Slate Blogs

Bush, Palin, What’s the Difference? Part II

Juliet Lapidos — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:32:00 GMT

Anne , Marjorie , and Hanna : Thanks to you all for your considered responses to the question I posed earlier — about whether there's any discernible difference between Palin's ability to lead the country and Bush's. Initially, I argued that there isn't, and that's why it's perplexing that so many conservatives are denouncing McCain's veep pick when they didn't say boo about Bush. You've all mentioned, in one way or another, the fact that Bush belongs to a political family, whereas Palin does not....(read more)

We'll Miss George

Hanna Rosin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:43:00 GMT

Juliet, I think this is going to turn out to be a real crisis moment for the conservative movement. The difference between Palin and Bush is: He was just pretending to be regular folk from the heartland, whereas she actually is. Bush was perfect for the conservative movement. (As was Reagan, in a different way.) Bush could masterfully pull off the act of being a struck-by-the-light evangelical from Texas. But the Buckleys and the Frums and the Brooks of the world all knew that actually, he was safe--an...(read more)

IQ Challenge

Marjorie Valbrun — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:46:00 GMT

Juliet, I hate to be in the position of defending President Bush, especially when it comes to his level of intelligence, but I have to say I disagree that he and Sarah Palin are cut from the same aptitude cloth. As you noted , Bush does have more executive experience, (He actually came into office after having been governor of Texas for two consecutive four-year terms.) but beyond experience I think the two have other fundamental differences. Despite his narrow-mindedness, his inability to admit...(read more)

Next Stunt, Please.

Mickey Kaus — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:07:00 GMT

What's McCain's Next Stunt? Let the speculation begin. Global Dashboard has one not-implausible scenario. ... Feiler Faster Stunting: I say there isn't time for one more stunt. There's time for two! ...

Déjà Vu

Anne Applebaum — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:22:00 GMT

Seems to me, Juliet , that it's not just sexism that is driving conservatives away from Sarah Palin in droves. It's déjà vu. I write here as one who heard President Bush speak a few times during his first trip to Europe in the summer of 2001 and was impressed: He didn't sound as stupid as one had been led to believe; he seemed to have a feel for history; one was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt—and what a mistake that was. I was also inclined to give Palin the benefit of the doubt for...(read more)

Breaking News: Same-Sex Marriage in Connecticut!

E.J. Graff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:02:00 GMT

It's official: Same-sex couples can now enter legally recognized marriages in three American states—Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. (Countries include Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Spain ... I don't think I've missed any nations, but a Scandinavian country might have snuck in while I wasn't paying attention. All the other developed countries, except for the United States, have some kind of partner recognition for same-sex pairs, roughly equivalent to Vermont's and...(read more)

But Is Palin Really Worse Than Bush?

Juliet Lapidos — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:56:00 GMT

First it was David Frum ; then George Will followed by David Brooks ; then Frum's colleague at the National Review , Kathleen Parker ; today, William F. Buckley's son, Christopher jumped on the band wagon. Conservatives everywhere are denouncing McCain's veep pick because, essentially, they think she isn't smart enough to lead the country. True, they focus on the experience or rather the inexperience question, but it's transparent enough that what's sent conservatives into a tizzy is that Palin can't...(read more)

Sarah Palin Isn’t a Cover Girl

Abby Callard — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:39:00 GMT

On Wednesday, Fox News aired a segment in which it berated Newsweek for not retouching a photo of Sarah Palin that ran on its Oct. 13 cover. (You can see a good close-up here .) The photo is clearly untouched: stray eyebrow hair, large pores, and wrinkles are all visible on her face. The headline reads "She's One of The Folks (And that's the problem)." But the outrage isn't about the headline at all; it's about the photo. When did untouched become "unfair," as a Republican media consultant claims...(read more)

Learning a Lesson From the "Redneck Caucus"

Bill Bishop — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker went to "central casting" in the spring of '06 to find the candidate who could win in Bush-red communities. Goldberg recounted a stilted encounter between the Kerrys (John and Teresa Heinz) and a Missouri hog farmer, concluding that Democrats needed candidates who "speak in language familiar to, among others, the disaffected hog farmers of Missouri." Like Claire McCaskill, a U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri who fit easily in rural communities. McCaskill won in...(read more)

This is Divisive?

