Are there more important bonds than party affiliation?

Following the vice presidential debate, Hillary Clinton offered this critique of Governor Sarah Palin: “I think she’s very good. I always thought she would do well. It’s amazing. She’s been thrust into the national spotlight with very little preparation… All things considered, you saw a very composed and effective debater last night.”

Recent polling shows just 58-percent of Hillary Clinton supporters from the Democrat primary say they will vote for Barack Obama on November 4th.  For the rest, there may be an alternative after all.

This video is 10 minutes long, and worth every second.  It summarizes the collapse of the banking/mortgage industry.  It shows how in 2003, President Bush tried to prevent the collapse.  It explains how in 2005, Senator John McCain tried to stop it.  Both times, the Democrats in Congress stopped them, all the while taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash and getting their closest friends multi-million-dollar jobs at the companies now bankrupting our nation.  This video is a “must see” for every voter.

“The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.” -Barack Obama to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (7/17/07)

The National Right to Life Committee provides extensive research materials for individuals interested in seeing where Senators John McCain and Barack Obama stand on the issue of life. We at Red Arizona were surprised to find ourselves in the midst of a little controversy when we broke the story in Arizona of the NRLC-PAC endorsement of John McCain for President. Their support for Senator McCain, however, couldn’t be stronger.

Interested readers may CLICK HERE to visit a website dedicated to Senator McCain’s record on life issues.

Readers may also CLICK HERE for an interesting candidate comparison provided by NRLC that details the many divergent views (and their records) of the two 2008 tickets.

And, in addition, we offer this short 1-minute video, also courtesy of our friends at the NRLC:

While neither candidate hit a homerun during the first presidential debate (in our humble opinion), there is a clear case to be made that Senator John McCain won (even if narrowly).

Here’s our thinking:

• Barack Obama didn’t debate; he interrupted. He denied the facts of the past when they didn’t fit what he wants voters to believe (his voting record, his proposals, his previous statements to the press or on the campaign trail, etc). We learned with Bill Clinton that once a public official spins a yarn long enough (pick one: Monica Lewinsky, et al), he really does come to believe his stories are the truth. Revisionist history is a dangerous road for Barack Obama to be traveling down so early in his career.
• Barack Obama was on defense most of the debate - and while he often tried to turn the tables against Senator McCain, his sniping showed a bitterness and willingness to go negative that turns away voters.
• FACT vs. FICTION: Senator McCain spent the evening talking about his record and how he would build on that record as president. Barack Obama spent the evening making more empty promises America can’t afford using rhetoric that doesn’t add up.
• When a nation is facing tough times, it needs strong and tested leadership. Senator McCain has shown that time and again. Even when he has disagreed with people in his own party, Senator McCain has proven his mettle. For Barack Obama, however, each national crisis has been a political opportunity to attack President Bush in an attempt to curry favor with voters. Real leadership is absent with Barack Obama because he and his campaign always come first. They certainly did again tonight.
• Fully five times during the debate, Barack Obama deferred to Senator McCain, acknowledging that Senator McCain was right. The rest of the time, Barack Obama tried to defend his own lack of vision on taxes, the budget, the war on terror, and the economy. In these dangerous times, America needs more than an empty suit, which is all the Democrats sent to the podium.
• Americans look for the debates to show differences in candidates to help them make a choice. They got one: Senator McCain talked about ideas and where he and Barack Obama disagreed. Senator McCain talked about his record and his career and how he would bring both leadership and independence to Washington. Senator Obama looked more like a kid sitting for the first time at the adult table… just not quite ready.

National “super-pollster” John Zogby, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspaper, today said the 2008 elections could very well end in a landslide…

… for John McCain!

The article is short, and goes into little depth of Mr. Zogby’s speech, but the basic point is this: In these troubled economic times, the fact that Barack Obama has yet to define himself to voters, or to explain what the heck “change” is, won’t get him the votes he needs. Many voters will opt for the security of a “comfortable old shoe” and send John McCain to the White House.

For specifics, NewsMax pointed to new Zogby polling that showed McCain had turned a national deficit to Obama into a two-point victory among likely voters in just the time since McCain suspended his campaign to deal with the economic crisis. Mr. Obama’s refusal to follow McCain’s lead may have left many voters asking themselves why Obama was putting his own campaign ahead of the country’s financial needs.

Most interesting in the NewsMax article, according to the latest Zogby numbers, McCain now leads among Independents by 9-points (43% to 34%).

