Andrew Sullivan published an excerpt in The Atlantic Monthly today which, in trying to make a case against Palin, actually spells out exactly why conservatives like myself love her.  Here is the relevant portion of Sullivan’s excerpt:

He is a man who has spent his adult life thinking serious thoughts about serious issues and having serious conversations about them with other serious, well-informed people; while Palin quite as clearly has done none of those things.  He was the president of the Harvard Law Review; she was the point guard on her high school basketball team. [Emphasis Mine]

You see, Obama has “thought” and “talked,” but what in the world has the guy ever DONE?!  Nothing that I can discern.

Palin has acted, fought, achieved victories, formed coalitions, won difficult elections, reformed government at the local and state level, and so many other things.  Talk is cheap, as they say.

As nicely spelled out by Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard,  a few of Governor Palin’s accomplishments include having “brought down Alaska’s governor, attorney general, and state Republican chairman. She killed the ‘bridge to nowhere.’ She used increased tax revenues from high oil prices to give Alaskans a rebate. She slashed government spending. She took on the biggest industry in Alaska, the oil companies, to work out an equitable deal on building a new gas pipeline.”

Barnes reminds readers that “Obama can’t match even one of these accomplishments.”

Governor Palin saw problems and she didn’t talk or think about them, she stood up and solved them.  That’s what I and so many others admire about her.

I would take Palin any day over a “thinker” and a “talker.” I think the only thing some Republicans are disappointed by is the fact that Palin is not on the top of the ticket.  Well, in 8 years she will be.

Is Senator Obama is intimidated by strong women?.

Thinking on this idea, it can be noted that there are at least three women the sentor has consistently insulted, either directly or indirectly.  First of there is Senator Clinton.  Everyone knows that Senator Obama could have had a certain electoral win by taking Hillary Clinton onto his ticket, but, surprisingly, he never even considered her.

Even Obama supporters are not entirely sure why it was bettern to pick Senator Biden.  If he had picked Senator Clinton, not only would he have virtually guaranteed a win for himsef in November, he would have set then Vice President Clinton up perfectly for her run in 2016.

It would have been a huge boost for the Obama Campaign and for the Democratic Party too!  Imagine the Democrats having 12 or 16 years of executive dominance and you’ll understand better why Obama’s decision to ignore Clinton is a mystery to many.

Then there’s this backhanded slap at Cindy McCain, whom Senator Obama seems to think couldn’t possibly be competent enough to run her own business and purchase her own investment properties. If the silly “how many homes do you own question” had been asked of Cindy, she would have outlined in exact detail which homes they had, which they lived in, and which were investments.  But Obama does not seem to think that a woman could be in charge of family finances and investments because he insists on holding Senator McCain accountable for not knowing any of this.

News flash for Senator Obama; here in the early 21st century, women can run businesses as well as or better than men. In fact, Cindy’s business was built by her parents, then passed down to her.  She built on their success and made herself wealthy long before she ever married Senator McCain.  You see, Senator McCain is wealthy because he married Cindy, not the other way around. Do you think Senator McCain could become wealthy from 23 years of military service and 28 years of government service?  Not a chance!

Finally, after Senator McCain announced that he had asked Alaska’s Governor, Sarah Palin, to be his running mate, Obama and his supporters reflexively trashed her.  When Senator Biden was chosen to be Obama’s running mate, the first thing that Senator McCain did was call Biden and congratulate him.  The first thing Obama and his supporters did was to mock her for having “zero” experience, saying that it somehow bolsters Senator Obama’s bid for the presidency.

This must be be some kind of “new math” thing, because Palin has been in politics since she was 28 and has two years of executive experience as Governor of Alaska, where she enjoys favorability ratings of better than 80%.    Not only is Governor Palin an accomplished leader and effective reformer, she has taken on her own party to root out corruption in Alaska, defeating an incumbent Republican Governor and a popular Democrat who ran against her in 2006.

For Republicans, 2006 was one of the worst electoral years in memory.  Republican governors were voted out in several states and the GOP lost both the House and the Senate to Democrats.  But this was also the year that Governor Palin was sworn in, and conservatives like myself knew instinctively that Palin was the kind of reformer that would shape the future of the Republican Party.

Senator McCain certainly understand and acknowledges this. The Obama Campaign, however, can’t seem to appreciate why Republicans across the country were thrilled when Palin was chosen for VP.  Are they having problems with that “strong woman” thing again?

