Blockbuster NY Times piece on the Sarah Palin vetting disaster

(NOTE: NYT link is correct now, sorry.)

The comedy of errors that is John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin continues. Except, when the issue is picking a potential leader of our nation in a time of war, it shouldn't be a comedy and it shouldn't be filled with errors.

Read this blockbuster article in tomorrow's New York Times. There is so much in it. The article reveals that John McCain didn't get the vice president he wanted (Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge) because the religious right, which controls the GOP (and now controls John McCain), went ballistic on McCain last week because both Lieberman and Ridge are pro-choice. So McCain caved. Because of McCain's kowtowing to the theocrats, he hurriedly dumped Lieberman and Ridge and instead picked the very anti-abortion, but not much else, Palin without even fully vetting her.

Now, sure, the McCain campaign is claiming that Palin was "thoroughly vetted." But, that is clearly not true - the Times talked to all the key players in Alaska, and none of them were approached by the McCain campaign. In fact, McCain's vetter only just arrived in Alaska on Thursday, the day before McCain announced Palin as his VP choice.

This failure is actually quite stunning on many levels. It's just so fundamental to the process, the vetting of a vice presidential choice, that failing to do it properly is pretty much campaign malpractice. Clearly, Sarah Palin was not seriously vetted. An excerpt from the Times:

In Alaska, several state leaders and local officials said they knew of no efforts by the McCain campaign to find out more information about Ms. Palin before the announcement of her selection, Although campaigns are typically discreet when they make inquiries into potential running mates, officials in Alaska said Monday they thought it was peculiar that no one in the state had the slightest hint that Ms. Palin might be under consideration.

“They didn’t speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn’t speak to anyone in the business community,” said Lyda Green, the State Senate president, who lives in Wasilla, where Ms. Palin served as mayor.

Representative Gail Phillips, a Republican and former speaker of the State House, said the widespread surprise in Alaska when Ms. Palin was named to the ticket made her wonder how intensively the McCain campaign had vetted her.

“I started calling around and asking, and I have not been able to find one person that was called,” Ms. Phillips said. “I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. Not one of them had heard. Alaska is a very small community, we know people all over, but I haven’t found anybody who was asked anything.”

The current mayor of Wasilla, Dianne M. Keller, said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Ms. Palin’s background. And Randy Ruedrich, the state Republican Party chairman, said he knew nothing of any vetting that had been conducted.

State Senator Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the ethics investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. “I heard not a word, not a single contact,” he said.

Mr. French, a former prosecutor, said that he was knowledgeable about background checks and that, he, too, was surprised that the campaign had not reached out to state legislative leaders.

We've been saying for the past couple of days that this pick says more about John McCain than Sarah Palin. It really does. John McCain caved to the anti-abortion theocrats running the Republican party, made a hasty pick for his v.p., and is now suffering the consequences. Read More......

Will Sarah Palin cooperate with the investigation into the troopergate scandal?

Question number one for any v.p. vetter should be: Are you involved in any scandals? And, the second question is: Who is your legal counsel for that scandal?

It's hard to understand how the McCain campaign ignored the answer to question number one -- if it was ever even asked of Sarah Palin, who is involved in a major scandal. The answer to question number two should have raised some eyebrows. She didn't even have a lawyer in a case that could ultimately result in impeachment -- until recently. The Anchorage Daily News broke that news late today:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- Republican John McCain's pick for vice president -- now has a private lawyer representing her and others in the governor's office in an investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner.

John McCain keeps touting Palin's reform credentials -- starting with her courageous work at the PTA. Will Sarah Palin cooperate with the investigation -- or will Palin, the McCain campaign and her new lawyer try to stonewall the investigation? Real reformers answer questions, I'd say. More from the ADN:

[Special Counsel Steve] Branchflower is still trying to interview Palin. He made a request on Thursday morning, but hasn't heard back.

Palin was in Arizona with McCain on Thursday talking to him about the vice president's slot. McCain announced on Friday in Ohio that Palin was his pick.

