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		<title>Lee Hopkins on Email Marketing in Digital PR</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/02/25/lee-hopkins-on-email-marketing-in-digital-pr/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/02/25/lee-hopkins-on-email-marketing-in-digital-pr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:40:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[When I realized that I could download the OPML file from the Power 150 site and then hack it around into a contact list of over 900 of the top advertising, marketing, PR, and SEO bloggers on the planet, I did so. Ever since, I have been scheduling calls with all of the folks I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2009%2F02%2F25%2Flee-hopkins-on-email-marketing-in-digital-pr%2F&title=Lee+Hopkins+on+Email+Marketing+in+Digital+PR" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">When I realized that I could download the OPML file from the Power 150 site and then hack it around into a contact list of over 900 of the top advertising, marketing, PR, and SEO bloggers on the planet, I did so. Ever since, I have been scheduling calls with all of the folks I [...]</span></a>		
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<p>When I realized that I could download the <a href="http://adage.com/power150/opml">OPML file</a> from the <a href="http://adage.com/power150/">Power 150</a> site and then hack it around into a contact list of over 900 of the top advertising, marketing, PR, and SEO bloggers on the planet, I did so.</p>
<p>Ever since, I have been scheduling calls with all of the folks I have been admiring on a daily basis. Two days ago I spent an hour on the horn with <a href="http://www.leehopkins.net/">Lee Hopkins</a>, &#8220;one of Australia&#8217;s leading thinkers on communication strategy in an online environment,&#8221; who is, in fact, one of the World&#8217;s leading thinkers on communication strategy in an online environment.  We had a great chat &#8212; and amazing talk!</p>
<p>At the end, Lee asked me if he could blog the conversation and I jumped at the opportunity and late last night Lee published <strong><a href="http://leehopkins.net/2009/02/25/is-email-marketing-still-relevant-in-a-20-world/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world?">Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world?</a></strong> which is not only the most complete description of what we at <a href="http://ahllc.us">Abraham Harrison LLC</a> do on a daily basis but it is said in a better, more comprehensive, way than I could even conceive of doing myself.  Here it is, in full.  Be sure to <a href="http://leehopkins.net/">visit</a> (and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/bcr-blog">subscribe to</a>) <a href="http://leehopkins.net/">Better Communication Results</a>, Lee Hopkin&#8217;s blog.</p>
<p><span id="more-5569"></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="headline_area"><strong><a href="http://leehopkins.net/2009/02/25/is-email-marketing-still-relevant-in-a-20-world/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world?">Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world?</a></strong></p>
<p>G&#8217;day &#8211; thanks for returning!<br />
<img src="http://www.leehopkins.net/images/Isemailmarketingstillrelevantina2.0world_6F6E/chrisabrahamandsarawilson.jpg" style="border: 0px none ; display: inline" title="Chris Abraham and Sara Wilson discussing their next blogger outreach program. Yesterday." alt="chrisabrahamandsarawilson Lee Hopkins on Email Marketing in Digital PR" border="0" width="500" height="200" /></p>
<p><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 70px; margin-top: -2px; padding-right: 2px; font-family: georgia,times,impact; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; float: left; color: #8b8bb4; font-size: 80px; font-weight: bold; margin-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px">I</span> just finished a fantastic conversation with Chris Abraham, the President and COO of <a href="http://www.abrahamharrison.com/">AbrahamHarrison</a>.</p>
<p>If you’ve been around the internet for a while, especially in the ‘marcoms’ (marketing communications) space, you would certainly have heard of Chris; if not of the man himself then certainly of one of his marketing and outreach programs.</p>
<p>Chris is one of those select few online marketers who’s text doesn’t read like a traditional online direct mail piece – you know, with LOTS OF CAPITALS and <strong>heaps of bold text</strong> and <font style="background-color: yellow">yellow highlighting</font> and <em>italics</em> and</p>
<ul>
<li>bullet</li>
<li>points</li>
<li>a-</li>
<li>plenty</li>
</ul>
<p>and testimonials by the kazillion…</p>
<p>I could point you to a zillion of those sites – which is not to say that the style of marketing they use is not successful; it is, otherwise they wouldn’t keep doing it. But you know as soon as you see the huge, bold, bright red and often in CAPS headline what to expect for the rest of the (very) long toilet roll of a page.</p>
<p>Chris takes a much softer approach, always has done, and it seems to work for him and his style of copywriting.</p>
<p><strong>Video, the radio star and plain ol’ bandwagon idjuts</strong></p>
<p>With the advent of Web2.0/Social Media there were many ill-informed and just plain ‘bandwagon’ pundits who hailed the death of traditional communication tools such as email, web1.0 sites and – gasp – newspaper, magazine, radio and television.</p>
<p>Much as television didn’t kill radio as force it to rethink its place and find its niche, so too with Social Media. Every new technology platform or societal change brings with it a change in how all that came before it must view themselves and continue to offer relevancy.</p>
<p>Radio didn’t die, newspapers haven’t been killed off, I can still pick up plenty of magazines that appeal to all demographics and both genders from my local newsagent, and email hasn’t disappeared off the radar (if my bulging inbox every morning is anything to go by).</p>
<p>So it was fantastic to finally chat with someone who, like me, believes that email is STILL a fundamental part of the marketing toolkit.</p>
<p>In talking with Chris today, he was genuinely flattered that a fellow copywriter would find his material engaging; I thought it was brilliant reading and his deployment strategies for his clients brilliantly executed.</p>
<p>You see, Chris, like me, believes that email won’t go away, but WILL have to change in order to survive in the new communication landscape. Our shared view is that it will have to evolve in a couple of ways:</p>
<ol>
<li>Shorter emails will be the best way of getting people’s attention</li>
<li>Long-form emails are best saved for newsletters; trying to ‘sell’ via email will become even harder to excel at.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you’ve ever received one of Chris’ emails, you will be stunned by several things:</p>
<ol>
<li>They are short – only 2-3 paragraphs</li>
<li>They link off to a SMNR (Social Media News Release) that gives a far more in-depth level of information (and all the material you might need to help you spread the word or get involved)</li>
<li>If you email Chris or anyone of his team back you WILL get a response, usually within 24 hours (Chris says they try to get back within the hour, but time zones can sometime defeat them)</li>
<li>The emails ‘read’ like they were written by a human being, not by a ‘PR’ flack or a ex-journalist hack; they aren’t full of ‘me, me, me’ stuff telling you how wonderful I (the company) am, but neither do they ‘strip-tease tantalise’ you so that when you <em>do</em> click on the link you end up feeling cheated</li>
<li>You get the very real feeling that there’s someone real at the end of the email.</li>
</ol>
<p>Here’s an example (taken from <a href="http://leehopkins.net/2008/07/16/fresh-air-the-sm-news-release-done-right/">my post about the Fresh Air Fund</a>):</p>
<blockquote><p>Hello again, Lee</p>
<p>On Sunday I asked if you would kindly help me spread the word about 200 inner-city children I have yet to place with host families in August. I apologize for following up so soon, but time is of the essence and you know how funny email can be. To make things simple, everything is collected into an online resource page <a href="http://freshair.smnr.us/">http://freshair.smnr.us</a></p>
<p>This appeal comes straight from the top, so please do not hesitate to contact me directly.</p>
<p>Yours sincerely,</p>
<p>Sara</p>
<p>–<br />
Sara Wilson<br />
Fresh Air Fund<br />
<a href="mailto:sara@freshair.org">sara@freshair.org</a><br />
<a href="http://www.freshair.org/">www.freshair.org</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Sara is a real person, not a ‘fake’ character. I sent her an email yesterday, wondering if her ears were burning, because Chris and I were talking about her:</p>
<blockquote><p>G’day Sara,<br />
Just finished the phone call with Chris — oh boy! Were your ears burning? They should have been!!!<br />
Kindests,<br />
Lee</p>
<p><strong>From:</strong> Sara Wilson [mailto:swilson@abrahamharrison.com]<br />
<strong>Sent:</strong> Tuesday, 24 February 2009 2:02 AM<br />
<strong>To:</strong> Lee@leehopkins.com<br />
<strong>Subject:</strong> Re: Fellow Power 150 blogger</p>
<p>Hello Lee,<br />
Just a quick note to re-confirm that Chris will be calling you at 10 am, your time, tomorrow (Tuesday).<br />
No need to reply unless something has come up on your end, otherwise he will speak to you in about 7.5 hours!<br />
Best,<br />
Sara</p></blockquote>
<p>In reply, Sara said,</p>
<blockquote><p>Lee,<br />
And I thought it was just hot where I was last night …  <img src="http://leehopkins.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt="icon smile Lee Hopkins on Email Marketing in Digital PR" class="wp-smiley" title="Lee Hopkins on Email Marketing in Digital PR" /><br />
It’s very kind of you to mention it, thanks.   Chris is a great guy to work for, and generous with compliments, but it’s always nice to know that someone appreciates you, isn’t it?<br />
Cheers,<br />
Sara</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Controversy</strong></p>
<p>Because Chris and his team start any campaign with an email-based blogger outreach, some of the ‘holier than thou’ social media purists occasionally give him ‘stick’, or snicker behind his back and call him a ‘spammer’. <strong>Not true</strong> – the team are <em>very</em> hot on ensuring only a good taste remains in the mouth of any blogger they contact, and of only offering bloggers something of actual value <strong><em>to the blogger</em></strong>.</p>
<p>Which is a behaviour totally unlike the hapless, clueless and insulting PR flacks who regularly show up on <a href="http://badpitch.blogspot.com/">The Bad Pitch Blog</a> and who attempt to fill my inbox with material about electronics, or sanitary napkins, or (ahem) extension kits, or pharmaceuticals shipped from Canada. Thank goodness I have <a href="http://www.spamarrest.com/affl?4044569"><strong>SpamArrest</strong></a> to filter them out before they hit my inbox!</p>
<p>Chris and his team have painstakingly built up a list of nearly 35,000 bloggers across several different demographics and topic areas of interest. Visiting their blogs, they harvest their email address. They then politely email them once to offer them something of interest – if the blogger likes it, they very often blog about it; it they don’t then they don’t. What is fascinating is the response rate Chris gets for his clients.</p>
<p>Word of mouth and gossip-sharing amongst internet marketers has the average rate of sales of anything (be it a blog post or an ebook or a ‘course you cannot live without’) as around 0.01-0.05% from an initial mailing, with the follow-up mailings increasing that to, perhaps, 1.0-2.0%…</p>
<p>Chris and his team regularly get a takeup in the order of 5%, which is phenomenal. In addition, once you start developing an email relationship with anyone in their team (as I have with Sara Wilson) then all future mailings will receive much more attention than would otherwise be the case. A case in point is my own, later, post on the <a href="http://leehopkins.net/2008/09/01/russia-georgia-and-south-ossetia-survivor-corps/">illegal cluster bombing being carried out in South Ossetia</a> and <a href="http://www.survivorcorps.org/">The Survivor Corps</a> run by activist and author of the very powerful book,  <a href="http://iwillnotbebroken.smnr.us/">I Will Not Be Broken</a>, Jerry White. It is only because Sara had taken the time to develop a relationship with me over previous months that I read and responded to the material from Jerry White. Without that relationship I would never have bothered with a topic outside of my normal areas of interest.</p>
<p>It is the classic ‘relationship marketing’ that Social Media Marketing pundits claim to aim for but rarely achieve.</p>
<p>Goodness, if I could have a dollar for every new ‘expert’ that’s popped up in the Social Media space I would retire a very rich trillionaire (and at the same time wondering how you could be a trillionaire and <em>not</em> be very rich – I guess if you were living in Zimbabwe you wouldn’t be…).</p>
<p>You wouldn’t believe the number of ‘leading social networking and social media marketing experts’ who have suddenly come out of the woodwork and set up communities in places like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, etc. Curiously, I’ve never heard of these folks before. Most of them don’t even have blogs, or if they do those blogs have only been around for less than a year. Curious, hey?</p>
<p>But Chris, on the other hand, <strong>has</strong> been around for a long time, has figured out what works and what doesn’t, and as evidence offers the following case studies:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/energy-bill-2007-case-study">Energy Bill 2007 Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/financial-services-reputation-defense-case-study">Financial Services Reputation Defense Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/firebrand-tv-case-study">Firebrand TV Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/fresh-air-fund-case-study">Fresh Air Fund Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/international-medical-corps-case-study">International Medical Corps Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/movie-producer-reputation-defense-case-study">Movie Producer Reputation Defense Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/snapple-antioxidant-water-case-study">Snapple Antioxidant Water Case Study</a></li>
<li><a href="http://abrahamharrison.com/case-studies/survivor-corps-book-promotion-case-study">Survivor Corps Book Promotion Case Study</a></li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to see the sort of posts that are associated with Chris’ kind of blogger PR pitch outreach, here are some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-operation-survivor-bloggers">Thank You Operation Survivor Bloggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-all-who-supported-international-medical-corps">Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-again-survivor-corps-bloggers">Thank You Again Survivor Corps Bloggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-international-medical-corps-bloggers">Thank You International Medical Corps Bloggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-fresh-air-fund-holiday-bloggers">Thank You Fresh Air Fund Holiday Bloggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-fresh-air-fund-bloggers">Thank You Fresh Air Fund Bloggers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/thank-you-fresh-air-fund-camp-counselor-bloggers">Thank You Fresh Air Fund Camp Counselor Bloggers!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/powerful-seo-benefits-blogger-pr-outreach">The Powerful SEO Benefits of Blogger PR Outreach</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahllc.us/happy-thanksgiving-abraham-harrison">Happy Thanksgiving from Abraham Harrison</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Here are some examples of client SMNRs from Chris and his team that I especially like:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://anamigo.smnr.us/">http://anamigo.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://freshair.smnr.us/">http://freshair.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us/">http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/">http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://survivorcorps.smnr.us/">http://survivorcorps.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/">http://iwillnotbebroken.smnr.us</a></li>
<li><a href="http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/">http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>So what???</strong></p>
<p>The whole point of this post is NOT to fawn at the feet of someone who clearly knows what he is doing.</p>
<p><strong>The whole point</strong> IS to let you know that you <strong>don’t</strong> need to <strong>throw out your baby with the bathwater</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Don’t </strong>jump on the Social Media bandwagon without educated advice</li>
<li><strong>Don’t </strong>take advice from a pimply 17 year old fresh out of high school</li>
<li><strong>Don’t </strong>take advice from a less-pimply 23 year old fresh out of university</li>
<li><strong>Don’t</strong> ditch all of your understanding of how ‘people’ and networks work</li>
<li><strong>Don’t</strong> take advice from someone who doesn’t even blog themselves, or Twitter, or Facebook… (see my <a href="http://leehopkins.net/2009/02/18/be-a-social-media-guru-in-a-mere-24-hours/">post about Social Media Gurus</a>)</li>
<li><strong>Don’t</strong> take advice from someone who has been blogging less than 24 months</li>
</ul>
<p>Instead:</p>
<ol>
<li>Download <a href="http://pr-squared.com/">Todd Defren</a>’s absolutely superb ‘<a href="http://www.pr-squared.com/2009/02/ebook_on_social_media_marketin.html">Brink</a>’ guide to Social Media and Richard Meyer’s great presentation, ‘<a href="http://leehopkins.net/Social%20Media%20:%20What%20you%E2%80%99re%20afraid%20to%20admit%20you%20didn%E2%80%99t%20know%E2%80%99">Social Media : What you’re afraid to admit you didn’t know</a>’ (he also has a great <a href="http://worldofdtcmarketing.com/page1/assets/CGM%20for%20Digital%20Pharma.pdf">pharma and biotech-focused pdf presentation</a>). Download and read Trevor Cook’s and my ‘<a href="http://leehopkins.net/2008/03/24/cook-hopkins-social-media-report-3rd-edition/">Social Media Report</a>’.</li>
<li>Talk to someone who actually knows what they are doing – in Australia that means folks like <a href="http://www.acidlabs.org/meet-us/stephen-collins/">Stephen Collins</a>, <a href="http://laurelpapworth.com/">Laurel Papworth</a>, <a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/trevorcook/">Trevor Cook</a>, <a href="http://www.problogger.com/">Darren Rowse</a>, <a href="http://www.servantofchaos.com/">Gavin Heaton</a> and, humbly, yours truly. If WE can’t help you, we can certainly put you in touch with someone who can. Unlike the USA, where there seems to be a spirit of “You’ll prize my rolodex out of my frozen dead fingers!”, there is no fierce spirit of competition here in Australia – we have  ‘co-opertition’ wherein we all help each other out if the ‘fit’ seems better for the client.</li>
<li>Stick to reading the seasoned ‘pros’ of the online marketing and/or business communication space: you cannot go wrong if you start at folks like any of the above, or <a href="http://twitter.com/shel">Shel Holtz</a>, <a href="http://nevillehobson.com/">Neville Hobson</a>, <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/">Chris Brogan</a>, <a href="http://www.problogger.com/">Darren Rowse</a>, <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">Mitch Joel</a>, <a href="http://jaffejuice.com/">Joe Jaffe</a> , <a href="http://pistachioconsulting.com/about-us/ceo-blog/">Laura Fitton</a> and <a href="http://chrisabraham.com//">Chris Abraham</a> himself; see who <em>they</em> link to. Follow your nose from them – all the way along the path you will be reading ‘the good oil’ as we say here in Australia</li>
<li>Examine Chris’ examples above and see for yourself how simple but effective your online marketing can be if you do it with the right intention – of <strong>helping out the blogger, not flogging stuff for your client</strong>. Get the relationship right and you will flog stuff for your client anyway, trust me!</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline; float: none" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4044fd76-1f8f-4ec9-9aac-f50ecb20f499" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/chris+abraham" rel="tag">chris abraham</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/laura+fitton" rel="tag">laura fitton</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/joe+jaffe" rel="tag">joe jaffe</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mitch+joel" rel="tag">mitch joel</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/darren+rowse" rel="tag">darren rowse</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/chris+brogan" rel="tag">chris brogan</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/neville+hobson" rel="tag">neville hobson</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shel+holtz" rel="tag">shel holtz</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gavin+heaton" rel="tag">gavin heaton</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trevor+cook" rel="tag">trevor cook</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/laurel+papworth" rel="tag">laurel papworth</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stephen+collins" rel="tag">stephen collins</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/richard+meyer" rel="tag">richard meyer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/todd+defren" rel="tag">todd defren</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sara+wilson" rel="tag">sara wilson</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fresh+air+fund" rel="tag">fresh air fund</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/abrahamharrison" rel="tag">abrahamharrison</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bad+pitch+blog" rel="tag">bad pitch blog</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+media" rel="tag">social media</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogger+relations" rel="tag">blogger relations</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+marketing" rel="tag">social marketing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/email+marketing" rel="tag">email marketing</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/email" rel="tag">email</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spam" rel="tag">spam</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spam+arrest" rel="tag">spam arrest</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spamarrest" rel="tag">spamarrest</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+communication" rel="tag">business communication</a></p>
<p>Currently listening to ‘Next’ by <a href="http://thenecks.com/" title="Visit the band's website and buy their music -- brilliant stuff!">The Necks</a> from the album ‘Next’. Superb jazz funk from one of Australia’s great cult bands.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Contact Info for Chris Abraham</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/02/02/contact-info-for-chris-abraham-2/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/02/02/contact-info-for-chris-abraham-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chris Abraham]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Email: cja@well.com Mobile 1: +1 (202) 352-5051 Mobile 2: +1 (703) 901-2059 Skype: chrisabraham Mailing Address Chris Abraham PO Box 15163 Washington, DC 20003-0163 United States Call Me Directly From Your Country United States: +1 (202) 657-4063 United Kingdom: +44 (0)20 3287 2063 Germany: +49 (0)30 2241 1535 Skype: chrisabraham Instant Text Messaging Skype: chrisabraham [...]]]></description>
