Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
Orrison Swett Marden
The Sarah Palin Emails:
Stick A Fork In It: She's Done
I expect Fox News Channel to portray the former governor, a paid FNC contributor, sympathetically. (It isn't exactly clear to me why Roger Ailes allows this to happen; after all, I believe that the deal was for her to produce a number of specials. She certainly has had the time and opportunity to host a well-compensated reality show on a different network and write multiple books and made several paid speaking appearances.) Fox & Friends Weekend this morning had Steve Doocy, his co-hosts, and some "Fair and Balanced" correspondent in a derisive exchange in the latest episode of the feeding frenzy of those with so-called "Palin derangement syndrome". We are reminded that she isn't even a declared candidate.
(Interestingly, Bill O'Reilly had a recent poll asking Factor viewers to pick between Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, an expected GOP contender, and Sarah Palin, and Bachmann won 60%-40%. I'm still annoyed at Bachmann for her separate response to Ryan's in response to Obama's State of the Union; she comes across to me as a shrill schoolmarm whom scratches her fingernails across the blackboard. I would like to see more legislative accomplishments and executive experience, but I could support a Presidential ticket with Bachmann on it. As for Palin, fool me once, shame on her, fool me twice....)
Now before we get to the main reason behind this commentary, let me provide a brief response to those whom would actually politically support a failed governor and VP candidate whom by any objective assessment lacks any credible credentials to be President and has the highest negatives among GOP candidates not only by independents and moderates but among GOP voters themselves. I am not a progressive or Obama supporter. There are legitimate reasons why the Palin emails have prospective news merit. First, the emails are part of an ongoing controversy involving her former chief of staff (Bailey) whom referenced emails in his "Blind Allegiance" tell-all released last month (currently #65 on the Amazon non-fiction list), which references emails from Palin showing she was considering resignation and looking for lucrative post-gubernatorial opportunities months before leaving office. There has been an ethics complaint for Bailey for allegedly profiting off emails not yet released by the AG's office, but this is disingenuous and I expect this grievance will be dropped (I think Bailey wrote a book reflecting his opinion and he used emails to validate his assertions): Bailey has a First Amendment right to express his point of view and notably the Palin contingent is not contesting the substance of his general claims, that the emails aren't valid, etc.
Second, there is also the fact that Sarah Palin was using a private Yahoo account to skirt around the open records requirement; it was one of the "frivolous" ethics complaints made against her. The state of Alaska made a request that she provide a copy of relevant messages from her account. We don't know much about the emails Palin did not submit to the state, a large number of released emails have been heavily redacted, another 2275 were deemed excluded because of executive privilege, and another 140 which apparently were of a personal nature. Keep in mind that the pending press request for the email release dates from 2008.
Third, some believe that Palin is being hypocritical because, in fact, during the 2004 Randy Ruedrich scandal (involving a fellow member of Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, whom she alleged was doing GOP business on the premises, which violates the state ethics law), she got access to Ruedrich's PC and emails. (Palin also believed Ruedrich had a conflict of interest with the oil companies and had used state infrastructure to support, e.g., attendance at partisan events.)
The sad thing is that more people will be interested in the fact that Palin often wrote emails using phrases like "Arghhhhhh! Unflippinbelievable!" than anything I will ever have to say in this little blog.
But let's get to the main course. What did the emails say about our principled "conservative" ex-governor? You remember: "Drill, baby, drill"? The energy policy she ignored false charges by Biden on regulation and health care policy, to continue talking about? Let's go back to the videotape (email trail) just the month before she became McCain's running mate.
