must-read articles

A billboard of some texted-in questions for Sarah Palin at a Los Angeles rally sent by the California Democratic Party. Pretty funny!

I've seen some interesting articles lately which I believe are critical to read as the election nears, especially if you're undecided. I also love that CNN.com has this "Fact Check" feature on their "Political Ticker blog" where they run all the claims McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden say about their opponents through a fact checker and write up a little article on each claim.

They checked claims like: Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes. Verdict: MISLEADING. Obama has never taken on Dems. Verdict: FALSE. Is Obama 'palling around with terrorists'? Verdict: FALSE. Obama got the 2nd most money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in history. Verdict: MISLEADING (this one is particularly misleading because while individual employees did donate $126,349 collectively to Obama - a tiny fraction of the $139 mil he's raised overall - but importantly, McCain received $169,000 from the directors, officers and lobbyists of these companies, while Obama received only $16,000. In addition, McCain's statement is misleading because donations do not come from the company itself, only its employees).

Every single time I've read it, McCain and Palin's claims come out false or misleading and Obama's and Bidens true (Did McCain say the Iraq War would be easy? Verdict: TRUE-on multiple occasions. Did McCain intervene on behalf of Charles Keating? Verdict: TRUE.

What kind of people and leaders do we want to elect? Ones that will do anything including lie and mislead? Even if you tend to support the conservative policies, is lying what you really want in the President and VP of this great nation? Haven't we had enough of that?! It particularly bothers me that evangelical Christians so strongly support McCain-Palin, because who, after all, is the 'Father of Lies'? Not Jesus, that is for sure. I think we Christians should all be praying hard for open eyes and a clear conscience about this very important decision for the future of our great nation.

Politics of Attack, New York Times Editorial.

It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember. They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent’s record — into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. ... Ms. Palin, in particular, revels in the attack. Her campaign rallies have become spectacles of anger and insult. “This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America,” Ms. Palin has taken to saying.

Palin's Kind of Patriotism by Thomas Friedman. New York Times.

Whether or not I agree with John McCain, he is of presidential timber. But putting the country in the position where a total novice like Sarah Palin could be asked to steer us through possibly the most serious economic crisis of our lives is flat out reckless. It is the opposite of conservative.

And

At least the king of Saudi Arabia, in advocating “drill baby drill,” is serving his country’s interests — by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. My problem with Palin is that she is also serving his country’s interests — by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. That’s not patriotic. Patriotic is offering a plan to build our economy — not by tax cuts or punching more holes in the ground, but by empowering more Americans to work in productive and innovative jobs. If Palin has that kind of a plan, I haven’t heard it.

Make-Believe Maverick: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty. Rolling Stone Magazine.

In his current campaign, however, McCain has become the kind of politician he ran against in 2000. He has embraced those he once denounced as "agents of intolerance," promised more drilling and deeper tax cuts, even compromised his vaunted opposition to torture. Intent on winning the presidency at all costs, he has reassembled the very team that so viciously smeared him and his family eight years ago, selecting as his running mate a born-again moose hunter whose only qualification for office is her ability to electrify Rove's base. And he has engaged in a "practice of politics" so deceptive that even Rove himself has denounced it, saying that the outright lies in McCain's campaign ads go "too far" and fail the "truth test."

Mad Dog Palin: The scariest thing about John McCain's running mate isn't how unqualified she is - it's what her candidacy says about America. Rolling Stone Magazine.

This is a very biting commentary, but I think there's a lot of sad truth here.

Palin's charge that "government is too big" and that Obama "wants to grow it" was similarly preposterous. Not only did her party just preside over the largest government expansion since LBJ, but Palin herself has been a typical Bush-era Republican, borrowing and spending beyond her means. Her great legacy as mayor of Wasilla was the construction of a $15 million hockey arena in a city with an annual budget of $20 million;...

Mud Pies for 'That One' by Maureen Dowd. New York Times.