Obama did eventually mute his derisive tone with the Governor Palin pick, but mainly because he’s worried about how women will vote.  It appears the senator has finally realized that, here in the early 21st century, women cannot be taken for granted.  Perhaps it has finally dawned on Obama that disrespecting yet another successful woman and treating her as an inferior might just alienate women voters in general.  You think?

We’ll see how long that attitude lasts.

According to a recent Zogby poll, there’s lots of bad news for Senator Obama right now.  For example, Zogby’s data shows that “Republican John McCain’s surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama’s historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination -  has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump.”

Certainly the McCain decision owned the news cycle yesterday.  That trend is likely to last through this long holiday weekend.  But there’s more.  Zogby also noted that his “interactive survey shows that 22% of those voters who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in their primary elections or caucus earlier this year are now supporting John McCain.”

In addition, Zogby’s poll found that “among those who said they shop regularly at Wal-Mart, Obama is getting walloped by McCain. Winning 62% support from weekly Wal-Mart shoppers, McCain wins these voters at a rate similar to what President Bush won in 2004. Obama wins 24% support from these voters.”

Zogby does state his belief that the race overall is likely to remain tight until probably the final week of the election, where he feels that the race will then likely break decisively for one candidate or another.  What noone can predict, however, is what other factors might come into play to swing voter opinions one way or another.

In regards to Governor Palin, there is this issue, now being hotly debated by bloggers, of undue pressure being placed on a former state employee to fire a state trooper.  The complication is that the state trooper was Palin’s former brother-in-law.  However, I’ve also heard reports that the trooper was fired before Palin became Governor, and the complaint was a trumped up one from a disgruntled former employee.  There has been an investigation from what I understand and nothing has come of this accusation.

It is fair to say that a reformist governor like Sarah Palin is sure to have many enemies, even among her own party.  After all, she ran against an incumbent Republican Governor, wiped him out in the primaries, then went on to narrowly defeat her popular Democratic rival.

You can see why Governor Palin’s nickname in High School was “Sarah Barracuda.” Palin earned the nickname while playing point guard for her state championship basketball team.  She was known for her aggressive play and determination.  She played the entire game during the championship, despite being injured.

For Obama, there remains many questions relating to his association with Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers, whose only complaint has been that he didn’t do enough bombing of government sites back in the 1960’s. Obama has been claiming that they merely know each other from their neighborhood, but recently uncovered documents by National Review journalist Stanley Kurtz shows a much closer relationship.

In addition, Obama has yet to fully explain his relationship with former campaign fundraiser Tony Rezko, who helped Obama to purchase his $1.5 million home at $300,000 below the market value.  In addition, Rezko’s wife, who has no financial assets of her own, purchased and then sold an additional half-acre lot to the Obama’s  to increase their total lot size.  Of course, Rezko was recently convicted of 16 counts of fraud.

So, in examining who has more issues to deal with over the next 66 days, it’s likely that Obama has many more deficits than Palin.  And Palin is tougher to boot.

Earlier in the day, I saw an interview with famous lefty wackjob Michael Moore, who was thrilled at the prospect of a hurricane interfering with the upcoming GOP convention:

“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”

So, is Moore thrilled at the thought of billions more in damage, more lives lost, people’s lives torn apart yet again?  Who knows; but this is Michael Moore, a lefty lune, noone else could be happy about an approaching disaster.  Or could they?

Powerline Blog posted this YouTube video, with  Don Fowler, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Democratic Congressman Don Spratt, who were caught on tape laughing at the thought of a hurricane hitting New Orleans, disrupting the GOP convention, and, they sincerely hope, making Republicans look bad again.  Here is the YouTube video with the loathsome response on the part of these so-called DNC leaders:

Is this not disgusting? Will the mainstream press hold these people accountable for their gleeful contemplation of disaster for all those innocent people in LA? I’m willing to bet that many liberals in the media are just as thrilled, hoping to find disaster and mayhem to report.This is foul stuff.

*******UPDATE*******

I just learned via the Drudge Report that the video was captured by  someone from Redstate.com.  I want to make sure I properly cite my sources for this one.

The question still remains, even with this now on Drudge (thank God for Matt Drudge), will the mainstream press hold these losers accountable for their outrageous statements?  There’s no doubt in my mind had a GOP senator and/or a party official been recorded having such a conversation, it would be all over the world in about 30 minutes.