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<p><strong>Email</strong>: <a href="http://cabraham.com/contact">cja@well.com</a><br />
<strong>Mobile 1</strong>: <a href="callto:+12023525051">+1 (202) 352-5051</a><br />
<strong>Mobile 2</strong>: <a href="callto:+17039012059">+1 (703) 901-2059</a><br />
<strong>Skype:</strong> <a href="callto:chrisabraham">chrisabraham<br />
</a><a href="callto:chrisabraham"><br />
</a></p>
<p><span id="more-5456"></span></p>
<h3>Mailing Address</h3>
<p>Chris Abraham<br />
PO Box 15163<br />
Washington, DC<br />
20003-0163<br />
United States</p>
<h3>Call Me Directly From Your Country</h3>
<p><strong>United States:</strong> +1 (202) 657-4063<br />
<strong>United Kingdom:</strong> +44 (0)20 3287 2063<br />
<strong>Germany:</strong> +49 (0)30 2241 1535<br />
<strong>Skype:</strong> <a href="http://cabraham.com/callto:chrisabraham">chrisabraham</a></p>
<h3>Instant Text Messaging</h3>
<ul>
<li>Skype: <a href="http://cabraham.com/callto:chrisabraham">chrisabraham</a></li>
<li>AIM: <a href="http://cabraham.com/aim:goim?screenname=cjabraham">cjabraham</a></li>
<li>MSN: <a href="http://cabraham.com/msnim:chat?contact=christopherabraham@hotmail.com">christopherabraham@hotmail.com</a></li>
<li>GTalk: cabraham@gmail.com</li>
<li>Yahoo!: <a href="http://edit.yahoo.com/config/send_webmesg?.target=chrisabraham">chrisabraham</a></li>
<li>ICQ: 46181597</li>
<li>SMS: +12023525051</li>
<li>ooVoo: chrisabraham</li>
</ul>
<h3>Social Networks</h3>
<p class="content">
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.twitter.com/chrisabraham">Twitter Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500059453">Facebook Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisabraham">LinkedIn Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://youtube.com/chrisabraham">YouTube Director</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisabraham/">Flickr Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.friendster.com/chrisabraham">Friendster Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://chrisabraham.jaiku.com/">Jaiku Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pownce.com/chrisabraham/public/">Pownce Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://chrisabraham.tumblr.com/">Tumblr Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://utterli.com/chrisabraham">Utterli Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://friendfeed.com/chrisabraham">Friendfeed Profile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://qik.com/chrisabraham">QIK Profile</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Full text of President Obama&#8217;s Inauguration Speech 2009</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/20/full-text-of-president-obamas-inauguration-speech-2009/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/20/full-text-of-president-obamas-inauguration-speech-2009/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:54:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Barack Hussein Obama]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[This is the full text of President Barack Obama&#8217;s 2009 inauguration speech, courtesy of NowPublic, KansasCity.com, thanks to a link from @Aisle7 Full text of President Obama&#8217;s Inauguration Speech 2009 My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2009%2F01%2F20%2Ffull-text-of-president-obamas-inauguration-speech-2009%2F&title=Full+text+of+President+Obama%26%238217%3Bs+Inauguration+Speech+2009" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">This is the full text of President Barack Obama&#8217;s 2009 inauguration speech, courtesy of NowPublic, KansasCity.com, thanks to a link from @Aisle7 Full text of President Obama&#8217;s Inauguration Speech 2009 My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne [...]</span></a>		
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<p><img src="http://chrisabraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ap_obama_oath_090120_mn.jpg" alt="ap obama oath 090120 mn Full text of President Obamas Inauguration Speech 2009" vspace="5" align="right" border="0" hspace="5" title="Full text of President Obamas Inauguration Speech 2009" />This is the full text of President Barack Obama&#8217;s 2009 inauguration speech, courtesy of <a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/world/full-text-president-obamas-inauguration-speech-2009">NowPublic</a>, <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/940/story/991013.html">KansasCity.com</a>, thanks to a link from <a href="http://twitter.com/aisle7">@Aisle7</a></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Full text of President Obama&#8217;s Inauguration Speech 2009</strong></p>
<p>My fellow citizens:</p>
<p>I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.</p>
<p>Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.</p>
<p>So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.</p>
<p>That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.</p>
<p>These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land &#8211; a nagging fear that America&#8217;s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.</p>
<p>Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America &#8211; they will be met.</p>
<p>On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.</p>
<p>On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.</p>
<p>We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.</p>
<p>The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.</p>
<p>In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted &#8211; for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things &#8211; some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.</p>
<p>For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.</p>
<p>For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.</p>
<p>This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions &#8211; that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.</p>
<p>For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act &#8211; not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology&#8217;s wonders to raise health care&#8217;s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.</p>
<p>Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions &#8211; who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.</p>
<p>What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them &#8211; that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works &#8211; whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public&#8217;s dollars will be held to account &#8211; to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day &#8211; because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.</p>
<p>Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control &#8211; and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.</p>
<p>The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart &#8211; not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.</p>
<p>As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience&#8217;s sake.</p>
<p>And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.</p>
<p>We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort &#8211; even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.</p>
<p>For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus &#8211; and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.</p>
<p>To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society&#8217;s ills on the West &#8211; know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.</p>
<p>To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world&#8217;s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.</p>
<p>As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment &#8211; a moment that will define a generation &#8211; it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.</p>
<p>For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter&#8217;s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent&#8217;s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.</p>
<p>Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends &#8211; hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism &#8211; these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility &#8211; a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.</p>
<p>This is the price and the promise of citizenship.</p>
<p>This is the source of our confidence &#8211; the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.</p>
<p>This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed &#8211; why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.</p>
<p>So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America&#8217;s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:</p>
<p>&#8220;Let it be told to the future world&#8230;that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive&#8230;that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].&#8221;</p>
<p>America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children&#8217;s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God&#8217;s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Revised Whopper Virgins Post on AdAge</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/23/revised-whopper-virgins-post-on-adage/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/23/revised-whopper-virgins-post-on-adage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:54:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/23/revised-whopper-virgins-post-on-adage/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I posted version one of this article on my blog already. I showed it to Matt Creamer, my editor over at AdAge, and he told me he didn&#8217;t care if I had already posted it but that I would need to add a couple primer paragraphs to bring people into the history behind the Whopper [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F12%2F23%2Frevised-whopper-virgins-post-on-adage%2F&title=Revised+Whopper+Virgins+Post+on+AdAge" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">I posted version one of this article on my blog already. I showed it to Matt Creamer, my editor over at AdAge, and he told me he didn&#8217;t care if I had already posted it but that I would need to add a couple primer paragraphs to bring people into the history behind the Whopper [...]</span></a>		
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<p>I <a href="http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/21/5366/#title">posted version one of this article</a> on my blog already. I showed it to Matt Creamer, my editor over at <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/">AdAge</a>, and he told me he didn&#8217;t care if I had already posted it but that I would need to add a couple primer paragraphs to bring people into the history behind the Whopper Virgins controversy. I wrote a couple-few paragraphs and submitted and Matt posted it yesterday, <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=133445">One Whopper &#8230; and Hold the Ugly-American Sauce</a>:</p>
<p><span id="more-5373"></span></p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=133445">One Whopper &#8230; and Hold the Ugly-American Sauce</a></strong></p>
<p><em>Burger King Campaign Shows Off American Provincialism at Its Worse </em></p>
<p>Burger King has brought the Whopper vs. Big Mac taste test to the farthest corners of the globe in search of <a href="http://www.whoppervirgins.com/">Whopper Virgins</a>.  According to the site, there are still people in the world who have  never been marketed to by either McDonald&#8217;s or Burger King, to say  nothing of having tasted the two flagship burgers of each fast-food  restaurant. For these people, Whoppers and Big Macs were either  spirited to them from the closest restaurants&#8211;In the case of  Bucharest, Romania, both were within 15 minutes&#8211;or the burgers were  made by hand by a quality expert on a specially-designed propane travel  flame broiler.</p>
<p>Whopper Virgins promised to be a proper documentary film, I was  assured. The filmmakers would simply find people who have not been  market-bombed by McDonald&#8217;s &#8212; a few of the uncorrupted &#8212; and allow  them to taste both burgers <em>et voila</em>!  Nothing could go wrong, surely, from such a noble aim, right? I mean,  their goal was to simply escape the mediasphere and find some folks who  have remained (until, of course, now) pure from the media machine <em>(Schrodinger&#8217;s documentary!).</em></p>
<p>Of course, a lot of the buzz about this documentary happened on <a href="http://www.trendrr.com/timeseries/whopper_virgins_%28Number_of_Matching_Twitter_Posts_per_Day%29__413180">Twitter</a>, especially in light of <a href="http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=motrin-moms-a-twitter-over-ad-take-2008-11-17">Motrin Moms</a> and the <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=133043">Pepsi suicide ads</a>. People have been very leery of the entire endeavor. And, of course, it has been called <a href="http://mamanetbebe.blogspot.com/2008/12/whopper-virgins.html">American imperialism</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2FmCCVbBFU">Whopper Virgins documentary</a> reveals as much about the provincialism of Americans as it does  possibly about the &#8220;primitives&#8221; they&#8217;re documenting. Besides, the  American obsession with the &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Savages">Noble Savage</a>&#8221; is so 18th century. And this sort of untoward behavior is the furthest thing from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noblesse_Oblige">noblesse oblige</a>. They are neither being noble nor are they honoring any sort of moral obligation.</p>
<p>My one question is whether authentic cultural garb was procured for  these taste-testers. I hate to burst your bubble but Bucharest is a  proper city with a <a href="http://www.unibuc.ro/en/home">major university</a>.  I have a friend who has her Masters in genetics and her Ph.D. in  immunology. She almost never dresses in these Romanian costumes. Wait,  actually never. Not only that, but this McDocumentary (sorry McDonalds)  should have been edited because the open and honest interviews with the  ugly Americans is appallingly insensitive and disgusting.</p>
<p>So, tell me, are those traditional cultural costumes authentic or  monkey suits? Was this the decision of the bonehead producer or the  director, or did this crisp, minty-fresh garb just happen to be what  these folks were wearing? Were they just aching to be used there in the  back of everyones&#8217; closet? Or, was this the regalia these test subject  were wearing when and where they were discovered? I really want to  know!</p>
<p>The most deplorable part of this documentary is the critique and  unself-aware commentary of the way these test subjects took to the  burger, along the lines of &#8220;These people are so authentic because they  don&#8217;t even know how to eat a burger to say nothing of a sandwich.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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		<title>L&#8217;Amour from LeWeb</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/09/lamour-from-leweb/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/09/lamour-from-leweb/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:58:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Chemistry.com]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/12/09/lamour-from-leweb/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been pinned by the coverage of #leweb down in Paris on Twitter, especially during all of the excitement as Dr. Helen Fisher talked about sex, attraction, and falling in love. So, since everyone else has been taking the Chemistry love personality test, I thought I would do the same. So, with no further [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F12%2F09%2Flamour-from-leweb%2F&title=L%26%238217%3BAmour+from+LeWeb" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">I have been pinned by the coverage of #leweb down in Paris on Twitter, especially during all of the excitement as Dr. Helen Fisher talked about sex, attraction, and falling in love. So, since everyone else has been taking the Chemistry love personality test, I thought I would do the same. So, with no further [...]</span></a>		
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<p>I have been pinned by the coverage of <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=leweb">#leweb</a> down in Paris on Twitter, especially during all of the excitement as <a href="http://www.chemistry.com/drhelenfisher" alt="Dr. Helen Fisher" title="Dr. Helen Fisher">Dr. Helen Fisher</a> talked about sex, attraction, and falling in love. So, since everyone else has been taking the Chemistry love personality test, I thought I would do the same. So, with no further ado, here&#8217;s my results. Is any of is surprising? You, too, can take the test for free (and sign up, as a result) over at <a href="http://www.chemistry.com">Chemistry.com</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hello Chris,</p>
<p>    <strong>Welcome to your Chemistry Profile</strong>. The  following analysis is based on your responses to our questionnaire.  Your results identify your major and minor personality types, as well  as the types with whom you&#8217;re likely to be compatible.</p>
<p><strong>Your Major and Minor Personality Types </strong>Characteristics  of all four personality types can be found within each of us, but there  is almost always one personality type that is dominant. We call this  the major personality type. The Chemistry Profile also  identifies your minor or secondary personality type. You exhibit some  aspects of this personality type, though not to the same degree as with  your major type. </p>
<ul>
<li>Your major personality type = <strong>Director</strong></li>
<li>Your minor personality type = <strong>Negotiator</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>You are a DIRECTOR/negotiator</strong> You are an innovator. You are an inventive, thorough, independent  thinker with a deep interest in how the world works. You quickly grasp  patterns and relationships. And when you focus on a particular  work-related or social puzzle, you often come up with novel theories  and ideas about it. You have a strong need to achieve. You want to make an impact on the  world. And with your aptitude for theoretical thinking, your  investigative rigor, your logic and your determination, you are likely  to win the honors your hard work deserves. You are a complex person, outwardly assertive, logical and  intellectual, yet likely to see the many sides of an issue, feel deep  sympathy for others and enjoy the spiritual as well as the concrete. You can be friendly, insightful and eager to please. These  attributes, combined with your love of challenges and knowledge, make  you an exciting, and at times, very sensitive companion. </p>
<p><strong>How your personality breaks out</strong></p>
<p><strong>Explorer &#8211; 23% of your personality </strong>- Known  for high energy, high creativity and spontaneity. Seeks novelty, risk  and pleasure. Intellectually curious and not easily swayed by opinion. </p>
<p><strong>Builder &#8211; 19% of your personality </strong>- Usually very popular. Deep attachment to home and family. Calm demeanor and low anxiety. Often consistent, loyal and protective.</p>
<p><strong>Negotiator &#8211; 27% of your personality</strong> &#8211; Excels  at seeing the big picture, long-term planning and consensus building.  An intuitive thinker who is flexible, verbal and socially skilled.  Imaginative, empathetic and nurturing.</p>
<p><strong>Director &#8211; 29% of your personality &#8211; </strong>Daring,  original, direct and inventive. A non-conformist. Skilled at abstract  thinking and short-term planning. Often assertive and quite  competitive. Tough-minded and efficient.</p>
<p><strong>Dating Tips for Directors</strong> </p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Not  everyone is as direct, focused and &ldquo;to the point&rdquo; as you are. So make  sure you give potential partners the time they need to express  themselves. You will probably be surprised at their logic and intellect.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Your  competitive spirit is useful in the office but it doesn&#8217;t work in  dating&#8211;unless you find someone who likes to challenge and debate. When  that happens, go for it. Otherwise, try to listen actively.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Aim  at investigating some of the &ldquo;grey areas&rdquo; during an invigorating  conversation. Much of the world does not see in black and white.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Separate  work from play. Try to get your assignments out of your mind while on a  date&mdash;so you can truly enjoy your &ldquo;down time&rdquo; with a partner.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Make sure to schedule enough time to get to know someone.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Try  looking directly into the eyes of your partner during a conversation;  many people find this &ldquo;anchoring gaze&rdquo; a powerful form of intimacy.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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		<title>My First Article for AdAge Global Idea Network</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/25/my-first-article-for-adage-global-idea-network/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/25/my-first-article-for-adage-global-idea-network/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Adage]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Please check out my first article as a writer for AdAge, In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual. In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual: To market successfully, you need to understand college kids This is my first post for the Global Idea Network and I am happy to [...]]]></description>
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			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F11%2F25%2Fmy-first-article-for-adage-global-idea-network%2F&title=My+First+Article+for+AdAge+Global+Idea+Network" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">Please check out my first article as a writer for AdAge, In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual. In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual: To market successfully, you need to understand college kids This is my first post for the Global Idea Network and I am happy to [...]</span></a>		
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<p>Please check out my <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=132835">first article</a> as a writer for <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=132835">AdAge</a>, <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=132835">In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold"><a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=132835">In &#8216;Poor But Sexy&#8217; Berlin, Brands Need to Understand Casual: To market successfully, you need to understand college kids</a></span></p>
<p>This is my first post for the Global Idea Network and I am happy to be here. I aim to post once-a-week about my experience in Berlin and around Europe as an expat. Today, I want to talk a little bit about Berlin, the city its Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, called &#8220;poor but sexy.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="javascript:pop('http://adage.com/images/bin/image/Abraham3.jpg',400,400)"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/photo/Abraham3.jpg?1227652943" width="180" height="135" hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" align="right" class="photo" title="My First Article for AdAge Global Idea Network" alt=" My First Article for AdAge Global Idea Network" /></a>Berlin is sexy, poor, and the most casual city I can imagine. Everyone wears jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, and some sort of field jacket. At first I mistook this casualness as slovenliness or poverty. No. Berlin&#8217;s casualness is very intentional. In spite of limited cash, Berliners are slaves to fashion and remain current. The moment jeans went skinny, Berlin went skinny. When the world became obsessed with Chuck Taylors, Berliners sported them. Current, as long as the fashion palette keeps to caps, jeans, t-shirts, jackets, and sneakers. When my friend Mark wore the wrong sort of casual his friends staged an intervention: the jeans were all wrong, the jacket was uncool, and the shoes had to go.</p>
