1) Don’t wear expensive clothes. All you care about is the rich. 

2) Don’t wear cheap clothes. You’re such trailer trash.   

3) Don’t go to an Ivy League school. Talk about nepotism. You’d never get anywhere if it wasn’t for your family.

4) Don’t go to a non-Ivy League school. You think you’re qualified to be one heartbeat away from the presidency?

5) Don’t go to more than one school. What are you, an idiot?

6) Don’t be a devout Christian. What kind of fanatic doesn’t sleep in on Sundays? 

7) Don’t say the Supreme Court should strictly interpret the Constitution. Just say you wanna bring back slavery.

8) Don’t be a woman. You’re not. You’re a Fox News Fembot.

9) Don’t be a minority. Talk about losing touch with your roots.

10) Don’t be a veteran. Yeah, we honor your service, blah blah blah…but let’s face it, you just can’t get enough of war, can you?

11) Have no experience. When are you guys ever NOT going to nominate some old, white guy? Jeez, you’re such creatures of Washington.

12) Have a ton of experience. You think we’re just gonna let ANYBODY in the White House?

13) Look great on camera. Don’t lumber around like Robocop. Jeez, you’d think you’d had every bone in your body broken by the Viet Cong.

14) Don’t look great on camera. Sure, you’re hot. So are the Playboy bunnies. And they know more about foreign policy. So stop with these cynical, calculating attempts to win the ever-elusive adolescent male vote. 

15) Fight corruption in your own party. Because the GOP is RIFE with it.

16) Don’t fight corruption in your own party. Let’s face it, you don’t care about corruption. You care about feeding your ego, running rampant over the laws of order and decorum. Who are you, Eliot Ness? Stop with the delusions of grandeur.

17) Your kids had better be model citizens. I mean if you’re so great, it shouldn’t be that hard to run a household, right?

18) Your kids had better be screw-ups. After all we don’t want Stepford children who think it’s OK to join the military. Or be Mormon. 

1)                Wear expensive clothes. You’ve earned it! Way to go for overcoming the vast right-wing conspiracy!

2)                Wear cheap clothes. Giving a shout-out to my peeps in the trailer park. What a shrewd move to connect with racist, backwards voters.

3)                Go to an Ivy League school. Because you are the smartest thing we’ve ever seen.

4)                Go to a non-Ivy League school. You never had enough money to go. You’re from the streets -- Represent!

5)                Go to as many schools as you want. You were relentless in your pursuit of education despite the _____ (racism, sexism, etc.) that oppressed you.

6)                Be a devout Christian. Best case scenario – Black Liberation Theology becomes standard Christianity. Worst case scenario -- maybe some of those Evangelicals will finally vote Dem. 

7)                Talk about how much you despise slavery. Then go ahead and call Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, hey, even Juan Williams “house negroes.” 

8)                Be a woman. Yay, finally, a woman in the White House!

9)                Be a minority. Yay, finally a minority in the White House!

10)            Be a veteran. Yay, finally a veteran that isn’t brainwashed into being a Republican.

11)            Have no experience. Yay, finally, a Washington outsider!

12)            Have a ton of experience. What a wise counselor you’ll be!

13)            Look great on camera. Ooh, boxers or briefs. And he plays the sax! And dances with Ellen! And shoots hoops! No wonder interns throw themselves at him. Sigh…

14)            Don’t look great on camera. How loveable. Sure he’s tried to botox and hair plug himself into hipness, God bless him. But there’s no way around it. He’s old and wise. Like Gandalf and Moses rolled into one. 

15)            Fight corruption in your own party. Be the first to revolt when your party attempts to do anything bi-partisan…like winning the war in Iraq.

16)            Don’t fight corruption in your own party. Don’t believe what you read, Spitzer was a crusader. No matter what the Republican Party will do to him, the ghosts of the Kennedies, Daleys and Huey Long will rise up for him. 

17)            Your kids should be model citizens. With an open mind, nothing is NOT model behavior.

18)            Your kids should be screw-ups. You are everyman. You are me. I am Al Gore.

19)            Make all the gaffes you want. Because it’s about the issues, people!

