Republican Presidential Candidates

[Apollon]

L'Immonde bat des records de démagogie en publiant cet article de pure propagande assimilant le Parti Républicain au franquisme :

De mémoire c'est une tribune de Krugman et non un article de fond. Le problème de Krugman, c'est qu'il n'est pas qu'un économiste, il est avant tout un habitué de la page d'op-ed du new york times où il donne son avis environ deux fois par semaine et fait à peu près systématiquement du bush-bashing. Bref c'est un polémiste.

Comme Bush va partir, Krugman doit évidemment s'inquiéter de retomber dans l'oubli. Il cherche donc une nouvelle niche et fait du republican-bashing.

Il va de soi qu'à deux mois des élections, cet article a été écrit par le polémiste et non le professeur.

ps : rah Lucilio l'avait déjà relevé.

[walter-rebuttand]

Honnêtement il n'y a guère de différences entre McCain et Obama sur les vraies questions (politique monétaire, étrangère, économique etc.): il serait hallucinant que la presse européenne ne s'en rende pas compte. A mon avis, le but de tout cela est de faire vendre en jouant sur les préjugés des gens: le gentil nègre distingué contre le vieil ultra-conservateur guerrier.

[Stan Selene]

Si mcCain passe, je vais rire, rire, rire, en lisant les pleurnichements et les grincements de dents de la presse franchouille.

Ce sera bon.

[walter-rebuttand]

Si mcCain passe, je vais rire, rire, rire, en lisant les pleurnichements et les grincements de dents de la presse franchouille.

Ce sera bon.

Ce sera bon 5 minutes et puis ce sera 4 ans d'anti-américanisme à toutes les sauces.

[h16]

Ce sera bon 5 minutes et puis ce sera 4 ans d'anti-américanisme à toutes les sauces.

Bah. Ca fera à nouveau 4 ans de plus. On commence à s'habituer.

[Ash]

Et puis à la prochaine présidentielle, on constatera qu'ils n'ont toujours pas compris la leçon.

[Normous]

Ne rêvez pas l'élection de Mc Cain arrangera les journaleux français du style l'Immonde Diplodocus, L'Aberration, Le Figaro and Co. Sinon quid de l'anti-américanisme, de la critique de l'ultra-libéralisme et de l'ultra-conservatisme ?

[Ash]

Le speech de Palin (et la vidéo sur le site).

Mon dieu quelle abominable conservatrice elle fait !

Mr Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honoured to be considered for the nomination for Vice President of the United States…

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.

I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election… against confident opponents… at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions… and met far graver challenges… and knows how tough fights are won - the next president of the United States, John S McCain.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organiser", except that you have actual responsibilities

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off.

They overlooked the calibre of the man himself - the determination, resolve, and sheer guts of Senator John McCain. The voters knew better.

And maybe that's because they realise there is a time for politics and a time for leadership… a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.

Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by.

He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.

And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.

Family 'ups and downs'

Our son Track is 19.

And one week from tomorrow - 11 September - he'll deploy to Iraq with the army infantry in the service of his country.

My nephew Kasey also enlisted, and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country… I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House

My family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.

Track is the eldest of our five children. In our family, it's two boys and three girls in between - my strong and kind-hearted daughters Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

And in April, my husband Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig. From the inside, no family ever seems typical.

That's how it is with us.

Our family has the same ups and downs as any other… the same challenges and the same joys.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

Todd is a story all by himself.

He's a lifelong commercial fisherman… a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope… a proud member of the United Steel Workers' Union… and world champion snow machine racer.

Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy.

My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. And among the many things I owe them is one simple lesson: that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

My parents are here tonight, and I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath.

Hockey mom

Long ago, a young farmer and haberdasher from Missouri followed an unlikely path to the vice-presidency.

A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.

I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America … who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America.

Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country

I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.

When I ran for city council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too.

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organiser", except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man.

Govern with integrity

I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and… a servant's heart.

I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau… when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network.

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up.

And in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay. I also drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef - although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.

I came to office promising to control spending - by request if possible and by veto if necessary.

Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defence of the public interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.

Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus.

And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.

I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.

As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40bn natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher.

When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And families cannot throw away more and more of their pay checks on gas and heating oil.

With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies… or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia… or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries… we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.

And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both.

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines… build more nuclear plants… create jobs with clean coal… and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.

What Obama plan?

I've noticed a pattern with our opponent. Maybe you have, too.