It’s a sad and frustrating double-standard on the part of much of the media.  Let’s hope, however, that in this case, these men will be held accountable for their ignorance.

Days before being announced as the Republican party’s first female candidate for Vice President, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was asked by Maria Bartiromo if she was on John McCain’s short list. She also spends several minutes talking about the massive natural resources which are, in a sense, “warehoused” in the state of Alaska.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created by tapping those resources and delivering them to US markets. And Governor Palin discusses the need to rely on these resources to strengthen our economy while newer sources of energy are developed and made economically viable.

It’s a good interview, one where you can see Governor Palin’s expertise in action. She makes a great case for drilling in ANWR and other areas of Alaska and outlines ways that state government protects natural habitats. Governor Palin points out in the interview that we fly government officials to Saudi Arabia to beg them to ramp up production, yet we do nothing in Alaska and other areas where we can control our own resources.

In the past, when Senator McCain was accused of being ‘Senator McNasty’ for his hard-nosed style of negotiation in Washington, he has said, “I’m not running for Miss Congeniality here.”  Ironically, Governor Sarah Palin did once run for, and won the Miss Congeniality title in 1984.  You can see her picture here from that time period.

That said, if Obama and Biden are hoping that Governor Palin is again running for the title of Miss Congeniality, they are sadly mistaken.  Biden will find that out when he takes her on in the debates.  My money is on Governor Palin and I think this quote from the WSJ spells out exactly why she’s going to surprise him, and everyone else:

For starters, we’d say Governor Palin’s credentials as an agent of reform exceed Barack Obama’s. Mr. Obama rose through the Chicago Democratic machine without a peep of push-back. Alaska’s politics are deeply inbred and backed by energy-industry money. Mr. Obama slid past the kind of forces that Mrs. Palin took head on. This is one reason her selection — despite its campaign risks — seems to have been so well received by Republicans yesterday. They are looking for a new generation of leaders.

Finally, let me make one more point for those who are already insulting all women by trying to paint Governor Palin as a “token” candidate.  If McCain wanted a “token” candidate, he could have gone for another woman with a much higher profile, like Secretary of State Condi Rice, whom I had once hoped would be McCain’s nominee.  He could also have chosen the well-respected and known Kay Bailey Hutchinson or Libby Dole, both admired by conservatives like myself.

Instead, McCain went for an outsider, someone who, while Obama supporters claim she has “zero” experience, has two more years of executive experience than McCain, Biden, and Obama combined.   She’s a “hockey mom” with a husband who is a union worker, has pushed back on oil interests in her state, making them pay for improvements to the gas and oil infrastructure, and whom enjoys popularity ratings of over 80% with her constituents.

She’s not a token, she’s a leader!  You can see why the Obama camp is looking nervous, even fearful, over such an innovative pick for Vice President. I would say that picking such a great candidate underscores the fact that McCain is committed to change in Washington.  Obama’s choice of Biden for a running mate underscores his commitment to the old-boy network in Washington.

The Obama Campaign should be afraid… Very afraid!

The reactions to Senator McCain’s pick of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate are fairly amusing.  I think that some of the over-the-top rhetoric coming from Obama supporters is a measure of exactly how good a pick Governor Palin is for McCain.The AOL News headline asking if Palin is ready “to be a heartbeat away” is perhaps the most amusing thing I’ve seen so far.  How can someone ask if Governor Palin is ready to be “a heartbeat away” without causing voters to worry that Senator Obama wants to be even closer than that?

While the Obama Campaign will do it’s very best to belittle the Governor’s experience, Americans are smart enough to know that her experience is very comparable to Obama’s.  If they attempt to belittle Palin as a person, it will alienate women voters already upset that Senator Clinton never made the Obama ticket.

Finally, if Senator Obama tries to point to his pedigree — educated in the best schools in the country — it will undercut his argument that he’s not among the elite.  In every way there are traps that the Obama Campaign and supporters in general can fall into.  Some have already begun to do so in asking this silly “heartbeat” question.

Think about this as well; there are likely tens of millions of women voters who feel, not only perfectly comfortable, but quite excited about a woman like Governor Palin being just a heartbeat away from becoming the next President.  Why shouldn’t they, she’s every bit as ready to lead as Senator Obama himself, the guy who went back to the “old-boy” network for his VP pick.

Think about it.