As the election grows closer and the polls grow tighter, there’s been a disturbing trend to blame Barack Obama’s troubles on race. For the Democratic Party and the media (are they still getting separate mentions?) it’s a win/whine situation. If Barack Obama wins, it adds to the mythic, Lenin-esque figure we are so privileged to have elected. If he loses, it had to be because we’re all racists. Talk about your sore losers.

(If you can bear it, check out Russell Brand, the host of MTV’s Video Music Awards, as he leads the charge -- http://www.nme.com/news/russell-brand/39546)

For months, the Dem/Media has longed for a good reason to remind voters that Barack Obama is black. (Note such occasions as Obama’s worrying that he doesn’t look like any other US President or more pointedly suggesting that Republicans stir up fear in the country with such lines as “…and did I mention he’s black?”) The problem is that no one’s playing ball: the only people talking about race are the hand-wringing grievance-baiters themselves.

So now, with no cue, no occasion to unleash their moral indignation, the Dem/Media is going forward with the story anyway. As seen here:

http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race;_ylt=AoiaqRuyqI3ldLVRz7LX3c7Cw5R4

http://townhall.com/columnists/SalenaZito/2008/09/21/race_and_the_union_vote

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080921/pl_politico/13686;_ylt=Al.p45hUnzHQkfYc0kLyn5us0NUE

Apparently when race is the topic, the country is guilty until proven innocent. Or, to put it another way, when there is a lack of evidence to prove your point – then the lack of evidence IS the evidence: 

Item: The fact that the Republicans are not race-baiting just means that they are crafty. 

Item: Obama’s numbers have stayed stable in exit polling because people are hiding their racism from the pollsters.

Item: White people, especially Republicans, see all black people as “violent,” “lazy,” and not “law-abiding.” (Though the AP is gracious enough to point out, “Not all whites are prejudiced.”)

One wonders why, in such a “racist” country as ours people would find reason to hide their racism, but let’s ignore that for the moment. 

Let’s instead focus on what has actually been proven. To be sure, the Dem/Media is partly correct – race is a HUGE issue in this election. Where they go wrong is in their conclusion – race has been a huge POSITIVE for Obama. 

Forget that 90% of black voters have voted for Obama since the primaries in South Carolina. (I’m sure it was only due to the clear policy differences he had with Hilary Clinton…cue the laugh track.)

Forget that, rather than being a bad thing, in an election year about “change”, the BEST thing for a presidential candidate is to look nothing like past presidents.

Instead let’s use Dem/Media logic. If Sarah Palin’s only qualification to be Vice-President is that she “hasn’t had an abortion,” (see http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2008/09/10/fowler-palin-primary-qualification-that-she-hasn%E2%80%99t-had-an-abortion/ for details) then Barack Obama’s only qualification to be President is that he’s black. Before I bump into Geraldine Ferraro in the Time-Out Corner (funny how I won’t see Carol Fowler there), let me ask, why else is Obama the Dems’ nominee? Because he has NO executive experience? Because he has NO legislative accomplishments? Because he’s given three good speeches? Because he’s better looking than Dennis Kucinich? Sure, he’s a great communicator, but if that would’ve have beaten Hilary Clinton, so would’ve John Edwards. 

It’s a great time to be a black politician, Barack. Because this country, myself included, would LOVE to have a black president. 

Don’t believe me? Then you must think a white presidential candidate could have survived the political catastrophe of worshipping at Trinity United for 21 years, being married by Jeremiah Wright and using his words for the title of his autobiography.  Poor Gary Hart only had an affair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-kD0QdRJk

Or perhaps you didn’t see the poll where Colin Powell topped voters’ VP lists in BOTH parties, and was followed closely by Condoleezza Rice in those “racist” GOP voters’ VP list.  

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/30/powell_is_favorite_in_online_vp_poll/

Or maybe you forgot 1996, when a lackluster GOP begged Colin Powell to run as their candidate. 

“Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that.”

You see? Even the AP can have a moment of clarity.  Now if they can just stop with the racial extortion.

Sarah Palin: Absolutely. And even better than me saying it, you can look at my record and see that for yourself. In a tough time for this country, when gas prices and the energy debate are front-burner issues for so many families, I think executive experience leading the nation’s largest energy-supplying state is a great qualification for vice-president.

