Press pissed off @ Palin

Palin Meets with Karzai, Press Shut Out

September 23rd, 2008 12:54 PM Eastern
by Shushannah Walshe

NEW YORKâ??Sarah Palin just wrapped her meeting with Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. The Palin camp relented and allowed the pool TV producer and cameraman in; even after the camp told print poolers they would not be allowed to enter.

The Palin campaign spokesperson Tracey Schmitt provided this statement as to why originally no editorial presence would be allowed in the meetings, but no explanation, â??The decision was made for this to be a photo spray with still cameras and video cameras only.â?�

According to the pool producer, Palin was seated in a large chair to the left of Karzai with a table in between the two. Behind the Alaska Governor were McCain-Palin foreign policy advisers Steve Biegun and Randy Scheunemann.

Karzai and Palin were talking about his young son when the pool entered the room. The only part of the conversation the journalists allowed in the room for 29 seconds could hear is below:

â??What is his name?,â?� Palin asked.

â??Mirwais,â?� Karzai responded. â??Mirwais, which means, â??The Light of the House.â??â?�

â??Oh nice,â?� Palin responded.

â??He is the only one we have,â?� remarked Karzai.

Karzai and Palin met for thirty minutes after the cameras left. The campaign says the full pool, which includes a print reporter, wire reporters, one television camera, and still cameras will be allowed in the next meeting with Colombian president Alvaro Uribe â?? which is set to begin shortly.

Palin Meets with Karzai, Press Shut Out « FOX Embeds « FOXNews.com
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Now, the story from pool TV "producer and cameraman"

McCain camp tries to keep reporters out of Palin meetings

September 23, 2008
Posted: 02:45 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

(CNN) â?? McCain-Palin campaign officials shifted course Tuesday after being informed by television news organizations that they would not broadcast footage of Sarah Palinâ??s meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai Tuesday in New York â?? the Republican VP nomineeâ??s first with a foreign leader â?? if a reporter was not allowed in to observe the pair.

CNN, which was the pool network for the event, informed the campaign of its decision. The network was then told a CNN producer would be allowed in the room to act as a media representative, just minutes before the photo op was scheduled to take place. However, print reporters and wire services were not allowed to observe the meeting, as they have been able to do at similar McCain events in the past.

The press only caught a brief glimpse of the vice presidential nominee. Palin was seated in a large chair a few feet from Karzai, with a table in between them. Seated slightly behind Palin were campaign foreign policy advisers Steve Biegun and Randy Scheunemann, who are accompanying the governor in her motorcade today.

As the pool entered, the Afghan president appeared to be telling Palin about his young son, who was born in January 2007.

Palin, her legs crossed and at one point patting her heart, was leaning in eagerly and smiling. Karzai, wearing his traditional clothes but without his trademark karakul hat, was also grinning while discussing the child. His remarks were mostly unintelligible as the noise from the clicking cameras drowned them out.

â??What is his name?,â?� Palin asked.

â??Mirwais,â?� Karzai responded. â??Mirwais, which means, â??The Light of the House.â??â?�

â??Oh nice,â?� Palin responded.

â??He is the only one we have,â?� remarked Karzai.

After 29 seconds observing the meeting, CNN and other photographers covering the meeting were escorted out of the room.

Later, McCain-Palin press representatives chalked up the restrictions to a â??mix-up, a miscommunication among staff.â?� The full pool â?? a print and wires reporter, along with a television producer â?? was then allowed in to observe Palinâ??s meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for 15-20 seconds.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - McCain camp tries to keep reporters out of Palin meetings « - Blogs from CNN.com
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Now seriously, if McCain camp wants to make her foreign policy credentials any better, do u think this was a smart move? I find it absolutely a very bad choice even if I was a hardcore McCain fan which I'm not.

talking backlashes

I just started a thread about this too --- maybe they can be merged.


I agree, if this was meant to boost her foreign policy credentials, it is totally backfiring. It's just highlighting the fact that she knows nothing about foreign policy. And shutting out the press makes it look like they are trying to hide her incompetence while taking advantage of the photo ops.

They are blowing it.

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

I just started a thread about this too --- maybe they can be merged.


I agree, if this was meant to boost her foreign policy credentials, it is totally backfiring. It's just highlighting the fact that she knows nothing about foreign policy. And shutting out the press makes it look like they are trying to hide her incompetence while taking advantage of the photo ops.