<p>It occurred to me that successful marketing in Berlin requires marketing to college kids, who are the epitome of poor but sexy, across the board and for everything. How would you sell a car, a cell phone, a pair of panties, a watch, some gum, a bank account, or a credit card to a teenager and you&#8217;ll probably get it right here in Berlin.</p>
<p><a href="javascript:pop('http://adage.com/images/bin/image/large/Abraham2.jpg',400,400)"><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/photo/Abraham2.jpg?1227652929" width="180" height="135" hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" align="left" class="photo" title="My First Article for AdAge Global Idea Network" alt=" My First Article for AdAge Global Idea Network" /></a>When it comes to purchases, Berliners judge each others&#8217; fashion sense like they do at college, where how you were dressed had more to do with style and selection &#8212; how you wore it &#8212; and less to do with the total cost of purchase and where you bought it. Competition in the marketplace comes from flea markets, hand-me-downs, swap meets, and eBay as easily as it may your competitor. Lots of those skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors were scored used from the 80s. I learned from my friend Libia from Mexico City that Berlin is world famous for its used clothing and consignment stores. There is no stigma associated with getting stuff used and cheap &#8212; quite the opposite.</p>
<p>There are other concerns when marketing to Berliners: biking, weather, exposure, and the elements. Like college students, Berliners take public transport and ride bikes every day in all sorts of Central European weather. In fact, I have been told again and again that bicycles are neither recreational nor optional. They&#8217;re essential to daily life. Like students going to class in the morning, Berliners need to carry everything they need for the day with them. Necessity demands that Manolos are pretty impractical, as are skirts, heavily-styled hairdos, and exceptionally-delicate makeup rituals.</p>
<p>Berlin casual is not limited to kids in their teens and twenties, however. I am talking about my 39-year-old friend Frank, who pretty much dresses in hooded sweatshirts and jeans all the time (with a fierce family brand loyalty to the G-Star brand, universally popular in Berlin) and, coincidentally, dresses just like his two sons, 8 and 10, as you can see in the photo illustrations. Yes, Frank, who runs a production company called <a href="http://www.thelimemachine.com/" class="body" target="_blank">The Lime Machine</a>, approved this post.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I have been invited to be a European correspondent to the <a href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork">AdAge Global Idea Network</a>. I am a resident of Berlin, Germany, and will be mostly reporting my experience in Central and Eastern Europe; however, GIN is a moveable feast &#8212; it is global, after all.  I hope you enjoy the post.  Please consider <a href="http://adage.com/rss-feed?section_id=642">subscribing to the blog</a>.  I plan to post at least once-a-week. Plus, there are a wide assortment of other great bloggers from around the world.</p>
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		<title>Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veteran&#8217;s Day</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/11/please-help-me-support-our-troops-on-veterans-day/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/11/11/please-help-me-support-our-troops-on-veterans-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Today is Veteran&#8217;s Day, a day that pays homage to every man and woman who has served in the United States Armed Forces, in times of war and peace.  Please consider donating any amount today to help our returning troops.  If you donate now your funds will be matched dollar for dollar! I have personally [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F11%2F11%2Fplease-help-me-support-our-troops-on-veterans-day%2F&title=Please+Help+Me+Support+Our+Troops+on+Veteran%26%238217%3Bs+Day" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">Today is Veteran&#8217;s Day, a day that pays homage to every man and woman who has served in the United States Armed Forces, in times of war and peace.  Please consider donating any amount today to help our returning troops.  If you donate now your funds will be matched dollar for dollar! I have personally [...]</span></a>		
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<p><a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267"><img src="http://returningvets.smnr.us/images/scVets300x250.png" alt="scVets300x250 Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veterans Day" align="right" border="0" vspace="10" width="300" height="250" hspace="10" title="Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veterans Day" /></a></p>
<p>Today is Veteran&#8217;s Day, a day that pays homage to every man and woman who has served in the United States Armed Forces, in times of war and peace.  Please consider <a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267">donating any amount today</a> to help our returning troops.  If you <a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267">donate now</a> your funds will be matched dollar for dollar!</p>
<p>I have <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/causes/fundraising_pledges/20641?m=814b0121">personally pledged to raise $1,000</a> of the $10,000 that <a href="http://www.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=324">Survivor Corps</a> is raising this week to help returning soldiers in remembrance of Veteran&#8217;s Day, today &#8212; please help me make my goal. Honestly, a couple-bucks is cool &#8212; feel free to donate whatever you want. There is always the &#8220;Other&#8221; tab. If we have lots of small donations, it all adds up!  <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/causes/fundraising_pledges/20641?m=814b0121">Please join me over on Facebook Cause in support of my pledge</a>.</p>
<p class="clear_right">Our soldiers need our help now. Which is why, this Veterans Day, I’m asking you to honor their service with a modest gift to <a href="http://www.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=324">Survivor Corps’ program for U.S. Armed Forces veterans, Operation Survivor</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://apps.facebook.com/causes/cause_goals/4459?m=02c2ea4e">Survivor Corps is aiming to raise $10,000 over the next week</a>, with your help. We currently have just over 600 members in the cause. If each member donated just $20, we would have well over $12,000. In addition, Survivor Corps is currently running a matching-gift program so your donation will be doubled for the returning troops! <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/causes/cause_goals/4459?m=02c2ea4e">Please join Survivor Corps on Facebook Causes to help them reach their goal of $10,000!</a></p>
<p><center><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AdPaWIzINg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed> </center></p>
<p class="clear_right">Right now, about 620,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), major depression, or a combination of the three. Many returning veterans are facing family, employment, and other community reintegration issues. Using our ten years of experience helping survivors of violent conflict find a way back to peace, within their own bodies and minds, and in their communities, Survivor Corps founded Operation Survivor to provide the same kind of life-changing services to American veterans.</p>
<p class="clear_right"><span id="more-5186"></span><strong>NEWS FACTS<br />
</strong>Within the United States there are over one and a half million service members that have served in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, but many more have experienced less visible, psychological wounds. Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have emerged as signature injuries of these conflicts, with recent reports suggesting an increase in rates of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence among returning service members and veterans.</p>
<p>These traumatic affects of conflict, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our country. Survivor Corps’ work in some of the most conflict affected countries in the world has shown community reintegration to be the key factor in those that overcome their traumatic experiences, and those that are consumed by them.</p>
<ul>
<li>1.6 million servicemembers have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001</li>
<li>300,000 have reported symptoms of PTSD and major depression. (RAND)</li>
<li>Over 5,391 service members haveben killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 (hostile and non-hostile)4,447 killed in Iraq, 944 killed in Afghanistan (iCasualties, 06 AUG 08)</li>
<li>Over 30,000 injured</li>
<li>Over 1,000 lost limbs</li>
<li>Walter Reed Amputee Center serves 100 veterans daily</li>
</ul>
<p class="clear_right">The main issues for returning soldier since WWI have been:</p>
<ul>
<li>Major depressive disorder</li>
<li>Alcohol abuse</li>
<li>Domestic violence</li>
<li>Suicide</li>
<li>Homelessness</li>
<li>Unemployment</li>
</ul>
<p>All of these issues repeat after each war, and are symptoms of the much greater problem facing Veterans: How to reintegrate into families and communities upon return. We’ve seen these issues in our overseas networks, US citizens have seen these symptoms after past conflicts, and we are seeing these same symptoms again today..</p>
<p><strong>PTSD:<br />
</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>53% of soldiers with PSTD receive treatment. (RAND)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>SUICIDE:<br />
</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Since 2002 suicide attempts have risen from 350 to approximately 2,100 in 2007. (VA)</li>
<li>The Army is committing $1.4 billion this year to add to the quality of life of a soldier including an informal peer support program through distribution of ACE of hearts playing cards.</li>
<li>ACE cards: Ask your buddy, Care for your buddy, Escort your buddy.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>SUBSTANCE ABUSE:<br />
</strong>According to the Department of Defense heavy drinking occurred in 18.5% of those individuals from the U.S. Armed Forces surveyed.</p>
<ul>
<li>41% of veterans who drank reported problems at work</li>
<li>24.7% of veterans who drank reported problems at home</li>
<li>31.2% of veterans who drank reported depression</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:<br />
</strong>A study conducted by the National Institute of Health showed returning veterans listed alcohol as the second most frequent cause of spouse violence.</p>
<p><strong>UNEMPLOYMENT:<br />
</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>11.2% of returning young male veterans are unemployed (US Dept. of Labor)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>HOMELESSNESS:<br />
</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>40% of homeless men are veterans. (National Coalition for the Homeless)</li>
<li>200,000 veterans are homeless. (NCH)</li>
<li>Already 600 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have sought transitional housing services from the VA. (NCH)</li>
<li>Women are 2 to 4 times more likely to become homeless. (NCH)</li>
<li>After Vietnam, it generally took 9 to 12 years for veterans’ to become homeless…Returning veterans from Iraq are seeking housing services only months after returning. (NCH)</li>
</ul>
<p class="clear_right"><strong>OPERATION SURVIVOR</strong></p>
<p class="clear_right">Ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a generation of veterans in the United States from all branches of the armed services and all 50 states who are struggling to overcome physical and psychosocial injuries. Most combat veterans convalescing in military hospitals across the country will survive physically, but getting on with their lives after returning home to their families and communities is proving a significant challenge for hundreds of thousands. Among the 1.6 million who have served since 2001, suicide is on the rise, as is unemployment and incidents of substance abuse and domestic violence.</p>
<p>The successful reintegration of returning service members is an issue that will have a long-lasting impact on American society, and may become the single defining struggle facing this new generation of veterans. Survivor Corps and its partners are determined to avoid the mistakes made when veterans returned from Vietnam, which resulted in tens of thousands of post-war suicides and over 200,000 men and women living on the streets.</p>
<p>To head off this tragic outcome, Survivor Corps will build peer support programs at the community level that will bring service members and veterans together for mutual support and encourage both individual responsibility and collective action to help others in need.</p>
<p>Survivor Corps is offering an alternative “treatment” that can be made readily available in all communities, regardless of proximity to traditional military or govern¬ment centers of support. Our approach is nimble enough to address the needs of individual survivors, while still broad enough to build a coalition of survivors and service providers working to effect long-term positive change.</p>
<p>This new program will help the recovery and reintegration of hundreds of thousands of returning U.S. service members at a critical time for them and their country.</p>
<p class="clear_right">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="clear_right"><a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=267&amp;srcid=267"><img src="http://returningvets.smnr.us/images/scVets468x60.png" alt="scVets468x60 Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veterans Day" border="0" width="468" height="60" title="Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veterans Day" /></a></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
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		<title>Sarah Palin Comment Thread Par Excellence</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/10/sarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/10/sarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:52:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/10/sarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the AH Poll entitled &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; you are really missing out! Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F10%2F10%2Fsarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence%2F&title=Sarah+Palin+Comment+Thread+Par+Excellence" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the AH Poll entitled &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; you are really missing out! Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing [...]</span></a>		
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<p>If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the <a href="http://ahpoll.com">AH Poll</a> entitled <a href="http://ahpoll.com/palin/">&#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221;</a> you are really missing out!  Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing the best and the worst of the right and the left! Roll up your sleeves and batten your hatches because you&#8217;re going to have one hell of a ride. Oh, also, these comments are in reverse-chronological order so the most recent are at the top. If you want to keep track of them live, please <a href="http://ahpoll.com/palin/#comments">go visit them where they love and breathe</a>. Read below for the most amazing Sarah Palin comment thread of the Internets!<br />
<span id="more-5087"></span></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-147">Palin = MORON</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://sogetthis.com" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/10/2008 &#8211; 12:58. </div>
<div>
<p>Only  a complete moron would vote for a Republican after the past 8 years of  idiocy. McCain is a Bush croney and Palin is just an idiot.</p>
</p>
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<p><a id="comment-146"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-146">reply to KB in IA</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by ab (not verified) on Fri, 10/10/2008 &#8211; 08:52. </div>
<div>
<p>KB,<br />
      Sorry, I don&#8217;t usually reply to these remarks, but I couldn&#8217;t resist&#8230;&#8230;..<br />
      What message of &#8220;hate&#8221; are you talking about?<br />
      If someone doesn&#8217;t agree with your worldview, that doesn&#8217;t<br />
      mean they hate. Where is your tolerance?<br />
      AB</p>
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<p><a id="comment-145"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-145">Palin</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Walter Arndt (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 22:23. </div>
<div>
<p>Only a person with his head in the sand would vote for a democrat.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-144"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-144">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by KB in IA (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 21:54. </div>
<div>
<p>Things  might get interesting soon, since the Alaska Supreme Court said today  that the investigation known as Troopergate could proceed, dashing the  hopes of the McCain/Palin campaign to stonewall it until after the  election (article at <a href="http://www.adn.com" title="www.adn.com">www.adn.com</a>).  Amazing that someone CURRENTLY under investigation for misuse of public  office, could be stirring up crowds with a message of hate.  Mind-boggling that someone who had to attend 5 or 6 different colleges  before getting a degree in journalism, can try to make a bogeyman out  of someone who graduated with honors from Harvard Law. I hope Alaska  gets their Governor back soon&#8230;if they even want her back.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-143"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-143">Re: Palin</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 18:06. </div>
<div>
<p>Are  you as crazy as she is? It IS the republican party that has messed up  this Country over the last 8 yrs. We may not get out of this mess we  are in. Take your head out of the sand. Obama IS the best selection  this election.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-142"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-142">Qualified?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by  Leo (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 17:17. </div>
<div>
<p>Mrs.  Palin is much more qualified to be President than Obama who has done  absolutely nothing but organize thugs in ACORN! She could save this  Country from Socialism and all the corruption the Democrats are up to.  He is not capable of telling the truth and Hollywood and the Media are  doing their best to cover for him. He is not qualified to be a Senator  and should be on trial for treason.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-141"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-141">Pailin </a> </div>
<div> Submitted by GE Mayer (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 16:53. </div>
<div>
<p>Not  only is Palin not qualified to be Vice President much less President, I  am incensed, that John McCain would insult my intellegence by picking  such a &#8220;newby&#8221; above several well qualified, experienced women who have  served the country and the Republican party.<br />
      I expect my Comander in Chief to Carefully sellect an individual more  qualified than him/herself to take over. It shows John&#8217;s thinking.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-140"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-140">Palin?  Presidential material?  No, doggone it!</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Krissi (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 21:35. </div>
<div>
<p>While  I admire Sarah Palin&#8217;s spunk and determination, I think that she is  completely out of her league as not only a vice president but also a  president. If people would take a good look at her record, they&#8217;d see  that she doesn&#8217;t even have a good grasp of the issues. </p>
<p>In addition, she&#8217;s been caught in numerous lies and distortions. For  example, she did not sell a jet on eBay &#8212; she tried but failed; the  jet was sold later to a private buyer. She did not leave the town of  Wasilla financially sound; she left it in debt. She says she;ll be a  strong supporter of kids with needs. In truth, Palin actually slashed  funding for schools for special needs kids by 62%. </p>
<p>And her famous, &#8220;I told the Congress &#8220;thanks, but no thanks,&#8221; for  that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we&#8217;d build it  ourselves&#8221; line? More spin. Congress&#8217; requirement that funds be spent  on that bridge (aka the &#8216;earmark&#8217;) were removed before Sarah Palin  became governor. She was, therefore, in no position to tell Congress  anything about the bridge, one way or the other. During her campaign,  she said she supported funding for the bridge. </p>
<p>There are more examples, of the fibs and many examples of her poor  insight into our nation&#8217;s problems. I could list them all, but I  encourage you to do your own homework (forwarded emails DO NO COUNT)!</p>
<p>If MCCain and Palin win this election, I&#8217;ll probably be hoping for a lengthy, overseas assignment &#8212; maybe four years or more!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-139"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-139">Palin is Failin</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by GA for Brains in the White House (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 21:02. </div>
<div>
<p>W &#8211; below C student<br />
      McCain &#8211; at the bottom of his class<br />
      Are we really electing the best? Shouldn&#8217;t we elect someone better than  we are? And someone not ready for the assisted living home? Someone who  can remember the name of his opponent instead of calling him &#8220;that  one&#8221;. McCain left right away after the debate &#8211; seniors do go to bed  early, probably past his bedtime. As for integrity, check out McCain&#8217;s  involvement in the S&#038;L bailout, he was right there along side W&#8217;s  brother Neil. All working to steal investors&#8217; money. Just like King  Henry is doing now, rewarding his Wall St. buddies.</p>
<p><strong>And we wonder why this happens to us???</strong></p>
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<p><a id="comment-138"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-138">Palin</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ed Sherrill (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 10:49. </div>
<div>
<p>Not  only is Sarah Palin competent to become President, she is idealogically  and tempermentally better suited to be President than John McCain.  Republicans are going to be very sorry thet chose McCain over Mitt  Romney. I only pray the Democrates don&#8217;t screw up the country so bad  over the next four years that it can&#8217;t be fixed.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-136"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-136">Is she for real?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 22:13. </div>
<div>
