The Next Vice-President?

[Shapley]

Biden's FDR gaffe.

[Shapley]

Former President Clinton Says He Understands Palin's Appeal

"I get this," Clinton said. "My view is ... why say, ever, anything bad about a person? Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?"

[jamiebk]

Former President Clinton Says He Understands Palin's Appeal

"Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?"

I dare say, Shap, we could use a little more of this attitude on these issues.

[Shapley]

Chilean Wine Leaves Democrats Chilled

There's nothing wrong with the wine, it's the name they don't like: Palin Syrah

[jamiebk]

Those of us in the wine industry would describe Palin Syrah as "a young wine, hastily made, light on complexity and tannin, with a thin, diminishing aftertaste."

[Shapley]

Those of us in the wine industry would describe Palin Syrah as "a young wine, hastily made, light on complexity and tannin, with a thin, diminishing aftertaste."

The wine was available before Sen. McCain selected Gov. Palin for her running mate. The wine was popular primarly because of its' low price tag - the weak dollar was driving the cost of European wines very high. Now that the governor has been selected as the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, San Francisco sales of the wine have plummeted. It does, however, seem to have found a following on internet sales.

[jamiebk]

I guess you picked up that it is pronounced ...Pay_leen' ...with the accent on the last sylable

[Shapley]

I guess you picked up that it is pronounced ...Pay_leen' ...with the accent on the last sylable

Yes, I read the article.

[Mahlersfifth]

Biden's FDR gaffe.

So it was under a republican watch when the Market's crashed... hmmm.

Former President Clinton Says He Understands Palin's Appeal

"Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?"

I dare say, Shap, we could use a little more of this attitude on these issues.

I rather agree here.

Those of us in the wine industry would describe Palin Syrah as "a young wine, hastily made, light on complexity and tannin, with a thin, diminishing aftertaste."

[jamiebk]

I was speaking of the wine....

[dai bread]

I have no doubt whatever that Bill Clinton understands Sarah Palin's appeal. She's a good-looking woman, and evidently a capable one as well.

[Shapley]

Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings Warns Blacks, Jews To Beware of Sarah Palin

“anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”

[jamiebk]

From the article, it sounds like a very poor attempt at humor. Unfortunately such "humor" is usually lost in print. People in the public light should certainly be aware of the impact of their words.

[Shapley]

From the article, it sounds like a very poor attempt at humor. Unfortunately such "humor" is usually lost in print. People in the public light should certainly be aware of the impact of their words.

Apparently, the 'humour' was lost long before it made it to print:

Other members of the panel were Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, who is Jewish and represents a mostly black district; Alabama congressman Artur Davis, who is black; and Peter Edelman, a law professor at Georgetown University who was a legislative assistant to Robert Kennedy.

Davis denounced Hastings’ comments.

“Alcee Hastings is a friend and I know Alcee well enough to know that he uses provocative humor to make a point. In this instance, however, I didn’t like his comments when I heard them and they don’t sound any better reading them in print,” he said in a written statement sent to FOXNews.com.

[jamiebk]

I was not defending the speaker. I wasn't there. I didn't hear the words and I make no comment other than to react to the article

[Shapley]

I was not defending the speaker. I wasn't there. I didn't hear the words and I make no comment other than to react to the article

I understand. I can't tell from the article whether Mr. Davis thought it was a joke that fell flat, or if he thought Mr. Hastings was being serious. Either way, it was in poor taste.

[Shapley]

Ifill Dismisses Questions of Partisanship

Ifill questions why people assume that her book will be favorable toward Obama.

“Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?” said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, “I don’t know what it is. I find it curious.”

Perhaps they assume that the book, which is titled "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," is favourable to Sen. Obama because it refers to the current era of politics as the "Age of Obama"....

[OperaTenor]

Here we go again.

Debate moderators

The right wing is in a frenzy about the fact that Gwen Ifill is working on a book about "emerging young African American politicians," which supposedly means she cannot be neutral during the VP debate she is moderating tomorrow night. Since the right wing is in a frenzy, we can be pretty sure the establishment media is about to join in.

Two things to keep in mind:

1) The October 7 presidential debate will be moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw, who currently serves as NBC's liaison to the McCain campaign -- while spreading pro-McCain misinformation on Meet the Press. In fact, the McCain campaign hand-picked Tom Brokaw to moderate the October 7 debate:

Mr. Brokaw said he had been told by a senior McCain aide, whom he did not name, that the campaign had been reluctant to accept an NBC representative as one of the moderators of the three presidential debates -- until his name was invoked.


"One of the things I was told by this person was that they were so irritated, they said, 'If it's an NBC moderator, for any of these debates, we won't go,' " Mr. Brokaw said. "My name came up, and they said, 'Oh, hell, we have to do it, because it's going to be Brokaw.' "

2) CBS' Bob Schieffer moderated one of the 2004 debates, despite the fact that he is a longtime friend of George W. Bush who had previously acknowledged that his personal relationship with Bush made it difficult to cover him. Schieffer's brother was a business partner of Bush's before Bush became president -- and Bush made him an ambassador.

UPDATE: At the Huffington Post, Judd Legum notes that the Associated Press reported that Ifill was writing the book weeks before the McCain campaign agreed to her moderating the debate.

Ifill's book has been a matter of public record for months - it's listed in her bio. The McCain campaign agreed to her selection, so if they have a problem with the book, it's only because they're too stupid to have done a little research. Either that, or they're now in panic mode because they realize Palin is totally unprepared.

[Shapley]

Ifill's book has been a matter of public record for months - it's listed in her bio. The McCain campaign agreed to her selection, so if they have a problem with the book, it's only because they're too stupid to have done a little research. Either that, or they're now in panic mode because they realize Palin is totally unprepared.

The McCain camp has not been in a snit about it. Michele Malkin pointed it out and it is being reported as a potential source of bias in the debate. The fact that Ms. Ifill immediately dragged the issue of race into her defense leads credence to those complaints. I have not heard from Gov. Palin on the issue, but Sen. McCain says he fully expects Ms. Ifill to be professional and unbiased. I posted it here as a matter of record.

Ms. Ifill did not mention her authorship of the book during the questioning of her vetting. It was reported a couple of times, long ago, but it must have 'slipped her mind' when she was seeking the job. I think it is a valid point.

As for the Fox video, so what. The viewers can see the show of hands. I did not see the report (I don't watch Fox News on TV), so I have no idea what happened before and after that clip, nor do I really care. Fox News provides links to other sources for most of the news stories they post, so you can read the same report from such sources as Reuters, AP, The Telegraph, etc.

Also, I post links from CNN, MSNBC, BBC, etc., at least as often as I post from Fox, yet you continue to claim that Fox is my preferred news source. I do avoid "fake but accurate" CBS, but only because I have to hold my nose whenever I view their website, even after Dan Rather's departure.

[OperaTenor]

Play Palin Bingo tonight!