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Republicans Make History With Their Nominees
Published by Pamela Gentry on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:24 pm.
By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) Sept. 4, 2008 – Republicans made history Wednesday night when they nominated the oldest first-time presidential candidate in history, 72-year-old Sen. John McCain, and their party’s first woman vice presidential candidate, 44-year-old Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Delivering her speech in the national prime-time spotlight, Palin attacked her Democratic rivals as Washington insiders, out of touch and incapable of bringing about change. Palin promised that it would be she and McCain who would bring “real change” to Washington.
The fired-up crowd at the Xcell Center repeatedly interrupted Palin with cheers and uproarious standing ovations throughout her speech.
Palin, who has a special-needs son of her own, couched her party as the one that cares about such children, understands the difficulty of parenting a child out of wedlock and what it means to keep American safe amid the threats of global terrorism.
“Victory in Iraq is finally in sight; he wants to forfeit,” Palin said of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
“Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America; he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.
“Government is too big; he wants to grow it.”
The crowd ate it up.
But while the speech was relentless in its assault on Obama, it offered little in the way of what a Republican administration would do to define the difference.
Palin’s speech was one of two highlights for the relatively lackluster convention so far. Delegates also lined up for a roll call of the states to nominate their presidential pick Arizona senator McCain.
As Palin spoke, network cameras seemed transfixed on the vice presidential candidate’s 17-year-old, unmarried, pregnant daughter, Bristol, who held hands with her 18-year-old boyfriend, Levi Johnson. Johnson the self-proclaimed “red-neck” hockey player, looked tense and uncomfortable throughout the speech.
“Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys,” Palin said, after introducing her family.
She saved the barbs for Obama. “In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change,” she said.
While her speech was filled with tough talk and delivered well to a friendly crowd, the next test will be her first encounter with the national press corps and her first debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden.
Why are people comparing Palin and Obama? One is a VP nominee and the other is a Presidental nominee. They have no business being compared, Palin’s name isn’t under President. Biden should be compared with her..OOps I guess they don’t want to go there because he is qualified. Second, McCain are you serious, he’s madd old I don’t trust him being in the White house, he is going to sign something that says he is going to leave office after a certain time. Obama represents change, period!! He’s from a different party. Everyone is worried about experience, but Abraham Lincoln is known as one of our best presidents and he had no experience. I never even heard of this Palin chick, the entire GOP and their convention is whackk!!! I can’t even watch it without getting bored. It definitely wasn’t live and uproaring as the Democrat Convention. Her speech was unrelatable, why don’t you compare Hillary’s and Palin’s speech since their both women. Even though, Hillary isn’t on the ballot she’s recognize more than Palin. People wake up and smell the coffee. The Bush Era destroyed our country, we are in debt to small third world countries, the soldiers over in Iraq has nothing to do with Bin Laden. By the way, did they ever find him? Then, they are so worried about raising money to help out other countries when they are people in the U.S. who live in poverty and still suffering from the after effects of Hurricane Katrina. If, you love the way this administration is going then I don’t know what to tell you.
Change,Opportunity, New Faces, Obama/Biden 08
A pitbull with lipstick…what an UGLY image when you add the eyeglases and that pointy nose.
I think everyone who is able to vote should VOTE!! If you dont vote then you dont have the right to complain because your vote could have made a difference!! Dont just go and vote for anyone do some research…you will see that Obama is more than qualified to be our next President!!! Im so glad I get vote this year!!
BARACK OBAMA 08
Everyone needs to stop with the family values and how its a shame that Palin’s daughter is pregnant because she is not a good mother! Parents can teach and preach to their children regarding good morals but ultimately the child will have to make decisions for themself. How many of you out in cyber land who are so critical about Palin’s parenting heard your mother or father tell you not to have sex before you get married, and then many of you became some of the most primiscous people in the community. So kill all that noise and check yourself!
If you want to talk about addressing the issues, did you not listen when Palin addressed the Energy Crisis/Economy and what the proposed solution would be? I am sure many critical of Palin didn’t listen to her response because many people who think that Obama should not be criticized and held accountable for his statements could not believe that she called him on the carpet. To many people are overly sensitive to criticism, that we immediately turn a deaf ear to someone that we don’t agree with and then want to say they offered no solutions. So now when Obama gets criticized by his opponent now everyone wants to say its hateful and vendictive. Hello….America wake up! We are in perlious times and whoever will be President better have it together to be able to make some decisive and hard decisions in the days we as Americans will be facing. I am not sold on a candidate from either party right now, but I will say one thing Palin impressed me more than any of the speeches I have heard from either the Dems or Republicans. We all need to let the process play out and after all the debates have been completed make the choice that is not best for any particular party, but whats best for United States!
