss New York pageant.   And he was an avid hunter, too.

[BT]

Another example is Harry S. Truman. A dark horse candidate put forth by the party bosses and FDR to put Henry Wallace in his place.

Kept in the dark until he was actually president. Had no idea about the progress of the war other than what he read in the newspoapoers, or the Manhattan project.

Yet he did OK in some folks mind.

[Michael Tee]

Harry Truman was an artillery captain in the First World War.  He had lots of "experience."  But he himself did not think the job demanded much.  I don't have the quote exactly but it was something along the lines that there were hundreds of men who could do the job, and I believe he meant then the Presidency and not the Veep.

[Michael Tee]

<<Not only that but it is obviously misogynistic. >>

Yep.  Obviously.  She's a candidate, she's criticized, she's a woman:  MISOGYNY.

Works every time:  Obama's a candidate, he's criticized, he's a black:  RAC . . . uhhh, hold it a minute, no . . . that can't . . . lemme see . . .   SHUT UP, I'm thinking . . .

[BT]

Misogyny is just as accurate a claim as your constant cries of racism. Moreso what with your constant referral to women as bimbos.

[Michael Tee]

<<Misogyny is just as accurate a claim as your constant cries of racism.>>

Nope.  Misogyny is a crock.  Racism is a real factor.

<< Moreso what with your constant referral to women as bimbos.>>

Keep it honest.  WOMAN.  singular.  The only woman I called a bimbo is Miss Almost Alaska.  And she is a beauty pageant contestant.   The last stop in bimboism before Playboy Bunny and Cocktail Waitress.  I don't think Hillary or her supporters are going to be thrilled by Ms. Palin.

[Religious Dick]

*sniff* *sniff* - is that the smell of desperation in the morning? Get real! Palin won't lose McCain a single vote he actually had, and has bought him some he didn't have.

Palin's experience is at least as good as Obama's, and in some respects, better. Obama has been in the Senate for exactly 187 days - what has he accomplished there besides giving great speeches and running for president?

Realistically, if either Palin or Obama had to take the reigns, I expect both of them are quick studies. And Palin in particular has a track record of rising to the occasion. Neither one would be the first thrust into the role with little preparation.

McCain's experience is a *plus* - not a necessity. It's like power brakes in a car - if you can get them for no extra charge, they're a selling point. But you can do with out them if necessary.

[sirs]

<<Does it indeed make more sense then, to hire a Veep with experience so that as President the Veep can train the president?>>

What makes sense is for a qualified President to hire a qualified Veep.

LOL....so much for the Democrat ticket, then

[Michael Tee]

<<Get real! Palin won't lose McCain a single vote he actually had, and has bought him some he didn't have.

<<Palin's experience is at least as good as Obama's, and in some respects, better. Obama has been in the Senate for exactly 187 days - what has he accomplished there besides giving great speeches and running for president?

<<Realistically, if either Palin or Obama had to take the reigns, I expect both of them are quick studies. And Palin in particular has a track record of rising to the occasion. Neither one would be the first thrust into the role with little preparation.

<<McCain's experience is a *plus* - not a necessity. It's like power brakes in a car - if you can get them for no extra charge, they're a selling point. But you can do with out them if necessary.>>
                 
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You also missed the point - - it's not about Sarah's or Obama's experience or inexperience, it's about McCain's hypocrisy; most of his attacks are focused on Obama's inexperience - - and yet he doesn't give a shit about experience when he picks his own VP.  THAT is McCain's problem.

[Religious Dick]

<<Get real! Palin won't lose McCain a single vote he actually had, and has bought him some he didn't have.

<<Palin's experience is at least as good as Obama's, and in some respects, better. Obama has been in the Senate for exactly 187 days - what has he accomplished there besides giving great speeches and running for president?

<<Realistically, if either Palin or Obama had to take the reigns, I expect both of them are quick studies. And Palin in particular has a track record of rising to the occasion. Neither one would be the first thrust into the role with little preparation.

<<McCain's experience is a *plus* - not a necessity. It's like power brakes in a car - if you can get them for no extra charge, they're a selling point. But you can do with out them if necessary.>>
                 
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You also missed the point - - it's not about Sarah's or Obama's experience or inexperience, it's about McCain's hypocrisy; most of his attacks are focused on Obama's inexperience - - and yet he doesn't give a shit about experience when he picks his own VP.  THAT is McCain's problem.

What are the chances McCain is going to pull a William Henry Harrison and croak within a month of being inaugurated? Probably close to zero. McCain is grooming a successor. The chances of her actually having to take the reigns before gaining substantial executive branch exposure and experience are not zero, but they're pretty close to it. The Vice President is highly unlikely to be called upon to perform presidential duties in any substantial manner, and anyone being honest recognizes that. The Vice Presidency has been used as an opportunity to groom successors since at least Teddy Roosevelt.