If Independents and Hillary supporters are still leery of the “Obama drama”, it’s likely that Senator McCain goes into Election Day with a significant advantage.

Red Arizona’s valued readers may CLICK HERE for the full article from the Rochester Democrat & Observer, and may also CLICK HERE for the full article from NewsMax.

NOTE: In 1996, John Zogby came with in 1/10th of 1-percent nationally of predicting the final, actual results of the presidential race between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. “All hail John Zogby, the maverick who beat us all,” said The Washington Post. In 2000, he was the first pollster in the nation to show the race tightening between President Bush and Al Gore. The Christian Science Monitor’s Sperling dubbed Zogby the “Champion Pollster.” These are but two of his many accomplishments and accolades, but he is considered among the nation’s finest pollsters.

The Associated Press and Yahoo News today report a Stanford University study which finds that fully one-third of Democrat voters are, bluntly, racist.While Republican US Senator John McCain has issue-wedges in his own party where past disagreements over the Senator’s open-borders policy and objections to the Bush tax cuts has riled conservatives, Barack Obama may have a tougher obstacle to pass this November: his own Democrat Party’s view on race.

According to the Stanford University study as reviewed by the AP, “40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks.”

Furthermore, as AP reports, the study found the following: “Just seven in 10 people who call themselves Democrats support Obama, compared to the 85 percent of self-identified Republicans who back McCain.”

Mr.Obama’s running mate, Democrat vice presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-Deleware), exemplifies this problem within the Democrat Party. Known for speaking his mind at times when he perhaps shouldn’t, Biden in January of 2007 showed his own true racist colors when he described Barack Obama thusly: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

Red Arizona valued readers may CLICK HERE to read the complete story.

Valued Red Arizona readers, if you saw ABC News’ Charles Gibson’s attack on Gov. Sarah Palin for struggling with his questions over the so-called “Bush Doctrine”, part of the problem may be that the vapid, self-important Mr. Gibson of ABC News got it wrong. When he defined the Bush Doctrine for her, he actually didn’t.

How do we know this? Well, the man who coined the term “Bush Doctrine” clears it all up for both us, and the insipid, arrogant Mr. Gibson. Readers may CLICK HERE for Charles Krauthammer’s clarification of the whole Gibson debacle.

NOTE: Even if Mr. Gibson hadn’t gotten it wrong during his harangue of Gov. Palin, we believe it’s a tough question she was being asked and one she rightly should think a lot about before answering. That is to say, we’re rather pleased she didn’t rush into committing the US either way. If, as Mr. Krauthammer explains to us, the Bush Doctrine boils down to a belief that in the War on Terror, you’re either with us or against us (not, as Mr. Gibson believes, that the US can unilaterally start dropping bombs and troops all over the globe as it sees fit… Um, is he NUTS?), the question is still an important one. In retrospect, the Palin answer should be examined because her answer was, in effect, this: war should always be a last resort, but until then we should, as T.R. put it, walk softly and carry a big stick. And, if Governor Palin is a devotee of Teddy Roosevelt, she’s fine by us… and Mr. Gibson should have done his homework rather than just looking so smug.

Red Arizona believes that Americans are always at their best when the challenge is greatest. We come through for each other when times are toughest. Hurricane Ike is striking Galveston Island and will move ashore into the continental US headed directly for Houston, TX today. Damage will likely reach the tens of billions of dollars.

We ask all our valued readers to join the Red Arizona team in prayer for those in its devastating path that their lives will be spared and the damage minimal.

Red Arizona readers may CLICK HERE for an updated look at the devastating projections for Hurricane Ike from Accuweather.

You may also CLICK HERE to view the hurricane’s projected track as it moves inland.

And, while we know each and every American deals with disaster in their own way, we are offering this link to the Red Cross, where readers may donate to the Disaster Relief Effort by CLICKING HERE.

BREAKING NEWS: Sources close to the MCRC tell Red Arizona that Maricopa Executive Guidance Committee member Phil Corbell of Legislative District 04 has publicly endorsed the US Constitution Party Candidate Chuck Baldwin for president over home state Republican US Senator John McCain.

Red Arizona has emailed Mr. Corbell asking for confirmation of these allegations, but Mr. Corbell has not replied.  A Republican consultant with ties to the McCain campaign said he could not think of an instance in which Mr. Corbell had ever endorsed Senator McCain.

