 | McCain 17y unmarried daughter 5 months pregnant http://www.planetnetopia.com/videos/id_715/ Leading the world to Freedom! McCain 17y unmarried daughter 5 months pregnant ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, said Monday her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant, the latest in a string of disclosures that left the McCain campaign defending the thoroughness of its background check of the little-known Alaska governor. It was also revealed Monday that an attorney had been hired to represent Palin in a state ethics probe and that her husband, Todd, had been arrested for drunken driving two decades ago. The man who led McCain's vice presidential search team said he thought everything that came up as a possible red flag during the background check had now been made public. "I think so," Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. told The Associated Press. "Yes. I think so. Correct." The revelations threatened to steal any remaining thunder from Day One of the Republican National Convention, which already was overshadowed by Hurricane Gustav - and brought unwanted attention to the 44-year-old governor, a self-described "hockey mom" with little experience on the national stage. The GOP convention had already been scaled back because of the hurricane, and just three days after McCain named Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Coming after the randomness of Gustav, the revelations added to the sense of unscriptedness hanging over the convention. "Life happens," said McCain adviser Steve Schmidt, talking about the pregnancy story. "An American family," added colleague Mark Salter. In a brief respite from partisanship, Democratic rival Barack Obama weighed in: "I think people's families are off limits and people's children are especially off limits." McCain aides said the announcement about the pregnancy of Palin's daughter, Bristol, was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's own youngest son, born in April, was actually the daughter's The national convention, which a political party counts on to send its candidate surging into the fall campaign, already had been relegated to a distant second to the hurricane on TV, in newspapers and on Internet Web sites. The pregnancy statement, attributed to Sarah and Todd Palin and released by the campaign, said that Bristol Palin would keep her baby and marry the child's father, identified only as a young man named Levi. The baby is due in late December. "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," Sarah and Todd Palin said in their brief statement. Palin had told McCain's team about the pregnancy and her husband's old DUI during lengthy discussions about her background, aides said. At several points, McCain's team warned Palin that the scrutiny into her private life would be intense and there was nothing she could do to prepare for it. Shortly after her announcement, McCain's team dispatched a dozen operatives and lawyers to Alaska, fueling speculation that a comprehensive examination of Palin's past was incomplete and being done only after she was placed on the ticket. Culvahouse denied that, saying his team of 25 scoured public and private records to produce a 40-page, single-spaced report on each top candidate. He didn't say how many candidates, nor who else made McCain's short list. Culvahouse did say Palin underwent a "full and complete" review. Prominent religious conservatives, many of whom have been lukewarm toward McCain's candidacy, predicted that the pregnancy announcement would not diminish conservative Christian enthusiasm for the vice presidential hopeful, a staunch abortion opponent. In fact, there was talk that it might help. As for the Alaska probe, a Republican-dominated legislative committee is investigating whether Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister. Palin was in Minnesota preparing for her Wednesday night nomination acceptance speech when the campaign released the pregnancy statement; her family was home in Alaska. "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family," the parents said. The campaign said it was not disclosing the father's full name or age or how he and Bristol knew each other, citing privacy. Sarah Palin's fifth child, a son named Trig, was born in April with Down syndrome. Internet bloggers have been suggesting that the child was actually born to Bristol Palin but that her mother, the 44-year-old Alaska governor, claimed to be the mother. |
 | Old Man Mccain gets confused about the economy At a joint rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday, Republican John McCain slammed the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being "asleep," saying that if he were president, he would fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC since 2005 and a former Republican congressman. McCain said the SEC has allowed trading practices, such as short selling, to stay in place, that turned the "markets into a casino." "The regulators were asleep, my friends," McCain said. "The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president, and in my view, has betrayed the public trust. If I were president today, I would fire him." But while the president nominates and the Senate confirms the SEC chair, a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president. From time to time, presidents have attempted to remove commissioners who have proven "uncooperative." However, the courts have generally upheld the independence of commissioners. In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired a member of the Federal Trade Commission, and the Supreme Court ruled the president acted unconstitutionally. Asked how McCain would fire Cox if the president does not have the formal power to fire the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the McCain campaign pointed to former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, who resigned in 2002 when it was made clear to him that he had lost the confidence of the Bush administration. "Not only is there historical precedent for SEC chairs to be removed, the president of the United States always reserves the right to request the resignation of an appointee, and maintain the customary expectation that it will be delivered," said McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds. SEC Chair Chris Cox released a statement Thursday in which he disagreed with McCain that he should be fired, and defended the regulatory agency he heads. While I have great respect for Sen. McCain, we have sometimes disagreed, and this is one such occasion," Cox said in a statement. "The SEC has made plain that we have zero tolerance for naked short selling. In this market crisis, the men and women of the SEC have responded valiantly, as they always do - with the utmost dedication and professionalism." The White House said this week it wants to stay out of politics, but a Bush administration spokesperson said today of SEC Chairman Cox, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, "The chairman has the president's support." Campaigning together in Iowa today, McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin accused the Obama campaign of taking political advantage of the recent economic crisis. "My opponent sees an economic crisis as a political opportunity instead of an opportunity to lead," McCain said. Palin said, of Obama, He likes to point the finger of blame, but does he ever lift a finger to help? McCain accused Obama of taking more campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives than anyone, aside from the chair of the congressional committee that regulates the lenders. While Sen. Obama was lining his pockets with campaign contributors, he didnt lift a finger, said McCain, who took credit for warning Congress of the impending crisis two years ago. McCain also noted that the former head of Obamas vice presidential search committee, Jim Johnson, was formerly a Fannie Mae executive. The Obama campaign says that, when talk show host Sean Hannity asked Palin last night whether there should be an investigation of campaign contributions by Fannie and Freddie executives, she deferred, saying, thats significant, but even more significant is the role that lobbyists play in this. Obama campaign staffers note that several of McCains top advisors - including campaign manager Rick Davis, vice presidential vetter Arthur Culvahouse, and McCain consigliere Charlie Black - lobbied on behalf of the mortgage giants. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/mccain-blasts-o.html |
 | DN! McSame and 83 FIN IND LOBYIESTS McCain has extensive ties to eighty-three lobbyists of the financial industry hes been criticizing. According to Mother Jones magazine, the eighty-three include McCains chief political adviser, Charlie Black; his national finance co-chairman, Wayne Berman; and his vice-presidential search director, Arthur Culvahouse. |
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