Here's more of the repsonses Sarah Palin provided the Anchorage Daily News in October, 2006 when running for Governor (Anchorage Daily News, October 22, 2006, via Lexis.com):

8. Would you introduce - or, if introduced by a legislator, would you support - a bill to adopt the death penalty in Alaska? If yes, which crimes should it apply to?

If the Legislature were to pass a bill that established a death penalty on adults who murder children, I would sign it.

6. If Roe v. Wade were overturned and states could once again prohibit abortion, in your view, to what extent should abortion be prohibited in Alaska?

Under this hypothetical scenario, it would not be up to the governor to unilaterally ban anything. It would be up to the people of Alaska to discuss and decide how we would like our society to reflect our values.

More...

Jeralyn's summary of Gov. Palin's policy positions should please the most extreme members of the GOP. She is a model of intolerance; a model Republican.

It's interesting that she admits smoking pot. Is the new Republican strategy to admit the commission of crimes that the Republican Party would like to see vigorously enforced against everyone else? If "trying" pot has become so socially acceptable that a Republican candidate for VP can admit her criminal behavior, shouldn't Palin support the federal decriminalization of marijuana? Given her reliance on state law as a mitigating argument, shouldn't Palin oppose the Justice Department's interference with rights granted by California's medical marijuana laws?

Maybe those are her views. If she's not on record, it would make a good debate question. (Biden, unfortunately, might resort to his longstanding War on Crime stance with an equally disappointing answer.)

When running for Governor in 2006, Sarah Palin was interviewed by the Anchorage Daily News. Among her dislosures: She tried pot but didn't like it and opposed civil unions as well as gay marriage and abortion. Quotes below:

Palin doesn't support legalizing marijuana, worrying about the message it would send to her four kids. But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority.

Palin said she has smoked marijuana -- remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law -- but says she didn't like it and doesn't smoke it now. "I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled."

On gay rights: [More...]

Hillary Clinton gave the Democrats' weekly radio address today.

Hillary on John McCain:

"John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security and he's promised tax breaks for the biggest corporations instead of middle-class families. And in 2008, he still thinks it's OK that women aren't earning equal pay for equal work."

On why the presidential election matters: [more ...]

For me, Saturday means college football. And today the Florida Gators open their season hosting the Rainbow Warriors (I do not care what June Jones said) of Hawaii at 12:30. LSU moved up its game in Baton Rouge with Appalachian State to 11 this morning because of Gustav's approach.

What game, if any, will you be focused on?

This is an Open Thread.

Ras poll:

Sarah Palin made a good first impression. She was unknown nationally before being introduced as the GOP Vice-Presidential pick but is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide. Her counterpart, Joe Biden, is viewed favorably by 48%. While Palin has made a good first impression, the more significant numbers will come a week from now after the nation has a chance to learn more about her.

Inside the numbers:

Palin earns positive reviews from 78% of Republicans, 26% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters. . . . Among all voters, 29% have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin while 9% hold a Very Unfavorable view.

If I were the Obama campaign, I would ignore Palin as much as possible. Attacking her will not do you any good. That is why the new ad is smart.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Here is the video of Obama's new ad. Here is this description:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama begins airing an ad Saturday that responds to rival John McCain's selection of a running mate, carefully avoiding any direct criticism of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor whom McCain chose for the GOP ticket.

. . . "Well, he's made his choice," the ad states. "But, for the rest of us there's still no change. McCain doesn't get it, calling this broken economy 'strong.' Wants to keep spending ten-billion-a-month in Iraq. And votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time." . . . "So, while this may be his running mate..." as an image of McCain and Palin appears on the screen. The image then shifts to a shot of McCain with Bush. "America knows this is John McCain's agenda. And we can't afford four more years of the same."

It seems the Obama campaign has much more sense than his supporters.

By Big Tent Democrat

And I believe it is a bad idea (remember McCain is much much more experienced than Obama), then this is the way to do it - hoist them with their own petard:

Republican strategist Karl Rove said on Face The Nation Sunday that he expects presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama to choose a running mate based on political calculations, not the person's readiness for the job. . . . Rove singled out Virginia governor Tim Kaine, also a Face The Nation guest, as an example of such a pick.

"With all due respect again to Governor Kaine, he's been a governor for three years, he's been able but undistinguished," Rove said. "I don't think people could really name a big, important thing that he's done. He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. . . So if he were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, `You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States."

BTW, how about Rove's argument? You think the Left blogs would have been saying "you know, Rove has a point" if Obama had selected Kaine? Me neither.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Readers can't get enough of discussing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I'm already Palin'd out but the LA Times tells you all you need to know:

Palin's evangelical faith shapes her social views; she opposes abortion and believes creationism should be taught in public schools.

My theory on why he picked her: Money. His campaign sorely lags behind Obama's in fundraising. He needed to excite the evangelical radical right wing of his party to get them to pony up big dollars and this will do it. James Dobson is already on board.

So if McCain becomes unable to serve as President and she takes over, who do you think we'll get on the Supreme Court?

Health is a function of wealth, and it always will be in the absence of universal health care. Setting aside the differing approaches taken by Barack Obama and John McCain to health care access, the broader problem of inequality extends far beyond American borders.

A report commissioned by the World Health Organization "finds a majority of people in the world do not enjoy good health because of a toxic combination of poor social policies, unfair economics and bad politics." The chairman of the commission that produced the report, Sir Michael Marmot, says:

"Between countries, we have life expectancy differences of more than 40 years. A woman in Botswana can expect to live 43 years, in Japan 86 years... That is unnecessary. There is no good biological reason why that is the case," he said. "It arises because of the social conditions in which people are born, they grow, they live, they work and they age. And, because of the set of economic arrangements, the values of society that are responsible for those conditions."

Health problems are compounded for girls and women in countries that limit their educational opportunities. [More ...]

Hurricane Gustav is dominating the news. Bob Dylan is headlining Jazz Aspen tomorrow night. And I'm not going to pass up a chance to highlight the plight of the wrongfully convicted. So here's Bob Dylan singing "Hurricane" about Ruben "Hurricane" Carter.

Gov. Palin is yesterday's news. Big Tent Democrat may decide to write more about it, and you can continue the disussion on his threads. I've had enough. Time to change the conversation to other things. This is an open thread for other topics.

The Democratic National Convention in Denver was a success. How so? Some numbers:

• The Denver Host Committee, which lagged behind its fundraising goal until the end, ended up raising $10 million more than its $40.6 million goal.

• At the Republican convention in New York in 2004, there were 1,800 arrests. Total arrests in Denver: 154.

• The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau secured 190,000 hotel rooms. 170,000 were put reserved by the DNC.

[More...]