The Washington Independent - Latest Comments in In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Moshe — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:27:44 -0000

Palin as Olmert? Free flights, fancy clothes and life of luxury

By Benjamin L. Hartman, Haaretz reporter

It turns out, the difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom isn't just lipstick, its designer lipstick, Manolo Blahnik pumps, and a $2,500 Valentino jacket. That should keep you warm at the Iron Dog snowmachine race.

It emerged this week that with the U.S. in the grip of one of its worst economic crises, the Republican National Committee had the clear and present judgment to run up a reported $150,000 bill to deck out Sarah Palin, the running-mate and rising Republican star who "is just like the rest of us", that is, if the rest of us drop a few thousand dollars at Nieman's on the way to the hockey rink.

As the Huffington Post reported Wednesday, the splurges included a reputed $75,000 shopping spree in a single day at a Nieman Marcus (or "needless markup" as they're widely known) store in "not so sure it's real America still" Minneapolis, as well as $50,000 spent at Saks Fifth Avenue chains in no-longer real America St. Louis and 10th circle of hell New York City.

In retrospect, though her rationale defending her foreign policy credentials was widely lampooned, it could be that Palin can in fact see Russia from Alaska; it would certainly explain how she came to adopt the fashion tastes of a Russian oligarch's wife since she became McCain's running mate.

The revelations have the potential to be infuriating and puzzling to many mainly because they come from the campaign that has played the "elitist" card with reckless abandon, and has made a central issue of their campaign the idealization and ownership of working-class "small-town values", hard-to-pin-down ideals that presumably cannot be found within a hundred miles of a Saks or Nieman's branch. Furthermore, over the last week, said campaign has turned its entire message into the celebration of one Joe the Plumber, an everyman who works with his hands and whose endorsement apparently bears more weight than that of former secretary of state Colin Powell.

From an Israeli-American point of view, Palin's "makeovergate" and the revelations this week that she billed the State of Alaska for thousands of dollars worth of commercial flights for her daughters, and for luxury hotel rooms for a family vacation, bear a certain resemblance to the travails and scandals of our disgraced outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert, a man who came to power suddenly as vice premier, when the septuagenarian former warrior who swooped him into the halls of power fell terminally ill. Ring any bells?

Although the case was later closed, the Rishon Tours affair involved allegations that Olmert used thousands of dollars in state funds to pay for foreign air travel flights for his family. During the investigation, it was alleged that the flights were paid in large part through the funneling of money intended for charity organizations, and by writing off the tickets as official state business, not dissimilar to claims that Palin air-freighted her daughters at the taxpayers expense while governor.

Palin's shopping sprees were legal, but they do display a lack of judgment or consideration for how the acts may be perceived by the public. The fact that both Olmert and Palin seemed to be willing to put their careers or public approval in jeopardy for such petty rewards at a time when they were ostensibly well-off public servants seems reckless at best.

In Palin's case, even if she was just following the advice of campaign handlers with blank checks who wanted to spruce up her image, the fact that she would take part in such a breakneck spend-a-thon at some of America's ritziest stores while the country is on the verge of depression, shows a bewildering level of obliviousness that Olmert could surely understand.

While in office, both Olmert and Palin adopted the standpoint of cheapskate guests at an expensive wedding, or underpaid employees suddenly given an expense account, with the attitude that "hey, if some somebody else is paying for it, why not supersize it? Why not first-class? Who cares who's watching?" Or better yet, like guests who paid for an all-inclusive weekend in Eilat who assume that means not only can they avail themselves of the all-you-can-eat buffet, but they might as well pocket the silverware while they're at it.

The decision is also indicative (again) of the McCain campaign's seeming ignorance of the power of the Internet and the instant fact-checking that has changed the nature of the news and political campaigns forever. Like with the quicksilver vetting process of the Alaska governor, which some say missed "Troopergate" and Palin's pregnant teenage daughter, or the repeated, groundless attacks on Obama that have been easily debunked by anyone with access to Google, Palin's spending sprees show an ignorance of the instant access to information and the 24-hour news cycle, and possibly, in the worst case, an outright contempt for the very public whose values they pander to.

And what I'm wondering is, where did Joe the Plumber get the suit he was wearing on Fox News the other night

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

missee — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:01:20 -0000

McCain kept referring to the special needs of autistic children and how relevant this was to Sarah Palin. In fact, her youngest child has Down Syndrome. It certainly appears that he doesn't know his running mate very well!

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

tommypap — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:10:19 -0000

I am certain that Obama will do as much for all developmentally disabled Americans as he has for those in Illinois. In case you didn't know, Illinois ranks 50th in services for those with developmental disabilities.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

movie fan — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:10:07 -0000

McCain and Palin look, act and talk like amiable robots... both of them are the perfect combination to carry on the legacy of George W. Bush.

the fact that anyone is praising McCain for his performance in the third debate proves that he and Palin have lowered people's expectations down to nothing (don't forget, the VP debates were a tie!)

