A Powerful 'First Dude'

February 5, 2010 8:12 AM

Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that Todd Palin exchanged with Alaskan officials, which were released to msnbc.com and NBC News by the state under its public records law, draw a picture of a Palin administration where the governor's husband was intimately involved in governmental affairs. The 'Shadow Governor' (as some called him in Juneau) "got involved [among other state business] in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments and passed financial information marked 'confidential' from his oil company employer to a state attorney."

"When msnbc.com, other news organizations and citizens of Alaska sought Palin e-mail records after she was named the Republican vice presidential running mate in August 2008, the state initially quoted a cost as high as $15 million for state technicians to find the e-mails, for state interns to print out the e-mails one at a time, for state lawyers to read them to determine what information could be withheld, and for a print shop to photocopy them.

That's still the laborious approach the state has taken, at what it says is a cost of more than $500,000 in staff time, but the prices it is charging have come down considerably. The state charged msnbc.com only $323.58 for the records released this week."

posted by ericb (147 comments total)

Note: the 2nd through 6th hyperlinks in the FPP are PDF files.
posted by ericb at 8:13 AM on February 5, 2010

The first dude does not abide the rules of the Governor's office, man.
posted by sallybrown at 8:18 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

What? There's absolutely nothing wrong with a non-elected private citizen reviewing people's personnel records and internal documents related to regulatory investigations, nothing at all. Nope, la la la la, I can't hear you, la la la, nothing wrong...
posted by Pollomacho at 8:20 AM on February 5, 2010

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.
posted by bukvich at 8:22 AM on February 5, 2010 [10 favorites]

Surely that was all as illegal as hell and charges will be laid.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:23 AM on February 5, 2010

The voters of Alaska got two for the price of one.
posted by Joe Beese at 8:23 AM on February 5, 2010

This is interesting, thanks.

August 2008 - Sarah Palin is both governor and running for VP, so the emails go for $15 million.
February 2010 - Sarah Palin quits her post and is no longer running, so the emails go for $323.58.

That's amazing. Also? Sweet Jesus, even if one is not a huge Obama fan, how can one not see the enormous bullet we dodged by not electing that woman to office.

"The governor coached her staff on how to disguise the amount of electrical work needed at the mansion to hook up her new tanning bed."

"The manager of the Palins' travel schedule searched for a public event to use as justification ("I just need one") to charge the state for an airplane flight for Palin's daughter, Willow, who made the trip but had missed the event given as its justification."

"In another e-mail, the couple discussed a rare opportunity to enjoy a date night out without the kids; they saw "Juno," the film about a teenager with an unplanned pregnancy, on March 7, 2008, just short of 10 months before their unmarried 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, gave birth to a son."
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:25 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Yeah, I voted for Madeline Albright to be his wife.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:25 AM on February 5, 2010 [51 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

I welcome the False Equivalences Based On Hypotheticals Brigade with open arms!
posted by DU at 8:25 AM on February 5, 2010 [73 favorites]

Methinks Hillary Clinton was just slightly more qualified to be involved in vetting appointments, something her husband's administration didn't exactly hide. Please look up info about her background before going off like that, thanks.
posted by raysmj at 8:27 AM on February 5, 2010 [5 favorites]

This is why elected officials should be physically separated from their spouses and only allowed conjugual visits on Arbor Day and the Fourth of July.
posted by dortmunder at 8:27 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

Raise your hands if you don't think Mrs. Ghengis Khan wasn't equally involved in her husband's murdering and salting the earth and whatnot!
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:28 AM on February 5, 2010 [33 favorites]

Please run for president, please run for president, pleasepleaseplease
posted by jckll at 8:28 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

This is just what mavericks from maverick families do. Leave 'em alone Gotcha media!
posted by reformedjerk at 8:29 AM on February 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

Raise your hands if you don't think Mrs. Ghengis Khan wasn't equally involved in her husband's murdering and salting the earth and whatnot!


Uh, which one?
posted by The Whelk at 8:31 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Palin / Palin 2012!
posted by filthy light thief at 8:32 AM on February 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

It goes much deeper than that. If you'd simply take the time to read my monograph, you'd learn that the Great Depression was extended at least two years due to WPA cost overruns accrued installing Eleanor Roosevelt's tanning bed in a secret subterranean wing of the White House.

(The space was later used as Richard Nixon's "bowling" alley, which of course was actually used by Pat for ritual sacrifice to her beloved . . . I've probably said too much in this public forum. Read the monograph.)
posted by gompa at 8:33 AM on February 5, 2010 [12 favorites]

This is just what mavericks from maverick families do. Leave 'em alone Gotcha media!

Aside: gotchamedia.com / gotcha-media.com are already taken. Nuts.
posted by mazola at 8:34 AM on February 5, 2010

C'mon guys, this is serious!
posted by chugg at 8:35 AM on February 5, 2010

I would be so embarrassed if I was conducting official government business with someone whose email address was [e-mail].
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:37 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

1) Oh, if she did it then it must not be illegal or unethical.

2) Hillary Clinton was an educated, qualified and emminent lawyer before she was first lady. Palin was a snow mobile racer.

3) You have evidence of this, please link! Meanwhile here is the evidence of Palin's doings.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:37 AM on February 5, 2010 [16 favorites]

raysmj: "Methinks Hillary Clinton was just slightly more qualified to be involved in vetting appointments..."

We're talking about the Hillary Clinton who hired Mark Penn, right?
posted by Joe Beese at 8:39 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nothing about the Alaska Independence Party paling around with secessionists and assorted white supremacist populists ?
posted by hortense at 8:39 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

2) Hillary Clinton was an educated, qualified and emminent lawyer before she was first lady. Palin was a snow mobile racer.
posted by Pollomacho

Palin was a CHAMPION snow mobile racer.

