Liberal in the Land of Conservative

"Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.' "

But it's hard to see Biden's runaway mouth doing much damage. Just look at the history. Biden drew glares when he suggested that in Delaware, "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." Later, he called Obama "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Careers have ended over less. But Obama bailed him out, saying he knew Biden meant well. Those two gaffes could easily have created the narrative that Joe Biden is a racist. But that didn't happen.

Why? It's possible people don't care because he would only be vice president. But that hasn't stopped the gaffe police from monitoring everything Sarah Palin says. Another explanation is that the media give Biden a free pass. But this ignores both history—the media were almost singlehandedly responsible for ending his presidential run in 1988, when they exposed his plagiarized speeches—and current events: The media regularly report Biden's gaffes (as well as McCain's), but they are mostly forgotten.

The better explanation is more theoretical. There are basically three kinds of gaffes, and Joe Biden appears to be immune to all of them. Informational gaffes are when you get your facts wrong (John McCain mixing up Sunni and Shiite); message gaffes are when you get your policy wrong (Biden saying he opposed clean coal plants in the United States); and political gaffes are when you offend some interest group perceived to be important to your success (Hillary Clinton referring to the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in discussing Obama's candidacy). Each can be damaging, depending on the candidate and his weaknesses.

Informational gaffes don't hurt Biden because, whatever his imperfections, he's generally seen as worldly and knowledgeable. Message gaffes don't matter because, even if it's a headache for the campaign, they make him sound authentic. (If he thinks the ad is "terrible," that's just his honest opinion!) And political gaffes don't damage Biden because, well, he's so darned congenial. Even John McCain likes him. He'll attack, but he's rarely nasty. The only real insult he's hurled this campaign was criticism of Rudy Giuliani's campaign as nothing more than "a noun, a verb, and 9/11."

Adapting Biden to the general election hasn't just been about avoiding gaffes. It's also about infusing him with Obama's message—and style. Biden's stump speech now climaxes with the repetition of "Imagine a world …" followed by various Democratic fantasies. Some of his poetry about "angels' wings" and "shining lights" sounds downright Barackian. He maintains his unmatched ability to work a room—at the NJDC event, he told a joke about a Jewish crew team. But it's clear at these events that he's addressing the cameras in the back as much as the local crowd. His remarks about McCain and Bermuda immediately became national news.

These two adjustments—the attempts to eliminate gaffes and the adoption of Obama's smooth style—will be tested at the vice presidential debate Oct. 2. There, Biden's gaffe immunity will not protect him. The McCain campaign takes umbrage almost instantaneously, and dissing Sarah Palin could be construed as sexist. And the vast TV audience, much of it seeing him for the first time, may be less familiar with his gaffe history—and less forgiving of his gaffes.

Until then, Senator, gaffe away. When Obama picked Biden, some Democrats suggested that Biden's unpredictable tongue would become a distraction. Others criticized him as being too "safe." They're both right. He is a gaffe machine—but he's harmless.

I've never done anything like this before, and I have no idea how to promote something on You Tube, so I'm just emailing fellow Minnesotans I think might get a smile out of my humorous take on our senator. If you like it, please promote it on your site so the two thousand hours I spent on this will not be wasted ;)

Please let me know what you think!

Questioner: "Give us specific skills that you think you have to bring to the White House to rebut that or mitigate that concern."

Dear Michele Bachmann,

Over the past few months I have watched intently as you have attended forums in Washington DC and Texas while coming home to the 6th District only to ride atop floats in a number of parades. I have watched as you make appearances on national television shows such as Bill O'Reilly and Larry King while coming home to the 6th District only for river cruise fundraisers involving a select few individuals. I have watched as you avoid and ignore offers to debate or discuss issues from your opponent. I have watched as you avoided Farmfest and opted to send low level staffers in your place.

My question, Mrs. Bachmann, is what will it take for you to pay attention to the people of your district? It seems even in an election year and at the height of election season you are displaying an attitude of ownership over this area and thus feel no need to be in personal contact with the people living here. Granted, you and I don't agree on much and I support Elwyn Tinklenberg but how can you and more importantly, how can your supporters justify a 20 month tenure in office with nary a single open forum or constituent meeting in the district? Are you simply too busy? If so, perhaps you could talk to Tim Walz in the 1st District and ask him how he juggles three times more committees than you and has still found time to meet on numerous occasions and in numerous places with his constituents.

This is a reliably conservative area and the chances for ANY Democrat to win it are long but I have to wonder if you aren't taking advantage of that conservatism by assuming you don't even have to show up to win.

"McCain has gone in his ads one step too far, and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the 100-percent-truth test," said Rove. "Both campaigns ought to be careful about... there ought to be an adult who says: 'Do we really need to go that far in this ad? Don't we make our point and get broader acceptance and deny the opposition an opportunity to attack us if we don't include that one little last tweak in the ad?'"

Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.

On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"

When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time not disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defend your vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time ABSOLUTELY disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defeat primary opponents Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

Carol Ronen, the now-retired state senator who sponsored the bill, said its main intent was to make sure that teenagers got information that was "medically accurate," a requirement that wasn't then part of the school code. A secondary effect was to expand age-appropriate sex education down to lower grades, to allow things like teaching school children to avoid sex predators, Ronen said.

"Barack never had anything to do with it," she said. "This is a lot of hoopla."

Obama voted for the legislation in committee on a party-line vote. He was not a sponsor nor a co-sponsor, and the legislation never made it to a full Senate vote. So calling it one of his accomplishments is wrong, since it never became law and it wasn't his bill anyway.

I was a young student teacher preparing for another day at Middle School in northern Minnesota. Another teacher, I cannot remember who, came into the room to inform us that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The thought of terrorism far from our minds we wondered what tragic accident could have caused such an event. As the day began, word came to us that a second plane had run into the second tower. Obviously, this was no longer a tragic accident, but a horrendous act of barbarity by men without conscience. So many thoughts ran through my head that day as we tried to make the children's school day as normal as it possibly could be. From rage and the hopes of revenge to worry about the effects it would have on my students, I ran the gamut of emotions and reactions to the amazing event.