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Jodie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:35:16 -0000

That's a misinterpretation of the statistics. Estimates prior to 1980 were 4 in 10,000; now it is 65 per 10,000 (which is equal to about 1 in 160). Epidemiology statistics are usually represented per 10,000; that's where your first stat comes from, though it's incorrect.

While 65 is certainly larger than 4, the current stat includes everyone who is considered to have PDD, not just classic autism, as the "4" refers to. Also, prior to the DSM-IV (1994), the criteria for Autistic Disorder was much more strict, and now we have much better screening measures.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

t-bone — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:26:22 -0000

McSame lost more votes from Dallas fans trashtalking about the Cowboys loss to the Cardinals as he gained from pandering to the loved ones of autistic children.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

beingajoe — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:31:56 -0000

His defense of her was an absolute joke. He must have hated answering that question. Knowing that it was probably coming and still not having a good answer. By the way, here is a website I found that shares all the Gov Sarah Palin dirt and supports Barack Obama! McCain go beat up by Obama.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Andy — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:22:32 -0000

Unbeknownst to most Americans for some strange reason- autism is the fastest growing childhood disability. Once rare (1- 10,000 persons) today (1 in 150 and NJ is saying they are 1 in 94). Parents have been courting the candidates on this issue.

McCain did not mistake autism for Downs Syndrome. He was pandering to the autism voters. Think of all the friends and relatives of 1 in 150 kids?

As the parent of a son with vaccine induced autism (that's why McCain said we will research the cause) I was glad to see that this issue is on the candidates' radar screen. Our children are aging and sorry to say a good majority of them will be dependent on society depending on their level of functioning.

Anyways, Sarah Palin scares the hell out of me and I can't stand how she holds up baby Trig like a special needs prop and I would not want her overseeing the autism- vaccine situation. Thanks but no thanks.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Shiloh — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:15:37 -0000

Even promoting her as a special needs advocate is crazy. Alaska has an unusaully high incidence of child disabilities, no doubt related to its geography, but in her time there Governor Palin has done nothing to address the issue. In fact, it could be argued that her lack of interest in the causes of global warming and her desire for wanton drilling and destruction of the environment (drill baby drill) could only make the incidence of those conditions among children worse.

Palin has shown time and again that she cannot see beyond the most immediate consequence of her actions ("Let's do all we can to get that trooper fired, it will never be an issue"). It is all about here and now for her, future be damned.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Gandhi — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:06:50 -0000

That McCain goofs is nothing new.

But that should not be an excuse for more goofing! What is "bon-a-fides"?

It is almost normal in our days that people don't know Latin but bon-a-fides?

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Joel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:55:35 -0000

I work in the field of developmental disabilities. Mr. McCain referrenced Sarah Palin and autism together indicating she knows about this becuase of her son and how she can relate to other parents that have children who may be autistic. Well first, Sarah Paslin's son has downs syndrome not autism whic is significantly different and second, I have met many familes who are parents with those who have disabilites and they are my heroes, however I don't think that makes thewm qualified to be VP. Also, just becuase McCain was a prisoner of war it doesn't qualify ti be president as many have said and allegedly gives him greater worldly awareness. I had two uncles who were also prisoners of war during world war two and believe me niether one could ever be president and were not qualified. I just wish the media would not run with myth and hype and make it the truth about the so called maverick or Bill Ayers etc. etc.

Thanks

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Maine_Voter — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:05:03 -0000

I've been watching election coverage pretty intently since the Iowa primaries, and I know that Trig has Down Syndrome but I knew nothing about Sarah's sister having an autistic child. To me it looked like McCain thought Trig had autism, so that made McCain look very addled. I used to like McCain a lot, but he's just looked too darn old this time. And angry. And then of course there is his Palin problem.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

sharon — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:57:44 -0000

Re: the autism issue

I also thought McCain's comment about autism was strange last night, so I did some research. It turns out that a child with Down Syndrome is 10x more likely to also present with autism than the general population. As you noted, Sarah Palin's sister also has a child with autism. It would have made McCain sound less schizophrenic if he had actually explained this link between autism and downs, however. The way it happened, it sounded like a desperate plea for votes from parents of autistic children, and/or mcCain having a senior moment.

Regardless, for McCain to portray Sarah Palin as someone who knows "more than just about anyone" about autism is laughable, considering all of the researchers working on unraveling the puzzle of autism, and the parents who have put their very lives on hold to try and help their autistic children. Palin hardly fits either of those descriptions.

Re: In Debate, McCain Goofs on Palin Points

Mark Miller — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:54:36 -0000

McCain's reference to autism was intentional -- autism is much more prevalent than Down Syndrome, and therefore he could pander to more potential voters. I'm not sure either recognizes they are two very different conditions. I write about the candidates' positions on disabilities at http://specialneeds08.blogspot.com