Fixed that for yah, socialist "everyone's a winner" liberal media elitist lower 48 big words talkin' not real American bein' yep as it is.
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:40 AM on February 5, 2010 [15 favorites]

MSNBC video report [04:38].
posted by ericb at 8:41 AM on February 5, 2010

The voters of Alaska got two for the price of one.

The worst part is, she's the brains of that operation.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:41 AM on February 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

but the prices it is charging have come down considerably. The state charged msnbc.com only $323.58 for the records released this week.

They got the easy button!
posted by octobersurprise at 8:42 AM on February 5, 2010

Let's see...26 comments in 29 minutes...I put the over/under on this thread at 297.5. Users wishing to place their bets can MeMail me.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:42 AM on February 5, 2010

The one danger I potentially see in all this is some people might draw the conclusion that she sought and/or needed his advice and participation because Sarah Palin is a woman. Rather than just an inept, ill-prepared governor, regardless of gender. There are still some people out there who would draw the first conclusion, and might feed bias against women in positions of power.
posted by cmgonzalez at 8:43 AM on February 5, 2010

YOU GUYS THIS DOES NOT COMPARE TO THE EMAILS OPRAH AND MICHELLE OBAMA SENT BACK AND FORTH. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM BCC'S BLAGOYAVICH, RAHM EMANUEL, AND HUGO CHAVEZ.
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:43 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Umm, here. Wow, what a great example of one of those cute little internet comments that you would never say in a real life conversation because you'd have to actually be looking in the face of the person staring at you, waiting for the second half of your sentence where you actually provide some basis to your initial argument.

/stares
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:46 AM on February 5, 2010 [30 favorites]

In other exciting Palin news, they haven't been paying taxes on their remote vacation cabins.
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:46 AM on February 5, 2010

The voters of Alaska got two for the price of one.

The worst part is, she's the brains of that operation.

To be fair to Alaskans it was more like 1.25 for the price of one.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:46 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

The one danger I potentially see in all this is some people might draw the conclusion that she sought and/or needed his advice and participation because Sarah Palin is a woman. Rather than just an inept, ill-prepared governor, regardless of gender. There are still some people out there who would draw the first conclusion, and might feed bias against women in positions of power.
posted by cmgonzalez

This quote from the article pretty much covers that ground. Insanely enough it's from a woman who wasn't kept in her job probably because of something he said. Yet she STILL assumes he was more valuable because he's male.

She said she wouldn't be surprised if the governor bounced a lot of subjects off of her spouse. "It's the first time we've ever had a first dude, right? I think he was more of a sounding board for her."
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:47 AM on February 5, 2010

Food fights parallel war.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:47 AM on February 5, 2010

"I think he was more of a sounding water board for her."
posted by octobersurprise at 8:52 AM on February 5, 2010

It's a widely known but under-reported fact that if you want to join the Justice League, you need to bake a cake and bring in a few brewskis for Steve Trevor.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:54 AM on February 5, 2010 [5 favorites]

Wow, lots of doublespeak. When you elect someone you elect their spouse as well. They're always there on the podium when they're speaking, they're in the press shots. I'm ok with their spouse being involved in politics, it's the way it's always worked!

The REAL problem is that the people of Alaska, and (almost) the rest of the US of A elected a complete idiot with a moron for a spouse. How about focusing on that?
posted by blue_beetle at 8:56 AM on February 5, 2010 [9 favorites]

Nothing about the Alaska Independence Party paling around with secessionists and assorted white supremacist populists ?

"While 1,200 separate e-mails were released this week, 243 others were withheld by the state under a claim that executive privilege extends to Todd Palin as an unpaid adviser to the government."

posted by ericb at 8:56 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

I think they were fooled by the name Juno and thought it was a nature documentary on the city.
posted by wheelieman at 9:00 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

XQUZYPHYR: "... waiting for the second half of your sentence where you actually provide some basis to your initial argument.

...

Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton's legal billing records; she said she did not know where they were. The records were found in the First Lady's White House book room after a two-year search... Clinton's staff attributed the problem to continual changes in White House storage areas since the move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion.

The 1996 discovery of a two-year-old White House memo caused the investigation to focus more on whether Hillary Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigators regarding her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report concluded she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence that she knew the statements were false, or knew that her actions would lead to firings, to prosecute her.

In March 1994 newspaper reports revealed her spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–1979; allegations were made in the press of conflict of interest and disguised bribery, and several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no official investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing.

When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that they were the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy", characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton political enemies rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said that she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place.

Throughout the campaign, Clinton was accused of carpetbagging by her opponents, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics prior to this race.


posted by Joe Beese at 9:00 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

> Wow, lots of doublespeak. When you elect someone you elect their spouse as well.

If I hire you, I will not also hire your partner to sit beside you and answer your email.
posted by ardgedee at 9:04 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hillary Clinton was an educated, qualified and emminent lawyer before she was first lady. Palin was a snow mobile racer.

Clinton was an intellectual property attorney whose only experience in health care was a position to which her husband appointed her after he became governor. Palin was an oilfield production supervisor until he quit to avoid a conflict of interest.

I'm not a Palin fan, but "not a lawyer" and "blue collar management" don't mean you're a moron.
posted by electroboy at 9:04 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the privilege log that documents the messages they DIDN'T release. Somehow I suspect those might become more of a story than the rest of these. Left out of the whole OMGPALIN aspect of this is the sense of whether or not his access and involvement is unusual. I suspect--without any facts, admittedly-- that it is. My state (Minnesota) is governed by a probable 2012 candidate who just happens to have a wife who was, until somewhat recently, a state judge. It would strike me as very inappropriate if she was as involved as Todd Palin was in state judicial appointments, even though she would be much more qualified to do so. That being said, I would be flabbergasted if she was involved in that way.