They are blowing it.

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yeah, once i posted this and searched for new posts i saw yours.

this is not a good move at all. I as an independent observer and analyst want to get to know this lady better. and I just got to know a tad bit more about McCain & his camp's policies and advisers, if ya catch my drift!;)

The Republicans, if they mention this new attack on the McCain/ Palin War in the Press front, will probably make her out to be a victum of "unfair scrutiny from the liberal media" as they have in the past.

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Originally Posted by JakeMartinez

The Republicans, if they mention this new attack on the McCain/ Palin War in the Press front, will probably make her out to be a victum of "unfair scrutiny from the liberal media" as they have in the past.

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that is exactly why i posted my link from foxnews as well. i highly doubt ANYONE would claim them to be the liberal media.

this is absolutely an unfair practice @ censorship of the press, liberal or conservative wont matter.

these talks were not official head of state talks or any form of classified matters imo. they were supposed to be a "show" to boost her credentials in public's eye.

and they totally canceled the show

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

I just started a thread about this too --- maybe they can be merged.


I agree, if this was meant to boost her foreign policy credentials, it is totally backfiring. It's just highlighting the fact that she knows nothing about foreign policy. And shutting out the press makes it look like they are trying to hide her incompetence while taking advantage of the photo ops.

They are blowing it.

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LOL...I agree it's not like Obama's world tour but what the hell, she's getting a chance to meet these people without the distractions. Not all ego's need the "photo op" like others.;)

As I recall, Obama skipped seeing some vets in the hospital because of the lack of a photo op. LOL

Have a good one!:s4:

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told FOX News the Pentagon did not tell Obama he couldnâ??t visit, but explained that he would be under specific restrictions.

â??We do have certain policy guidelines for political campaigns and elections and what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in those situations,â?� he said. â??The issue here is that if you are both a sitting senator and a political candidate â?¦ you need to do it in your capacity as a sitting senator or you have to do it with the restrictions that apply to any other candidate out there that might be running for office that is not a sitting senator.â?�

A memo sent out Wednesday from Undersecretary of Defense David Chu explained that Obamaâ??s visit to such a military facility would be limited under these circumstances. Obama would not have been able to bring any of his campaign staff â?? only one Senate staffer and security. He also would not have been able to address the media or make any campaign-related statements.
Obama Camp: Visit to Troops Would Have Seemed Too Political - America’s Election HQ

Like I stated, NO photo op.

Have a good one!:s4:

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Originally Posted by Billionfold

And if he had McSame would have criticized him for something else, catch 22.

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Possibly, but to say Obama wouldn't do the same would be a lie wouldn't it? I mean look at how many times he's tried to use his name and race alone as an issue. I don't see anyone bringing up these issues except Obama.

This is politics. I would be shocked if Obama or McCain didn't use like this to gain an advantage over another. :hippy:

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Originally Posted by Billionfold

Point taken.

...

Obama > McCain :stoned:

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So Obama trying to create controversy over his race and middle name when no one else is doing so makes him better than McCain who points out controversy that already exists?

Whatever floats your boat buddy :hippy:

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Originally Posted by Billionfold

Where are you getting this from?

Where has Obama made the election about his religion/race? He's a christian, and he's BARELY black... if you ask me.

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Obama Suggests GOP Will Use Race to Scare Voters - Americaâ??s Election HQ

YouTube - Barack Obama: Did I mention he's black?

YouTube - "He doesn't look like the other presidents on the coins." go to 4:30 on this video

I can pull up more stuff. Fact is that McCain and republicans have made sure to steer clear of his name and race. Obama has tried so many times unsuccessfully to try to bait republicans or paint them as racists. He is the only one who mentions this stuff in hopes of trying to catch the ignorant who won't check up on what he says.

I'm not making this stuff up, I really wish I was because it disgusts me that someone would try to make race an issue to try to win a campaign. I can pull up more videos from different places he's given speeches. He plays the race card and there's no denying it. He did it against the Clintons also in the democratic campaign trail.

Bill Clinton: Obama Campaign 'Played the Race Card on Me' | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

Clinton audio clip is included in that link also. I despise Bill Clinton but I have to admit that he was right about Obama and he was right about how the news media was trying to spin this story anyway they could against. It is distracting to the American people from issues that are TRUELY important.

