Troopergate Investigation Finished: Palin Abused Her Power

The investigation in to everyones favorite hockey mom's involvement in the "Troopergate" scandal has come out.  MSNBC reports that:

"Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain."

Now I am not going to sit here and discuss the specifics about this case, because you can find that information just about anywhere at this point.  But instead I am thinking about what the effect this will have on the elections will be.  My guess: Nothing at all.

It is a pretty sad state of affairs when people will sit idly by and support someone for vice president, who abused their power as an elected official.  Instead of discussing a tangible concern that speaks directly to the character of the person proposed to be elected as vice president, the right will still continue to worry about ads trying to make a weak link between Barack Obama & William Ayres,

Let's put this in simple terms.  John McCain will have you believe that because Barack Obama once sat down and had coffee with William Ayres, that maybe that makes him a terrorist.  The link that John McCain tries to make between Barack Obama & William Ayres is tenuous at best, and downright deceitful at worst.

So here we have this connection that John McCain is trying to paint, this thinnest of the thin connections.  And yet we now have a verdict from a non partisan panel that unequivocally states Sarah Palin abused her power, and John McCain is going to deny it?

What is going on here?  Why is it that people will believe complete fabrications about one candidate in an effort to discredit him, and then completely ignore tangible proof of wrong doing from their own candidate?

Let's say for the sake of argument that Joe Biden had been the governor of Delaware.  And lets further say that for the sake of argument that Joe Biden had inappropriately used his powers to have someone fired.  I would have to voice some serious, serious concerns about Barack Obama's choice of vice presidential candidate.  I dare say that it would probably cause me to not vote for Obama period, if that were the case.

What I don't understand is the one sidedness that goes on in this country.  If you are willing to overlook something that speaks volumes for the ethics that one of their parties candidates employs, just so they can make sure the ticket on the other party isn't elected, then we have a serious problem.

John McCain Defends Obama at Campaign Event

At a campaign event today, John McCain had to defend Barack Obama when one person in the audience says, and I quote loosely "I don't... I don't trust this Barack Obama...  I have read about him, he is....  He is an arab."

McCain make a grimace and starts shaking his head no.  He takes the microphone back from her and says, and I quote "No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."

Now at this point people in the crowd start to boo him.  They actually boo him for this, what is wrong with the people at this event?

I think it is deplorable that John McCain ever started people down this path.  Now that it looks like the S.S. McCain is sinking, he has had to resort to attack ads that border on being completely racist.  If you put out ads implying Obama is a terrorist, and you have people shouting Barack Hussein Obama at campaign rallies, people are going to connect the two and think "OH MY GOD OBAMA IS A TERRORIST, HE IS ONE OF THEM ARABS!"

Now before anyone starts disagreeing, just go find some clips from his past few campaign events.  There are several that you can clearly hear people shouting "TERRORIST" from the audience.  There was one that came out this morning where someone is shouting "TRAITOR"

And let me follow up by saying that I realize that not everyone feels this way, because I like think that some people have more common sense than that.  But it is obviously working because people are showing up to campaign events, and people are shouting "TERRORIST"

Some people on TV are giving McCain Kudos for how he responded to these people, and I am, to a certain extent, glad he did as well.  However I am not going to give John McCain for this, he is telling people that Barack Obama is not an arab, when his ads are the ones implying this in the first place.  The only reason that John McCain responded the way he did, is because he realized his ads are just digging the hole he is already in, even deeper.

My biggest complaint about all of this, is that I can't believe how ignorant people are.  Let's not mince words here.  If you think Barack Obama is a terrorist, or think that he is an arab, you are ignorant.  If you don't want to vote for Barack Obama because you disagree with his policies, that is fine.  You have that right, and I will be the last person to ever say that you are wrong for voting for someone else.  But when you start saying that you won't vote for someone because of the color of their skin, or because you saw a TV ad that implied that he "might be an arab" then that is just disgraceful.

