Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Palin's folksy charm a hit in Democratic region
COLUMBUS DISPATCH ^ | 10/12/2008 | Joe Hallett

Posted on 10/12/2008 8:21:41 PM PDT by curth

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio - Sarah Palin caged the pit bull and put on the lipstick tonight, taking it easy on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for the first time in more than a week during a campaign event in an eastern Ohio farm field.

The Republican vice presidential nominee barely mentioned Obama in a half-hour speech after she and running mate Sen. John McCain pummeled him last week for his connection to 1960s radical William Ayers.

In an overwhelmingly positive speech focusing on McCain's record, Palin only obliquely mentioned Obama, portraying him as an extremist on abortion and almost apologizing while doing so.

"I'm not being negative, I'm not being negative," Palin said while noting that Obama supported so-called partial-birth abortion and "infant born alive" bills. The latter, passed by Congress in 2002, extends protection to a child born after a failed abortion.

"Check out the record and judge for yourself."

The velvet-glove treatment of Obama appeared to represent a change in strategy after a week in which Palin's relentless pursuit of the Ayers connection drew vitriolic anti-Obama responses from audiences in Wilmington, Ohio, and other cities.

Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, McCain's Ohio campaign chairman, downplayed any change of strategy and noted that Palin "was very plain on the abortion issue. She cited two specific examples. She didn't have to elaborate. She said just go look them up and drew a distinct line between what she represents and John McCain represents and someone who is pro-abortion."

(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: mccain; palin; sarah
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-36 last
To: SMCC1

Yep. Lancaster, York County, the rural parts of Berks and the Lehigh Valley. Just give her a bulletproof vest if she has to pass through Allentown. I would advise her to stay the hell out of Philly (too late, she went to a hockey game and was booed).


21 posted on 10/12/2008 8:54:06 PM PDT by Clemenza (PRIVATIZE FANNIE AND FREDDIE! NO MORE BAILOUTS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: se_ohio_young_conservative
Where? I can see her getting a nice reception from the junior leaguers in Orange County, and the "bros" in lifted trucks in the inland empire, but don't exactly see her setting Sherman Oaks and Burbank on fire.

Sarah rocks, but she would be wasted on my state.

22 posted on 10/12/2008 8:55:37 PM PDT by Clemenza (PRIVATIZE FANNIE AND FREDDIE! NO MORE BAILOUTS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: gridlock

Hit Obama on his birth certificate.....


23 posted on 10/12/2008 8:55:41 PM PDT by border bud
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation

That is great to hear, ME to me seems a natural for McCain/Palin, especially the Palins.


24 posted on 10/12/2008 8:59:36 PM PDT by padre35 (Sarah Palin is the one we've been waiting for..Rom 10.10..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: gridlock

Add Obama signing a contract with the socialist “New Party” in 1996 to the list :)


25 posted on 10/12/2008 9:10:47 PM PDT by Columbo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: se_ohio_young_conservative
Videos of the rally at link:

The Belmont County Sheriff's Office estimated 7,000 - 8,000 attended Palin's rally Sunday at Brush Run Park in Belmont County.

26 posted on 10/12/2008 9:23:17 PM PDT by Quicksilver (Sarah Palin: Reagan The Next Generation - Go Sarah!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: curth

This is a story of real Americans, their towns, their families and their pride.
Of course Sarah connected, that is who she is and where she comes from.

Her story will get out, it will connect and the slicksters will be drowned out by simple truths.


27 posted on 10/12/2008 9:27:20 PM PDT by antceecee (McCain ~ Palin '08 May God have mercy on us and protect us from evil.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation

“millinocket” use to be our code word for you know what...( I think thats the name of a town in northern Maine anyway)


28 posted on 10/12/2008 10:30:40 PM PDT by cherry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: curth
Palin's folksy charm a hit in Democratic region

Yes, and she and Todd ought to be back in MICHIGAN for that very reason!

I hope the Michigan pullout was a head-fake, and they go back in with guns blazing and trumpets blaring this week or next.

-ccm

29 posted on 10/12/2008 10:46:27 PM PDT by ccmay (Too much Law; not enough Order.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation

You mean that Maine allots its electoral votes proportionately?

Which other states do that?

It’s a radical idea that, if adopted widely enough, is tantamount to abolishing the electoral college. If only blue states adopt it, though, it’s fine!


30 posted on 10/12/2008 11:55:43 PM PDT by Arthur McGowan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Arthur McGowan

Yes, Maine allots its electoral votes proportionately.

To my knowledge, it’s never happened, though. Maine has only 2 congressional districts.....with a population of nearly 1.3 million, we should have three, but we don’t.