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Originally Posted by Billionfold

Meh, maybe he's just paranoid. Happens to the best of us. :stoned:

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but just a while ago you said

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And if he had McSame would have criticized him for something else, catch 22.

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So why is ok for Obama to create controversy out of nothing but it's not ok for McCain to point out something that actually happened? You just gave Obama a free pass and chastised McCain.

IMO what Obama did was far worse/scummy.


edit: by freepass I mean why does Obama get excused while his opposition get's chastised for something similar but not nearly as bad.

Helloooo?! this thread is about Palin's foreign policy credentials and why press was not allowed to cover it, in total the press coverage of whatever they said was less than 2 minutes.

This is not about PHOTO OP. its not like there were gonna be 40 reporters, flashing their cameras every half a second that would "distract" her

its about this: Media pool was not allowed, do u even know what media pool is?

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A limited number of news media who represent a larger number of news media organizations for purposes of news gathering and sharing of material during a specified activity. Pooling is typically used when news media support resources cannot accommodate a large number of journalists. The Department of Defense National Media Pool is available for coverage of the earliest stages of a contingency. Additionally, the combatant commanders may also find it necessary to form limited local pools to report on specific missions.

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media pool - definition of media pool by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

All I see reflected in ANY media with any agenda is a personal chat about some head of state's newborn child. I refer u to 1st post of the thread.

She's there to "prove or show" to some1 like me or others that she can hold a diplomatic talk to say the least. and this is what the campaign allows to be covered? just a chat? makes me wonder what if the pair actually holds the power, how will they treat the media then... they will force censorship to avoid distractions?! Yeah, i guess thats "All American"

or maybe things are being redefined around here... yeah perhaps thats the case either that or false advertisement of what is valued and held dear as an "American thing"

seeing as how she is Governor and not VP I feel it would be inappropriate to throw her into a diplomatic situation. That is not her role yet...

Just as I felt it was inappropriate for Obama to do the same and pretty much act as if he were president.

Anyone remember the seal Obama used, it was a mock of the official presidential seal. How do you think foreign officials feel about talking to someone who has no actual authority to do something. Do you honestly believe they want to talk to a governor? Or a fresh Senator from Illinois?

Obama played the media and Palin realizes that this is pointless for the moment. Although I would like to see her in a question and answer or a debate forum

offtopic: Found this video of Biden.. seems like a real nice guy <sarcasm>! Also nice to see that he's magically grown hair over the years :D

YouTube - 1988 Road to the White House with Sen. Biden

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

Not all ego's need the "photo op" like others.

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Ha ha! You got it completely backwards!

In Palin's case it was ONLY about the photo OP. She wanted the cameras, just not the reporters. She wanted someone to take pictures of her meeting with foreign leaders, but no one to know what they talked about or what was said. They were probably worried about her saying something assinine.

Her handlers desperately want the pictures, and that is why they finally backed down when CNN said it would not air photos without a pool reporter present. Then they pulled a fast one and ran the reporter out as soon as the picture was taken.

But this is just turning into another Palin backfire. Instead of getting the story that she met with world leaders, the story is turning into more about how she has no substance whatsoever. She's a pretty face, good for pictures, but not much else.

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Originally Posted by daihashi

seeing as how she is Governor and not VP I feel it would be inappropriate to throw her into a diplomatic situation. That is not her role yet...

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She is not there as a governor. She is there as perhaps a presumptive and potential VP of this country in near future.

This trip is not a Governor delegation, She is there to Boost her foreign policy credentials as a potential US VP!!!!

and none of this has to do with Obama's seal thing. stop changing the subject. I for one do my best to stay neutral and factual and unbiased. I defend some1 of any side if they deserve the defense and i do my best to use a valid defense line.

Not every counter attack is considered an acceptable defense. it will only escalate the discussion from a debate to an argument. That said, some counter attacks are relevant and fair game.

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Do you honestly believe they want to talk to a governor? Or a fresh Senator from Illinois?

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trust me, they dont give a rats ass about such a thing. unless that is the person whose gonna be the next top man or woman in the country. so I bet both of these 2 people (Obama & Palin) are treated the same.

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

Ha ha! You got it completely backwards!

