The Latest Accusation on the Left Wing Blogs and Media: Palin is a “Book Banner” and She Spent the City Into the Ground as Mayor… (but what’s the truth?)

This site is getting a massive amount of traffic and some people are asking me to address this issue. I am going through a stack of press accounts, documents, and blog posts and the Time article and so far I must say this story is very thin. This analysis is a tad long and complex but a compelling read. First I explain generally what happened, than I give you a tangent analysis, and than I parse the evidence and documents with some detail.

I also go through Wasilla city budgets and finances and give you a short but solid status report as to what shape Palin left Wasilla in.

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While it is no secret that I am an admirer of Palin and have been for months since I started examining her record when her name appeared on a list of possible VP choices. It is also no secret that I am a VERY strident supporter of free speech and conscience and I bear scars from several battles standing up for those ideals. Rest assured if I become convinced that Palin is a would be book banner I will not be afraid to say so. Period.

So far the two sources of this story are the former Mayor of Wasilla, John Stien, who lost a series of bitter campaigns against Palin. This same former mayor tried to get Palin recalled and lost. Palin then won reelection by landslide. Palin did more than merely defeat this man, she smoked him repeatedly and as a result it is likely that he was humiliated. After reading this man’s statements online, its safe to say that for him it is personal.

The other source is just a citizen in Wasilla who is a rather strident, partisan leftist named Anne Kilkenny. After seeing what this person has written (see link below) there seems little doubt of this and that its personal. Many of the statements she has made about Palin are half truths and obviously unfair when the facts are examined. I will be posting this stuff in detail as this post gets updated.

The only two people who are saying they heard Palin ask this are the two aforementioned people. The librarian was an active supporter of the former Mayor (John Stien) who Palin vanquished in the election. Now this does not automatically mean that these people are lying or not giving us the whole truth, but it does raise the standard of proof some and cause one to be cautious.

What have I found so far (and keep checking back as I will be posting the documents for the next several hours) is that when a book is challenged in the Wasilla Library there is a procedure for review of that title and that title stays on the shelf during that procedure and a title may only be challenged once every 12 months.

The allegation is that Palin moved to fire the Wasilla Librarian because she would not ban books.

Tangent analysis:

Now let us get one thing clear, any wise mayor who is new blood would be wise to start replacing anyone who shows a residue of bureaucratic resistance that serves at the pleasure of the mayor. Why? It is not unusual for city employees to resist an elected officials plans, it is not unusual for such employees to funnel documents to opposition, to undermine projects, start rumors, interfere with contracts, and politic against that mayor while on the city payroll. The Anchorage Daily News (see link below) says that Palin fired a number of people when she took office.

Palin’s record shows that she unusually pit-bullish on eliminating bureaucratic resistance and has shown no fear of going after people in her own party. If McCain/Palin is elected you can expect to see firings of federal employees. Those fired will fight and sue and the press will have a field day with it, so expect it. Every one of those fired employees will have a “Sarah is corrupt” story. Having studied Palin I am coming to the conclusion that she plays hardball, smash-mouth politics better than anyone I have ever studied since LBJ and maybe even better.

“It’s what former journalist Bill McAllister, who now works for Palin’s press staff, used to call “Sarah-dipity” – that uncanny gift of knowing exactly what voters are looking for at a particular moment. And, of course, the political will to give them what they want.” – Time Magazine

Democrats should fear her, but Republicans should fear her more. If you are a Republican who puts self over country or who tries to prevent the McCain/Palin team from meeting their vision of that goal McCain/Palin will put your political/bureaucratic career through the proverbial shredder. She is that bold. If you are a Bush appointee and you don’t have your ethical act together and McCain wins I suggest you resign by January. All politicians talk about reform on this level and we don’t see any follow through. McCain has tried but is almost always outvoted. After what I have learned with Palin having studied her career, she is dead serious.

McCain said last night that those who send him pork-laden bills and who violate the public trust will be “made famous” because McCain said that he WILL name names. McCain/Palin have said that they intend to take government by the neck and shake it up, until now I have always laughed at politicians who have said similar things, but this team is not kidding. I never thought I would come to this conclusion about elected officials in my lifetime.

