Sunday, November 9, 2008

Palin The Cause For Increased Death Threats To Obama

From the Telegraph:

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."

I am not surprised by this. I believe Palin was so used to being a big fish in a little pond that she forgot that responsibility comes with power. Given the phobia of the right, the angst of many Americans about a black man taking the highest office in the land, and her irresponsible nature, the only thing that is surprising is that there weren't more incidents being reported.

It does show an amazing lack or diplomacy or forethought on her part, and of the campaign in general. Can you imagine how that sort of rhetoric would have played out in the international scene, especially when you consider the already strained relationships we have with many of our allies.

What does surprise me is that she still has a core of supporters that still take her seriously even though she has had so many gaffes and proved herself to even take a national role of any sort. Why else would the campaign so desperately try to control her exposure to the media and wouldn't even let her do solo appearances until the end of the campaign. Even then, many feel that she was more of a bane to the campaign than a boon.

From the Washington Post:

Where the selection of Palin was once seen as an asset, a majority of voters now say McCain's vice presidential pick reflects poorly on the decisions he would make as president, according to the Post-ABC News poll. Overall, 52 percent of likely voters said they are less confident in McCain's judgment because his of surprise selection of Palin; 38 percent are more confident because of it. That represents a marked reversal from the initially positive reaction to the pick.

Several GOP sources expressed anger about the damage the clothing story was likely to do to the ticket, coming just as the campaign is making its closing argument by employing "Joe the Plumber" in an appeal to average Americans. "That's what grates me. We're the party that talks about looking out for the little guy," said one top Virginia Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the GOP ticket. "Then something like that pops. It smacks of being hypocritical."

Saul Anuzis, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said Palin remains a popular figure, particularly with conservatives in his state. "She has still been a net plus for us," he said.

But he conceded that the national party spending $150,000 on clothes for her was a "dumb political decision" that was not likely to play well among many of his hardscrabble voters. "You're talking to a guy who wears Lands' End shirts," Anuzis said. "I don't even know how you would spend $150,000 on clothes. You can get a pretty darn good men's suit for $300 to $500."


Even if I look past the fact that I disagree with her politics, the fact remains that she failed to do her job as the running mate of a presedential candidate.

I'm just glad that she is on their side.

Tip of the crown to Helen Wheels.

6 comments:

  1. Oh, please. Palin had absoutley nothing to do with alleged death threats. Having seen so many political ad's from Obama wanting us to hate McCain, and the same with McCain against Obama, it's not surprising that there are some people who hate the canidates.
    Much of this crap has been discredited, anyways.
    Palin, hopefully will be a force to be reckoned with in 2012.

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  2. "What does surprise me is that she still has a core of supporters that still take her seriously even though she has had so many gaffes and proved herself to even take a national role of any sort"
    As opposed to Biden who is as dumb as the leaves you raked the other week? As opposed to Obama who can't speak if the teleprompter isn't on. We have Dumb and Dumber in the presidential office right now.

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  3. Oh, spare me. The reckless rhetoric from McCain, Palin, talk radio and certain bloggers do nothing to sway people unless they are already feeling the same way or are unbalanced.

    Remember that guy in Knoxville? You know, the one that shot up a church and had books by Bill O'Reilly, Mark Savage and the such. He said he shot up the church because of his fear from liberals. There was the guy in Arkansas that shot the Democratic Party leader. Similar story.

    The over the top comments helps no one and causes more damage than anything else.

    That is why I only highlighted part of the story. The rest of it was the same type of hyperbole, only in the other direction.

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  4. Dan, here's your new word for the day -- Quisling -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quisling

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  5. And who are you accusing of being a Nazi, Keith?

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  6. Umm, Caps? It's Michael Savage. I can't defend that guy. If he was less shrill, his ideas would have more merit. I have to defend O'Rielly, even though he can be pushy at times. Have you read any of O'Rielly's books? No? I didn't think so. If you had, you'd realize that the media was taking an unfair shot at him. He's a traditionalist and has NEVER advocated violence. He also gave Obama a pretty good interview. The more the left keeps this up, the more you look as deranged as those on the right you complain so much about.

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