They Must Windex Their Walls

I think the old saying goes, "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

The McCain campaign has made the peculiar decision to avoid dealing with the pressing issue of our slowing economy and its causes and effects both at home and abroad; instead, they'd like to make undecided voters afraid of Barack Obama. Ooooooh. Their present angle in this effort is to send good ol' Sarah Palin out on the stump with a speech chock full of hum-dingers aimed at tying Obama to William Ayers, the former domestic terrorist.

I think most reasonably unbiased news organizations have spent time investigating the link between Obama and Ayers and it's become pretty apparent that there is no evidence to support Palin's claims of the two of them "palling around" or even being close at all. Furthermore, Obama has gone out of his way time and time again waaaay back during the primaries (when all of this was actually relevant to the national discussion) to strongly denounce Ayers actions. Now, I do think it is completely reasonable to ask Obama and his campaign surrogates whether it was wise to continue serving on a charitable board with Ayers, knowing his past, as Mark Halperin did of one of Obama's senior advisors. But to belabor the point, as the McCain camp is doing, instead of dealing with the most important issue for the vast majority of voters is excessive and hopefully fruitless.

But here's what's really annoying. Some of the folks the McCain camp has sent out on the warpath to call Obama's judgment (and at times his patriotism) into question don't make a lick of sense. Number 2 on the list is former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose own track record of picking upstanding public servants of integrity was called into question in a pretty high profile way: (as Robert Gibbs pointed out on Fox the other day).

And of course, sitting at the top of the list is my favorite person in the race: Sarah Palin. "What?!" you exclaim, "What in the world could Sarah Palin be hiding/downplaying that could possibly be more damning than the tenuous-at-best relationship between Obama and Ayers???"



It's one thing to sit on a board with someone and it's a very different thing to be married to someone, supported by their cohorts, and delighted with their anti-US party. And I quote:

I am delighted to welcome you to the 2008 Alaskan Independence Party Convention... We have a great promise to be a self-sufficient state... Keep up the good work and God bless you. [emphasis added]

So if it's a bad idea to throw stones, how much worse is it to hurl flaming boulders of ire and hypocrisy?

UPDATE: Less damning but just as indicative of the senselessness of this whole political approach is this article on McCain's link to a certain guy we've heard a lot about lately... Full post and comments here...

RE: Troopergate 2008

Just happened upon this article in TIME magazine about Gov. Palin's renewed interest in cooperating with the investigation. It appears that her new-found desire for transparency and openness isn't quite what it seems. Here's an excerpt:

Palin won't actually cooperate with the original investigation — the one approved unanimously by a majority Republican committee in the state legislature this summer, which Palin welcomed in a spirit of transparency and accountability before she became the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee. The Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee had started the inquiry when former public safety commissioner Walt Monegan alleged that he might have been dismissed for not firing the allegedly loutish state trooper Mike Wooten, who was in a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister Molly McCann and was accused of threatening members of the governor's family. The investigation has since been painted by John McCain and Palin backers as a purely partisan exercise, particularly because the committee chair, state senator Hollis French, is an Anchorage Democrat who made several seemingly prejudicial statements to the media early on, including that the probe could yield an "October surprise" right before the election...

Instead, Palin plans to cooperate with an investigator from the state personnel board. That investigator is a Democrat, but the board's three members are political appointees who ultimately answer to the governor herself. (One was appointed by Palin, the other two by her predecessor.) They got involved only after Palin took the unusual step of filing an ethics complaint against herself in early September to spark an investigation that her lawyers hoped would overshadow — and effectively kill — the legislature's inquiry.

The article goes on to talk about how Alaskans are a bit put off by Palin's sudden hesitance to expose the truth in this matter. It appears she, like McCain, was all straight-talk until she entered the race:

Many Alaskans have sympathy for the anxiety and frustration the Palins felt over Wooten's continued employment. In Anchorage, I've heard time and again that Palin could have avoided further scrutiny with a single convivial mea culpa at the outset, apologizing in particular for her initial inaccurate denial that anyone in her administration, including herself, had contacted Monegan about Wooten. Something that simple would have defanged any investigation, and signaled to Alaskans that even as the Vice Presidential nominee, she would still be the same supposedly straight-talking Sarah they voted for overwhelmingly.

Ha! As if the GOP apologizes for anything (like, say, a war we never should have started). Full post and comments here...

Troopergate 2008

And yeah, I like to rhyme. I do it all the time.

So I just happened to stumble on an interesting opinion article in the Anchorage Daily News written by a "conservative" radio host in Alaska. The commentary obviously concerns the recent subpoenas in the investigation of whether Sarah Palin, in her position as governor, wrongly fired former commissioner of public safety Walter Monegan. I haven't been following this particular issue very closely because all politicians lie, why would she be any different. I mean, if she was really confident everything she did was on the up-and-up, she would have welcomed the investigation. Imagine how popular she would be (and that guy she's running with, the older one...I can't think of his name just now) if it turned out she had done nothing wrong. The whole thing would be played up as egregious and underhanded attacks by "the left and its elite media cohorts" to besmirge her sterling reputation.

Anyway, for those who aren't going to take the two minutes to click the link and read the article (tsk, tsk...), here's a nice quote to give you a taste of the flavor that is the savory blend of rebuke stew this guy is serving up:

If anyone should be on the hot seat, it's not Monegan, but Palin for her inconsistencies.

The governor has given so many different reasons for firing Monegan I've lost count. From the "we need new direction" and "new energy" to "he wasn't hiring enough cops," to "he wasn't doing enough about alcohol in the bush" to "he lobbied for budget increases" to the latest version, which is a doozy; Monegan displayed "egregious rogue behavior."

The governor also originally said that neither she, Todd nor anyone from her administration pressured Monegan regarding Trooper Wooten. Palin then was forced to admit there was serial contact once the Frank Bailey tape surfaced. But she insisted she was just learning of it. But e-mails have surfaced detailing Palin complaining to Monegan about Wooten.

...

Clearly most Alaskans choose to ignore the facts of the Troopergate scandal. They want Palin to make it to the national stage.

Republicans scold me all the time, "You don't want Obama to win do you? Stop criticizing Palin!"

My question to my conservative friends is simple. Does the truth still matter?

Truth is at the very heart of the conservative movement. Isn't it true that smaller government, self empowerment, and personal responsibility are worth fighting for? Isn't it true that promoting a culture of life and defending marriage will keep us strong as a nation?

But some Republican leaders are abandoning truth and closing ranks to help Palin cover up her scandal by attacking the investigation.

Right from the elephant's mouth. Wow, that was partisan. Full post and comments here...