Pretty Dull

Last night's debate is being viewed by many pundits and analysts as rather boring. Politco.com went so far as to say it was the worst debate since the format became a fixture of presidential elections. While I will not go that far, I will concede that neither candidate strayed too far from their prepackaged campaign talking points.

We did not see the lively exchange between the candidates as witnessed last week between Palin and Biden. Tom Brokaw and the debate rules were pretty firm in not allowing either men to address each other or have time for necessary rebuttals.

While I am not wild on the idea of nationalizing mortgages as John McCain suggested last night, it was refreshing to hear a specific plan to combat the housing crisis. Obama served up "pie in the sky" proposals without laying out any details, most importantly how the government will fund such initiatives.

After Sarah Palin's debate debut last week, we witnessed countless news stories of her alleged refusal to answer Gwen's questions. I do not even remotely agree with that analysis but nonetheless, the stories were out there.

Barack Obama on the other hand clearly dodged several questions last night. The rare answers he gave were too vague and wordy. McCain's straight talk was a refreshing difference from the same drab liberal rhetoric we have been hearing for a year from Barack Obama.

There is one debate remaining and John McCain must throw everything in the GOP arsenal against Obama. McCain pulled a lot of punches last night that could have easily knocked out his opponent.

The Maverick has seven days to revise his strategy and I will be optimistic that he is merely saving his best performance for last.

Obama's Support

Wonder where it all comes from?

Besides moveon.org, George Soros, Hollywood and the liberal elite; there is an article this morning in the New York Post that sheds light on a new sect supporting the Messiah.

"Volunteers supporting Barack Obama picked up hundreds of people at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and drug-rehab centers and drove them to a polling place yesterday on the last day that Ohioans could register and vote on the same day, almost no questions asked."

The article can be found here.

So we can now add drug addicts and convicted felons to his already questionable list of endorsers.

Also, there may be investigations into how much campaign money is coming from foreign donors on government watch lists. It is no secret that the world supports Obama over McCain because he will bow down to foreign pressure. He has made remarks that can lead us to believe he will negotiate away our country. These potential terrorists on American watch lists realize that and are among his most steadfast supporters.

Barack Obama needs a lesson in American history and what has been our bedrock principle for decades.

As a conservative ally of mine said in regards to a class at the university entitled "Terrorist Communications"...

"Terrorist Communication? There is none".

Lead Shrinks As Attacks Grow

With the rhetoric and advertising on both sides growing increasingly more divisive and negative, a CBS poll conducted after the VP debate shows Obama's lead nationally at four points. Prior to the debate, Obama's lead was more than double that figure at a comfortable nine points.

The pit bull has been unleashed and at a number of campaign events and interviews this weekend, including one with The New York Times, Governor Palin took some serious shots at Obama. Not only did she invoke numerous references to his close relationship with the wrong Reverend Wright and radical terrorist Bill Ayers, but she also said of Obama: "This is a man who does not see America as you and I do...".

I understand the importance of bringing this issue to the forefront of the campaign. A person's friends and companions are extensions of themselves to a degree. I also wholeheartedly agree that Obama was unscathed by the revelations of who his close friends really are but this is a slippery slope for the GOP to go down. One slip up by Ms. Palin and the liberal media will accuse the party of race-baiting.

Obama's camp however has not been the clean, issues-based one he promised to the American people. Their campaign purchased two websites (keatingeconomics.com and johnmccainrecord.com) entirely devoted to the same old liberal smears we have seen for years.

They ignore factual evidence and on the Keating case conveniently leave out John McCain's exoneration. He was cleared of all charges but admitted personal failure. It was at that point in his life that he began his career as a reformer. We do not expect our leaders to be free of flaws, that is completely impractical. We do however judge them on how they handle the mistake;if they learn from it or continue down the same destructive path.

True character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Nobody was looking at John McCain after his name was cleared following the Keating proceedings but he did the right thing. He learned and moved on with his career, remaining cognizant of his past mistake but vowing not to let it happen again. This is character.

Barack Obama has none. He is nothing more than a talking head for the Democrat establishment in this country. He will smear, lie, flip-flop, and attack at will to avoid any accountability for the plethora of skeletons in his closet.

This is the same old Chicago "politics as usual" but now on a national stage.

"There You Go Again Joe"

The line was a stroke of genius as Ronald Reagan constantly used it to describe delusional liberals.

Sarah Palin effectively put to rest any criticism about her readiness to be on the ticket. There were many who described her as a drag on the team, bringing down McCain's popularity, but she silenced her critics last night.