What you don’t see is people who work for Sarah resign in disgust because of ethics violations as Palin resigned from the Alaska Energy Commission when she started to bring that whole corruption ring down.

Back to the books. The Wasilla Library’s list of titles that have been challenged ads up to four, and all of those challenged still sit on the shelf. So this long list of 50 or so books Palin wanted banned that is being circulated the blogosphere is false. The Alaska Library Association also tracks every title in every library in the state and no books have been banned from Wasilla Library.

The librarian Mary Ellen baker has had no comment.

The official document’s show that only four times have there been a challenge to a title at the library: one challenge pre-1986, one in 1986, one in 2005 and one in 2007. All remained on the shelf.

The Anchorage Daily News, while reporting John Stien’s allegations as fact with glee, towards the bottom of the article had this to say (knowing that most people don’t read a newspaper article past paragraph four or five):

June Pinell-Stephens, chairwoman of the Alaska Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee since 1984, checked her files Wednesday and came up empty-handed.

The article continues to report, again at the bottom of the story, that Palin fired several people in city government so to say that the librarian, who had actively campaigned for her opponent, was singled out and targeted is proven wrong by the facts. The article also fails to point out the series of landslide, humiliating defeats that Palin delivered to Stien and his plans.

The LA Times Blog also reported these allegations with glee without taking just a little time to to just check the stories of the people making the claims.

If Palin wanted books banned, there is no record of it at all in the library system to support such an allegation. The evidence shows that there was never an attempt by Palin or the city to ban any books and no attempts by anyone period during the time alleged. This gives much weight to Palin’s statement that she asked the Librarian about banning books as a new mayor making inquiries about policy. If a mayor was new to running city services including a library it only makes sense to ask all sorts of “what if” questions. I know I would and people who know me will tell you that I am a very aggressive opponent of illegal censorship.

Palin has made a great deal of political enemies, she has stepped on toes and did it with everyone looking. She has cost those who’s toes she has stepped on thousands to millions in wages and/or corruption money. So I expected accusations from some of those people.

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So here we go with the Time Magazine piece HERE. There is no question that this is a hit piece. Most of the magazines quotes and statements of facts are from her known enemies and the article is written from her critics point of view. Most journalists actually “write to each other” when they write so Christianity is used almost as a pejorative here. As are references to hunting, guns and her church. The unspoken narrative screams “radical Christian fundy” which is clearly designed to make elite secular leftists freak out.

The photo at the top of the article is unflattering and as no one can deny how truly lovely Palin is. It likely  took some work to get it that way. I doubt that the original picture was in black and white. The allegations made by her political enemies are presented as fact. Time made no real attempt to fact check these allegations of book banning and all the rest of it, after a few hours of digging I was able to find the documents in pretty short order and Time Magazine has vast resources. Unfortunately this is the kind of journalism I have come to expect form Time and Newsweek since 1985.

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Here is the Ann Kilkenny statement HERE. After giving it a good read it is clear that while she understands some of Palin’s capabilities, she does not like her at all and presents many “facts” about Palin’s tenure as Wasilla Mayor with half truth’s and insinuations that took mere minutes to show as ridiculous. As you can see several press outfits have reported her statements but few have gone to the level of fact checking this blog is engaging in at this moment.

Lilkenny’s other statements outside of the “book banning” allegation are that Palin spent too much money, spent recklessly and was not fiscally conservative, she spent too much on city hall, a sports complex and preparing infrastructure to bring in some box stores such as Target, all of which she objects to. Kilkenny complains that Palin put Wasilla in excessive debt and has “regressive taxes” when she lowered “progressive property taxes” and passed a higher “regressive city sales tax”.

