1641

Right, it’s a good thing when a VP draws almost the same crowd as a presidential candidate.

Good thing!

1642

I’m agreeing with you Dog!

Quick question though, does it mean anything if Palin gets the same or bigger numbers than McCain?

1643

Right, it’s a good thing when a presidential candidate draws less than his own VP.

Good thing!

1644

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said it raised $10 million Thursday following the Republican National Convention speech by rival John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin.

By contrast, the RNC only raised $1 million following her speech.

Way to energize the (Dem) base! More nights like that, please!

1645

Fuck, I just sent that Obama bastard $300 on general principles.

1646

At least we know that if Obama was stung by criticism from the Republicans, he can wipe his tears away with all the dollar bills.

1647

There’s only one hand, the one where I was focusing on a particular aspect of the generally sloppy bullshit you’ve been posting. Let me put it in terms you are in danger of understanding: shut the fuck up about the absence of Palin’s babies onstage and skills in riflery at the range for a moment, along with every other tabloid newsflash you were about to deliver. Stop being exactly the kind of supporter the Democratic party needs the least. The McCain campaign has proven itself to be dangerously resilient, and you’re too stupid to beat the GOP at its own game, even in the context of a forum that is so overwhelmingly blue.

Just vote your opinion in the ballot box quietly and thank your fairy godmother that you accidentally landed on the right side in this discussion despite being a parody of an informed citizen. If you can do that and chew gum without busting your ass, I promise you’ll have done your best.

1648

Well you’re about 100% wrong there.

1649

What?

1650

And from watching the sputtering wreck in that clip, it’s clear Ben Stein is rapidly sliding into dementia.

1651

No problem.

My daughter had some problems that she was unable to recover from, related to her ADHD that went undiagnosed until very recently, and our local school which is very good was not really able to help in an effective manner.

Freed from the requirement to follow the standard “read these pages, memorize this, do this page of homework, test on Friday” that you kind of have to do for a class of 30 disparate kids, we’re working in a way that is more effective for her. For example, we’re studying the Civil War. Instead of the standard text, we’re going through Ken Burns’ excellent DVD series, which follows the war historically but also breaks it into topics, such as the home front, etc. We then have a discussion period after each section, and will have her write an essay on some aspect of it.

We also have the freedom, since we don’t have to have one hour of this, one hour of that, in order each day, to take an entire day and go to a Civil War site, etc.

Likewise, for government, we’re covering the campaign. How does each side present it’s message? Is the media biased to one side or another? If so, what is your evidence? How does the electoral college work? Why do we have it? Which would be better, direct popular vote or electoral, and why? Write a summary of each candidate’s stance on the following issues? Which do you agree with and why? How do the primaries work? Some historical examples of past interesting elections. Taking her to see the candidates speak when they come to Kansas City. Etc.

We do the same for each topic area. We also have social work as an area: she volunteers to do social work in a variety of areas to get a feeling for the needs of people, how those needs are being met (and not), etc.

She is learning a LOT. And she enjoys it.

As for getting into college - due to her struggles in school in the past, she was going to be going to a Junior College first anyway due to GPA. But surprisingly, a lot of 4 year schools are very open to home schooled kids these days. The junior colleges are completely open to it.

Be happy to answer any questions at all.

1652

[/QUOTE]

So they either made $0, or $2 million? Phew, I bet they’re relieved!

1653

So you’re saying they raised $2 million? Or… well… what the fuck are you saying, exactly?

Just Googled for “RNC fundraising after Palin speech”. First page hits:

Washington Wire - WSJ.com : RNC Picks Up $1 Million After Palin Speech

FOXNews.com - Obama raises $10 million after Palin speech …

Fox News and the WSJ (not exactly the most Dem-friendly sources) say the $10M for Obama / $1M for RNC numbers are accurate.

Care to shut up now?

1654

Its late, he’s old and and maybe he’s drunk. But its not like he’s babbling. He’s pissed that McCain made a “gimmick” pick. I would be too if I was a moderate or rational Republican.

1655

Relax, relax. I saw $10 million for the RNC and assumed it was overnight, not since her announcement on Friday. I was off a little, I’m pretty sure you’ll be okay though. Keep breathing.

1656

I don’t see why a large audience tuning in to watch a slow motion train wreck is all that much to brag about for the GOP, really.

1657

I know everyone here keeps telling each other the same thing over and over, but it doesn’t necessarily make it true.

A lot of people tuned in because she’s the hottest thing in politics right now (in more ways than one), and they wanted to find out who she was. She had an opportunity to shine, and she did so. By any reasonable measure (ie. not the DailyKOS or HuffingtonPost or Freep or Fox News), she acquitted herself more than adequately and the party seems very energized by her. By selectively reasonable sources, she hit it out of the park.

What’s the opposite of a train wreck? She’s pulling a train on Qt3?

1658

Yeah, I’ve been kind of amazed at the reaction of liberal people here and that I know in real life to her pick. It’s like they either think Palin is a gift from heaven and can’t wait to attack her or they think she’s a huge threat and only an immediate frenzied attack can save Obama. People need to calm down. This kind of behavior is counter-productive. She’s the VP pick, people, and there is plenty of time for legitimate (i.e. not her personal life) questions to be raised.

We’ll know if the next few days whether her speech last night “hit it out of the park” or was just something people watched to see if she crashed. Until then, claiming one thing or another is pointless.

1659

I’m not claiming anything one way or the other about the speech. I’m saying that I think a lot of people tuned in who normally might not have because they’re curious about the current political comedy/tragedy unfolding, and I’m pretty confident in that assessment. Who knows, maybe she won a few over. I can’t possibly see how, but crazier things have happened in an election year.

1660

Saying that the large number of people who tuned in to see Palin shows that she’s a hit is like saying that the large number of people who tuned in to see the OJ Simpson trial shows that most people thought he was innocent.

And the reason people are bringing up her personal life is because she has made our personal lives a big part of her political career. If she’s preaching taking an anti-abortion, anti-sex-ed stance and in her home she has a pregnant 17-year-old daughter, that’s relevant. It either demonstrates a significant weakness in her proposed policies, her own hypocrisy, or both.