Though not yet officially announced, it has been confirmed that Senator McCain has chose Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.  It’s a surprise choice, even for those like myself who have long supported Senator McCain in his bid to become the POTUS.

It is also, without a doubt, an inspired choice.  Many will not know who Governor Palin is, but those of us who pay attention to national politics know her well.  She was a two-term mayor who, disgusted by corruption in her own party, ran against an incumbent Republican Governor and won.  Since then she has won continual praise from conservatives across the country.

Governor Palin is pro-life, anti-earmark, and a maverick in her own right.  A mother of five, her most recent baby was born with Down’s Syndrome and her oldest son joined the army and will soon be deployed to Iraq.

Does the choice of Governor Palin take experience off the table, as some democrats are now claiming?  It’s a difficult argument to make, because Obama supporters claim that he’s a “fresh face,” someone who can take on the institutional corruption of Washington.  Well, if Senator Obama has enough experience to be president, certainly then Governor Palin has enough to be vice president.

Senator McCain certainly has a great deal more experience than either Senator Obama or Governor Palin combined.  But for to say that McCain’s choice of VP somehow bolsters Obama as a choice for president is a faulty argument.  The two roles, as everyone knows, are vastly different.

Yes, if McCain were to die, Vice President Palin would have to step up, but how often has that happened in history?  And, when it has happened, was the country damaged in any way?

Governor Palin in so many ways is a brilliant choice.   She’s a true leader, a GOP reformer, and highly respected by conservatives.  In addition, choosing Palin over other candidates underscores McCain’s own commitment to change in Washginton.

Certainly, if Governor Palin does not perform well on the national stage, it will hurt Senator McCain’s bid, but those of us who have been watching Governor Palin’s rise to prominence in the GOP know that she’s both tough and inspiring.  This is an unexpected choice, and, for those of us who support his candidacy, a great choice.

*******UPDATE*******

I just saw Governor Palin officially accept the position as McCain’s running mate and she did a great job, starting off a bit slow, but really getting into the groove quickly.  The crowd loved her.

Towards the end, Governor Palin took a moment to thank a couple of women who helped pave the way, Geraldine Ferraro and Senator Clinton.  Now, you might not be fans of either Ferraro or Clinton, but you have to admit that it was a classy thing to do.  Also, it was a smart thing to do because she was signalling to women that she understands their desire, and agrees with it, to see a woman, not just as VP, but someday as president.

I suspect that Biden is looking forward to his opportunity to debate Governor Palin.  I highly recommend he not underestimate her.  Palin is impressive.

The NY Post is reporting that “Democrats will kneel before the ‘Temple of Obama’ tonight.  As if a Rocky Mountain coronation were not lofty enough, Barack Obama will aim for Mount Olympus when he accepts his party’s nomination atop an enormous, Greek-columned stage - built by the same cheesy set team that put together Britney Spears’ last tour. ”

Perhaps there’s more to the Obama-Spears connection — hinted at in McCains “Celebrity” ad — than first thought.  Of course, I’m joking.

But this whole thing seems like a joke.  Is Senator Obama really going to come walking out from between the columns of his own O-lympic temple?

Will all his supporters worship him when he appears?  One report indicated that the dais upon which he will be standing to give his speech can be elevated.  Is this guy for real?

If this is what it appears to be, then I think perhaps Senator McCain should start thinking about what drapes he would like to order for the White House.  This is so over the top, it’s hard to even properly react.

The image link is from Powerlineblog.com, one of my favorite blogs.  John from Powerlineblog.com noted in his post that “A McCain staffer asked, upon seeing a news report about Obama’s temple, ‘Is this from the Onion?’”

One of the highly unusual and sometimes downright creepy aspects of this 2008 presidential election cycle is the reverential, almost worshipful treatment of Senator Obama by supporters.  Mark Morford of the SF Chronicle calls Obama an “enlightened being,” and a “lightworker,” and claims this is the reason why the senator is someone with the “appeal, the pull, the ethereal and magical thing that seems to enthrall millions of people from all over the world.”

Now there is a new video, released by Dave Stewart from the UK, American Prayer, which takes this Obama spirituality movement a step further.  While a nice song, the reverence it conveys for a candidate who has done virtually nothing except talk is perhaps the most disturbing thing about the video.  Here is a sample of the lyrics:

This is my American Prayer
This is my American Prayer

This is the time to finish what you started
And this is no time to dream
This is the room
We can turn off the dark tonight
Maybe then we might see

I’m not even sure what this means.  Originally, the song may have been written to honor Martin Luther King Jr.  Dave Stewart co-wrote the song with Bono, whose own tribute to Dr. King, In The Name of Love, is incredibly inspirational.  Stewart later re-oriented the song as a music video to honor Senator Obama.

