Gallup Poll - Conservatives' Preference:

http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/sjzlz_k2t0c5ssp2hymtlq.gif

Gallup Poll - Conservatives Preference:
Mike Huckabee ...................... 21%
Mitt Romney .......................... 15%
Sarah Palin ............................ 13%
Newt Gingrich ........................ 10%
Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson........ Single Digits%

http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/sjzlz_k2t0c5ssp2hymtlq.gif

Who Conservatives Would Vote For in 2012

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_122.pdf

Data on pages 7 and 8.

Oct, 2009 Rasmussen Poll Shows Huckabee #1 for 2012

GOP 2012: Huckabee 29% Romney 24% Palin 18%

Survey of 750 Likely 2012 GOP Primary Voters
October 15, 2009

2012: GOP Primary Election
Huckabee	29%
Romney	24%
Palin	18%
Gingrich	14%
Pawlenty	4%
Some other candidate	6%
Not sure	7%

Hillary Clinton Supporters Expose Obama Campaign's Inner Workings; Zogby Poll Shows McCain Making Tremendous Gains in Women Voters!

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1623
Excerpt:

Pollster John Zogby: "Is McCain making a move? The three-day average holds steady, but McCain outpolled Obama today, 48% to 47%. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters. Joe the Plumber may get his license after all. "Obama's lead among women declined, and it looks like it is occurring because McCain is solidifying the support of conservative women, which is something we saw last time McCain picked up in the polls. If McCain has a good day tomorrow, we will eliminate Obama's good day three days ago, and we could really see some tightening in this rolling average. But for now, hold on."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.redstate.com/diaries/anonymous_14/2008/oct/30/what-you-were-never-intended-to-know-in-this/

Anonymous_14's Diary

What you were never intended to know in this election

A Hillary staffer comes clean

Posted by: Anonymous_14

Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 04:52PM CDT

Excerpt:

4 – The Bradley Effect. Don’t believe these polls for a second. I just went over our numbers and found that we have next to no chance in the following states: Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire and Nevada. Ohio leans heavily to McCain, but is too close to call it for him. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa are the true “toss up states”. The only two of these the campaign feels “confident” in are Iowa and New Mexico. The reason for such polling discrepancy is the Bradley Effect, and this is a subject of much discussion in the campaign.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://hillbuzz.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/confession-of-an-obama-blogger-by-sarah-p-as-posted-to-this-site/

Excerpts:

Sarah Palin is a huge threat, and our campaign has feared her like you can’t imagine. If it seems unfair how she has been treated, well its because she has had a team working round the clock to make her look like a fool.

this is a big conspiracy and I am so shocked that its not realized.

* * *

I will be quitting my post on nov 5th and my vote will be for John Mccain. Fortunately, my position has been a marketing position and I don’t feel I had any part of anything I would feel guilty for. But I look forward to getting out of this as the negativity and environment upsets me.

Must-See Candidate Comparisons

http://wolfhowling.blogspot.com/2008/08/palin-in-comparison.html

http://www.brightandearlyblog.com/2008/09/compare-and-contrast/

Newt DESTROYS Obama on Palin -- MSNBC, Obama get torn apart by former Speaker

The comprehensive argument against Barack Obama

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/21/the-comprehensive-argument-against-barack-obama/

Undecided voters: Please check this out.

In case you missed it - Palin Interview w/ Charlie Gibson. Gibson was the Actual Gaffer Re: Bush Doctrine

http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2008/09/13/charlie_gibsons_gaffee

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Charlie Gibson's Gaffee

by Charles Krauthammer

Charles Krauthammer's Email | Author Archive | Author Biography

"Ms. Palin most visibly stumbled when she was asked by Mr. Gibson if she agreed with the Bush doctrine. Ms. Palin did not seem to know what he was talking about. Mr. Gibson, sounding like an impatient teacher, informed her that it meant the right of `anticipatory self-defense.'" -- New York Times, Sept. 12

WASHINGTON -- Informed her? Rubbish.