Let's quote relevant passages from the Daily Mail's Paul Bentley:
In early August 2008, the then governor for Alaska praised a speech given by Obama on energy policy, saying the Democrat presidential hopeful had made 'good points' and was 'right on'...'He gave a great speech this morn in Michigan — mentioned Alaska,' Palin wrote to a group of her aides, including energy advisor Joe Balash. 'Stole out Energy Rebate $1000 check idea, stole our TC-Alaska gasline talking points, etc. So.... we need to take advantage of this a write a statement saying he's right on. (Glad he's flipflopping on OCS, too.) Joe — could you help crank this quick statement out as our 'reaction' to some of Obama's good points this morning.' A few minutes later, she wrote another email mentioning Obama, in which she added: 'He did say 'yay' to our gasline. Pretty cool' An aide suggested Palin should meet Pete Rouse, then chief of staff 'for a guy named Barack Obama'. 'I'm game to meet him,' Palin replied.Okay, a few relevant comments. First, about the "rebate" (which Alaskans, who don't pay state income tax, received on top of an annual dividend). Let's quote from Alaska state representative Republican Bob Lynn:
What a remarkable thing. Our legislature is "giving" everyone in Alaska who receives a Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) an extra $1200 to be added to the coming PFD, which itself may exceed $2000. It started out as an “energy” rebate – and ended up as a “resource” rebate...The cost of the rebate is $744 million, whatever you call it. This is a one-time...rebate, aimed at sharing some of the revenue windfall money generated by record high crude oil prices. And yes, some of the windfall has, in fact, been saved.So, if you recall, when the economic tsunami hit, the $140/barrel oil prices plunged, and I'm sure the Alaskan "tax-the-oil-companies-more, spend-more" legislature and governor also spent their fair share while grabbing all the spare millions dropping out of Uncle Sam's pockets for earmarks they could. (Now, if you're a legitimate fiscal conservative like me, you might think that there is moral hazard in arguing for federal dollars to spend on infrastructure while instead of saving and investing in their own infrastructure, they prefer to mail big rebates for the privilege of living in Alaska: no wonder Obama and Palin have a mutual admiration society. No doubt Obama had the Alaskan dividend in mind when he told Joe the Plumber it's good to spread some wealth around...) Several days back I wrote a post which noted that post-election Governor Sarah Palin resorted to mostly accounting gimmicks rather than real budget cuts to deal with collapsing state revenues, heavily dependent on resource prices. (Where's the economic diversification, Governor Palin?)
I realize it sounds like Monday morning quarterbacking to argue that the governor and state legislature should have known better, but boom-bust cycles in real estate and commodities are hardly unknown phenomena.
Now as to Obama's Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration: you really have to wonder at Palin's gullibility at Obama's politically convenient flip-flops in trying to alleviate energy price concerns of middle-class taxpayers he needs to vote for him. Remember his energy plan was not to find more energy but make our cars run more efficiently; he scolded us for keeping thermostats at 72 (air conditioning), driving SUV's, and was constantly attacking us for using a disproportionate amount of the world's fossil fuels... Do you really think he's abandoned the same ideology he had embraced during his dozen years as a progressive legislator supported by environmentalists? First of all, politicians will say whatever it takes and make promises they don't keep all the time; many times they are simply playing for time, the public loses interest, and the problem goes away. Second, it's easy to make a promise knowing the Democratic-controlled legislature, supported by the same special-interest environmentalists, has no intention of changing the law. Third, the devil is in the details; Obama has so many conditions to where drilling can take place (and this was even before the BP oil spill) that some estimates had only 5% of available acreage available for drilling. Don't forget we are dealing with a lawyer here whom hides all the salient details in the fine print.
Finally, let's look at the Trans-Canada natural gas pipeline project to the lower 48, Palin's biggest accomplishment which she pointed out predecessors had failed to accomplish. A funny thing happened to the economics underlying the project: gas fracking in the lower 48 (e.g., Texas and North Dakota):
BP and ConocoPhillips have scrapped plans to build a $35b Alaskan pipeline to transport gas to the lower US states as the US’ burgeoning shale gas industry has stifled demand. The so-called Denali venture, one of two proposed gas export pipelines, has been unable to secure the necessary supply contracts to allow it to invest in the project. The decision to end the project, [ a gas glut... ended the Denali pipeline] which has so far consumed more than $165m of funding, strikes a blow to long-sought plans to boost the Alaskan economy and supplement dwindling oil output.The biggest takeaway from Palin's email sequence, though, is the fact that she was willing to be used by the Obama campaign to validate his energy policy, even though she was under consideration at the time as a possible McCain VP nominee. (I also seem to recall at the time she made some reference to Alaska being a purple, not red state, and she deliberately withheld her endorsement of McCain (which may have been based on a disagreement over his siding with environmentalists over drilling in ANWR), even after McCain had essentially clinched the nomination after runner-up Romney's withdrawal. (Some will point out Huckabee earned more delegates, but that was an artifact of Romney's exiting the race earlier than Huckabee.)
Wasserman-Schultz, Rangel, et al:
The Political Counter-Attack on the Weiner Scandal
You would think disgraced New York Congressman Charlie Rangel, censured by the House last year after being found guilty of 11 ethical violations in committee (trips, unreported income and assets/unpaid taxes, letterhead abuse, below-market rents, Caribbean trips, etc.), would know better than to make an implicit comparison of Weiner to David Vitter and Mark Foley by saying Weiner "wasn't going with prostitutes. He wasn't going out with little boys."
