400-408 – Jill Stanek, pro-life blogger and columnist and former delivery nurse who has been outspoken against Senator Obama's ardent opposition to Born Alive Legislation in the Illinois State Senate.
413-423 – Jill Stanek
428-437 – Your first impression of Sarah Palin? Were you moved?
(:53) JM, "She's exactly who I need. She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second. My friends and fellow Americans, I am very pleased, and very privileged to introduce to you, the next VP of the US, Gov. Sarah Palin of the great state of Alaska!"
(:20) SP1, "Thank you so much. And I thank you Senator McCain and Mrs. McCain, for the confidence you've placed in me. Senator, I am honored to be chosen as your running mate."
(1:51) SP2, "Todd and I met way back in high school, and I can tell that he is still …" as she introduces her family.
(:21) SP2a, "Our oldest son Track, though, he'll be following the presidential campaign from afar. On September 11 of last year, our son enlisted in the United States Army."
(1:16) SP3, "Well, it's always though safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But, I didn't get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not why a ship is built. Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties. The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good. Now, no one expects us to agree on everything, whether in Juneau or Washington, but we are expected to govern with integrity, and good will, and clear convictions, and with servant's hearts."
(:22) SP4, "It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hilary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But, it turns out, the women of America aren't finished yet, and we have shattered that glass ceiling once and for all."
(:27) SP5, "So, for my part the mission is clear. The next 67 days, I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of "Reform" to every voter of every background in every political party – or no party at all. If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, then we're asking for your vote on the fourth of November."
(:16) SP6, "Join our cause and help our country elect a great man, the next president of the united States and I thank you, I God Bless You I say, and God Bless America. Thank you!"
(:38) SP7, "It was Senator McCain who refused to hedge his support for our troops in Iraq regardless of those political costs. And you know what? As a mother of one of those troops, and as Commander of Alaska's National Guard, that's the kind of man I want as our Command in Chief."
443-452 – Your reaction to the selection of Sarah Palin?
(5:54) James Dobson on today's Dennis Prager show admitting he is not endorsing McCain, yet he would "pull the lever" in the voting booth for him
(:14) James Dobson short "pull the lever" clip
• Ben Smith, Obama spokesman Bill Burton:
Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same.
• UPDATE: Schumer piles on:
After the great success of the Democratic convention, the choice of Sarah Palin is surely a Hail Mary pass. It is a real roll of the dice and shows how John McCain, Karl Rove et al realize what a strong position the Obama-Biden team and Democrats in general are in in this election. Certainly the choice of Palin puts to rest any argument about inexperience on the Democratic team and while Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling. I particularly look forward to the Biden-Palin debate in Missouri.
458-508 – Calls
• Fox News, McCain Names Alaska Gov. Palin As Running Mate.
• Time (8/29/08), Why McCain Picked Palin.
• Dick Morris (8/29/09), Sweet Pick! Kudos To McCain For Choosing Sarah Palin For His VP.
512-523 – Calls
528-539 – Calls
(:29) BO1, "I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
(APPLAUSE)
I will — listen now — I will cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class."
(:19) BO2, "And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."
(:12) BO3, "I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support."
(:34) BO4, "Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime: by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow.
But I will also go through the federal budget line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less, because we cannot meet 21st-century challenges with a 20th-century bureaucracy."
(:13) BO5, "If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament and judgment to serve as the next commander-in-chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
(:51) BO6, "While Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats that we face.
When John McCain said we could just muddle through in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights.
You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives!"
(:34) BO7, "You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in 80 countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances.
If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice, but that is not the change that America needs."
558-608 – Calls Your reaction to Obama's coronation?
(:46) BO8, "I will end this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts, but I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future."
(1:15) BO9, "These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions for political purposes, because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and each other's patriotism.
(APPLAUSE)
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.
The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a red America or a blue America; they have served the United States of America."
612-623 – Calls
(2:00) BO10. "What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose, and that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.
(APPLAUSE)
The — the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.
(APPLAUSE)
I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in a hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, passions may fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.
But this, too, is part of America's promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer, and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values.
And that's to be expected, because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters."
• Fox News (8/28/08), Raw Data: Barack Obama's Democratic Convention Acceptance Speech.
• Dick Morris (8/28/08), A Strategic Opening For McCain.
628-639 – Calls
644-655 – Phil Hotsenpiller, teaching pastor at Yorba Linda Friends Church (ylfc.org), and author of the seven-part graphic novel series with Rob Liefeld entitled Armageddon Now (armageddonnow.net), on how the events of the day mirror Biblical prophecy.