Here is what Kilkenny and Slate.com and the other outfits that have reported these things didn’t tell you:

The City of Wasilla is one of the fastest growing communities in the State of Alaska and the United States. The City of Wasilla’s population has grown by approximately 82 percent since 1992. Along with this population growth has come dramatic economic expansion. An indication of this expansion is the growth in sales tax revenue over the last eleven years. It is projected that sales tax revenue has grown by over 238 percent since fiscal year 1994. Based on projections from state and local sources, these population and economic trends are predicted to continue into the foreseeable future.

Along with this expansion have come unique challenges for the City of Wasilla. It is the commitment of the City of Wasilla to ensure that the City meets these challenges and to ensure that the necessary services will be available when the citizens and businesses need them in the future to meet the dynamic growth that the City of Wasilla will continue to experience.

http://www.cityofwasilla.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6

The 2007 Census Estimate gives Wasilla a population of 9,780 which makes it the 4th largest city in Alaska. Wasilla was just a blip of a town a few years ago but has seen monumental growth in the last 15 years for several reasons.

Wasilla is located at the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 3 which has became a major traffic thoroughfare. People who live in Anchorage who wish to travel North, West, or East must go through Wasilla. Those coming from East like the Yukon to Anchorage or traveling from Anchorage to Fairbanks are going through that junction. For local readers, imagine what Osceola would do if it became the location of two of the states major road routes in a state with growing population and became the crossroads of most travel between major cities in the state.

Wasilla faced a fast growing population, tourist industry, and attractions including a hockey team, the Alaska Avalanche. The city lacked enough shopping, motel, tourist services and other facilities. One of those projects to meet this need was the sports facility that so many have read about.

In 1994 a statewide referendum to move the capital of Alaska to Wasilla lost by only 10,000 votes.

So what does this mean?

It means that you have a city that is exploding and did not at the time have the tax base to prepare the infrastructure for this level of growth. So what did Mayor Palin do, she did what ALL cities do when they need major expenditures in a hurry. She floated a bond to finance the sports center and some other projects. With the growth of the city and the exponential growth of city revenue paying this bond over time is not a problem at all. This is what almost all cities do for expenditures like this. It is debt but it is debt that is very intelligently managed and will be paid off.

The city could not afford these infrastruycture improvements alone. Palin hired a lobbiest to lobby the federal government for help. With the growing travel infrastructure needed, Wasilla got federal funds to begin to build that infrastructure.

Think about it, if you were mayor of a small city and found out that population, traffic and travel to and through your town was about to grow by exponential levels with almost no end in sight, your city government would ask for federal help too. Wasilla did not have storm water treatment, proper sidewalks and pedestrian ways, needed major road improvements, waste water treatment, an adequate septic system and had a small local airport that needed work. While many federal expenditures and earmarks are just pork projects to buy votes and influence, Wasilla needed help and Palin got the job done.

As far as lowering property taxes and raising the sales tax, since a great deal of sales tax revenue came from travelers and tourism from those who live outside the city, this was a wise course of action. It brought in “out of city money” to the city. The “regressive” & “progressive” ideological nonsense from Kilkenny is just that.

Click to Enlarge

Mayor Palin left office due to term limits in 2002. The candidate she endorsed, Diane Keller, has continued to run Wasilla with the same vision as her friend Sarah Palin.

Wasilla Won on Award for Superior Financial Reporting and as of FY 2005 carried an undesignated cash surplus of $5.5 million and carries a long term debt of $21.4 million and with the city’s income and continued increases in revenue this is very manageable. Major capital asset improvements include Storm drain additions, road and intersection construction, water reservoir construction, water and sewer line extensions and an airport apron expansion.

The city made an investment bond guarantee fund that by ordinance is untouchable except for the purpose of paying the bonds they have floated to pay for capital improvements.

Wasilla is a fast growing city that is enjoying fast growing revenue. That growth shows no sign of stopping any time soon, but nothing lasts forever so Wasilla government should stay vigilant.

Here is the clincher.

Imagine the bind Wasilla would have been into if Sarah Palin had not been so forward thinking, if she had not seen the growth that was coming and prepare the city financially for it. If her opponents, who she trounced in the elections, had gotten their way in opposing her agenda, Wasilla would have been caught flat footed without the services and infrastructure to handle the growth.