Melinda Henneberger — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:36:00 GMT

Rachael is so not our Elisabeth Hasselbeck ! And seriously, Ellen , how are we divisive? Au contraire, I'd say we are a model of comity - the U.N. of blogs, really, only with no corruption and no Libya on the Security Council. We've been at this for a year now - come to think of it, why haven't we celebrated that? - and despite disagreeing on minor matters like abortion and war have hardly ever even gotten hot at each other. On no occasion I can recall has anyone been so much as borderline disrespectful,...(read more)

Adolescence Is Tough Enough

Bonnie Goldstein — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:06:00 GMT

I know being chosen is supposed to be a great honor, but I feel oddly protective of Matani Shakya , the newly appointed 3-year-old goddess in Nepal. When not being "wheeled around on a chariot pulled by devotees" the kumari toddler will reside in a palatial temple until she hits puberty. She will then, sadly, get tossed for a new baby deity. Harsh reality, that. Where do ex-goddesses go for therapy?...(read more)

Strike a Pose

Ellen Tarlin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:31:00 GMT

Back to basics for a second here. We are getting rather divisive on "XX Factor" itself. True, I do not get Rachael 's politics. I consider her a friend and a colleague and I admire her competence and her smarts, but on politics, she and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I don't get it. But I want to. I wish I could wake up one day with a conservative brain and see the world as Rachael sees it and see how the things she believes can make sense to her. I wish someone made conservative-colored...(read more)

Swift Boat Watch: Judicial Confirmation Network

Abby Callard — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:56:00 GMT

See all Swift Boat Watch entries here.

Who They Are: Judicial Confirmation Network

Purpose: The group supports conservative nominees to the Supreme Court. In this election, they oppose Barack Obama.

President: Gary Marx, former coalitions director for Bush-Cheney 2004 and Mitt Romney.

Funding: The group is a registered 501(c)4, funded through individual donations.

Cost of the Ad: $550,000 in a $1 million campaign.

Where It Ran: Michigan, Ohio, and nationally on the Fox News Channel through Friday, Oct. 10.

Claims: Tony Rezko, a slumlord who was convicted on 16 counts of corruption, donated money to Obama. Obama also associated with William Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground who planted a bomb in the Pentagon in 1972 and later said he "didn't do enough." The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for years, blamed the U.S. for the Sept. 11 attacks. If Obama "chose" these people as associates and backers, the ad suggests, how can we trust him to choose Supreme Court justices?

Accuracy: The majority of the facts in the ad are correct. Rezko started to donate to Obama's state senate campaign in 1995, although Obama recently gave Rezko donations to charity. Obama and Ayers worked together on the board of the same Chicago anti-poverty foundation for three years. Ayers, when he was a member of the Weather Underground, planted a bomb and later said it wasn't enough. Wright did say in a sermon that African Americans should not sing "God Bless America" but "God damn America." But the ad is wrong to equate this statement with blaming the U.S. for 9/11. It was another controversial Wright statement—"America's chickens are coming home to roost"—that suggests the U.S. is partly to blame.

Background: The group was created in 2004 to help President George W. Bush's nominations get confirmed in the Supreme Court. The group campaigned heavily for Samuel Alito's confirmation.

Swift Boat Rating:

Although the facts in the ad are essentially correct, suggesting that these associations have anything to do with Supreme Court nominations is a stretch.

Divided We Fall

Dahlia Lithwick — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:53:00 GMT

Rachael : I have been on the road, but I didn’t want to leave your very smart post unanswered. You and I are in complete agreement that American political discourse has taken a turn for the despicable in recent weeks, and that we are ill-served by the ugliness. But I am going to stand by my claim that campaigns send a message to their supporters about the legitimacy of hating, and that Sarah Palin and John McCain have not just condoned but encouraged it as their campaign has faltered in recent weeks....(read more)

Realignment? Nope. Just More of The Same.