All that is to say that I am really pretty appalled by some of these revelations, and I absolutely reject the efforts to minimize the impact by red herrings and theoretical false equivalences.
posted by norm at 9:04 AM on February 5, 2010 [6 favorites]

Raise your hand if ... tu quoque (or, what passes for political discourse nowadays — especially here).
posted by mcwetboy at 9:06 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

NBC/MSNBC have posted a searchable database of the e-mails.
posted by ericb at 9:06 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I thought we already knew this?
posted by graventy at 9:07 AM on February 5, 2010

She's here in Nashville today. Maybe she can stage a coup and toss Phil Bredesen out on his butt.
posted by blucevalo at 9:07 AM on February 5, 2010

No, you couldn't bother to look up "Travelgate" to find out if investigators concluded that she'd knowingly lied or anything (there was insufficient evidence), or that the whole controversy involved employee who weren't civil service but political appointees, etc.
posted by raysmj at 9:08 AM on February 5, 2010

When you elect someone you elect their spouse as well. They're always there on the podium when they're speaking, they're in the press shots. I'm ok with their spouse being involved in politics, it's the way it's always worked!

I thought the point of the spouse being all of the press shots and whatnot was to prove that they are an upstanding member of the community with a family rather than an unloved loner who hates babies. Their kids are usually there too, and nobody is expecting 6-year-old Johnny to get involved with judicial appointments or contract negotiations.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:09 AM on February 5, 2010

When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that they were the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy", characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton political enemies rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said that she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place.

I'm not even sure why the Clinton parallels are being drawn in the first place, but the Lewinsky charges were the result of right-wing conspiracy to harangue and harass the Clinton administration. Somehow he ended up on trial for an affair in the middle of the proceedings of the Whitewater scandal. Lewinsky had nothing to do with that.

Heck, you can't even honestly call his affair with Lewinsky "wrong-doing" in the first place. They may have a long-standing open relationship that is none of our business.
posted by explosion at 9:11 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Actually, rather than being a "shadow president", she's often been accused of being the opposite, a sort of pretend "shadow president", exaggerating her role during the Clinton presidency (specifically, claiming she helped negotiate the peace process Norther Ireland).
posted by bobo123 at 9:12 AM on February 5, 2010

I would guess that, as chair of the Children's Defense Fund and whatnot before coming to the White House that she'd learned a smidgen about health care policy.
posted by raysmj at 9:13 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sarah who?

ten years from now, that's what we'll say...could we just start not??? please???!
posted by HuronBob at 9:13 AM on February 5, 2010

The governor coached her staff on how to disguise the amount of electrical work needed at the mansion to hook up her new tanning bed.

I don't know why, but for some reason I find this both hilarious and sad.
posted by quin at 9:13 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

that's cause it is hilarious and sad.
posted by The Whelk at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

'not'='now' ....damn
posted by HuronBob at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2010

"blue collar management" don't mean you're a moron

No it certainly doesn't, but it don't make you qulified to run a state neither, but if you were going to select someone to advise you on judicial nominations and such, someone who had been listed as one of the nation's 100 most influential lawyers is probably a more of a rational choice. She was a bit more than "an intellectual property lawyer" as partner in charge of the Intellectual Law practice at Rose and national chairwoman of Legal Services.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:19 AM on February 5, 2010

"This is why elected officials should be physically separated from their spouses and only allowed conjugual visits on Arbor Day and the Fourth of July."
Arbor Day?? NO!!! Think of the TREES!!!
posted by Floydd at 9:21 AM on February 5, 2010

explosion: "I'm not even sure why the Clinton parallels are being drawn in the first place... "

Because bukvich had the temerity to interrupt the latest Two Minute Hate by suggesting that Republicans don't have a monopoly on letting electorally unaccountable spouses interfere in government work.

This inspired several passionate defenses of Mrs. Clinton's sterling moral character.

Sen. Hillary Clinton said she "misspoke" last week when she gave a dramatic description of her arrival in Bosnia 12 years ago, recounting a landing under sniper fire. ... "I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement," she said.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:22 AM on February 5, 2010

More like a half-hearted "two-minute snark" than Orwellian "two-minute hate," Joe Beese of the very large and continually-being-ground ax.
posted by aught at 9:31 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

This inspired several passionate defenses of Mrs. Clinton's sterling moral character.

You mean this one, Joe?

Oh, if she did it then it must not be illegal or unethical.

But by all means, go ahead and continue to derail yet another thread about a currently major political player's wrongdoings and unethical behavior with more noise about CLINTON DID IT TOO!
posted by Pollomacho at 9:31 AM on February 5, 2010 [3 favorites]

I'm not even sure why the Clinton parallels are being drawn in the first place...

Because it's a well-worn tactic to divert attention from the original post. Because changing the original intent from "here's someone doing something wrong" to the strawman of "this is something that only republicans/democrats do" moves the attention away from the original post back to the comfortable Us vs. Them debate that keeps political discourse in this country at the lowest level possible.
posted by nightwood at 9:32 AM on February 5, 2010 [31 favorites]

...state technicians to find the e-mails, for state interns to print out the e-mails one at a time, for state lawyers to read them to determine what information could be withheld, and for a print shop to photocopy them..

This is completely silly. First of all, "find the e-mails"? I assume they mean, check the backups to see if they're still there. Second, "print the e-mails out one at a time"? Haven't they heard about batch processing? Third, are the lawyers physically blacking out parts of the printed out email and copying them to send out? I think a simple program could be created that views emails, lets someone decide what to black out, and exports to PDF. Apparently, it would save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars.
posted by demiurge at 9:36 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

She was a bit more than "an intellectual property lawyer" as partner in charge of the Intellectual Law practice at Rose and national chairwoman of Legal Services.

Which still doesn't make her husband appointing her to head of rural health services cricket. And still doesn't make your characterization of her husband as a "snowmobile racer" correct.
posted by electroboy at 9:37 AM on February 5, 2010

When you elect someone you elect their spouse as well. They're always there on the podium when they're speaking, they're in the press shots. I'm ok with their spouse being involved in politics, it's the way it's always worked!