<p>If  Joe Biden winked at the camera 5-6 times during the debate, wouldn&#8217;t we  be calling him a pervert? Come on people, get serious. Sarah Palin is a  joke &#8212; an embarrassment to Americans who take our politics &#8212; and the  plight of our country &#8212; seriously.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-134"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-134">Is Sarah Palin Qualified to be President?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.selfhelpdaily.com" rel="nofollow">Joi</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 13:34. </div>
<div>
<p>To  be sure, Sarah Palin doesn&#8217;t deserve the crucifixion the media and  entertainment world are giving her (and her family). McCain might  deserve some of it, after all &#8211; he picked her. Why? She&#8217;s female. I  admire the man completely &#8211; he is an American hero and I can&#8217;t even  begin to imagine the hell this brave man endured.</p>
<p>However, when it came to choose running mates, I belive Obama chose  one that was best for the country and McCain chose one (he thought) was  best for the campaign.</p>
<p>I THINK that he lost the race with his choice.  I KNOW he lost my vote.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-133"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-133">Surprising VP choice</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">olivier blanchard</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 13:30. </div>
<div>
<p>Hindsight  is always 20/20. Perhaps Gov. Palin&#8217;s weaknesses weren&#8217;t 100% obvious  to Sen. McCain when he picked her. (So much for due diligence, I  guess.) Did he want a dynamic, charismatic, family-friendly VP  running-mate? Of course. And she fit the bill&#8230; on the surface, at  least. But honestly, weren&#8217;t there better choices (male or female) for  the job? Competent, charismatic, appealing, worldly Republican  governors or senators? People he actually knows and trusts? 30 years in  politics, and he can&#8217;t think of a single person he has worked with who  would be a better choice for a running mate? He goes with a complete  stranger? I find that bizarre. Irresponsible, even. I just don&#8217;t get  it. There are plenty of smart, competent, experienced women in the  Republican Party who would have made a great running mate.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-132"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-132">Don&#8217;t confuse appeal with competence</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by DBStevens (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 12:21. </div>
<div>
<p>Too  many people in this country confuse personal appeal with competence,  and make decisions based on who&#8217;s the most charming or even who&#8217;s  sexiest. Or they make decisions based on generalities such as &#8220;we need  a woman in the White House.&#8221; A COMPETENT woman in the White House would  be a great asset to this country. There is no doubt of that.</p>
<p>But we can&#8217;t decide the leaders of our country based on a visceral  reaction to her charm and folksy demeanor (there is a lot of doubt as  to the sincerity of that demeanor anyway&#8230;she shows signs of being  rather ruthless). During these times of uncertainty and fear, it&#8217;s  natural to want some comfort, to feel that the person leading our  country is down-to-earth and &#8220;real.&#8217; We felt good about Bush and people  like Rudy Guiliani for a short time right after 9/11. They appealed to  our emotions and need for reassurance. But that demeanor means nothing.  It&#8217;s the actions that matter, and in the time following 9/11, both Bush  and Guiliani&#8217;s true nature was revealed&#8230; incompetence and  self-serving.</p>
<p>Sarah Palin acts cute and has a pretty face. That&#8217;s perfect for  president of the PTA. But has not gained enough experience to be  president of a country. The job of Vice-President or President is NOT  an &#8220;on-the-job-training&#8221; type of job. Being Mayor of a tiny town in a  remote state, then Governer of that remote, sparsely populated state  (670,000, way smaller than a city like El Paso, TX) is not enough  experience to lead a country whose every move has global implications.  Palin treated the job of Governer like a telecommuting job, she worked  form her hown home for 86% of the year.</p>
<p>No matter how intelligent she may seem to be, no matter how  ambitious or driven she may seem, and ESPECIALLY no matter how pretty  or charming she is, she is not ready for the responsibilities of a job  like President. Without experience, without having the time to really  begin to understand the nature of national and global dealings on every  level, no matter how much coaching or guidance she would receive, Palin  would either crumble under pressure or make very bad decisions with  repercussions that could shake this country and its international  stature to the core. Or she wouldn&#8217;t act quickly enough at  all&#8230;stalling and deflecting decisions (as she does with many  questions, or with such events as the investigation dubbeed  &#8220;Troopergate&#8221;). </p>
<p>I also worry about the demands of her family. During times of her  family&#8217;s need, do we want someone faced with the dilemma of either  neglecting her family&#8217;s needs because of her duties as Vice-President,  or neglecting the VP duties because of her family&#8217;s needs? Neither of  those are good choices&#8230;.Sarah Palin has too many personal  responsibilities.</p>
<p>Palin also shows all the signs of behavior very similar to  Bush&#8217;s&#8230;including a tendency toward cronyism, abuse of power, and  self-serving decisions that flout the law. </p>
<p>She even mispronounces the word &#8220;nuclear&#8221; just like Bush. Certainly  that&#8217;s a small point, and that pronunciation is commonly recognized as  a sub-standard metathesis of the word, but it&#8217;s very annoying to listen  to. </p>
<p>So wake up American. Move your responses from your gut to your  brains, and make sure you understand the repercussions of your vote.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-131">I&#8217;m moving&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.andyosier.com" rel="nofollow">Andy Osier</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 10:15. </div>
<div>
<p>John  McCain himself isn&#8217;t capable of running the country; I shudder to think  of the train wreck a Palin administration would be. If they win, I&#8217;m  seriously considering a moving. How&#8217;s the January weather in Berlin,  Chris?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-130"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-130">Big State&#8230;&#8230;little experience!</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/126" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 18:11. </div>
<div>
<p>Granted, we&#8217;ve got plenty to worry about at home!<br />
      But we&#8217;re talking about a Governor of a state bordered by 2 foreign  countries, Palin is the proud NEW owner of a passport! (barely 1 year)<br />
      The world is smaller than ever and so is our standing in it. We don&#8217;t  need &#8220;a little Wasilla in Washington&#8221;. We already have a narrow minded  view of the world with our current administration.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-129"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-129">Palin for presidnet?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Joyce (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 16:49. </div>
<div>
<p>She  would call on the brightest brains in the Republican party, put them in  positions of power and support, and do her best to do the best she  could for her country. She&#8217;s an acheiver and would never accept failure  for herself. She has Condeleesa, Romneys, Huckabees and several others  who want to serve and members to help and advise her. Her history shows  that she uses support and advise to guide her towards her goals and  accomplishments. She would take the credit for it too.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-128"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-128">Re: If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Allison (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 15:10. </div>
<div>
<p>Palin  is the only person that does not have someone dictating what she says  about policy and does not try to appear to have all of the answers. She  certainly knows how to find the answers. She has integrity, and knows  truth when she sees it and definitely has mankind&#8217;s best interests as  her priority. These are some of the things that make her the best  candidate for the job. I am sick and tired of politicians with agendas!  She is a real person that is capable of any good, or decent task put  before her. She will also employ the same type of people to work beside  and under her. The point that she is not capable of selling us down  stream for a special interest group, or her own pocket, or fame makes  her my choice in a leader &#8211; regardless of the presence of McCain.  Allison</p>
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<p><a id="comment-127"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-127">Re: If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 15:08. </div>
<div>
<p>Palin  is the only person that does not have someone dictating what she says  about policy and does not try to appear to have all of the answers. She  certainly knows how to find the answers. She has integrity, and knows  truth when she sees it and definitely has mankind&#8217;s best interests as  her priority. These are some of the things that make her the best  candidate for the job. I am sick and tired of politicians with agendas!  She is a real person that is capable of any good, or decent task put  before her. She will also employ the same type of people to work beside  and under her. The point that she is not capable of selling us down  stream for a special interest group, or her own pocket, or fame makes  her my choice in a leader &#8211; regardless of the presence of McCain.  Allison</p>
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<p><a id="comment-126"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-126">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 12:47. </div>
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<p>She didn&#8217;t ride in on her &#8220;own merits&#8221; She rode in on her SEX. PERIOD.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-125">If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by RisingFromDecadence (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 12:17. </div>
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<p>It&#8217;s  the most frightening and compelling reason to not elect McCain to date.  It&#8217; clear that the choice was to win vs. what&#8217;s right for the country.  And it saddens me that with so many strong female candidates out there  McCain has landed on this choice. It speaks volumes of his lack of  sound judgement and doesn&#8217;t do justice to the feminist movement.</p>
<p>I couldn&#8217;t agree more with &#8220;Double Standard&#8217;s&#8221; comments about  education, and intelligence vs. the &#8220;experience&#8221; of a low-population  governor. Has it somehow become a negative trait for our president to  be articulate well educated and even published?</p>
<p>I think its safe to now say, like every great civilization, America  has grown from it&#8217;s indestructible, can-do &#8220;adolescence,&#8221; and has  entered it&#8217;s &#8220;decadent&#8221; period of greed, fear, fat and a lack of clear  vision. America needs a president who will bring intelligence, a new  vision, and optimism so that we don&#8217;t lose the real values we&#8217;ve grown  up to believe are American such as truth, innovation, compassion,  charity and vision.</p>
<p>Our values as a nation should not be confused with same sex  marriages or religious agendas. I seem to remember from my grade school  social studies classes that America was born as a nation with the  purpose and promise of many freedoms. Personal choice values are not to  be mixed with National values. Growing up, this difference has been why  I&#8217;ve been so proud to be an American. In the last 8 years much has  changed. I believe that only with the leadership of Obama will we be  able to regain our credibility and our course as a nation. Most  importantly, America could be &#8220;Proud Again.&#8221;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-124"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-124">Answer the question</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://ascannerbrightly.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Jaz-Michael King</a> (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 10:40. </div>
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<p>As  an unbiased, unable-to-vote immigrant, can I point out that as usual,  from either of your minimalist two sides, when the question is simply  If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be  competent to be President?&#8221;, the arguments spin off to why the opponent  isn&#8217;t. Maybe that will be the next question, but like I wanted to yell  at Palin while watching the debate&#8230; answer the question posed to you.</p>
<p>Everyone has their weak points, and in some respects, Obama, who has  considerably more than two years in the US Senate as his experience (he  was a state senator, you know) has plenty. However, I think there&#8217;s a  good reason hockey moms and joe sixpacks don&#8217;t run. No-one wants  regular folk in charge. You all want a ruling elite no matter how much  you profess to the contrary.</p>
<p>There are plenty of strong, competent women on both sides of the aisle in the USA. Gov. Palin is not one of them.</p>
<p>She is not qualified because she is not qualified. Being as  unqualified as anyone you wish to compare her to does not make her  qualified. Her inabilty to answer a straight question makes her  unqualified. I personally believe the fact she is the kind of person  who can compete in a beauty contest makes her unqualified. And as of  today, her assertion that Obama&#8217;s political career started off in the  living room of a terrorist (all of a sudden, he&#8217;s been a politician a  lot longer than two years according to the Republicans) has pulled her  from the absurd to the surreal.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t get me wrong, Obama seems to pander to some vaporous &#8220;change&#8221; mentality, but that wasn&#8217;t the question.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-123"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-123">Palin Unqualified</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous jones (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 09:16. </div>
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<p>The  difference between Obama and Palin is that Obama thinks. He&#8217;s smart  enough to go to Harvard, graduate high enough in his class to be  president of the Harvard Law Review there. He&#8217;s a thinker who doesn&#8217;t  shoot from the hip. He knows the Constitution inside and out and knows  if something is just a whim to increase his own power compared to a  great idea which would help millions of people (think fairer taxes,  health insurance coverage). Palin bankrupted Wasilla which is now 23.5  MILLION dollars in debt. She has no idea of what real issues are out  there&#8212;she doesn&#8217;t have any idea of what to do in a financial  situation, a diplomatic situation or anything beyond her own home. She  shows no compassion for others who are not in her situation (religious,  financial, educational, political) and has no international experience.  We do not need another DOPE in the White House. McCain has shown very  poor judgment in choosing an under-educated (a BA is like a high school  degree these days) fool rather than a smart, intellectually  sophisticated worthy VP candidate. This is a sellout of the Democratic  process. Such a shame. But then again, McCain graduated at the bottom  of his class (894 out of 899), so what does he want with a smart second?</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-122">Just because she could, does not mean she should.</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Bjshazam (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:34. </div>
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<p>Does  it not trouble anyone who has been posting here that we have reached  this point at all? I&#8217;ve been writing draft after draft of posts here,  trying to find the right balance that won&#8217;t come across as too  ideological, or that won&#8217;t be automatically dismissed by the true  sycophants because it contains some Left or Right code word that  justifies their turning off of the brain. Can&#8217;t do it. She&#8217;s too  dangerous, and it angers me so much that we as a country have been put  in the position of having to opine about the staggering impropriety of  her selection as McCain&#8217;s running mate.</p>
<p>Consider: </p>
<p>My brother is a great guy. Smart as a whip, with what I think is  decent judgment (except for his love of the Yankees). I trust him  implicitly. So, should I be in a position to name him to, say, the  Supreme Court, I would expect no questions from anyone about his  qualifications. According to the Constitution, he is legally qualified  to be a Justice, even the Chief Justice. I already told you he is smart  and has good judgment. What else do you need to know? How dare you  question my choice or his desire to serve?</p>
<p>The President of the United States has a mind bogglingly huge amount  of discretion in executing the job. The president can, without  obstruction by court or Congress, lay waste to our financial system,  impede entirely the execution of justice, or unleash Armageddon. The  office of the president can disband virtually unilaterally the entirety  of the intelligence gathering power of the U.S., or focus it all on the  least secure among us &#8212; with no recourse by anyone.</p>
<p>Most of the time, this isn&#8217;t an issue. Regardless of your political  persuasion, we have been blessed mostly with chief executives that took  the burdens of job dead seriously. A president of the entire country,  not just those who cast the votes.</p>
<p>Now the bar has been set so low that we cannot figure out the right  words to describe how wrong it is for a candidate to relish the fact  that she really doesn&#8217;t understand the job the Constitution has laid  out. That this is somehow an asset to a campaign makes me ashamed for  my country.</p>
<p>That John McCain affirmatively foisted this train wreck upon his own  party, and possibly upon the country, is a sin for which he should  never be forgiven. </p>
<p>That she is considered by some to be the next face of the GOP, and a  real contender for the nomination next time around, should make my GOP  colleagues shudder and the nation weep.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t want a hockey mom or joe six-pack running the country. Hell,  I don&#8217;t want anyone like me running the country. I want a president.  And she is not it.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-121"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-121">make that Palin UNQUALIFIED PERIOD</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:25. </div>
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<p>Darn, brain outrunning my fingers.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-120"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-120">Palin qualified period</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:22. </div>
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<p>And  the mental midgets who are using that as a ruse to comment on Obama  miss the entire point. Biden IS qualified to fill in shoudl something  happen to Obama (go to smoking gun to see why that IS an issue). </p>
<p>Palin is a bimbo and if you do not think so, Palin supporters, then  take this simple acid test: were it Obama who made those brain dead  comments instead of Palin, what would you be saying about him? Gotcha!</p>
<p>jim</p>
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<p><a id="comment-119"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-119">Palin Not Qualified</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:01. </div>
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<p>Anyone  that believes that Sarah Palin is qualified to be President is kidding  themselves. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman. The  fact that she is SO unqualified is what made her pick an insult to  every hard-working, intelligent woman out there. She was picked for her  good looks and her folksy charm. There were MANY more qualified women  in the ranks of the Republican party that could have been chosen.<br />
      Palin attended five different colleges before she was finally able to  stick out a degree program. She majored in journalism and  communications and couldn&#8217;t name ONE newspaper or magazine that she  reads on a regular basis. She minored in political science and doesn&#8217;t  know what the Vice President&#8217;s role and duties are in our government.  She has abused her power in every political post she has been elected  to, has lied about her record both as mayor and governor and her short  political career has been marked by scandal. She says that she fought  the energy interests in Alaska, but her campaigns have all been heavily  funded by energy companies.<br />
      In short, she&#8217;s not smart, she&#8217;s lacks integrity, she has gotten most  of what she has attained on her looks and charm and these things don&#8217;t  add up to someone who is qualified for Vice President, nevermind the  Presidency. If you want her to be your leader, move to Alaska. This  country and the world cannot afford another incompetent leader at the  helm. One more bumbling idiot at the helm will spell doom for the  future of all of the citizens of this country.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-118"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-118">qualifications.</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://crazypolitics.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Crazy Politico</a> (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 20:10. </div>
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<p>If Gov. Palin isn&#8217;t qualified to &#8220;POSSIBLY&#8221; become president, then what of Barack Obama? </p>
<p>What exactly is his qualification for the job? A couple of  non-descript years in the Senate with no major legislation to show for  that time? A history of voting &#8220;Here&#8221; on controversial issues so as to  keep a rather neutral record when running for the next higher office?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-117"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-117">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 14:49. </div>
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<p>Does  she have enough political experience for the position of president? I  would say not&#8230;.. but then again, there&#8217;s nothing like a long run of a  president that can&#8217;t even string a sentence together in English to  remind you that you don&#8217;t really need much skill for the job. It&#8217;s  whose behind the president that counts no?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-116"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-116">Is Palin Qualified to be President?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Thoughtful_Independent (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 11:49. </div>
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<p>I&#8217;m  a registered independent. I was waiting for the VP picks to be made  before making my mind up. VP&#8217;s Gore and Cheney have both illustrated  the growing importance of the VP position in the Executive Branch. The  magnitude of the nations and worlds problems highlight the fact that  the top two elected officials in the US need to have a wide range of  capabilities., strong intellect, and global perspective. At minimum,  the President needs a knowledgeable confidant and advisor he/she can  trust. </p>