LOL. McCain picked Palin’s name out of the hat 2 days before we announced her to the US. Last minute decisions like this about something so important???? PLease don’t let this moron into the white house we got enough problems
Todd,
Explain this:
Palin’s past membership in The Alaskan Independence Party and doing a video for them in 2008 at the beginning of their convention supporting their positions? Their main goal? Secede from The United States. Alaska First! Hey, how much more patriotic can you get? Good job Mr. McCain, you questioned Barak Obama’s loyalty and now you have a VP who supports her states right to secede? Sorry Sarah, you can’t have it both ways. McCain changed his mind and then sent his people to vet Palin on Thursday and announced her on Friday… Why? Because he wanted to trample over Obama’s convention press.
He could have waited a couple days to make sure Palin was the right candidate. But he put politics first.
As a result, McCain made a bad pick, he rushed it into the media, and then was unable to deal with legitimate questions that voters have about his pick.
It all reminds me of Bush’s rush to war in Iraq. No thinking. Arrogant attitude. No backup plan. And now we all have to pay through the nose.
This is a disgusting example of bias media. This site and “network” should be ashamed of their coverage. This network is also by far the most racist and hypocritical of all that I have seen. Mrs. Palin did a great job and has made a race out of this election. I hope all viewers of this netowrk recgonize how absolutely one sided all the news they post is. These comments are also obviously uneducated individuals who still have a chip on their shoulders.
McCain changed his mind and then sent his people to vet Palin on Thursday and announced her on Friday… Why? Because he wanted to trample over Obama’s convention press.
He could have waited a couple days to make sure Palin was the right candidate. But he put politics first.
As a result, McCain made a bad pick, he rushed it into the media, and then was unable to deal with legitimate questions that voters have about his pick.
It all reminds me of Bush’s rush to war in Iraq. No thinking. Arrogant attitude. No backup plan. And now we all have to pay through the nose.
It really is about John’s Judgement.
Poor vetting and rush decision to get news converage of new VP pick.
POOR JUDGEMENT POOR LEADERSHIP.
Picking of somebody he had met once before the interview, instead of picking from his close qualified candidates such as Lieberman. The man John wanted by his side, showed weakness and inability to make his own decisions.
POOR JUDGMENT AND POOR LEADERSHIP.
Initial choice to support Iraq in 2002 and continued support even after evidence came out it was an unjust and a mistake (there was no relation to AlQeida in Iraq). He would also stay there for 100 years.
POOR JUDGEMENT AND POOR LEADERSHIP.
He Jumps up and down shouting “Drill here Drill Now!” Although it is a fact that drilling will not make a difference for 7 years, its ok to start drilling I agree with that, but what about alternative plans to put america at the top of the energy world, instead of no hope and reliance on Oil for the next 30 years (not even taking into account the environment).
POOR JUDGEMENT AND POOR LEADERSHIP.
I am a republican at heart for things I want but this guy is a disaster in so many ways I would be really concerned if he gets into the whitehouse.
We need inspiration and leadership right now not John McCain.
h
Palin is good at reading a speech written by mccain people but when will the media get to question her about her lies. I’m really getting sick of the republican thinking they are right on every issue about my life and my body… I want the right to make my own. Just like her.
The republican are still living in the pass 20 years. I all hear is about mccain being in prison and not the economy, education, health care, etc. I’m a community organizer I work hard in my community to make sure people are safe from crime, helping people getting jobs. What in the hell did so do but get lobbyist money that’s one lie. The bridge to no where that’s another lie. Education not funding book for the library. She’s not but lies just like mccain. McPalinbush all roll into one. Tell me why won’t this woman take questions from the media like Obama and Biden….
well it just like them to fire and get a big mouth strong hearted women to try to make a point. i think she ok for her state but not for a nation we got ob for a change and we got got bidden for exp. the far way ctry. do not want to deal with mc clain because he is still a racees and palin is also. what bout 50 black in her state come on what do she know bout the movement.
