McCain-Palin - How Low Will They Go?
28 09 2008With every day bringing new cringe-worthy gaffes, inadequacies, and (R)evelations (Biblical and otherwise), the McCain campaign is getting desperate. They’ve tried just about everything to postpone, or lessen the carnage of the looming bloodbath that will be the Vice Presidential debate this Thursday night.Plan A - Change the rules of the debate. Give the candidates less time to talk, and less time to talk TO each other. If Palin has 25% less time to talk, she will embarrass herself and her party…..25% less. That’s the theory anyway. Plan A has been implemented.Plan B - Economic meltdown. Play it so that John McCain is “the only one” who can solve the crisis, and suspend the campaign so he can. Push for the Presidential debate to be moved forward to take the place of…..wait for it…..the Vice Presidential debate! This allows for the VP debate to be postponed indefinitely! It’s so crazy, it just might work… Except it didn’t. Barack Obama called McCain’s bluff, showed for the debate and forced McCain to participate or risk being upstaged by a nationally televised Obama Town Hall meeting. (McCain campaign lifting collective fist to the sky…”Noooooooo!”)
Plan C - While looking for another way to stall the debate, giving Palin more time to memorize those index cards of talking points, create a diversion for the press. Because right now, the press is not a friend to the McCain campaign. The Couric interview was an epic disaster. Obama won the first Presidential debate, according to most Americans. McCain is looking dangerously physically run-down. Even Alaskans have had it with their governor, and were out in droves Saturday, protesting the stonewalling of her ethics investigation. Op-ed pieces from the left and from the right have been unflattering to say the least. Hmmm….how to divert all this negative press coverage….*lightbulb*
In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”
Because, as we all know, that’s the definition of a “fantastic” wedding.
Awwww…..Don’t they just look so
in love….freaked out and miserable? And there’s something about a tattooed engagement ring…So, if Plan C is indeed a shotgun wedding, what does this mean? Will the press, as the McCain campaign hopes, make this the Alaskan hillbilly version of the Prince Charles/Lady Diana nuptials? Will they have to suspend the campaign so the parents of the bride can participate? Will that shotgun fit under Todd’s tuxedo without looking conspicuous?
But more importantly, if the press does turn its lascivious, million-eyed focus on the young lovers, will this actually be a good thing for McCain and Palin? Or, will the nation have its head held, and be forced to watch as these two young people, who never asked for this kind of attention, become a sideshow attraction as they are paraded in front of cameras, and become political pawns in a chess game they don’t want to play? This plan may backfire.
How does the proud papa-to-be, Levi Johnston, feel about the situation?
The ice-hockey player wrote on his MySpace page he was a “f***ing redneck” and stated, “I don’t want kids.” But a McCain insider predicted he would marry Bristol whenever his future mother-in-law wanted. “It’s a shotgun wedding. She kills things,” the source joked.
Ha ha. Let the marital bliss begin.
Although several sources are already reporting on this, no one has speculated yet about where this wedding might take place. We all recall how Sarah, wile pregnant and in labor with her infant son Trig, admitted that she hopped two commercial airline flights, and bypassed hospitals in Dallas, Seattle, and even in Anchorage, so she could deliver the high-risk baby in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska. “First Dude” Todd Palin explained jeapordizing his wife and unborn child’s safety by stating, “You can’t have a fish-picker from Texas.”
So where do we suppose the wedding will be? Todd? Can you have a shotgun wedding in D.C.? Can we Alaskans expect yet another media circus for the “Bristol ‘n Levi” wedding? Join me as we spiral our way down into further depths of the painfully tacky, brutally opportunistic, Machiavellian nausea that is the McCain campaign.
*h/t to Crooks and Liars for the photo.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:24 AM
@ DebNo Gravatar (19:31:07)
I probably wasn’t very clear. I agree with you. SP, and her use of her kids for political purposes is uncomfortable for me, but generally fair game. Like you, it’s the kids I want to protect.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:42 AM
I agree that Sarah has thrown her family under a bus! But remember, she’s on a mission from G*d and he will provide. Murtha’s praying hard, I’m sure.
