Gustav is not the reason the convention was all but canceled, Sarah Palin is

[Coexist]

The theme of the convention was "Not Ready to Lead '08.

John McCain's team, after the huge, unifying, electrifying Democratic National Convention, was told to name Palin, a complete stranger to him, as his pick. Stellar speeches by Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Brian Schweitzer, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama had the panicked GOP desperate to change the news cycle. McCain folded and he chose the hopelessly inexperienced Sarah Palin.

All the signs, placards, podium titles and goodies had been ordered and were awaiting disbursement.

Sarah Palin could not stand in front of these without the mockery being hysterically evident. Even serious pundits would sound like Daily Show correspondents.

Gustav was their out - and they took it. Because their theme became an Epic Fail.

[liberal N proud]

1. Killed the only theme they had

:rofl:

[catgirl]

2. Plus Bush & Cheney were to speak on opening night

and they were having a hard time filling the center of 10,000 people.

[Coexist]

3. those empty seats would've spoken volumes.

[Franks Wild Years]

4. Poor McOldManWithers

I wonder if the McDole / McKemp ticket can recover from this. :(

[tanyev]

5. "Hi, I'm Sarah Palin. And I am NOT READY TO LEAD!"

*sound of the crowd roaring applause*


:rofl:

[Franks Wild Years]

7. "But I sure can tell you a thing or two about the PTA!!" (nt)

[Hugin]

6. Nah, Ron Paul is the reason the convention was cut down.

They didn't want there to be more supporters at the counter-convention than at their own.

McOgle hasn't gotten around to worrying about Obama/Biden yet. They've still got tremendous
internal problems.

[DangerousRhythm]

10. Good call on Ron Paul and the protest.

I still think it was a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I wonder how much money they sank into this thing?

[Hugin]

13. I have no idea...

But, as I watched the happy and determined 85,000 or so DNC goers stream out of Denver through here over the past
few days, I'm sure the Rovers had the same thought I did... Which is, "Man, if there's anything like a fair election,
McCain is done."

So, in total irony, every vote counts for the Republicans this year, even to steal it. It hearkens back to the split
in '92.

I'm thinking maybe the Palin/Gustav move is intended more to protect any legislative races and insure against a
total washout landslide. Which is what they fear most.

So, in conclusion...

Barack/Joe '08! :bounce:

[DangerousRhythm]

29. Sounds great to me!

:toast:

[votetastic]

8. "A Mile High. An Inch Deep"

Huh? They do realize that height and depth are basically the same thing, don't they?

[baldguy]

12. Don't try to ascribe logic and reason to GOP talking points.

They only need to support the cause & sound good - not make sense.

[enough]

16. I knew there was something funny about that slogan.

[niceypoo]

19. Yes, they were describing themselves, again

Projection is the GOPs middle name

[SoCalDem]

18. Mccain is not a "numbers guy"

:)

[unblock]

22. technically, no.

one mile high refers to the location, an inch deep refers to the stature.

so, presumably, his worn-out shoes would be one mile above sea level, and the top of his head would be one mile plus one inch above sea level.

this might be a clever jab if obama were shorter than mclame, but i'm pretty sure that's not the case.

[KitchenWitch]

33. And they actually butchered the original saying

it is "A Mile WIDE and an Inch Deep."

[AZBlue]

38. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[ForeignSpectator]

40. Always understood "deep" here in the sense of "thick" so they'd mean to say he is mile-high

but soooo thin (i.e. "no substance"). Found this, check it out :

http://thinkmath.edc.org/index.php/Length,_width,_height,_depth

[DangerousRhythm]

9. Kicked for TRUTH. Seeing them standing near a NOT READY sign was very ironic...

Not to mention scary as hell. I mean right there, they just defined their own campaign. Slap a picture of Sarah Palin over Obama on that and they're ready to party for the next four days!

:scared:

Seriously, is McCain trying HARD to lose or what? I don't get this. What's next, is he gonna flip his shit at a reporter to get out of the running? What the hell does he know that we don't? I don't like this at all. He's put our nation at risk with this impulse buy of someone who's not even worthy to shine Hillary's pumps. I seriously would love for him to get checked for Alzheimer's/dementia. He can't be all right in the head, not after seeing this.

