Obama Missed Key Vote Due to Family

Sally Quinn said of the Republican VP candidate, "Is she prepared for the all-consuming nature of the job? She is the mother of five children, one of them a four-month-old with Down Syndrome. Her first priority has to be her children. When the phone rings at three in the morning and one of her children is really sick what choice will she make?"

It's curious that Quinn deems important the reaction of the Republican VICE-presidential candidate but not the Democratic PRESIDENTIAL candidate. Since this question is apparently legitimate, wouldn't it be more reasonable to ask, "What would President Barack Obama do when the phone rings at three in the morning and one of his children is really sick?" How would Obama react, what choice would he make, and what does his past record indicate?

In December 1999, State Senator Obama missed a key vote for exactly the reason Quinn cited above and the Illinois governor's reaction demonstrates how important Obama's presence was needed for the vote on the Safe Neighborhoods Act:

But then the governor discovered that two senators who had promised to vote for his compromise bill--Barack Obama (D-Chicago) and Kathleen Parker (R-Northbrook)--had decided to remain on vacation instead of returning to the capital for the third special session since the original law was struck down on Dec. 2.
Furious, Ryan tried to track them down, hoping to send a state plane to whisk them back to Springfield. ...and aides to Obama, who was in Hawaii, refused to tell the governor's staff how to find him.
"His daughter was his first priority," said Obama's campaign manager, Dan Shomon. Shomon acknowledged Ryan aides to tried to contact the senator but were told he was unreachable because he had checked out of his hotel.
Source: Chicago Tribune - 12/30/1999,
Ryan comes up short - Philip wins gun duel by 5 votes.

If Obama wasn't in his hotel and if he wasn't on an airplane coming back home, then where was he and why was he out of contact with his staff when the governor NEEDED to contact him? Why couldn't Obama be reached to ANSWER THE PHONE?

Weeks later, when Obama was questioned about his absence for the vote he was quoted as saying:

"I cannot sacrifice the health or well-being of my daughter for politics"
"I had to make a decision based on what I felt was appropriate for my daughter and for my wife..."
Chicago Tribune - 01/17/2000,
"Obama defends decision to miss anti-crime vote"

Since his daughter wasn't alone and wasn't hospitalized, how could traveling back BY HIMSELF for the vote have sacrificed the health or well-being of his daughter? Sally Quinn, when will you find out the real answers?

McClatchy Bias against Palin

McClatchy story insinuates that Republican VP Palin doesn't know that Fannie and Freddie are private companies.

The Bias (in bold): "McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaking in Colorado Springs, Colo., said Fannie and Freddie had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, however, aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

The Evidence from the same story (in bold): "Paulson told Republican John McCain that Fannie and Freddie — which purchase mortgages from banks and package them into popular bonds sold to investors — would be seized and placed under temporary control in one of the largest government bailouts ever."

Hunting Season

Moose Hunter Sarah Palin has been looking for you.

Does Barack Obama have a clue?

Barack Obama's campaign website - The Problem: The United States is trapped by the Bush-Cheney approach to diplomacy that refuses to talk to leaders we don't like.

Bush Administration's Secretary of State Rice arrived in Libya where she was the first US secretary of state to visit in 55 years.

image source: afp.com

Department of State timeline:
1972 - February 5: The United States terminated agreements with Libya regarding military assistance, economic aid, technical cooperation, duty-free entry of relief supplies, and development assistance.

1996 - January 23: Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan visited Libya, and Colonel Qadhafi offered him $1 billion to fund political activities by U.S. Muslims. During a second visit (August 31-September 1), Farrakhan received the $250,000 Qadhafi International Human Rights Prize. On August 28, the Treasury Department said that U.S. sanctions prevented Farrakhan from accepting either sum. Farrakhan visited Libya again on January 5, 1997.

1996 - August 5: President William J. Clinton signed into law the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act, which imposed sanctions on foreign companies that invested over $40 million a year in Libya’s petroleum industry, or sold weapons, aviation or oil equipment to Libya.

2004 - September 20: President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13357, terminating economic sanctions against Libya, releasing $1 billion in frozen Libyan assets, and authorizing the resumption of airline service between the two countries. The national emergency regarding Libya was terminated.

2006 - May 15: Secretary of State Rice announced that the United States was restoring relations with Libya and planned to remove Libya from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.

THANK DEMOCRATS for Record Gas Prices

DEMOCRAT Harry Reid took control of the Senate in January of 2007
DEMOCRAT Nancy Pelosi took control of the House in January of 2007

Source: Department of Energy