McCain's Chicago $4-million, Palin 'surge'

I wonder what Lobbyists or Corps popped for that grand sum !! Here, I thought, after all that lightening and thunder from the Bush-McCain Republican convention, the amount would have been doubled or tripled, but I guess Chicago wasn't that impressed. You seen one Republican convention, you see all of them. I especially like their plank, in their platform, that allowed for lying, down on the job, that is !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

Remember when Republicans mocked community service at the RNC Convention? Just proves that stereotypes can be correct sometimes. Republicans don't want the government to take care of poor people nor do they don't want private charity to take care of them either. Why else would you mock community service?

mark marx, you must have been watching some other convention. The one I saw featured several GOP speakers not mocking community service, but praising it. What they did mock was what they see as Senator Obama's overreliance on his South Side community organizing as part of his credentials to be President.

No one was mocking community service. There was a comparison of the responsibilities of a mayor to the responsibilities of a community activist.

So the campaign goes, twisting, twisting.

I thought that after McCain was officially nominated his campaign was getting $80 Million in Public Funding and would not be allowed to accept any private donations?

Please, grow up. No one was "mocking community service." Obama's own campaign was sidelining Palin by essentially saying her time as a mayor was unimportant because the city wasn't big enough to matter. I have always voted Democrat, but the more whining I hear from people after being so hypocritical, the less I support Barack. At the end of the day, he can't deliver on 85% of the things he says he's going to do. That's how it works, and I'm not so naive as to assume that somehow he'll be able to change the world with the snap of his fingers.

So what am I left with? A bunch of promises that sound hollow, people assuming that it's everyone's responsibility to carry those who don't even try, and a blatantly broken promise about taking public financing. I'm not saying McCain is the end-all and be-all, but at least he's not insulting my intelligence.

First of all, they didn't mock community service. They were mocking Senator Barack Obama's claims of qualifying experience for the presidency based on his time as a community organizer.

This woman is the most frightening politician in my lifetime. What are people thinking?!

Don, Funny that an Obama supporter says "support the troops." I thought Obama was one of those great Democrats who voted to send the troops overseas but then declined the money to send them over the supplies they needed. Support the troops! Vote for someone who has been one!

Yes, Rudy G. did mocked community service. Watch the replay again. If their reasoning for VP is governor executive experience then I guess Blago would beat them all. And how many of you would want him to be VP?

Obama/Biden '08

Rudy G, McCain and McPalin all mocked Obama's community organizing. Too bad. These folks are so out of touch with America and the American people, it's as if they are campaigning on another planet of their own -- THE MAVERICKS! Uugghhh....

The reason they "mocked" Obama's experience as a community organizer, is because Obama's campaign stated that she had "just" been a small-town mayor. She countered,(successfully I might add) that a mayor is alot like a community organizer. Typical Democrats, All they do is whine, but offer NO new ideas.

Barack Obama supports the troops. The Republicans who started the war are lying about his votes, which are part of the public record. So look it up. Fact: Since Obama came to Washington in January of 2005, every single Senate Democrat has voted for every single Iraq funding bill that has come to the Senate floor until President Bush vetoed a timetable for withdrawal. [HR 4939, Vote 112, 5/4/06, Passed 78-20, D 43-0; R 34-20; I 1-0; Vote 261, HR 5631, Bill passed, 100-0; D: 44-0: 55-0; I: 1-0] 54-0; I: 1-0; 9/29/06; Vote #366, Conference Report adopted 93-0: R: 51-0; D: 41-0 (ND 37-0, SD 4-0); I: 1-0; 12/21/06; Vote #126, HR 1591, Passed 51-47: R 2-46; D 48-0 (ND 43-0, SD 5-0); I 1-1; 3/29/07]

The democrats also tried to discount Sarah's experience as the Governor of Alaska, which is again, more experience in governmental
executive leadership than being a community organizer.
That was the SPECIFIC point they were making. They were also not in attack or offense mode, but were defending her in reply to the democrats accusations.

As far as community service goes, Republicans have been trying to encourage and develop faith based community service organizations for many years now, while democrats have whined that it violates the separation of church and state.

Jane, surely you jest. Liberal women just can't get over the fact that a Conservative woman will be the next Vice Preisdent. God forbid she has a family, AND a full-time job. Shame on liberal women, you fight against what you fought for.. Palin is the NEW Feminism.. Not the old whiny Steinem types

You know what, I'm sick of Palin already. I am also sick of watching McCain sit back with a smug look on his face while he's making her do all the work.

I can't wait until this election is over. I'm so over all of it.