The Times got it wrong. And Charlie Gibson got it wrong.

There is no single meaning of the Bush doctrine. In fact, there have been four distinct meanings, each one succeeding another over the eight years of this administration -- and the one Charlie Gibson cited is not the one in common usage today.

He asked Palin, "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?"

She responded, quite sensibly to a question that is ambiguous, "In what respect, Charlie?"

Sensing his "gotcha" moment, Gibson refused to tell her. After making her fish for the answer, he grudgingly explained to the moose-hunting rube that the Bush doctrine "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense."

Wrong.

I know something about the subject because, as the Wikipedia entry on the Bush doctrine notes, I was the first to use the term. In the cover essay of the June 4, 2001, issue of The Weekly Standard titled, "The Bush Doctrine: ABM, Kyoto, and the New American Unilateralism," I suggested that the Bush administration policies of unilaterally withdrawing from the ABM treaty and rejecting the Kyoto protocol, together with others, amounted to a radical change in foreign policy that should be called the Bush doctrine.

Then came 9/11, and that notion was immediately superseded by the advent of the war on terror. In his address to Congress nine days later, Bush declared: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." This "with us or against us" policy regarding terror -- first deployed against Pakistan when Secretary of State Colin Powell gave President Musharraf that seven-point ultimatum to end support for the Taliban and support our attack on Afghanistan -- became the essence of the Bush Doctrine.

Until Iraq. A year later, when the Iraq War was looming, Bush offered his major justification by enunciating a doctrine of pre-emptive war. This is the one Charlie Gibson thinks is the Bush doctrine. It's not. It's the third in a series and was superseded by the fourth and current definition of the Bush doctrine, the most sweeping formulation of Bush foreign policy and the one that most distinctively defines it: the idea that the fundamental mission of American foreign policy is to spread democracy throughout the world. It was most dramatically enunciated in Bush's second inaugural address: "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

This declaration of a sweeping, universal American freedom agenda was consciously meant to echo John Kennedy's pledge that the United States "shall pay any price, bear any burden ... to assure the survival and the success of liberty." It draws also from the Truman doctrine of March 1947 and from Wilson's 14 points.

If I were in any public foreign policy debate today, and my adversary were to raise the Bush doctrine, both I and the audience would assume -- unless my interlocutor annotated the reference otherwise -- that he was speaking about Bush's grandly proclaimed (and widely attacked) freedom agenda.

Not the Gibson doctrine of pre-emption.

Not the "with us or against us" no-neutrality-is-permitted policy of the immediate post-9/11 days.

Not the unilateralism that characterized the pre-9/11 first year of the Bush administration.

Presidential doctrines are inherently malleable and difficult to define. The only fixed "doctrines" in American history are the Monroe and the Truman doctrines, which came out of single presidential statements during administrations where there were few conflicting foreign policy crosscurrents.

Such is not the case with the Bush doctrine.

Yes, Palin didn't know what it is. But neither does Gibson. And at least she didn't pretend to know -- while he looked down his nose and over his glasses with weary disdain, "sounding like an impatient teacher," as the Times noted. In doing so, he captured perfectly the establishment snobbery and intellectual condescension that has characterized the chattering classes' reaction to the phenom who presumes to play on their stage.

About The Author

---

Charles Krauthammer is a 1987 Pulitzer Prize winner, 1984 National Magazine Award winner, and a columnist for The Washington Post since 1985.