I thought the point of the spouse being all of the press shots and whatnot was to prove that they are an upstanding member of the community with a family rather than an unloved loner who hates babies. Their kids are usually there too, and nobody is expecting 6-year-old Johnny to get involved with judicial appointments or contract negotiations.

True, although it might have actually helped in this particular case.
posted by Flunkie at 9:40 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

We're talking about the Hillary Clinton who hired Mark Penn, right?
posted by Joe Beese at 8:39 AM on February 5 [1 favorite +] [!]

"We're only losing the unimportant states." - Mark Penn, Political Strategist/Massive Tool.
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 9:40 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sweet Jesus, even if one is not a huge Obama fan, how can one not see the enormous bullet we dodged by not electing that woman to office.

But he hasn't close Gitmo and he promised!!! Clearly he has to go!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:42 AM on February 5, 2010

why does the phrase "dead horse" keep ringing in my head?
posted by HuronBob at 9:50 AM on February 5, 2010

She's here in Nashville today. Maybe she can stage a coup and toss Phil Bredesen out on his butt.

I thought we'd established that being a governor was beneath her.
posted by vibrotronica at 9:52 AM on February 5, 2010

Which still doesn't make her husband appointing her to head of rural health services cricket. And still doesn't make your characterization of her husband as a "snowmobile racer" correct.

Actually, whenever I start to think about what horrible people these seem to be, the fact that Todd is a snowmobile racer AND THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME is the only thing that gives me pause. Hence, I'd advise him to stick with this characterization.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:52 AM on February 5, 2010

>>She was a bit more than "an intellectual property lawyer" as partner in charge of Intellectual Law practice at Rose & national chairwoman of Legal Services.

>Which still doesn't make her husband appointing her to head of rural health services cricket. And still doesn't make your characterization of her husband as a "snowmobile racer" correct.

The key word that you're missing is "appointed."

H. Clinton had an official role in her husband's administration and was subject to all of the rules and restrictions of any other official. T. Palin was completely off the books, yet demanding confidential documents, vetoing appointments, etc. He's specifically using his lack of official position to try to avoid having his actions and emails scrutinized.
posted by msalt at 9:52 AM on February 5, 2010 [26 favorites]

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Objection! Speculation!
posted by jimmythefish at 9:57 AM on February 5, 2010

Raise your hands if you don't think Mrs. Ghengis Khan wasn't equally involved in her husband's murdering and salting the earth and whatnot!

The Official Portrait
posted by briank at 9:58 AM on February 5, 2010

> Wow, lots of doublespeak. When you elect someone you elect their spouse as well.

If I hire you, I will not also hire your partner to sit beside you and answer your email.

Except in politics, the unelected spouse can play a significant role. True, they shouldn't be active in this way (back-room dealings and schemings), but they often do become an advocate for activities, events, or movements. It's more commonly seen with presidential spouses, and The White House website has pleasant blurbs on each of them, noting their focus and efforts while first ladies.

When you elect an official, you are getting a lot more than an employee. More and more, you're saying "I approve of your life and those in your life" when you vote for someone. That's why they're First Ladies, not just the spouse of the President. Maybe it's a small nod to nobility, where royalty represent their nation in everything they do, for good or for ill. They don't get to say they're not the president (or the first lady) on the weekends.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:59 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

So is the problem here that Todd improperly performed duties of an elected official when he legally should not have done so, or is it that he is a dolt who is unqualified to perform those tasks even if it's completely legal and ethical?

Because I don't see a whole lot in the way of legal cites to support the assertion that what he apparently was doing was illegal (though maybe it was - I have no idea). And if it's that he's an unqualified dolt then, well, how is this news?

I mean, news flash: The spouses of Governors (and Presidents) get involved in official stuff.
And news flash: The Palins are unqualified dolts.
posted by The World Famous at 10:05 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Behold, the power of bold!

Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton's legal billing records; she said she did not know where they were. The records were found in the First Lady's White House book room after a two-year search... Clinton's staff attributed the problem to continual changes in White House storage areas since the move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion.

The 1996 discovery of a two-year-old White House memo caused the investigation to focus more on whether Hillary Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigators regarding her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report concluded she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence that she knew the statements were false, or knew that her actions would lead to firings, to prosecute her.

In March 1994 newspaper reports revealed her spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–1979; allegations were made in the press of conflict of interest and disguised bribery, and several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no official investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing.

When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that they were the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy", characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton political enemies rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said that she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place.

Throughout the campaign, Clinton was accused of carpetbagging by her opponents, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics prior to this race.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:06 AM on February 5, 2010 [8 favorites]

The key word that you're missing is "appointed."

I'm not missing that. It's not kosher to appoint your spouse to any position in your administration. I'd be against it if Obama appointed Michelle to be head of HHS or if Bush had appointed his wife to head dogcatcher.

I'm not defending the Palins at all, but I get a little tired of the LOLRednecks tone that every single post about them takes.
posted by electroboy at 10:09 AM on February 5, 2010

Civil_Disobedient: "Behold, the power of bold!"

Indeed. She overlooked a potential campaign slogan there...

Hillary 08: Insufficient Evidence To Prosecute
posted by Joe Beese at 10:14 AM on February 5, 2010

Throughout the campaign, Clinton was accused of carpetbagging by her opponents, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics prior to this race.

The fact that you bolded "by her opponents" doesn't really do much to that one.

And why wouldn't the Rose Law Firm have her billing records? I'm not familiar with Arkansas law or practice in that area, but it seems a little weird to me that a former partner of the firm would take the only copy of her billing records when she left.

But this is just a dumb derail that has nothing to do with the post, so I propose we drop it.
posted by The World Famous at 10:16 AM on February 5, 2010

Glenn, again:

Just consider what Hillary Clinton today, in Kenya, is saying and doing regarding allegations that Kenyan politician officials participated in acts of violence during civil strife in that country. From today's New York Times, headlined: "Clinton Calls for Accountability in Kenya."

