Comments on: Esther Kustanowitz For President

By: Petitedov

Petitedov — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:33:22 +0000

Palin did not support Pat Buchanan, she wore the button out of respect when he visited her town. She backed Forbes in that election. However, Obama worked with a known terrorists (Ayers) and had an anti-Semite pastor for 20 years, yet only denounced him when it was politically useful is completely kosher with Jewish Democrats. How do these Obama connections sit with American Jews?

By: Cole Krawitz

Cole Krawitz — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:34:52 +0000

lol…damn man, what do you do when you’re high? this was cute…

By: Esther Kustanowitz

Esther Kustanowitz — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:49:35 +0000

Can we focus on what's really important here, people? All eyes back to me. And the ways in which I'd change American life as President. Thank you.

By: montana_urban_legend

montana_urban_legend — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:38:43 +0000

Naahhhh, that’s cool. Don’t worry ’bout it. It is.

By: ck

ck — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:29:00 +0000

I wasn’t trying to suggest that your comments were unfair attacks – that was more a reflection on some of the stuff I’ve seen/read elsewhere. Also when comments are held for moderation, it’s an automated process meant to prevent spam from getting through – it’s not an editorial thing on our part AND we don’t always notice right away. Sorry. It’s up though innit?

By: montana_urban_legend

montana_urban_legend — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:36:59 +0000

Well, I apologize if it seems like I’m “attacking” Palin in a way that offends you. Most of the criticisms that I’ve heard are directed at McCain for the perceived recklessness of his choice. If that involves an accounting of Palin’s flaws as well as virtues, perhaps it comes off as attack. Honestly, the most personal judgments of her own life choices though have come from everyday women who are unimpressed by her decision to run despite all the family business going on, and not from columnists who are really more interested in gauging McCain’s executive judgments. On top of all that, there is, however, the perception that this is a way to try and belittle Hillary’s run.

Bush’s non-attendance of the RNC stems from the fact that even Republicans consider his presence to be too toxic to their brand. In my view, that’s really their problem to own up to.

I’m not sure that McCain had any “good” choices, although I can think of much better choices within his own party for VP – many of them female. Perhaps they would have been much better than the conventional wisdom I’m echoing would have us believe, when it came to the “traditional” options (i.e. drop-outs from the primary, other high-profile contenders, etc.)

In any event, your not being a U.S. citizen shouldn’t bar your input into all this. I think it’s healthy that people abroad are starting to get, and pay increasing attention to, a bird’s-eye view into the American political process, warts and all.

Comment #16 wasn’t that problematic, was it? I noticed that even though you’ve responded, that one was still being held for moderation!

In any event, cheers. Don’t feel at all intimidated about offering an opinion into the American elections. I promise to be just as unrestrained at offering advice into what occurs elsewhere in the world. Should I not? I am an American, after all – that’s what we do.

By: ck

ck — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:01:05 +0000

MUL Dude – it just seems sad and unfair. George Bush is not going to attend the RNC. When has it ever happened that a sitting President hasn’t attended his own Party’s nomination event? Choosing Palin was a desperate and short sighted move – what can I say? The Republicans are going to lose. That’s what it looks like now from my perspective. I’m not going to strongly attack Palin unless she merits it and so far she doesn’t.

Also, did I mention that I’m Canadian? And Israeli? And not at all American?

By: montana_urban_legend

montana_urban_legend — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:37:02 +0000

And that’s unfortunate, IMO.

By: montana_urban_legend

montana_urban_legend — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:35:24 +0000

Then you must be more familiar with the “things” “she’s done” then anyone else is, ck. Personally, I don’t take her approval ratings in an unpopulated outpost like Alaska to be indicative of anything more than the ratings she’ll get with the right wing and evangelical no-nothings on cultural issues that they’ll agree with her on, which is exactly what’s happening – as was undoubtedly predicted. As for her being “principled”, that’s fine. But some people tend to look at the principles of keeping the city she was mayor of out of massive debt and not firing her ex-brother-in-law from a government position in a vendetta as principles… especially when she lied about it after the fact! How friggin’ “principled” is that?

We must be talking about different sorts of principles when you admire her love for toeing the line on right-wing wedge-issues, whereas her ability to conform to basic non-partisan ethical standards would have been much more impressive to me – and to many others.

The Pat Buchanan issue is undoubtedly bound to become a non-issue when people are so far apart from seeing eye-to-eye on such basic distinctions as these. I won’t even mention the hypocrisy of her belief in abstinence-only education when her own daughter proves, by example, that it doesn’t work. As with almost every election, we are back to drawing epistemological lines in the sand between people who like acknowledging reality and those who don’t – regardless of how much more comfortable they are with the political left, right, center, etc.

By: ck

ck — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:13:54 +0000

MUL: I wasn’t talking about her basketball accomplishments or her stint as a beauty queen! Politically she has approval ratings in Alaska that are through the roof. Look up her record – she’s done things that were pretty decent. I like that she’s human and imperfect, that she has a pregnant teenage daughter and that she’s pretty principled. Her decision not to abort her downs syndrome baby is brave and admirable. I totally do not agree with many of her political positions, Pat Buchanan, NRA yadda yadda yadda… but that doesn’t blind me to the fact that she is not a complete tool. I do think she was a bad Vice Presidential choice for many reasons, but I won’t gleefully and self righteously crucify her.