The evidence is overwhelming. Sarah Palin was a very good Mayor whose insight was nimble and had vision. It is no surprise that she enjoys such a high approval rating and that Mayor Keller has continued to govern with that same vision.

What Did the New York Times Say About Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 When She Was a Young Member of Congress with Three Kids?

Fellow students and friends. If a biased and clearly uninformed journalist or professor ever tries to tell you that there is no left wing elite media bias, please throw this right in their face. This weekend I am going to write several more posts showing you this stuff.

New York Times Editorial on the Pick of Geraldine Ferraro to be Vice-President in 1984:

Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President? Surely Ronald Reagan does not subscribe to that maxim. Or where is it written that mere representatives aren’t qualified, like Geraldine Ferraro of Queens? Representative Morris Udall, who lost New Hampshire to Jimmy Carter by a hair in 1976, must surely disagree. So must a longtime Michigan Congressman named Gerald Ford. Where is it written that governors and mayors, like Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco, are too local, too provincial? That didn’t stop Richard Nixon from picking Spiro Agnew, a suburban politician who became Governor of Maryland. Remember the main foreign affairs credential of Georgia’s Governor Carter: He was a member of the Trilateral Commission. Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy. One might even say demography is destiny: this candidate was chosen because he could deliver Texas, that one because he personified rectitude, that one because he appealed to the other wing of the party. On occasion, Americans find it necessary to rationalize this rough-and-ready process. What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen. This rationale may even be right, but then let it also be fair. Why shouldn’t a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow? We may even be gradually elevating our standards for choosing Vice Presidential candidates. But that should be done fairly, also. Meanwhile, the indispensable credential for a Woman Who is the same as for a Man Who – one who helps the ticket.

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F60714FC395D0C708CDDAE0894DC484D81

Spiro Agnew – A suburban Mayor who later became Governor of a “small state”… sound familiar???

Spiro Agnew had a small insurance business before he became a lawyer. At least Ferraro had some business experience as she served on the board of a couple of communications consulting firms. Ferraro also was active in the party machine.  Hmm lets see what they had to say about Edwards… a lawyer who had no business experience, no executive experience and served less than one term as a Senator when he started running for president and had two small kids at home… just like Obama.

Palin runs a commercial fishing business, was a councilman and a mayor. As a councilman she helped to found her city police department and as mayor Palin oversaw tremendous growth in Wasilla as it became the cross roads of what is likely the two busyest highways in Alaska. So important did Wasilla become as the virtual crossroads of Alaska that a referendum to make Wasilla the capital of Alaska was only narrowly defeated. Palin easily won re-election as mayor.

After her terms as mayor Palin served on government commissions, brought down a corruption ring that had a stranglehold on the state and ended the political careers of many who put self over service. Palin beat an incumbent GOP governor in a primary and a popular former two term Democratic governor in the general election. Palin, while fighting both parties and their machines, got ethics reforms passed, overhauled the tax system so energy companies could no longer game the system, returned money to the taxpayers and achieved the largest state infrastructure improvement in American history, a 40 billion dollar pipeline that was languishing in state government for decades. Palin cut the Alaska budget by 10% and cut her own Governor’s expenses by 80% compared to the previous governor.

Palin held elective office for 5 years before Obama ran for anything and as mayor and governor was not afforded the option to vote “present” 130 times. I see lots of bloggers and journalists drawing an equivalency between Obama’s experience and Palin’s. When the truth is told there is no equivalency.

UPDATE: I pored over the Wasilla city budgets and finances and posted a review of Palin’s preformance as Mayor HERE.

Remember the Bike Rider Who Was Abused by that New York City Cop…

…that was caught on video and the officer lied in his affidavit filing false charges against the rider. The charges against the bike rider were dropped today and as for the cop…well click HERE.

Busted: Washington Post, Lefty Media and Blogs Said Palin Cut Funding to Aid Teen Moms… Now the Charity Involved Issued a Press Release…

..and we were right to call this out as the lie it was. Still no retraction from the Washington Post.