<p>For all of her folksy charm, Governor Palin displays very little of  these qualities or qualifications. If you take the time to investigate  the educational and professional accomplishments of our sitting VP&#8217;s  over the past 50 years, even the most biased observer would conclude  that Governor Palin would be the least educated and least experienced.  If you don&#8217;t have the time to look at all of them, just compare her  against Dan Quayle who was arguably the weakest of the sitting VP&#8217;s.  Quayle&#8217;s accomplishments at the time he was selected as Bush&#8217;s running  mate dwarf Palin&#8217;s. </p>
<p>Upon inspection, the rabid and exaggerated claims about her energy  expertise and executive experience vaporize (the claims of foreign  policy experience are not even a valid topic). Living in an oil rich  state, shuffling petrodollars from the oil companies to the citizens in  the form of dividends, &#8220;negotiating&#8221; potential terms of a yet unplanned  and unfunded natural gas pipeline, and a college degree in journalism  do not qualify one as an energy expert. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the role of Governor of Alaska is diminished in  complexity compared to the Governors of the lower 48 due to factors  such as: 1) very small population (the whole state has a population  smaller than typical medium sized US cities), 2) the largest Alaskan  cities are smaller than many small ciities or large towns in the lower  48 (Anchorage = ~280K, Fairbanks = ~35K, Juneau = ~35K), 3) low  industrial output (Alaska is ranked near the bottom compared to the  other 50 states), and 4) a budget which is majority funded by revenues  from oil and gas companies. The hardest problem of the Alaskan governor  appears to be deciding how much money to send from the Permanent Fund  to the citizens versus how much to stash away for a future time when  oil revenues begin declining. </p>
<p>I find the argument that Palin has more &#8220;executive experience&#8221; than  McCain, Obama or Biden to be disingenuous. If executive experience is  really so important, Mitt Romney should be the Republican candidate for  President or, at minimum, the VP candidate. While I was not a huge fan  of Mr. Romney, his skillset is so superior to Palin&#8217;s that comparisons  are impossible. The same can be said with respect to experience in  matters of the economy. Ironically, Mr. Romney&#8217;s biggest shortcoming  appeared to be that he was a Washington outsider. Now being from our  most remote state is a strength for Palin? </p>
<p>My perspective is that the most successful Presidents of the last 50  years (for arguments sake Eisenhower, Reagan and Clinton) were able to  balance their core idealogical positions with advocacy for programs and  policies that improved the situation for the majority of US citizens  and improved our stature in the global community. Each of these  Presidents had well educated and highly skilled running mates. As an  Independent who holds a blend of conservative and liberal positions,  this mix is what I am weighing the most. My assessment is that  Obama/Biden have a better overall leadership/intelligence/world view  profile than McCain/Palin. McCain could have selected a male or female  running mate who would have tilted my assessment in his favor.  Unfortunately, for reasons only he and his advisors can comprehend, he  went with a female ideologue with weak academic, intellectual and  professional skills.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-115"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-115">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 06:15. </div>
<div>
<p>@  CanIGet2NewZealand </p>
<p>What does it take to satisfy people like you?<br />
      or&#8230; is this a display of jealousy ? Ms Palin does make a rather  impressive appearance on a simple &#8216;ride in from the Wilds of Alaska&#8217;.<br />
      Instead of complimenting a person on a job well done you prefer to show the &#8220;cat fight&#8221; attitude.<br />
      What has Obama more than Palin?</p>
<p>If Obama had been a white boy from Illinois, would he have received  the nomination of the Dem Party? If your answer is NO _ then you must  vote for Palin for she rode in on her own merits not on her skin color!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-114"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-114">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://questionitnow.com/educationb" rel="nofollow">REB 84</a> (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 00:35. </div>
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<p>Would John McCain be a competent president?  This is a question you should be asking.<br />
      <a href="http://questionitnow.com/educationb/2008/09/which-is-real-mccain.html"> QuestionItNow &#8211; Will America lead?</a></p>
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<p><a id="comment-113"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-113">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by CanIGet2NewZealand (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 19:28. </div>
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<p>Palin has been governor of a state with the population of Poughkeepsie, New York . </p>
<p>The State of Alaska, despite its conservative appearance has been  giving out money to its citizens from its oil dividens (Alaska  Permanent Fund) (<a href="http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style" title="http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style">http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style</a>)  since the 1970&#8242;s. The money Palin boasts about giving her citizens is  money of this sort, the citizens of Alaska have been receiving these  payments for almost 40 years. How can she use these payments as part of  a discussion of her fiscal capabilities as Governor? </p>
<p>Governor Palin impresses me as being a cross between a Barbie Doll  and that really annoying head cheerleader that the intelligent girls  all could not stand in highschool.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-112"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-112">Palin was a mistake for McCain in the 1st Place</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.ireport.com/people/FranklinB?view=documents&#038;viewingAsOthers=true" rel="nofollow">FranklinB</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 16:52. </div>
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<p>I  have been publishing my thoughts on this matter for awhile now  regarding the selection of Sarah Palin for VP. I gave my views on her  initial selection here:</p>
<p>Did John McCain have good judgement?<br />
      <a href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657</a></p>
<p>Sarah Palin is not my Vice President<br />
      <a href="http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179" title="http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179">http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179</a></p>
<p>Sarah Palin is just another pretty face<br />
      <a href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323</a></p>
<p>McCain will have to pick a new VP<br />
      <a href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699</a></p>
<p>VP Debate was great, for Biden and Obama<br />
      <a href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625</a></p>
<p>Overall I agree that McCain is kind of a maverick, but also he is a  big gambler. Instead of picking one of the most qualified in the arena,  he went outside to a relatively unknown woman who he knew could  energize the base. That has happened, but with such obvious liabilities  that only a pure conservative will think she is qualified, because pure  conservatives don&#8217;t care who is in that position as long as that person  is republican, conservative and can walk &#038; talk. Hannity has said  publicly that he believes she would be qualified to fill the top job,  and so did Limbaugh as well. I got yelled at the other day by one of my  very oldest and best friends who couldn&#8217;t believe I didn&#8217;t think she  was for real. That was before the Couric interview. Now after the  debate I know I have made the right choice with Obama and Biden. The  financial collapse is bad enough, but if there was a President Palin  someday, it could be an even worse disaster for our country. </p>
<p>Obama and Biden are consistant in their positions on the Iraq war  and other matters regarding the need to help the middle class. I  believe McCain has no interest in the working class folks in this  country, and even if Palin does have that interest, she is not  knowledgeable enough to make any difference. JMHO</p>
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<p><a id="comment-111"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-111">You&#8217;re Kidding, right?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://onthebloc.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Shelly Roberts</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 14:04. </div>
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<p>Sarah  Pallin is an embarrassment to the Republican Party, who may well be  qualified to run for PTA vice president, but hardly for the  heart-beat-away position of Vice President of the United States. </p>
<p>In the debate with Sen. Bieden Palin spoke repeatedly an d stiltedly  from obviousy drilled-in talking points rather than from any  appropriate knowledge. With a wooden, albeit cheerful presentation  worthy of earning her the title of Best Stepford Candidate.</p>
<p>Palin&#8217;s presentation was a constant one-note, praise-singing  golly/gee campaign advertiisement for John McCain, and did litttle if  anything to present any viable credentials as a candidate for the high  office into which she has been so thoughtlessly thrust.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d pity her for the position for which she has been recruited if  the holder of that position didn&#8217;t stand such a strong chance of  becoming the leader of the free world with a 79 year old unhealthy  running mate &#8211;shudder&#8211; a horrifying thought. </p>
<p>It shouldn&#8217;t be enough merely that she didn&#8217;t panic, screw up or cry  to qualify her as even a contender in the so-called debate. I have some  issues with Mr. Bidden as well, but at least he came across as someone  who has done more than simply look west and north in the direction of  the former Soviet Union, and self-pronounce a competency in foreign  affairs. That&#8217;s way too much like watching Animal Planet and  proclaiming veterinary competence with elephants.</p>
<p>Did Sarah win the debate?  She wasn&#8217;t ever even qualified to enter the race.</p>
<p>Is she qualified to be President regardless of the state of John McCain&#8217;s health?  You&#8217;re kidding, right?!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-110"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-110">Dummy be gone! THINK!</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Skillet Marimba (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 11:27. </div>
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<p>The G.O.P. targets DUMMYS but DUMMYS are finally starting to wake up. Dummy be gone.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-108"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-108">If McCain Died, Is Sarah Palin Qualified To Lead This Nation?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/" rel="nofollow">Patrick Pearce</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 09:33. </div>
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<p>Let  me first establish that I am not hopping on any band waggon here to  vilify or demonize Sarah Palin because she is a woman. My argument is  limited to choice. Based on both Vice Presidential Candidates, Sarah  Palin and Joe Biden of the Republican and Democratic Party  respectively, should one of these men (Whether Obama or McCain) died or  become incapacitated as President of the United States, and  constitutionally the Vice President is next in line to assume the  presidency, I unequivocally would trust the experience of Joe Biden to  lead this great Nation over Sarah Palin. I am sure I share the same  views as most sensible Americans. I used to hear that John McCain was a  stubborn man, I am now convinced. There are so many more experience and  viable Republicans out there to be VP, why did he chose Sarah Palin? If  only some of these potentially great men would listen to somebody  instead of arrogating to themselves because of ego, they would be such  great leaders. Obama-Biden victory in November, hands down! See my  recent post at: <a href="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/" title="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/">http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ti&#8230;</a></p>
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<p><a id="comment-107"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-107">Palin Better than Most</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://thescoundrel.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">thescoundrel</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 09:21. </div>
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<p>I  tend to disbelieve anything that comes out of any politicians mouth.  Politicians are liars&#038; cheats. While they are kissing your baby  they are picking your pocket at the same time. The President&#8217;s Job is  limited. The Congress is where most of the power in this country lies.  They make legislation, they pass legislation and even if the President  vetoes that legislation, they have the power to override it. A relative  rookie politician, Palin, actually has more executive experience than  McCain, Biden or Obama. Now that is scary since she is merely a VP  nominee. I would vote for her over Obama or Biden. She has a limited  track track record of what Obama/Biden pretends to have without any  track record to prove their claims: Palin has shown the grit to fight  her own party as governor of Alaska. Obama has shown me nothing for the  time he was in my state of Illinois government or once he was elected  Senator. He was no more than a puppet to Emile Jones that is the strong  arm thug of DEmocrat Gov. Governor Blagodabitch, the soon to be cell  mate of ex Republican Gov. George Ryan. So yeah I would trust Palin  much further than I would Obama leading this nation. Obama only  understands Chicago and Springfield style corruption which he was a  part of.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-106"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-106">If John McCain died&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Pat Baker (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 08:21. </div>
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<p>To Anonymous:<br />
      I have been hollering &#8220;Double Standard&#8221; all summer&#8221;. You hit the nail  on the spot. When Obama was trained by the late great Saul Alinsky  &#038; his staff to learn how to be a better community activist, take  surveys, housing problems, school problems in the poor Chicago  districts, Palin sneered at the his outcomings, stating all those  programs arenow defunct. Her ignorance is bliss. Reason: Viet Nam war,  &#038; the 60&#8242;s riots cost us plenty At least Obama was vetted. Some  pundits t laughed him. I too, was trained by Alinsky, this great Jewish  community consultant for the poor back in the late 60&#8242;s. If Palin was  crossed examined by a Judge/Atty she would simply say I will only  answer the questions I wish to reply to. My people call it &#8220;double  standard&#8221;. Thanks, Anonymous for reminding me that I don&#8217;t need on the  job training vp by McCain/Palin ticket.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-104"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-104">my vote</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/leanandripped" rel="nofollow">joe</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 07:35. </div>
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<p>Ihave  no faith or trust in any politition, democrat or republican, they all  end up shafting the middle class in the end,She will be no better or  worse than the rest of the lot.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-103"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-103">This Election is More Irritating than Usual</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 07:26. </div>
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<p>Why  do people feel someone who has been a Senator for 2 years is more  qualified to be President than in the unlikely event McCain has to be  replaced by Govenor Palin??? The other thing that keeps being over  looked is Nancy Pelosi has been two heartbeats away from President??  She is qualified?? Unfortunately, people are being too influenced by  the media and not doing there own research. Quit using the medias  opinions and form your own. Do some real research. Somethinf fun to do  is go to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/politics" title="http://abcnews.go.com/politics">http://abcnews.go.com/politics</a> scroll down to the Match-o-Matic II  game.  It is ver interesting.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-102"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-102">Does Being Governor Make Governor Palin Qalified?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by artbcpa (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 01:54. </div>
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<p>In  &#8220;Third Out of Four&#8221; the commentator points out that Clinton and Reagan  were both Governors before becoming President. We shouldn&#8217;t forget that  Jimmy Carter was also a Governor before becoming the most incompetent  president in the history of the United Staetes. He also may have been  among the academically brightest of all recent Presidents. What does  all that tell us?. &#8230;NOTHING.</p>
<p>Whether Sarah Palin was a Governor or Barack Obama was at the top of  his academic class does not ensure that either will or will not do a  good job in their respective positions. </p>
<p>We need to make our decision based on factors more likely to lead to  a successful Presidency. After eight years of the most secretive,  nontransparent Presidency in history, we need someone who will instill  trust in the institution of the Presidency and restore confidence in  the people of the country. </p>
<p>We had several such Presidents in the prior century &#8211; Franklin  Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. Each had a vision for the  country which was clearly articulated and embraced by the people. In a  choice between the idealistic Barack Obama and the wily curmudgeon,  John McCain, Barack Obama is clearly the choice of what this country  needs at this time in history.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-101"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-101">Palin is not our woman.</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Pam (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 23:59. </div>
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<p>I  know that I do not want Palin. I know that I don’t want her anywhere  near our foreign policy. I know that I don’t like what she said in the  debate about ‘expanding’ the role of vice president. I know that I  don’t like her far right, religious views that can impact the world in  a bunch of ways that I don’t like. </p>
<p>There are other things I don’t like about her, though, I can’t say I  am completely sure about my reasoning. I don’t like her winks and her  nods. I don’t like how she talks to us like children. </p>
<p>I question my own opinion about these things, as I am not sure if I  know what I want or expect in a female politician. It’s a very  important thing. This first woman. This example of all of us. This  person in whom I place so much of my future and that of my daughters.  Hmmm, too much pressure?!?</p>
<p>Do I want her to be more of a man than any of the men at the table?  Competing in the same way as men, but climbing the ladder in stilettos?  Or do I want her to be the nurturing female that gets things done  without men being any the wiser? With charm and feminine wiles that  could will men to do what they might not have done, otherwise?</p>
<p>I thought, when considering Hillary, that I didn’t want a woman  President who had a husband that is a former President. My sister then  pointed out that we might not consider too many women that did not have  such a sense of the White House.</p>
<p>It’s difficult. These women, up for consideration, don’t have  military backgrounds. Yet, she would be responsible for ‘pushing the  button’ and/or ending a war. </p>
<p>I guess, even if I did not have a problem with her foreign presence,  her religious intent or her understanding of the role she was about to  take on, I would still have an issue to deal with.</p>
<p>So, I don’t like Sarah, but, who do I like?  And, the bigger question for me, why?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-100"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-100">Re: Poll</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by FD (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 23:24. </div>
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<p>To King of Chatalot: I&#8217;m an independant, but I voted once and the poll will not allow me to vote again.<br />
      The only way someone could vote twice is through a proxy, but I tested that idea fater reading your comment.<br />
      It didn&#8217;t work.<br />
      I tried several different proxies, I reset my ip, and nope, it would not allow me to vote again. </p>
<p>Take off the tin foil hat.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-99"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-99">Poll</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.chatalot.net" rel="nofollow">King of Chatalot</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 22:11. </div>
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<p>I  find it amazing that Democrats would stoop so low as to make multiple  votes in this silly poll just to bend the outcome towards their way of  thinking&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..so to make it appear as if they are the  winners&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.</p>
<p>&#8230;but then&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;considering that they will ultimately lose in November I&#8217;m not totally surprised&#8230;&#8230;..</p>
<p>&#8230;..merely amazed&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-98"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-98">Palin&#8217;s hand on the &#8220;Nukular&#8221; button? </a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://mediaconcepts.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Media Concepts</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 21:39. </div>
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<p>I  can&#8217;t decide whether that&#8217;s hilarious, or horrifyingly frightening. I  think it&#8217;s both. Based on McCain&#8217;s age alone, historian Doris Kearns  Goodwin says that there&#8217;s almost a one in three chance that McCain  would die in office were he to be elected. Factor in his FOUR bouts of  Melanoma, which is often fatal regardless of the victim&#8217;s age, and  those odds increase markedly. </p>
<p>Something to think about.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-97"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-97">It&#8217;s about leadership</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://politicalvindication.com" rel="nofollow">Shane from PV</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:30. </div>