Bill Bishop — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:09:00 GMT

A few days after the 2006 election, the Washington Post announced , " 'God gap' in American politics has narrowed substantially." By 2006, so went the theory, evangelicals were disgruntled with George W. Bush. All the fundamentalists, charismatics, megachurchers, and Southern Baptists were shifting away from the Republicans. The evangelical church was undergoing some kind of fundamental change, and their votes were there for the Democratic taking. Oh yeah? Seventy percent of white evangelicals voted...(read more)

McCain vs. "That One,'' the Opera

Melinda Henneberger — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

I didn't hear every word of the debate, because along with most of the other passengers waiting for the 10:35 flight from JFK to National, I was straining to make out what the candidates were saying over the general airport din, plus the patter of an Australian guy who found McCain ridiculous—his mention of Obama's support for a slide projector in a planetarium struck him as especially hilarious—and an unhappy Republican who grumbled, "Nothing new, nothing new'' every time "that one'' opened his...(read more)

There Can Only Be “One”

Christopher Beam — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:30:00 GMT

In the beginning, there was “The One.” Now, thanks to an off-hand comment in tonight’s debate, there’s “that one.” The result: One "one" cancels the other "One" out.

McCain was discussing a 2005 energy bill “loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one,” he said, indicating Obama. “You know who voted against it? Me.”

The Obama camp immediately blasted out a one-liner to reporters: “Did John McCain just refer to Obama as ‘that one’?” In an otherwise forgettable debate, that’s already become the moment, with Obama campaign manager David Plouffe suggesting it reflects McCain’s “anger” and lumping it in with his refusal to look Obama in the eye last debate.

Which is, of course, utterly silly. “That one” is good-natured towel-snapping—another way of saying, Get a load of this guy. Anyone who knows how McCain talks knows this. He was joshing around. It wasn’t particularly funny—but it wasn’t mean-spirited either.

It could still matter, though. McCain’s campaign has had a good chuckle dubbing Obama “The One,” a tweak at the worshipful way some fans treat him. (And, some believe, a hint that he’s the Antichrist.) They’re still laughing, too. Just today, the McCain camp issued novelty cufflinks with a mock presidential seal on one side—a jab at Obama’s campaign seal—and “The One” engraved on the other.

But “that one” could mean the end of “The One.” Now, every time Team McCain resurrects their favorite moniker, Team Obama need only reply, Sorry, which one? Oh, you mean “THAT one.”

It’s a dumb response, but then again, it’s a dumb attack. After all, it takes one to know one.

CNN's Unilluminating Gender Gap

Emily Bazelon — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:27:00 GMT

During the vice-presidential debate, I had to keep tearing my gaze away from the CNN ticker with the reactions of undecided voters, which was tracking men separately from women. The sexual politics of politics—how could it not be riveting? Except that, after about five minutes, it wasn't. All it led me to was the basic and obvious observation that women seemed to be higher on the + scale than men, over and over again. They also seemed to dislike hearing the Republican line on the Iraq war more. Tonight...(read more)

Obama's Hanging Curve

Chris Wilson — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:02:00 GMT

Did Obama miss the best pitch he's going to see in this debate? The second question, from a man named Oliver Clark, asked the candidates: "Well, senators, through this economic crisis, most of the people that I know have had a difficult time. And through this bailout package, I was wondering what it is that's going to actually help those people out."

McCain responded first, giving an airy answer about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—institutions, he suggested, the questioner "may never even have heard of ... before this crisis"—and taking a snipe at Obama for his contributions from those institutions. At this point, the moment felt eerily analogous to the most famous question from the 1992 town hall debate below, in which a young woman asked the three candidates how the national debt had personally affected them. (She probably meant the recession.) George H.W. Bush's response (about 20 seconds into the video) was muddled and aloof, and Bill Clinton pounced on the opportunity to give a personal, compassionate-sounding response (2:30 in the video). The exchange was instant presidential-debate lore.

As Jack Shafer wrote in Slate today, Clinton's '92 playbook has more than a few valuable pages in it, and Obama's answer hardly lived up. After a mini economics lesson about frozen credit markets and their effect on business, he flipped the question into an attack on McCain's support for deregulation. The man-of-the-people card may not be Obama's strong point, but one can't help feel that he missed an essential opportunity to connect with voters.

