McCain-Palin: What Really Happened

Sarah Palin reads this blog regularly. I used to get hits from her home town and the state capital of Juneau when she was there. When her son graduated from infantry training school at Ft. Benning, GA with Sarah and Todd present, I got my first hit from . . . Ft. Benning. You're always welcome Sarah!

Bookmark this site and return often! You're always welcome -- even if your name isn't . . . Sarah Palin.


I broke the "Sarah Palin Choice" on my four blogs Friday morning. I had a short post up at 2:30 a.m. that said I had information (from Sharon in Oklahoma and one other GOP operative) that Gov. Palin and her two teen-age daughters and perhaps others had flown from Anchorage to Dayton, where she would be named today McCain's running mate. The story came from people who put two-and-two together, and the media was still falling all over itself at 11 a.m. this morning. Charles Krauthammer said at 11 McCain should choose Fred Thompson. Good God!

At that point, I said to my wife we already had enough old white guys (Biden, McCain) and we needed a woman, preferably Sarah . I went to sleep believing it was Sarah and woke up to her picture on the screen on FOX (and others?). I never bought the Campaign's decoy statement that, well everybody on the list was flying in (Romney, Pawlenty, Huckabee, the Easter Bunny, Peter Rabbit?) More tomorrow (Saturday).


Gov. Sarah Palin and husband Todd in Native Alaskan area saluting Teacher of the Year Jan Boucher.




[From early Friday a.m.] I'm getting word from Republican operatives in OK and FL that Gov. Sarah Heath Palin's charter plane from Alaska has just landed in Dayton, Ohio. That almost certainly would indicate she is John McCain's choice for V-P. If that is the case, much more about Sarah tomorrow. Sarah Palin is the mother of five, including an infant son, Trig, who was born with Down Syndrome. Her oldest son, Track, is an infantryman headed soon to Iraq . This story comes from a woman I'd trust with my life. [Put up just before 3 a.m. Friday morning.] This was the first blog I know of to break the news about Sarah.

If you want continuing inside information on Sarah Palin, you've come to the right place. See also my Hillary Supporters blog, which will feature information on how Gov. Palin can and will reach out to Hillary Clinton voters and working people in America.


Following is my response to a woman, a leader in the Nobama Effort, who asked if we are pretty certain winners now with Gov. Palin on the ticket.


This is a winner. I wrote the following to CristiAdkisn: The Sarah Palin you heard and saw, even more than heard, is the real person. She is very dynamic, and she brings the kids (young ones) with her to the office. The 7-year-old was ready to go up and help mommie give the speech. Husband Todd is a "proud member of the United Steelworkers." I love it.


She "makes love" to the audience in a way Obama never will. During a speech, lots of dynamism and interaction with the kids, the McCains, and the audience. Pefect delivery. I think she'll kick Biden to the curb. She is getting a very positive response from Hillary Clinton Supporters, who now recognize that there's more than one woman who will be President someday.

I haven't yet visited Adam's blog, the one that started it all -- and where I was guest host last week. He got 600 blog comments YESTERDAY. I never heard of anybody getting more than 20 or so. Trish Hauser from Alaska co-managed the effort


The BBC called me and is doing an interview tonight. I told them already that he couldn't have made a better choice. Other people were qualified, but she has the charisma -- and reached right out to Hillary Supporters and Geraldine Ferraro.


The five kids are charming -- and the 7-year-old is a riot ("Piper"). She takes the bady to the office. Heck, she's the Governor so she can do what she wants.

When I discovered Sarah was reading my blogs on her, I started talking directly to her. I said, "Sarah, you are a classic daughter of Alaska. But now you belong to America."

McCain, Palin, See Other Blog

On my main blog, I have a new column today (Wednesday) about John Edwards, "The Haircut Man." Here's the link: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/. Please visit and bookmark. Your comments are always welcome. I always enjoy it when people agree with me, which happens occasionally, but I probably learn more from those who disagree.

If your name happens to be Sarah Heath Palin, I'll be continuing to write about you (a lot) on my other blog.

steve maloney

IMMIGRATION: GOOD FOR WELCOMING COUNTRIES

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday), I've have one of those columns that goes on . . . and on . . . and on about John McCain and immigration. However, I urge you to read the previous column, borrowed from Sanity102. She writes about some thoroughly misguided criticisms of McCain, including those by Hugh Hewitt, a talk-radio shill for Mitt Romney. In previous columns, you'll also see my comments about future President Sarah Heath Palin of Alaska.