But the sight of people praying, almost seemingly to Obama himself, is hardly inspirational.  Rather, it’s downright creepy.

What has Senator Obama accomplished to merit such reverence?

I can understand the reverence which we all feel for Dr. King, he changed to course of American history.  Dr. King brought us closer to the ideals outlined in the Constitution than nearly any other person before him.  But Barack Obama has spent about eight years in the Illinois state senate and about three years in Congress.

In that time, Senator Obama has authored no major legislation, shown virtually no leadership in the Senate, and, in fact, has spent most of his first term in Congress on the campaign trail trying to become president.  His words are powerful, but his deeds are virtually non-existent.

So why the reverence?  As they saying goes, “talk is cheap.”

Now Obama is preparing to accept the Democratic nomination at Investco Field tomorrow night on a stage that appears to be either a mockup of the State House, the White House, or a Roman Temple.   It’s almost certainly not meant to be a mockup of a temple, but why invite the comparison in the first place?

This is the kind of thing, held up before a nation that is beginning to pay serious  attention to the coming election, that will sink the Obama candidacy.  Americans aren’t interested in all the hype; rather, they will look on this spectacle and roll their collective eyes.

Do we really need another huge ego in the White House?  Do we really need  a religio-political figure leading the country?

I was reading James Taranto’s Best of The Web Today column and this little snippet caught my attention:

But then we remembered a comment Mrs. Obama made about a year ago in an interview with Glamour:

“We have this ritual in the morning. They come in my bed, and Dad isn’t there–because he’s too snore-y and stinky, they don’t want to ever get into bed with him. But we cuddle up and we talk about everything from what is a period to the big topic of when we get a dog: what kind?”

To me, it sounds as if Michele and Barack do not share a bed, or even the same bedroom.  Not that this is shocking; a lot of professional couples do this so as to be able to go to sleep and wake up based on the demands of their job.

Furthermore, if you look back in American history, most White House couples (as the Obamas hope to be come January of 2009) have separate bedrooms.  This makes sense as presidents often are engaged until late in the evening, must wake up early, and of course, sometimes get those “3am” calls.

Still, it struck me as rather an elite thing.  I know some very successful people, all of whom share the same bedroom and the same bed with their spouses.  The seperate bedrooms trend has become more popular of late, but the whole lovey-dovey theme we hear about the Obamas seems to contrast that “modern upper-class couple” theme that is expressed by comments such as the one above.

Democrats realize that they have a significant degree of turmoil within the party and are looking at ways, not to resolve the issues, but to hide them from the public. Both the AP and the Denver Post are reporting this morning on various machinations going on behind closed doors to party disagreements out of the limelight.

It must be remembered that, while Senator Clinton’s negatives were always high in regards to those who would never vote for her, so were her positives.  There has always been a significant block of voters (my Aunt included) loyal to Hillary.

So, Democrats are in the second day of their convention and are realizing that a traditional roll-call vote, while still clinching the nomination for Senator Obama, might also yield a significant level of continuing support for Senator Clinton.  Not wanting voters to see this, party leaders are working to let the roll call go forward while keeping the actual counts from the public.

In other words, they want to hide the numbers.  And that in defiance to the traditional process of holding public roll-call votes.

Senator Obama was too insecure to take Senator Clinton on as his running mate, which exacerbated this problem, now he is too insecure to let voters know that there is anything less than unanimous support for his candidacy.  I find such manipulations to be worrisome.

Is it really necessary to try and gin-up an illusion which most will see right through?  Universal approval is never possible.  Rather, the only necessity in this country is a majority.

In my last post I posed the question, “Why Biden?” Now I’m wondering, why not Senator Clinton?

In a recent post, one where I reviewed an excellent article by the Atlantic Monthly, which posted some interesting documents from the Clinton Campaign, I mentioned a personal story, where I had a conversation with a family member about her support for Senator Clinton.

This family member is an Aunt of mine who lives in upstate New York and has been a Hillary supporter since she first ran for Congress. She was very disappointed that Senator Clinton had lost her bid, and though I don’t remember hearing it from her directly, I’m not sure she was planning to vote for Senator Obama.

