The Kansas City Star should have kept their classical music critic and laid off their political writer. Useless, completely useless.
Yeah, I know, tell you something new.
Kraske on Sarah Palin:
ON POLITICS
Best week ever goes to American politics
By STEVE KRASKE
The Kansas City StarDoes it get any better than this…?
…Her coming out Friday was a success as she delivered a host of sizzling lines with a steady, determined hand.
Her best line: “I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said we’d build it ourselves…”
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Oh, really? You’d think a political reporter might do some fact checking, you know, like maybe from sources in Alaska, instead of being just a, a stenographer.
…Today, while I watched her hop out of the “Straight Talk Express” bus, and give the second reading of her acceptance speech, one of my fellow viewers said, “You know, I don’t remember her opposing the Bridge.” And it hit me. I don’t remember that either. A quick double-check with the third member of our watch party confirmed our confusion. We all live here. We all watch the news, read the paper, and pay attention to the local political circus, but none of us connected Sarah with her claims of rebuffing the controversial earmark…
“….People across the nation struggle with the idea of building a bridge because they’ve been under these misperceptions about the bridge and the purpose,’ said Palin, who described the link as the Ketchikan area’s potential for expansion and growth.
Palin said Alaska’s congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge and that she ‘would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge’.
8-8-06‘We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative,’ Palin said.”
Ketchikan Daily News 9-28-06
Or, how about this?:
After federal funding had been slashed, Palin was asked if she was still in support of funding the project. She said:
Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now-while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.
….So, if Congress had gone along and coughed up what Stevens and Young had asked for, guess what….that bridge to nowhere would have become a reality during the Palin administration. She supported the bridge every step of the way…until the funding was cut. So we decided to say, “Thanks, but no thanks. If we want a bridge we’ll build it ourselves?!” Is that like the failed earmark version of “You can’t fire me….I quit!”
It’s going to a long journey to election day if our useless media stenographers have their way.
There’s going to be a lot of oppo ammunition on her positions and all we can do is use it point out that she’s just like Bush and McCain – says one thing but does another.
And that message resonates with the public about McCain and can be reinforced with Palin.
She will be useful to McCain for raising money and she will (unfortunately) be useful to McCain for rallying his base. But she can be useful to the Obama campaign in reinforcing their principal message that she doesn’t represent change – she’s the same thing we’ve been seeing for the past 8 years. Her face may be new but her actions show she’s just more of the same.
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being a clone of George W – check out the Washington Post story via Kevin Drum today. Quotes from an Alaskan reporter:
Now this is an issue. Four more years of fiscal irresponsibility? Please. No.
…with actual reporters:
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