'Brilliant' Ifill Cousin Scours Palin As 'Offensive to Black Women'

From: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2008/10/02/brilliant-ifill-cousin-scours-palin-offensive-black-women

'Brilliant' Ifill Cousin Scours Palin As 'Offensive to Black Women'
Photo of Tim Graham.
By Tim Graham (Bio | Archive)
October 2, 2008 - 06:48 ET

Here are more signs Sarah Palin could face an uphill battle with PBS host Gwen Ifill. Professor Sherrilyn Ifill of the University of Maryland Law School, whom Gwen Ifill has lauded as "my brilliant baby cousin," has written that black women are not buying Sarah Palin’s "false claims to feminism" and is portrayed as too perfect: "when women who are privileged present as though they have it all together, it’s offensive to black women." (Photo from Soros.com)

The Community Times, a suburban Maryland newspaper, found Professor Ifill was ardently opposed to the Alaska governor when they did an e-mail interview:

"From the first day, Palin presented herself as shooting a bear in the morning, field dressing it, cooking up the breakfast, diapering the babies, passing legislation in the afternoon, cleaning the house, satisfying her husband, etc., etc., etc. And it's just not true," she wrote in an e-mail interview. "It's hard to be an average working mom, really hard. And when women who are privileged present as though they have it all together, it's offensive to black women."

She said, "black women are not easily confused by false claims to feminism. When women like Palin lay claims to ‘representing' average women, I think that black women have a visceral reaction to it."

Ifill added that Palin "missed her opportunity when she announced Bristol's pregnancy to explicitly talk about how painful it was to her as a mother - instead of making it as though this too was also part of her perfect life.

"Hillary has the sympathy of women because of what she went through with Bill in front of the whole country. Michelle [Obama] takes pains to be self-deprecating and to talk about her concerns and fear about her girls. She insists that she couldn't do what she does without the help of her mother. Most importantly, both champion issues that affect the lives of real, average women - universal health care, equal pay, choice, etc. To do so is a recognition that real working women (not political wives or politicians) need policies that will help them maintain their families. What's the point of Palin's brand of feminism if it doesn't translate into real returns for average women?"

It can be noted that the professor is so passionate an Obama supporter that she also denounced Hillary Clinton as a phony feminist: "When she knocked back a shot and a beer in that bar in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clinton ended any pretense of running as a feminist." She compared it to Michael Dukakis in a tank, a failed "macho stunt."

Gwen Ifill’s family pride came through in her monthly washingtonpost.com online chat on October 4, 2007:

Pittsburgh, Pa.: Is Professor Sherrilyn Ifill at the University of Maryland Law School, who's spoken out so eloquently and thoughtfully on symbols of racial hatred lately, any relation to you?

Gwen Ifill: She is indeed my brilliant baby cousin, and the author of an excellent book "On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 20th Century."

Cousin Gwen supported that book at an event at the liberal D.C. bookstore Politics and Prose. As The Politico reported in February of 2007:

Ifill's reading illustrates how decisions are made. She had everything you need: a name to draw a crowd (her cousin, moderator of PBS's "Washington Week," introduced her); a friendship with Jim Lehrer of "The News Hour," also on PBS; and a book with a liberal, social-justice bent, about lynchings that took place outside the Deep South.

"Jim Lehrer's a great friend of the store," Meade said, adding that the store probably would have held the reading anyway, given the content of Ifill's book. "If it's something that involves civil rights, civil liberties, we're pretty interested in it usually."

The idea that Politics and Prose has a liberal bias has caused the store some consternation, but it's rooted in reality. The bookstore draws a graying, turtleneck crowd in a neighborhood known for its liberal politics in a city that gave George W. Bush fewer than 22,000 votes in 2004. Would you expect the shelves to be buckling under the weight of Sean Hannity and Co.'s latest books?

The bookstore's most well-known snub went to Matt Drudge, a conservative and the creator of The Drudge Report. Cohen reportedly called him "a rumormonger and a troublemaker" in 2000 when the store rejected his request for a reading.

(Hat tip: Chris R.)

—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center

Melanie Grayson of Muskogee, OK: McCain's Political Strategy, with Regard to the Financial Crisis. New ad for McCain...starring Bill Clinton

This info posted with much thanks to Mrs. Grayson for permitting us to take a peak at what she is up to. She and her husband, William, are grassroots supporters, who played many integral roles in helping Gov. Huckabee to win the 2nd Congressional District of Oklahoma.