Clinton's sentiments echoed what Obama told Africans when he spoke in Ghana last month, when he demanded that they apply "the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice" and vowed that "we will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable" -- meaning African war criminals.

Oh but I guess you knew that already OBAMABUSHCLINTONGULAG
posted by shakespeherian at 10:17 AM on February 5, 2010

I thought we'd established that being a governor was beneath her.

vibrotonica: Yes, you're right. I was being facetious. If she hated being governor of Alaska, then being governor of Tennessee would be descending into one of the circles of hell.
posted by blucevalo at 10:17 AM on February 5, 2010

This is completely silly. First of all, "find the e-mails"? I assume they mean, check the backups to see if they're still there. Second, "print the e-mails out one at a time"? Haven't they heard about batch processing? Third, are the lawyers physically blacking out parts of the printed out email and copying them to send out? I think a simple program could be created that views emails, lets someone decide what to black out, and exports to PDF. Apparently, it would save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This is partly obstructionism and partly the fault of a department of administration who is underfunded and sometimes has their head up their ass. You be surprised at the general lack of technical can-do and the pile of red tape created by any new project. In ETS's defense, they quoted the price under the old system of email retention and delivered under the new system. The way I understand it, the old system would have involved finding every user account that the emails were delivered to, residing on fileservers and individual machines throughout the state. Now there is a centralized email storage system to help deliver on orders like this so the state doesn't get their ass sued and so the State Archives can get the publid records they are due.
posted by Foam Pants at 10:20 AM on February 5, 2010

I don't care much for Sarah Palin. I think she's a dim bulb with a pretty face and a knack for backstabbing that has allowed her to become a public figure, not in the manner in which Martin Luther King, Jr., was a public figure, but in the way Jon and Kate Gosselin are public figures.

All that said, I also believe that she is an all-or-nothing proposition for a sizable percentage of people; you either love her and she walks water while liberal hatemongers fire potshots at her for doing things everyone else does, or you hate her and she has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, is simply not capable of seeing beyond self-interest.

I think this applies to the story the FPP is based on; right or wrong, ethical or not, I do not believe this would be news except for the word 'Palin' in the headline.

I personally have a strong negative reaction to that kind of nepotism; I think most people do, in spite of the fact its pretty commonplace.

I think that may be the point.
posted by Pragmatica at 10:21 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

This quote from the article pretty much covers that ground. Insanely enough it's from a woman who wasn't kept in her job probably because of something he said. Yet she STILL assumes he was more valuable because he's male.

I had already read the article before commenting and yes, that was an example of what I was talking about. I think it's a concern that (not so much here on Metafilter) that people will go off and think that since she was leaning on and consulting her husband so much, to tie it to the absurd, yet annoyingly durable belief out there that women aren't suited for powerful positions.

Strip away everything but the barest details of the case and you have a powerful woman, a governor and vice-presidential candidate. And now you have an investigation into correspondence that shows dependence upon and deference to, occasionally, her husband's decisions and advice on matters of importance.

Yeah, this is Sarah Palin we're talking about, and everyone but her most ardent supporters can see how inept and ignorant she is, but what I'm worried about are those bare details. Mainly, how the scenario might make an impression upon voters, company executives, and others who might, unconsciously or consciously, see this case as some kind of justification or reinforcement that a man is better in power for being male and women are just too weak and/or dependent.
posted by cmgonzalez at 10:22 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's kind of amazing how in ten or so years it can change from approximately "Clinton is evil and immoral and the devil" to "Clinton did it too so it's ok".

Joe Beese of the very large and continually-being-ground ax.
Joe doesn't like the Clintons? This is my shocked face.
posted by graventy at 10:22 AM on February 5, 2010

I am a redneck electroboy. If it helps I'll show you my farmer's tan. Thuis is not LOLredneck bias. He might actually be a smart, capable guy in his field, I still think a woman who's the chair of an organization that's mission is to provide legal aid to the poor and has a formal legal education is more qualified to deal with the public policy nuances of establishing a rural public health system than an oil well parts maintenence logistics manager is at culling the qualifications of judicial nominations. Sure, I'd pick Todd over Hillary hands down if I needed someone to review pump-jack specs, get something to a rural town by dogsled, tell me about the ups and downs of the salmon market, or to keep a pipeline operating, but that is not the same thing as writing regs or picking judges. Running a fishing boat or a race team or a pipeline is just not the same as legislative affairs. I wouldn't want either of them doing my gall bladder surgery and it isn't because of their political stance.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:24 AM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

It's not kosher to appoint your spouse to any position in your administration.

Well, I disagree. Of course, everyone should question whether nepotism is involved (and they certainly did with Hillary.) You can expect political attacks. I would rather see an active spouse take an official position, subject to all of the scrutiny and regulations, than do what Todd Palin did.
posted by msalt at 10:28 AM on February 5, 2010

"Clinton did it too so it's ok".

I think it's interesting that, when people see the words "Clinton did it too," they automatically mentally add "so it's ok."
posted by The World Famous at 10:28 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I might not entirely understand US government, but isn't this normal? That a leader has aides that take a strong role? Isn't this what, for example, the various "csars" do? And I always got the impression that first ladies in the US took a real political role?

PS. I'm not a Palin supporter, not in a million years... just wondering whether this is meaningful in the context of the way US gov't works...
posted by glider at 10:29 AM on February 5, 2010

msalt: "H. Clinton had an official role in her husband's administration and was subject to all of the rules and restrictions of any other official."

Darn tootin'. Her nepotistic incompetence was on the books, mister!

In January 1993, Bill Clinton appointed Hillary Clinton to head and be the chairwoman of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform... The plan did not receive enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate, although both chambers were controlled by Democrats, and proposal was abandoned in September 1994. Clinton later acknowledged in her book, Living History, that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat...
posted by Joe Beese at 10:29 AM on February 5, 2010

Why is this thread about the Clintons, again? Let's examine:

1. Apparently there are some facts about Sarah and Todd Palin. These facts may or may not be damning, politically and legally.

