Obama Discusses Palin with Media

Today, Barack Obama has been campaigning in York, Pennsylvania. When asked whether, as Republicans charge, the Democrats or media has been sexist with its treatment of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Obama said (video below):

Listen, if they want to work the refs, they are free to do so. I think the public can make their judgments about this. The notion that any questions about her work in Alaska is somehow not relevant to her potentially being vice president of the United States doesn't make too much sense to me. I think she has got a compelling story, but I assume that she wants to be treated the same way that guys want to be treated, which means their records are under scrutiny. I have been through this for 19 months. She has been through it, what, four days so far.

And he said of her speech, "John McCain is running for president. I am running against John McCain. As far as I can tell I don't get a sense that Gov. Palin has ideas that are different from John McCain. And that speech she delivered was on behalf of John McCain." He added that he's used to the GOP's attacks, "I've been called worse on the basketball court."

ABC News (and the AP) takes apart Palin's speech to offer more information about her claims (her "vetoing wasteful spending" is related to hiring a lobbyist to bring her hometown of Wasilia "around $27 million in federal money, about as much as Boise, Idaho. Boise has a population of 200,000 people, compared to Wasilla's 10,000.") ANd Politico's Roger Simon faux-apologizes on behalf of the media, "On behalf of the elite media, I would like to say we are very sorry...We have asked pathetic questions like: Who is Sarah Palin? What is her record? Where does she stand on the issues? And is she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency?"

Tonight, Fox News will air Bill O'Reilly's interview with Obama. That airs at 8 p.m., two hours ahead of when McCain will accept the Republican nomination.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on September 4, 2008 5:23 PM

Comments [rss]

alphamale

Obama belongs to elite group of young politicians who has impressed the nation and world over with his brilliant speeches. One can only sympathize with John McCain' for running in to this brilliant and charming speaker who can sell ice to Eskimo. But as we all know John McCain's life is an open book, here forgive me if I am being pro-McCain. Seriously who exactly is Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama?

A brilliant young reformer or a man with ulterior motive to help the Islamic forces ( I agree, I may be far fetched but certainly worth a thought when this man in question is just 50 days away from being most powerful man on Planet Earth).

jenspellnogood

funny how he uses the same complaint that hilary used against him.

zodak

Ron Paul!

Think2wice

"I'm lucky enough to make an amount--well above that of the average American family--that means that I will pay more in taxes when Obama is elected, and I'm OK with that. I can afford it, and frankly, I can't afford what Bush's economic and foreign policy decisions have done to the US. I'd rather be paying a little more in taxes and have a healthy economy and a federal budget under control--as it was with Clinton--than deal with four more years of borrow and spend from McCain."

Hear, hear! Well said halavais. I think many well-to-do Americans carry the same sentiment.

takethecanoli

Vote out every incumbent, whatever the party.

Dude69

Obama will win in a landslide if Oprah stomps the trail for him and get the Hillary supporters' and progressive women's votes. Then the obvious choice for the GOP to counter in 2012 is Judith Nathan Giuliani!

SP

It wasn't just "this guy" who raped us, our economy, our constitution, et al. It was also all his pals, and all those clapping, USA-chanting idiots. They are all to blame. And we are too for letting it happen for EIGHT FUCKING YEARS.

Mr Mel

They still didn't say his name, George W Bush, that is. The Dems have to keep saying his name in conjunction with McCain's and the ice lady. They have to keep repeating it over and over to remind the country what this guy did to us, our army, our economy, our environment, our allies and our children and grandchildren.

jack9

"ANd Politico's Roger Simon faux-apologizes on behalf of the media..."

Caps stuck on?

chuzzlewit

barracuda! holy shit....

VanessaNYC

"Pitchforks and torches worked for the republicans in the last 2 elections and now it's gonna unite the dems."

I think you're on to something, babyhitler.

dadoc

Decent measured response, Oh Chosen One.

Did anybody else have the urge to smack Rudy's obnoxious peevish incestuous short-man insulting face? What an total jerk. It's one thing to be insightful and incisive. It's another thing to be a smirking, lying undeservedly-inflated-ego pr-ck.

And c'mon, we all know Palin was picked to grab the pissed-off Hillary supporters. But we also know why McCain agreed to pick her

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUVQD...

But yeah, I'd hit that.

Make her wear her wear a pair of antlers with some pond plants hanging out of her mouth.

Gotta love "Moosey-style" with the Alaskan librarian MILF.

chuzzlewit

poor john - he's kind of a cracked vessel at this point, trying to be classy (and it's possible he can be - when he's not trying to pork the waitress and the chambermaid) but having to dumb it down for a stadium full of loonies moaning "brains... brains....brains"

cue palin: "send more cops"

NannyState

Dear Stupid Fucking Republican,

George W. Bush had four years of "executive experience" as Governor of Texas. That makes him much more "qualified" than any of these hopefuls, doesn't it? Too bad he turned out to be the singularly worst, most feckless and disasterous president in american history.

P.S. go fuck yourselves.

yoplay

I'm sick of the system myself... but the rnc name calling and insulting is just getting boring. but it's sad that boring somehow gets the idiots to say that they gave a great speech... they have no issues to run on and they think women are all replaceable.

We seriously need progress, health care, education that allows the teachers to do what they do best...

I'm tired of warriors. Go pick up a stinking gun, or swing a sword, the tough talk on fear is so overplayed.

But yeas I've felt the same as baby h, I so want a black man to rule over those name slinging farts.

JacqueMehoff

someone opened up a "mccain votes against vets" banner.

Bottomless Chips

I'm not sure what I'm more appalled by. The fact that commentor No. 2 and commentor No. 3 are obviously McCain trolls charged with "keeping up" with the blogs to insert pro-McCain comments whenever a story about Obama is posted; or that the trolls charged with this duty are so lazy that they can't even change the first two lines of the "canned comments" that they were given by the McCain campaign to glean their "comments" off of. Transparent and desperate, indeed.

Haha. It's quite laughable that I could ever support McCain, a man who may be more clueless on free-market economics than any recent presidential candidate. The man even admitted as much.

Jerky

The Hypocrisy is astounding. Watch this then shut up:

http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/09/jon-stewart-ann.html

babyhitler

This just in: after Palin's Speech, Obama has raised a record 10 million dollars in one day, the republicans raised a paltry 1 million dollars. Obama leads by 8-10 percentage points. See that writing on the wall? It says fuck Bush! Anyway, politics is all cyclical. I'm pretty sure in a decade there will be a republican president, and in the next a democrat. It's all part of a conspiratorial 2 party system that lets sheep feel like they can change the world when all they are doing is going in circles.

SP

In your wet dreams moron. They made fools of themselves. Palin is barely qualified to be the principal at an Evangelical high school. McCain is a senile crook. And I'm being charitable because I'm still at work and don't have time for more.