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If the shoe Fitz ...
OCT. 7 I know how newspapers can save money. I say this out of love, by the way, because I am well aware, having worked in newspapers for more than a decade, that their primary concern is saving money. They should stop covering politicians on the campaign trail. Quite simply, their rallies aren't news. They're not meant to be informational. They're pep rallies. Newspaper bigwigs are laying people off long after the remaining reporters look around the newsroom as say, "This is rock bottom." I know. I've been there and I still have friends who are there. Papers are merging, folding and choosing not to compete anymore, even in a booming market. I've stood in a newsroom when the editor or publisher trots out with his or her latest double-talk speech about "new and exciting ways" to approach journalism, such as creating the City Hall-Environmental Issues-Real Estate-College Football beat for one reporter to handle, as dumbstruck reporters stare and whisper to one another, "Is P.R. work really that bad?" So let's look at the political rallies for what they are. Rallies. Smear sessions. A chance to see what gets a reaction on the campaign trail so you can try it in a debate. They are attempts to intensify the political divide rather than provide any substance whatsoever when, more than ever, we need substance over style. Let's review this. Newspapers are struggling -- and when I say "struggling" I mean "not hitting the insane profit margins set forth by corporate hacks." So why spend gobs of money covering events you know will not be newsworthy? Why follow a candidate who will not make himself or herself available to reporters for those pesky gotcha questions such as, "What the f**k do you plan to do about this economy?" If I ran a newspaper, and I had a reporter on the trail, I'd ship an email to the campaign manager that says: "When your candidate has a message worth our readers' time, we'll come back. Until then, we're gonna say thanks but no thanks for this bridge to nowhere." OCT. 3 For those of you who did not watch the Vice Presidential debate, or tuned out, or lost concentration every time Sarah Palin winked at you, do I have some awesome news for you! You can read the transcript here. Or you can read the condensed version of the domestic affairs portion here, as translated by Yours Truly. The questions are as worded by moderator Gwen Ifill. The answers are not direct quotes but are the jist of what Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin said. Q: The House of Representatives this week passed a bill, a big bailout bill -- or didn't pass it, I should say. The Senate decided to pass it, and the House is wrestling with it still tonight. As America watches these things happen on Capitol Hill, Sen. Biden, was this the worst of Washington or the best of Washington that we saw play out? Biden: Neither the best nor the worst, but it’s the result of the past eight years of crap, and let me tell you about Barack Obama’s plan. Palin: Soccer moms know best. And John McCain said all along that this would happen. Q: You both would like to be vice president. Sen. Biden, how, as vice president, would you work to shrink this gap of polarization which has sprung up in Washington, which you both have spoken about here tonight? Biden: I have a record of reaching across the aisle, and John McCain is out of touch. Palin: I have a track record of reform, and Americans want something new. Q: The next question is to talk about the subprime lending meltdown. Who do you think was at fault? I start with you, Gov. Palin. Was it the greedy lenders? Was it the risky home-buyers who shouldn't have been buying a home in the first place? And what should you be doing about it? Palin: Blame the predator lenders. And Joe Six Pack and Hockey Moms need to band together to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Biden: Barack Obama warned us about this, and he will save us. Oh, and it’s John McCain’s fault because all he wanted to do was deregulate, including the health care industry. Q: Governor, please if you want to respond to what he said about Sen. McCain's comments about health care? Palin: Barack Obama voted 94 times against tax cuts. Biden: He did not. And John McCain voted 477 times in favor of raising taxes. Q: Would you like to have an opportunity to answer that before we move on? Palin: Let’s talk about taxes again. I’ll give answers the way I want to, even if it has nothing to do with your question because that’s what Americans want. I always reduced taxes as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. And John McCain is a maverick. Q: Sen. Biden, we want to talk about taxes, let's talk about taxes. You proposed raising taxes on people who earn over $250,000 a year. The question for you is, why is that not class warfare and the same question for you, Gov. Palin, is you have proposed a tax employer health benefits which some studies say would actually throw five million more people onto the roles of the uninsured. I