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<p>The  presidency is about leadership, and if we can survive eight years being  led by an Arkansas governor who would rather molest the hired help than  pay attention to what Osama Bin Laden is doing, then America will do  just fine with a President Sarah Palin. She certainly has more  leadership experience than her opponents. Does that mean I would have  made her my choice for VP? I would have loved to see Mitt Romney as VP,  but she&#8217;s smart, focused, and knows how to lead. The important  question, if she should ever end up in the Oval Office, would be who  she surrounds herself with. That&#8217;s another reason why Obama would be  very scary as president. He has terrible judgment, and considering the  people he has surrounded himself with throughout his life, and the fact  that as president he will have to decide what advice to act on when it  comes to important issues &#8211; I don&#8217;t trust him to be able to distinguish  from among a bevy of poor advisers the advice least damaging.</p>
<p>Obama supporters, like so many on this comment board, have no idea  who Obama really is &#8211; frankly, no one does. Obama has locked up his  records, is protected by a compliant press, and says only what he  thinks Americans want to hear. He&#8217;s a charlatan, but his supporters  don&#8217;t care. <em>That&#8217;s why this question is so ironic.</em> They hate  Bush/Republicans/conservatives more than they fear the inexperience of  their presidential candidate and manchild Barack Obama. The derangement  of the left has led them to support and oppose issues not because they  want to protect their country or improve the lives of Americans, but  because they hate their adversaries and will do or say anything to beat  them (the &#8220;this war is lost&#8221; quote by Harry Reid comes to mind &#8211; how  incredibly telling). I think this frothing derangement will cause them  to self-destruct again as they did in 2000 and 2004, where Americans  got a good look at the mindless bitterness and spite that inspires the  left. McCain will win in a squeaker.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-96"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-96">Palin is more qualified than most&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Greg (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:24. </div>
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<p>I&#8217;m  not a big political kind of guy nor do I follow many campaigns. I voted  for a democrat and a republican for president; the best person for the  job always gets my vote. But this is the first time in a long time that  I&#8217;ve seen an honest person make it this far in politics. Usually they  get creamed by the media &#8211; Palin is still holding her own. What you see  is what you get &#8211; nice change of pace especially since I&#8217;m originally  from Delaware. No doubt this isn&#8217;t true for Biden &#8211; he&#8217;s all over the  place telling you whatever it is you want to hear whenever you want to  hear it.. I don&#8217;t dislike Biden and yes, he is qualified to continue  the same old Washington politics; not what I&#8217;m looking for this year at  least. </p>
<p>I&#8217;m still wondering why Obama thinks Biden represents change? Not even close.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-95"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-95">Sarah Palin&#8217;s much sharper than Obama or Biden</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.morethings.com" rel="nofollow">Al Barger</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:08. </div>
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<p>Not  to put too fine a point on it, Sarah Palin&#8217;s the sharpest person of the  four here. People I think get that when they get a good look at her as  in her famous nomination speech or last night&#8217;s vice presidential  debate.</p>
<p>Of course, this ain&#8217;t from lack of media attempts to Quayle-ize her.  Look at the double, triple, quadruple standards. It&#8217;s supposedly some  proof that she&#8217;s a moron that she didn&#8217;t choose to spit up a list of  newspapers she reads for Katie Couric. </p>
<p>But Joe Biden says the most ignorant nonsense day after day, and it  doesn&#8217;t make the news. When the current financial meltdown started a  few weeks ago, Biden was out criticizing Bush reaction. See, when the  1929 market crash happened, FDR when on television to show people that  he was involved and doing something. FDR wasn&#8217;t president, and there  was no television then. This nonsense didn&#8217;t make the news. Imagine if  Palin said something that stupid.<br />
      =====================================<br />
      Little known Palin fact:<br />
      FACT: Having run out of ammunition during a hunting trip, Sarah Palin  once took down a moose using a beauty pageant tiara as a boomerang.</p>
<p>More Palin fun facts I just made up, and a couple hundred pictures of our girl<br />
      <a href="http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery001.htm" title="http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery001.htm">http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery00&#8230;</a></p>
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<p><a id="comment-94"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-94">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Robert (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:00. </div>
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<p>Joe Biden, VP  (Vice and Plagiarist)</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-93">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ethel W (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:50. </div>
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<p>Obama has done much good thru working for ACORN.  Remember, from tiny acorns, might oak trees grow.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-92"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-92">Barack&#8217;s leadership skills in government?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://playborhood.com" rel="nofollow">Mike Lanza</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:43. </div>
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<p>Please folks &#8211; give us an example.  And please, make it a good one. </p>
<p>If this were an election for Student Body President, I might vote  for the dude, but he&#8217;s applying to be the Leader of the United States  of America. Is there anything in his governmental experience that  indicates that he can be a great leader? Anything?</p>
<p>This ain&#8217;t no popularity contest&#8230;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-91"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-91">Palin as Prez? No Way</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://janetleejohnson.com" rel="nofollow">Janet Johnson</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:41. </div>
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<p>I&#8217;m  tired of Sarah Palin. I&#8217;m tired of kicking her around, of waiting for  her to have a public brain freeze, of hearing her droppin&#8217; g&#8217;s and  bringing nuc-u-lur back into the lexicon (I hope we&#8217;re almost finished  with that coming out of the White House).</p>
<p>At the same time, I&#8217;m proud that she&#8217;s the second legitimate woman  who&#8217;s a running mate on a presidential ticket, the first to &#8220;electrify&#8221;  a country. I&#8217;m mortified as I write that, but I&#8217;m proud of that big ol&#8217;  crack in the glass ceilin&#8217; she&#8217;s added to Hilary&#8217;s 18 million others.  (sigh) </p>
<p>As most of your poll-takers agree, no way is she qualified to be president. God help us all if she&#8217;s a heartbeat away.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-90"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-90">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Stevie (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:35. </div>
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<p>Do  I feel that a citizen of this country who has not kept abreast of the  foreign policy situations, and the current administration doctrines is  qualified to step in as head of state in an emergency? No&#8230;.<br />
      Do I feel that someone who will terminate people who disagree with her is worthy to be in the White House? No&#8230;&#8230;.<br />
      Do I feel that someone who feels that because she is a woman she should  be treated with deference in a television interview should be leading a  country? No&#8230;..<br />
      Does a cram session with various political pundits counteract her  inacurate knowledge of what life is like for the rest of us in the  lower 48? No&#8230;&#8230;<br />
      Does this woman have the ability to gain respect of various world  leaders particularly those from countries where women are considered to  be less than equal? no.<br />
      what we really need is a Margaret Thatcher type.. the closest we have is Hilary Clinton.<br />
      Anita Palin is no Hilary Clinton<br />
      And being a POW and being in the Vietnam War does not make you the  right person to be president either. There are plenty of Vietnam Vets  and others who were POW&#8217;s .. and they aren&#8217;t running for President&#8211;  though John Kerry did.. and he wasn&#8217;t a POW.. he served his country.  Don&#8217;t bank on that one being the ACE..</p>
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<p><a id="comment-89"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-89">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:29. </div>
<div>
<p>Or maybe Obama would want his friend Tony Rezko to advise him on ethics in government.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-88"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-88">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:28. </div>
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<p>Or maybe Obama would like William Ayers for his Secretary of Defense, since he knows how to blow things up.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-87"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-87">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:25. </div>
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<p>Maybe  Obama can install Rev. Wright as Secretary of State. All the other  nations of the world will love his philosophy: God damn America!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-86"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-86">Re: amazing 75% believe Palin cant be President</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:23. </div>
<div>
<p>I  think where the logic breaks down is that you&#8217;re assuming all  Governor&#8217;s are created equally. An American Governor&#8217;s principal job is  running the state, and to be honest, I&#8217;m not sure how good a governor  she is, but thats for the people of Alaska to decide. But as an  American, I feel that she&#8217;s dangerously ignorant of world affairs and  issues around a global economy. </p>
<p>And frankly, I think we&#8217;ve had enough of that already.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Obama and Biden are far more savvy. If you  watched the debate, you&#8217;ll have noticed how rarely Palin answers a  direct question. She&#8217;s not dumb, but she&#8217;s not worldly either. And  worse, she revels in her inexperience.</p>
<p>If she ever gets into the Presidential office, you might just wish  for the good ol days when GW was in charge. And if that doesn&#8217;t scare  you, it should.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-85"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-85">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:21. </div>
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<p>Don&#8217;t you love it when a public relations man calls people degrading, hateful names?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-84"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-84">That is just dumb</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.dpkpr.com" rel="nofollow">Dan Keeney, APR</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:16. </div>
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<p>You  and your swill slinging dopes really should stop. Aside from Billy Bobs  missing teeth with Confederate Flags in their pickups, Americans  understand that Senator Obama is as American as you or I.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-83"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-83">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:15. </div>
<div>
<p>Someone  commented on here that we live in a Global society and therefore need  Obama. Folks, this world is getting so screwy and dangerous, that is  exactly why we do NOT need a post-modern green horn such as Obama as  POTUS. All the pie in the sky he professes is absolutely meaningless  without solid, tough, and REAL national security. Somehow, grandiose  social programs lose their luster when you have a nuclear missile up  your ass.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-82"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-82">double standard</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.madeinhead.org" rel="nofollow">Jason Preston</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:12. </div>
<div>
<p>Palin  took five tries and five years to get a journalism degree at  undistinguished schools, and managed to be an undistinguished student  at all four schools involved in her quest for a chance to be a TV  reporter. Obama was at the top of his class at every step of his  collegiate journey. When pressed three times to answer, Palin cannot  name a single existing newspaper or news magazine that she reads. If  you can&#8217;t see the difference here, perhaps you&#8217;re not an ideal student  or intellect either, but only through pride does a person lacking in a  certain virtue seek to exalt that lack. Just because I&#8217;m not tall  enough to slam dunk doesn&#8217;t mean I push for the NBA to hire more short  people! The Presidency&#8217;s the hardest job in the world, or one of them.  Stellar intellect, stellar ethics, and stellar success in life should  all be ironclad prerequisites to the job. If Palin is qualified to be  President, I am twice as qualified and will expect Palin fans&#8217; votes  when I make my run for high office.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-81"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-81">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Cowboy X (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:10. </div>
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<p>Who  is qualified to be the President? There is no class to take to become  certified. We have to put our trust in a person. I wish that person  were Ron Paul!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-80"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-80">amazing 75% believe Palin cant be President</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:00. </div>
<div>
<p>So  75% believe Palin cant be president in case something happens to  McCain. So I guess its OK to be an inexperienced presidential  candidate, but if your a vice presidential candidate who has actually  run a state, you don&#8217;t qualify. The logic here escapes me completely.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-79"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-79">Sarah Palin: Unfiltered</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/CBSPALIN/petition.html" rel="nofollow">John Schuller</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:50. </div>
<div>
<p>CLICK ON MY NAME TO SIGN THIS PETITION</p>
<p>To:  CBS News</p>
<p>Sarah Palin herself has requested to speak to America without the  Media Filter in the Vice Presidential debate. ?I like being able to  answer tough questions without the filter of the mainstream media  telling the American people what they just heard,? she said in her  closing.</p>
<p>The people of the United States of America deserve to see the CBS Katie Couric interviews with Sarah Palin in their entirety.</p>
<p>This should be acceptable by Republicans and Democrats as it will  let Sarah Palin talk to America without the filter created by editing  and leaving important information on the cutting room floor.</p>
<p>Let us see an edition of &#8220;Sarah Palin: Unfiltered&#8221;.</p>
<p>This will allow Americans to see the real Sarah Palin.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>The Undersigned</p>
</p>
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<p><a id="comment-78"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-78">Seriously&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://newyorkmomentsblog.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">newyorkmoments</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:49. </div>
<div>
<p>regardless  of the VP candidates&#8230;are we really going to vote in a Hussein????  Seriously?? I&#8217;m saddened that I&#8217;m not going to be able to vote Democrat  this election.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-77"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-77">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:43. </div>
<div>
<p>I  sent John McCain a $1000 in September 2007&#8230;when his campaign was  flailing. I believed his voice needed to be in the debate. Until Sarah  Palin&#8217;s acceptance speech I did not send a penny to any other  candidate. </p>
<p>I was so outraged by the poor judgment demonstrated by McCain &#8212;  there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of more capable,  competent men and women who could serve as his VP. I promptly sent a  large contribution to Obama. And with every solicitation letter I  receive from John McCain (they arrive daily), I write to ask for my  money back.</p>
<p>Whether &#8220;Joe six-pack&#8221; likes it or not&#8230;we live in a Global  Society, not an igloo nation. We already had Joe-six pack from  President for the last 8 years. Doesn&#8217;t any one remember &#8211; &#8220;George W.  Bush is the guy I want to have at my BBQ&#8221;???&#8230;Well &#8211; we got him&#8211; only  we got bbq&#8217;d.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-76">Re: Would it be so much to ask&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Eric (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:35. </div>
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<p>Would it be so much to ask for a Presidential nominee who actually had some experience?</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-75">Would it be so much to ask&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.liesdamnedlies.com" rel="nofollow">Ian Thomas</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:32. </div>
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<p>&#8230;for a VP nominee who actually had some experience *before* she takes office?</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-74">Third out of four</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:30. </div>
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<p>Stack  rank all four candidates &#8212; Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin &#8212; in terms  of experience, and she comes out 3rd out of 4. Obama is last. </p>
<p>Stack rank all four candidates in terms of executive experience &#8212;  meaning, &#8216;has the candidate ever managed a budget before, had headcount  before, and had to make decisions as opposed to provide advice&#8217; &#8212; and  she incredibly comes out first amongst the four, as she&#8217;s been both  governor and mayor. </p>
<p>Being the governor of a state was good enough for Clinton, good enough for Romney, and good enough for Reagan. </p>
<p>Those who attack her experience must feel terrible that Obama is the  leading candidate for the Dem&#8217;s, given his extraordinarily thin resume.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-73">If Barack Doesn&#8217;t Die, Is He Qualified?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://playborhood.com" rel="nofollow">Mike Lanza</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:29. </div>
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<p>Be  honest, folks. In his career in *government*, not running a campaign,  has he ever demonstrated outstanding leadership or executive skills?  Sarah certainly has, but her experience may nonetheless be too light. </p>
<p>Barack Obama has the least leadership or executive skills of *any* of the major candidates for president or vice president.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-72">Not a fan, but c&#8217;mon</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.dpkpr.com" rel="nofollow">Dan Keeney, APR</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:21. </div>
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<p>I&#8217;m  not a Sarah fan, but she has a solid foundation &#8212; an ability to  connect with men and women, powerfully deliver her messages and ramp up  quickly on complex subjects. The actuaries estimate that there is a 75%  chance that Mr. McCain would survive a first term. Presumably, the  chances of him passing in the first YEAR would be very small. So the  real question would be &#8212; If Sarah Palin had at least a year as Vice  President under her belt, would she be competent to be President if  John McCain were to be incapacitated? I don&#8217;t have any doubt that she  would. I will not be voting for the GOP ticket, but the fear mongering  about Ms. Palin&#8217;s ability is baseless and perhaps sexist.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-71">To Pat Baker,  Actually, she</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by The Sensible J. (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:01. </div>
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<p>To Pat Baker,<br />
      Actually, she has NOT been governor for a few years. She has been a  governor since 2007, she won the election at the END of 2006. So, not  even 2 years yet.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-70">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by The Sensible J. (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:58. </div>
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<p>When  a lot of people say she was put in the VP nominee ticket because she  would shake things up for the Republican party, that&#8217;s scary. Why was  that the first and foremost reason why she was picked?!</p>
<p>We are not running a popularity contest here for god&#8217;s sake. We need  a leader, a WORLD LEADER that will get American back into the  respectful country it is amongst other nations in this world. Not a PTA  mom who claims she can juggle 5 kids when in fact her nanny, chef,  driver/pilot, gardener and 20 other staffers take care of the Mom role  for her. I&#8217;m all for the &#8220;women can do the same if not better job than  men&#8221; ideal, but come on, she isn&#8217;t even up to par on her events and  history. When you can only make punch points and be a talking head,  that is NOT a leader. She can&#8217;t even name ONE supreme court decision  other than Row vs. Wade. And being able to see Russia from Alaska does  not qualify as foreign experience. We do not need and DO NOT want an  average Joe or Jane to be our president or vice president.</p>
<p>It is scary when our (by that I mean the republicans) expectations have sunk so low. </p>
<p>And it&#8217;s even more scary when people are voting for republican  SIMPLY because she&#8217;s pro-life, even for those women who were victims of  rape or incest would NOT get a choice. That alone, to me, is hugely  undermining the equality so many women have worked so hard for so many  years.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-69">Sarah Palin Qualified</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://cashflowtipsbydon.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Don S</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:54. </div>
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<p>Maybe  the most appropriate question is . . . if Barack Obama is elected  president, whether or not John McCain dies, is he qualified to lead the  country?</p>
