McCain picks female running mate - Sarah Palin

[seshme]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_iraq_war

Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'

By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 3, 7:23 PM ET



ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."

In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."

Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there.

"Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she said. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."

A video of the speech was posted at the Wasilla Assembly of God's Web site before finding its way on to other sites on the Internet.

Palin told graduating students of the church's School of Ministry, "What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys." As they preached the love of Jesus throughout Alaska, she said, she'd work to implement God's will from the governor's office, including creating jobs by building a pipeline to bring North Slope natural gas to North American markets.

"God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said.

"I can do my job there in developing our natural resources and doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded," she added. "But really all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God."

Palin attended the evangelical church from the time she was a teenager until 2002, the church said in a statement posted on its Web site. She has continued to attend special conferences and meetings there. Religious conservatives have welcomed her selection as John McCain's running mate.

Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, lamented Palin's comments.

"I miss the days when pastors delivered sermons and politicians delivered political speeches," he said. "The United States is increasingly diverse religiously. The job of a president is to unify all those different people and bring them together around policy goals, not to act as a kind of national pastor and bring people to God."

The section of the church's Web site where videos of past sermons were posted was shut down Wednesday, and a message was posted saying that the site "was never intended to handle the traffic it has received in the last few days."

[faceless]

that's pretty shocking stuff, cheers sesh. She sounds no different from the extremist Islamic preachers basing everything that happens on 'the word of God'.

What kind of Christian names a child 'Track' though? Was he one of the lesser known disciples?

[luke]

shes sounds a bit like bin laden, he thinks he's on a misson from god as well ...

this kinda of crap is part of the reason mccains picked her though, she appeals to the christian right, this kinda rubbish is going to play well with a large part of america

jon gaunt has fallen in love with her, he can't contain his admiration for her on his show - the next thatcher apparently! watch out america!

[luke]

[SpursFan1902]

[luke]

[faceless]

oh that Osama, he's a card eh?

haha

[Twirley]

Nice one, Luke. Will have to let hubby read that!

[Kezza]

The only piece of sanity I get from this whole debacle is watching Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show." The coverage of the election from their viewpoint is the only way I can tolerate it!

[luke]

[luke]

this is interesting ... most of palin's speech was written before the mccain team had even picked her! by the former speech writer to bush!

The Man Behind Palin's Speech

As Democrats and Barack Obama's campaign scrambled to attack Sarah Palin's well-received acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday night, they latched on early and hard to the fact that it was penned by former Bush speech writer Matthew Scully. But the story is more complicated than just the recycling of a Bush staffer into John McCain's fold, and it tells you more about how McCain's camp intends to use Palin than it does about the continuing influence of the current White House.

The clues are in the text itself. Scully started working on the vice-presidential speech a week ago, before he or anyone else knew who the nominee would be, and it's not hard to pick out the parts that would have been the same regardless of who delivered it. Scully unspooled two centrist themes via Palin that have been key to the McCain message: the idea that the Republican nominee puts service to country ahead of career and the notion that he's the true representative of Middle America. Both themes implicitly push Obama and Biden to the left, and Scully made them explicit with lines accusing the Democrats of élitism and talking down to working-class voters.

Once Palin was chosen, Scully tailored the speech to the Alaska governor, highlighting her biography and using her PTA background and local political experience (contrasted so memorably with Obama's work as a community organizer) to bolster his two themes. Where much media attention in the wake of her surprise naming has focused on Palin's views on cultural issues like abortion, the speech carefully steered away from ideological touchstones. Palin was shown as an average mainstream American looking to bring change to Washington, further bolstering McCain's overarching message of reforming the wasteful Federal Government.

Scully was a good choice to help moderate Palin's right-wing image. A veteran of the early Bush White House, his specialty was crafting Bush's pro-life message in a way that would not offend soccer moms or mainstream Catholics who get nervous around some of the more extreme Evangelical rhetoric. A former protégé of the late pro-life Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, Scully has a history of finding rhetorical unity for voters on the right and in the center.

The Palin-Scully pairing is anything but a guaranteed fit, though. Palin is known as an avid hunter; Scully is best known for his vigorous defense of animal rights. A vegetarian who is regularly critical of the NRA and much of the hunting community, he is a passionate advocate for doing away with the more brutal versions of blood-sport, including aerial hunting, which Palin supports.

Don't be surprised, though, if the combination continues. McCain wanted to pick a centrist Vice President not just because he liked candidates such as Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge, but because he badly needs to close the gap in swing states like Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin, where he trails Obama. But he had to pick a cultural conservative like Palin because he couldn't risk alienating an already demoralized base. If Palin was viewed as the most likely right winger to sell in the swing states, Scully is the right pick to help repackage her from a base pleaser into a bridge buil

from http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1838808,00.html

[faceless]

McCain camp: National Enquirer report of Palin affair is 'a vicious lie'
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 4, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn - John McCain's campaign is denying a tabloid report that vice president candidate Sarah Palin had an extramarital affair. "It's a vicious lie," spokesman Steve Schmidt said. The campaign is considering legal action, the senior adviser added.

The National Enquirer wrote in its edition dated Sept. 15 that Palin had an affair with a business associate of her husband, Todd Palin. He discovered the infidelity and dissolved the business, the article said. It attributed the allegation only to "an enemy" of the Alaska governor.

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I thought I'd have a look for the original story but the www.nationalenquirer.com site is down - how very strange...

[faceless]

[luke]

[Skylace]

It was in the paper this morning that she may be facing indictment for her actions in Alaska in regards to her ex-brother-in-law. If she is, McCain will either have to do an amazing amount of damage control or he will have to pick a new running mate.