Like Tim Kaine earlier this year, Congressional Democrats appear poised for a special session that is more about the appearance of “doing something” than actually accomplishing anything.

This year, Kaine called a special transportation session and then left town. He couldn’t even get support for his proposal from his own party.

This week’s lame duck session of Congress is not likely to be much more productive. Pelosi and her compatriots want a vote on $25 Billion for a rescue package for automakers. But since the plan appears unlikely to survive in the Senate - at least right now - the vote on the latest “bailout” maybe more a payback for union support in the elections than a viable proposal.

Todd Stottlemyer of the National Federation of Independent Businesses put it well:

“There are many small businesses across the country struggling to make payroll and pay the bills. They aren’t asking for a bailout, and neither should Detroit’s automakers.”

Sometimes, failure is the best path to future success. Our representatives should keep that in mind when they are begged to bail out company after company. And, the GOP should keep it in mind as well. Learning from our failures this year can make us stronger in the future - if we let it.

First of all, congratulations to Senator Obama and his 63 million + supporters. This race made history in ways that none before it has.

As a candidate and as a campaign, Obama displayed strengths that no national Democrat has in my lifetime. The Obama revolution - and so it may rightly be called - may be rivaled only by the Reagan revolution.

The “whys” of this election will be hyper-analyzed by pundits of much greater note than yours truly. I suspect they will fall into some major categories:

• After 8 years of an increasingly unpopular, wartime president and in a worsening economy, the generic Democratic candidate had a strong edge on the generic Republican candidate. McCain / Palin, as a ticket, brought together the potential for both independent and base appeal on multiple fronts - in combination, I’m not sure how the GOP could have done better.
• Obama was far better than a generic Democratic candidate. He is possessed of an intellect, imagination and personal magnetism that appears to far exceed that of the Democrat’s last two-term President (who was no slouch at least in the two latter categories). He raised money at unheard of rates and spent it equally freely, overwhelming cable TV, the internet, and every other reasonable venue with his face, logo, and tag lines (and the network coverage didn’t hurt him, either). Heck, this guy even advertised on video games. He kept his base and appealed to independents - tricky for a candidate of either party. Obama’s dynamism and his well-funded air war provided the cover on which to base his secret weapon: an unparalleled ground game. Like Mark Warner’s VA 2001 victory, Obama’s win was dependent on an ID / GOTV campaign that combined political technology with paid operatives and volunteers on the ground. The GOP did not come close to matching the Obama team in the air war or the ground war.

Result: President Obama, and a strong Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

But what is the Obama mandate?

It is not a policy mandate, for he tried very hard to avoid articulating any detailed policy proposals to the general public. In public, Sen. Obama spoke of lofty goals and broad objectives while presenting compelling personal narratives - his own and that of others.

His theme was

Hope

Change We Can Believe In

and a call to group achievement -

Yes, We Can!

It was a powerful message and, obviously, a winning one.

But, while it catapulted him to the White House, Obama’s message will serve as a two-edged sword for his administration - something his more seasoned advisers have long recognized. Obama himself has demonstrated a thoughtful understanding of his image - his carefully crafted public role, stating in his autobiography:

I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.

Senator Obama’s governing problem is this: when people heard of hope, they heard their own hopes; their image of change imported their own ideas of what change should be; to the mantra of “Yes, we can!” they brought their own vision of the goal to be accomplished.

We can hardly be blamed for this individualistic interpretation of Obama’s words. He encouraged us to see his story through our own narratives and rarely did he cast a specific vision of his own for us.

This is why the Obama revolution, for all its superficial similarities, differs greatly from the Reagan revolution.

Obama’s mandate is one of personal magnetism.

Reagan had that, certainly, but he also had clearly articulated ideas, a vision for America, policy objectives and goals for the future. America knew what it was getting when it chose Reagan’s leadership.

Not so with President Obama. He is successful only to the extent that people personally like, trust and believe in him.