Many of the Democratic posts since the announcement of Sarah Palin as VP nominee of the GOP have been interesting. They come across as fearing that Palin being on the Republican ticket may tip the general election to McCain. If she is such a bad candidate the Democrats should be dancing in the streets instead of attacking Palin and her family. And this tactic by the Left Wing Media and some of the Obama zealots has backfired. The Republicans with Palin on the ticket seem to be energized. Raising 4 million dollars in Obama's backyard would not have happened a few weeks ago before the Palin announcement.

Barack Obama is a "manufactured" candidate. He gives a great speech at the 2004 convention and all of the sudden he's the Democratic nominee for president?? Hillary was so right.

I did not see Palin on the Sunday news shows. Know why? It is not because the evil media will be unfair, it is because she is uninformed and they need to teach her what to say. If a vice presidential candidate cannot even go on "Meet The Press" what the heck is she ready for? Gimme a break, it is news show, not the real world!

Maybe by tonight, Gov. Palin will have figured out what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually do.

Maybe somebody at the reception can ask her why she cut her State's Special Olympics budget in half, no one in her state can recall her ever having a disability platform yet she felt compelled to pander to the parents of special needs kids at the convention as their "friend and advocate"? My friends, with friends like her...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/us/politics/07needs.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

It seems like every time she speaks, she has a credibility issue: from supporting the Bridge to Nowhere, Beauty and Earmark Queen, Mouthpiece for Big Oil, and now Special Needs. Whatever she says, think "opposite".

This story would be much more relevant if the Trib/SWAMP would actually post a story about the bump in the polls for McCain. He's almost even or ahead by four points depending on the polls. That's a huge swing and certainly worthy of at least a small headline on the front page. But, as usual, the Swamp and the online Trib are going out of their way to protect their agenda and keep you from getting the full picture.

What I am tired of is other people telling me what is community service, who is qualified, who is patriotic, who has the experience or doesn't. Maybe I am just crazy, but I thought the voter was the one who gets to decide or do we just live in a society that has to be spoon fed what to think? All it does is divide us even further.
It is funny that the party of Lincoln, a president who died bringing this country together, are doing everything they can to keep us divided, in a state of muck, and slowly losing our ability to keep this country ahead economically.

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

Let me make sure I understand all this - Palin transferred to 6 universities in 4/5 years before she graduated, and McCain only had 5 students below him in class rank at the Naval Academy. Obama was the first black editor of Harvard Law Review.

AND Palin - HAPPY HER DAUGHTER MADE THE CHOICE TO HAVE THE BABY??? WAIT A MINUTE - PALIN DOESN'T EVEN WANT WOMEN TO HAVE A CHOICE EVEN IN CASES OF RAPE!! Palin speak with forked tongue I think!!!!

I did not see Obama at any of the eight Town Hall meetings proposed by McCain. Know why? It is because he is uninformed and can't speak without a teleprompter to tell him what to say. If a presidential candidate cannot even go on to a simple town hall meeting with his challenger to answer a few questions from regular citizens, what the heck is he ready for? Gimme a break, it's just a town hall meeting!

You have to love Chicago politics. From all the comments, it is clear this is going to be a brawl. What about Freddie, Fannie, and ACORN. http://www.boppoll.com
Obama 1,054,091
McCain 485,684
When does the public money kick in?

Jane says Palin is the most frightening politician of our lifetime. Meanwhile, today the CTA is in a 60 million dollar hole, 32 million of which comes from our governor giving free rides to seniors and 26 million because their tax increase on real estate transactions isn't generating enough money. Daley's bottled water tax isn't bringing in half the money he expected. Palin, however is returning $2900 to every Alaska resident in tax rebates. Blago would have certainly spent it and not returned it. And Jane thinks Palin is more frightening than Blago and Daley?

Crying theme with Democrat posts has to do with national polls.

It can't be Obama flipping his positions on abortion, Iraq, and now taxes.

USA needs no more flips!

Now you can change and fix corrupt Chicago politics.

Welcome back to Illinois, Senator Obama

Finally, the people in IL are realizing that Obama has done nothing for our state and is an "empty suit". Does anyone here have a clue if he has added any value to us as an elected official? If so, I would love to know what it is. It seems to me he has just run for another office the entire time he has been in office. (I bet Alaska people can tell you what Palin has done for them and I bet they know in Arizona too)

I'm getting disheartened that this election is turning into a war of the cult of personalities now. Palin's meteoric rise to stardom suddenly eclipses Obama's cult-like fervor and I'm hardly hearing answers to issues on both sides. Just "I'm qualified" or "He's more of the same" or "He's Paris Hilton-esque". But what are you clowns going to do about my paycheck? What are you going to do to try and let me keep most of it instead of going to some tax-heavy government quick-fix scheme? What about my son's education? And insuring he gets proper medical care if he gets hurt without a socialist bureaucracy? What are you going to do to fix Iraq and if not how are you going to insure American lives fighting there get home but have fought for something honorable? Shut up already about "He's bah blah blah" or "She's blah blah blah". I want to hear "Here's what I'm really going to do for you and your family:..." Please. This country deserves more than a "US Weekly" presidency.

