Free Republic

WAPO reports: Kerry's spokeswoman now tells The Sleuth the senator really didn't mean what he said, though his clarification would hardly qualify as an apology. "We stand corrected, the truth is every Democrat hopes Governor Palin is in the public eye for a long, long time, especially on the 2012 presidential ballot," Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth says. "Lately it's been Vice President Cheney that everyone hopes would lose the cameras and go for a long leisurely hike on the Appalachian Trail. And good grief, if anyone thinks John Kerry is afraid of strong, smart women, they sure haven't met his...

Barack Obama inherited a set of national-security policies that he rejected during the campaign but now embraces as president. This is a stunning and welcome about-face. For example, President Obama kept George W. Bush's military tribunals for terror detainees after calling them an "enormous failure" and a "legal black hole." His campaign claimed last summer that "court systems . . . are capable of convicting terrorists." Upon entering office, he found out they aren't. He insisted in an interview with NBC in 2007 that Congress mandate "consequences" for "a failure to meet various benchmarks and milestones" on aid to Iraq....

IN a call with President Obama Tuesday morn ing, Sen. Arlen Specter declared: "I'm a loyal Democrat." Given that Specter already broke with the party once -- he left to become a Republican in 1965 -- one could forgive Obama for waiting to see whether the Pennsylvanian will keep this latest pledge. A few tests coming up should help Democrats determine quickly whether they've gained a loyal foot soldier. Of course, Specter's already made clear that he serves only one master: his own interests. But to keep from looking too cravenly self-serving, he must avoid inconsistencies that would provide fodder...

Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party has implications on a personal and national scale. For Pennsylvanians, who must decide who will represent us in the U.S. Senate next year, the stakes are personal. A central question will be whether Mr. Specter can be trusted on anything. In recent weeks, Mr. Specter has made numerous statements about how important it is to deny Democrats the 60th seat in the U.S. Senate and how he intended to remain a Republican to prevent one-party dominance in Washington. What Pennsylvanians have to ask themselves now is whether Mr. Specter is, in fact,...

"Huffington Post is running an item implying that President Obama has flip-flopped on the timetable for acquiring a new First Dog, a process that is proving to be harder than filling the Secretary of Commerce post."

(edit)Police are handing out the footwear to help drunken ladettes get home uninjured after spotting a number of women staggering home in unsuitable shoes.  (edit) 'Sometimes people get drunk and you see them carrying footwear which is inappropriate,' he said.  'The emphasis is on providing replacement footwear for people to get home in, should they find their high heels uncomfortable, inappropriate or soiled.'   The footwear will be paid for by £30,000 worth of funding secured from the Home Office by Safer Communities Torbay. Police chief, Supt Chris Singer said: 'Linking in with our pastors this funding represents a significant opportunity...

As Americans render what Catholics call temporal judgment on President Bush, are they aware of the radical course correction they are about to make? More Opinion This center-right country is about to vastly strengthen a liberal Congress whose approval rating is 10 percent and implant in Washington a regime further to the left than any in American history. Consider. As of today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat, anticipates gains of 15 to 30 seats in the House. Sen. Harry Reid, whose partisanship grates even on many in his own party, may see his caucus expand in the Senate...

Contradicts Fight the Smears' claim, "Barack Obama never organized with ACORN" Obama's two-faced statements on his involvement with ACORN reminds us of a scene in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" in which Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, must perform an execution to avoid the abolition of his office. The Mikado's incognito son, Nanki-Poo, volunteers to be "executed" to avoid an unwanted marriage, and goes into hiding afterward. The official Poo-Bah is initially quite pleased with his role in the purported execution. Mikado: And this is the certificate of his death. "At Titipu, in the presence of the Lord Chancellor, Lord...

Yes, immigration is a complicated and combustible issue for political candidates — and the economic meltdown is everyone’s top priority. No, that is no excuse for ignoring immigration or lying about it to voters, as John McCain and Barack Obama have been doing.