For the press release and all the information just click HERE. Click and learn.

Here is McCain’s Speech and by the way Obama is Lying About it Already…

Today Barack Obama said on a clip aired on CBS Radio that McCain did not have one word about what middle class folks are dealing with. Funny that is almost the exact same wording he used when he lied about Sarah Palin’s speech.

Here is a part of the transcript where John McCain talks about issues that “middle class folks” are dealing with and the excerpts I have quoted here isn’t all of it. McCain covers high energy costs, taxes, education reform, the housing market, saving for our future, the job market and how our government job assistance programs are geared for a 1950’s style economy and that is why they are largely ineffective; I never thought of it that way before and he is absolutely right.

These are tough times for many of you. You’re worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that’s just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.

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I don’t mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I’ve had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market. Bill got a temporary job after he was out of work for seven months. Sue works three jobs to help pay the bills.

I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake works on a loading dock; coaches Little League, and raises money for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher, working toward her Master’s Degree. They have two sons, the youngest, Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office. They matter to me.

I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to, remains safe from its enemies.

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.

We’re going to change that. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.

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I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy and it often seems your government hasn’t even noticed. Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That’s going to change on my watch. My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We’re going to help workers who’ve lost a job that won’t come back, find a new one that won’t go away.

We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. For workers in industries that have been hard hit, we’ll help make up part of the difference in wages between their old job and a temporary, lower paid one while they receive retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage.

Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I’m President, they will.

My fellow Americans, when I’m President, we’re going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.

Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It’s an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It’s time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.

This great national cause will create millions of new jobs, many in industries that will be the engine of our future prosperity; jobs that will be there when your children enter the workforce.

More Media B.S. – ABC News Broadcasts Bogus Palin Hit Piece Before McCain Speech

I have the video, all the information and even some of the official documents, including what ABC and the partisan blogs aren’t telling you right HERE. Click and learn.

McCain Beats Obama in Speech Television Ratings!

And on the air McCain was up against the NFL season opener.

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McCain TV Ratings Beat Obama in Preliminary Numbers
By Andrew Krukowski
September 5, 2008 7:19 AM

Presidential candidate John McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention drew more television viewers than his rival Barack Obama attracted at the Democratic party’s event last week, according to preliminary ratings from Nielsen Media Research.

Across all broadcast networks Thursday, Sen. McCain’s speech ended the night with a 4.8 rating/7 share, compared to Sen. Obama’s 4.3/7 average, according to overnight numbers from metered households in 55 U.S. markets measured by Nielsen. These ratings are preliminary, however, and are subject to change.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/09/mccain_tv_ratings_beat_obama_i.php

Profiles in Media Bias: Oprah Refuses to Have Palin On!

Via Matt Drudge -

OPRAH’S STATEMENT: “The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.”

DRUDGE’S STATEMENT:

Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America — but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket!

Oprah’s staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

“Half of her staff really wants Sarah Palin on,” an insider explains. “Oprah’s website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama.”

One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash!

It is not clear if Oprah has softened her position after watching Palin’s historic convention speech.

Last year, Winfrey blocked an appearance by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, timed to a promotional tour of his autobiography.

Oprah and executive producer Sheri Salata, who has contributed thousands of dollars to Obama’s campaign, refused requests for comment.

Developing…

Now we know that Oprah’s statements about advancing black Americans and women is nothing but empty rheroric. Like so many of the super rich left, identity politics of sex and race are nothing more than tools to advance the political agenda of one’s self. Oprah I used to admire you, no longer.

UPDATE: Emily Friedman at ABC news has written a remarkably straight and honest piece of journalism that all people should read.

Emily, I cant help but like you already because I like people who have skill and are competent, but if you keep writing pieces of this [high] quality it may endanger your career with some people in the elite media.

Click the link below for a good read.