I am not a professional campaign adviser, but things aren't looking so good for the McCain camp right now. I am fed up with John McCain allowing Obama to take a free ride on our current financial crisis.

It is not exploiting the situation to let people know the part the Democrats, and specifically Obama, have played in the financial mess we are in.

I think he needs to roll the dice and take a chance on being accused of exploitation. What does he have to lose at this point? He's already headed for losing the election if he doesn't grab the bull by the horns.

Below is the email I sent and the response I received from the McCain campaign this morning. If you think he should stop holding back, I urge you to contact the campaign and let them know.

From: [E-mail Address]
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 9:58 AM
To: oklahoma@johnmccain.com
Subject: Maverick, Let's Roll

I am impatiently waiting for John McCain to act on the financial crisis in his campaign. It has been politicized, it is political and and he needs to give it to Obama with both barrels. I watched in disgust on Sunday night as Nancy Pelosi raged against Bush Administration and all Republicans, including John McCain, while flanked by two people with a huge responsibility for this mess, Frank and Dodd. How could Dodd or Frank even have the audacity to speak, with the role they have played in this mess? McCain needs to be pointing out Dodd's role as chairman on the Senate Banking Committee and Franks's role as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. What about the monies Dodd and Obama have received from Fannie and Freddie and Countrywide and probably many other corrupt lenders? Let's give some background on ACORN and their agenda and the Democrats relationship to that terrorist organization and the connection to what's going on now. Let's talk about how Obama trained ACORN activists in corrupt Chicago. This is no time for Mr Nice Guy; he's got to let them have it or he is going to LOSE, BIG TIME!

Respectfully,


Melanie Grayson
[Phone Number]

The following is the response that Mrs. Grayson received:

From: SCR States
To: [E-mail Address]
Sent: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:23 am
Subject: RE: Maverick, Let's Roll

Melanie:

Thanks for the note and I will pass your thoughts to the right place.

Best,
Aaron Trost
McCain-Palin 2008

And, here is the latest from the McCain camp: Bill Clinton will be starring in the next McCain commercial...
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Bill Clinton the star of new McCain ad
Posted: 01:40 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
The McCain campaign is highlighting a recent Clinton interview in a new ad.
(CNN) — As he gears up to hit the campaign trail on behalf of Barack Obama later this week, former President Bill Clinton is the star of a new television ad — for John McCain.

Watch: New McCain ad features Bill Clinton

The Arizona senator's campaign is highlighting Clinton's remarks in an interview with ABC News last week during which he appeared to lay some of the blame of the current economic crisis on congressional Democrats.

"I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was president to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Clinton said in the ABC News interview that is highlighted in the new McCain ad.

The announcer of the one-minute spot called "Rein" cites McCain's call for more regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago and said "Democrats blocked the reforms."

"Loans soared. Then, the bubble burst. And, taxpayers are on the hook for billions. Bill Clinton knows who is responsible," the announcer also says.

But in the same interview with ABC, Clinton also said it is important not to assign blame at this time for the current state of the economy: "We are where we are. I think the most important thing is we got two candidates for president saying 'lets try to minimize the partisan differences,'" he said. "We will have plenty of time later to look at who caused this and what mistakes were made."

Those comments did not make it into the McCain ad.

The ad comes days after some Democrats grumbled the former president appeared to be overly praiseworthy of the Arizona senator as the final stretch of the heated presidential campaign gets under way. In the same interview with ABC News, Clinton defended McCain's call to possibly push back the first debate, saying it was a pledge made in "good faith." He also later said the Arizona senator had taken the lead in his party when it comes to climate change.

The commercial is called, "Rein":

Recent post by DAILY KOS members re: Gov. Huckabee (Positive)

"When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him." (Proverbs 16:7) Thank you to The Values Voter for this appropriate Bible verse.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/10/125037/761/334/593612

Upon reading these quotes, Huck's Army soldier, Mrs. P, said, "I only know of one other Republican who could stick to his principles and yet make the Democrats like him... Reagan."