[CrispyQ]

24. I think it was a desperation move, made to take the limelight off of the

incredibly successful democratic convention & Obama's moving & policy specific acceptance speech. If McCain had chosen someone we all are familiar with, it would have gotten some media attention, but not nearly as much as selecting someone completely unknown. He also picked up a few fundie votes. Trouble is, how many true conservatives, who are not religious zealots, has he turned off with this pick of a completely inexperienced candidate? My husband works with two, who are disgusted with McCain's selection.

McCain clearly didn't think this through & that's the point that needs to be hammered home. For all the talk that Palin is the pick of change, it's the motivation behind McCain's selection that demonstrates that there is no change. The last eight years have been full of thoughtless decisions based solely on politics & cronyism - & McCain is just more of the same.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

26. What you said ------

"McCain clearly didn't think this through & that's the point that needs to be hammered home. For all the talk that Palin is the pick of change, it's the motivation behind McCain's selection that demonstrates that there is no change. The last eight years have been full of thoughtless decisions based solely on politics & cronyism - & McCain is just more of the same."

[DangerousRhythm]

28. Yep, that part is fairly obvious... he panicked.

What would he do when facing down Putin? Crap his Depends?

[Coexist]

35. yup.

[nc4bo]

11. oh a new motto (shows you how much I pay attention). The irony of it all. nt

[NotThisTime]

14. You could say Barack Obama was the reason they did not hold their convention

They could never come close to topping him.

[jgraz]

21. Has a major party ever been SCARED into canceling their convention??

This has gotta be a first.

[mnhtnbb]

15. Oh, the irony. Now if they'd just lose the election by a mile.

[jgraz]

20. They will -- in the true vote

The count is another matter.

[niceypoo]

17. That and Obama's speech

They also needed an out for all the Republicans that planned on avoiding the convention. They feared a dip in the polls and Palin in the spotlight.

[CrispyQ]

27. Is there a list of all the repubs NOT attending?

And the the top two, boosh & Cheney -- have the incumbents ever sat out their party's convention?

The repubs were hoping the "dems are divided" & "Obama is inexperienced" memes would take. Guess they weren't so successful in defining reality this time.

However, we still have much work to do. With electronic voting & our complicit media, this election isn't in the bag! But the repubs are scrambling like they haven't had to do in many, many years.

[HooptieWagon]

23. I'm thinking you're right.

Palin probably not ready for the limelight ("Uh, what DOES a VP do?"), probably a whole lot of WTF?s from non-fundie pukes, Palin only now being vetted, etc. Drasticly scaling down the RNC has all the earmarks of disaster control, they realize they've fucked up royally and now need time to put lipstick on the pig.

[Coexist]

25. spot on. "CiC of the Alaska National Guard" what nonsense is that!!

[krkaufman]

30. That's what I've been thinking ...

... that their aim is to keep her as protected as possible until November. If they can just get through the next 60 days, they'll have been very successful in energizing their base... and maybe even bringing some disaffected voters back.

[Kahuna]

31. That's what I'm thinking..

:tinfoilhat:

[robertpaulsen]

32. Sarah Palin IS ready to lead her own country. A country called Alaska.

If you haven't seen this yet, you've GOT to check it out:

Secessionist Sarah: VP pick Sarah Palin and the Alaska Independence Party
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/1/4231/18477/878/581881

[Arugula Latte]

37. That's so EXOTIC and UN-AMERICAN!

Why can't she just live in Myrtle Beach or something?

[D23MIURG23]

34. Thats priceless.

:rofl:

[windoe]

36. The ONLY way McCain/Palin can win is a steal

but I am still worried about that. Our focus has to stay on fair elections, this battle is crucial. Hurricaines, arrests, and scandals make this such a stormy election season, and such a challenge to stay focused.
Nomatter what Obama is running an awesome campaign, and I believe he is way ahead, further than the poles report.

[jannyk]

39. This I believe!! n/t