Is Oprah Biased? Host Won’t Interview Palin
Republican VP Nominee Sarah Palin Isn’t Welcome on ‘Oprah’
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Sept. 5, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Story?id=5736716&page=1

Newsday wrote a good piece too.

RASMUSSEN POLL – PALIN MORE POPULAR THAN OBAMA AND McCAIN!

Via Scott Rasmussen Polling Company

A week ago, most Americans had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Now, following a Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed live by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% hold an unfavorable view of the self-described hockey mom.

The figures include 40% with a Very Favorable opinion of Palin and 18% with a Very Unfavorable view (full demographic crosstabs are available for Premium Members). Before her acceptance speech, Palin was viewed favorably by 52%. A week ago, 67% had never heard of her.

The new data also shows significant increases in the number who say McCain made the right choice and the number who say Palin is ready to be President. Generally, John McCain’s choice of Palin earns slightly better reviews than Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden.

Perhaps most stunning is the fact that Palin’s favorable ratings are now a point higher than either man at the top of the Presidential tickets this year. As of Friday morning, Obama and McCain are each viewed favorably by 57% of voters. Biden is viewed favorably by 48%.

There is a strong partisan gap when it comes to perceptions of Palin. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Republicans give her favorable reviews along with 33% of Democrats and 59% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

She earns positive reviews from 65% of men and 52% of women. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows that Obama continues to lead McCain among women voters while McCain leads among men. The Friday morning update-the first to include interviews conducted after Palin’s speech–showed the beginning of a Republican convention bounce that may match Obama’s bounce from last week.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of Americans believe that most reporters are trying to hurt Palin’s campaign, a fact that may enhance her own ratings.

The Palin pick has also improved perceptions of John McCain. A week ago, just before he introduced his running mate, just 42% of Republicans had a Very Favorable opinion of their party’s nominee. That figure jumped to 54% by this Friday morning. Among unaffiliated voters, favorable opinions of McCain have increased by eleven percentage points in a week-from 54% before the Palin announcement to 65% today.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of all voters now believe that McCain made the right choice when he picked Palin to be his running mate while 32% disagree. By way of comparison, on the night after Biden gave his acceptance speech, 47% said that Obama made the right choice.

Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans say that McCain made the right choice while just 69% of Democrats said the same about Obama.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/palin_power_fresh_face_now_more_popular_than_obama_mccain

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In spite of a media onslaught packed with lies and attacks the Republicans were able to turn the public perception of Palin around in six days, or perhaps it can be said that Palin turned that perception around.

1. They said she wanted Alaska to leave the Union

2. They painted her to be trailer trash while “journalists” such as Hanna Rosin attacked her for being Christian and said she has a wreck of a home life.

3. They said she had no experience even though she sat in elected office for 5 years before Obama ran for anything and not once has Palin ever voted “present” even though Obama has over 130 times. Palin also forced the passage of many significant pieces of legislation and brought down corruption rings, Obama has not. Palin has ran a business Obama has not – yet its SHE who lacks experience.

4. They trashed her daughter Bristol for getting pregnant while not telling you that the family had plans for them to marry before she had gotten pregnant. How many people still do not knwo that Barack Obama was bornb to an unwed mother?

5. They said that you cant be a mom and be in politics at the same time, and when they weren’t saying it they implied it in the narrative; all the while leaving out many other politicians who have 4 or more children and leaving out why Joe Biden took office after his remaining family was hospitalized for months after a devestating car accident. Barack Obama has young children at home, so did JFK etc etc…

6. They said that Palin cut spending for a teenage pregnancy shelter and program when in fact she increased that funding 225%.

7. They said that she abused her power to get people fired – also now shown to be untrue.

8. The latest attacks are trying to paint her as fiscally irresponsible – as this blog will show this weekend, these attacks are based on lies and half truths.

51% polled said that the press is trying to hurt Palin. The dispicable Chris Mathews of MSNBC is challenging people to show him how the media has been unfair. Even though this blog has cataloged such stories already, over the weekend I will be posting at least three more stories from so called “Journalists” and showing you just how filled with elitist condesention and contempt and half truths they are.