2. It is possible that someone many years earlier, in a completely unrelated way, did something similar to these things that Sarah and Todd Palin did.

3. Let's talk about whether we like those other people.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:33 AM on February 5, 2010 [5 favorites]

Re: Clinton derail: clap.......clap.......clap......clap....
posted by maxwelton at 10:37 AM on February 5, 2010

T. Palin was completely off the books, yet demanding confidential documents, vetoing appointments, etc.

Read that as T-Pain was completely off the hook, completely agreed.
posted by 235w103 at 10:42 AM on February 5, 2010 [13 favorites]

I do not believe this would be news except for the word 'Palin' in the headline.

It wouldn't be news if Palin hadn't been governor, either. She could've stopped that train right in its tracks.

Joe, I can't tell what your point is, precisely, but it's entertaining to imagine your head spinning while you try to decide if you hate Palin or Clinton more.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:42 AM on February 5, 2010

Read that as T-Pain was completely off the hook, completely agreed.


Of course he's off the hook. He's on a boat.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:43 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why is this thread about the Clintons, again?

Well, the news about Jack Layton's prostate cancer just broke, we could talk about that.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:45 AM on February 5, 2010

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Objection! Speculation!
posted by jimmythefish at 12:57 PM on February 5 [+] [!]

You clearly haven't watched enough Law and Order. The appropriate lawyerly exclamation is

Objection! Relevance?!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 10:49 AM on February 5, 2010

Well, the news about Jack Layton's prostate cancer just broke, we could talk about that.

!
posted by mazola at 10:51 AM on February 5, 2010

octobersurprise: "Joe, I can't tell what your point is, precisely, but it's entertaining to imagine your head spinning while you try to decide if you hate Palin or Clinton more."

My point is that the commenters who gang-stomped bukvich for making an obvious comparison strike me as arguing from tribal loyalty more than facts.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:55 AM on February 5, 2010

Joe, I have to ask: If this thread is about the Palins, and someone made a comment equivocating them to the Clintons, why -- when everyone else is addressing the Palin-Clinton connection and moving on, are you still throwing out comment after comment after comment dissecting Hillary Clinton's actions from the past 8 years?

I mean, I get that you don't like her, but can you maybe make your own axe grindy blog post instead on this one?
posted by cavalier at 11:01 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

instead of. instead of. 3 MINUTE EDIT GOD HELP ME.
posted by cavalier at 11:01 AM on February 5, 2010

I'm available if anyone wants to know what I think is wrong with Alaska's Public Records Law.
posted by marxchivist at 11:01 AM on February 5, 2010

OK, as much as it chafes me to defend anything about Sarah Palin, because I think she's a charismatic lunatic who wouldn't be qualified to run a local homeowner's association never mind an entire state, I have to speak up about the tanning bed thing.

I live in Seattle, which is on the 47th parallel, which is farther north than any other major city in the US, farther north than anywhere in Maine, farther north than Toronto. The winters here are brutal. They're short, they're grey, they're very, very depressing. And one of the things that is commonly prescribed for seasonal dysthymia is UV therapy, AKA lying in a tanning bed for 20 minutes a day.

Alaska is a LOT farther north than Washington. I don't know for certain that this is the case, but it's easily possible that the tanning bed is for reasons of health and mood rather than Jersey Shore-style vanity and indolence. The fact that they had to "hide" the electrical costs doesn't speak well of either their motives or their ethics, though.
posted by KathrynT at 11:03 AM on February 5, 2010

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

So do you have documented proof of this, or is this a "oh, CHIKZ are such BITCHES" rant?
posted by hal_c_on at 11:04 AM on February 5, 2010

ARGH the DAYS are short! The WINTERS aren't short, they're too goddam long. My kingdom for a three minute edit window!
posted by KathrynT at 11:06 AM on February 5, 2010

My point is that the commenters who gang-stomped bukvich for making an obvious comparison derail strike me as arguing from tribal loyalty more than facts.[FTFY]

Somehow I think that people can decide if Todd Palin's involvement is legal/ethical/a good idea without knowing the details of HRC's cattle futures trades.
posted by nightwood at 11:09 AM on February 5, 2010

So is Metafilter now for or against spousing? It's hard to keep track of shifting opinion.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:10 AM on February 5, 2010

The World Famous: ""Clinton did it too so it's ok".

I think it's interesting that, when people see the words "Clinton did it too," they automatically mentally add "so it's ok.""

What is it, then? Clinton did it too, so politicians all suck?
posted by graventy at 11:10 AM on February 5, 2010

I think it's 'Clinton did it too which is irrelevant but I just really like complaining about the Clintons.'
posted by shakespeherian at 11:11 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

What is it, then? Clinton did it too, so politicians all suck?

I'm not the one saying Clinton did it too.

But the person who did say Clinton did it too didn't say that made it ok.
posted by The World Famous at 11:30 AM on February 5, 2010

The Palins are honest, well-educated people who worked tirelessly to the benefit of the people of Alaska. Lord knows why anyone would want to pick on this great couple. America, everything the Palins have done, they have done for you! a mountain of hamburgers
posted by five fresh fish at 11:34 AM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

I believe the appropriate sarcasm mark in this case is MOOSEBURGER.

Or maybe WOLFBURGER ok I'm done with injoking now.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 12:04 PM on February 5, 2010

KathrynT: tanning beds might be Palin's answer to depressing winters gloom (paraphrase)

No offense, but I call BS. I live in Portland, know the winter gloom well. Light therapy is only one of the many treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it involves a light box, not a tanning bed. That may well be her rationalization, but that's all it is.
posted by msalt at 12:06 PM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

I would pay good money for a Greasemonkey script that prevented anything related to the Palin family from displaying on my screen.