In 2004, Kerry won both congressional districts; in 2000, Gore won both; in 1996 and 1992, Clinton won both. (I think Perot got more votes in Maine in 1992 than George H. Bush). In 1988, George H. Bush won both districts, and in 1984 and 1980, Ronald Reagan won both congressional districts.

The only other state that allots its electoral votes in a proportional manner is Nebraska.


31 posted on 10/13/2008 4:16:14 AM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Sarah Palin is an American Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin is a female Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Arthur McGowan

Yes, Maine allots its electoral votes proportionately.

To my knowledge, it’s never happened, though. Maine has only 2 congressional districts.....with a population of nearly 1.3 million, we should have three, but we don’t.

In 2004, Kerry won both congressional districts; in 2000, Gore won both; in 1996 and 1992, Clinton won both. (I think Perot got more votes in Maine in 1992 than George H. Bush). In 1988, George H. Bush won both districts, and in 1984 and 1980, Ronald Reagan won both congressional districts.

The only other state that allots its electoral votes in a proportional manner is Nebraska.


32 posted on 10/13/2008 4:17:29 AM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Sarah Palin is an American Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin is a female Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Arthur McGowan

Yes, Maine allots its electoral votes proportionately.

There are only two congressional districts in Maine, and both of these districts were carried by Kerry in 2004, both were carried by Gore in 2000, both by Clinton in 1992 and 1996, both by George H. Bush in 1988, and both by Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. As far as I know, the two congressional districts have never gone their separate ways in a presidential election. The second congressional came close to doing just that in 2004.....it almost went for W.

If McCain carries the 2nd congressional district, he will receive 1 electoral vote. The McCain strategy is to win enough votes in northern Maine.....the 2nd Congressional district.....to carry the entire state and receive all 4 electoral votes.

Nebraska is the only other state to have a proportional split like Maine.


33 posted on 10/13/2008 5:28:24 AM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Sarah Palin is an American Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin is a female Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation
Yes, Maine allots its electoral votes proportionately.

Not quite. The winner of each electoral district gets one vote; the winner of the state as a whole gets two more. The EV's are not proportional. If the districts are 51%/49% and 51%/49%, the candidate who got 51% of the vote will get all four Electoral votes. If the districts are 49%/51% and 100%/0%, the winning candidate will only get three of the four EV's despite having 74% of the vote.

I'm not sure whether there would be any theoretical possibility of a 2-2 EV split; the only ways I can think of that that would occur would be (1) some or all parts of the vote resulting in ties, depending upon the tie-breaker rules in effect, or (2) oddities with certification and recounts (so that a candidate is certified as winning a district before a recount, which is conducted for the state as a whole, indicates he did not).

34 posted on 10/13/2008 9:21:05 PM PDT by supercat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: supercat

That’s correct......it’s possible for a candidate to get all 4 votes, or split them 3 to 1 in Maine.

A 2 - 2 split is not possible. The winner of the 1st congressional district gets 1 electoral vote; the winner of the 2nd congressional district gets 1 electoral vote, and the candidate who wins the state’s overall popular vote gets 2 electoral votes.

If Obama wins the 1st congressional district in southern Maine, which is more liberal, and the overall statewide popular vote, he would receive 3 electoral votes. If McCain can carry the 2nd congressional district only, he would receive 1 electoral vote.

McCain hopes to carry the entire state (in the popular vote) by getting a ton of votes in northern Maine. I erred in my previous post by stating that McCain would win all 4 electoral votes in this scenario; McCain would win 3 electoral votes if he wins the 2nd congressional district and overall statewide popular vote, because the 1st congressional district is probably going to go for Obama, which would give the dem 1 electoral vote in this scenario.


35 posted on 10/14/2008 7:17:46 AM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Sarah Palin is an American Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin is a female Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: july4thfreedomfoundation
A 2 - 2 split is not possible. The winner of the 1st congressional district gets 1 electoral vote; the winner of the 2nd congressional district gets 1 electoral vote, and the candidate who wins the state’s overall popular vote gets 2 electoral votes.

What would happen if, by some quirk of fate, both districts ended up being exactly tied? Would there be three coin tosses (one for each district, and one for the two extra EV's), or would there be one coin toss for each district and have the other two EV's split by rule, or what?

Certainly the most logical outcome in case of a tie in the statewide vote would be to mandate a 2-2 EV split by rule, without regard for the district votes (either the districts would both be tied, or one candidate would win each). Otherwise, in case a district is tied, it would make sense to specify that the district goes to the candidate who did not take the state (thus, victory in the other district would represent a swing of two EV's rather than four). I have no idea whether any such rules are in place.

36 posted on 10/15/2008 4:43:40 PM PDT by supercat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-36 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson