Now we'll be able to see where we're at without this so-called Bradley effect -- where people say they'll support Obama but not really because they don't want to vote for a black man.
I don't want to be surprised in November. I remember being shocked in 2004 that evangelicals turned the election.
It would be a shame if it came down to race. This election has always had racial undertones, even Hillary knew, and sometimes I find myself pondering post-election: What if Obama doesn't win. How to continue the work he started? What about all the youth that he attracted to his campaign? If Obama wins, it will be because of the younger voters coming out in mass.
It's a dreaded thought: McCain winning. I keep listening to him in hopes of finding some relief, that if he does win, we'll be in good hands. I know he was a war hero but I believe he'll be an incompetent leader and we'll be in one or two wars before we know it. The wars will keep him busy and he won't have any time for his "reforming."
He only has one core economic belief-- the republican platform: tax cuts for the rich and corporations, so that that they will provide jobs. Oh, the irony.
Palin is all the talk today. We're seeing stories on her evangelical beliefs. But the democrats have a sheer numbers advantage this year over the republicans. Democrats aren't immune from being racist, however, as Hillary's PUMAs have demonstrated.
Here's another thing I always wonder: Why professed evangelicals have a narrow view of Biblical principles?
For example, Palin would call on her church pastor to give her leadership advice, but she'd denigrate a U.S. senator in such harsh terms that she may as have had a rifle in her hands.
It seems they always pick and choose their Bible principles to suit themselves. They "choose life" but choose not to help a pregnant teen who doesn't have the family or financial support. I would argue such a staunch stance against abortion actually defeats their purpose. It seems they only care about being right, or what they think is right.
The one that always baffles me is their approval of capital punishment and I imagine that has to do with their literal translation of the Bible.
They certainly don't pay any attention to the principle that it's not such a good idea to cast stones, or the one about humility.
More vetting of Palin:
NYT: WASILLA, Alaska — Shortly after taking office as governor in 2006, Sarah Palin sent an e-mail message to Paul E. Riley, her former pastor in the Assembly of God Church, which her family began attending when she was a youth. She needed spiritual advice in how to do her new job, said Mr. Riley, who is 78 and retired from the church.She's George Bush all over.
“She asked for a biblical example of people who were great leaders and what was the secret of their leadership,” Mr. Riley said.
He wrote back that she should read again from the Old Testament the story of Esther, a beauty queen who became a real one, gaining the king’s ear to avert the slaughter of the Jews and vanquish their enemies. When Esther is called to serve, God grants her a strength she never knew she had.
Mr. Riley said he thought Ms. Palin had lived out the advice as governor, and would now do so again as the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nominee.
“God has given her the opportunity to serve,” he said. “And God has given her the strength to carry out her goals.”
...
Janet Kincaid, who has known Ms. Palin for about 15 years and worked with her on some Wasilla town boards and commissions when Ms. Palin was mayor here, said Ms. Palin’s spiritual path, from the Assembly of God to Wasilla Bible, has had a consistent theme.
“The churches that Sarah has attended all believe in a literal translation of the Bible,” Ms. Kincaid said. “Her principal ethical and moral beliefs stem from this.”
Here's one on the Palins and politics and one about her switching colleges six times in six years. These are all interesting things. Not sure what it says yet.
Here's Frank Rich at the NYT on Palin's spectacle at the republican convention and her quick hook up with McCain.
I've always dismissed Rush Limbaugh but I'm in awe that radio talk show hosts have had so much influence on McCain.
Mudflats, a blogger in Alaska, always has insight on Palin.