And that's saying something considering I haven't paid for software since like 1997 or so.
posted by hamida2242 at 12:11 PM on February 5, 2010

Joe, I have to ask: If this thread is about the Palins, and someone made a comment equivocating them to the Clintons, why -- when everyone else is addressing the Palin-Clinton connection and moving on, are you still throwing out comment after comment after comment dissecting Hillary Clinton's actions from the past 8 years?
posted by cavalier

Hey, he's using constant pull-quotes about Clinton instead of Obama in a political thread. So this is a sweet respite. Don't look a gift horse in the Beesementum.
posted by haveanicesummer at 12:14 PM on February 5, 2010

But then you might miss a great headline like "Palins missing after a mysterious accident brought their hunting helicopter down. Sabotage by vengeful wolves suspected. Area moose have refused to comment."
posted by quin at 12:17 PM on February 5, 2010

Hi all.

Joe Beese please shut up defending me. With supporters like you I don't need any enemies.

I held my nose and voted for Hillary Clinton for president in the TX democratic primary. I thought she would be more effective than her slightly less stellar opponent if anybody cares. The thing I dislike most about her was the entry on the Congress watch web page which showed she was one of the top three recipients of wall street campaign donations.

I really don't think Sarah Palin is too bad for a politician. You people can be complete nuts about this topic.

Sorry about the derail.
posted by bukvich at 12:24 PM on February 5, 2010

What bukvich is trying to say is that he hates you all.
posted by mazola at 12:31 PM on February 5, 2010

I really don't think Sarah Palin is too bad for a politician.

Yeah, quitting 18 months before the completion of her first term as governor gave me that impression as well.
posted by quin at 12:35 PM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

What bukvich is trying to say is that he hates you all.

It's spelled "y'all."
posted by The World Famous at 12:36 PM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sorry about the derail.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, who forgave her husband for getting a blow job and denying it, I do not forgive you for what you have done.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:38 PM on February 5, 2010

It's spelled "y'all."

DON'T PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH!
posted by mazola at 12:49 PM on February 5, 2010

marxivist: I'm available if anyone wants to know what I think is wrong with Alaska's Public Records Law.

I'd be interested...
posted by leahwrenn at 12:56 PM on February 5, 2010

msalt: I'm actually going by what my husband's psychotherapist suggested to him when it became apparent that he had SAD, I'm not just making this up. It may be unconventional, I don't know, but I don't think "bullshit" is called for in this case.
posted by KathrynT at 1:08 PM on February 5, 2010

Unlike Hillary Clinton, who forgave her husband for getting a blow job and denying it, I do not forgive you for what you have done.

Of course not, you haven't given him his blowjob yet.
posted by electroboy at 1:12 PM on February 5, 2010 [2 favorites]

I don't think "bullshit" is called for in this case.

Fair enough. Perhaps your husband's therapist meant "if it's too difficult to build a lightbox, you could fall back on (or start with) a local tanning booth." But that really isn't the standard therapy. And if Palin had the resources to build a personal tanning booth IN HER HOUSE, she obviously had the ability to make a (much cheaper) lightbox.

Given that Palin has a noted taste for living large on other people's money, seems a lot more manic and inexplicably overconfident than depressed, and took active steps to cover up her expenditures, I seriously doubt clinical S.A.D. explains her tanning booth.
posted by msalt at 1:51 PM on February 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

quitting 18 months before the completion of her first term as governor

As I understand it, to get out from underneath all the ethics violations? Do these emails shed some light on that, or is her known behavior enough to explain it? I mean, didn't she get paid extra to work at home most days of the year, etc.?
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:01 PM on February 5, 2010

marxchivist: I'm available if anyone wants to know what I think is wrong with Alaska's Public Records Law.

I'd be interested...
posted by leahwrenn

The first thing I thought was weird (well, the first weird thing about public records law) was this in the MSNBC story:

"...a state judge in Alaska ruled last month that it's not necessarily a violation of the public records law for public officials to use personal e-mail accounts. Those e-mails may be public records, but only if the state agency decides to preserve them."

When I read this I thought a) The judge is nuts b) MSNBC got this all wrong; or c) The Public Record Law in Alaska sucks. Here's the definition of a record from the Alaska Law:

"record" means any document, paper, book, letter, drawing, map, plat, photo, photographic file, ..... electronic record, or other document of any other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, developed or received under law or in connection with the transaction of official business...

That part above is great. A textbook definition of a public record. It has the bonus of covering those emails concerning public business in the Governor's yahoo account. The definition in my state's law basically ends after the word "business" above. Alaska immediately follows the above quote with this loophole:

...and preserved or appropriate for preservation by an agency or a political subdivision, as evidence of the organization, function, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the state or political subdivision or because of the informational value in them

So the Judge's ruling could possibly in bizzaro world make sense when you read the bold part of the above quote. This "preserved or appropriate for preservation" is the part that bugs me though. My reading of MSNBC's reading of the judges ruling is if the state agency didn't preserve the records, then they aren't public records. That's pretty f*cked up. But what about the "and appropriate for preservation" part of the Alaska Law?

4 AAC 59.020 gives the State Archivist authority set the records retention schedules. So, now I'm thinking the State Archivist says what is appropriate for preservation. But, the judge's decision MSNBC writes about doesn't seem to jibe with that.

So maybe the judge's ruling is fucked. (Anyone want to take a stab at finding it?) I just don't like that extended definition of a public record. It should end after "transaction of public business." period stop end of sentence end of thought. That means any record a government employee creates in order to do their job is a public record, it covers everything. Now just because something is a public record doesn't mean it can be destroyed in a short amount of time, or it may very well be confidential.

When I try to answer a public records question, the first thing we do is decide if the item under discussion is a public record, then we talk about retention.

To me this Alaska law makes it harder to determine if something is a public record, just another layer of bullshit and smoke for elected officials to hide behind. Or confuse the issue, send it to court, etc.