We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers. And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed… when the roar of the crowd fades away… when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan?

What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger… take more of your money… give you more orders from Washington… and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy… our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight… he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay… he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America… he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big… he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much… he promises more. Taxes are too high… he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes… raise payroll taxes… raise investment income taxes… raise the death tax… raise business taxes… and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.

My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio… or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia… or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?

Senate 'maverick'

Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They're the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.

Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you… in places where winning means survival and defeat means death… and that man is John McCain

And then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things. They're the ones who are good for more than talk… the ones we have always been able to count on to serve and defend America.

Senator McCain's record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd.

He's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party.

A leader who's not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.

He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain." Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain.

That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House.

'Inspired with deeds'

My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organiser.

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you… in places where winning means survival and defeat means death… and that man is John McCain. In our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their country.

It's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.

But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.

It's the journey of an upright and honourable man - the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home.

To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless… the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God… the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome.

A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio, recalls looking through a pin-hole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John McCain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day.

As the story is told: "When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" - as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.

For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If character is the measure in this election… and hope the theme… and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all, and may God bless America.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7597238.stm

La blague sur la Hockey mom

[Blueglasnost]

Si mcCain passe, je vais rire, rire, rire, en lisant les pleurnichements et les grincements de dents de la presse franchouille.

Ce sera bon.

Je sens que l'on va rire, car cela semble vraisemblable

(voir hier, par exemple, les pathétiques interventions d'un Pascal Boniface expliquant que McCain et Palin ne sauraient gagner parce que représentant l'Amérique fondamentaliste et rétrograde face à la Lumière et au Bien en la personne d'Obama…)

Ils ne savent plus quoi inventer dès qu'ils s'aperçoivent que ça commence à sentir mauvais… La Lumière et le Bien

[LeSanton]

Les sondages nous disent que les Français voteraient à 76% pour Obama contre 10% pour MacCain. Comme quoi, le dressage médiatique, ça paie.

Sont cons, ces américains…

[Saucer]

76% pur Obama

Blague à part, sources ?

[LeSanton]

Sondage LH2 réalisé les 5 et 6 septembre par téléphone auprès d'un échantillon de 1.001 personnes représentatif de la population française âgée de 18 ans et plus (méthode des quotas).

Enfin, si les Français avaient la possibilité de participer à l'élection présidentielle américaine, ils plébisciteraient le démocrate Barack Obama qui recueille 76% des intentions de vote contre 10% à son adversaire républicain John McCain.

[john_ross]

Les 14% restant c'est des NSP?

[Saucer]

Les 14% restant c'est des NSP?

Je crois que c'est plutôt des OSEF.

[LeSanton]

Consultez le sondage…

[Saucer]

Sarko étant bien plus proche d'Obama que de McCain, l'Obamania à gauche relève du pur fantasme (ou bien de l'esprit de parti et de l'obsession pour les étiquettes, ce qui me paraît plus raisonnable).

[LeSanton]

Un exemple du dressage médiatique français dont je parlais?

http://www.lemonde.fr/le-monde-2/article/2008/09/07/sarah-palin-ou-le-portrait-d-une-amerique-figee_1090878_1004868.html

Les internautes sont bien dressés:

Jens : «Dans ces Etats-Unis si figés, en effet, dans leur conservatisme éthique et économique, Obama incarne un espoir de changement similaire à celui de Mitterrand en 1981. Ce changement a été considérable en France à l'époque (décentralisation, lois Auroux sur le travail, développement des médias indépendants, libertés publiques, peine de mort, droits des femmes, explosion de la culture et financement du patrimoine, aides à la vie associative…). Obama saura promouvoir des changements aussi profonds.

[Apollon]

Un exemple du dressage médiatique français dont je parlais?

http://www.lemonde.fr/le-monde-2/article/2008/09/07/sarah-palin-ou-le-portrait-d-une-amerique-figee_1090878_1004868.html

Les internautes sont bien dressés:

Oui j'ai vu ça. Je suis surpris de pouvoir être encore atterré.

[h16]

Décidément, si McCain passe, ça va être délicieux.

[Apollon]

Décidément, si McCain passe, ça va être délicieux.

Mais ce plaisir sera bref alors que si Obama gagne la longue et progressive déception sera plus savoureuse.

[Saucer]

Mais ce plaisir sera bref alors que si Obama gagne la longue et progressive déception sera plus savoureuse.