I've got to say, it's great to see so many people so fired up for a Presidential race. In my 32 years of life I've never witnessed such a spirited and interested electorate. Nearly 40 million people watched each the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominees speeches and the Republican VP. It's great to see people genuinely interested in politics again.

Depot Jim:
The reason Democrats are worried that the Palin pick might be positive for the McCain campaign has nothing to do with any misperceived strength of Palin. Rather it is the fear that the vast armies of "dopes" in this country (the same stupid "majority" who chose to re-elect the worst President in American history - W)will be energized and/or duped into voting for this apocalypse waiting to happen -President Palin!

Don wrote...
" wonder what Lobbyists or Corps popped for that grand sum !!"

It costs even more to get into an Obama fundraiser, there Don.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/us/politics/03donate.html

"SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW."

You realize Obama isn't going to do that, right Don? Not only does he want re-invade Afghanistan, and possibly Pakistan, but he isn't planning on leaving Iraq, either.

"Under the Obama plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. He will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism."
- http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

I guess you have a little more reading to do.

Why is McPalin coming to Chicago? To make fun of our inner city neighborhoods some more?

I have one questions, does Mayor Richard M Daley of CHICAGO qualify for the VP spot. If he doesn't in any of your minds then sarah palin doesn't qualify either. Just Facts McCain should have picked Rudy G. for the VP, but the masses don't care to read the fine print on the bottom of CNN, Rudy G turned McCain down because of Obama. Stated this wasn't a good time to run"""" AH HAH!

What did Obama's three years of community service consist of anyway? Does any one know other than the fact that he is said to have tried to find jobs for out of work steel workers?

Sharpton and Jessie Jackson call themselves community activists. Was Obama like them or was he more low-keyed? I also wonder who paid him and how much. Was this time a financial sacrifice for him or did he become rich off of it like Sharpton?

He must have been since I am told he never goes into any detail about this in either of his two books.

I suspect there is no a lot to talk about since the media has never had any stories about his activities in any of the many "puff" pieces about his.

You want to know to to talk to about being an advocate for special needs? Try Obama, since Illinois is in the top 5 per capita incomes, and LAST in states for funding of special needs. And he is a US Senator, same goes for useless Durbin.
"Maybe somebody at the reception can ask her why she cut her State's Special Olympics budget in half, no one in her state can recall her ever having a disability platform yet she felt compelled to pander to the parents of special needs kids at the convention as their "friend and advocate"? My friends, with friends like her...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/us/politics/07needs.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

It seems like every time she speaks, she has a credibility issue: from supporting the Bridge to Nowhere, Beauty and Earmark Queen, Mouthpiece for Big Oil, and now Special Needs. Whatever she says, think "opposite"."

Don't be fooled by the republicans. Cheney and company are doing this on purpose to divert attention to her and not McCain. Let's show our intelligence and focus on issues and not distractions

I reside in Hyde Park as does Senator Obama.

Five years ago the Chicago Park district announced that they had to rebuild the walls protecting the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

The Hyde Park activists decided that they did not approve the plans for rebuilding the wall at Promontory Point, which was across the street from then State Senator Obama's residence. They protested and shut down the project.

Senator Obama announced that he would mediate between the Hyde Park activists and the Chicago Park District.

Five years later we still do not have a solution!

If he cannot mediate between two factions that support him I wonder how he will handle Putin, Chavez and Castro?

At this rate Obama will be lucky to win the City of Chicago.

Re: Dan Fitzgerald's first response.......... Spoken like a true neutral Irishman. Bet you vote maybe like Obama?

Hello???? Does anyone actually think for themselves or only believe the propaganda their party tells them to spread? Obama is much more than a community organizer. He earned his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. While in the IL Senate he created programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which over three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state….WOW a tax credit from a democrat….yes that is a fact. In 2004, he became the third African American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Please WAKE UP AMERICA....Do NOT BELIEVE THE LIES.

