I bet moose stew is tasty.

Beyond that, I'm really sick of hearing about this woman. I already know who I'm voting for, so I'm giving myself permission to ignore all the meda jibba-jabba. Unless Barack is caught barbecuing infants or molesting pygmy hamsters, he's got my vote. And even if he is, I'll vote for some third-party schmuck out of sheer spite.

BBC put something similar up not too long ago. It may have been a shorter list. I noticed that in some TV ads Governor Palin is on the left. The presidential candidate is usually on the left, the VP on the right if I am remembering correctly. She is quite the celebrity at the moment.

"Walmart moms" remind me of "Sam's Club Voters". (very interesting radio segment if you're so inclined.) I don't like these labels for some reason. Probably because I shop at Walmart and Sam's.

Obama could be a puppy kicker and I'd still vote for him at this point. Actually, since I'm in Illinois, I'll probably just stay home since Obama's definitely already got the state.

I'd be more agnostic about it if I couldn't feel the icy chill of fear that runs up my spine at the prospect of a President Palin. The idea of Palin-generated Supreme Court appointments alone is enough to tie knots in my stomach.

Fluff pieces like this are being written because she's been slippery enough not to have to give a single serious interview where she has to articulate her policy positions. I'll be very happy to stop discussing her hair, her moose, and her family when we start pressuring her to discuss what it is she would like to do with the office(s) she is seeking, the most powerful ones in our government.

As long as we keep letting her off the hook for that, we'll be stuck with 'reporting' on her shopping habits and tastes in fashion. None of that matters a whit in comparison to the war, the economy, devoting public land to private profit, and the threats to individual freedom and civil liberties and reproductive rights coming from sectors she's aligned with.

Let's not allow ourselves to get that distracted.

The idea of Palin-generated Supreme Court appointments alone is enough to tie knots in my stomach.

Fuckin' WORD. She freaks me out, and the Obama campaign has officially given up on my state since her nomination. That breaks my heart, because I think he could have won it.

Not only that, writes New York Times columnist William Kristol, but "he picked someone who, in 1999 as Wasilla mayor, presided over a wedding of two Wal-Mart associates at the local Wal-Mart".

This changes everything.

God I hate the media so much.

The moment Palin was announced, the issues went straight into the crapper. My question now is will issues ever regain anything more than lip service.

Well, as long as the democratic VP doesn't do anything stupid like state publically that he shouldn't be Vice President, then the democrats should be OK.

McCain really pulled it out of the bag with this nomination. It appears that the Republican party is currently made of win.

I shop at Walmart and Sam's.

Then don't do this. If you just send the money directly to China, you will at least bypass Wal*mart's shitty labor practices and price-fixing racket.

September 26, 2008: Presidential debate with domestic policy focus, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS (tickets)
October 2, 2008: Vice Presidential debate, Washington University, St. Louis, MO (tickets)
October 7, 2008: Presidential debate in a town hall format, Belmont University, Nashville, TN (tickets)
October 15, 2008:Presidential debate with foreign policy focus, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (tickets)

[I'm thinkin' Oct 7 should be the most telling, though it will be overshadowed by Oct 2...]

footnote to the above: seating is extremely limited at each event and mostly reserved for the university students. All are televised.

rock on Chewie, for stealing my comment.

The debates are KEY in this election, ESPECIALLY the Palin one. She can run for awhile, but she can't hide, and the Gross Old Party is propping/prepping her within an inch of her life.

Biden should just bring popcorn and an ottoman.

And Desjardins?

Don't you dare stay home this election. Get your vote out there - people who stay home are a big reason why we're in this mess right now. Don't be one of the stupid folks - take the 30 minutes out of your life and VOTE.

Sarah Palin is the biggest insult in the politics of my lifetime, right after the Bush clan. We all need to make sure she stays way the hell out of the national spotlight.

desjardins, I have to echo that staying home is a risky thing to do. During the NH primary, everyone thought Obama had it in the bag because the polls favored him by 10 points above Hilary, his next closest opponents. Suprise - Hilary won that primary by an equal margin. There was a lot of theorizing that, aside from her base, many people chose to vote for her at the last minute as a "message" vote of support for a female candidate, thinking as they did that Obama would win anyway. Regardless of the reason, it showed that the polls can be very wrong. No one can know the outcome before the event, and the outcome depends on the activities of millions of unpredictable human beings. Unpredicted voter sectors can turn out in larger numbers than expected. People change their minds at the last minute, making gut-level decisions even they didn't contemplate until they were in the booth. The only chance you have to provide any insurance for your candidate is to cast your vote. It would only take 10% of Obama's voters deciding to stay home because he seemed destined to win the state in order for him to lose. It's a big risk. Don't leave it up to everyone else to determine who wins. Hardcore right-wingers do just about everything wrong, but they do one thing exactly right every time: they turn out to the polls and vote for the jackass they want in office. It's no surprise that they've gotten their wishes fulfilled for eight years. Let's not give it to them again.

Besides which, hell, even if he wins, I want him to win in an enormous fucking popular-vote landslide. So help send the message - overwhelming mandate for change and rejection of hard-right domination.

The debates are KEY in this election...

I keep telling myself that, but then I get this nagging feeling that the headlines on the day after the VP debate will say something like: "SARAH PALIN UNVEILS STYLISH NEW GLASSES FRAMES AT DEBATE", subheadline: "BIDEN TAKES HEAT FOR ACCUSING GOP OF TRYING TO SELL A 'PIG IN A POKE'".

My father has yet to respond to my email asking if he likes the idea of a creationist fundie who refused to ensure that her special needs child had the healthiest birth possible being second in command.

Hear, hear, Miko and LT! Desjardins, does one only vote for candidates in IL elections? I've said this before: Being able to vote on propositions in CA made me feel that I had more of a voice than I do in NY.