Tu es trop sage. Dans ce cas, je préfèrerais un plaisir intense et fugace. L'apothéose et la jouissance "in your face" après plus d'un an d'obamania.

[h16]

Tu es trop sage. Dans ce cas, je préfèrerais un plaisir intense et fugace. L'apothéose et la jouissance "in your face" après plus d'un an d'obamania.

Voilà. Apollon aime le charme mou des petits plaisirs modérés sur la distance. Je préfère un bon gros éclat de rire.

En outre, Obama au pouvoir, même si tout part en sucette, ses admirateurs ne voudront jamais avouer leur déconfiture…

[Ash]

Mais ce plaisir sera bref alors que si Obama gagne la longue et progressive déception sera plus savoureuse.

Comme avec Chavez ?

Ah non, faut des pleurs en direct, des gens effondrés et des édito apocalyptique. C'est la moindre des choses pour rigoler un tant soit peu.

[Apollon]

Comme avec Chavez ?

Ah non, faut des pleurs en direct, des gens effondrés et des édito apocalyptique. C'est la moindre des choses pour rigoler un tant soit peu.

J'entends ton argument mais je le pense irréaliste : les journalistes appuieraient sur le fait que McCain est un républicain atypique.

[Ash]

J'entends ton argument mais je le pense irréaliste : les journalistes appuieraient sur le fait que McCain est un républicain atypique.

Alors que Palin serait une redneck ?

A part ça une très bonne émission du Colbert Show. Il y a RP dedans. Et si je comprends bien, Palin a été choisie via un blog. Pas bête.

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport…pisodeId=180323

[Blueglasnost]

Les sondages nous disent que les Français voteraient à 76% pour Obama contre 10% pour MacCain. Comme quoi, le dressage médiatique, ça paie.

Sont cons, ces américains…

C'est l'une des raisons pour lesquelles j'ai exprimé ma préférence pour McCain; depuis quand les Français ont-ils fait les bons choix électoraux? D'ailleurs peu de Français parlent ou comprennent correctement l'anglais, ils sont donc condamnés à se fier à ce que la presse française veut bien laisser échapper, ils ne consultent pas (généralement, ils se moquent des présidentielles américaines) des sources anglophones, souvent plus mitigées (quoique…). Et en ce moment la marée commence à tourner, donc les Français ne comprennent pas et s'indignent, nous aurons bientôt droit au retour de qualificatifs tels que "Amérique profonde", "racistes" (voire KKK) pour expliquer pourquoi les Américains sont si "obscurantistes" et "rétrograde". La Fraônce comme on l'aime; en train de donner des leçons au monde entier alors que la situation intérieure est très loin d'être brillante. Beau palmarès pour le "pays des Droits de l'Homme" de vouloir mettre en place un plan Edvige…

[Ash]

Le Palin-bashing a déjà eu lieu aux USA.

Palin exposes the cultural divide

The Republican's vice-presidential candidate has come in for some stick since her nomination, but much of it has been unfair and divisive

All comments ()

After a week when Sarah Palin was mercilessly mocked and pilloried in sections of the American media, a more pragmatic, less dismissive assessment of her impact on the presidential race is underway. For the Democrats and Barack Obama's cheerleaders in the east coast newspapers, the initial auguries are not terribly encouraging. In short, what they see is not what middle America sees.

The insults thrown at John McCain's Republican running mate may not be soon forgotten by white middle class people like her, in places such as southern Ohio, who could decide a tight race. "Cosmetics saleswoman in Macy's", "Veep in go-go boots", "Shrill moose-hunting Mom" and many similar comments revealed a surprising degree of gender and class prejudice lurking under liberal carpets. And they reinforced the "elitist" charge levelled at the Obama camp.

The extraordinary depth of instant media intrusion into Palin's personal life recalled the calumnies suffered by Bill Clinton before and after his 1992 election, which Democrats then angrily condemned. Likewise much of what has been alleged so far about Palin turns out to be untrue.

"There were erroneous reports that Palin had supported [maverick rightwinger] Pat Buchanan's presidential bid (she supported Steve Forbes), that she had been a member of the Alaska Independence party (she hadn't), and that she had 'slashed' funding for Alaska's special needs children (she increased it)," wrote Stephen Hayes in the Weekly Standard.