This will present a problem for him when he begins to govern based on his own ideas - or the Democratic Congress forces him to take a position on theirs (Employee Free Choice Act, Freedom of Choice Act, Fairness Doctrine, Bans on Offshore Drilling, Kyoto Protocol, Income Tax Increases, etc). The public is fickle.

When we all figure out that Obama is actually not a blank screen and all our hope of change cannot allow us each to achieve our personal vision of the future through him, there will be a price to pay for the new administration. And, should he fail to govern to the left, his activist base (ActBlue, MoveOn.org, etc.) will turn on him as quickly as they embraced him.

Clearly, this lack of definition to Obama’s policies presents an excellent opportunity for emerging Republican leaders to make their case to the American people. I hope Sarah Palin will be among those presenting such a conservative vision, along with our emerging Congressional leaders.

The Weekly Reader’s kids poll has accurately predicted the presidential winner in 12 of the last 13 races.

This year’s results?

Obama ~ 54.7%
McCain ~ 42.9%

If the kids are right, this is what the electoral map will look like:

Somehow, McCain won among 10th graders -but Obama’s support in EVERY other grade level created a tsunami which the Republican candidate could not overcome. Obama won Virginia in the kid’s poll.

So, it seems that our public school kids want change - or they want to be left with change - or something like that.

Can McCain rise above the sentiments of our nation’s children? can he overcome the predictive power of the Weekly Reader poll?

Maybe. After all, the kid’s poll was taken over a period of weeks - while Obama was way ahead in most polls of adults too. The margin has narrowed. And, we have a few more days to go. I volunteered at McCain / Palin HQ in my area today, and let me tell you, the place was humming. We got a strong reception going door-to-door too. More of that and we will could make up another couple of points over the next two days.

And, kids have their own reasoning processes. An acquaintance of mine recently related that his son “voted” for Obama. Why? - “because he has hair like mine,” the young citizen explained. The boy has dark hair (as does his Republican father) while other family member’s have blond hair. And then, there’s the fact that the teacher’s unions have been strongly pushing for Obama — like when the VEA told teacher’s to “wear blue” for Obama because some older students might not be registered to vote.

–
Weekly Reader is a subsidiary of Reader’s Digest and the kid’s poll was conducted in conjunction with Zogby. It was a survey of over 125,000 children, grades K-12.

So, Obama is buying a 30 minute infomercial. McCain/ Palin are touring the country. The media are highlighting their favorite issues (Palin wardrobe; Obama’s race).

Don’t you wish you could just cut through the spin and get a good idea of what the candidates have said & done on the issues?

Now you can (for just 29.95 - I’m kidding; lighten up, already).

Grassfire.org has a very well done side by side comparison of the candidate’s “Quotes & Votes” on the issues.

Check it out!

Sarah got an enthusiastic greeting in Loudoun County!

These boys were up before dawn to see Sarah.

VA loves Sarah!

Congressman Wolf warms up the crowd

How can you not love this sign?

Sarah was introduced by Tito, a construction worker

More local enthusiasm!

On Monday morning, Sarah Palin rolled into Leesburg on the Straight Talk express. We’ve all heard the stump speech - which keeps getting better, by the way, so I thought I’d do something different today.

About 10,000 people attended the rally. Here are thoughts from just a few of them.

Sarah Palin impressed me with her stamina and her sincere friendliness. She was obviously cold, but handled it with aplomb. She actually mentioned the word “Socialism” referring to Obama, which took courage in this politically correct country. Great rally!
- Ila

And, from a 15 year old:

It was encouraging to be with other McCain/Palin supporters that were excited about our candidates and to be reminded that we are not alone, despite the media’s attempts to tell us we are in the minority.
I gained new respect for McCain and Palin because she saluted the military by having them raise their hands so the crowd could cheer for them. In addition, she took time to look around the crowd and acknowledge them.
Sarah Palin is a real person like us and not like other politicians who are all about themselves. I am thankful that she is not afraid of what everyone else thinks and she’s willing to go after Obama on all the important issues.
Everything Palin said, I agreed with.
It was definitely worth getting up at 5:00 am to do. I wish I was old enough to vote!
–Matthew

Both of these guys are on their game.
Obama is eloquent and (wonder of wonders) McCain is actually talking about cutting spending and criticizing Obama’s goodie bag.

