Barack Obama — Magna Cum Saudi?

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Does Barack Obama owe his meteoric rise to an Israeli-hating adviser to a Saudi billionaire? Why did a race-baiting mentor to the Black Panthers favor this yet unknown community organizer?

Interesting article about where Obama's money came from.  What is it, exactly, that I would need to do in order to get someone else to raise money for my education at Harvard??

Funny how President Bush was inextricably linked to Jack Abramoff because they were in the same picture at the White House but the mainstream media can't seem to drum up the interest to look into Obama's association with this guy, Tony Rezko and William Ayers when he, so obviously, had much tighter connections than he is claiming.

ABC News: Is Oprah Biased? Host Won't Interview Palin

ABC News: Is Oprah Biased? Host Won't Interview Palin

Let me say this about that - and it might surprise some of you.  I am GLAD that Oprah can choose to not have Sarah Palin on.  Sure,it would be great to have Sarah get that much more exposure and maybe have the chance to sway a few voters BUT...

...it's Oprah's show!  Why should she feel obligated to have anyone on?  People talk about her being biased.  I say, so what?  I'm biased and I'm proud of it.  Whether you like Oprah or not, she has made herself into the celebrity that she is and she runs her show the way she sees fit.  I say good for her!

I may disagree with her not wanting to put Palin on (if that is the case) but I don't have to agree with her. 

Talk show hosts and TV commentators don't have to be unbiased - reporters do.  If Katie Couric wanted to interview Joe Biden and not Sarah Palin and run a "news" story, I'd be the first one firing off angry e-mails to CBS.  But this is different.

The media just doesn't get it...

Sarah Palin will be missing from action Sunday a.m. | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

As is The Ticket's custom, a post listing the entire roster of appearances on this Sunday's interview programs will pop up Saturday at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT).

But here's an advance heads up, in part because of who WON'T be found on any of the chat shows.

Three of the four now-official candidates on the major-party presidential tickets are scheduled to sit down for questions: Democrat Barack Obama on ABC's "This Week," his running mate, Joe Biden, on NBC's "Meet the Press" and Republican John McCain on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Absent from this list, of course, is the GOP's star of the moment, the not-so-long-ago obscure governor of Alaska who is McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin...

...Today, top McCain aide Rick Davis indicated the campaign isn't in any hurry to slot Palin for a Sunday show appearance -- and will do so only if he and other strategists determine it serves the ticket's purposes, not because some may view it as a required initiation for a major political player.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show, Davis said, "I'd never commit to anything in the future. ... Our strategy is in our hands, not the media's. We're going to do what's in our best interests to try to win the election. If we think going on TV news shows are [sic] in our best interests, we'll do it. If we don't, we won't."

The poor mainstream media is all in a tizzy because Sarah Palin won't go on their Sunday morning shows as soon as they want her to .  Perhaps they weren't listening when she said "But here’s a little news flash for those reporters and commentators. I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.”

The freedom of the press means that reporters can report what they want without fear of government retribution.  It does not obligate ANYONE to speak to them or play by their rules.  Conservatives are FINALLY getting the balls to tell the media elite to 'stick it' and I, for one, couldn't be happier.

While we're at it, how about the Senate?

I decided to make this comment response a new post so that it would appear on the front page. Since I'm putting myself out there with my Presidential predictions, why not prognosticate on the possibilities in the Senate. Thanks to Tim for the request.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the congressional and senate races? Do you see the "Palin energized" conservatives helping to pick up seats in either? Tim

Author said...

I think the energy level of conservatives can certainly be affected by the Palin pick and there are several places where it can most definitely make a difference in Senatorial races. Congressional House races are just to hard to predict based on any national waves, although they can be more affected by them.

Specifically, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, New Hampshire, Alaska and Louisiana. Unfortunately, almost all of these are seats currently held by Republicans so there aren’t big gains here – mostly non-losses. But considering where we were before, it’s an improvement.

North Carolina: I think Liddy Dole would have been safe here anyway but the polls are close and she could use any boost she can get. The Obama camp seems to think they can win here and I think they are crazy. The increased interest in Palin getting elected (McCain isn’t terribly strong here) should help keep Dole ahead.

Minnesota: Minnesotans are actually looking at the possibility of putting Al (Stuart Smiley) Franken into the Senate. I have to believe that most of them don’t want to do that, although the polls here are close as well. Strong in independent voters, I believe McCain can carry the state and Palin will bring conservatives out that might have otherwise stayed home and help carry the Senate seat for Norm Coleman.

Colorado: I had this one pretty much written off a couple of months ago since Mark Udall was so far ahead in the polls. But the polls are tightening a bit and Bob Schaffer may still have a shot at it. Colorado voted for Bush both times but it will be close. The focus on this race will increase turnout as well. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen. Palin will definitely bring out more conservative voters and that should help carry the state for McCain. We’ll see if it’s enough to carry Schaffer.

New Hampshire: Here’s another state that wasn’t looking very good. Incumbent John Sununu beat the person he is currently running against (Jeanne Shaheen) in 2002 for this seat but he is significantly behind in the polls. A couple of things may change this: First, if the Iraq war continues to go well and nationwide support starts to go up (and it appears to be doing so, no matter how hard the media tries to make it otherwise), then Sununu could get a break from the beating he’s been taking as a supporter of the effort. Second, New Hampshire has a wildly independent streak and the combined McCain/Palin ticket may energize a good portion of them to come out and vote. New Hampshire folks LOVE candidates that promise to clean up Washington and stop wasting taxpayer money.

Alaska: If you’d have told me two years ago that Ted Stevens would be fighting for his Senate seat, I’d have said you were nuts. But with the ‘bridge to nowhere’ fiasco and allegations of Stevens receiving illegal gifts as a Senator, he is now the underdog. This is the race, however, that Sarah Palin will most impact. Alaska was reliably in McCain’s column anyway, but the enthusiasm for Palin will bring many party line voters to the booth on election day and will probably carry the day for Stevens, from whom she (Palin) has distanced herself.

Louisiana could be another interesting state for three main reasons. First Mary Landrieu is a big target for the Republicans and she’s not all that popular. Unfortunately, her challenger, John Kennedy (nothing beats name recognition, huh?) switched from being a Democrat to run against her so there isn’t exactly a groundswell of conservative support for him. Second, since Katrina, the state’s population has shifted dramatically and the pollsters just don’t know what to make of the electorate. There could be big surprises from the Big Easy come election night. And finally, Bobby Jindal has done a phenomenal job since taking over as governor. His pre-Gustav response was seen nationwide and he is very popular in the state right now. He’s not running for anything but people may be starting to view Republicans better in New Orleans.

Overall, these factors don’t point toward a tide in one direction or the other. In my dreams, this could turn out to be a MUCH better night for Republicans than most people are expecting. In a perfect storm, we would keep Colorado, North Carolina, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Alaska while taking Louisiana. It looks like the Dems are going to pick up seats in New Mexico and Virginia. If Lieberman stops caucusing with the Democrats, that would give us a net loss of 1 seat with a net-zero in control. Maintaining the status quo while defending 23 seats to the Democrats 12 would be wonderful.