And you didn’t say to yourself, “Am I experienced enough?” “Am I ready?” “Do I know enough about international affairs?” “Will I feel comfortable enough on the national stage to do this?”

(laughing) You know, Charlie, there’s a fine line between humility and self-doubt. Was I surprised to be nominated? Was I honored? Did I have to talk things over with my family? Yes. It’s a big decision and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. But I had no doubt I could do the job. That’s the confidence I’ve gained by the accomplishments we’ve made in Alaska.   It’s shown me that it doesn’t take long -- heck, I’ve been in office 20 months -- to make real change, to fight corruption, to cut government waste and to make a positive impact on my constituants’ lives. So, no, I know there’s a lot of good I can accomplish as Vice-President.

 But Governor, how does six years as the mayor of the small town and less than two years as Governor of a sparsely-populated state give you sufficient experience to, perhaps, be President?

 (A grin) You know, Charlie, I didn’t go to an Ivy League school, and I haven’t spent a lot of time in Washington, so I’m not great at coming up with a lot of different ways to say the same thing...so let me answer you as best I can. I could give you a really flip answer that Alaska is bigger than, I don’t know...Delaware (a wink). Or I could explain that from the pipeline, to ANWR, to fighting corruption, to our highly-decorated National Guardsmen, Alaska is on the cutting edge of so many issues facing this country. 

But let me get to the heart of what I think you’re getting at.  

I really don’t believe it matters how long you’ve served -- it matters what you’ve done when you’ve served. Now you have someone like John McCain who’s served the people of the United States for a long time and has a major record of bipartisan accomplishment, and you’ve got someone like me who hasn’t served as long, but also has a record of fighting corruption and waste and big oil. So we’re mavericks of a feather -- and more than just saying it, you can look at our records and we’ve proven it -- despite the fact I haven’t served as long as he has. 

But this is not just reforming a government, this is also running a government on the huge, international stage in a very dangerous world. When I asked John McCain about your national security credentials, he cited the fact that you have commanded the Alaska National Guard and that Alaska is close to Russia. Are those sufficient credentials?

(laughing) Charlie, I get the feeling you’re not getting the answer you want. (before he can respond) I’m just kidding you. Look, you could ask the same thing about any Governor. Did being Governor of Arkansas give President Clinton a lot of foreign policy experience? You see what I mean?  But I think if you study the Governors that have gone on to be President, you’ll see that they were really well-prepared because as a Governor, you gotta make decisions and you gotta make the right decisions. You can’t pass the buck. (a grin) You can’t vote “present.” You have to weigh the issues, listen to your advisors and then pull the trigger. And there’s no better training ground for being in an executive position than being in an executive position. 

Did you ever travel outside the country prior to your trip to Kuwait and Germany last year?

(a look of shock) There are other places outside of the country? (a laugh) I’m just kidding, Charlie. Sure, like most Americans, I’ve been to Canada and Mexico. But, you know, when you’re Governor of the State of Alaska and you’re trying to help this nation solve its energy crisis, you’re not in office to be globetrotting. You’re there to be doing the work of the state, the work you’re elected to do. And if John McCain and I are privileged enough to be elected, I’ll be putting the same effort into doing the work of the Vice-Presidency and then, you can bet I'll be traveling all over the globe. 

Have you ever met a foreign head of state?

Yes. Now how do we go about doing that? That’s gonna be the question. And that’s something I’m eager for John McCain and myself to work out if we’re privileged enough to be elected. For now, I think it’s safe to say that all options are on the table, and you can expect some heart-to-heart talks with Vladamir Putin.

What insights into Russian actions does the proximity of this state give you?

Good question. Let me ask you -- Why are the Russians holding on to South Ossetia and Abkahzia? Oil. Energy. That’s something we know a little about in Alaska. It shows strategically why our state and the independent energy solutions we offer are crucial in an international context.

Would you favor putting Georgia and Ukraine into NATO?

Absolutely.

Because Putin has said he would not tolerate NATO incursion into the Caucasus.

