OMG…Palin Has a Tanning Bed. Palin Must Have an Energy Plan Too!

What’s ironic about the story of Sarah Palin’s tanning bed , is how much it aligns with apolitical Paris Hilton. Remember back with McCain was against “celebrities” before he decided he was for them? That’s when Paris Hilton came out with her own ad, and convinced the old man that attractive women could have smart energy plans too - who cares if some have to read them from a teleprompter.

After Sarah Palin fired the chef, and got rid of the corporate jet on EBay, (now I give her credit for this) she took the money she was bilking tax payers for by staying at her own home in Wasilla and splurged a little bit on a tanning bed for her personal use while in Juneau.

Now I’m an ex-Alaskan, and I know that those long winters can be tough. And a person’s choice to expose themselves to harmful UV rays is really between that person and their skin, I mean next of kin. What I can’t get though - if Palin’s a frequent tanner (and she has to be to decide she needs her own tanning bed) even if her pregnancy didn’t show up, certainly her lost tan during the months of December, January and February would have. People would have noticed her original color.

Either that or she was tanning while pregnant.

You tell me … did she stop tanning, or just kept on feeling the glow?

Sarah Palin’s First Gaffe - Introducing the Gaffe-O-Meter

Sarah Palin’s first gaffe was going to happen. Hey, gaffing is part of being a candidate right? (I was going to a have the YouTube video, but it just so happens it’s no longer available - go figure.) You can check the story out here: Palin Makes Her First Gaffe (HuffingtonPost, September 8, 2008)

To help rate Palin’s first gaffe (and other gaffe’s that happen), I’ve developed the Gaffe-O-Meter.

The Gaffe-O-Meter’s scientific rating matrix is based on thoroughly subjective review, and considers three criteria for its final basis. The three aspects considered are:

1. Is there a high likelihood that an average person would perceive a gaffe? (High +100 points, Medium +75, Low +50)

2. Was the gaffe immediately caught and corrected? (-25 points)

3. Did people clap, nod, otherwise support the gaffe? (+25 points)

Using this method I’ll give Sarah low rating for the first benchmark. Most Americans probably think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government agencies. Hey they have “federal” in their name, right? And in fact, there was a time, prior to 1968, that they were government ran.

On the second point, Palin said this pretty straight faced and with conviction and no one caught her. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Lieberman at her shoulder, and the old white haired dude she did have - John McCain doesn’t understand economics that well. Point being, she’ doesn’t get a catch reduction.

Point three, did people clap? Yep, even Mr. John McCain himself. However, here again is the guy that uses a geography-bee as his national security litmus test (ie which state is closest to the USSR? and which Iraq province borders Pakistan?). So because people clapped and supported her gaffe, she gets another 25 points. So yes, this is a serious gaffe, but not the kind that would cost her old boy McCain the election.

Just another sign the Red and Purple people of this Country are easily fooled.

Political Deja Vu

The Bush years are starting over, even before they’ve ended. Watching Tucker Bounds, I’m reminded of the incompetent doofus, and how easily Rove twisted former Bush spokesperson, Scott McClellan, into spewing lies to the public.

Does the McCain campaign really think the American public is stupid enough to buy this story that Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience because she was “Commander-in-Chief” of the national guard?

It should be pointed out that at the end of this video, Tucker Knows-no-Bounds says she commands the Alaska National Guard. It’s been confirmed by Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, that the Governor only commands the Alaska National Guard in times of natural disasters and other state emergencies. All national deployments are under the direction of the President of the United States. The only natural disaster that they’ve been deployed for are wildfires.

For some reason I’m getting this feeling that I’m being pushed a bogus story by a campaign desperate to twist the story in their favor, but looking only the more foolish for having done so.

What do you think?

Does Size Matter in Politics?

On Friday, John McCain will announce his running mate to a “massive crowd.”

The McCain campaign is hoping to have 15,000 people at the Ohio rally — roughly five times the size of his largest crowd to date.

(Source: CNN)

15,000? A massive rally? Five times is largest crowd to day?

In sports, the difference between 5,000 and 70,000 is the difference between a high school playoff football game and the NFL Superbowl. So how can CNN even describe this as “massive”, unless massive is a completely arbitrary term used to manipulate the general readers perception of the enthusiasm surounding a candidate.

Well John McCain, have fun at your massive rally.

Photo Credit: Yes, this is my cat Vinny and his adoring crowd of two. He enjoys sitting on this tailed-tennis ball thingy…don’t ask me why.

Great Poster….Love It!

It’s not often that I post others work without much to say, but I think this is a great poster parodying the Men in Black theme. The creator also has some great McCain posters, so check out their profile on Daily KOS, or the blog, Dudehiattva.com.

- ISM

Barack Obama’s Veep Choice is…

… Joe Biden!

No announcement has been made yet…this is just my prediction.

Everyone is waiting. (I have a company picnic to attend so I may be wildly off when the news comes out.)

We’ve all signed up and received that text message.

We’re all part of the media now…no more insider tip from an anonymous source going directly to the mainstream media complex.

The people have White House inside access.

Or so we think.

Who the Hell Gets Polled Anyway?

Up. Down. Swing Around. Poll Dancing Explained.

Obama’s in trouble. Registered voters are now switching to McCain. Will he be back up by Friday?

Or will he drop again?

If you’re like me and you follow the daily tracking pulls such as the Gallup and the Rassmussen poll, you’re likely to get confused. How is it that people change their minds so often? I know that despite my candidate’s missteps I don’t change my mind…unless of course it’s revealed that he slept with his videographer or something.

As I’ve been working my way through The History of Western Philosophy (by Bertrand Russell) I figure this is a situation where we need to call on the wisdom of Socrates (complete BS of course, as Socrates and Plato weren’t necessarily fond of democracy and therefore would probably not enjoy polling in the first place).

5 Ways to Get Polled

The question “Who is Polled?” is a matter of deduction. A few things must be established and I’m going to attempt to answer them in completely biased fashion.

1. You must answer the phone despite the fact that you do not recognize the number on caller-ID. Or you do not have caller ID. Or you’re very lonely and would just like to have someone to talk pass a few minutes with.

2. You have to have found justification to have both a land line and a cellphone…which means your either use dial-up or DSL, or you’d swore you’d never use a cellphone because the government can listen in, or you’re concerned you might have to call 911 when you have the dreaded no bars.

3. You have to be unemployed, retired, or a stay a home parent. You could be all three, but that means number 4 would negate you’re chance at being polled.

4. You have to have nothing to do. Seriously, who wants to answer a series of question? And if you do want to answer a series of questions, it’s likely your interested in skewing the results to make a point.

5. Lastly, you’ll need to watch C-SPAN, FOX News, American Idol, be swayed by advertising but swear that you’re not, be scare of terrorists but more scared of the economy, remember one liners, have a disdain for nuanced diplomacy….

I hope I’ve answered all your questions about who get’s polled and why, and if you think you have something to add…please help me out.

Thanks. ISM

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