To my Aunt, having a President Hillary Clinton would prove, once and for all, that a woman could lead at any and every level. To her, Senator Clinton was equal to the task and she was excited for the possibility of our first woman president. Certainly, I agree that Senator Clinton would make a better President than Senator Obama, though McCain is still my first choice.

I cannot say this with absolute certainty, but there is a distinct possibility that in November my Aunt may pull the lever (or push the button) for Senator McCain. Of course, both Senators Obama and McCain are aware of this fact, which is why Obama has been offering constant praise for Senator Clinton and why McCain’s latest ad asks a very relevant question, “Why Not Hillary?”

The ad is officially entitled “Passed Over,” and a post on the WSJ’s “Washington Wire” notes specifically that “Recent polls show her base of mostly white working-class women has not rallied behind the Illinois senator. McCain frequently praises the former first lady in an effort to woo her still undecided supporters.” This polling data, then, is consistent with my own experience and offers some insights into the Obama Campaign’s thinking, or lack of it.

If Senator Obama truly wants to be the next president, why not at least consider Senator Clinton? The polling on the pair of them together shows them to be nearly unbeatable, whereas, the polling on an Obama/Biden ticket is not that all that impressive. Certainly Biden will faithfully attack Senator McCain, but he’s also considered the ultimate Washington insider and a loose-lipped politician who can create a new scandal at any time. During the Democratic primaries, he got himself into trouble twice with comments about Indian Americans and for calling Senator Obama, “clean.”

Senator Clinton, however, has been influential since her first day in congress. Senator Clinton won a great deal of respect from moderates during her campaign for her willingness to stand by decisions she had made in regards to her support for the war in Iraq.

In McCain’s favor is his maverick image. While the Obama Campaign will try and tie McCain to Bush, there’s no guarantee that it will work. After all, McCain’s image is not hype; rather, it’s based on solid reality. He’s the guy the media loves to praise for “standing up against President Bush,” on issues like taxes, spending, and the war in Iraq. Senator McCain has done a great job of rallying the Republican base in the past month, but when I announced my own support for Senator McCain early in the Republican primaries, many of my conservative friends thought I was crazy to support someone they saw as disloyal.

It should also be remembered that McCain and Clinton have been very collegial towards one another since Clinton’s first day in office. They visited Iraq together at least once, and have had a good working relationship.

All this plays to Senator McCain’s favor in the upcoming election; and directly against Obama. After all, Senator Obama chose not to even consider Senator Clinton. Such disrespect has to be a slap in the face for all those who supported a worthy and formidable candidate.

What does that say about Obama? A lot! None of it good.

Senator Obama has done it again. He managed to generate an enormous amount of hype and an impressive press frenzy (think of hungry sharks in the ocean circling a trawler that has just dumped a ton of chum into the water), only to deliver… Well, nothing really.

Any of my fellow bloggers, liberal or conservative will wonder at the choice Senator Obama made for his vice presidential pick. Why Biden?

I imagine about one million bloggers out there right now with big question marks hovering above their heads. I’m no different.

I don’t understand. Why Biden?

The guy is a Washington insider and known for his wandering speeches, where he might be expected to say anything at all. And please don’t think I’m kidding or blowing smoke.

It was about a year-and-a-half ago that I posted to this very blog commenting on a threat that Biden made to the president. The guy had cameras around him, yet didn’t have the common sense to control himself. Someone asked Senator Biden what congress would do if the president made good on his promise to veto a bill that was loaded with pork-barrel spending and Biden’s response was, “we’re going to shove it down his throat.”

A very mature and reasonable response, yes?

In addition, polls have suggested that Biden doesn’t really do anything for Senator Obama. If you’re going to build a lot of buzz and excitement, shouldn’t you then deliver something that justifies all those heightened expectations? Personally, I thought after Tim Kaine was able to zing Senator McCain this week, he would be a shoo-in. Governor Kaine gave the media a line that was far more impactful than Obama’s lame campaign ad.

I think you’re going to hear from almost everyone that Senator Obama’s choice is a let-down. This is yet another sign in my mind that Senator Obama is not ready to be president. Biden is going to hurt Obama’s campaign, not help it, and this dissipates so much of the buzz and energy that Senator Obama had generated later in this past week.

Again, where are all of Obama’s high-paid political operatives? Could someone please tell them to tell the senator that, when you create huge expectations you have to deliver?

Oh, never mind!

