Posts by Mark Harris
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Shakesville just posted another one of those weirdly honest microphone-catches from Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan. Even conservatives think they're toast, at this point
Read her column in which of course she said the exact opposite.
And they have the gall to call McCain "cynical??!?
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"Moose attack" FTW
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But some are less ready than others
(sorry, hit post instead of preview)
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The Kilkenny link made me think a little. The repugs are talking up her 6 year mayorship and 20 month governorship as sufficient "executive experience" to be that proverbial heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world today.
Kilkenny wrote:
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
So I thought I'd look for NZ equivalents, just so we can appreciate the level of "experience" gained. Wasilla is, apparently because it says it is, a City. In NZ, we require a city to have 50,000 residents .
(2001 figures for comparison with Wasilla)
Dunedin 114,342
Napier 53,661Okay, we're not going to find a comparison in our city councils. Let's look at district councils"
Otorohanga 9,279
Mackenzie 3,717
Kaikoura 3,483
Opotiki 9,150
Kawerau 6,975
Carterton 6,849Umm, or even town populations:
Red Beach 5,658
Orewa 5,634So, there's your equivalent. We don't even have governing bodies for those two populations - they come under the Rodney District Council. While I'm sure Penny Webster is a lovely person, I don't know that I'd find her qualified to be VPOTUS.
So, let's look at the governorship part. The only comparable bodies in NZ (in terms of population) are regional councils and then only 3:
Alaska (2000) 628,932
Wellington (2001) 427,545
Canterbury 494,952
Auckland 1,173,639NZ's GDP was $US128.1B (official cash rate) in 2007; Alaska's was $US39.9B.
Would you say that any of our local or national politicians are ready to be POTUS?
As Bill Clinton (and others) have said, nobody is ready to be President on day 1
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Bugger.
I find myself in agreement with Craig. (except for his lurid Thatcher-worship)
Somebody please send Satan some ice skates? He's obviously in need of them...
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That said, I married a librarian and they really can party!
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a "naughty librarian" sort of way".
???
::shakes head sadly::
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You persist in thinking it's any of your business, which mistifies me a bit
As a public figure, the actions she takes are in the public interest (we get a pass as observers), far more so than the vacuous doings of Spears, Lohan and Hilton, which are only in the public fascination.
Even as a State Governor, that's the case, although an argument could be made that it was really only the business of Alaskans. Now, she's an international figure because VPOTUS just IS by definition. Her doings ARE our business because they could affect the way we live. We have every right, therefore, to ask questions and discuss.
To reiterate, the fact that he told her to not give the speech and take a rest (as opposed to finding herself some local care in the expectation of giving birth) indicates to me neither of them thought she was anywhere near active labour.
But she didn't do that, either. She chose her own course which many find to be more than odd, even a little reckless. There are all sorts of reasons I could postulate for why but you wouldn't like them and, besides, I don't want to go there any more than you.
BUT - if I was Alaskan, I would be asking why the head of state government ignored expert advice and put herself and her youngest citizen at risk, and what that says about her judgement. And if I was a USAnian at all, I'd be asking it even harder now that she's putting herself forward to be #2 to hold the Football.
McCain's took ages to be released.
Did I miss something? The link above pointed to them being released in 1999 when he was vying with W for the Republican nomination.
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@Matthew
I don't disagree, but the chap on the video was touting her experience as CiC of the Alaskan National Guard as proof of foreign affairs experience as much as command. Deploying the National Guard in emergency situations is what we call "civil defence" in New Zealand - she's not sending them off to be shot (at least, I've never heard of an armed uprising in Alaska that the NG had to quell) -
@ George
ROFLMAO! FTW!!