Quote:
I like Mike Huckabee. I don't like Mike Huckabee's politics but I like Mike Huckabee, he is genuine and faithful to his beliefs. He does not appear to me to be an opportunist and for that I respect him. He defended Obama in the face of the Wright criticism and he is defending him again:

McCain ally Mike Huckabee took Obama's side on the issue, saying he didn't think it was a swipe at Palin.

"It's an old expression, and I'm going to have to cut Obama some slack on that one. I do not think he was referring to Sarah Palin; he didn't reference her. If you take the two sound bites together, it may sound like it," he said on Fox's "Hannity and Colmes."

"But I've been a guy at the podium many times, and you say something that's maybe a part of an old joke and then somebody ties it in. So, I'm going to have to cut him slack."


Quote:
There's some decency in Huckabee that seems to be lacking in John McCain.



Quote:
he's like the friend of a friend that you don't agree with politically, but is such fun and so witty and - yes (for a fundy; they're not overendowed with humour, to be sure, though..) intelligent that you cheer up when he's at a party you're at.


Quote:
Huck is the most honorable man in the republican party...a long time ago that guy was McCain.



Quote:
There Is Not A Guy "I'd Like To Have A Beer" with in the Republican party outside of Huck. As the poster said I don't agree with him, but I like him.



Quote:
I do not think he would have run the dishonorable campaign that mccain is running today.


Quote:
I despise his politics, but he is an honorable man. I liked him all through the Republican primaries.



Quote:
If he wasn't a fundamentalist, i'd actually love it if he was president. He's funny, calm and interesting. All of these attributes point to some sense of intelligence.


Quote:
I am glad he was not the nominee, because although the campaign season would have been a lot cleaner, I think in the end his charm offensive would have been much harder to counter than McCain's lie-ridden, hostile, self-aggrandizing Smear and Pander Show.


Quote:
In spite of his policies He truly is likable. I do like the fact he gave Obama a little credit in his convention speech (before the obligatory bashing of his policies, of course). And, my god, he has a great gift at comedy (In spite of the NRA joke). In this day of age, where we see many pathetic attempts at "comedy" in the media, I must say this guy really does get it right.



Quote:
I wish Huckabee had picked the Democratic party when he started out in politics (when he was 14 yrs old, I think). With sort of moderate views (not uncommon for southern Dems) on social issues, he would've made a pretty darn good (populist) Democratic president (on economic/education etc issues) because I think he cares and has a functional conscience.



Quote:
Yeah, I like Mike Huckabee, too. He's the only Republican out there that uses his brain and he has defended Obama on several occasions. He has said one thing wrong about Obama, but I know it wasn't on purpose. I don't agree with him on the issues but he's a good guy.


Quote:
Huckabee would've been a tougher challenge.... I really do like Huckabee. He really should've been a Democrat. Though some of his policies I don't agree with but he does seem as if he listens to all sides.

Others Palin Comparison

From: The Mike Ford Perspective (Oklahoma Huckabee Blog)
By: Mike Ford (Oklahoma HuckPAC Unofficial Grassroots Leader)

WOW! What a move by McCain, huh? But what did you expect from a savvy old salt (military lingo) who forms strategy in his sleep?

I come from a military family and am also a decent chess player, so I love to watch and think strategy. And as many good chess players and military leaders will agree, you win by predicting the outcome of your decisions and the reaction of your opponent.

The strategy involved in the Palin pick goes much deeper than what is on the surface, and we will analyze this "A Game" of chess McCain is playing.

Like most successful strategies, this one involves much surprise and risk. And as I've said before, "if McCain picks a pro-life candidate, he will win in a landslide". Not because of Palin, necessarily, but she will help the margins widen and make the momentum happen quicker. This is a great investment for a candidate who has chosen to take public funding, because the free press and internet frenzy that surrounds her will save money.

More people watched Governor Palin's speech than did Obama's famous "I Have a Scam" speech last Thursday night. And in the following 24 hours after her speech, there were more internet searches for information about Palin than Obama, McCain, Michael Phelps, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton ... COMBINED!!!