Of Politics, Political Parties, & Partisianship

Let me preface this as saying that my two passions in life are history, and politics. For me I love learning about our past, because more often than not history repeats itself. I love politics because it gives people such an opportunity to help other people.

But I feel that a lot of people don't get in to politics to help other people. There seems to be so much corruption now a days that its a little disheartening. I know that a lot of people get in to politics, do so for the entirely wrong reasons. Some dream of kickbacks from lobbiest, and how they can use their newfound position of power to meet their own needs.

But despite all of that I still have to believe that a lot of people still get in to politics for good reason, and that is to be able to help other people, to do some good, and to do what they think is right.

Now I need to have some full disclosure here. I am not ashamed to say that I am a pretty liberal person, bordering on being a socialist. However I am not one to condemn someone for having opposing polar opposite views on what I think is important.

You see, I realize people have different opinions about things. And while I may feel strongly that what I believe is a better option, I still recognize that everyone else has as much of a right to voice their opinions. I don't think that just because someone is a conservative, that they are automatically bad. (And lets face it, a lot of people make the republican=bad connection automatically)

I don't know why it is that people can't sit down and realize that most people are just trying to do what they think is right. Even if you disagree with someone on a stance with an issue, it doesn't mean at the end of the day you need to be that persons bitter enemy. That's why I don't get why there is such polarization in today's politics.

It seems that if you are liberal you automatically need to hate anyone who is a conservative, and if you are a conservative, it seems that you automatically need to hate anyone who is a liberal. So may people get caught up in towing the party line, and condemning anyone different from them, that I think a lot of us lose sight that we are Americans first, members of political parties second.

Maybe I am just naive, or maybe I am to young to be hyper-critical and cynical about things. But I still believe that we can all join together, conservative, liberal, and everyone in between, and we can do great things with our country.

One of my favorite movies, which opitizimies how I feel everyone who has the distinguished honor of holding elected office for this country, should feel about their position. The movie is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I leave you know with a wonderful quote, from an absolutely wonderful movie.

"Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, uh, if that's what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we'd better get those boys' camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!"

The Current State of the Election

As I watch the news on TV I can't help but feel disgusted with John McCain. If you had asked me about John McCain when he was running against George Bush in 2000, I would have said that I don't think he was that bad of a guy.

But then he got bombarded with negative attack ads in South Carolina, and it's like it completely destroyed the John McCain that used to be. Now it seems that John McCain has become exactly what he used to rail against, he has now turned to the very same schemes and tactics that was used against him.

As it has been said before, the Straight Talk Express lost a wheel.

I can understand to a certain extent that some political campaigns could be considered to be negative, when they are trying to draw differences in policy between two candidates. And when an ad is relating to a specific issue, then I really don't have a problem with it.

However when you had ad being put out by John McCain trying to connect Barack Obama to William Ares, who was active when Obama was just a child, and despite that it has already been reported in the media that there is no connection, just seems fundementaly wrong to me.

McCain seems to be trying to breed feer among the populous by implying that Baracak Obama is a terrorist, or some sort of terrorist sympathiser. While I don't think that John McCain actually thinks Barack Obama is a terrorist, I think that what McCain is doing is reprehensible. If you want to run against someone in a fair campaign that is one thing, but implying that someone is a terrorist is obscene.

Today McCain held a rally, and when he started talking about Obama, people in the audience started shouting "TERRORIST!" Now I know that if you were to ask John McCain why didn't he stop them, he would just reply that he has no control over what other people say. However common human decency would dictate that he at least try to stop them, or condem someone who is ignorant enough to call Barack Obama a terrorist.

But then again I am sure that John McCain wants people to worry that Barack Obama may be some sort of terrorist, because the more people he gets to beleive his fabrications, the closer he may inch towards etching out some sort of victory come November.

I just think that it is ironic that John McCain has become exactly what he considered so distasteful 8 years a go. I think that what makes it worse is that John McCain sold out on whatever values he may have had, and became a shill for the GOP after he lost to George W. Bush. I think it's extremely sad that someone devalue themselves so much just to win an election.