In Palin's case it was ONLY about the photo OP. She wanted the cameras, just not the reporters. She wanted someone to take pictures of her meeting with foreign leaders, but no one to know what they talked about or what was said. They were probably worried about her saying something assinine.

Her handlers desperately want the pictures, and that is why they finally backed down when CNN said it would not air photos without a pool reporter present. Then they pulled a fast one and ran the reporter out as soon as the picture was taken.

But this is just turning into another Palin backfire. Instead of getting the story that she met with world leaders, the story is turning into more about how she has no substance whatsoever. She's a pretty face, good for pictures, but not much else.

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totally with ya on this one.

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

Ha ha! You got it completely backwards!

In Palin's case it was ONLY about the photo OP. She wanted the cameras, just not the reporters. She wanted someone to take pictures of her meeting with foreign leaders, but no one to know what they talked about or what was said. They were probably worried about her saying something assinine.

Her handlers desperately want the pictures, and that is why they finally backed down when CNN said it would not air photos without a pool reporter present. Then they pulled a fast one and ran the reporter out as soon as the picture was taken.

But this is just turning into another Palin backfire. Instead of getting the story that she met with world leaders, the story is turning into more about how she has no substance whatsoever. She's a pretty face, good for pictures, but not much else.

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I know these meetings are suppose to be all about the press and glamour of it all but what the hell huh?

Assnine comments; you mean like meeting a Dictator with no preset conditions or he's just a crazy ol' uncle? How about instead of a pretty face a pretty speech from "02", as Clinton would put it. I think that the Dem team of Pelosi, Reid and Obama have a lock on your concerns. Instead of assnine I'd have to say the three asses. I'm sure that this will prove to be an issue in the upcoming election.:rolleyes:

Palin is REALLY getting under a few of the dems skins....must have been the surge in the polls for McCain to go after a V.P. candidate like this. In order to make this "fair and balanced", I guess we'll have to find some things out about Biden now. LOL

Have a good one!:s4:

Apparently there was a "hot mike" and more of the conversation between Palin and Karzai has now been made available. Here is the conversation:

â??What is his name?,â?� Palin asked.

â??Mirwais,â?� Karzai responded. â??Mirwais, which means, â??The Light of the House.â??â?�

â??Oh nice,â?� Palin responded.

â??He is the only one we have,â?� remarked Karzai.

At this point the reporters were run out of the room, but the "hot mike" picked up the remainder of the conversaion...

"Oh, I've got lots of kids. The newest one is named Trig, which means "Math that has to do with triangles.'"

"Interesting... ," Karzai responded.

"And I've got one named Willow. She's named after a dwarf I saw in a movie. Do you like dwarfs?"

"I've only known a few dwarfs, but they were all nice..."

"And my oldest son is named Track. To be honest, that one even confuses me. Why would I name a kid track? I must've been having one of those days, if you know what I mean."

"Not really..."

"And I have a daughter named Piper. We actually renamed her Piper because she was so good at leading the rats out of Wasila."

"Better than Terminix, I suppose..."

"And my last daughter is named Bristol, but at home we call her Babymama Hottypants."

"Well, I guess we are about done here."

Just remember now Dragonrider...when a member plays a lil' spoof like this on Obama don't ya be getting all upset. LOL

Have a good one!:s4:

hey p4b whats shakin

theyre all assholes in my book this time around photo op, no photo op, press or no press.(i did like mcain till he picked a bullets and bible conservative to run with him , hell he should have picked falwell) but anyway like ive stated before wouldnt it be so nice if nobody voted for either party? we gave all these lousy politicians a huge pink slip with there next paycheck?maybe then they would get the message that as a people we are tired of bein screwed at every turn. i mean come on were all a pretty much inteligent group of stoners here( even tho i cant spell worth a shit) cant we all ban together and maybe start a movent of the write in vote of NO CONFIDENCE? a non violent revolution to bring around the changes that will benifit all americans. not just a few. it just seems that there is noone in washington who can remember two little things:

1.) the golden rule, do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
2.) you can make some of the people happy all the time, you can make all the people happy some of the time but you cant make all the people happy all the time

i guess im just a digruntled citizen and am so sick and tired of being screwed by the system:(

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Originally Posted by yokinazu

hey p4b whats shakin

theyre all assholes in my book this time around photo op, no photo op, press or no press.(i did like mcain till he picked a bullets and bible conservative to run with him , hell he should have picked falwell) but anyway like ive stated before wouldnt it be so nice if nobody voted for either party? we gave all these lousy politicians a huge pink slip with there next paycheck?maybe then they would get the message that as a people we are tired of bein screwed at every turn. i mean come on were all a pretty much inteligent group of stoners here( even tho i cant spell worth a shit) cant we all ban together and maybe start a movent of the write in vote of NO CONFIDENCE? a non violent revolution to bring around the changes that will benifit all americans. not just a few.