JOHN STEWART KILLED IT ON THE TODAY SHOW!! I HAD TO WATCH IT OVER HERE.. HE GOT IT RIGHT ON THE BUTTON.. THE REPUBLICANS ARE CRAZY GUN LOBBY WHO DONT HAVE A POT TO PISS IN POLICY WISE.. ALL THEY OFFER AMERICA IS MORE OF THE SAME.. ( GET READY FOR MORE WARS TO FILL THE COFFERS OF THE GREEDY OIL HUNGARY BARONS) AND PISS OFF EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET ..THUS UNITED SWORN ENEMIES AS THEY MANAGED TO DO WITH IRAQ..IF MCCAIN GETS IN CONSCRIPTION IS A CERTAINTY AND MANY WILL FLEE TO CANADA OR EUROPE..ITS A FACT THAT THEY ARE GETTING READY TO DO IRAN BUT NEED TO ISOLATE RUSSIA AND THATS BEING DONE NOW.. THE SHEER BLINDING HYPOCRACY OF FOX NEWS OVER THE ISSUE OF THE TEEN PREGNANCY OF PALINS DAUGHTER IS GOBSMACKING. WHAT DID THAT A/S/S HOLE SAY ABOUT JAMIE LYNN SPEARS AND DIDNT APPLY IT TO PALIN’S DAUGHTER.. ARE THERE DEGREES OF TEEN PREGNANCY…?.SOMEBODY BI.TACH SLAP THOSE STUPID WOMEN ON FOX NEWS!!
Obama/Bidin 08
I am a proud supported of Obama!!!!!
ANITA.. ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE STUPID AMERICANS THAT CANT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MUSLIM AND A CHRISTAIN BECAUSE YOU ARENT EITHER.. ? NOBAMA HUSSIAN?. WHAT ARE YOU ..NO BRAINER INSANE???
Frank,
You can’t take hearing thoughts that don’t duplicate your own then get off the blog. This ain’t the blog
for whips.
The Republicans are in trouble, First Ron Paul gets blue balled by his own party, Then Huckabee & Romney get passed over by the Moose Hunter???
They then use the Hurricane as an excuse for small crowds & lack of interest in there convention. Theres more people outside protesting then inside!! LOL
Precisely who is the person that made this choice?
It is certain that McCain had not only preferred other candidates – Lieberman, Ridge – and that he did not even know Palin except for one meeting some time ago, which was surely not to discuss VP possibilities.
Did one of his closest advisers suggest her? I think that is highly doubtful.
How about Karl Rove? That seems more likely.
Or, maybe, James Dobson.
Was she hand-picked by the leaders of the religious right, rendering McCain little more than their puppet in his desperate hope to be elected?
That is something I think people ought to know.
I had heard that lawyers were sent to Alaska to question Palin, and did so for “many hours.” It seems to me her answers would have been what they wanted to hear—one-sided and incomplete. She certainly would not have given out anything negative about herself and her governance. And that’s called vetting??
I wish someone would ask McSame the straight question “On what basis did you decide that Sarah Palin was more qualified to be one heartbeat from the presidency of the US than Ridge, Rommney, Palwenty, Lieberman, Crist or any of about a million other people?” Do we really want to wake up one day and find someone whose only experience is running a PTA, a very small town and a state with a population smaller than most major cities trying to run the country because the old man has died?
Palin was chosen at the last minute because the evangelical christians that are running McCain disapproved of his first choices of Sen. Lieberman and Tom Ridge because they did not fit their religious criteria. Romney was never considered because he is Mormon. Palin was chosen for her evangelical Christian views, and only for that. Gov. Palin’s ongoing abuse of power scandal, and her abstinence taught preganant daughter are irrelavant to the religious extremists running the campaign. It is very disturbing that McCain can’t control the pick his own running mate. Lieberman did a fine job of reminding McCain of what country he was in and correcting his foreign pollicy gaffes, but he was disallowed because he is a Jew.
The issue for voters is not the very personal problems being faced by the Palin family. The real problem is that we don’t know Palin at all, and apparently neither does McCain. He had to look down at his cheat sheet to get her name when he introduced her. He spent about fifteen minute in total speaking with her prior to the announcement of her candidacy. His decision to go along with this candidate speaks worlds about McCain’s poor judgment. Palin has not been thoroughly vetted and this is a serious error for McCain to have made. If as claimed, McCain knew about the poor kid who is pregnant, as totally irrelevant as that is, he had to also have known there would be a huge media storm distracting from his campaign. He really doesn’t get it!! Is this the best the Republican Party has to offer?? A lightweight, anti-choice, creationist, anti-animal, anti-environment, pro-oil candidate who won her limited fame on right-wing talk shows? In these uncertain times following 8 years of gross mismanagement by Bush/Cheney, Palin and McCain must be rejected if the United States of America is to regain its economic strength, and its self-respect in the world at large.