Sound off in the comments on your own thoughts about this last debate.

Did either candidate really hurt or help themselves?

 Loading ...

It should be a scandal - but it’s not.

I guess it’s really not newsworthy when the Virginia Education Association uses its power to attempt to move an election.

The Virginia Education Association sponsored “Obama Blue Day” on Tuesday. In an e-mail sent last week, it urged teachers to participate by dressing in blue.

“There are people out there not yet registered. You teach some of them,” the Sept. 25 e-mail reads. “Others, including our members, remain on the fence! Its time for us to come together, voice our unity, because we make a difference!”

“Let’s make Obama Blue Day a day of Action!” the e-mail continues. “Barack the vote!”

Read More on FoxNews

I am not an economist, but Steven Horwitz is and his “Open Letter to my Friends on the Left” is well worth reading. He lays responsibility for this “$700 billion booty” squarely on the shoulders of federal mandates gone awry.

My friends,

In the last week or two, I have heard frequently from you that the current financial mess has been caused by the failures of free markets and deregulation. I have heard from you that the lust after profits, any profits, that is central to free markets is at the core of our problems. And I have heard from you that only significant government intervention into financial markets can cure these problems, perhaps once and for all. I ask of you for the next few minutes to, in the words of Oliver Cromwell, consider that you may be mistaken. Consider that both the diagnosis and the cure might be equally mistaken.

Continue Reading

Dear Senator John McCain:

I’ve heard that you are all for this big bailout thing that Congress rejected yesterday. I’m sorry to hear you are arguing over the terminology of “rescue” vs “bailout.” I hate to mention lipstick and I shan’t tarnish the ignoble name of the tasty porker by comparison, but you know the saying.

This bailout was bad for America. You and I both know that it didn’t fail because Nancy Pelosi made a partisan speech or Barack the indecisive didn’t come out for or against it (what do you expect from a guy who missed a quarter of all votes taken since 05?). It failed because hundreds of thousands of Americans called and emailed their representatives and said “don’t you dare” (seems they didn’t like the giant sucking sound headed toward their wallet without even reason to believe it would succeed in averting a recession). And, for once, Congress listened.

Mr. McCain, in a time of crisis, doing something is no substitute for doing the right thing. Congress realized that. Despite their bad rap in the press, conservative members of Congress might just have saved you from yourself. As it turns out, the only Republicans I found who voted for this ‘bi-partisan compromise’ were (A) in leadership, (B) retiring, or (C) in very safe districts. The members who needed to listen to their constituents said ‘no-deal.’ And a full third of Democrats - quite a few of them conservative - joined Republicans in sending this Washington Insider feit accompli to an ignoble grave.

Please back away from the “something must be done” hysteria and work on formulating a market based solution to our troubles. I know the situation is serious. I know Wall Street affects Main Street.

Just like everyone else, I’m sweating. My tiny investment portfolio doesn’t look as good on paper as it did last month. But I was given two pieces of advice by folks a great deal more savvy than myself. The first was ‘don’t invest anything you can’t afford to loose’ and the second was ‘invest for the long-term and don’t sweat the ups and downs.’

Mr. McCain, there is something worse than a plunge in the numbers my financial adviser sends me every month. This bailout was slated to cost up to $700 BILLION. And it comes on top of bailing out Freddie and Fannie and the auto industry. Now I know you’ve been in Washington awhile, so it must be tempting to lose track of the zeros. But it’s more than the cost of the entire Iraq war and it’s a heck of a lot more than a career full of earmarks.

Over the past two weeks, you have joined the Republican and Democrat leadership, the Administration and the Wall Street financiers who bungled this whole thing in advocating a solution that we little wage-earners simply could not stomach. As the crisis gets worse, here’s one Republican activist who is hoping you will reclaim your Maverick image and get to work on behalf of a solution the American people can embrace - if not with enthusiasm, then at least without rancor.

