Sarah Palin (Alaska Gov) McCain's VP

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by chiliD

I just think it's too bad that Tina Fey left SNL, she'd be the perfect person to portray Ms. Palin.

Somebody else thinks so, too.

[gretchen]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Somebody else thinks so, too.

OMG

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

OMG brilliant. "They vote with the little hood."

[omigodstevie]

Originally Posted by chiliD

I just think it's too bad that Tina Fey left SNL, she'd be the perfect person to portray Ms. Palin.

I'll bet they'll have her on as a host sometime, and they'll write a Sarah Palin sketch

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by vivfox

they're both DEAD...Bwaahahahahahahaha!!! Damn obvious and I missed it when this was posted...tsk, tsk, tsk.

Brian "Jagger/Richards in 2008" j.

[rubytuesday]

I can't even take her name seriously......it's like one of the monty python guys are running for president. Who could take a Cleese campaign seriously? I can't take a Palin one seriously either.

[SuzeQuze]

She actually said she was curious to see what the VP's day-to-day job was like.

[Tango]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,3119305.story


Palin appears to disagree with McCain on sex education

The Republican vice presidential candidate says students should be taught about condoms. Her running mate -- and the party platform -- disagree.


By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 6, 2008

Teen pregnancy and sex education were thrust into the spotlight this week when Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin revealed that her 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant.

Palin's running mate, John McCain, and the GOP platform say children should be taught that abstinence until marriage is the only safe way to avoid pregnancy and disease. Palin's position is less clear.

In a widely quoted 2006 survey she answered during her gubernatorial campaign, Palin said she supported abstinence-until-marriage programs. But weeks later, she proclaimed herself "pro-contraception" and said condoms ought to be discussed in schools alongside abstinence.

"I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues," she said during a debate in Juneau.

Such statements could raise concerns among social conservatives who have been some of Palin's most enthusiastic supporters since she was tapped for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket last week.


Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse and campaign manager of the Vote Yes for Life effort, said children must be given a "clear and concise" message on the benefits of abstinence.

Asked about Palin's statement, Unruh said, "I don't think it's clear. It seems disjointed to me."

Two days later, Unruh dismissed the comments as "old."

"I support her in every way," she said.

Other conservatives who have backed Palin, including James Dobson of Focus on the Family, declined to weigh in.

Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella said the governor stands by her 2006 statement, supporting sex education that covers both abstinence and contraception.

McCain's campaign did not respond to questions about whether Palin's position is inconsistent with his. But earlier, a campaign spokesperson said McCain believes abstinence is "the only safe and responsible alternative."

"To do otherwise is to send a mixed signal to children that, on the one hand they should not be sexually active, but on the other, here is the way to go about it," according to a statement provided by the campaign. "As any parent knows, ambiguity and equivocation leads to problems when it comes to teaching children right from wrong."

Even before Palin released a statement about her daughter Bristol, teen pregnancy had been in the spotlight frequently this year. The teen birth rate, which had been declining for 15 years, showed an increase in new data released in July. One month earlier, 17-year-old actress Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth to a daughter, distressing parents who worried about the message it would send to young fans. And early in the year, the film "Juno" won an Oscar, prompting critics to accuse Hollywood of glamorizing teen pregnancy.

Sex education varies widely across the nation's school districts.

In California, the state Education Code does not allow abstinence-only programs in public schools, so if a school offers sex education, it must include discussion of contraception as well as abstinence. About 96% of the state's schools offer sex education. All schools are required to educate older children about HIV/AIDS, and those discussions must cite both abstinence and condoms as methods of preventing infection.

The federal government has spent more than $1 billion on the abstinence-only message since 1996 under a program created by Congress as part of welfare reform. California is the only state to have declined to take part in the program since its inception. In recent years, states that had taken part in the program have decided to forgo the funding and the restrictions that come with it.

Palin's statements date to her 2006 gubernatorial run. In July of that year, she completed a candidate questionnaire that asked, would she support funding for abstinence-until-marriage programs instead of "explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?"

Palin wrote, "Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support."