Will the GOP Republican get rich by selling America party take credit for any of their disasters? GOP Republicans are successful at failing and hurting OUR COUNTRY in the eyes of the WORLD. Can we really afford to ignore what the ENTIRE WORLD THINKS OF US?

How does the WORLD perceive AMERICA led by Barack Obama? Extremely favorable.

How does the WORLD perceive AMERICA led by John McCain? Extremely negative.

Eventually, Americans will realize that doing the same thing (electing GOP Republicans) will not yield different results (stock market disasters, economic disasters, world view disasters, failed foreign policy disasters, failed domestic policies disasters).

Spraying perfume on a new GOP Republican Pig will not create a bright and shiny candidate. Garbage in equal garbage out. GOP Republican garbage in yield (stock market, economic, foreign relations, domestic policies) garbage out.

McCain has perpetually been a failure from school until now.
Palin has perpetually been a failure (with a hillbilly hockey mom accent) from day one until now. Her bear hunting Arctic outback kids prove it.

Do you really need someone to tell you these basic facts? Under the Freedom of Information Act, all of this information is available free if you choose to type in the questions.

Lets prove to the Europeans and the World that we are not stupid, because they think that we are after two terms of Forrest Gump Bush.

D Student Crash Every Plane McCain and Hillbilly Trailer Palin are not reflective of the American People.

If Palin had a brain, then she would have considered the immense responsibilities demanded of the Office of the United States Vice President or President; and politely declined McCain’s crack induced invitation. GOP Republican Party is a joke.

If FOX NEWS does not clean up it’s filthy RACIST acts of discrimination, then American and European audiences will B O Y C O T T FOX RACIST NEWS.

Does it matter who wins? I really don't care. The economy is its own beast no matter what Republicans and Democrats claim. O'Bama could have had a mandate to get the troops out of Iraq if he stuck to his guns all the way through the election. But he isn't so sure now. That's the first clue that talk doesn't solve anything. I love the comment about the Hyde Park fence. I hope that story is true...more proof that talk means nothing no matter how eloquent. Republicans are a joke too. Spilling innocent Iraqi and American blood for oil? Are you serious? And you call yourselves holy and responsible?

You're a joke, Obama truth. "the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review." You do realize that the Harvard Law Review is led by an EDITOR and not a president, right? You do know what you're talking about, don't you?

until the dems react to the celebrity that Polen is and demand answers to why McCain isnt the one speaking (too tired or need a nap) - they will continue to loose.

Meyer asks:

What did Obama's three years of community service consist of anyway

Jack answers:

Here ya go. One failure after another.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWMxNGUxZWJjYzg1NjA0MTlmZDZmMjUwZGU3ZjAwNmU=

Fantastic! Go Johnny Go!

@Posted by: Kevin | September 8, 2008 2:41 PM

I love this meme running through this campaign...

You are wary of a lady who's actually been a mayor and a governor being the 2nd in command, but you have no reservations about a guy who had a cup of coffee in the IL state legislature and has only been a US Senator for less than 2 years and has voted 'present' 80% of the time he's been there and has been campaigning for President for 18 months?
The guy literally has about a shot of milk more political experience than I have.

Laying your trust in (another) politician who doesn't have the chops (W. Bush) is pretty much getting what you deserve.

I approached last week's convention with an open mind and was so disappointed. Are you Conservative/Republican toned writers/followers capable of constructive criticism? All I heard last week is self-centered, self-righteous, sarcasm and nastiness without real game plans or solutions. I'm scanning this blog and find that few of the Conservative/Republican-toned writers display the character or intelligence to do so, which was demonstrated at your convention last week. I saw playground bullies in adult clothing desparately in need of anger management, not mature, generous, caring politicians concerned about the future of this country.

The only people left in the Republican Party are the ones who were the bullies in school, or the ones who were bullied and have had a smoldering resentment against everyone else ever since.

The nasty, snarky, smirking meanness of every speaker at the Republican Convention was proof enough for me.

How many more years of this can we stand? This isn't America.

Great article: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWMxNGUxZWJjYzg1NjA0MTlmZDZmMjUwZGU3ZjAwNmU=

Obama the failed organizer!
Don't expect much from him, kids!

Jane says that "this woman is the most frightening politician in my lifetime. What are people thinking?"

Ms. Jane: with all of the fuss over Governor Palin that crosses gender and partlines as is evident in latest the polls, the voting public (or at least those likely to vote) are thirsting for a woman on the ballot. Since my democratic party decided to snub Senator Clinton, well, you can see the whats happened. Published reports indicate Senator Clinton has turned down party requests to be an attack dog in the matter. She is maintaining her class and certainly her options for the future by not getting involved in this embarrassing mess.