Mr. McCain, I was supporting you before this bailout business and I’m still supporting you today. I have your bumper sticker on my car and your sign in my yard, I’m hosting a debate watch party this week for your VP pick and that’ll be me passing out the sample ballot with your name on it come Election Day. But, sir, your response to this crisis has not bolstered my confidence. It’s not too late though.

The way I see it, the people who made this mess should go down. The kinds of firms that saw this coming and managed their assets better will rise to the top. It won’t be painless but it will happen. With a little help from the FDIC, we just saw Bear Stearns, AIG and WaMu fall gently. I don’t think a little more thoughtful deliberation in the people’s house will kill the country.

Now that Monday’s bill has failed, there is already another plan up for discussion. It might just represent the basis for a new consensus - one that could stabilize our economy without leaving the taxpayers on the hood for the biggest bailout, well, ever. It would leverage voluntary private capital rather than involuntary taxpayer dollars to shore up our economy. It would fix the market-to-market accounting rules so that book value reflects real asset value. It would address underlying problems with the Federal Reserve. And, it would force corporate accountability. I hope you’ll think about it.

Here are a few articles you might want to read. Some of the really smart people are saying it better than I can: Wallison / Calomiris, NR - Robinson, Boston Herald - Graham, & Miron - CNN.

Thanks for putting your country first. I know that doesn’t always mean you’ll make perfect choices (I certainly don’t) but this one is too important for a leader of your stature to rush to judgment. Keep fighting for us, Senator. The American people need the confidence that you’ll be working for them come January - not Paulson and his buddies on Wall Street. Next time I write to you, I want to call you Mr. President. If you do the right thing, I think you can make that possible. And, once you get there, can we talk about this whole “affordable housing” loan mandate in the Community Reinvestment Act that helped get us in this mess in the first place?

Yours sincerely,
DCH

9:15
They’ve opened and now they are talking about the financial crisis. So far, Obama is attacking the deregulation that he says led to the crisis and McCain is not placing the blame where it belongs.

9:17
We Republicans came into Wahington to change the way things are done, and instead Washington changed us. I’ll veto earmarks — pledges McCain.

9:18
Obama is playing a little defense on his own earmark record. But earmarks, he rightly observes, are only $18 billion dollars of the huge wasteful spending that plagues Washington. He is claiming, once again, that he will cut taxes for 95% of working families.

9:20
McCain calls Obama on his 932 Billion in earmark requests saying he didn’t see the light until running for President (McCain has no earmarks). He calls earmarks a gateway drug for legislators. McCain also notes that Obama is proposing 800 billion in new speding.

9:21
Obama jumps in questioning McCain’s figures. 18 B won’t get the middle class back on track.

9:22
Business taxes in US are 2nd highest in the world, McCain says - that’s why business are leaving and not creating jobs here, he says he’ll cut this tax. Plus, I want to double divend for children and give a $5000 tax credit for healthcare.

9:24
our businesses effectively pay the lowest tax rate in the world, Obama asserts. Obama claims that McCain wants to tax health benefits; attacks notion that the market can solve everything.

9:26
McCain claims that Obama has voted to raise taxes on people making as little as 42K a year. Obama says that’s not true.

Gibson: What will you give up to pay for the financial rescue plan?

9:28
Obama says we’ll have to delay some things but one thing we can’t delay is energy independence mostly through alternatives. We have to invest in fixing healthcare and education and we have to make sure colleges is affordable and we also have to make sure broadband reaches rural communities and rebuild our infrastructure. We have to eliminate programs that don’t work and make others more efficienct.

9:29
McCain actually answers the question: I’ll eliminate ethanol subsidies; I’ll stop cost plus contracts for the military - defense spending is vital but we must control cost overruns; I fixed a contract that was all wrong btwn Boeing & DOD and saved taxpayers 6.8B. We have to scrub every agency of government and eliminate the ones that arent’ working.

Lehrer (UPDATE - I had misnamed the moderator as “Gibson” but I’m updating to avoid reader confusion) : so no major changes?

9:32
15B to private insurers as subsidies - doesn’t make medicaid work any better. we are going to have to change the culture. Need Google for Government! (I agree).

