It is simple, we cant.
Palin is an effort to reinvigorate the far right who have been rather unenthusiastic up to this point. The far right, the true believers, are the ones who hit the pavement to run GOTV drives and voter registration. They are the foot soldiers of the party. McCain is looking at voter registration defficits in many key states. He is way behind in campaign infrastructure. He needs these people to turn out the base. With Obama consolidating Dem support and winning a big chunk of the remaining indys McCain needs every drop of his base and Palin was his way of getting it.

"I want to know that we have an exit plan in place"

She wants and exit plan? This would imply we will be leaving Iraq. It even suggests a time-table for withdrawal.

In the coming days Palin will be learning an awful lot about where she stands on the issues.

I don't think it's a question of McCain not taking national security seriously, It seems more like someone who is incapable of thinking more than one move ahead.

This was something that seemed brilliantly disruptive on Wednesday when he made the decision. Today's announcement was like slamming the Palin piece down on the board and shouting check! He doesn't seem to have thought through the fact that Obama still has all his pieces and two months to win the game.

Buyer's remorse is right around the corner.

McCain has proved that he is a fundamentally non serious man and candidate.

To make this pick after basing his entire campaign on experience, with his health and age ... it's a level of irresponsible that's just staggering.

It actually shows contempt for the intelligence of the American people. I cannot imagine that this ticket will win. If there's a god in the firmament and rationality and reason mean anything at all in this universe, McCain just lost the election.

That is Sooo funny, because back in early 2007 Obama said some ridiculous stuff as well:

Obama proclaimed with his vast experience on military and foriegn affairs that the surge would be complete and total failure and would just make Iraq worse:

"I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse."

SO OBAMAS JUDGEMENT WAS THAT VIOLENCE WOULD NOW BE MUCH WORSE.

"We cannot impose a military solution on what has effectively become a civil war. And until we acknowledge that reality -- we can send 15,000 more troops, 20,000 more troops, 30,000 more troops, I don't know any expert on the region or any military officer that I've spoken to privately that believes that that is going to make a substantial difference on the situation on the ground.

""SO HE PROCLAIMED THAT WE WOULD NOW HAVE A RAGING CIVIL WAR TODAY...anyone see one???

"Even those who support the escalation have acknowledged that 20,000, 30,000, even 40,000 more troops placed temporarily in places like Baghdad are not going to make a long-term difference.""

LOVE HOW HE ACTS LIKE OTHER PEOPLE ARE TALKING, NICE TOUCH.

So Palin made a true statement that she wasn't focused on Iraq at the time, she was busy cleaning up Alaskas government problems on her way to an 80% approval rating.

While Obama, who SUPPOSEDLY was focused on Iraq had everyting completely wrong with regard to what would happen with the troop surge.

McCain/Palin: The American Joke Americans Have Been Waiting For.

oh anonymous, your lack of reading comprehension is such a difficult problem: obama said, quite accurately, that the surge wasn't going to solve the sectarian problems that are the source of iraqi instability.

he's been proven 100% accurate.

got any more dumbshit thoughts you'd care to spill?

Howard, Yes, how about Obama saying he plans to invade nuclear Pakistan and Biden saying he thinks we need to bring back the draft.

All I know is that he's a POW and she's a hockey mom. That's all I need to vote for them.

BTW...hockey mom? I mean, if ever there was a sport that has been outsourced, it's hockey...unless you count basketball which has been taken over by blacks.

In March 2007, she has no clue about Iraq...

Five months later, she lets her eldest son sign-up to be sent there.

Buyer's remorse is right around the corner.

I don't think so. The base likes Palin. McCain has no chance of winning without the base. WHo aren't going to show up and vote for just anybody with a (R) beside their name, as 2006 demonstrated.

Palin/McCain, 2008!

McCain slipped up for a number of reasons, least of which is to pick a singularly unqualified person the day after the most monumental speech in a generation.

The level of outrage McCain has provoked is huge. HUGE. If I were a thinking Republican - and I know that is an oxymoron - I would be totally outraged with this pick after such an uplifting speech by a formidable opponent.

But, Republicans, who are unaware of the phrase 'cognitive dissonance', are expressing it by the tens of millions.

God help the USA.

Anonymous posted this: "how about Obama saying he plans to invade nuclear Pakistan and Biden saying he thinks we need to bring back the draft."

Now, let's see what they really said, without the Republican filter in place.

Biden: "We're going to have to face that question," Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press" television show when asked if it was realistic to expect restoration of the draft. "The truth of the matter is, it is going to *become a subject*, if, in fact, there's a 40 percent shortfall in recruitment.

Did Biden call for a draft? No. Did Anonymous lie? Yes.

Now, let's see what Obama had to say about Pakistan.

Obama said that if there were "actionable intelligence reports" showing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, U.S. troops should enter the country and try to capture bin Laden and al Qaeda terrorists -- an entry only if "the Pakistani government was unable or unwilling" to do so.

Did Obama use the word invade? Did he say he was going to attack Pakistan? No.

Anonymous wants you to believe lies. Gosh, why do Republicans HATE America so much? And most importantly, why do Republicans NEED to lie? It's because they are incapable of telling the truth, and they are incapable of putting forth intelligent legislation for ruling a nation.

This was something that seemed brilliantly disruptive on Wednesday when he made the decision. Today's announcement was like slamming the Palin piece down on the board and shouting check! He doesn't seem to have thought through the fact that Obama still has all his pieces and two months to win the game.

Christmas Gift