That may be the longest and the most boring mefi comment I ever wrote.

I'm going home, see you all in about 45 minutes. Alaska's General Retention Schedule and the Governor's Office Retention Schedule.
posted by marxchivist at 2:06 PM on February 5, 2010 [4 favorites]

Trampolinegate.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:09 PM on February 5, 2010

Well, the judge appears to have had a colorful career, marxchivist. Here's a blog post about his conviction for DUI and removal from criminal cases for a period of time.

Here's the original complaint [pdf] by Andree McLeod, who was described by the Anchorage Daily News as a 'Palin critic.' I haven't had any luck finding a public PDF of the decision and I couldn't find it on Lexis either.
posted by librarylis at 2:31 PM on February 5, 2010

Perhaps your husband's therapist meant "if it's too difficult to build a lightbox, you could fall back on (or start with) a local tanning booth."

Or perhaps you're just incorrect. A brief googling raises concerns about UV exposure, but it appears otherwise they're fine.
posted by electroboy at 2:40 PM on February 5, 2010

>>Perhaps your husband's therapist meant "if it's too difficult to build a lightbox, you could fall back on (or start with) a local tanning booth."
electroboy: >Or perhaps you're just incorrect. A brief googling raises concerns about UV exposure, but it appears otherwise they're fine.

Incorrect about what? That there's a difference between light therapy for S.A.D and tanning booths?

When used properly, light therapy seems to have very few side effects. ... Tanning beds should not be used to treat SAD. The light sources in tanning beds are high in ultraviolet (UV) rays, which harm both your eyes and your skin.

posted by msalt at 3:37 PM on February 5, 2010

Tanning beds work perfectly well for SAD therapies and pose a UV risk. The two are not mutually exclusive.

But it's absolute bullshit that the Alaskan taxpayer be on the hook for the expense of her choice of therapy. That is where Palin went wrong, and the shenanigans in covering-up the cost indicate that she knew it was wrong, and did it anyway.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:47 PM on February 5, 2010

METAFILTER: BEHOLD THE POWER OF BOLD
posted by litleozy at 3:50 PM on February 5, 2010

Raise your hand if you think Mrs. Clinton didn't do even worse when she was the not-exactly-elected wife of Bill.

Umm, here. Wow, what a great example of one of those cute little internet comments that you would never say in a real life conversation because you'd have to actually be looking in the face of the person staring at you, waiting for the second half of your sentence where you actually provide some basis to your initial argument.

Jesus Christ. How many more people gonna whinge about that post? It's not an "argument." And as for the idiot further up calling for "evidence." The fah? It was just a "throwin' it out there" type question. Add a pinch of troll.

Something about doth protesting too much.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:15 PM on February 5, 2010

Metafilter: please shut up defending me. With supporters like you I don't need any enemies.
posted by msalt at 5:59 PM on February 5, 2010

Because it's a well-worn tactic to divert attention from the original post. Because changing the original intent from "here's someone doing something wrong" to the strawman of "this is something that only republicans/democrats do" moves the attention away from the original post back to the comfortable Us vs. Them debate that keeps political discourse in this country at the lowest level possible.

Exactly. For the first six months after his election, any critisms of Barack Obama on Metafilter was greeted with howls of "b-b-but George Bush!" Thank god everyone's got that out of their system.

[The same petty arguments were happening in Australia at almost the same time when our 2nd longest serving kkkonservative Prime Minister got voted out of office.]
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:21 PM on February 5, 2010

Speaking of Sarah, boy howdy are her supporters retar... fuckwits.
posted by five fresh fish at 6:50 PM on February 5, 2010

Exactly. For the first six months after his election, any critisms of Barack Obama on Metafilter was greeted with howls of "b-b-but George Bush!" Thank god everyone's got that out of their system.

A lot of it is "b-b-better'n McCain/Palin!" Which is technically accurate, but still doesn't excuse Obama for being an innefectual wet noodle.
posted by graventy at 8:34 PM on February 5, 2010

A lot of it was also palpable relief that the reign of error was over.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:10 AM on February 6, 2010

...still doesn't excuse Obama for being an innefectual [sic] wet noodle.

Yeah, it's like the dude hasn't done anything effectual in his first year in office. Ineffectual indeed!

Obama's Brilliant First Year -- "By January 2010, he will have accomplished more than any first-year president since Franklin Roosevelt."

A World of Change in 287 Days.

Obama’s first year was a success despite the common wisdom of the Right Wing.

posted by ericb at 2:13 PM on February 6, 2010

I suppose this is as good a place as any to post this link about Palin's tea party convention speech, and the notes that were written on her hand.
posted by box at 10:38 AM on February 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

the notes that were written on her hand.

The notes read, in order, "Energy, Tax Cuts, Lift American Spirits." They appear to be missing the final two steps, "??????" and "Profit!"
posted by EarBucket at 1:57 PM on February 7, 2010

(But seriously, what kind of Republican politician needs to write herself a note to remember to talk about tax cuts? I assume her right hand is covered in little reminders like "Breathe!" and "Swallow AFTER chewing" and "Trig."
posted by EarBucket at 2:02 PM on February 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

Obama's first year

Just got notices from both of my credit cards' companies that they were changing the terms in my favor, due to the financial reform bill Obama got passed -- fewer penalties, changing rates, etc. One of many small but significant improvements he has made. (Stem cell research, etc.)

I'm also impressed that by waiting a year, he has gotten the military establishment on board for repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell -- chairman of Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell, etc. (Both of whom opposed the change under Clinton.)
posted by msalt at 11:25 AM on February 8, 2010

The notes read, in order, "Energy, Tax Cuts, Lift American Spirits." They appear to be missing the final two steps, "??????" and "Profit!"

4. Give lip service to angry rubes.
5. Profit.
posted by electroboy at 11:30 AM on February 8, 2010