Not only was this pick economical, but it also served as somewhat of a trap for the Left. And they took it, hook, line and sinker. Look at the result: A free media buzz, constant comparisons of experience among candidates and an infuriated female constituency.

The free media buzz has already generated the "celebrity" factor for the GOP ticket, but without promotion. This is brilliant because any and all support that she receives will benefit McCain, and at the end of the day, Democrats know they cannot afford to focus of the bottom of the ticket. This is a race between Obama and McCain.

By focusing on Palin, the Left has lost the public attention they had previously focused on McCain's age and similarities with George W Bush. Now, he is seen as a maverick again, who is not afraid to buck the Party and make a drastic ... "change". (CHECK)

The one big plus that McCain had over Obama was experience, which the selection of Joe Biden attempted to erase. However, because of the immediate negative response to Palin's qualifications and experience, it has reopened the debate.

What is so interesting is the comparisons are being made between Obama and Palin, not Biden and Palin. This is a Godsend for the GOP. It reiterates Obama's inexperience and makes McCain's superior qualifications a given. It subconsciously lowers Obama to a second tier level in the public eye, where it will be assumed on election day that if he can't hold his own against the newcomer on the bottom of the ticket, how can he ever compare with McCain?

Obama will seem less manly to male voters, and less female friendly to female voters. (CHECK)

Will those 18 million votes slide over to the right to support the GOP now? No. Realistically, social liberals, socialists and the rest of "Left Wing Nutjob America" will rabidly support the Democrats without compromise. After all, it is the only party that supports abortion on demand, gay marriage and gun bans.

But, while the Left is downplaying the defection of women to the Republican ticket, I'm going to tell you the truth:

Strategists and pundits repeatedly insisted that Hillary Clinton could win because of the "female factor". This by droves of first time female voters and a gravitational pull of female Independents and even Republicans to the Democratic ticket. All to support making history by electing a woman for the first time.

But now that the tide has turned, the Left has immediately circled the wagons and rallied around the talking point that, to expect women to flock to McCain because of Palin is simply sexist, and insults the intelligence of female voters.

So, which is it? There seems to be a double standard, and they can't have their cake and eat it too.

And speaking of a double standard, that is precisely what will turn a majority of women into the most interesting voting block the GOP has ever had, which may now even begin to affect the Congressional races that once seemed out of reach for the GOP to recapture.

The vast selection of left wing smears on the front pages of magazines has been noticed. (I learned that US Magazine is now suffering thousands of subscription cancellations a day as a result.)
The intros that late night show hosts, like Leno and Letterman, have been used to bash Palin, yet the crowd doesn't roar at the jokes like they do when Bush is being ridiculed. The liberal newspapers, like the New York Times, obviously have taken their usually biased stance, as have the major TV networks and formerly respected interned sources.

Governor Palin is an accomplished executive who inspires Americans to succeed. Her story is a good one. It revives the American Dream and epitomizes the American Spirit. Unfortunately, the qualities that she offers her country, including her objective and bi-partisan record, have been ignored by the Left out of pure political survival. Monica Lewinsky received more objective media coverage than Governor Palin has. I have never seen a more perfect example of sexism and intolerance in this modern era we live in.

This media witch hunt will prove two things:
1. The Left has never been concerned with the fair representation or advancement of women in general, just women who advocate or vote in support of far left agendas. (Use N.O.W. as a perfect example.)
2. Millions of American women will begin to reject their former habits of voting Democrat and trusting the mainstream liberal media(including Oprah), and begin to be more involved and objective when deciding who to vote for. (CHECK MATE)

And all of this is bad for the liberal movement and the Democratic Party. It is very good for the conservative movement and the Republican Party. And this conclusion brings me to a final thought provoking point:

The Left has not been unified by Obama, but rather by Palin. While the mainstream media and the Clinton wing of the Democrats have been loyal to Obama, they didn't show their teeth and howl for blood until after Palin came onto the scene. This primal instinct of vicious desperation and survival has opened a new chapter in this race for the U.S. Presidency of 2008. But it's not just about 2008 anymore.