"Clearly the Governor's new political role will make it more challenging for her to make time for this investigation," [State Senator Hollis] French wrote. "Nevertheless, her repeated promises to cooperate fully with the investigation, as well as statements that her new role as the Republican vice presidential nominee will not interfere with the day-to-day functioning of state business, should result in a concrete willingness to schedule and conclude her deposition."

This is a test for McCain.

Remember, John McCain had six months to pick a running mate. This was the most important decision McCain has made so far. He had plenty of time to think it through and vet the potential picks. Instead, McCain made a rash, uninformed, impulsive choice. With each passing hour, the McCain campaign's claims of thorough vetting sound less and less plausible. Again, McCain had six months to get this right, but his campaign was too busy bashing Obama to worry about important matters like choosing the person who could potentially be a leader of the free world. Reckless. Impulsive. Erratic. That's the kind of leadership McCain would give America. McCain is willing to gamble with our safety and security.

This whole mess really is about John McCain. (But, as so many pundits and reporters noted on Friday, McCain did "win" the media for the day. Look where that got him.) Read More......

Call her General Palin

Weird new talking point from the McCain campaign. They're now saying that Sarah Palin, or perhaps we should now be calling her General Palin, is "Commander in Chief" of the Alaska National Guard that is fighting in Iraq. I'm sure the governor is the de jure chief of the state's national guard, but to imply that she's somehow the equivalent of the Commander in Chief of the US military, directing Alaska's forces in the fight against Al Qaeda, running through war plans and launching rocket attacks, is just laughable. Don't take it from me. Take it from the general who runs the Alaska National Guard:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard... said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

Oops.

This interview, below, is simply astounding. CNN's Campbell Brown just obliterates McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds who simply refuses to answer, is unable to answer, the simple question as to what foreign policy experience Palin has. He couldn't name one decision she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. Watch the video below or via this link.

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Members of "Fringe" Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s

Cuckoo. And here's a quote from the founder of the party:

"I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." - Joe Vogler

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Girls Republicans just want to have fun

Damning story from ABC tonight (read a shortened transcript here) about GOP parties in Minneapolis while the south drowns. Watch this video. It's completely over the top. One party took place only hours after McCain said most events, other than the most essential, would be shut down today. The party featured a band called "Hookers and Blow" (blow is cocaine), and the guests included the House GOP deputy whip Congressman Bill Schuster (R-PA). Watch this, then send the link to your friends:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rni6G7RRFkk

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More memory lapses at the McCain campaign

The McCain campaign viciously attacked Obama today because Biden criticized McCain about offshore drilling, and he criticized McCain for having repeatedly questioned Obama's patriotism. The thrust of the McCain campaign attack? How dare Biden talk about McCain's position on offshore drilling on a day we're having a hurricane. I know, it's not quite clear why offshore drilling is off-limits on hurricane day. But regardless, the larger point McCain and company were trying to make is that on a day like this, no one should be casting stones - it's a day above politics (unless of course McCain is flying down to the hurricane zone for a photo op). But there's a problem. See, McCain's own spokesman, and surrogate/adviser Karl Rove, attacked Obama earlier today BEFORE Biden responded in kind.

No word on whether the McCain campaign is again having memory lapses or whether they're just awful liars. More on that soon, provided we don't discover that Sarah Palin is an alien. Read More......

Special needs mom weighs in on Sarah Palin

A mom with a special needs kid writes us:

I'm the mother of a special needs child, and hopefully my mommy brain can help shed some light on Sarah Palin's strange habits.

Her behavior immediately before (and since) birth does bear some examination. When I was pregnant and supposedly healthy, I canceled a long planned trip to Europe in my third trimester as a precaution. To be fair, Palin had had four healthy pregnancies and wasn't a nervous first timer like me. Plus a Down's baby is usually in normal good health. I'll also stipulate that in Alaska, unlike Arizona, you really do sometimes need a bush plane to get around. Still, once a woman's water breaks, I would personally consider her grounded. If she has any sense at all, she'll arrange to be grounded close to the best medical facilities available.