Several of the ideas on my immigration columns will come from one of my favorites sources: The (London) Economist. In an opinion piece called "Keep the Borders Open," the magazine's sub-head is: "The backlash against immigrants in the rich world is a threat to prosperity everywhere."

The Economist's general point is this: ". . . Most often migration is about young, motivated, dynamic people seeking to better themselves by hard work. History has shown that immigration encourages prosperity."

In other words, the standard anti-Hispanic rhetoric of the far-right, the nativists, is far removed from reality. More to follow this weekend . . .

Here's more of what The Economist says about immigration, which sounds a lot like what Senators McCain, Kyl, and Graham say about it:

"History has shown that immigration encourages prosperity. Tens of million of Europeans who made it to the New World in the 19th and 20th centuries improved their lot, just as the near 40 million foreign born are doing in America today. Many migrants return home, with new skills, savings, technology, and bright ideas. Remittances to poor countries in 2006 were worth at least $260 billion -- more, in many countries, than aid and foreign investment combined. Letting in migrants does vastly more good for the world's poor than stuffing any number of [checks into appeals from charities]."

The Economist points out that immigrants play a critical, positive role in the American economy. For example:

• Roughly one-third of the Americans who won Nobel Prizes in Physics in the past seven years were born abroad;
• About 40% of science and engineering PhDs working in America are immigrants; and,
• Approximately one-third of Silicon Valley companies were started by foreign-born individuals (mainly Indian or Chinese).

However, what about low-skilled workers, many of them from South of the U.S. border? In fact, their skills levels are about the same as those of our immigrant grandparents or great-grandparents. There's a tremendous need in our country for people who will do work that native-born Americans avoid.

What The Economist is saying is what John McCain believes. Oh, and those beliefs happen to be accurate.

More to follow on Saturday . . .

A SANE VIEW OF IMMIGRATION

In The Economist, January 5-11, 2008, the London-based publication has a fascinating 14-page special report on “migration” (called “immigration” in the U.S.).

In our country, immigration has been an extremely contentious issue, and Senator John McCain’s support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) has hurt his candidacy. He’s been accused – falsely, I believe – of favoring “amnesty” for illegal immigrants, and that kind of accusation can be the kiss of death in Republican politics.

The Economist’s position is that immigration is a good thing – a source of diversity, technological advances, and prosperity. In other words, it thinks people like McCain (which the magazine generally favors) are right, while their critics are wrong.

The publication says, “. . . Most often, migration is about young, motivated, dynamic people seeking to better themselves by hard work.” It adds, “History has shown that immigration encourages prosperity. Tens of millions of Europeans who made it to the New World in the 19th and 20th centuries improved their lot, just as the near 40 million foreign-born are doing in America today.”

Much of the debate over immigration involves sloganeering, such as “the rule of law.” In fact, the U.S. has modified many laws that were irrational or immoral, such as the “law” that Black people counted for three-fifths as much as White people. It also eliminated the law that said women couldn’t vote. In the past generation, the country modified the law for those fleeing Communist Cuba, allowing those who reached our shores to stay.

The real issue will immigration – legal or even illegal – boils down to this: Is it a good thing, or a bad one? That is, do people immigrating to this nation provide more benefits than debits?

The Economist admits there can be negatives associated with immigration. It notes that politicians have a tendency to pander to “xenophobic fears. Also, it admits that large numbers of immigrants can provoke job fears among natives. What’s more, it’s clear that huge disparities of income across borders could result in a stream of incomers turning into a flood.

Yet, the magazine sees immigration mainly as a plus. It notes that “many migrants return home with new skills, savings, technology, and bright ideas. Remittances to poor countries in 2006 were worth at least $260 billion . . . Letting in migrants does vastly more good for the world’s poor than [sending off charitable contributions.”

In addition, “The movement of people also helps the rich world. Prosperous countries with graying workforces [America, Europe, and Japan, among them] rely ever more on young foreigners . . . . Around a third of the Americans who won Nobel Prizes in physics in the past seven years were born abroad. About 40% of science and engineering PhDs working in America are immigrants.”

In short, The Economist disagrees sharply with the nativist wing of the Republican Party. The points the magazine makes are the same kind that motivated John McCain, Jon Kyl, Lindsay Graham and others to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In the face of persuasive arguments, anti-immigrant slogans aren’t enough.