Well we’re not gonna tolerate Vladimir Putin telling sovereign nations what they can and can’t do on the basis of threats and intimidation. We are happy to talk with him and are happy to find a peaceful solution to regional tensions in the Caucasus. But if he thinks we can be bullied into doing what he wants, he is very mistaken.

Under the NATO treaty, wouldn’t we then have to go to war if Russia went into Georgia? 

Yes, if they are under the NATO treaty. So if Mr. Putin values peace, he will think twice about invading his neighbors. Think about it, Charlie -- we can force peaceful solutions in the Caucasus by a show of unity with our allies, rather than encouraging war by neglecting them. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a great incentive for bringing them into NATO.

Let’s turn to Iraq. In 2007, you were asked about the surge. You said, “I’ve been so focused on the state government, I haven’t really focused on the war in Iraq.” Really? Somebody who wants to be Vice-President and isn’t focused on Iraq?

Charlie, I’m pretty sure if your son was shipping off to Iraq today as mine is, you’d be focused a whole lot on Iraq. And you’d know how out of context that quote is. 

You said recently in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending our soldiers on a task which is from God.” [plays video] Are we fighting a holy war?

Well, Charlie, that’s part of being a person of faith. I believe God always has a plan. Now it is up to us, individually and collectively to make sure we’re following it. I don’t presume to say what God’s plan is or speak for God. I was simply encouraging my fellow parishioners to trust that there is a divine plan and to pray that we AND our national leaders are following it. 

But then, are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

(a laugh) I’m not sending my son anywhere. He makes his own choices. And let me be clear -- I don’t speak for God and I don’t claim to. I’m just a Mom who’s praying everyday that God is putting my son where he needs to be to do the most good. 

WOLF BLITZER: With yesterday’s selection of Sarah Palin, Americans finally get a look at the full November match-up pitting Democrats John McCain and Sarah Palin against the amazing Republican ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I’m joined now by the best political team in the business, Jack Cafferty, Donna Brazile and Candy Crowley. Candy, I’m going to start with you. I say “amazing” about the Obama-Biden ticket because…can you believe the Republicans are actually stepping up to the plate with such a, well, strange couple?

CANDY CROWLEY: That is the question so many Republicans are asking themselves, Wolf. Many Republicans I talk to are stunned to be in this position. Don’t get me wrong, they are backing their man, Barack Obama, to the hilt, but the fact that they’ve had to resort to him speaks volumes about the lack of qualified candidates in the party. 

WOLF BLITZER: But you have to credit him, he’s averaged one misstep virtually every month, but he keeps bouncing back…

CANDY CROWLEY: And that’s a point that many Republicans are worried about. He is a ground-breaking candidate, certainly, being the first African-American presidential candidate for a major party. But his inexperience and, as you put it, “missteps” have many inside the party wondering if this is more a political stunt, a “hail-Mary” if you will, than an actual candidacy.

WOLF BLITZER: Though I notice he’s softened a lot of his, well, more extremist rhetoric lately. 

CANDY CROWLEY: Exactly, Wolf. He’s really trying to come across as a more moderate candidate but you have to wonder if the damage has already been done.

WOLF BLITZER: Let me ask you, Donna. If you’re the Democrats, are you just amazed that the GOP political machine is now attacking the Democrats’ VP candidate, Sarah Palin?

DONNA BRAZILE: Well, no pun intended, Wolf, but it’s the pot calling the kettle black. The GOP is running the most inexperienced candidate in history and have the nerve to call the Democrats’ VICE-PRESIDENTIAL candidate “inexperienced”? 

WOLF BLITZER: It’s a strange tactic isn’t it?

DONNA BRAZILE: Well it’s going to get them beat come November, because the American people know experience when they see it. In Sarah Palin you have a strong woman who has done more in two years as governor than arguably the entire Republican ticket –

WOLF BLITZER: Well Joe Biden’s been a Senator for a long time…

DONNA BRAZILE: Well, Wolf, if you can name me a piece of legislation off the top your head that he’s authored…

WOLF BLITZER: I’m just saying, he chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but I understand your point – I mean, when we talk about experience on the Republican side, we’re talking about Joe Biden, not Barack Obama.