I'm also a little disturbed by how her decision to give birth to a special needs child is praised, but her decision to spend her time away from that child is completely unexamined. (This is classic behavior from the party that only cares about "life" before birth.) Any five month old baby needs serious time with its mommy. I also doubt that Palin is dragging a breast pump with her on the campaign trail, since it's a bunch of doctors and scientist over at the American Academy of Pediatricians recommending breast feeding for the first year.

My real question about the Palin household is this: Her 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant and getting ready to marry the daddy. When's the daughter's birthday? Has she been 17 for at least five months? How old is the daddy? What are the laws governing such relationships in Alaska? I agree that the girl should be left out of the spotlight as much as possible, but her parents' judgment needs to be thoroughly examined.

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McCain's lawyers are reportedly vetting Palin now, 4 days after he picked her

Is McCain even in charge any more? And if he is, should he be? This is just shockingly reckless. What is McCain going to do, un-nominate Palin in a few days or weeks or months if he finds out something (else) untoward about her?

Greg Sargent reports that the McCain campaign is now refusing to say whether McCain was aware that Palin's daughter was pregnant. Earlier today the McCain campaign told Reuters that McCain was in fact aware of the fact last week when he picked Palin. As Greg notes, the story is less about the daughter and more about McCain. Palin's unmarried, 17 year old daughter being pregnant (we don't know how old she and the baby's father were when they conceived the child), would be a relevant "controversy" for the vetting process to at least discover for McCain's private consideration. Read More......

Palin, the next JFK?

You can't make this stuff up:

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said on the same call that Palin is older than John F. Kennedy was when he ran for president in 1960 and that ``of four people on two national tickets, she is the only one with executive experience.''

So she's more qualified than John McCain, who she now says has no executive experience? Keep it coming. Read More......

It's about McCain. Period.

John McCain secured the GOP nomination in early March. In fact, on March 5, 2008, in a much heralded move, McCain arrived at the White House to be anointed by George Bush.

John McCain has had six months to pick his vice president. He's had longer to consider that choice than any other presidential candidate in history. Yet, the decision McCain made appears rushed, impulsive and not thoroughly vetted. The controversies swirling around Palin have less to do with her and more to do with McCain.

For the past few months, McCain and his campaign have been launching vicious attacks on Barack Obama -- challenging his patriotism and linking him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Those attacks apparently sucked up all the McCain campaign's time and energy, because, it's obvious no one was thinking about the most important decision McCain would make during the campaign: naming someone to succeed him should the 72 year old McCain, who has had 4 bouts of cancer, die or be incapacitated in office.

As I noted this morning, even McCain-lover David Broder called McCain's move a "gamble." The words "reckless" and "impulsive" keep popping up as well.

Sarah Palin is providing a lot of fodder for reporters and bloggers (and late-night comedians). But, that's not her fault. It's all about McCain. This is the kind of president he would be: impulsive; reckless; overly political. McCain gambled all right, but in doing so, he showed us his hand. And it was empty. Read More......

How John McCain forced me to write about the weird story of Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy

In a seeming effort to divert attention from Sarah Palin's increasingly troubled bid for the vice presidency, an unnamed McCain campaign staffer today blamed her woes on "liberal bloggers."

The McCain staffer claimed specifically that liberal bloggers were pushing a story that last April, Sarah Palin had taken her unmarried and underage daughter's baby as her own. The thing is, I never pushed this story, nor did Markos, nor did Josh Marshall. We're three of the top "liberal" blogs, and we never touched it. So, sorry to disapppoint. Let me walk you through what each of us has said about this story.

1. Me.

I've received a slew of emails the past few days, tipping me off to this story. I refused to write about it because I didn't buy it. Here's an example of what I wrote to one tipster on Saturday:

I've seen the story, but I'd like to see more facts before even considering writing about it. Investigating, sure - everything is worth investigating, in principle, but a number of readers have written in about this story, asking us to link to this, and to date I'm not yet convinced. I want McCain to lose, don't get me wrong, I just don't like publishing this kind of thing without firm evidence that something is awry.