want to know why that isn't taking things out on the poor, starting with you, Sen. Biden. Biden: We’re being fair. Ninety-five percent of Americans who are earning less than $150,000 will get a tax break. We love the middle class. John McCain does not. Palin: You’re screwing small businesses. Raising taxes is unpatriotic. Obama’s plan of higher taxes and nearly $3 trillion in new spending will harm our economy. By the way, John McCain’s health care plan, in which families will receive a $5,000 credit, is very good. Biden: John McCain wants to give Big Oil a huge tax break, and his health care plan is “the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.” Q: Now... I want to get -- try to get you both to answer a question that neither of your principals quite answered when my colleague, Jim Lehrer, asked it last week (emphasis mine), starting with you, Sen. Biden. What promises -- given the events of the week, the bailout plan, all of this, what promises have you and your campaigns made to the American people that you're not going to be able to keep? Biden: The Republican’s tax breaks to the rich suck. We’ll push on with education. Palin: Barack Obama voted in favor of some of those tax breaks. I have an awesome record of maverickness in Alaska. Q: So, Governor, as vice president, there's nothing that you have promised as a candidate that you would -- that you wouldn't take off the table because of this financial crisis we're in? Palin: No. Biden: Barack Obama voted for those tax breaks because the bill supported alternative energy. And now I’m going to bring up the tax breaks for Big Oil again. Q: Next question, Gov. Palin, still on the economy. Last year, Congress passed a bill that would make it more difficult for debt-strapped mortgage-holders to declare bankruptcy, to get out from under that debt. This is something that John McCain supported. Would you have? Palin: Yes. And I just want to thank John McCain for warning us that this financial crisis would happen. He sure is on top of things. Stick with me as I put Main Street and Wall Street in the same sentence because that’s what everyone else seems to be doing. Q: Sen. Biden, you voted for this bankruptcy bill. Sen. Obama voted against it. Some people have said that mortgage-holders really paid the price. Biden: Mortgage holders did not pay the price. It’s complicated. By the way, Barack Obama said two years ago that subprime mortgages would lead to trouble. John McCain is out of touch. Q: Gov. Palin, is that so? Palin: No, so let’s talk about my record on energy. We need energy independence. Q: Governor, I'm happy to talk to you in this next section about energy issues. Let's talk about climate change. What is true and what is false about what we have heard, read, discussed, debated about the causes of climate change? Palin: I don’t want to talk about the cause. I’ll talk about my record, and John McCain’s record, and how incredibly maverick-ific we are. Q: Senator, what is true and what is false about the causes?
Biden: Joe Biden says it’s man-made. We can’t fix the climate unless we know the cause, and Joe Biden knows the cause. Joe Biden knows we need renewable sources. John McCain has voted 20 times against renewable sources. If we drill at home, we won’t get a drop of our own oil for 10 years. Q: Let me clear something up, Sen. McCain has said he supports caps on carbon emissions. Sen. Obama has said he supports clean coal technology, which I don't believe you've always supported. Biden: I have always supported it. Q: Well, clear it up for us, both of you, and start with Gov. Palin. Palin: We need to drill. Americans want us to drill. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have never supported drilling for oil in our country. I support capping carbon emissions. Q: And on the clean coal issue? Biden: I have always supported clean coal. I am going to repeat John McCain’s record against voting for renewable energy sources. Q: The next round of -- pardon me, the next round of questions starts with you, Sen. Biden. Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples? Biden: Yes. The Constitution demands it. Palin: I am for extending same-sex benefits, but I absolutely want to make clear to all my constituents and all the family values wingnuts who must vote for me that I cannot stand gay marriage. Biden: I don’t support redefining what constitutes marriage but I’m in favor of extending their benefits, and I will take Gov. Palin at her word that she will extend the benefits as well. Palin: What he said. Q: Wonderful. You agree. On that note, let's move to foreign policy ... SEPT. 26 Just had to share this fact I read on Facebook: The average credit score, according to FreeCreditReport.com, is 692. I am more than $14,000 in debt. I just bought a laptop with my Dell account. I opened a new account three months ago. I was late on two payments this month (although I have since caught up). My score is 699. In other words, I'm above average. No wonder our economy sucks. |
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