But in August of that year, Palin was asked during a KTOO radio debate if "explicit" programs include those that discuss condoms. Palin said no and called discussions of condoms "relatively benign."

"Explicit means explicit," she said. "No, I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I am not anti-contraception. But, yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that. That doesn't scare me, so it's something I would support also."

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Somebody else thinks so, too.

Tina Fey is still close to the show. I wouldn't be surprised if she makes more than one cameo, al la Jan Hooks in the 1990s, on SNL

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Tina Fey is still close to the show. I wouldn't be surprised if she makes more than one cameo, al la Jan Hooks in the 1990s, on SNL

God, she has to!

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Things aren't looking so good for the Repubs and their convention right now.
And Strandie, you have been scarce since this whole Gustav thing started. Is the family okay?

Is he gone for good or what?Another prolific poster from the Golden Age of The Ledge to quietly disappear into the ether?Hope not.

[strandinthewind]

I just got back from two weeks in Europe.

I and the peeps in Louisiana are fine and unscathed.

As for SP - what did anyone expect, she is further to the right than "I voted 95% with W" McCain and she is a staunch anti-abortionist. She also is a clear attempt to woo some Hillary women. She is a rather brilliant move on the part of the McCain campaign.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I just got back from two weeks in Europe.

I and the peeps in Louisiana are fine and unscathed.

As for SP - what did anyone expect, she is further to the right than "I voted 95% with W" McCain and she is a staunch anti-abortionist. She also is a clear attempt to woo some Hillary women. She is a rather brilliant move on the part of the McCain campaign.

I hope you had a good trip! She is not just farther to the right than McCain .I believe she is farther to the right than W himself. Whereas he is a born again more for political expediency IMO she is the real thing ,a true believer .There is no place for that kind of extremism in leadership or really anywhere in these times whether it is Islam ,Christianity or any other .
I posted on here several times that I feared he would pick a far right VP. but she exceeds my worst fears. I can't imagine too many former Hillary supporters going for her given her extreme positions ..It would have to be on gender alone and that is disturbing.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

I hope you had a good trip! She is not just farther to the right than McCain .I believe she is farther to the right than W himself. Whereas he is a born again more for political expediency IMO she is the real thing ,a true believer .There is no place for that kind of extremism in leadership or really anywhere in these times whether it is Islam ,Christianity or any other .
I posted on here several times that I feared he would pick a far right VP. but she exceeds my worst fears. I can't imagine too many former Hillary supporters going for her given her extreme positions ..It would have to be on gender alone and that is disturbing.

Being further to the rigth than W isn't a bad thing. I mean look at the Fannie May Freddie Mac mess! W talks a good right wing talk, but doesn't re-enforce it with his pen. He's also too quick to throw people under the bus and apologize. Palin has a bigger set than W ever dreamed of having. I watched W on an old Meet the Press and was extremely disappointed. He started out with high ideals, but never really succeeded in anything he outlined besides tax cuts, and those aren't even permanent!

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Being further to the rigth than W isn't a bad thing. I mean look at the Fannie May Freddie Mac mess! W talks a good right wing talk, but doesn't re-enforce it with his pen. He's also too quick to throw people under the bus and apologize. Palin has a bigger set than W ever dreamed of having. I watched W on an old Meet the Press and was extremely disappointed. He started out with high ideals, but never really succeeded in anything he outlined besides tax cuts, and those aren't even permanent!

Welcome back AJM!And we actually agree on something !W is a lame ineffective President.I also agree that Palin has a bigger set than him and is just crazy and ruthless enough to try and push a far right agenda even though if she did end up Pres ,Congress and the Senate will not be Repub.I can understand why she is the evangelical right's wet dream with such nutty statement's as "God wants Alaska to have a pipeline" ..really that sounds like something Osama Bin Laden would say except substituting Alaska for Afghanistan or some such.As I was watching the RNC I could not help but notice that the vast majority of the delegates were middle aged or older white folks with a sparse smattering of strategically placed minorites.That party and the neo con movement's days are numbered and Palin just may well be their last best hope..A hope which I would love to see go down in flames.