{Originally Published on The Dr. Laura Blog}

I am extremely disappointed in the choice of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican Party. I will still vote for Senator McCain, because I am very concerned about having a fundamental leftist, especially one who is a marvelous orator, as President.

At first, I thought it amusing that McCain picked a pretty, smart, and tough female to counter the racist/sexist accusations going back and forth between parties. I remember how Oprah Winfrey got caught in the cross-fire as she stepped up to the political table to support Obama with pride that a black man could rise to such heights in the USA, only to get slammed by feminists who told her it was gender, not race, that she should back. Understandably, Ms. Winfrey pulled back from it all.

Forget gender and race. I’m frankly and sadly caught in the dilemma of having to balance policy versus example in touting a candidate for the office of the First Family. I was ferociously attacked (what’s new?) when I spoke out strongly against Bill Clinton’s dalliances in the Oval Office. That situation quickly turned into a debate whether “private has anything to do with public.” Nonsense.

Role models are very important. Children and young adults look to those who are visible and successful as a road map of what is acceptable behavior and emulate those actions over the morals and values their parents and churches have taught and tried to reinforce. It’s a tough go these days, when the “bad that men or women do” is used for entertainment purposes without judgment, or is excused because of political or financial considerations.

I’m stunned – couldn’t the Republican Party find one competent female with adult children to run for Vice President with McCain?

Originally Published on the Pondering Penguin

When my husband and I purchased our first home, in 1985, the mortgage
was financed by Countrywide Financial. That name may sound familiar to
you now, given the recent news coverage of the sub-prime mortgage
‘crisis’. Allegedly, according to politicians like Barack Obama
remarking on the campaign trail about Countrywide Financial CEO, Angelo
Mozilo, the company takes advantage of “ignorant borrowers to make subprime loans it knew wouldn’t be paid off and then selling the loans
to the quasi-governmental Fannie Mae mortgage agency.” That from
Investor’s Business Day on June 17, 2008.

Obama, the candidate
of change, continues to surround himself with mouthpieces of the past.
In particular, Jim Johnson, the man selected by the candidate of change
to head up Obama’s vice-presidential search committee, is a long time
Democrate insider and, more importantly, money-man, had to leave the
campaign as the scandal develops and Johnson’s dealings with Mozilo and
Countrywide are exposed.

Two high ranking Democrat Senators,
Christopher Dodd who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, along with
the tag of former Presidential candidate and now supporter of Obama,
and Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota who chairs the Finance
Committee and sits on the Budget Committee, have fallen into the net
cast in by investigators.

Both Senators denied any sweetheart
deals and as recently as last month, Dodd had the chutzpah to rant on,
blaming President Bush for the subprime mortgage mess, as he was
praising a $400 billion bail out for the industry, including his buddy
Angelo. Yes, it’s Bush’s fault, it’s always Bush’s fault.

(click title for more)