The Drudge Report has a poll in which +282,000 people (70% of the poll) believe Palin was the clear winner. Obviously the Obama camp will try to save face as they claim Biden had the better showing but the public and the polls will reflect otherwise.

For the second time in five weeks, Palin saved McCain's shrinking poll numbers. In the coming days we will see the polls go back to being within the margin of error.

She was calm from the second she set foot on stage and politely asked "Can I call you Joe?". She had the compassion which has attracted so many supporters and still maintained the "Straight Talk" that conservatives long to hear. Most importantly, she did very well among independent voters surveyed last night.

One fact is certain: Win or lose in November, Palin has now made a national name for herself. She will be a conservative's idol and a liberal's nightmare for many years to come.

Enter Palin

Tonight is the highly anticipated debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin.

I believe this debate will attract a larger viewing audience than last Friday's presidential pairing with McCain and Obama. It will surely smash records of prior veep debates.

While Palin herself has never claimed sexism, the media has on her behalf. If Joe Biden comes off as making her appear submissive, it will clearly backfire. I have read reports that Obama aides are training the long-winded Senator to be succinct in his story telling and to always refer to his opponent as Governor Palin and not the dreaded "Sarah", which may look as though he is trivializing her position.

To be fair, the bar is pretty low for Sarah Palin tonight and merely showing up on stage next to the distinguished Senator from Delaware will make her look more credible and potentially presidential.

There is a lot of danger with letting "Biden be Biden" as some liberals believe. However, there is little risk and much reward to let Governor Palin be herself. The main reason why she is stumbling so badly with the press is due to suppression from McCain aides. They were trying to put a muzzle on her, and the pitbull didn't care for that.

She needs to be on the attack tonight and force Biden to defend Obama's record; a record incidentally that Biden does not wholly agree with.

In addition to the attacks on Obama, she needs to sink her teeth into Biden as well. As we have seen in the Democrat primary debates, Biden tends to fly off the handle when trying to defend himself and many of his gaffes come as a result.

I have confidence in Sarah Palin this evening as I have seen footage of her prior debates in which she was the underdog. I will maintain faith that tonight the hockey mom persona will stay in Wasilla, AK and the world will, at long last, be introduced to Sarah Barracuda.

"W"

Initially I was not even going to waste my time addressing this issue but it has been weighing heavily on my conscience.

Oliver Stone is a very talented writer/director/producer. He has won three Oscars and some of his films are part of Hollywood gold (Platoon, Scarface, Wall Street etc).

Stone is no stranger to controversy or criticism and has tackled movies regarding two former presidents: JFK and Nixon. But his latest project is the most offensive of all.

W examines the life (as Stone sees it) of President George W. Bush. Based on the promos floating around the internet, the film will be anything but flattering (I actually saw that Stone decided to include a scene based on Bush's infamous pretzel mishap).

The line beneath the title reads Based on a True Story which could not be more misleading. Unfortunately however movie-goers will mistake this fiction for fact and may villainize the president even further.

The timing of its' release is no coincidence as Stone is an outspoken Hollywood liberal. The movie is to be released a mere 19 days before election day.

Will this film have an impact on the election? Stone sure hopes it might. However I would suggest that the people going to see this filth have probably endorsed Barack Obama.

At least Hollywood film studious displayed a shred of decency as Stone did not receive any financial backing from them. The film itself is heavily financed by the Chinese.

Like Bill Maher's trashy and insulting Religulous, I would expect W to earn rave reviews from the media elites.

My advice: Go see An American Carol.

Will It Pass?

Tonight the Senate will vote on a revised version of the bailout bill in an attempt to win over the House once more.

Earlier in the week, the fiscal conservatives and liberal deficit hawks (most of whom are involved in close races with Republican candidates in their home districts) killed a bill that they viewed as doing more harm than good.

This is a serious problem we are faced with today and it requires a serious solution. One way or another, this legislation will be paid for by this generation and the next.

Is the revised bill perfect? Far from, but it does more to address the problems than its' predecessor. It includes tax breaks for corporations and the middle class while increasing the amount the FDIC protects in an account.

It is an inevitability that legislation will be created to address the economic situation. And the longer Congress delays its' passing, the more liberal it will become.

The bill itself has grown from a heavy 100 page document to a morbidly obese one at more than 400 pages.

It has become what politicians deem a "Christmas Tree Bill"; wherein members attach provisions for themselves onto the resolution. (i.e. hanging ornaments on a tree)

There are two things in the world the public should never see how they are made:

Sausages and laws.