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"Fun game, these hypotheticals. Keeps me alive in the trenches."

-Stan Smith

IF is a very powerful and meaningful word.
I wish a mass boycott of ANYTHING was possible in America. I don't even see that in my dreams.

Last time we had a boycott of French goods, they ended up with more sales than before in US market as far as I know.

Maybe the press can press the ballots with no parties and let us pick the 2 we like the best and mix up the parties (like we do with Gov. & Lt. Gov. in Cali.)! Would be interesting.

I saw that on CNN or Larry King and felt, it was definitely done for photo ops to show her with other heads of states! NO more no less! Since, the most critical comment I've heard is; she doesn't even know any or hasn't even met any.

Frankly, the biased press is making me sick. Sick as we were when abortion was totally illegal and many died or ruined for life getting them! Palin makes me like McCain even more and her less! pr :rastasmoke:

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

Just remember now Dragonrider...when a member plays a lil' spoof like this on Obama don't ya be getting all upset. LOL

Have a good one!:s4:

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Ha ha! I'd love to see a decent spoof-off. I love stuff like the Daily Show and SNL, and it doesn't matter to me which side they are skewering as long as it is topical, funny, and not offensively mean spirited. I watched SNL through Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and now I'm watching them with this election, and I think all the political stuff is great. I started with the Daily Show near the end of Clinton's term and have been watching it since. They are pretty much equal opportunity spoofers.

The thing with Palin is that by hiding her the way they do, they invite the speculation. I just took it to the ridiculous extreme. Maybe if they let her out of the cocoon, she could hold her own. Or maybe she would make a fool of herself just like they are afraid she will.

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Originally Posted by daihashi

seeing as how she is Governor and not VP I feel it would be inappropriate to throw her into a diplomatic situation. That is not her role yet...

Just as I felt it was inappropriate for Obama to do the same and pretty much act as if he were president.

Anyone remember the seal Obama used, it was a mock of the official presidential seal. How do you think foreign officials feel about talking to someone who has no actual authority to do something. Do you honestly believe they want to talk to a governor? Or a fresh Senator from Illinois?

Obama played the media and Palin realizes that this is pointless for the moment. Although I would like to see her in a question and answer or a debate forum

offtopic: Found this video of Biden.. seems like a real nice guy <sarcasm>! Also nice to see that he's magically grown hair over the years :D

YouTube - 1988 Road to the White House with Sen. Biden

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First, the fact that these people could soon be world leaders is enough for fellow leaders to talk to them. In all honesty, as a leader, it'd make more sense to talk to any one of the candidates over president Bush because he has all of 4 months left as president.

Second, McCain also went overseas for photo-ops and speeches, albeit the speeches were smaller scale. Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me.

Third, senators SHOULD talk to foreign leaders just as much as presidents because, collectively, they DO make up 1/3 of our government. The Executive branch is not the be-all end-all branch. It is supposed to serve under Congress, and Congress under the Judicial branch.

The only out of place person in this race is Palin who hasn't even served one full term as governor and as for being the mayor of a small town, that doesn't even compare to being President. At least Obama, McCain, and Biden have had a few years on the hill. They should know more about the duties of a president than a person who, up until a year or so ago, was the elected leader of a grand city with a whopping 7,000 people.

Those videos posted earlier about Obama pulling the race card sounded much more harmless to me than they were made out to be on even liberal media outlets. I would have said the same thing if I were a half black man named Barack Hussein Obama running against a man who spent a good portion of his life in the era of segregation. It wasn't a smart political move, imo. Oh well.

End long post.

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Originally Posted by painretreat

Maybe the press can press the ballots with no parties and let us pick the 2 we like the best and mix up the parties (like we do with Gov. & Lt. Gov. in Cali.)! Would be interesting.