Lehrer : so in what major ways will this 700B bailout change your policies.

9:34
McCain - spending freeze on defense, veteran’s affairs and entitlements
obama says once again where he won’t cut — like the fact that he wants to spend more on early childhood education — so, in short, he says a spending freeze is a bad idea

9:35
mcCain - we send 700 B a year overseas to countries that don’t like us very much. have to have nuclear power - obama opposes that.

obama - yes the bailout would affect our budgets - even if we get the money back. Obama talks about nationalizing healthcare

McCain suggests that Obama cut some of his new spending to pay for the bailout. Spending restraint has to be a vital part of recovery. We owe China $500 B. McCain says that he wants people to make decisions about their own healthcare

Obama - McCain votes w/ Bush 95% of the time.
McCain - I’m a maverick and I’m proud to have another Maverick w/ me.

Lehrer : what are the lessons of Iraq?

McCain - you can’t let a failed strategy cause you to lose the war. the new strategy has succeeded and we are winning in Iraq now. We’ll see a new ally in the future.

Obama - the first question is whether we should have gone there in the first place and I opposed going there. lost 4000 lives; 30000 wounded; still spending 10B a month; alQuada resurging in Afghanistan; lesson is that we shouldn’t hesitate to use force but we have to use it wisely and we didn’t do that in Iraq.

McCain - Obama said the surge has exceeded our expectations but he have still opposed it. the next president will have to deal w/ the future not the past and obama was wrong about how to move fwd in Iraq.

Obama - a bunch of stuff about McCain having voted for the war in the 1st place based on faulty intelligence.

McCain — brave men and women who are re-enlisting want to win now. Obama refuses to acknowledge we are winning in Iraq. We’ll win in Afghanistan too! Obama voted to cut off funds for the troops.

Obama explains his vote was for a timetable not against the troops.

McCain says Obama will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and he would have pulled us out before the surge under his original plan.

Lehrer : more troops in Afghanistan?

Obama: Yes, as quickly as possible. I would send 2-3 additional brigades to Afghanistan. And press Afghan government to work for their people. Deal w/ the poppy trade. Deal w/ Pakistan. We’ve been giving them 10B dollars (w/ mccain’s agreement) and they still have terrorist safe havens.

McCain: a lot of today’s difficulties are b/c of what we did in the cold war. I’m not prepared to cut off aid to Pakistan - he said we’d launch military strikes; you don’t bluster about that — you work w/ the people and the government and if strikes are ever necessary, you do them, you don’t threaten them. we have a lot of work to do in Afghanistan; we need not just additional troops there but a new strategy, the same one we used successfully in Iraq.

Obama - if top level alQuaeda Lts in our sites, then we should take them out. difficult situation w/ Pakistan - what happens w/ cross-border attacks; decsions to make.

McCain gives Obama a bit of a history lesson. Reminds us that he voted against Reagan sending Marines into Lebanon. He supported 1st gulf war and going into Bosnia under Clinton. Supported what we did in Kosova. We’ll win and we won’t come home in defeat and dishonor.

Candidates trade bracelet stories.

Obama accuses McCain of not being consistently concerned about Afghanistan.
McCain reminds us that he has traveled to Afghanistan and he knows what our needs are and Obama didn’t bother to go there. Sen. Obama doesn’t understand the connection btwn Afghanistan and Iraq.

10:05

Lehrer : what is your reading of Iran?

McCain - if Iran has nukes, they are an immediate threat to Israel and we can’t let the Holocaust happen again. he’s proposed a “League of Democracies” — we could impose meaningful sanctions that way. Together we can (w/ french, british and germans) affect Iranian behavior but they currently are trying to acquire nukes. they are also putting the most lethal IEDs into Iraq and they are training terrorists. Obama said it would be “provacative” to call the Iran Republican Guard terrorists.

Obama - I agree that the Republican Guard in Iran is a terrorst organization. what i did is oppose expanding mandate in Iraq. taking down iraq has strengthened Iran. We can’t allow a nuclear Iran. Agree w/ tougher sanctions but we can’t do it w/out Russia and China. also need tough direct diplomacy. notion that we punish people by not talking to them hasn’t worked.