A fellow conservative blogger, La Shawn Barber posted a great commentary on a new book that will soon be released by Crystal Magnum, the stripper who falsely accused three Duke University Lacrosse players of assault and rape. Here is an excerpt from La Shawn’s post:

Disgraced Crystal Mangum, the stripper and sometime prostitute who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of strangling, beating, and brutally raping her (vaginally, anally, and orally) in a tiny bathroom at a house party back in March 2006, is writing her memoirs. Not an Internet rumor. It’s true!

I’m betting this book will sell about five copies total.

I see that the media is trying to make the most of the fact that Senator McCain has no clue how many condos his wife Cindy owns. The Wall Street Journal discusses Obama’s new use of Senator McCain’s gaffe, but gives some balance to the whole story. But there are many other articles which are not quite so balanced, harping on the issue and glad to have — it seems to me — something to criticize the senator for at last.

But the media and political junkies tend to have less perspective on what resonates with most Americans. Politico, the same paper that initially asked Senator McCain how many homes he owns, to its credit reported yesterday that all the homes are actually owned by his wife, Cindy.

So, the question becomes, will Americans really look upon this whole gaffe as a real issue? It seems to me, as I’ve said in previous posts, rather a desperate flailing after any issue that might slow Senator McCain’s growing momentum.

And perhaps it’s an attempt to move past the embarrassing performance that Senator Obama gave during the debate last weekend. Certainly, that was an uncommonly poor performance for Senator Obama, but not unexpected when you consider that Senator Obama rarely takes unscripted questions, while Senator McCain takes them every single day.

At the very least, this whole issue of Cindy McCain’s homes is not something that is going to give Senator Obama much mileage. Senator Obama himself is both wealthy and successful, and his 1.5 million home in Chicago — boasting four fireplaces and a new wine cellar — is located in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in the city. And there is no denying the fact that Obama bought the home with the help of Tony Rezko, who was recently convicted on no less than 16 counts of fraud. It makes me wonder at the level of desperation on the part of the Obama Campaign that they would risk opening up such a quagmire to score a few points against Senator McCain.

Neither candidate looks like they are struggling economically, but, of course, Obama is searching for something, anything, that will stick to Senator McCain and give Obama something to attack him with. This is, if you think about it, the best thing to come up on Senator McCain so far.

And that should worry Obama’s political operatives. If that’s the best you can do, then you’re in BIG trouble come November.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Obama made a very poor decision to use the McCain issue in an official campaign ad. Tim Kaine, the Governor of Virginia and a possible VP for Obama I think took the right approach.

When Governor Kaine was asked to comment, he made a joke out of the whole thing. He was quoted as saying, “he couldn’t count high enough apparently to even know how many houses he owns.”

You see how this is a LOT more effective than running a campaign ad? It makes Kaine look witty and intelligent and McCain silly. And the press is able to pick up this witty quote and use it a million times, which they had begun to do.

It’s both a deep and effective dig. It’s effective because it doesn’t allow McCain to hit back. You see, Kaine was just commenting on something he had been asked. That is exactly what Veeps are supposed to do, get down and dirty, while letting the Presidential candidate stay above it all. It’s a deep dig because it makes McCain look both out of touch and absent-minded.

But then Senator Obama used this in an ad, which gives McCain the right to fire back and hit Obama where he is MUCH more vulnerable, his association with a convicted criminal, Tony Rezko.

And sure enough, this headline was just posted on Drudge:

“MCCAIN TO FIRE BACK HARD IN NEW AD, FEATURING REZKO… DEVELOPING…”

Now, if Obama is ignorant enough to protest McCain’s ad, it will just amplify the whole Rezko issue further, making Senator Obama look even worse. Running that ad was stupid! I’m sorry, but I can’t think of a better word.

Obama took a gift FROM McCain and turned it into a gift FOR McCain.

Who is advising Senator Obama? You would think all those high-paid political operatives would know better.

Today the Obama Campaign released a new ad chiding Senator McCain for owning seven homes. Is this a sign of desperation or what?

It is true that when asked by Politico how many homes he owned, McCain did not know off the top of his head. That is because many of those homes belong to his wife, who was wealthy long before McCain married her 28 years ago.

I’m not sure if, in 2004, this line of attack was ever used by conservatives against Senator Kerry regarding his wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry (another wealthy heiress with many homes), but this whole thing smacks of desperation. How so?