Corbell, who recently announced he would challenge incumbent LD 04 Chairman Bob Burgess (husband of conservative State Rep. Judy Burgess of LD 04), recently led three “mini-insurrections” against the Arizona State GOP.  First, Corbell spearheaded efforts to prevent a McCain endorsement during the primary process.  Second, Corbell attemtped to strip consultant Constantin Querard of his voting rights on the EGC.  Third, Corbell alleged voting irregularities in the delegate count for the Republican National Convention, in which instance, according to LD 04 sources, “We regret allowing Phil to get us into this mess because he’s the epitome of how dangerous a very little bit of knowledge can be.”

Arizona State GOP staff declined to comment for this story, but a lobbyist with ties to both House and Senate Republican leadership confirmed Mr. Corbell’s continued role in the LD 04 committee was certainly in jeopardy.  “Republican Party officials don’t keep their posts long if they support the opposition,” our source said.  “Phil Corbell will be about as welcome at the LD 04 meeting next Monday as Joe Lieberman at the next Senate Democrats caucus.”

The McCain-Palin campaign responded to Barack Obama’s latest volleys of gutter politics with an advertisement that, in a clear and concise way, gets past the Obama insults and at the heart of the matter: Obama talks about “change” but he’s really just giving us more of the same. This sort of “beltway spin” is something we’ve come to expect from the Clintons. As America sees it coming day after day from Obama-Biden, they are abandoning the Democrat campaign in droves. Here’s the video…

How low will the Democrats go?  If you thought you’d seen it all in Mr. Obama’s primary against Hillary Clinton which nearly divided the Democrat Party over racial and gender issues, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

At the Republican National Convention, Governor Sarah Palin joked the only difference between a pit-bull and a hockey mom is lipstick.  Today, at a campaign rally, Senator Obama unleashed a tirade against Governor Palin, concluding with: “You can put lipstick on a pig; it’s still a pig.”

NOTE: This is just the latest in a string of increasingly desperate, increasinly rude attacks the Obama campaign has unleashed against Governor Palin.  Yesterday, at a rally, Mr. Obama decided to refer to her not as “Governor Palin” but as a “Moose Shooter”, which we find odd (but again ridiculously disrespectful nonetheless).

Democrat vice presidential hopeful and 36-year career US Senator Joe Biden is famous for putting his foot in his mouth.  In our next post (coming shortly… stay tuned!), you’ll see how he gets trumped today by his would-be boss.  But Biden certainly gives it the old college-try with this one, claiming (amazingly) that Governor Sarah Palin’s election as vice president would be a backward step for women.  Red Arizona invites our valued readers to watch this short 30-second video to see for yourself just how off-message the Democrats are right now:

Suburban Philly has two things going for it (NOTE: Pat’s Cheesesteaks are in center-city Philly).  First, they have the King of Prussia Mall (it’s gigantic… big enough to attract bus-loads of tourists).  And second, the wonderful townships and cities of Plymouth and Norristown, et al, have The Times Herald.  Even with a not-too-bad website, this regional paper has managed to keep a local feel to its reporting and editorializing while boasting a fine group of writers.  Stan Huskey, editor, included.

Interested readers are encouraged to CLICK HERE for Stan’s latest editorial, titled “Choice of Palin is Change We Can Believe In“.

We’d never get this sort of honest commentary from The Arizona Republic.  It’s been gone so long, we don’t even notice it’s missing until we read editorials of this sort… editorials which express views and opinions without being preachy or trite.  Come to think of it, if Senator McCain and Governor Palin can rescue us from Washington… perhaps a “DRAFT HUSKEY” campaign would lead to us being rescued from The Republic?  Dare to dream, readers… Dare to dream.

Many thanks to the AZGOP for sending this video our way.  Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), who now runs American Solutions, was interviewed by NBC News on the floor of the Republican National Convention.  We offer the video for our valued readers’ viewing pleasure.

Arizona US Senator John McCain formally accepted the Republican nomination for President of the United States in a broad speech tonight that showed his patriotism, his humanity and even his sense of humor. Twice interrupted by protestors and dozens of times by the thunderous applause of a packed Xcel Center, John McCain led spectators, viewers and listeners through a tour de force performance that gave all who tuned in a glimpse of what a McCain-Palin administration would embody: progress over partisanship, security over sound bytes, and “country first”.