DONNA BRAZILE: Exactly.

WOLF BLITZER: Jack, let me get your thoughts on the selection of Sarah Palin. 

JACK CAFFERTY: I think there is a concept that the American people need to understand. To simply back a candidate because of their gender or race is wrong.  And to be frank, I don't know why else you would support Barack Obama.  I think it's a great sign for our country that so many are willing to support an African American for the highest office in the country, but I think it's just as bad a sign that people are so easily fooled into believing he is ready for it.  We need to hold Sarah Palin to the same standard.  To support her simply because she's a woman is wrong.  But there's so much more to her than her gender and to me those are the most compelling reasons to consider her.  If the Republicans want to compare her to Barack Obama, then consider that she cleaned up a corrupt state -- including members of her own party -- while Obama accomodated, if not partook of, the corrupt Chicago political establishment, simply going along for the ride.  The great thing about Sarah Palin is you don’t have to take my word for it – you can look at her record. Contrast that with Barack Obama, he’s been in the public eye nonstop this year and I still can’t name one significant piece of legislation he’s authored and because his James Carville-esque puppetmasters keep dragging him towards the center, I still can’t pin down where he stands on the major issues.  Again, I don't blame Barack Obama for the situation he's in and I commend him on being the first African American candidate of a major political party.  But I do blame the Republican machine that is willing to irresponsibly hand over the reins to such a novice at this time in our history -- when we have two wars and a struggling economy.  It smack purely of politics and of no thought for the consequences.  At a certain point, and I can only hope it is before the election, we are going to get tired of his vague, feel-good generalities and his nonstop rhetoric trying to convince us that the United States is on the brink of annhiliation –

WOLF BLITZER: Kind of a glass is half-empty philosophy –

JACK CAFFERTY: Again -- the blame lies with the Republican party. To arrogantly assume that one black man is as good as another and try to artificially break the presidential color barrier by simply nominating an African-American when there are infinitely more qualified candidates – both white and black -- out there shows a dangerous lack of judgement.

WOLF BLITZER: Well, Jack, I think the Republicans would argue that it was the voters who chose him over Hillary Clinton in the primaries, it wasn’t the decision of the Republican machine –

JACK CAFFERTY: And that’s what so disturbing, Wolf. To think that so many people in the Republican base could be mesmerized into backing an empty suit, simply on the basis of race…

DONNA BRAZILE: That’s right, Jack. It’s not about race, it’s about philosophy. And Obama’s philosophy is squarely at odds with most African-Americans I know –

JACK CAFFERTY: That’s assuming we even know what his philosophy is.

DONNA BRAZILE (laughing): Well I think it’s “To Get Elected,” Jack.

WOLF BLITZER: And the attacks on Sarah Palin?

DONNA BRAZILE: The height of hypocrisy. To attack a woman that has accomplished this much so soon is laughable. As a woman, I find it incredibly sexist to demean her accomplishments like this. 

WOLF BLITZER: Well Republicans could rightly argue that Hillary Clinton almost became their presidential nominee and I think, had she been the nominee, they still would attack Gov. Palin the same way, wouldn’t they?

DONNA BRAZILE: Again, it’s not about her sex, Wolf, it’s about her philosophy and her accomplishments. The Republicans can keep trumpeting Hillary as some sort of groundbreaking candidate, but the fact of the matter is, this is a woman who rode her husband’s coattails to a Senate seat where she treaded water for eight years until she ran for president. Gov. Palin outworked, outsmarted and outperformed the competition her whole life. She has earned each rung of the ladder she’s climbed. If there’s a groundbreaker in this race, it’s her.

JACK CAFFERTY: And if we’re going to talk about making history why don’t we talk about this President – a President who has had the most diverse cabinet in history, including back-to-back African-American Secretaries of State? I think you could argue that without George W. Bush, we might not even be talking about an African-American presidential candidate.

WOLF BLITZER: OK, we’re out of time for now. My thanks to the best political team in the business, Candy Crowley, Donna Brazile and Jack Cafferty. Next, on the Situation Room – with energy being a key issue, does picking the Governor of Alaska make McCain-Palin the perfect ticket? Back after this…