Ouch. Bad move.

Palin didn’t say “no thanks” to the “Bridge to Nowhere” until after Congress had already abandoned it but given Alaska a blank check for $223 million in taxpayers’ money anyway. Far from rejecting federal pork, she hired lobbyists to secure her town a disproportionate share of earmarks ($1,000 per resident in 2002, 20 times the per capita average in other states). Though McCain claimed “she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities,” she has never issued a single command as head of the Alaska National Guard. As for her “executive experience” as mayor, she told her hometown paper in Wasilla, Alaska, in 1996, the year of her election: “It’s not rocket science. It’s $6 million and 53 employees.” Her much-advertised crusade against officials abusing their office is now compromised by a bipartisan ethics investigation into charges that she did the same.

How long before we learn she never shot a moose?

In the US Senate alone, Obama has written 890 bills. He’s co-sponsored another 1,100-plus bills.  Here’s a summary of just several of the highlights.

• He’s had significant bills related to education (the Hope Act, which increased Pell Grants and also boosted training and resources for teachers who work in high-need schools).  These bills have been signed into law.
• He worked with Senator Coburn (and McCain, coincidentally) on the government transparency act, which sought to make public the way the government spent its money.
• Authored a bill that aimed to reduce the threat of nuclear and conventional weapons by foreign countries and terrorists, reaching across the aisle and working with Republican Senator Richard Lugar. Signed into law Jan. 11, 2007.  Info.
• Authored one of the largest ethics reform bills in US history, passed and signed into law in 2007. More info here.
• Obama was one of the first Senators to speak up about Avian Flu, making sure that the United States was prepared in case of an outbreak.  Here is more information on that bill.
• Introduced legislation that would make hybrid cars more affordable and easier to obtain, with the state goal of helping America rid itself of its dependence on foreign oil.
• Authored a bill that regulates the quality of genetic testing.  Before this bill, quality control for these vital procedures was non-existant.  Obama’s foresight helped families everywhere get better care for very serious illnesses and diseases.
• Introduced the Global Poverty Act, which will work to fight poverty through aid, trade and debt relief.

Here’s a rough breakdown of his bills by topic:

233 healthcare reform bills
125 on poverty and public assistance
112 crime-related bills
97 economic bills
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills
21 ethics reform bills
15 gun control bills

These are just Obama’s US Senate accomplishments.  For whatever reason, Republicans don’t seem to think that his eight years in the Illinois Senate count as experience.  If you are interested in his Illinois Senate record, there’s a good New York Times article about what he accomplished during his time there.  The article talks about how he worked well with both parties, and how he introduced important legislation for campaign finance reform, ethics, poverty and health care for children.

The man has his name on more than 2,000 bills in the US Senate.  He was a highly influential Senator in Illinois.  He taught constitutional law for 12 years at the University of Chicago, one of the best law schools in America.  I think it’s safe to say that Barack Obama has a good grasp on how America works.

So, the next time someone says that Barack Obama hasn’t accomplished anything, go ahead; prove them wrong.

If the selection of the VP is the first major move a presidential candidate makes, doesn’t this seriously call into question John McCain’s decision-making ability?

Some excerpts from the article, which you can read here.

“Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain’s running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described.”

…

“With time running out — and as Mr. McCain discarded two safer choices, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romneyof Massachusetts, as too predictable — he turned to Ms. Palin. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later.”

…

““They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted.”

…

“The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. background check, an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public.“

…

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.

…

“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.”

Quotes from Hillary Clinton’s speech last night at the Democratic National Convention.

“This is a fight for the future. And it’s a fight we must win together. No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president.“

“And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this.”

“And Barack will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle’s speech last night knows she will be a great first lady for America. And Americans are fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama’s side.”

“Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend. He has served our country with honour and courage. But we don’t need four more years of the last eight years.“

“We are Americans. We’re not big on quitting. But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama the next president of the United States. We don’t have a moment to lose or a vote to spare. Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hangs in the balance. “

Classy guy, that John McCain.

Here’s are some key excerpts from the story.

‘My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25,” Carol said. “You know that happens…it just does.’

Some of McCain’s acquaintances are less forgiving, however. They portray the politician as a self-centred womaniser who effectively abandoned his crippled wife to ‘play the field’. They accuse him of finally settling on Cindy, a former rodeo beauty queen, for financial reasons.

McCain was then earning little more than $45,000 a year as a naval officer, while his new father-in-law, Jim Hensley, was a multi-millionaire who had impeccable political connections.

…

When McCain – his hair turned prematurely white and his body reduced to little more than a skeleton – was released in March 1973, he told reporters he was overjoyed to see Carol again.

But friends say privately he was ‘appalled’ by the change in her appearance. At first, though, he was kind, assuring her: ‘I don’t look so good myself. It’s fine.’

…

‘I thought, of course, we would live happily ever after,’ says Carol. But as a war hero, McCain was moving in ever-more elevated circles.

Through Ross Perot, he met Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California. A sympathetic Nancy Reagan took Carol under her wing.

But already the McCains’ marriage had begun to fray. ‘John started carousing and running around with women,’ said Robert Timberg.

McCain has acknowledged that he had girlfriends during this time, without going into details.

…

In 1979 – while still married to Carol – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage.

Carol and her children were devastated. ‘It was a complete surprise,’ says Nancy Reynolds, a former Reagan aide.

…

Friends confirm she has remained friends with McCain and backed him in all his campaigns. ‘He was very generous to her in the divorce but of course he could afford to be, since he was marrying Cindy,’ one observed.

…

Meanwhile McCain moved to Arizona with his new bride immediately after their 1980 marriage. There, his new father-in-law gave him a job and introduced him to local businessmen and political powerbrokers who would smooth his passage to Washington via the House of Representatives and Senate.

…

Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.

‘When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.

‘Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.

…

‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’

No, John.  I hadn’t heard that one.

When his campaign was asked about it recently, the response was “That’s just McCain being McCain.”