In the first place, Senator Obama’s Chicago home was bought in partnership with Tony Rezko who is, basically, the Jack Abramoff of Illinois. The whole purchase, and a subsequent sale of additional land adjacent to the Obama’s property for a price lower than market value, is still under a cloud. Tony Rezko himself was convicted of multiple crimes of corruption with perhaps more charges to come.

So, by entering into the fray with an official ad of his own, rather than letting the 529’s do his dirty work, Obama has now opened a political quagmire for himself. So far, the McCain Campaign has been quite adept at sowing doubts about Obama’s ability to lead the country. The Obama Campaign ad gives them a reason to now sow doubts about his character as well.

Will the Obama ad score with anyone other than Obama supporters? That remains to be seen. But if this is the best the Obama Campaign can do, they’re in big trouble come November.

I’ve been creating and maintaining web sites for about 13 or 14 years now. In the mid-to-late 1990’s, setting up a new site was fairly straightforward as there were very few providers to choose from. In general, hosting companies also tended to be somewhat expensive.

Nowadays there are many good providers and some great hosting prices. But which provider is reliable and how long will they last?

The blog hosting company I used before I found my current provider was a mess. Run by a single person who seemed too depressed to respond to simple questions like, why is my blog not working properly?

I realized then reliability was just as important as price. And as knowledgeable as I am when it comes to the web, even I can’t keep up with all the changes. The fact is hosting prices and services offered, as well as levels of support, changes CONSTANTLY. It’s maddening, but it is what it is.

You can give up or you can find good sites that can reliably rate web hosting resources for you. One that I found recently, that I can also highly recommend, is Web Hosting Geeks, a web hosting rating site which rates resources on a variety of factors, so that you can find what you are looking for, all from a single site.

If you are looking to get the best bang for your buck, they have a page called “Best Budget Hosting.” If you’re an avid blogger like me — or want to become one — they have a great page on the best rated blog hosting companies.

It’s a great site and I highly recommend it.

The Atlantic Monthly’s Joshua Green published a phenomenal analysis of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign. Pointing out that “Hillary Clinton’s campaign was undone by a clash of personalities more toxic than anyone imagined,” Green goes on to outline in the most minute detail I’ve yet seen exactly what happened to Senator Clinton’s campaign.

I think what is especially powerful about this article is that Green’s analysis is backed up by a series of memos and emails that he was given access to by campaign staffers. I have to think there were many hard feelings held by former Clinton staffers for them to turn over this kind of information.

There is a such a wealth of documentation, Green could easily write a book on all of this. For any who, like myself, love this stuff, you can find electronic copies of everything Green was given here.

What I find interesting, however, is that despite being ultimately defeated in the primaries, Senator Clinton continues to show her influence, both with her party and in particular with Senator Obama, who is allowing Senator Clinton a roll call vote at the upcoming Democratic convention. I’m not an expert here, but if Senator Clinton garners a significant level of support, won’t voters see that as a sign of weakness?

Finally, I find Green’s analysis of the Clinton campaign strategy to be fascinating in that I believe the Senator’s plan made sense. One of the first and primary constituencies Senator Clinton looked to for support was women. And, personally, having spoken to a family member (who shall remain nameless) who is a woman and is in her late 60’s/early 70’s, it became clear to me how sound a strategy this was.

This female family member of mine confided that she has been looking to Senator Clinton as one who would, once and for all, show that women could do whatever men could do. She had voted for Senator Clinton twice during the Senator’s congressional campaigs and voted for her again in the Democratic primary. She was saddened by Senator Clinton’s loss to Obama, and while I do not know for sure, I don’t believe she will vote for Senator Obama in the general election.

One last little thought. It looks to me, and to Joshua Green as well, that Senator Clinton’s greatest weakness was not her opponent’s strength or her own lack of ability, but the egos that seemed to predominate within the senior levels of her campaign organization. Conservatives often paint Senator Clinton as arrogant, but if she is, it pales in comparison with some of the ego-driven personalities working for her campaign.

While Senator Clinton had some extremely talented people working for her, the lack of a definitive head, and the Senator’s seeming inability to clamp down on her senior advisers when necessary, went a long way towards sinking her campaign. People love to criticize President Bush for appointing strong leaders like Karl Rove to lead his campaign efforts, but now the wisdom of this strategy becomes apparent. You must have a strong leader who can harness the talents of senior advisors, focus their efforts, and set a clear direction when appropriate.