Following a rumour that Palin's last child, Trig, was actually her daughter's, a major US newspaper went so far as to "demand the McCain campaign share medical records relating to Palin's amniotic fluid," Hayes reported. One BBC radio reporter was reduced to asking whether a parent of five children could fulfil a vice-president's duties, a question that would hardly be asked of a man.

"For her first five days as McCain's running mate, Palin took a shelling from the usual suspects – and some unlikely detractors – that would have disorientated the toughest veterans," wrote columnist Kevin Rennie in the Hartford Courant. "Her critics finally found something they wanted to drill for. Sweet crude vitriol gushed."

The fact that Palin not only survived this baptism of fire but came out punching, smiling joyously, is worrying for the Democrats. Her evident toughness, her ability to work a crowd, and her unusual line (among American politicians) in sarky, sardonic put-downs are skills likely to impress in the small towns of the battleground states where the McCain campaign plans to send her.

Palin's convention speech was watched by 37 million Americans, very nearly as many as watched Obama the week before after a six months' build-up. Her nomination has brought immediate poll dividends, with USA Today-Gallup showing McCain-Palin ahead by four points after trailing by eight. Virginia and other conservative states Obama hopes to win over report an Iraq-like surge in Republican activism.

Recovering from their initial surprise, Democrats and their supporters are now deploying counter-arguments going beyond outright abuse. Historically vice-presidents do not decide elections, it is argued. The inexperienced Palin is afraid to debate the issues, says vice-presidential rival Joe Biden. Palin is a five-day wonder, soon to be forgotten.

But Newsweek's Howard Fineman has some cautionary words for wishful thinkers. "Democrats dare not issue Palin a pass – she's too dangerous a foe. Normally vice-presidential candidates fade into the background. Nobody is expecting that with Palin. Indeed, her new-found celebrity has made even Obama look dull."

With three Washington senators in the Democrat-Republican line-up, Palin's very ordinariness may be her biggest strength. She was ridiculed, for example, for not having a passport before visiting US troops in the Gulf last year. But the mockers forget most Americans don't have passports; that's normal. Conversely, some of Palin's wackier minority views, such as teaching creationism, hardly signify while she is bound to McCain's policy platform.

If the contest remains close, some Democratic strategists predict "Wal-Mart moms" – white, working, non-college educated women with children living in outlying suburbs and in rural parts of battleground states – may decide the outcome. Guess what? Palin is a fully paid-up Wal-Mart mom. Not only that. According to columnist William Kristol, as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, in 1999 she presided over a wedding of two Wal-Mart associates at the local Wal-Mart. "It was so sweet," Palin said. "It was so Wasilla."

To a degree not readily recognised or accepted beyond its shores or along the Atlantic seaboard, Palin is "so middle America". Her arrival signals a final-stretch shift in the overt focus of the election back to traditional themes – economic opportunity, security, social provision, faith, identity, character – in the traditional battlegrounds.

For all the talk of a new mould-breaking, inclusive, post-racial politics, the cultural divide never went away. It merely fell to the shamelessly exuberant Palin to apply some northern exposure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20…2008.sarahpalin

[Nick de Cusa]

Enfin une source politique sérieuse:

Sarah Palin's glasses are style hit

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Style conscious voters in the US are racing to get their hands on a pair of Sarah Palin's signature rimless glasses.

Opticians in the States have seen an influx in demand for Palin's specs, which she wore during her convention speech last week.

The $375 frames are by Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki, and are made from titanium. They are from a collection entitled the 704 series, and her specific style is the 34 grey.

Retailers are now clamouring to stock the style, as demand has continued to soar.

Palin bought hers from an optician in Chugiak in Alaska, where owner Joy Leedham helped her choose the design. Leedham has since been inundated with orders, and told The Observer this weekend that she has been swamped by emails with the same query, 'Sarah Palin glasses please.'

Monday 8 September 2008

Have your say …

Add your own comment

I LOVE the glasses. I wear glasses and am 1 year overdue for an exam and new specs. Is there somewhere in the state of Virginia where these frames can be purchased?

Comment by Linda on September 09 13:27

I love to have one too.

Comment by Nicole, Fairfax VA on September 08 20:59

I want glasses like Sara Palin

Comment by Melinda Granger on September 08 20:41

Where can I buy these kazuo kawaski 704 glasses on the internet?

Comment by gussy on September 08 18:15

I Live in Eagle River Alaska.

I hope than you become our Vice President.

Finally Alaska gets some attention.