My question: Who is paying for Bristol’s prenatal care? If it’s through her parents insurance, that will stop if she marries. Then who will pay-will she go on Medicaid (or whatever the AK equivalent is)? Has Levi gotten a job with bennies? Is Uncle John McSame going to pay? Or will Bristol stay single for the insurance and when baby is born s/he will be on Medicaid? Isn’t this just what the conservatives rail against all the time? Of course for most evangelicals, it’s only a sin when it’s the other guy.
Here’s a link to Sarah’s debate in 2006: http://www.andrewhalcro.com/a_debate_primer006
September 29th, 2008 at 5:49 AM
Besides being absolutely moronic, how come more Americans don’t say to Palin:
“You moronic fool! America is America! How dare you put yourself and unborn child at risk by flying back to Alaska. What, Texas is not good enough for you! Stay in Alaska and don’t go to other states.”
I mean, if this was a Democrat, Republicans would be saying the above!
Start emailing and calling newspapers and television stations and tell them to keep the children of the candidates out of the picture. You can have “positive” stuff about them all over the place, but I can’t call Bristol “a moronic robot controlled by her parents who is a lush and a foolish slut” if I feel that way and am Obama or Biden, but I have to be forced to witness her wedding?
All is speculation, but keep her kids in the closet. How come Track and Bristol aren’t being photographed boozing it up like in the old days? Cover that more!
I believe Levi will cheat on Bristol and get some other girl knocked up.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:53 AM
This quote by First Dude is problematic on more than one level: “You can’t have a fish-picker from Texas.”
His wife was about to give birth to a child who tested positive for Down Syndrome. If they had done any research at all about the child they were about to bring into the world and the challenges that child might face, he would have understood that the odds were not in their favor to have a child who would be destined for a “normal” career path. Combined with the fact that she didn’t tell her own kids about the challenges their new sibling would be facing, it tells me that these people are living in some kind of dream world. It’s not just that she’s delusional about her own abilities, these people are delusional about everything.
One other thing … this isn’t ancient history. That kid is 5 months old. That kind of thinking and denial is less than 6 months old. They’re all nuts.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:00 AM
My apologies-I see my question has already been addressed. Didn’t read thoroughly enough. However, the point is still valid. Isn’t this a conservative battle cry-Get Big Government Out of Our Life! Big gov’t BAD when providing social services and health care for those who can’t afford them-big gov’t GOOD when it means tax cuts for the rich and ELITE.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:00 AM
September 29th, 2008 at 6:04 AM
Off-topic but newsworthy… Associated Press is reporting this story.
b]Alaska Natives question Palin’s support[/b]
[img]http://static-p-a.comcast.net/api/assets/bin-200809/6d98-Palin-Protest.jpg[/img]
Mon Sep 29, 4:35 AM EDT
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin routinely notes her husband’s Yup’ik Eskimo roots. But those connections haven’t erased doubts about her in a community long slighted by the white settlers who flocked to Alaska and dominate its government. [url=http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20080929/Palin.Alaska.Natives/]Read more here…[/url]
September 29th, 2008 at 6:18 AM
First of all I have to wonder why people are looking at a shot-gun wedding as something that the press will follow for a week. Second, the multitasking canard applies to Sarah Palin as well as to John McCain. If she can’t help plan a wedding and show up for a debate, how in the hell is she going to be able to handle the VP duties?
I don’t think that there is going to be a wedding before the election, at least not a big splashy planned wedding. If the kids were going to get married before the election, they would already be planning the wedding.
I suspect that Bristol is refusing to become a side-show for her mother’s benefit. She will be 18 in October and at that point her mother can’t force her to do anything. I don’t even think her mother can force her to get married at 17.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:26 AM
I think Biden will do an excellent job in the debates. He did very well in all of the primary debates and I do not expect him to make any major gaffes. When he is very focused, he is on his game and I think that it what we will see in the debate.