2. Markos.

Here's what Markos had to say about the story today:

I don't think the evidence is there to claim Trig is Bristol's son, as some have speculated.

3. Josh Marshall.

We haven't touched it. But you probably know there have been internet-based rumors claiming that Sarah Palin's newborn son Trig is actually the son of her 17 year old daughter, Bristol.

So, neither Markos, Josh nor I were willing to touch this story, and in fact all three of us pooh-poohed it.

As for the Obama campaign, who McCain is now claiming is behind this story, they never pushed the story to us, and we never pushed it to them. And since, as rumor has it, we've been nicknamed OBAMAblog, if someone were to get the inside scoop from the campaign, you'd think (and we'd hope) it might be us. And Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post, who Joe kind of beats up a lot, so he's not necessarily pre-disposed to defending bloggers, had this to say about Obama pushing the story to blogs:

Some Republicans have already insisted that the Obama campaign is behind the rumor-mongering about Sarah, Bristol and Trig -- although in our experience the campaign has not pushed the story AT ALL, in fact they have been encouraging reporters to focus on the issues of difference between the two candidates rather than personal stories.

So, sorry to disappoint, but the Obama campaign's track record isn't exactly one of embracing oppo attacks on John McCain - much to our chagrin.

One final hole in McCain's story - the claim that one of the top liberal blogs pushing this story was a blog "with Barack Obama's name in" it. There is no top liberal blog with Barack Obama's name in it, or any other liberal blog I know of. Thus the danger of Reuters repeating non-specific allegations from unnamed sources.

John McCain's first major decision as our possible future president and commander in chief, the selection of the person who would take over our country should he leave office, has been an unmitigated disaster. It's understandable that he's trying to deflect the blame. And rather sad. Read More......

Live stream of SEIU concert at R convention

Here, and below:

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Palin gave her daughter a choice to have an abortion?

From Ben Smith at Politico:

Sarah Palin's personal story, and her views on personal morality, are at the core of her politics and of why she was nominated, and why she'd energized the conservative base.

Now, her daughter's pregnancy has cast her views on teenagers and sex directly into the spotlight.

Democrats noted, before and after today's announcement, that Palin took a hard line on a question in 2006 from the conservative Eagle Forum Alaska:

Q: Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

Palin also opposes abortion in cases like her daughter's, and in harder cases.

"We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby," she and her husband said in a statement. Unsaid in the statement is that Palin, based on her past views, would prefer that her daughter not be given a choice.

Even more unsaid is that, from her quote above, Palin apparently gave her daughter a choice. That makes her pro-choice. You don't give your daughter the choice to "murder" a child, your own grandchild, if you indeed think abortion is murder. This is just getting stranger and stranger. Read More......

Palin's spokesman didn't know about pregnancy two days ago

They claim the McCain campaign was informed last week.

Senior McCain campaign officials said McCain knew of the daughter's pregnancy when he selected Palin last week as his vice presidential running mate, deciding that it did not disqualify the 44-year-old governor in any way.

But no one thought it relevant to tell Palin's own spokesman. Uh huh. From TPM Election Central:

The Daily News had asked Palin's press secretary, Bill McAllister, over the weekend to address rumors that Bristol was pregnant.

"I don't know. I have no evidence that Bristol's pregnant," he said on Saturday.

As Joe notes below, it's all very Jerry Springer meets Desperate Housewives. Or should I say, Desperate Republicans. Read More......

Jerry Springer: Call the Palins ASAP.

Okay. John McCain chose Sarah Palin without vetting her. That was his rash, impulsive decision. But, it's time to untangle the Sarah Palin story -- and it's becoming clear that the only person who can really do it is Jerry Springer.