<p>Being a governor is a proven road to the White House. Alaska is a  strategic state. Let&#8217;s see: Clinton was from Arkansas &#8212; even less  strategic, Carter from Georgia and Reagan from California . . . Bush  from Texas . . . oh, sure, I saw a post on the Huffington Post this  week that said &#8220;Bush is intellectually challenged.&#8221; Of course, there  was no evidence to support the claim.</p>
<p>Obama is currently more likely to become president than Sarah Palin  and that&#8217;s something that should concern all clear-thinking Americans.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-68">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Jerome Schindler (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:53. </div>
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<p>How  could she possibly be any worse that what we have been subjected to  recently. I am sure Harry Truman&#8217;s skills woudl also have been panned.  McCain ought to be a good choice as nobody has been sure what party he  belongs to for many years.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-67">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Bill Platt (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:45. </div>
<div>
<p>Deluded?  Although she has as much or more experience than Obama, you are willing  to suggest that my delusion is that she could not be President, but  Obama can be? </p>
<p>The only delusion is that Obama&#8217;s experience is greater than hers.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-66">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:31. </div>
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<p>Palin is absolutely not qualified &#8211; anyone who thinks so is deluded.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-65"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-65">Re: pailin would shove her heels up putin&#8217;s a&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:29. </div>
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<p>The point was she won&#8217;t take no crap.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-64"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-64">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:27. </div>
<div>
<p>Too bad they don&#8217;t have a minimum test for people to take in order to qualify for the job.</p>
<p>Then James they should do the same before becoming parents. Maybe  then we won&#8217;t have so many libetards. Bunch of whiners don&#8217;t know a  good thing when it slaps them upside the head.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-63"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-63">Re: Re: Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.taipaninvestor.info/blog" rel="nofollow">Gerald</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:26. </div>
<div>
<p>As  a Vietnam veteran I can assure you that sad fact by itself (yeah, we  lost a war we had no business being in) does not qualify anyone to be  President. While I respect McCain&#8217;s service to his country McCain  himself has admitted that he collaborated with the enemy and signed  documents condemning America&#8217;s.bombing of Hanoi as being war crimes. </p>
<p>As at the time we were carpet bombing a densely populated Hanoi with  low level B-52 bombing runs, the North Vietnamese perhaps had a point  that a stressed out and in terrible pain McCain decided to agree with. </p>
<p>Not that I blame him. Fortunately, my POW camp experience was  limited to a combat training exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C. It was only  for a very long day but that was enough to make brave grown men trained  for combat by battle hardened US Marines cry out in pain. McCain&#8217;s  experience had to be horrible and I&#8217;m sure that the scars, mental and  physical, must still be with him. </p>
<p>However, I wasn&#8217;t referring to McCain other than his grandstanding  poor judgement in selecting Governor Palin as his running mate. Sarah  may be a swell gal, certainly her down home nature appeals to a lot of  down home people across America, but please, qualified to perhaps have  to step into the President&#8217;s role? </p>
<p>She is a little league player suddenly thrown into the major  leagues. I admire her spunk but fear her aggressive claim that she is  ready to serve when she can&#8217;t even handle soft ball interviews. Who  wants a President just like an average Joe? In case you haven&#8217;t noticed  there are very complicated problems that America faces that will  require outstanding leadership to solve. </p>
<p>I&#8217;m not a big Obama fan either but at least the man has first class  intelligence and a first class temperament. He doesn&#8217;t tend to shoot  from the hip or fire, ready, aim like old fighter pilots are apt to do.  Palin was a choice designed to fire up the Republican Party&#8217;s  conservative base and in that the move was successful. But at what risk  to the country if McCain and Palin are elected? </p>
<p>With the odds being about one in four that a 72 year old cancer  survivor would not make it another four years a President Palin is a  frightening possibility. </p>
<p>That&#8217;s putting country first? Please! Give me a break.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-62">ldaught2  AHEM ! ! !</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:24. </div>
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<p>ldaught2</p>
<p>AHEM ! ! !</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-61">Re: Competent?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by ldaught2 (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:16. </div>
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<p>//Until then, keep reading all the world&#8217;s magazines and Newspapers. They actually can teach you a lot.//</p>
<p>Are you kidding?? what can a bias newspaper and magazine teach??  (and that would be all of them)That is the most idiot statement I have  read!</p>
<p>To answer the question&#8230;Could Palin be President?&#8230;yes yes and  yes&#8230;.The other 3 on the ticket was in the senate and HELPED drive  America where we are today! I dont care if Palin comes from a goat  farm, she could do better than this stinkin government!!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-60"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-60">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:15. </div>
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<p>Lady Coveted&#8230;.another woman that feels threatened by good looking successful women.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-59"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-59">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:14. </div>
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<p>James flew in from that alternate universe that Joe Biden lives in.   Maybe the Missouri Truth Squad can help him.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-58"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-58">pailin would shove her heels up putin&#8217;s a&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://the-coveted.com/blog" rel="nofollow">lady coveted</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:14. </div>
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<p>being as putin&#8217;s no longer president of russia.</p>
<p>dmitri medvedev succeeded putin back in march, she&#8217;s so out of touch she&#8217;d probably miss that point too.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-57"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-57">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by James (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:08. </div>
<div>
<p>She&#8217;s  competent all right. Competent enough to ban books at the public  library, books she has never even read. Competent enough to try to fire  a librarian who was just doing her job, Competent enough to veto sex  education for minors, (surprise there huh?), competent enough to fire  the head of the troopers who refused to fire her ex-brother in law for  unjustifiable reasons.</p>
<p>No wonder repugs love her so much, she&#8217;ll fit right in..*L*</p>
<p>At least Obama went through a process and garnered enough votes to  earn the right to be where he is today. Palin was handed the position  because McCain needed a quick fix and liked the way she looked and  talked. </p>
<p>Was she the most qualified and best suited republican for the job?  Of course not and people are not being genuine if they say yes. For  that reason McCain should and will lose this election. </p>
<p>Too bad they don&#8217;t have a minimum test for people to take in order to qualify for the job.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-56"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-56">Re: Re: Pansies? then what&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:54. </div>
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<p>Palin would shove her pretty heels up Putin&#8217;s ass.  Then make him beg for more.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-55"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-55">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:52. </div>
<div>
<p>Yes.  She would do a great job, because she has intelligence coupled with  common sense, grit, and good solid values. Would to God that this  country had had dozens of Presidents like her instead of some of the  buffoons we&#8217;ve suffered through.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-54"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-54">Re: People around you</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:52. </div>
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<p>No he&#8217;ll bring them in from the hood.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-53"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-53">Shooting wolves from a Copter</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:50. </div>
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<p>is  not the kind of Hunter i respect&#8230;..and margaret Thatcher is on her  way over their to whoop your ass for comparing her to Palin&#8230;.Thatcher  was one of the most intelligent and tough politicians in modern  times&#8230;.Palin doesn&#8217;t have a college education and she can&#8217;t even  stand up to KATIE M*^#ATHERF%*#KING COURIC&#8230;.stop comparing her to  Thatcher</p>
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<p><a id="comment-52"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-52">People Around You</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:49. </div>
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<p>Obama  will have the flag stomper and terrorist, Dick Ayres and the God D@*$  America Reverend Wright. Both these gentlemen have doctorates!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-51"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-51">People around you</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46. </div>
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<p>it  is very important who the president brings into their admin&#8230;..I&#8217;m  certain Obama isn&#8217;t going to fill his cabinet from his high school  yearbook like little miss Palin</p>
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<p><a id="comment-50"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-50">Obama Qualified</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46. </div>
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<p>A one-term governor who is the most popular governor in the country. </p>
<p>Of course, that&#8217;s one more term than former &#8220;community organizer&#8221; and one-term senator.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-49"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-49">Re: Pansies? then what&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46. </div>
<div>
<p>Obviously  you haven&#8217;t seen Sarah Palin in the real world, she hunts guts and eats  things that get in her way, I would imagine you are the type of idiot  that thought Margaret Thatcher was a bad choice too&#8230;.Russia would beg  for forgiveness from Palin and Putin would be licking Sarah&#8217;s boots in  red square&#8230;.</p>
<p>Moron.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-48"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-48">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://mrclm.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Chris Meirose</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:45. </div>
<div>
<p>More  competent than Al Gore. More competent than Dick Cheney. More competent  than Dan Quayle. Palin would do just fine. Being president is as much  or more about who you have around you than anything else. You must be  able to make tough decisions, and know what you believe in, but at the  end of the day the experts you surround yourself with as President will  make or break your term in the modern context.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-47"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-47">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.pullinsreport.com" rel="nofollow">Scott Pullins</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:43. </div>
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<p>She&#8217;s clearly not competent.</p>
<p><a href="http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins--online-poll--do-you-have-faith-in-palin-3.aspx" title="http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins--online-poll--do-you-have-faith-in-palin-3.aspx">http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins&#8211;online-poll&#8211;do-you-h&#8230;</a></p>
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<p><a id="comment-46"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-46">Pansies? then what&#8230;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:43. </div>
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<p>russia  calls us a bunch of homos, and Putin slams his shoe on the desk?  &#8230;&#8230;if Palin were president Putin would literally rape her mouth on  live telivision then claim he thought she was the &#8220;entertainment&#8221;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-45"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-45">Re: Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to wipe my ass</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:42. </div>
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<p>The  answer is YES, she has run something, SHE has more experience RUNNING a  government than ANY of the candidates&#8230; So yes she is Qualified.</p>
<p>Obama isn&#8217;t qualified to be elected dog catcher, McCain at least has  the experience in dealing with hostile forces, and for you libtards  there still are hostile forces at work oh and they are hoping for Obama  too&#8230;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-44"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-44">Re: Margaret, its me God</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Margaret (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:41. </div>
<div>
<p>I  didn&#8217;t say NO degree. I said not an &#8220;Ivy League Degree&#8221;. I was just  giving my opinion &#8211; &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would  Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; My answer is yes.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-43">Palin</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Matt Jones (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:40. </div>
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<p>Clinton&#8217;s  budget experience was a budget of Arkansas which was smaller than  cuyahoga county. Obama has ZERO budget experience. She can manage a  budget. She communicates and articulates the GOP positions more  effectively than McCain, Bush, Cheney and Dole to name some powerful  people.</p>
<p>go to Canada you commie bastages!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-42"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-42">Re: Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:39. </div>
<div>
<p>and  an Obama/Biden victory will make us look like a bunch of pansies&#8230;I  would love for you to explain how a war veteran that went through what  McCain did would cause the world to look at us as a laughing stock? Mrs  Thatcher was looked at a little off by the owrkd but she did fine? is  it you are scared of women or hunting women? </p>
<p>Palin is the only candidate in the race I would vote for president  and be happy about it. I will vote McCain just to get Sarah Palin  closer to the Big Job.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-41"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-41">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to wipe my ass</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:35. </div>
<div>
<p>The US is going to hell because McCain&#8217;s buddy George Bush set us on that course.  4 more years of that? </p>
<p>BTW, the question was if McCain kicks, is Palin qualified?  And the answer is no.</p>
<p>Instead of attacking Obama, how about telling why you think Palin is  qualified? Is it because even you know she isn&#8217;t? Typical Republican.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-40"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-40">&#8220;College Education&#8221;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:35. </div>
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<p>All  those &#8220;economic experts&#8221; have great post-grad degrees from high end  schools. Hopefully, that will help them as they look for a new job.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-39"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-39">Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.taipaninvestor.info/blog" rel="nofollow">Gerald</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:34. </div>
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<p>Palin  makes a big deal about her &#8220;six pack joe&#8221; ways and seems to be proud of  her ignorance. We have had almost eight years of a largely  disinterested in the world at large President and see where that has  taken us. American is on a slippery downward slope and it will be  difficult to avoid a hard crash and burn landing. </p>
<p>I for one don&#8217;t want someone as VP, who may well end up being  President, who is just another six pack Joe yahoo. America is the  laughing stock of the world just to have such a yahoo candidate. </p>
<p>If McCain and Palin are somehow elected American&#8217;s standing in the  world as a world leader, much less a super power, will be further  reduced to the vanishing point. We would be looked upon as a nation of  village idiots.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not that I love Obama. Come to think of it with the choice down  to Obama or McCain perhaps we American have found the perfect means to  self destruct. The support given by McCain and Obama for the $700  billion bailout bill (before another $100 billion or so in pure pork  was added) is another giant step in that direction.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-38"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-38">Re: Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:33. </div>
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<p>&#8220;You  idiots care more about a donkey and an elephant than you do about the  stars and stripes. You get what you deserve.&#8221; The truest statement  since Reagan stated the most scary thing ever was &#8220;I&#8217;m from the  government and I&#8217;m here to help&#8221;</p>
<p>I wouldnt be so dead set against OBAMA if he were more Country  first, rather than Blame everyone else&#8230; HIS party has led congress  for the last 2 years and we have gone from solvency to bankruptcy and  BOTH parties are to blame, ONLY one party is used to responsibility,  the other is used to &#8220;Tolerance&#8221; and forgiveness of their own&#8230;.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-37"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-37">Re: Margaret, its me God</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:31. </div>
<div>
<p>you  mean like the modern day general who doesn&#8217;t have a college degree? are  we suddenly recruiting presidents from third world countries? because  EVERY American General has a college degree&#8230;&#8230;lets not pretend we  live in the world of 2 centuries ago</p>
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<p><a id="comment-36"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-36">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:28. </div>
<div>
<p>Nothing  like partisanship. That&#8217;s right put the party before the country. No  wonder the US is going to hell in a rocketship. You idiots care more  about a donkey and an elephant than you do about the stars and stripes.  You get what you deserve.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-35">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:28. </div>
<div>
<p>Oh  and I&#8217;m qualified because I am a black community organizer.. Don&#8217;t look  at the communities I organized or anything, just trust me for CHANGE&#8230;  BS, it is highway strong arm robbery, ACORN? Rev Wright? Ayers?  Phlegar? Farakhan? Ok Palin has what? A couple of LIES perpetrated by  the elitist media that have been debunked. Yeah Obama in 08 and the end  of our nation in 09&#8230;.good plan.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-34"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-34">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://experiencecurve.com" rel="nofollow">Karl</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:27. </div>
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<p>It&#8217;s  ironic that if you guys had listened to Carter in the 70&#8242;s you would  not be as f**cked as you are now and you would probably have energy  independence.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-33"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-33">Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:24. </div>
<div>
<p>Say  what you want about Obama, he&#8217;ll make a much better President than  either &#8220;I&#8217;m qualified because I can see Russia from my pooper, yah, you  betcha&#8221; or &#8220;I&#8217;m qualified because I was a POW a million years ago,  wait, what was the question again?&#8221;</p>
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<p><a id="comment-32"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-32">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19. </div>
<div>
<p>Palin  Derangement Syndrome is alive and well as the media blitzkrieg is  desperate to discredit the Palin/McCain presidential ticket.</p>
<p>Palin handily beat Biden down last night, and that causes severe swelling in the liberal frontal lobe.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-31"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-31">Competent&#8230;OBama?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19. </div>
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<p>So  you say go back home hockey mom&#8230; Wow&#8230; your complete lack of what a  hockey mom is.. basically a communtity leader&#8230;hmmm Let&#8217;s see Omaa is  just that, he has not been a Governer, worked a state budger.. .his  short political careeer shows less tenure that Palin. Fair is Fair ,  your last paragraph shows your compete ignorance,,, go read a bit  yourself!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-30"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-30">Re: Margaret, its me God</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.omarhamada.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19. </div>
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<p>You mean like George Washington?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-29"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-29">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://republicaninthearts.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Incognito</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:14. </div>