And Everyone doesn't think that we all live in Igloos.

YOUR AMAZING!

MY MOMS VOTING FOR YOU!

Comment by Amanda Frenzel on September 08 17:58

Sarah Palin is a real breath of fresh air - she style is clean, fresh and new . . . something much of our society has somehow strayed from.

Comment by Barbara York on September 08 17:22

Mine were on order, Before I had even heard of Mrs Plin

They are so light weight, and easy to wear in the Texas heat.

Comment by Sarah on September 08 15:04

J'ai laissé les commentaires qui ajoutent au débat.

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/fashion/…-style-hit.html

Pour nous distraire un peu de ragots people sans intérêt :

McCain et Palin jugent "scandaleux" de devoir renflouer Freddie et Fannie

Le candidat républicain à la présidentielle américaine, John McCain, et sa colistière Sarah Palin, ont qualifié de "scandaleux" le fait que l'Etat soit obligé de renflouer les organismes de refinancement hypothécaire Fannie Mae et Freddie Mac.

"Le renflouage de Fannie Mae et Freddie Mac est un nouvel épisode scandaleux mais malheureusement nécessaire pour ces deux institutions", écrivent-ils dans un éditorial commun publié mardi par le Wall Street Journal. Le Trésor américain a annoncé dimanche la mise sous tutelle de ces deux organismes de refinancement hypothécaire, dont l'avenir inquiétait le marché depuis des mois.

Le Trésor a notamment annoncé qu'il était prêt à y injecter jusqu'à 200 milliards de dollars pour les aider à stabiliser leurs finances. "Etant donné la mauvaise gestion et la structure défectueuse de ces deux entreprises, c'était la seule alternative à court terme pour faire en sorte que les Américains qui travaillent dur puissent avoir accès à des emprunts hypothécaires en cette difficile période économique", écrivent les deux candidats.

Ils appellent à une restructuration des organismes de refinancement hypothécaire et promettent que s'ils entrent à la Maison Blanche, ils feront en sorte qu'ils soient "restructurés et réduits, et qu'ils ne se servent plus des contribuables au profit des lobbyistes, des dirigeants, du conseil d'administration et des actionnaires".

"Pendant les 100 premiers jours de notre administration, nous examinerons chaque agence, chaque département, chaque poste de dépense du gouvernement fédéral et poserons cette question simple: est-ce que cela sert les intérêts des contribuables? Si ce n'est pas le cas, nous les réformerons ou nous les fermerons, et nous ne dépenserons d'argent que pour ce qui est réellement dans l'intérêt du peuple américain", promettent-ils.

09/09/08 15h55

http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1536/Economie/a…et-Fannie.dhtml

[Nick de Cusa]

Culturellement parlant, nous pourrions bien avoir la meilleure first lady de tous les temps.

Cindy McCain: Potential First Lady, part time drifter

Posted on Wednesday 10 September 2008

Cindy McCain, wife of republican presidential candidate John McCain, first became intrigued with ‘drifting’ after watching a race on television more than six years ago. Thinking that it looked kind of “cool,” she began researching the then fledgling motorsport, even travelling to Japan with her eldest son Jack to take drifting lessons with a top instructor.

For the uninitiated, drifting is a form of motorsport where a driver intentionally skids a car sideways through a course in the fastest time possible. The ideal vehicle to use is something with a light body and a high-output RWD powertrain. Several Nissan models, including RWD Skylines and 240SXs (Silvias), have become very popular in drifting circles due to their simple power mods and relatively low cost.

Upon returning to the U.S., McCain rebuilt a Nissan 240SX with a modified engine and started competing in amateur drift competitions in the U.S. with her son, finishing as high as second place in 2005.

During a recent interview on ESPN, McCain said how she loved the sport, describing herself as a below-average drifter. When asked what her husband thinks, she replied that “he loves it.”

While we don’t see drifting becoming a national sport anytime soon, we’re sure celebrity enthusiasts like McCain will only help boost its profile – especially after the damage done by Lil Bow Wow and the Fast and the Furious series.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/motorsp…t-time-drifter/

[Invité jabial]

Sarko étant bien plus proche d'Obama que de McCain, l'Obamania à gauche relève du pur fantasme (ou bien de l'esprit de parti et de l'obsession pour les étiquettes, ce qui me paraît plus raisonnable).

Sarko étant bien plus proche d'Obama que de McCain, classer Sarko à droite relève du pur fantasme