McCain - obama says he’ll sit down w/ Iran’s president and Venezuala’s and North Korea’s and talk /w them w/out precondition. We shouldn’t give these guys a platform - it says they are legitimate and doing the right things. Iran’s president is advocating the destruction of Israel. We can’t reward that. I’ll sit down w/ anybody but there have got to be preconditions so we aren’t legitimizing the bad guys.

Obama — points out that Kissinger (one of McCain’s advisors) has said we should meet w/ Iran’s leaders w/out preconditions. It may not work b/c Iran is a rouge regime. if talks don’t work, we’ve strengthened our ability to gain worldwide support for action.

McCain - corrects Obama on Kissinger — he was proposing lower level meetings; if you sit down across the table from someone who has called Israel a ’stinking corpse’ you legitimize those comments. we have a fundamental disagreement on this - Obama’s position not just naieve but dangerous. We need to go back a little to Ronald Reagan’s ‘trust but verify.’ N. Korea doesn’t keep its word. gulags. average N. Korean three inches shorter than the average S. Korean.

Obama - well we’d say something when Iran’s leader spouts off

a little back and forth about preconditions, etc…

Lehrer : how do you see our relationship w/ Russia.

10:18
Obama - if resurgent, then threat. Actions in Georgia unwarranted. Must affirm all the fledgling democracies in that region. they are members of NATO and we have to insist that Georgia and the Ukraine are able to join NATO if they meet requirements. We can’t return to Cold War policies w/ Russia; we have some common interests (ex: nukes). Deal w/ Russia based on national security interests.

McCain - Obama said ‘both sides ought to show restraint’ RE Georgia aggression; that’s naive. I looked into Putin’s eyes and saw KGB. they run russia now. We need to bolster our friends and allies. Russia’s aggression is about energy pipeline. we won’t return to cold war. russians ought to undertand that we will support inclusion of Georgia & Ukraine in NATO. We want to work w/ Russians but we have every right to expect them to respect norms of int’l behavior. break down of political process in Ukraine is a very serious problem.

Obama - McCain and I agree for the most part on these issues. we need to help rebuild Georgian economy. We have to anticipate the problems. I warned the administration that Russian peacekeepers don’t belong in Georgia. On energy, petrodollars make Putin feel powerful so we need a better energy policy ourselves. We do need offshore drilling and domestic production. we only have 3% of the world’s oil supplies and we use 25% of the world’s oil so we need alternative energy development.

McCain - offshore is a bridge to the future. obama say he’s for nuclear but he doesn’t want to reprocess or store. I’ve always voted for alternative energy.

10:27

Lehrer : what is likelihood of another 9/11 type attack on our soil

McCain - a lot lower than after 9/11. praising 9/11 commission which was stymied by the administration at first - an area I disagreed w/ them. we implmented most of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. we are safer but still a long ways from safe. we must do better w/ on the ground intelligence; I know our allies and I can work w/ them. We are safer today but have a long way to go b4 we can declare America safe and that means doing a better job along our borders.

Obama - agrees we have improved but have a long way to go; threat in terms of transit and ports; suitcase threat; Billions on missile defense - we need b/c of Iran & N. Korea; but we need to spend more on nuclear proliferation. alQuaeda now operating in 60 countries - we need to go to the root cause. the way we are perceived in the world makes a difference in terms of getting coopration from other countries. I’ll work on restoring our standing in the world. commends McCain for recognizing problems w/ torture.

McCain - full circle - Obama doesn’t understand that we can’t fail in Iraq - to do so would encourage alQuaeda. gen. Petraeus says success in Iraq is fragile.

Obama - administation has focused on Iraq and ignored other threats from alQueda and China is everywhere now. We owe them a trillion dollars. Iraq is draining our economy of 10B a month. We can’t let our economy decline and maintain our military security. We’ve seen everything through Iraq and the next president needs to have a broader strategic vision.