Wasserman-Schultz, the most recent incompetent DNC chair, in her usual boorish manner of talking over and interrupting other guests, made reference on Meet the Press this morning to Vitter doing something "illegal" and raising the topic of recently resigned Senator Ensign (R-NV). Now really, Dems, is it really that smart of comparing Mark Foley's embarrassing pass at a male page to the fact that Gerry Studds was censured for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male page--and returned to serve in Congress for several more terms after 1983? Does Wasserman-Schultz really want to bring up illegal when we are now seeing an investigation of former Senator, VP nominee, and multi-time Presidential candidate John Edwards, whom allegedly used campaign funds to keep his relationship quiet with Rielle Hunter, mother of a child conceived while Edwards' late wife was being treated for cancer? Does she want to compare Vitter with Democratic Congressmen Waggonner or Howe, whom were arrested for soliciting police decoys (and she, of course, "forgot" to mention)? Wayne Hays? Has she forgotten the whole Eliot Spitzer disgrace? How about JFK's alleged infidelities? Do we want to revisit Gary Hart and various other unfaithful members of the Congress? (Yes, adultery is against the law.) Not to mention what kind of blackmail Monica Lewinsky could have engaged with President Clinton given a certain semen-stained dress?
As a libertarian-conservative I am less concerned with so-called victimless crimes, like prostitution. From a moral standpoint, I think it's wrong, and certainly voters have a right to make their own decision, just like Louisiana voters did last fall with David Vitter.
In an Overview of Legacy Provisions and Congressional Ethics Rules:
Unwritten Standards of Conduct and Propriety. It should be kept in mind that in addition to express written rules, either the House or the Senate may exercise its constitutional authority for the self-protection and integrity of the institution by disciplining a Member or employee of that body for conduct which violates no express House or Senate rule or law, but which is found contrary to acceptable ethical norms and/or which tends to bring the institution into dishonor or disrepute.A married Congressman sending out lewd photos of himself? (A single one, too, for that matter.) Nancy Pelosi had legitimate reason for referring this to the House Ethics Committee.
Weiner's political future, at least in the near-term future, is over. There are already rumors his seat will be the target of one of the two New York Congressional seats lost over the recent census. (The census changes take effect next year's general election.) Weiner was thought to be one of the candidates for New York City mayor after Bloomberg completes his term. His only purpose at this point is serve out his term, although he will almost surely be shunned by his fellow legislators and, at minimum, censured. I'm sure this request for a leave of absence so he can check himself into some clinic which, no doubt, will cure him of the urge to send out crotch shots or x-rated photos of himself. (This seems to be the conventional response to any celebrity caught doing something wrong.)
I dislike Rangel and Wasserman-Schultz trying to make it a political issue. Chris Lee's shirtless photo is decidedly less offensive than what Weiner did. Whatever lame excuses Wasserman-Schutz puts out about Weiner not committing a crime certainly would apply to Chris Lee. There's no doubt of a double standard here between parties. After all, if Chris Lee had gone to the beach shirtless, nobody would have said a word.
I've, in fact, been critical of this story and the massive coverage. I have said little about the story this past week, even as questions had surfaced about Weiner writing back to a 17-year-old girl with a crush on him. As a professor, that never happened, but if a coed in one of my classes had initiated contact of that nature, I would have alerted the administration and tried to get her placed in another professor's class. But I would never have encouraged a personal relationship, at least as long as I had grading authority over a student. That would have been a breach of professional ethics. I don't know what the exchange was with the 17-year-old, but she seemed to be flirting, Weiner should have said, "I'm sorry but these conversations are inappropriate. I can put you in touch with my staff whom can give you more information about my activities, speeches, et al."
I really don't see the GOP trying to exploit the situation politically. The last thing they want to do is to start talking about Foley, Vitter, Ensign, and Lee again.
Congresswoman Giffords:
Thumbs UP on the Speedy Recovery!
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| Courtesy of P.K. Weis, SouthwestPhotoBank.com |
"President Obama's top economic adviser, a man named Austan Goolsbee, is stepping down: He will be replaced by something a little more effective, the magic 8-ball." - Jay Leno
[Every morning President Obama gets up and stands before the magic mirror: "Mirror, mirror on the wall: who's the smartest of them all?" The One stares back at him saying. "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."]
"The USDA has done away with the food pyramid. It didn’t work anyway. Ever since they came out with it, Americans have turned into food pyramids. - Jay Leno
[The USDA found out too many Americans couldn't make it to the top of the pyramid...]
Killebrew: A Presidential Moment
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| President Eisenhower Meets Killebrew Before Red Sox Game in 1959 |
Chicago/Peter Cetera & Amy Grant, "Next Time I Fall" (live).