As far as the speculated miscarriage drama that may occur in the coming days, that is the first thought that I had when they announce Bristol’s pregnancy. I thought our October surprise would be some trouble with the pregnancy. I certainly hope that she has a healthy pregnancy and that a real or made up drama is not created to divert attention away from Sarah Palin.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:33 AM
The look on that boy’s face tells it all. He’s probably wishing right now that he had been born a eunuch. To me, it is obvious that he doesn’t want to be married and would love for some giant bird to swoop down and lift him out of this mess.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:35 AM
something that has been bugging me throughout this entire process, why is it that in so many pictures Bristol is holding Trig. If she is his older sister, as they would have us belive, then why isn’t his father holding him while his mother speaks or performs for the crowd? While I love the idea of involved siblings, I hate the idea that an older sister is forced into a mother role to assist her own mother. I’ve seen this many times in families with many children (obviously the older brother is never tapped for this role of surrogate parent). I’m not even commenting on who is the mother, I just hate the idea that Bristol has to parent a child of her parent’s because she is a girl. If her parents made the choice to have another child, then they should be responsible for it. just because they have older kids, doesn’t mean they get to pawn the baby off.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:45 AM
The Repubs have provided us with the poster couple for not having premarital sex.
Has there been any mention of a due date btw? She looked pretty pregnant at the convention. She must be due in Oct or Nov right?
September 29th, 2008 at 6:45 AM
They have Bristol with Trig all the time to show people how brave she is for having a baby at her age and that she is going to make an excellent mother.
I don’t think she will be a great mother and I do not think she should be having a baby. Just shows that the idea of teaching and preaching abstinence DOES NOT WORK and SAFE SEX talks are IMPORTANT!
I hope when Bristol turns 18 she lashes out at her mother’s teachings and ideologies. I mean, a girl who apparently drinks like a fish, has been known to fool around with a lot of guys, and more just does not seem like her closed minded STUPID mother! But oh yeah, Palin may be broke but she is not flat busted! Actually, I think the woman is pretty damn busted!
September 29th, 2008 at 6:47 AM
I hear Bristol is getting advice from Lynn Spears and Billy Ray Cyrus. Levi is brokering a deal with Mark Burnett…should be better than the Nick and Jessica “divorced-from reality” show.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:00 AM
[...] McCain-Palin - How Low Will They Go? Posted on September 29, 2008 by gregornot McCain-Palin - How Low Will They Go? [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 7:03 AM
The more posts like this that pop up the less effect the wedding will have. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the wedding is being planned for October. The idea has come up a lot.
There is a down side to having the wedding too. Not only is it obviously using your daughter, holding a gun to the head of a guy who doesn’t want kids, but it could also bring up a lot of jokes about the color of her wedding gown etc.
To whatever extent she looks pregnant at the wedding the redneck jokes and cartoons will start to fly.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:12 AM
Karen said: “Does anyone else find this suspicious: Sarah Palin and her whole family will spend the first part of the week secluded on McCain’s ranch in Arizona for debate camp. She was originally scheduled to be in a hotel in St. Louis. There are a lot of things that could (supposedly) happen to a person while spending time on a ranch out of the view of the media.”
Hey, I live really close to Sedona. Maybe I could climb on one of the red rocks and get a good view of what is going on! I’ll get back to ya!
September 29th, 2008 at 7:44 AM
[...] I may watch part of the VP debate (if it doesn’t get finally scrapped in favor of the Bristol-hockeyplayer wedding, that is), simply because everyone needs some soap opera in their life every now and [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 8:13 AM
Love the Brian story. Just thinking, in the sixties Berkeley was considered a microcosm…so goes Berkeley so goes the world. I’m wondering, with the strange events that have taken place in Alaska over the past couple of months if maybe the same thing isn’t happening there. The state has been hijacked by the McCain campaign & the people are really ticked off. What happens in Alaska & the outcome will effect the whole country. Just how much can Palin & McCain get away with. I don’t think MSM is giving the situation & it’s significance nearly enough coverage.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:58 AM
Maybe the McCain campaign could send in Tina Fey to take Sarah’s place during the debate. No one would notice and she has more experience than Sarah on camera.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Those of you in Alaska, what can you tell us about Levi’s parents? Where are they?
I agree with all of the comments about Bristol and the travesty of a media circus, AK-47 wedding.
But I find myself wondering about Levi’s family…
-Were they paid off?
-Afraid that Sarah would hunt them down and shoot them from an airplane?