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<p>and  how about looking at it this way&#8230; with all Biden&#8217;s asinine gaffes  would people be thrilled to have him as president, if Obama were to  die? I&#8217;d be much happier with a Palin presidency than either an Obama  or Biden presidency.</p>
<p>She&#8217;s done very well for Alaska&#8230;thank you very much.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-28"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-28">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.golfblogger.com" rel="nofollow">GolfBlogger</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:10. </div>
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<p>It&#8217;s  not saying much, but I think Palin&#8217;s more qualified than Obama. The  problem is that if you vote Republican, an unqualified person MIGHT  become president. If you vote Democrat, an unqualified person WILL  become president.</p>
<p>The only logical ticket is Biden-McCain &#8212; one which, during the primaries, Joe Biden said he wouldn&#8217;t mind.</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-27">Margaret, its me God</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:09. </div>
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<p>you  would not make a good president nor would anyone who doesn&#8217;t have an  University Degree&#8230;..watch that sassy little Katie Couric if you want  to know why Sara Palin is completely incompetent</p>
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<p><a id="comment-26"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-26">What the&#8230;?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.soldiersperspective.us" rel="nofollow">CJ Grisham</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:07. </div>
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<p>If Palin isn&#8217;t competent enough to be President, then Obama is even LESS competent to hold the position!!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-25"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-25">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Margaret (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:03. </div>
<div>
<p>Why  won&#8217;t Sara Palin be a competent President? Is there anything about  Obama that makes him more intelligent than Palin? It offends me as a  person to think differently. I believe she would do as well, if not  better, than any other of the men or women who have made a run during  this election. </p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t go to an ivy league college. I haven&#8217;t served as a PTO  chairperson or any other office but I think I would make a darn good  president. I&#8217;m excited to think that maybe we might have something  fresh in the office. From Hillary to McCain it is the same old same old.</p>
<p>Margaret</p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-24">experience or education ?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by James (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:57. </div>
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<p>While  one could argue all day long about the experience factor between Obama  and Palin, one can&#8217;t argue much about the difference in education. I  would rather have someone educated in the highest office of the land. </p>
<p>Thanks, but no thanks for that sweet talkin&#8217;, well read gal from Alaska.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t YA know?</p>
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<p><a id="comment-23"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-23">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:55. </div>
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<p>I  am voting for McCain/Palin for precisely that reason, I would be WAY  more happy with Palin as President than I will be with McCain.<br />
      If Obama wins we ALL lose&#8230;.Oh and a preemptive dismiss to those that  say it&#8217;s because he is black&#8230;Its not because he is black its because  he is a communist/socialist libtard baby killing gun taking no  leadership other than &#8220;ACORN&#8221; type skills&#8230;. but vote how you want, I  cant wait till you liberal idiots get what you want, just like after  Carter, you came crying to the Conservatives to save you, Obama is a  black Carter maybe worse.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-22"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-22">NFW</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://twww.mahamatzav.org" rel="nofollow">rebaaron</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:54. </div>
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<p>Sarah  Palin is a poser. She&#8217;s so enamored with Ronald Reagan I believe, in  part, because she&#8217;s just like him &#8211; an actor. Reagan wasn&#8217;t a president  as much as he was able to act like a president. The VP debates last  night showed this &#8211; Palin is all show and no substance. What&#8217;s really  scary is she believes that she&#8217;s capable. I think she really has no  idea and is not capable of getting it. I think some call this  sociopathic tendencies?!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-21"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-21">Palin Did Better Than Expected</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://baconeatingatheistjew.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">The Atheist Jew</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53. </div>
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<p>She proved to me that she doesn&#8217;t have an IQ of 75.  It is more like 90 or 95.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-20"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-20">National Level Experience (NLE)</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53. </div>
<div>
<p>Palin  is an order of magnitude more Podunk than any national political figure  in modern times. Case in point, 6 months ago, Palin said, flat out, she  is not INTERESTED in national policy, as in she doesn&#8217;t have the time  or will to keep up with what is going on in this country&#8230;when you use  NLE as the measure Obama is far ahead of Palin, exemplified by the fact  that the very first thing he did in the Senate was get a law passed to  help secure &#8220;loose nukes&#8221; in the former USSR&#8230;.compare that to Palin  who apparently could not even pass a seventh grade civics test (doesn&#8217;t  know any supreme court cases besides Roe v. Wade?) </p>
<p>All the PAlin supporters are the same , pardon my french, IDIOTS who  supported GW because he&#8217;s a guy they can drink a beer with&#8230;..Palin  sure is a regular joe&#8230;Joe Retard that is</p>
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<p><a id="comment-19"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-19">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by brad (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53. </div>
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<p>If  something happened to McCain on day one would Palin be ready? No, BUT  what makes you think Obama is? Lets talk about the TOP of the ticket.  Give me a break!!!</p>
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<p><a id="comment-18"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-18">And Barack is Qualified? </a> </div>
<div> Submitted by J (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 14:33. </div>
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<p>I  love how people point out how Palin&#8217;s not qualified SHOULD something  happen to McCain. And what makes Barack qualified? He&#8217;s been in the  Senate for 2 years? And if he is elected, he&#8217;s it. At least with  McCain, we&#8217;re electing a very seasoned and proven person who has a  pretty good track record for change. Obama can talk about change but he  hasn&#8217;t walked it at all.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-17"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-17">Re: Re: McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 13:32. </div>
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<p>Source please.  Media previously said superficial Basal cell.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-16"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-16">Re: McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 13:15. </div>
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<p>He has had MELANOMA. The deadliest form of skin cancer</p>
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<p><a id="comment-15"></a></p>
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<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-15">Competent?</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by rusmayse on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 00:48. </div>
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<p>Poor  Palin. I commend her on the acceptance of such a difficult position in  such a tough time. It takes a really strong person to take on the role  she has. And I do agree with the fact that she may &#8220;catch on quickly&#8221;.  I&#8217;m just particularly concerned and unsure she has any idea what she is  doing. Period.<br />
      Go back home hockey mom. Gain experience over the next 8 years. Become  more involved on a national level. Listen to the cries of us people.  And then please, come back again :) Until then, keep reading all the  world&#8217;s magazines and Newspapers. They actually can teach you a lot.</p>
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<p><a id="comment-14"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-14">Not as a woman, or a man</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by TomCollins2100 on Thu, 10/02/2008 &#8211; 23:33. </div>
<div>
<p>Are  you kidding? The notion that she&#8217;s being unfairly judged as unqualified  because she&#8217;s a woman is absurd. If she were a man, McCain would have  been laughed out of the country for picking a first-term governor with  no other applicable experience and zero national &#8211; let alone foreign  policy &#8211; qualifications.</p>
<p>Women with any brains at all should be insulted that McCain and the  Republicans think that they will vote for any woman they offer, or  belive this particular woman is remotely qualified to run any country,  forget about the United States.</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/14">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/14/Not-woman-or-man">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-13"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-13">RELEASE THE MEDICAL RECORDS</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 16:02. </div>
<div>
<p>what  you say is partially true, superficial skin cancers are not fatal,  especially with decent healthcare, but WE DON&#8217;T KNOW THE EXTENT OF  MCCAIN&#8221;S CANCER because he won&#8217;t release ALL of his medical  records&#8230;&#8230;don&#8217;t sit here and defend him against this criticism, when  his campaign could put this completely to bed with a single phone call  to his doctor.</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/13">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/13/RELEASE-MEDICAL-RECORDS">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-12"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-12"> Palin needs to read a American History Booko</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by pat baker (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 15:41. </div>
<div>
<p>I&#8217;m  sick of McCain calling Obama a on the job learner, community action  worker. Palin is is a affrimative action herself. Mrs Bush said she was  a &#8220;quick learner&#8221; Do I need a vp who is a quick learner? She&#8217;s just a  Gov for a few years, no national experience. She can&#8217;t answer straight  question. These photo opts with people from the MiddleEast aren&#8217;t  getting on my nerves, they are making me sick Who cares if she&#8217;s cute  while my 401 K might go down the tubes!. Hillary Clinton would run  rings around her. I don&#8217;t need a &#8221; on the job VP during these troubled  times..</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/12">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/12/Palin-needs-read-American-History-Booko">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-11"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-11">McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by <a href="http://www.omarhamada.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Omar Hamada</a> (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 15:33. </div>
<div>
<p>Enough  of the cancer stuff!!! Talk about spin and/or ignorance! When&#8217;s the  last time someone actually died from superficial squamous or basal cell  skin cancer? Answer: NEVER. Now if it were actually melanoma or other  types of invasive squamous cell cancer, then it would be a different  story &#8211; BUT IT&#8217;S NOT!!!!!!</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/11">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/11/McCains-Cancer">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-9"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-9">but seriously, she reads ALL the newspapers</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Dave (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:55. </div>
<div>
<p>Check  out her interview with Katie Couric. She shares that she reads ALL the  newspapers in the world. She must be really freakin smart. She also  graduated from the University of Idaho. I mean it doesnt get much more  prestigious than that. And besides, who is Biden to talk.</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/9">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/9/seriously-she-reads-ALL-newspapers">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-8"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-8">Don&#8217;t Fret</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Chris A (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:48. </div>
<div>
<p>Don&#8217;t  worry about Palin. If you saw her interviews, you would know that  the&#8230; War in Iraq and reforms to our economy and importance in the  field of green energy under the umbrella of job creation and then  health care.<br />
      She knows what everyone needs&#8230;</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/8">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/8/Dont-Fret">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-7"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-7">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:45. </div>
<div>
<p>uh hu &#8230;..uh hu !!!</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/7">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/7/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="comment-6"></a></p>
<div>
<div> <a href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-6">come on,  hes only had cancer</a> </div>
<div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/30/2008 &#8211; 22:59. </div>
<div>
<p>come on,  hes only had cancer 3 times. plus,  its not like hes old or anything</p>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/6">reply</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/6/come-hes-only-had-cancer">link</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li>
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</div>
</div>
<p>And, here&#8217;s an embed of the poll, if I&#8217;ve piqued your interest by now:</p>
<p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=8eaed869-bb53-4d27-9b3b-d790184cb9c9"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/if-mccain-died-would-palin-be-competent-as-pres">If McCain died, would Palin be competent as Pres.?</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></p>
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		<title>Imagine Meeting Someone in a Bar</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/08/13/imagine-meeting-someone-in-a-bar/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/08/13/imagine-meeting-someone-in-a-bar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:18:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/08/13/imagine-meeting-someone-in-a-bar/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been going through Google Docs and discovered an internal document I would like to share with you from back in the beginning of 2007. Taylor Donlan wrote it to explain to our new staff how best to reach out to and engage online on behalf of our clients and in general. I was [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F08%2F13%2Fimagine-meeting-someone-in-a-bar%2F&title=Imagine+Meeting+Someone+in+a+Bar" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">I have been going through Google Docs and discovered an internal document I would like to share with you from back in the beginning of 2007. Taylor Donlan wrote it to explain to our new staff how best to reach out to and engage online on behalf of our clients and in general. I was [...]</span></a>		
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<p>I have been going through Google Docs and discovered an internal document I would like to share with you from back in the beginning of 2007. Taylor Donlan wrote it to explain to our new staff how best to reach out to and engage online on behalf of our clients and in general. I was inspired to share it based on this <a href="http://marketingconversation.com/2008/08/11/what-motivated-you-to-learn-about-social-media/#comment-3144">comment by Jonathan Crawford</a> from the article <a href="http://marketingconversation.com/2008/08/11/what-motivated-you-to-learn-about-social-media/" rel="bookmark">What motivated you to learn about social media?</a> Check it out and tell me what you think:</p>
<blockquote><p>When we approach someone online, we need to approach in the same way we would in the real world. If our goal is to develop relationships, we cannot “go for the kill” instantly. Instead, we must engage in some small talk first. We must engage the blogger and his or her post first, well before any discussion of our client or their related services.</p>
<p>To use Chris’s metaphor, in a professional context, we want them to ask us for our business card. We want to get them so interested in whatever service or client we are touting that they are asking us for more information. This does not mean we air drop business cards everywhere or give one to every person on the street – those cards are thrown away. In the real world, it is much more effective to develop some kind of individual connection before exchanging business cards – they are much more likely to keep the cards, and remember you. In the future, they are more likely to be open to doing something for you.</p>
<p>For a more basic metaphor, imagine meeting someone in a bar. You don’t go right up to someone and jump into a conversation or ask them for favors. Instead you ease into conversation by engaging something that you notice about them or that stands out about your general surroundings. You need to build some rapport in terms that are common to both parties before you can get to any deeper level.</p>
<p>In the blog world, we are trying to do the same. When you make a comment on a post show that you have paid some attention to their post and add something meaningful &#8211; feel free to Google the subject matter and share some additional information or just share your general feelings on the subject matter. Then and only then is it acceptable to broach the subject of our client or their services.</p>
<p>Whenever possible, we pose our engagement campaigns in terms of offering “a gift” – usually a service or piece of information that will likely prove useful to the blogger and/or their readers at no cost. While this “free gift” approach reduces the appearance of any spam quality to our engagements, it is still necessary to ease into the gift offering. We are not in the business of spamming, and it will not be tolerated.</p>
<p>Another important point is that we believe in transparency. We are not interested in being deceitful. Admit proudly that you work for <a href="http://abrahamharrison.com">Abraham Harrison</a> and whomever the client might be. Our engagement campaigns aim to offer a gift to bloggers, and there is no shame in our business.</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Viral Marketing Talk by Jennifer Laycock at PodCampOhio</title>
		<link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/29/viral-marketing-talk-by-jennifer-laycock-at-podcampohio/</link>
		<comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/29/viral-marketing-talk-by-jennifer-laycock-at-podcampohio/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:20:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/29/viral-marketing-talk-by-jennifer-laycock-at-podcampohio/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been trying to record some of the sessions at PodCampOhio but since my lovely Nokia N95 8GB isn&#8217;t working with 3G (thanks, AT&#38;T 3G for breaking on me), I have been doing my best using Qik with EDGE, which sucks.  The good news is that I was able to record quite a little [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[		<div style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;">
			<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F29%2Fviral-marketing-talk-by-jennifer-laycock-at-podcampohio%2F&title=Viral+Marketing+Talk+by+Jennifer+Laycock+at+PodCampOhio" rel="news, tech_news"><span style="display:none">I have been trying to record some of the sessions at PodCampOhio but since my lovely Nokia N95 8GB isn&#8217;t working with 3G (thanks, AT&amp;T 3G for breaking on me), I have been doing my best using Qik with EDGE, which sucks.  The good news is that I was able to record quite a little [...]</span></a>		
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<p>I have been trying to record some of the sessions at <a href="http://www.podcampohio.com/">PodCampOhio</a> but since my lovely Nokia N95 8GB isn&#8217;t working with 3G (thanks, AT&amp;T 3G for breaking on me), I have been doing my best using Qik with EDGE, which sucks.  The good news is that I was able to record quite a little bit of <a href="http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/">Jennifer Laycock</a>&#8216;s session on <a href="http://qik.com/video/116243">how to get your podcast to go viral</a> and how to do online promotion and blogger outreach.  Jennifer is a guru and an expert and I am damned glad to know her!  The session below was called &#8220;Orchestrating a Viral Explosion.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><object width="320" height="280"><param name="movie" value="http://qik.com/player.swf?streamname=adc55b15520749c5b68a6f85b724050b&amp;vid=116243&amp;playback=false&amp;polling=false&amp;user=chrisabraham&amp;userlock=true&amp;islive=&amp;username=anonymous"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://qik.com/player.swf?streamname=adc55b15520749c5b68a6f85b724050b&amp;vid=116243&amp;playback=false&amp;polling=false&amp;user=chrisabraham&amp;userlock=true&amp;islive=&amp;username=anonymous" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" width="320" height="280"></embed></object></center>Unfortunately, I only recorded six-minutes of the session&#8230; From the session notes:</p>
<blockquote><p>Everyone wants the benefits of a viral campaign, but few people really understand how to put the pieces together to create the best chance for success. Find out the most common mistakes companies make when aiming to go viral and how a little bit of brainstorming can set you up for success. Jennifer Laycock will walk you through the actual brainstorming process she uses with clients to help you gather information needed to put things together. She&#8217;ll also help you learn to identify &#8220;key influencers&#8221; within your industry and will offer concrete tips on the best way to approach them with your campaign.</p></blockquote>
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