It seems the hand of God played a part in this election. It was the perfect storm of a great candidate, a weak opponent, a pea-brained running mate, an unpopular president, and a financial meltdown.

 

Filed under: BlackSpin, News

For those of you who avidly follow Superbowl commercials, you'll may remember the emergence of the terrorizing office line backer known as Terry Tate. Well like any good marketing promotion, Terry enjoyed some success with some additional viral Youtube, but nothing as large as his initial splash.

Now with the election around the corner, and electricity in the air, what better way to usher in the return of a man who tackles people who don't have office decorum then to have him 'speak' to John McCain's vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin.

What do you think? Does he get his message across?

 

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Obama dismisses Biden's "crisis" remarks Sunday as "rhetorical flourishes."

John McCain called out fellow Republicans who questioned running mate Sarah Palin’s credentials. See also: Terrorists endorse

Wisconsin and Michigan women throng to catch a glimpse of the vice presidential candidate, not to mention her running mate.

If Barack Obama, with his pedigree, were a white man, he would coast to a landslide victory in November, regardless of his running mate, or John McCain's.

 

In her first major speech since being tapped as John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin introduced herself and her family, defended her experience, praised Sen. McCain and mocked Sen. Barack Obama.

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, News

ST. PAUL-- Wednesday afternoon Jim Brady, a Republican delegate from Ohio, took time out to speak with Black Voices. Here's what the Shaker Heights city councilman had to say about Barack Obama, how liberals are failing black people, and why John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is keeping it real.

Why it's hard out here for a Black Republican

"I take a lot of crap for being an African-American Republican. I guess you can say I kinda got 'outed' by the local newspaper in Cleveland, The Plain Dealer. I pretty much kept it on the down low, but now I'm out there. I know there are a hell of a lot more black Republicans out there. But, the party has not done a good job of branding itself with African-Americans."

Pride before falling for the GOP

"I don't know what it was that drew me to the Republican Party. My mom had me when she was fifteen. At one point when I was a child we were on food stamps. However, my mother was so proud she wouldn't take food stamps. She would make my dad go and use them at the grocery store. She didn't believe in depending on the government. She believed in a strong sense of self; that your family comes first, and then religion, and you didn't look to the government for handouts. You pull yourself up and make yourself better by being a person of character. These are the same types of values that both Democrats and Republicans can relate to, so from that perspective I didn't know if I was Republican early on, but I knew that I was conservative."

Back in the day, when it was morning in America

"I think I was conservative before I was Republican. Growing up in the 80s, I was inspired by what President Ronald Reagan did with the country. I thought he brought the nation together and was an inspirational leader. I became a Republican afterward and I went into the military. I went from the rugged individualism of my mom to the military perspective of the Reagan era."

How the liberals just keep us hanging on

"The liberal government has done more to hinder than to help the African American community. I really do I think that the liberal government has allowed the black community to become dependent. When you have someone who wants to depend on the federal government, it takes away from their motivation and does not help to change behavior."

Oh Barack, promises, promises...

"It's an absolutely incredible thing that an African American man is running for the highest position in the land. He is an inspiration to all African American men and I will shout that from the rooftops. He a motivational tool.

"But ideologically, I couldn't disagree more with Barack Obama. People give me crap about not voting for Obama because he is black. To them, I say if a black man was at the top of the Republican ticket, would you vote for him strictly cause he is black? I don't' think so...In the barbershop, people are so sold on Obama. You know, when you promise somebody something for free, they are going to want that. He is promising a lot of things. Where is the "change" and the free stuff gonna come from? It's gonna come from taxes."

Sarah Palin's the 'right' move

"It was a brilliant move on John McCain's part, from a strategic perspective. He had to do it. The Obama campaign talks about change, but Sarah Palin is an outsider. She is also going to bring in the hardcore, right-wing base. She is pro-life, she is a hunter, she is NRA. She is gonna pull in that base that wants to question McCain. Some folks say that McCain wasn't Republican enough, and by adding her to the ticket he can sway those voters. The media is missing it by thinking she is going to pull over those Hillary voters."

The Palins are just keeping it real

"The Democrats are going to love [the fact that Sarah Palin's 17-year-old unwed daughter, Bristol, is 5 months pregnant]. To me, it basically showed that Sarah Palin is human. Sarah Palin is real. She has five kids. She is from the working class. It's funny, because if she were a Democrat they would be hailing her--a working mom, five kids, and a husband in a union. I really didn't think anything of it, I just wondered how the Democrats were going to spin it. I don't see it as an embarrassment. We've all got that crazy uncle from the family reunion. Most of the delegates are very excited to have Sarah Palin...they see her as a fighter."

 

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John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate has apparently stirred up some strong emotions among some, including rap artist Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who says the GOP nominee's choice is "irresponsible."

The travails of the Palin family suggest an averageness that makes her a politically promising running mate. See also: Veteran GOP hand will staff Palin

Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, News

Teen pregnancy is an epidemic in our society. A recent report shows that teen pregnancy rates have gone up from 21 births per 1,000 teenage girls in 2005 to 22 per 1,000 in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available. In recognition of the trend, celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers and Disney dynamo Selena Gomez have grabbed headlines by taking abstinence pledges. Helping teens resist the temptation of sex, which can result in unwanted pregnancies, is part of the agenda of the pro-life Republican party.

Yet, today we learn that GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's unwed 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant.

According to the Associated Press, Palin and her husband Todd released this statement: "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents."

Of course, the Palins' predicament is a private family matter, but choosing Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate begs this question: Is this the image that the so-called party of family values wants to put front and center?

For his part, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said emphatically, "I think people's families are off limits; and people's children are especially off limits." He said he was offended by the suggestion that his operatives spread the unfounded Internet rumors that Sarah Palin's infant son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome, is actually Bristol's.

Meanwhile, BV took the temperature of people attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul today. Here is what Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said about what Palin's selection says about GOP family values.

 

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Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections

By Friday morning, a silly round of "will he, won't he" had snatched news media attention away from Presidential candidate Barack Obama's historic and rousing acceptance speech and the guessing game of who McCain would or would not pick to be his running mate was in full swing.

McCain answered with a choice right out of left field; really left, as in Alaska and from the farthest right of the Republican social conservative continuum. McCain selected Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Lifetime NRA member, staunchly in favor of reversing Roe v. Wade and a supporter of teaching Creationsim in school, McCain's choice of this former beauty queen, at least initially, appears to have motivated the Evangelical Christian base so crucial to Republican success in the past two elections.Here's more about the reaction to Gov. Sarah Palin from 'The Baltimore Sun':

Watching the speech from the site of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., McCain delegate Carmen Amedori, a former lawmaker from Carroll County, said she was in tears.

"It's going to really boost the ticket and the energy of the base, wherever it was lacking, because it is a first for the Republicans, and a good pick," Amedori said. "We've gone out of the realm of the manly look of the Republican Party. We have a pretty face on the Republican Party, and not just a pretty face, but a woman who is accomplished in many ways."

Palin was elected Alaska governor two years ago, with 48 percent of the 238,307 votes cast - fewer than the 282,537 votes cast in Baltimore County alone in the Maryland gubernatorial race that year.

Her selection by McCain turned the heads of some prominent Republicans after weeks of chatter had focused on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

During a taping of a television show at the Tribune Broadcasting studio in Washington, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declined to give a full-throated backing of her candidacy, saying on air that he didn't know much about her.

Afterward, speaking with acquaintances, he said: "I gotta go digest this choice."

Former Governor Ehrlich, a lot of other people are right there with you.

 

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