Chicago Community Organizer VS Wasilla Mayor

Tonight Sarah Palin, the presumptive Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican Party, mocked Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer. Defending her experience as Mayor of Wasilla, she said, “…I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” This begs the question, what were Sarah’s responsibilities as Mayor of Wasilla?

Being Mayor of Wasilla, a small town of a little over 6400, may sound like you have 6400 residents depending on your decisions in order to enjoy a more prosperous, safe community. Unfortunately, anyone that gets drawn into that misty-eyed small town nostalgia doesn’t know Wasilla.

First, Wasilla resides in the larger Matanuska-Susitna Borough (population 59,322). The boroughs are a lot like counties and actually have a greater influence on the people of “The Valley” (area that includes Houston, Big Lake, Wasilla, and Palmer). The Mat-Su Borough handles the schools, building codes, and considering a large portion of residents live outside of city limits in this area, impacts more lives.

Now what does a community organizer do? John Maki, at the Windy Citizen, has a great explanation of a community organizer. He says:

Community organizing is old-fashioned, bare-knuckle politics for the little guy.

The task of community organizer goes beyond passing funds to build a sports complex, or snuggling up to Uncle Ted to get more that $22 million for your small town, The community organizer plays real politics, pushing for change by educating and motivating the community to take action.

We need change in America. After watching Palin deliver her speech tonight (I had to, she’s Alaskan from Wasilla), I realized one thing for certain…McCain/Palin will only deliver more of the same.

OTHER LINKS IN DEFENSE OF COMMUNITY ORAGANIZERS AND SMALL TOWN MAYORS:

1. Sally Kohn, Defending Community Organizing

To Smear or not to Smear: The Ethical Quandary of Bloggers

Blogging is changing politics. As the mainstream media continues to fail the American public, an army of passionate truth-seekers have unleashed a stream of content. And while some content is of the highest quality, there’s also a subset of this community that goes head to head with the tabloids.

The McCain campaign is accusing the Obama campaign, and the left-wing blogging community of a smear campaign that is taking place against Sarah Palin and her daughter Bristol.

First, it is ridiculous to suggest Obama has anything to do with the left-wing bloggers. The rumors started out of a bizarre series of events that only Sarah Palin can truthfully answer. And now she has, at least in part, by explaining that her daughter is 5 months pregnant and Trig is only 4 months old.

Okay, end of story. And in case you need reminding, Obama’s campaign had nothing to do with this story.

Here is Obama’s statement:

“I have said before and I will repeat again: People’s families are off limits,” Obama said. “And people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18 and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics.”

On charges that his campaign has stoked the story via liberal blogs:

“I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us,” he said. “Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired.”

(source: ABCNews Blog)

What Obama should have added was McCain’s response to the Jermoe Corsi smear book, “Gotta keep your sense of humor,” because if I recall, Obama’s wife has been called anti-American and unpatriotic, Obama’s been accused of infanticide, unpatriotic and anti-American. Not to mention that Obama’s constantly battled rumors of being a Muslim, that he’s had connections with domestic terrorist Ayers, that he’s had gay sex and smoked coke with Larry Sinclair, that he maybe dealt drugs while in college, that his daughters are unruly and obnoxious, that he’s secretly supporting Kenya, that he doesn’t even have a valid birth certificate…

Okay, let’s stop for a second.

Do bloggers have the right to follow what appears to be a smear campaign in search for the truth?

I truly believe that Bristol is off limits. This story was based on too much circumstantial pieces of evidence. And a blogger needs to have some journalistic integrity to hold back on a story until some facts check out. However, the truth is, had the left-wing blogging community not pushed the story, the voters who vote based on family values would never know that even the most perfect “appearances” are a facade. The secret wouldn’t have come out until after the election. The smear, in this case, revealed the truth. The same can be said for the Obama/Rezko connection. As more inquires were made, more truth was revealed to the point where I think we can rest satisfied that it’s a non-issue connection.

I don’t think for a second any blogger really wished to harm the Palin family, and especially Bristol and Trig, but when you step into the public spotlight without having been properly vetted, you are no longer your own. You stand for the ideas and policies behind your campaign. And the vetting is going to done real-time.

There is a thin line between following a real story, and pursing what appears to be a smear, however, I tend to go for the side of following the smear, lest every public figure cry “smear” when the truth comes closer to being revealed.

The Slow Exit: McCain’s Iraq Plan, Suicide and Coming Home

The slow exit of soldiers from Iraq, not as heroes draped in flag covered coffins shielded from the cameras of journalists, but as veterans of a war that has left them alone in a battle against demons only war can conjure, is the silent casualty of our mishandled policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Barack Obama has consistently made treatment for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) a central part in his plan for leaving Iraq and treating our troops with the respect they deserve post-war.

Also read: 22,000 Calls Received by Special Suicide Hot Line, Over 1,200 Suicides

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.

McCain Tries to Stand Next to the Pillars of History

Barack Obama’s candidacy is historical. No other major political party has nominated an African American for the President of the United States. No other nominee has been backed by as many Americans as Obama.

John McCain’s candidacy is historical too. No other major party has nominated a man as old as McCain for their first term to be President of the United States. And the only older candidate to be nominated was Ronald Regan for reelection, and it was later revealed, likely suffered from the early stages of Alzheimer’s at the time.

McCain is set to announce his vice presidential pick. This will likely be leaked to the press shortly after Obama delivers what should be an electrifying speech to the 70,000 supporters at Invesco Field.

McCain will try, in his own little way, to steal the spotlight from Obama.

And McCain will be seen as merely a little man standing next to the true pillars of history…a speech on the anniversary of “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr (who ironically John McCain battled against recognizing with a holiday), delivered by a historical candidacy…the historical kind that doesn’t forget who they were just a few years back.

Note: The reference to the pillars invokes the mocking Republicans that were berating the “Greek columns” on Obama’s stage. This just tells you how out of touch Republicans are….have they not been in Washington before? Actually, they know full well the neo-classical columns that decorate Washington DC…but they also know that middle America has likely never visited that place, and they want to keep it that way.

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

Take the Poll: Biden’s Strengths

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