You, Don't Send Me Flowers

Melinda Henneberger — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:12:00 GMT

Here's a matter that knows no party or region or class: flowers, which I must remember to teach my son are not always such a thoughtful gift. One of my dearest friends celebrated a big, big birthday last week. And what did her husband do to mark the milestone? "He went to the Kroger's for flowers,'' she said, rocked by the care and consideration that went into his offering. So to the three men reading this, don't let this be you. Flowers for no reason? Such a sure thing that if she doesn't like them,...(read more)

Hating on Homes With Aboveground Swimming Pools

Melinda Henneberger — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:09:00 GMT

You know, Rachael is also saying something important here, something we forget at our own peril: Looking down on Mr. and Mrs. Middle America isn't smart, and it IS what smarty-pants liberals in Washington (and beyond!) sometimes do. (And why is that? Would we rather show off than win?) Case in point: Richard Cohen, in a column in today's Washington Post, sneering that those who praised Sarah Palin's debate performance must have "inferred that her performance would go over well in homes with aboveground...(read more)

If This Is a "Change" Election, Then What's Changed?

Bill Bishop — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:56:00 GMT

Let's consider what's not new in this election. There's a lot. The last five or six elections have been pushed along by trends that have been in place since the mid-1970s. Despite the extraordinary circumstances this year, the basic political contours of the country haven't changed (or haven't changed yet!). If anything, 2008 appears to be more an extension of the 2006 midterms, an election that changed little in the country's basic political makeup from 2004—except, of course, for the name of the...(read more)

Authentically Fake

Marjorie Valbrun — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:37:00 GMT

Dahlia, I also agree with you about Sarah Palin being a divider not a uniter. Over the last few days she has been going after Obama in racially coded language in her attempts to link him to '60s-era radical Bill Ayers. I find this dismaying and dangerous. When she says Obama "is not like us," or that he doesn't "share our values," she is signaling to her mostly white audiences that they should be worried and fearful of this guy, who is not only black but also a closet Muslim who hangs out with domestic...(read more)

Palin and Uniters and Dividers

Rachael Larimore — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:50:00 GMT

Dahlia, You're absolutely right , of course, to say that Sarah Palin has been a divider, not a uniter. I didn't see it because I wasn't looking for it. Even though I'm in a bit of a unique situation—I'm geographically planted in Ohio while spending my days virtually on the East Coast—at the end of the day, I'm one of those average folks in Middle America to whom Palin is speaking. But if we can continue our conversation, I think it's important, while ackowledging the negativity, to ask, what does...(read more)

Swift Boat Watch: WakeUpWalMart.com

Abby Callard — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:13:00 GMT

See all Swift Boat Watch entries here.

Who They Are: WakeUpWalMart.com

Purpose: To change Wal-Mart's business strategy and the way the corporation treats employees. In this election, they oppose John McCain.

Campaign Director: Meghan Scott

Funding: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

Where It Ran: Aired three times during the vice-presidential debate on CNN and MSNBC in Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Related Groups: UFCW

Claims: 1.6 million women are charging Wal-Mart with pay discrimination. When equal-pay legislation came to the Senate, McCain "helped defeat it."

Accuracy: In the largest class action suit to date, 1.6 million women sued Wal-Mart for discrimination regarding pay and promotions in 2004. McCain opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in April that would have made it easier for people to sue their employees on the basis of discrimination. McCain did not vote on the bill but voiced his opposition on the campaign trail.

Background: UFCW created the group in 2005 to directly challenge Wal-Mart. Although the group has aired one previous ad attacking McCain's economic plan, it has focused almost exclusively on Wal-Mart in the past. According to the Federal Election Commission, UFCW has spent $596,570 in support of Obama so far this election cycle.

Swift Boat Rating: 0 boats

The facts in the ad are all correct: 1.6 million women sued Wal-Mart, and McCain opposed the bill that would have made it easier for women to sue employers on the basis of discrimination.