If you watched Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention, you weren't alone. Over 40 million people saw that speech. Maybe a handful of those people were tuning in to see if she'd talk about her pregnant daughter, or get the chance to see her future son-in-law, Levi.
Regardless, it's time to talk about that speech in a little more detail. Because, folks, Sarah Palin didn't just stretch the truth.
Sarah Palin lied.
There's a story on ABC News' web site that goes through some of Palin's quotes and then does a little honest fact-checking against those statements. Here's some of what she said, compared with the facts.
LIE #1: "Obama is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign."
FACT #1: On July 15, Obama used the word "victory" twice in reference to Iraq. He said, "I want Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future, and to reach the political accommodation necessary for long-term stability. That's victory. That's success. That's what's best for Iraq."
A week later in Germany on July 23, Obama used the word "victory" three times describing Allied successes during World War II.
LIE #2: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform -- not even in the state senate."
FACT #2: Of course it depends on how you view the word "major." Obama worked with Republicans to pass legislation that would expand efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction. As a state senator in Illinois, he sponsored two bills, one that studied racial profiling by police and another that made it mandatory to record interrogations in death penalty cases.
LIE #3: "I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart."
FACT #3: The big project? Yeah, not yet approved by the Feds. The proposed pipeline would ship natural gas from Alaska to homes and businesses across the U.S. The Alaskan legislature, with Palin's help, just agreed to pay Canadian energy company TransCanada $500 million to build the pipeline.
LIE #4: "And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes. I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks, but no thanks,' for that Bridge to Nowhere."
FACT #4: As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin hired a lobbyist to get earmarks from Congress. Wasilla, with a population of 10,000, got $27 million in federal money, about as much as Boise, Idaho, with a population of 200,000. The money went to sewage improvements and roads connecting the town to a local ski resort. With the "Bridge to Nowhere," Palin supported it at first. It would have used federal funds to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island, population 50. It was after the proposed plan was ridiculed that she pulled out.
So there you have it. It's always interesting to hear the other side of the stories that politicians tell. Sarah Palin may have given a good speech, but it wasn't exactly accurate.
But isn't that par for the course with politics? Hard to believe a word any of them say. Thank God this shit will be over in a couple of months. The campaigning, at least. We still have to put up with whoever gets elected.
Source | Photos: AP
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