McCain - I’ve been involved in every major national security decison and there are some advantages to experience. I don’t believe that Obama has that experience and he’s demonstrated inflexibility and naievity. I love veterans and they know i’ll take care of them. I don’t think I need any on-the-job training.

Obama - my father came from Kenya; he wanted to come to college in the US. I dont’ think any of us can say our standing in the world now is the same as then - in the 60s. We need to keep America safe by sending a message to the world that we will invest in education and things that matter to ordinary people.

McCain - I know how to heal the wounds of war; to deal w/ our adversaries and our friends. mentions his history of working for normalization of relations w/ Vietnam, and taking care of our veterans.

THE END

I apologize for any errors I’ve made in summarizing the candidate’s statements.

Chinese communists posted details of their successful space shuttle launch today — two days before it is scheduled to occur.

The post has been removed but excerpts are circulating online - including exchanges between the flight crew:

“After this order, signal lights all were switched on, various data show up on rows of screens, hundreds of technicians staring at the screens, without missing any slightest changes …

‘One minute to go!’

‘Changjiang No.1 found the target!’…

“The firm voice of the controller broke the silence of the whole ship. Now, the target is captured 12 seconds ahead of the predicted time …

‘The air pressure in the cabin is normal!’

“Ten minutes later, the ship disappears below the horizon. Warm clapping and excited cheering breaks the night sky, echoing across the silent Pacific Ocean.”

How poetic.

More here.

Actually, according to her name tag, she was “Sarah Palin Wannabe” but Michelle Staton had the hairdo and glasses down and she was certainly thrilled with Ken Cuccinelli’s candidacy and Sarah Palin’s!

At least 130 Virginians gathered Monday evening in former Delegate Dick Black’s home to support Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General.

Cuccinelli gave a rousing speech to the standing room only crowd. He noted his record of accomplishment on conservative issues. He talked about how he never backed down from advocating for our 2nd Amendment right - even when the issue polled four to one opposed in his district. He told war stories of his successful fight to pass strong property rights protections for Virginians — over the opposition of the Dick “property rights don’t belong in the Constitution” Saslaw.

The next Attorney General, Cuccinelli said, will likely be faced with the task of defending Virginia’s Marriage Amendment. He said that in 2006 he spent the late summer and fall going all over Northern Virginia to speak in churches on behalf of the amendment - often churches that agree with Republicans in principle more than politics. Cuccinelli noted that he and Bob Marshall were the only members of the General Assembly who he knows actively campaigned for the Marriage Amendment. Meanwhile the likely Democrat candidate for Attorney General, Steve Shannon, voted for the Amendment in the House (CORRECTION) and then campaigned against it in the fall. Cuccinelli promised he would defend Virginia’s Marriage Amendment vigourously, if elected, and voters had his record of accomplishment to take to the bank.

Cuccinelli also remarked that much work was ahead for his supporters because he was once again “not the establishment” candidate — generating roars of approval from the crowd. He also observed that when he and his opponents all had the same decision to make in the Warner / Miller Republican primary, he worked for Jim Miller and both of his opponents endorsed John Warner. So, Cuccinelli observed, you have a choice between two ‘John Warner Republicans’ and a proven conservative in this race for Attorney General. For attendees, that seemed to be an easy decision.

As the evening drew to a close, Delegate Black invited any other campaigns present to address the crowd. McCain & Gilmore had representatives present and Keith Fimian spoke for himself. When Frank Wolf had no representative present, Cuccinelli classily stood up and spoke again on behalf of his own Congressman, asking volunteers to help him. Cuccinelli said Judy Feder’s ads (this one thanking leftwing netroot organization “Act Blue”) were all the endorsement Wolf needs — I happen to agree.

Joe at Novatownhall has pics!

Opening October 3rd. Go see it. It looks hilarious.

I’ve read with interest the wide range of reactions to the Palin for VP candidacy from women, including that of my thoughtful fellow blogger, Danae, here at BD.

Perhaps the most amusing quote I have seen so far is from Professor Wendy Doninger who states of Palin: “Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman.”