Unfit to stand so close to presidency
Did you catch that date?
In what is one of the most insensitive comments I have read in a political column, Payne had the audacity to compare Republican Vice President Sarah Palin to the Taliban on the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Very classy indeed.
Not to mention the pathetic irony in that the Taliban are not known for allowing women much freedom and independence, it was the Taliban who helped and harbored Al Qaeda as they planned the 9/11 attacks.. Surely, you could have spent a moment or two to find another -- any other -- analogy.
Payne launches his screed by declaring with an almost transparent glee that McCain could pass away while in office. It almost sounds to me that he is wishing for that "one heart attack, one stroke, one metastasized melanoma" to strike "72-year-old hot head," Senator McCain. Another paragraph rife with decorum, dignity and compassion.
Beyond the crass, tasteless commentary, Payne's column is rife with outright lies, distortions, and blatant omissions. Who needs facts, right?
Payne brilliantly suggests that Palin's claim to the commander-in-chief of the Alaska Army National Guard is "preposterous." Sorry, Dan, she is.
According to the Army National Guard web site, the National Guard is "under the jurisdiction of both state and federal governments, so Guard Soldiers can be deployed by either the governor of their resident state, or the president of the United States." Sounds like Palin is a C-in-C to me.
Palin's a "pipeline to pork," says the columnist. She swung $197.8 million in earmarks to Alaska in 2008 and $27 million to tiny Wasila. Clearly, she is not one to criticize earmarks, the column implies.
But then, neither is Obama.
According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a "government watchdog group", Obama secured $91 million in earmarks in 2007 (Boston Globe 2/14/08). Apparently, Payne doesn't read his own newspaper.
Further, according to the Republican National Committee, Obama has requested 330 earmark projects Totaling Almost $1 Billion ($935.7 million) since being sworn in as a senator from Illinois in January 2005, including 112 projects totaling $399.8 million for the 2008 federal fiscal year. A new kind of politician, indeed.
Let's see, the RNC states that Obama requested 139 Projects totaling $334 million For FY 2007, but received only $91 million. Not a very good percentage, is it? Is Palin a better salesperson?
Let us contrast that with John McCain. "McCain has led the fight against special interests in Washington, never asked for a single earmark..." said a McCain spokesman, as quoted in the Boston Globe.
One billion in requests from Obama in 4 years compared to zero requests in 24 years. You be the judge,
Payne, it seems is good at keeping those pesky details out of his column.
He tries to suggest Palin sought to have a state trooper fired because he "went through a messy divorce" from Palin's sister. He forgot the tiny detail that the trooper used a taser on his 10 year old son and threatened to kill Palin's father (the governor's father). I am uncomfortable thinking that Payne would leave a trooper with this unstable a personality on the state police force. Alaskans should be glad that Palin has better judgment than he.
Finally, Dan reveals where he spends time researching his columns be quoting David Letterman. I can't recall a more astute political mind than Dave, can you?
In case anyone is wondering why the sales of newspapers is plummeting in this country, this column is Exhibit A. He dredges up a pile of lies and distortions and contorts them into an incoherent and babbling column that one might expect to find in a high school newspaper.
He claims Palin unfit to be vice president; until he can do some basic research and tell the truth, I call him -- and far too many of his colleagues -- unfit to be a columnist.
On second thought, keep it up, Dan. The more the liberal media trashes this woman, the better McCain/Palin does in the polls.
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