“Where Obama’s rhetoric was abrasive, McCain was a statesman. Where Obama’s speech was vague, McCain offered specifics. Where Obama offered the briefest of résumés, McCain demonstrated a lifetime of service and sacrifice to his nation, his neighbors and his family,” said AZGOP executive director Sean McCaffrey.

There are 60 days until Election Day. Game on!

It has been a bloody summer, but not where you might expect. Barack Obama, the Chicago community organizer turned state senator turned US Senator probably doesn’t want America to know that on his watch this summer, there were more GUN MURDERS IN CHICAGO than there were US military deaths in all of Iraq.

Barack Obama says he is his brother’s keeper. We at Red Arizona would like to know this: WHERE?

Certainly not literally: Barack Obama’s half brother lives in a 65-square foot shack outside of Nairobi, subsisting on barely $12 per month in squalid poverty, stealing what he has to in order to eat.

And certainly not figuratively: Barack Obama isn’t even looking after his fellow Chicagoans when the city has more murders than a war zone.

…This is the same Barack Obama who wants to be president? NO THANKS!

Red Arizona’s valued readers are welcome to read the story in its entirety by CLICKING HERE.

In hockey, a “hat trick” occurs when a player scores three goals in a single game.  Governor Sarah Palin, already America’s “First Hockey Mom“, certainly racked up points tonight with her show-stopping speech at the Republican National Convention.  And this is admittedly high praise considering she followed an electrifying performance from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Looking back on Governor Palin’s speech, it’s almost difficult to narrow it down to just three goals scored.  If there were, these might have been them…

GOAL #1 (SCORE: McCain/Palin 1; Obama/Biden 0): ”A writer observed: “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity.” I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.  I grew up with those people. They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America … who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country, in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better. When I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too. Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.”

GOAL #2 (SCORE: McCain/Palin 2; Obama/Biden 0): ”I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent. Maybe you have, too. We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers. And there is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate. This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.”

GOAL #3 (SCORE: McCain/Palin 3; Obama/Biden 0): ”America needs more energy … our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit. Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay … he wants to meet them without preconditions. Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights? Government is too big … he wants to grow it. Congress spends too much … he promises more. Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific. The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes … raise payroll taxes … raise investment income taxes … raise the death tax … raise business taxes … and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that’s now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses… How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.”

We invite our valued Red Arizona readers to peruse Governor Palin’s speech in its entirety by CLICKING HERE.  What an amazing governor she’s been.  What an amazing vice president she’ll make!

Neither Harvard nor Stanford are exactly bastions of conservative political thought. From opposite coasts both schools are also, at times, academic rivals. So what is it that has brought economics professors Martin Feldstein and John B. Taylor together across the miles? Both have found an unlikely home as economics advisors to our next president, John McCain.

And both are strong advocates of the McCain tax relief plan which, to our amazement, they agree will create jobs (getting any two economists to agree on anything is an achievement in and of itself!).

Today’s Wall Street Journal offers THIS OP-ED (CLICK HERE) from Professors Feldstein and Taylor, who examine the McCain tax plan, and look at its potential to ignite a fire of opportunity under America’s economy. We invite our valued Red Arizona readers the opportunity to have a look-see.

Sure, we all oppose higher taxes… But only the National Taxpayers Union is giving away cool (free!) bumper stickers to average, everyday Joe’s like you and me who sign their pledge.

Interested Red Arizona readers may CLICK HERE and visit this latest project of the NTU where, for just the cost of a few minutes time, you can get your nifty “I don’t vote for tax hikers!” bumper sticker sent right to your door.

Decorate your bumper with pride!

Maybe it’s a little tacky to suggest Arizona’s chief executive was looking a little “macho” at the Democrat’s National Convention in Denver, but just to be sure, we did double-check she wasn’t starting for the Bronco’s vs. the Cardinals on Friday night.  Playing against the Cardinals wouldn’t be the worst thing she’s done to Arizona of late.  Thanks to a couple cross-over Republicans, the Gov-in-Chief was able to borrow $3 billion to pay back the $2 billion in debt she’d racked up.  How about that for creative accounting?  Where is Al Gore’s “lockbox” when you need it?

Thankfully, all might not be hunky-dorry for the Gov these days.  As the Arizona Republic reports, Her Highness’s mystical powers might indeed be waning.  In other words, people (even the folks at the Republic) might be waking up and realizing “Goodness, what the @#$% did she do to our state???”

Interested readers may CLICK HERE to read the Arizona Republic story in its entirety.