Let's review: Sarah is one of those fundamentalist types who like her new partner, John McCain, supports abstinence education. Yet, Sarah's 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant. That story came out to put an end to rumors that Sarah herself is actually the grandmother of her fifth child:

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Either way, like her daughter, Sarah may have gone down that pre-marital sex path herself.

Then, we have Sarah's sister and her ex-husband. That divorce seems like one for the ages. It's resulted in an investigation of the Governor for possible abuse of power. The details of the divorce have been showing up in articles -- it's very ugly. And, there are a lot of offspring in that clan:

"Wooten was counseled by my husband to join Molly in acting civilly and with maturity during their divorce -- for the sake of the nine kids they and Wooten's girlfriend have between them all -- and who are adversely affected by their circumstances. Wooten evidently took umbrage with the advice and that day told Molly she'd better 'put a leash on your sister' or he'd 'bring Sarah Palin down.'"

There's even an in-law squabble. Sarah's mother-in-law (who "still hasn't decided which way she'll vote") dissed her to the NY Daily News:

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh.

And, then, there's Todd, the "First Dude." Note how many times his name pops up in the scandal stories. Seriously, Todd is at the center of all of this.

Like it or not, you have to admit, this is tailor made for Jerry Springer. Let Jerry do the digging the McCain campaign didn't do. Read More......

McCain campaign: Palin's unwed daughter is pregnant

From Reuters via TPM Election Central:

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain aides said.

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Reckless

A reader, who had a high-risk pregnancy, writes in about Sarah Palin reportedly choosing to give a speech then flying halfway across the country, on 9 hours of flights (including a stopover), AFTER her water broke, then landing and choosing to travel to a small town of 7,000 people rather than remaining at a hospital in the state's largest city, Anchorage (population 250,000) - all this BEFORE she gave birth to a child she knew in advance had Down's Syndrome.

First, the facts as Palin tells them, from this April 22 story in the Anchorage Daily News:

Palin was in Texas last week for an energy conference of the National Governors Association when she experienced signs of early labor. She wasn't due for another month.

Early Thursday -- she thinks it was around 4 a.m. Texas time -- she consulted with her doctor, family physician Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who is based in the Valley and has delivered lots of babies, including Piper, Palin's 7-year-old.

Palin said she felt fine but had leaked amniotic fluid and also felt some contractions that seemed different from the false labor she had been having for months.

"I said I am going to stay for the day. I have a speech I was determined to give," Palin said. She gave the luncheon keynote address for the energy conference.

Palin kept in close contact with Baldwin-Johnson. The contractions slowed to one or two an hour, "which is not active labor," the doctor said.

"Things were already settling down when she talked to me," Baldwin-Johnson said. Palin did not ask for a medical OK to fly, the doctor said.

"I don't think it was unreasonable for her to continue to travel back," Baldwin-Johnson said.

So the Palins flew on Alaska Airlines from Dallas to Anchorage, stopping in Seattle and checking with the doctor along the way.

"I am not a glutton for pain and punishment. I would have never wanted to travel had I been fully engaged in labor," Palin said. After four kids, the governor said, she knew what labor felt like, and she wasn't in labor.

Still, a Sacramento, Calif., obstetrician who is active in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said when a pregnant woman's water breaks, she should go right to the hospital because of the risk of infection. That's true even if the amniotic fluid simply leaks out, said Dr. Laurie Gregg.

"To us, leaking and broken, we are talking the same thing. We are talking doctor-speak," Gregg said.

Some married-with-children friends write in with their thoughts on this story:

Speaking as someone who went through a difficult, high-risk pregnancy, I can report that every parent finds the idea of her getting on a plane supposedly after she went into labor completely preposterous. No one would do it. The moose can't be that good at the hospital in Anchorage. And, my wife reminds me as I type, she didn't even go to the hospital in Anchorage. [Palin reportedly landed in Anchorage then traveled on to her very small home town, Wasilla, to have the baby.]