More vacillation from the vapid ONE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnLozS-TnM&feature=related

The troop surge in Iraq has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, Barack Obama conceded Thursday in his first-ever interview on FOX News. As recently as July, the Democratic presidential candidate declined to rate the surge a success, but said it had helped reduce violence in the country. On Thursday, Obama acknowledged the 2007 increase in U.S. troops has benefited the Iraqi people. “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.” Speaking on...

Denver — In 2007, Senator Barack Obama stood up for a gun owner. He endorsed Chicago Alderman Dorothy Tillman in her Democratic primary. Not only was she a gun owner, but she had even pulled a gun on her colleagues during a contentious 1991 ward redistricting hearing, according to eyewitnesses. Tillman, best known for demanding to be served by black (not white) waiters, and for advocating reparations for slavery, narrowly lost her race despite Obama’s support. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that this was the strongest effort Obama has ever made to support gun rights. The...

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's position on space exploration continued to evolve Sunday as the Illinois Democrat endorsed a congressional plan to add $2 billion to NASA's budget and agreed to back at least one more space shuttle mission.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Barack Obama campaign is changing its story again about why the pro-abortion presidential candidate voted against a bill that would have required adequate medical care for babies who survive botched abortions. The infanticide bill has dogged Obama throughout the campaign.

When Russia attacked Georgia, McCain blasted the bad guys telling Russia to basically get the hell out. Obama put down the Strawberry Daiquiri (freshly made at the beach bar in Maui) and gave his best Rodney King, telling everyone to settle down and work it out through the U.N. Nothing about Russia getting out of another sovereign country. Nothing about who is wrong and who is right. Just a small shriek at the sight of blood and whining to stop the fighting. Overnight somebody must have told Obama that Georgia is an American ally and McCain (surprise) had the more...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign issued the following statement from McCain 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker in defense of Barack Obama's energy positions: "Senator Obama's stance on offshore oil drilling has been mischaracterized. He has not changed his position. He has continually campaigned against additional drilling, calling the policy a 'gimmick' saying it was a 'scheme' and ridiculing those who support it. With his steadfast opposition to John McCain's 'all of the above' approach to our energy crisis, Americans should know that Barack Obama remains opposed to additional domestic oil drilling. Speaker Pelosi, MoveOn.org and the...

WASHINGTON — Amid record gas prices and mounting criticism from the McCain campaign, Senator Obama is shifting his stance on key energy issues. His campaign insists the moves demonstrate his pragmatism, but Republicans say the Illinois senator is merely following the polls. Mr. Obama yesterday called for releasing 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, less than one month after he voiced opposition to tapping the emergency stockpile. The presumptive Democratic nominee also said he is open to a Senate compromise that includes new offshore drilling, though he has spent weeks criticizing Republican drilling proposals. Mr. Obama's...

We urge you, then, to listen to the voices of the people who can lift you to the presidency and beyond. Since your historic victory in the primary, there have been troubling signs that you are moving away from the core commitments shared by many who have supported your campaign, toward a more cautious and centrist stance--including, most notably, your vote for the FISA legislation granting telecom companies immunity from prosecution for illegal wiretapping, which angered and dismayed so many of your supporters. We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy. We understand that the pressures brought to bear...

Politics: Where does Obama stand on the issues? Everywhere and nowhere, it seems. His shift on drilling shows flexibility, but it leaves his convictions a mystery.All politicians change positions now and then, and that's not always a bad thing. Refusing to submit one's views to reality checks is not leadership. It's just stubbornness. Then again, a real leader doesn't take such change lightly. Voters are right to be suspicious of flip-flops that seem motivated by no reason other than the polls. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have changed their stands on offshore oil drilling recently, and clearly they were...

Since your historic victory in the primary, there have been troubling signs that you are moving away from the core commitments shared by many who have supported your campaign, toward a more cautious and centrist stance--including, most notably, your vote for the FISA legislation granting telecom companies immunity from prosecution for illegal wiretapping, which angered and dismayed so many of your supporters.