I saw that on CNN or Larry King and felt, it was definitely done for photo ops to show her with other heads of states! NO more no less! Since, the most critical comment I've heard is; she doesn't even know any or hasn't even met any.

Frankly, the biased press is making me sick. Sick as we were when abortion was totally illegal and many died or ruined for life getting them! Palin makes me like McCain even more and her less! pr :rastasmoke:

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Sorry about double post but I don't know how to multiquote.

Just keep in mind that if anything happens to McCain during his presidency, Palin will act as president until he's well enough to return. That's why it's important the vice president at least be close to the same level as the president.

"Assnine comments; you mean like meeting a Dictator with no preset conditions"


wow i think i have heard that on Fox News. Common sense just SCREAMS to me that it is completely appropriate to meet with dictators with NO preset conditions. Are they aloud to conjure up there own preset conditions for the US to abide by? I didn't think that was the case. My country needs to take a step back and stop acting superior. All this change talk, it sure seems like this would be a reasonable one.

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Originally Posted by yokinazu

hey p4b whats shakin

theyre all assholes in my book this time around photo op, no photo op, press or no press.

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Somebody has some good rep waiting....couldn't have said it better myself.:thumbsup:

Have a good one!:s4:

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Originally Posted by JakeMartinez

First, the fact that these people could soon be world leaders is enough for fellow leaders to talk to them. In all honesty, as a leader, it'd make more sense to talk to any one of the candidates over president Bush because he has all of 4 months left as president.

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But they aren't... and neither one of the candidates are in office yet. Jimmy Carter wasn't president when he gave north korea nuclear weapons.. look what a mess that was ;)

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Second, McCain also went overseas for photo-ops and speeches, albeit the speeches were smaller scale. Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me.

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He didn't go and have any in depth political conversations or negotiations like people seem to want to have Palin doing. It's not her place to do it. She is not the VP. Although many Obama supporters would like to think he's entitled to do this because they would like to believe he's already president, fact is that he is not and moving forward prematurely is just stupid.

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Third, senators SHOULD talk to foreign leaders just as much as presidents because, collectively, they DO make up 1/3 of our government. The Executive branch is not the be-all end-all branch. It is supposed to serve under Congress, and Congress under the Judicial branch.

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Congress is the check and balance to the executive office; in additions they do have a foreign policy committee that senators do participate in; One of those People being Ron Paul, Last I checked neither Palin or Obama are on this committee. Neither one of them are suited to talk to foreign leaders on our relations at the moment. Again; it's stupid for them to act prematurely.

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The only out of place person in this race is Palin who hasn't even served one full term as governor and as for being the mayor of a small town, that doesn't even compare to being President. At least Obama, McCain, and Biden have had a few years on the hill. They should know more about the duties of a president than a person who, up until a year or so ago, was the elected leader of a grand city with a whopping 7,000 people.

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Obama doesn't have any executive experience; the office of Governor is an Executive office. In terms of years in politics Obama has her beat out MARGINALLY! So if you REALLY want to get down to it Palin would have a better understanding about the duties of a president than any of the Presidential candidates or Biden for that matter.

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Those videos posted earlier about Obama pulling the race card sounded much more harmless to me than they were made out to be on even liberal media outlets. I would have said the same thing if I were a half black man named Barack Hussein Obama running against a man who spent a good portion of his life in the era of segregation. It wasn't a smart political move, imo. Oh well.

End long post.

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Uhh.. Seeing as how no one.. NO ONE has made barack Obama's race an issue.. or his name.. I do not see it as harmless, but then again you are probably the exact type of person he was trying to attract.

When you are indirectly calling a person or a party a racist, that is anything but harmless.

But then again people who think this is harmless probably share the same set of ethics and morals. :thumbsup:

end rebuttal.

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Originally Posted by flyingimam

She is not there as a governor. She is there as perhaps a presumptive and potential VP of this country in near future.

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Really? because I thought that you had to visit as a seated Governor, Senate or whatever your position was. That you couldn't use your trips as a political tool for your candidacy. :thumbsup:

Even then you seem to have a misunderstanding, let's say that she's there as a potential VP. It's still not her place to hold in depth political conversations with foreign leaders. She is not yet in a position to be making any promises to them or decisions. Neither is Obama.