Mike and Team Conservative, ponder the impact of your heroes Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin. Speaking of winning the City of Chicago, I was a bit bothered by the Chicago-bashing by both Rudy and Sarah. If wanting Chicago/US to win the 2016 Olympic bid is a positive American ideal, how does bashing the City of Chicago look to an international audience? And, what about Chicago's "organizing committee"? Don't they qualify as part of the group that Rudy made his condescending smirk/remark about: "community organizers"? If prominent Republicans think that "community organizers" are a joke, does that thought apply to Chicago's Olympic Organizing Commitee? Rudy and Sarah, do you think the International Olympic Committee should consider the Chicago's Olympic Organizing Committee a joke and our City's effort a joke? Do you think that because Barack Obama is from Chicago and Chicago and its community organizers are a joke, that Chicago shouldn't be considered for the 2016 Olympics because the efforts of Chicago related community organizers are a joke? Rudy disliking Chicago, I understand as we're the "Second City." But, Sarah? Where's your low opinion of Chicago and Chicagoans, especially those who try to make this City a better place, coming form?

Lies, lies, lies. What we're being told is that it's a mathematical impossibility for any republican to raise $4M in Chicago or even the state of IL. What we're not being told is that bank robber shown on the news the other day, robbing a bank in Des Plaines, dressed as a smart-looking woman, floral dress and hat, was actually John McCain. That's how he's raised ALL of his campaign money. Yet this is NOT reported since all of the news networks, especially NBC, but not Fox, are actually media wings of the McCain campaign. That's why this is not reported anywhere but Bob Woodward's new book. Also contributing, and dressed as smart-looking women, are Bush, Cheney, and of course, Pelan, who does not have to try as hard.

Don't be fooled by a sheep in wolf's clothing, she is not what you think. We need someone that can address the many problems we have in this country. In fact, she is the destraction the Republican want us to focus on we must demand that they focus on the issues. If we continue down this path, next year this time we will have a crashed economy!

Lots of remarks by dems here saddened by no solutions offered by repubs. One party guarantees outcomes. One party guarantees opportunity. Guess which is which ?

The top 20% of wage earners ($215k) pay 86.3% of all income taxes received at the Treasury Dept. The bottom 40% pays 00.0%. One party wants to CHANGE, presumably, such that the top 20% of wage earners pay 90 % or 95% or 99% of income taxes, and the bottom 80% of wage earners pays 00.0%, correct ? Good CHANGE ! Let's CHANGE it so the top 20% of wage earners pay 100% of all income taxes received.

One party has a proud member, California Rep. Maxine Waters, who in a May 22 House Judiciary Committee hearing with oil company execs., stated, direct quote, " "This liberal will be all about socializing, uh, uh ... would be about basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."

One party is living in 1981, when gas cost $1.40 per gallon, when Congress put a ban on offshore oil drilling.

One party has a Speaker of the House who declared "I'm saving planet earth" by opposing offshore oil drilling, suggesting oil can be drilled more environmentally safely off of Nigeria than USA. ( Please look up the status of Nigerian oil rigs. )

One party is living in 2006, having a Senate Majority leader who declared the was was lost, and the surge was a failure, exactly one week after the surge started.

One party controls congress, which is currently sitting at a 9% approval rating, the lowest congressional approval rating in American history. President Bush has a 30% rating, 3x the rating of Congress and about 1.5x the rating of the NY Times.

(Source for the income tax numbers, US Congressional Budget Office, Effective Historical Federal Income Tax Rates, 1979 to 2005, study released December, 2007.)

If people realized that John McCain, the "terrorist fighter" is really John McCain, the "terrorists' friend", then they may not be so glad to vote for him. Check out this website which evidences McCain's praising, and walking hand in hand with someone who has strong ties to terrorists.
http://www.newspiritualbible.com/index14

I, for one, am glad their are liberals in our Congress that will do what ever it takes, to prevent any further gas gouging !! 700 BILLION DOLLARS IN PROFITS, since the Bush-Cheney Regime has been in Office, is a little too much greed, in my opinion !! The old Bush-McCain rant: Drill, Drill, Drill, was orchestrated by the Oily Corps, just in time to get their way, before the Bush-McCain Republicans are forced out of Office, by the American electorate, and to hit the highway, on foot !! Theirs is a Party of Greed, Deceit and Indecency !! No more, Greed, Deceit, Indecency form the Bush-McCain Republicans, America !! A vote for Senator Obama is a vote against all that the Republicans have stood for, for the last 8 years!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.