And finally, Sarah Palin gave birth to a special needs child, then four months later decided to run for vice president. Jacki weighs in on that aspect of the story:

She has 5 kids. 5. And one is only 4-months-old. With Down syndrome. Now, I'm not a parent so I don't know firsthand the difficulties in raising children, but I have a lot of friends who are parents of one or two children - many under the age of 3, and I can tell you they assure me it's no easy task. I would love to know how this woman plans to raise a 4-month-old with a condition that requires special attention and nurturing and will cause cognitive delays while running for - and then potentially serving as - Vice President of the United States.

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David Broder's contortions: Yes, McCain gambled with the country's future, but it's okay

The king of the conventional wisdom does contortions today to convince himself that McCain made a good decision picking Palin. David Broder writes that the Palin pick is "a typical McCain gamble, unpredictable in its consequences." Okay, McCain's biggest decision to date is a typical, unpredictable gamble. But, that's actually okay, thinks Broder.

Keep in mind, just a couple months ago, Broder said intense scrutiny of Obama was mandatory while criticism of McCain was off-limits:

McCain benefits from a long-established reputation as a man who says what he believes. His shifts in position that have occurred in this campaign seem not to have damaged that aura.

Even Palin, a gamble with unpredictable consequences -- and a potential vice president with absolutely no foreign policy or national security experience -- doesn't damage McCain's aura for Broder.

Traditional media types, like Broder, believe their own press about John McCain. The GOP nominee is actually impulsive, reckless and a gambler. But, Broder (and all the other sycophantic pundits who want to be the next Broder) like McCain and that's all that matters. Read More......

Gustav hits Louisiana as a Cat 2

Nola.com is chock full of information about Hurricane Gustav. The storm came ashore two hours ago west of New Orleans:

At 8 a.m. [Central], Hurricane Gustav had weakened to Category 2 strength, with winds decreasing to near 110 mph as its center began moving onshore, the National Weather Service reported.

An extremely dangerous storm surge of 12 to 14 feet is still expected to near and east of the center of the storm as it goes ashore.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward 70 miles from the storm's center, with tropical storm force-winds out 230 miles.

Watching Anderson Cooper bravely report from the front lines in New Orleans. No one does a hurricane better than Anderson. Read More......

Josh Marshall on McCain's "dangerous trait"

From TPM:

[T]hough he faces a not insignificant chance of dying during his first term of office (he's a 72 year old man who has twice battled cancer) [NOTE FROM JOHN: I've heard that he's had it 4 times], he has picked a running mate who he knows little about and who is manifestly unready to serve as president.

Impulsive, reckless? As Joe Klein puts it, McCain is "He has proven himself, yet again, ready on day one--to shoot from the hip." It's hard to see how this doesn't make a joke out of the importance he's claimed to place on having a commander-in-chief seasoned and experienced enough to lead in dangerous times.

Just after McCain announced his pick, a number of commentators -- some independent analysts and others Republican partisans -- said that this was McCain reverting to form. He's a gambler, he likes rolling the dice, playing craps -- to use the most chosen metaphor. (Little discussed is that McCain is, in the literal sense, a big time gambler, though he appears to keep the amount of money he loses under control.) But is that the temperament one wants in a president and commander-in-chief? Someone whose inclination, at critical moments of decision, is toward risky, high-stakes gambles? That kind of erratic behavior is pardonable, even an asset in a senator (who has little direct power beyond 1 of 100 votes and the ability to persuade people). But it's a dangerous trait for a leader of a country of 300 million.

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Politico: GOP sees Gustaf as big political opportunity

That's nice. Glad millions of Americans could risk their lives for John McCain's political aspirations. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Happy Labor Day -- although it won't be a happy day for people living along the Gulf Coast. Gustav is bearing down.

I am still struck by John McCain's recklessness over his choice of v.p. He doesn't really know Palin. He never really vetted her. McCain basically interviewed Palin once -- for one of the most important jobs in the world. How many people get high pressure, executive jobs after one interview? Not many. It says so much about John McCain's management style. The country can't afford that kind of impulsiveness.

