Public Address | System (Home)

Posted at 11:10AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

Even David Farrar has praised the list, which does what the party should have done three years ago: focused more on fresh talent.

Indeed, but like the announcement of the National list a few weeks back could the media - and the parties themselves -- just stop pointing at the off-whites and penis-deficient candidates and expecting praise like a freshly toilet trained toddler who's made tinkle in the potty.

It's just a wee bit patronising, folks -- especially from people who (dare I say it) are still awfully monochromatic.

Posted at 11:14AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

Although I confess, it would have been better to see sometime PA sportsbloggers Grant Robertson and Hamish McDouall a bit higher up.

Robertson will almost certainly win Wellington Central, partly because he's a pretty good candidate and partly because the Nats decided to field Stephen Franks against him and Wellingtonians are unlikely to be moved by his slash-and-burn approach to centralised government.

And I'm not sure our democracy is quite ready to have Hamish as a Member of Parliament but I'll be fascinated to see how he fares against Chester Burrows in Wanganui.

Posted at 11:22AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

IMHO opinion the most worrying thing about Sarah Palin is that, well, she might just be the Flying Nun (or Gidget, it's hard to tell)

The current set of rumours about her possible fake pregnancy are a hoot too ....

Posted at 11:30AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

The current set of rumours about her possible fake pregnancy are a hoot too

Respectfully disagree there -- "weird and frankly distasteful" is the phrase I'd use, and I wish Obama would actually tell his supporters to chill the fuck out and stick to the issues. There's something a wee bit creepy about this.

Posted at 11:36AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

I wish Obama would actually tell his supporters to chill the fuck out and stick to the issues

indeed. that republican campaign is already looking like they've given themselves more rope than a KKK convention.

Posted at 11:38AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

It hasn't taken long for the muck-machine to fire up over Sarah Palin. It's interesting how predictable it all is. The Left and Right try to take the high moral ground and are ready to smash anyones character in their way. Who would be a politician? And I guess it makes for a good conversation starter on Public Address. I await those emails from Walt Monegan. If he has them let's see them, otherwise these little conspiracy theories just make a good story...ho hum.

Posted at 11:41AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

I guess it depends on whether or not you think they might be true or not (in which case trying to pull one over the press goes to her credibility) - remember it's Alaska, kind of like small town NZ, everyone knows everyone else's business, in the long run there will be no secrets there

There's really only one criteria for the electorate when choosing a VP in the US - "can they fill the spot if the President croaks" - she's definitely in Dan Quayle territory there

Posted at 11:43AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

hey but, ah democracy, what a winner.

Hamish McDouall; insighteful choice, looking forward to the candidates quiz.

Posted at 11:49AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

Well it seems obvious she hasn't even been vetted properly.
Huff Post article
McCain only talked to her once prior to selection... wow.
And then there is the hypocrisy of McCain attacking Obama on his lack of experience despite putting someone who was 18 months ago mayor of a town of 6500 people one geriatrics heart attack away from the presidency.
And now God is mad with the GOP and showing it with Gustav...

Posted at 11:54AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

There's really only one criteria for the electorate when choosing a VP in the US - "can they fill the spot if the President croaks" - she's definitely in Dan Quayle territory there

Yeah, Barack Obama levels of experience.

Posted at 11:55AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

There's something a wee bit creepy about this.

Agreed...I cringed a little when I read this over the weekend.

More importantly:

There's really only one criteria for the electorate when choosing a VP in the US - "can they fill the spot if the President croaks" - she's definitely in Dan Quayle territory there

But if this trooper thing gets legs we may be looking at a different candidate anyway. Either way the whole thing points more and more at a major lapse of judgement from McCain and whoever is giving him the nods.

Posted at 11:57AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

Hamish McDouall spoke at Drinking Liberally palmerston North a couple of weeks back; well worth listening to, and I'm wishing I had the chance to vote for him (sorry Iain). But I'm not moving to Whanganui and dealing with Michael laws to do so.

Posted at 11:58AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

God is mad with the Republicans? no - he's performing on cue

Posted at 11:59AM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

Yeah, Barack Obama levels of experience.

From National Review (linked elsewhere here)

That said: Can we conservatives please stop kidding ourselves about Barack Obama's "qualifications"? Yes, if I had been a Democratic donor back in 2006, I'd sure worry about whether Barack Obama had what it took to be president. That was before he took on the toughest political operation in America, before he beat Bill and Hillary Clinton, before he won 18 million primary votes.

Obama's nomination was not handed to him. He fought hard for it and won against the odds. "Qualifications" predict achievement. Once you have achieved, it doesn't matter what your qualifications are. Who cares whether the guy who built a big company from nothing didn't have much of a resume when he started? But if you are applying to run a big company built by somebody else, the resume matters ...

Posted at 12:03PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

The Dems only ran one anti-Quayle TV ad in 1988, and it turned out to be one more than they needed.

I think the same gloves-off approach with the VP candidate will work this time as well.

Posted at 12:04PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

I await those emails from Walt Monegan. If he has them let's see them, otherwise these little conspiracy theories just make a good story...ho hum.

It's rather more than that. There's quite a bit on the record there.

But -- how weird is this? -- the McCain camp doesn't appear to have investigated it, certainly not to the extent of contacting Monegan or searching local newspaper archives or, well, anything meaningful.

C'mon, Andrew: this quite a big job she's up for. What would have been your reaction if the Democrats had picked some as marginally qualified as this, someone who their candidate had met precisely once, and who is facing an ongoing ethics investigation?

Personally, I find the way most of the major Republican commentators have greeted this -- hey, who cares, she's anti-abortion and she can hold a gun! -- yet another depressing example of the way those people have infantilised a political culture on which the rest of the world relies. It's really bullshit.

Posted at 12:04PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

There's really only one criteria for the electorate when choosing a VP in the US

Really there can only be one criterion.

Posted at 12:13PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

There's really only one criteria for the electorate when choosing a VP in the US - "can they fill the spot if the President croaks" - she's definitely in Dan Quayle territory there.

Yeah, Barack Obama levels of experience.

Er, hardly. Obama has a degree in international relations, and he graduated magna cum laude at Harvard's law school. He has introduced sophisticated bills in the US Senate and, of course, has run a hell of a campaign. And unlike Palin, he didn't just get his passport last year.

Palin, on the other hand, said in an interview a few weeks ago that she didn't actually know what the vice president does.

Really.

Posted at 12:22PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

My favourite pic of Palin so farso far

Posted at 12:29PM on 1 Sep 08. Permalink.

"I'm a bit like Obama": says John Key.

I'm a bit like Usain Bolt myself.