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This trip is not a Governor delegation, She is there to Boost her foreign policy credentials as a potential US VP!!!!

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Really? Is that your interpretation or is that what she said?

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and none of this has to do with Obama's seal thing. stop changing the subject. I for one do my best to stay neutral and factual and unbiased. I defend some1 of any side if they deserve the defense and i do my best to use a valid defense line.

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It's very relevant and you are taking this personally. Fact is that Obama has been acting as if he has won the presidency for some time now. He had no right to go overseas. He is running for the United States of America. When he has won the office then he can go overseas and meet with all the leaders and give all the speeches he wants.

I've yet to see you defend McCain or Palin on some issues that were just plain stupid to even talk about. Please don't act as if you are unbiased. Fact is that you are getting upset that I am bringing to light facts that cannot be denied.

I don't see Palin displaying the same arrogance as Obama. She knows she has not won the seat yet and will not act on it until she has.

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Not every counter attack is considered an acceptable defense. it will only escalate the discussion from a debate to an argument. That said, some counter attacks are relevant and fair game.

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What was the point of this?

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trust me, they dont give a rats ass about such a thing. unless that is the person whose gonna be the next top man or woman in the country. so I bet both of these 2 people (Obama & Palin) are treated the same.

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Apparently you do, you are trying adamantly to defend Obama here when I simply used him in comparison to Palin. You say you don't care? Really seems as if you do. :hippy:

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Originally Posted by daihashi

Jimmy Carter wasn't president when he gave north korea nuclear weapons.. look what a mess that was ;)

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Wow, are you sure Jimmy Carter gave north Korea nuclear weapons? How did he even get ahold of one if he wasn't president? Hell! They'v got the wrong man in custody! A Q Khan only gave them the plans! It was Jimmy Carter who gave them an actual BOMB!

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Originally Posted by daihashi

He didn't go and have any in depth political conversations or negotiations like people seem to want to have Palin doing. It's not her place to do it. She is not the VP.

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No one is expecting her to have in depth conversations or negotiations. She has no role to negotiate on behalf of the US, and everyone knows that. That is not the issue. The issue is that her campaign has promoted the event as something significant, and then tried to manipulate the press into playing along.

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Originally Posted by daihashi

Really? because I thought that you had to visit as a seated Governor, Senate or whatever your position was. That you couldn't use your trips as a political tool for your candidacy. :thumbsup:

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You don't have to be anyone to go to New York. Millions of people go to New York every year who are neither office holders nor candidates. I don't know where you got the idea that this trip required Palin to hold any kind of position.

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Originally Posted by daihashi

Even then you seem to have a misunderstanding, let's say that she's there as a potential VP. It's still not her place to hold in depth political conversations with foreign leaders. She is not yet in a position to be making any promises to them or decisions. Neither is Obama.

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Again no one expects her to hold negotiations with these leaders. If she was doing that, then this really would be a news story! That would be innapropriate.

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This trip is not a Governor delegation, She is there to Boost her foreign policy credentials as a potential US VP!!!!

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Originally Posted by daihashi

Really? Is that your interpretation or is that what she said?

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That is how it is widely interpretted. Her'e how it is interpretted by one Republican Strategist:

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"The first thing you do is burnish their foreign policy credentials. You buy them a Rand-McNally, you meet with generals, you get a lot of flags on the stage and you give a big speech on foreign policy to display you have some command of the world," said Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist and CNN contributor.

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What do YOU think was her reason for wanting to meet 9 leaders in 30 hours and have her pictures taken with them? Nice photos for the scrapbook? Of course it was about her trying to boost her credibility. I agree that in practical effect it does nothing to really boost her credibility, but that is what her campaign would like you to believe.

Again the real issue with this is not that she is having meaningless meetings to talk baby names with foreign leaders. The real issue is that the function of the media is not to publish photos of a candidate with no context whatsoever. Attempting to get the media to run pictures or her meeting with all these world leaders but excluding them from what the meeting is about is media manipulation. The press does not get much praise for credibility these days, but I think it's great that they stuck by their principles this time. The rule is, if you want that cameras there, then an editorial reporter must be present too. It has always been that way. There is a good reason for that rule. If all you want is flattering pictures with no news content, then send you own photographer and don't expect them to be published for free as news --- pay for an ad and run them yourself.