There are several chess boards in play on the politiscape. Others include the national strategies of races for Governor, Senate and House of Representatives. Then there is public opinion, inter party issues and special interests. But check out the big board in the center of the stage. This one is the future defining struggle between the Republican and Democratic Partys for long-term supremacy. And the Palin move was followed by the announcement of, "Check."

If and when Obama loses to McCain, most of us will go on with our lives and politics will take a back burner to more important and personal issues. But both sides of this struggle will be entrenched in a constant struggle for 2012 and beyond.

The Republicans know that the 72 year old McCain will likely serve only one term. Preparations have to be made to evaluate the Vice President and determine who to groom for 2012.

Because Palin will increase in popularity and experience, she will likely be a shoe-in for an uncontested presidential bid to continue the GOP's reign to what could be a 20 year run.

Meanwhile, the Democrats will be assessing their loss and looking for the next challenger. Obama will get another look, but will likely be blamed for the losses of 2008. Much will depend on his success as a full time senator who is not missing important sessions and votes to run for president. Then there is Hillary Clinton, who will likely be favored over Obama because of the hindsight and "could have been" rhetoric we will see. Lastly, a brief look around at anyone they have with no baggage or sex scandals.

Hillary is the obvious choice, with star power. The only thing that makes her risky in 2012 is that Governor Palin makes her irrelevant. (Check Mate)

Hillary's resume will contain her "experience" as a sidekick and part time lover to husband Bill, her time as a senator in New York and of course, her failed presidential bid.

And contrary to conservative pundits, she does have some executive experience. We have learned from Obama's staff that running a nationwide campaign now counts, and she did run the "Bimbo Squad" during the Clinton years, keeping many sex scandals from coming to surface via the "vast right wing conspiracy." Don't forget her 1993 failure of leading a Democrat controlled Congress to pass a socialist health care plan. Throw in her impressive ability to swindle loads of cash from people with the Whitewater scandal and then cover her tracks with the Rose Law firm shredder, and she has some management experience.

Palin will have some experience as a mayor of a small town, but will be shrugged off because she caught their votes at a tough time when they were "clinging to guns and religion". However, being a governor has a huge variety of responsibilities, including the management of a state budget and the state congress. And while many may not know, there is some foreign policy and military experience that must be recognized.

Here's some info passed on to me by a friend and state legislator:

DO YOU THINK THE LIBERAL PRESS WILL PUBLISH THIS?
-------------------------------------------
Subject: Important info re: Palin's Nat. Secur. Cred

Just picked up some little known info on Palin's National Security Credentials. Some have shrugged off her position as Commander of the Alaskan National Guard but see this:
"Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It's on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.

As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues,homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets.

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is."

George Faught
State Representative, OK House District 14

This resume of Palin's is a great foundation to build on, and if McCain is elected president, her 4 years of experience will trump Hillary Clinton's and at the very least match any other.

Should the economy recover, the energy crisis be properly addressed and more progress be made in the War on Terror, she will have the wind at her back.

Add the actual experience of a presidential administration (that exceeds being a Mrs. or a pastry chef), interaction with the House of Representatives and the foreign policy knowledge that will make her a well rounded candidate.

The female vote will be split in half, and so will the Independents. The Evangelical base will be energized, and the youth will rally. The Republican Party will be on the verge of history... again.

Hillary's chance to make history has passed her by, unless the Left can knock her out early. There will be no new messiah to compete with a victorious Palin. All others Palin comparison.

Mike Ford
Contributing to rare, conservative media

Must-See TV of Mike Huckabee on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart

If you're a Huckabee fan who hasn't seen this yet, be SURE to watch it. It's a great piece to send to your non-Huckabee friends and family, too. (It's easy to mail with the envelope icon below)