Open Thread (9/4/2008)

I'm just listening to a discussion of Sarah Palin's record as governor on NPR.  While they find things to complain about (being a good governor by getting federal money for her state and giving oil dividends to the people), every discussion of Palin's record increases the accessibility of her experience in the minds of the voters.  When you ask Obama supporters what he actually accomplished in the Senate they'll probably give you a blank stare or say something about authoring legislation (but there's no law named after him like McCain-Feingold they can name).  Since accessibility is a mental proxy for quantity, it will be easy for people to conclude that Sarah has more experience than Obama.  Even if they don't, at some point they'll notice that they're comparing the GOP VP to the top of the Democrat ticket.

I am  looking forward to the first debate between her and Biden.  Oct 2nd I think,,,,,those two on the stage will really be interesting.  She will not be able to sneak up on them now,,,this campaign should start getting interesting now thru the end.

Has anybody asked Obama what he's ever done for the people of Illinois?  He's never had to justify his Senate record in an election.

Biden has always been really good at talking alot,,,,but the substance is kind of hard to find.  If he tries that method with Palin, she will chew him up.  I am hopeful their debate will really detail some substance, it could be the best of the bunch actually.  Gordy you are right on about McCains speech tonight,,,,it is make or break time for him,,,,to close things up and have a chance,,he needs to air it out tonight,  nothing really to lose,,,,so he might as well throw in the kitchen sink also.:)

Rasmussen reports showing nearly 40% of those polled feel Palin has stronger experience than Obama (who 50% felt the reverse).

They're also showing the majority of Americans believe the media is out to hurt Palin.  With only 5% believing they're trying to help.

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Glock21 Op/Ed

more food for thought - the plan to sell/lease the Illinois State Lottery needs to be stopped.  This Gov is going to sell every asset this state has and spend it to further his current political career. 

After all the assets are gone, all the special funds are swept, the pension funds are at a critical stage of underfunding, and all the state vendors have been stretched as far as possible, the request to raise the income tax will be seen as the "responsible" thing to do.  We need to get off that path, now not later.

What's with the snide comments in response?

Google is your friend

On the interwebs, it's safe to say that most of the time, statements that fit the construction of the commenter's madlib are "concern trolls."

I obviously have a bit of a bias when it comes to the issues, but it doesn't seem clear what, exactly, McCain and Palin are going to run on besides insults and attacks on Obama.  When you folks say that McCain needs to "knock it out of the park", what does that mean?

I've heard elsewhere and have deduced myself that Republicans are trying to turn this race into a contest of personalities instead of a focus on issues.  This makes sense because everyone knows that calling for more tax cuts and more deregulation isn't really going to fly for John and Jane American, who've seen quite clearly the results of these policies.  So what can McCain argue besides "Obama is bad you should vote for me instead"?

And what do conservatives think about turning a campaign away from issues on onto personalities?  It is disappointing to me, but it doesn't surprise or worry me.  If I was the party of unpopular solutions I would probably pick someone like Palin and keep my fingers crossed as well.

Good times!

McCain will hit it 'out of the park' tonight because all the people in the park are on his team and going to vote for him anyway.   To influence those watching, not in the park, he will have to create a better image of the next four years than what most voters have experience over the last eight.  He has a good start as "W" was not at the RNC in person and McCain made a good choice for VP.  Now he has to differenciate his projected administration from the current to pick up much needed voters while still retaining votes of "W" supporters.  It may take somewhat of an avoidance of issues and plans with a focus on personalities as D. Boon stated.  He has to get the GOP behind him.  Remember the ole saying, "Democrats fall in love with their canidate, while Republicans fall in line with theirs".  If he fails to get complete GOP support, it will be a non-starter come election day.  Recall the last two GOP wins were not by landslides or significant or even real margins.

The police vs protesters situation outside RNC is getting ugly, and it sounds like some people who weren't committing crimes have been arrested.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/footage-of-clas.html

That clip was from 09 02 08, Two days ago. Hardly "Breaking News"

Well, I guess that automatically makes it completely unimportant and we should just ignore it, pretending that nothing happened.

What, exactly, was your point? Who claimed it to be "breaking news?" Why does that matter?

Wayward I apologize, I thought You were posting this as just happening. I read the story, Protesters yelling "Against Capitalism" and throwing rocks, bags of urine and fecces at the police, no wonder they got their asses kicked.

FYI IP.  IlliniPundit loses some of its functionality when posting using Google Chrome. 

You can still do the basics but you lose the formatting tools above a comment you are authoring... can't please everyone though.

So why was the server fallen today?

Just curious.

Can't help but respond to that last post...

The issue isn't whether or not they're being offshored, the issue is whether or not they're being outsourced.  There are plenty of call centers in the US where the people answering your calls make about as much as retail and hospitality workers.  I work in a call center, taking calls from other call center workers every day, and I hear the same scripts from Americans, Canadians, and Others.  Time and time again, I can tell which departments spend the money to attract and retain good people, and which departments simply don't.  Workers worth talking to tend to find employers who are willing to pay them what they're worth.

Kem

On September 8th, 2008 at 08:38 AM, Anonymous (not verified) said:

I call and talk to the owner, belive it or not

Hmmm, I'm going to go with 'not.'  I'm thinking it's more like calling and screaming at the owner

You go ahead and continue to deal with Citi and their offshore call centers and yell and scream  all you want at Abdul or Haji and see how far You get. If You don't like it get another card, or call Mommy & Daddy and have them hook you up with some other bank.