Also, still struck by McCain's willingness to attack Obama over this hurricane when McCain was sharing birthday cake with Bush during the last one. The traditional media is so easy on McCain, it borders on absurd. The Republicans must just sit back and laugh about how gullible the political press corps is.

Get it started. This is going to be a long week. Read More......

Mystery over Palin's Wikipedia entry updates

Changes 15 minutes ahead of naming Palin by the same people who were updating McCain's entry? When you have a non-existent record, I guess this is the only option to make someone sound qualified. Read More......

Gustav expected to be category 3, make landfall by midday

Current estimates are that almost 2 million people have evacuated with only 10,000 who stayed behind. Gustav is expected to make landfall as a category 3 hurricane later today. Read More......

Congressional Quarterly's Ana Marie Cox on Bill Clinton's convention speech

For the late night crew, another interview I taped this earlier this week at the Democratic Convention. Ana Marie Cox is the first Wonkette, a former writer for TIME, and now works for Congressional Quarterly. We bumped into each other at the CNN Grill (honestly, it was the best and easiest place to hang out, so we pretty much just stayed there for much of the convention and let the interviews come to us). The video, as always, is about 3 minutes long.

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Does the TSA always "lose" items or was I just lucky?

Nothing puts me in a better mood after a long flight like lost luggage, especially after seeing my bags left half unzipped at the airport along with a note from the TSA that my bags were searched.. John has had a number of problems with TSA including wrapping (to protect delicate items) shoved back unwrapped, with the paper shreds randomly thrown in to the bags for good measure (thanks!) without any care for the bags. I know they're supposed to be busy, but c'mon, this is ridiculous.

I mysteriously had both a Denver 2008 shirt (for my wife) that went missing along with a "Ask me how many houses I own" button that never made it back. I specifically put the button in my luggage and not carry on because I figured security would take the button, claiming it was a weapon. (Nothing is too stupid for US security.) God knows what else may be missing and despite some of the stories of brave TSA employees searching and searching for owners of lost items, as I wipe the tears from the corner of my eyes, I remain suspicious.

In the old days, there was always a risk of airport employees pilfering luggage but then we added the Soviet style airport security that includes plenty of scare tactics just in case Americans aren't afraid enough. Don't even try telling me about how it's all necessary, because it's not. I've traveled more than many, throughout Europe, US, Central America, South America, Africa, Middle East (including Israel via Allenby Bridge which is generally for Palestinians entering Israel and the West Bank), Japan, Australia and throughout Asia so almost want to laugh at the suggestion that security in the US is somehow the best. The mentality appears to be a fear-based initiative that offers nothing more than any other industrialized country and yes, terrorism has hit other countries including a bombing at my own train station and one in a nearby shopping district around the corner from where I live back in the '90s. I think my friends in Israel are also familiar enough with security and have learned a few lessons over the years.

I'll be contacting the TSA lost and found but am not holding my breath. If they ask me to send a FedEx number (as they've reportedly done with others) I'm really going to be even happier. Paying international express shipping for someone else's mistake is precisely what I makes my day.

NOTE FROM JOHN: When French security searched my bags, in front of me, not too long after September 11, they gingerly took every single thing out of my suitcase. When the guy was finished, I started putting my clothes back in - he stopped me. No, monsieur, I took everything out, I'll put it back in, he explained. The French security guy proceeded to carefully put all my clothes, and everything else, back in my suitcase, perfectly, then spent the next few minutes trying to get the overcrowded thing closed! He wouldn't let me help him. Just imagine that scene in the states, the guy packing your bag for you and refusing help. I remember the security lady at DC's National airport once precariously carrying my laptop computer between her thumb and index finger, using only one hand, like it had cooties. I almost had a heart attack, and yelled at her to stop, despite the risk of going to Gitmo. Later this week, we'll have our next installment of "Cheapo United Airlines sucks," and I'll be including a Web address for the Dept of Transportation where you can complain about shoddy airline service. A friend in government tells me that all they need is 5 or so complaints in a set period of time to cause them a real headache. Read More......