-Offered a lifetime supply of Sarah’s now famous moose stew?
-Or did the GOP get Levi for a 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and floor seats to a tractor pull?
What’s the story?
September 29th, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Julie ArizonaNo Gravatar (07:12:26) :
Karen said: “Does anyone else find this suspicious: Sarah Palin and her whole family will spend the first part of the week secluded on McCain’s ranch in Arizona for debate camp. She was originally scheduled to be in a hotel in St. Louis. There are a lot of things that could (supposedly) happen to a person while spending time on a ranch out of the view of the media.”
Hey, I live really close to Sedona. Maybe I could climb on one of the red rocks and get a good view of what is going on! I’ll get back to ya!
—————————————-
Julie,
Hey! Definitely try to find out what is going on out on the ranch from the locals? Maybe they have to send out for pizza or something? Is “Debate Camp” just like “Jesus Camp”? only the “T” shirts aren’t as nice?
Could anyone here imagine being in her shoes? She chose to play in the big leagues without having paid her dues in life. This would be a horrendous nightmare for most reasonable people. How could anyone do this to themselves? How could John McCain have done this to the nation and to her? I say someone has to intervene in this situation. This just cannot be allowed to go on any further. It is criminal.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:13 AM
LeslieNo Gravatar (08:58:55) :
Maybe the McCain campaign could send in Tina Fey to take Sarah’s place during the debate. No one would notice and she has more experience than Sarah on camera.
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I agree. Tina Fey could handle it and it would be very entertaining. It would essentially be a 90 minute SNL skit. This lady is pretty good too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKvgtfZpV1I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMxjomBUm30
September 29th, 2008 at 9:46 AM
I have to say, that night that sp was being strutted as mc idiots VP pick. The camera panned down to where Bristol was sitting with trig on her lap. Levi was sitting to the right of her, bent down, and kissed trig on his head. What i saw, was _a_ father kissing his child, not an 18 yr old kissing his soon to be brother in law.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:39 PM
I have not read all the comments but I am still firmly convinced that Sarah Palin was never pregnant last spring, and that Trig is Bristol’s baby. For her to announce to her staff that she is six months along and they are all “blown away”–that just doesn’t happen with your fifth child. I am voting for the faked miscarriage to get rid of Bristol’s faked pregnancy in the coming weeks…which would obviate the need for a shotgun wedding I suppose…
September 30th, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Scenario 1, from Desperate Housewives: Girl gets pregnant. Mother hides girl away, and fakes pregnancy herself. When girl goes into labor, mother arranges secret delivery, then takes custody of the new baby as her own. Was Sarah watching? Was househusband Todd watching? Were they smart enough to work it out without the help of Hollywood writers? Were they stupid enough to think that TV is a useful guide to real life?
Or was it Scenario 2: Pregnant woman doesn’t want the baby, but can’t get an abortion. Big problem. But there’s an old-fashioned solution - cause a miscarriage by subjecting her body to some kind of stress. Impossible, because she’s pro-life? Then why did she fly to Texas in the first place, at a stage of pregnancy when, as her doctor would have told her, flying is a risk? Or did Palin not check in with her doctor before heading to Texas? Why did she start out for home after her water broke, when there are world-class doctors and hospitals in Texas? Why, on arrival in Alaska, did she bypass even her own doctor and the NICU in Anchorage, but go to Wasilla, where there is no NICU? Because “We can’t have a fishpicker from Texas”? Why not? Texas has a seacoast and plenty of fishing people. Sarah was born in Idaho, no seacoast there. Has Alaska barred people (except Sarah) born in other states from fishing? Will a Down syndrome child be able to work on a boat? The sheer stupidity of Todd’s explanation, sincere or not, boggles the mind.
Too much BS, too many wild questions, too few caring decisions. I go with the simplest explanation: Sarah was trying to kill the baby. If life begins at conception, she’s guilty of attempted murder.
September 30th, 2008 at 2:03 PM
sarah could have married them at any time in her capacity as a Governor.
I wonder if the young man is waiting for a DNA test.
This is not a royal couple, with dynastic issues. If they want to marry they will, if not, that is really up to the pair of them.