Palin, False Rumors And An Odd Ad

(CBS)  Every Thursday up until Election Day, the CBS Evening News will take some time to assess the presidential campaign - and how it's going. CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield will be our guide to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. You can learn more about this series over at Couric & Co. blog.

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The Good

It's the most tactically successful move of the entire campaign: John McCain's pick of Gov. Sarah Palin.

It energized the conservative base of the Republican Party and given McCain the chance to claim the "change" label. Not so incidentally, it's turned the focus of the campaign away from economic policy, into the realm of culture and values - where Republicans have been winning with rural and working-class voters for the better part of 40 years.

Could Palin's experience, views, campaign performance yet prove a liability? Sure. But she could also be the first vice-presidential pick since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960 to alter a presidential campaign for the better.

The Bad

This past week also provided more proof that partisans are fully prepared to believe the worst of the other side, no matter what the facts.

When Democrats gathered in Denver, delegates waved thousands of American flags to show they were as patriotic as the next guy. A week later FOX News reported that Democrats had thrown these flags away.

Bloggers on the right jumped all over the story - as more proof that when Democrats chant "USA! USA!" they have their fingers crossed.

Except that, as convention officials said, the story wasn't true. The flags were bundled for later use.

Bloggers on the left had their own exercise in mythology, circulating a list of the books Sarah Palin wanted banned from her local library when she was Mayor.

It was an eye-opening list, to be sure - more proof that conservatives hate the whole idea of free expression. Except that the list wasn't true. It included books that hadn't even been published back in 1996, like the Harry Potter books.

The Ugly

As for, well, if not the ugly, the "what-planet-is-this?" category - check out an ad from Kentucky, where Republicans gleefully aired a web ad featuring supporters of Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford in a frank and open exchange of views with an intrusive camera operator.

"Get off their property, a**hole," the alleged Lunsford ally said.

"It's a sidewalk," the cameraman said behind the lens.

"Listen you ... get the f*** off their property."

"I'm gonna take this camera and stick it somewhere you don't want it," the cameraman said before the footage ended.

As Greenfield said in reaction: Sounds just like the first Lincoln-Douglas debate.

[jaykay3141]

FLASH! In an escalation of the war of words over references to lipstick, a new ad from the McCain campaign is set to skewer Barack Obama for using the terms "female" and "a woman" to describe Sarah Palin. "These are clearly sexist references and cannot go unanswered", announced McCain press aide Beau Q. Grosvent. "We prefer that she be addressed with respect as The Mooseburger Master, or by her honorary Native American title Hunts-Wolves-from-Helicopter", he added.

Grosvent also warned that Obama faced further criticism from the McCain camp if he continued to use phrases such as "My fellow Americans", "One Nation under God", and "President of the United States", which he stated are the sole property of the Republican Party.

[kopana]

this is why our country is in the shape we are in for idiots like you that would vote because Palin is pretty....get for real....

This is an extremist rightist woman we have here...
looks at what she stands for:


she wants to have creationism taught in our schools, she is against pro choice for women even in cases of rape and incest...essentially enslaving young women and their bodies that were criminally violated...
she is anti-environment want to drill for a little oil in the northern slope where the endangered polar bear roam....

Then we have an idiot who want to vote for her because he thinks she pretty.....JUST BUY A GIRLIE MAGAZINE... AND GET OVER IT AND LET THE REST OF US HAVE A FAIR, SAFE, AND SMART AMERICA..

GO OBAMA!

[JoelB]

Jeff Greenfield says: Could Palin''s experience, views, campaign performance yet prove a liability? Sure. But she could also be the first vice-presidential pick since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960 to alter a presidential campaign for the better.

Why does Jeff think that would be for the better? His fawning over Sarah is getting embarrassing.

[caldwellptr]

Our political choices are:
Anarchy or Nilihism.

[fran1219]

I take issue with the reporting in this article. In the Reality Check section of this website, it is confirmed that Palin asked the librarian twice about banning books. This is a fact.
Unidentified bloggers started this story with the list of impossible books. We do not know if it was started by bloggers who were right or left wing. Why would a right wing blogger start such a story? Typical Republican dirty tricks. By deliberately sending out lies about the librarian story, we are seeing reporting about Harry Potter and that this erroneous story made the list of "the bad", instead of reporting on the true story of the inquiry about banning books.

[bonsai52]

I find it interesting that the story here focuses on the list of books proposed for banning being inaccurate, but doesn''t tell us that she didn''t propose to ban books or not. So the question is not whether the list of books is incorrect, rather it is whether or not she was in favor of banning any books. While I don''t believe that every book ever written should be in the public libraries, I do think that people who want to impose their values on the rest of us, should not be elected to any office, be it VP, Governor, Mayor or dog catcher. People serving the public have to be there for all of us, not just the ones who agree with them. Hopefully, we will vote for the people who represent us best and not fall for the quick, dirty and politically expedient, that we voted for in the last two elections.

[sweetangel4u-2009]

This is all true, unlike the hateful remarks about Obama''s innocent children and the lies that he is a Muslim. Even if he was of a different faith, he would still be more of an example of the life of a Christian than the violent, angry people posting here. These are the flailing arms of the crew members of the Republican dictator ship that is going down.




1. She is a thief, she charged Alaska for nights at home
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof
_blog/2008/09/sarah-palins-ta.html
2. She is a traitor. Watch her address to Alaska Independence Party which wants independence from USA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvPNXYrI
yI
3. Palin painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair(What!!?!) in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02 /palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.htm l
4. Palin said she is for limited Government, but she increased the size of the City of Wasilla payroll by hiring a CIty Manager as SHE WAS INCOMPETENT TO RUN IT ON HER OWN. Her predecessors did not need anyone to run the city.
5. She said she will change Washignton. Well, she hired Jack Abramoff''''s firm to lobby for the city. For a city of 6000, she could get ear-marks for $27 million!!
6. She said she will cut cost, well she ran her city to debt of $22 mil when she left office. The city had ZERO DEBT when she took the office.
7. Mayor Palin charged RAPE VICTIMS for test as a Mayor of Wasilla

[vami06]

Palin ain''t no saint, she came out in MSP like a boxer. As a former community organizer in VA. I led a statewide effort to amend VA''s constitution over 4 years including working on a congressional level with Biden & McCain. I led the effort with integrity and grave responsibility to citizens, media and legislators.

Her place on the ticket is merely an EEO slot to passify conservative Repubs.

She''s not smart, not honest and plain creepy. After 8 years of an *** like Bush, a snake like Cheney does America need a baracude or rabid pit bull like Palin?

[polpot4]

To Santuro

The whole book banning tactic your people tried to pull has already been proven false. A LIE !!
You need to keep up if you are going to have an opinion

[polpot4]

to kwvaughn

Your correct !! Osama is a Christian

he went to a Christian chruch with a racist pastor (Wright) who assailed, well, everyone !! jews, whites, italians...
He also married Osama and "baptised" his vile offspring.

Of course, this was after Osama had a life long relationship with a jailed criminal (rezko) whom Osama steered our tax dollars to.
And after Osama''s lifelong relationship with an unrepentant, convited terrorist (Ayres) who tried to blow up the pentagon and capital..

But you are correct, Osama is a Christian grin