Sarah Palin must go, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker opines

This just in: Sarah Palin has NOT given up her spot of the Republican presidential ticket.

Nor do we expect her to.

But we broach the prospect simply because a nationally syndicated conservative columnist, Kathleen Parker, has called for Palin to do exactly that.

Parker's piece showed up at midday Friday on the National Review website (you don't get much more conservative than that) and since then has generated lots of buzz (and been picked up, not surprisingly, by lots of liberal blogs).

The columnist, who resides in South Carolina and posts regularly at Townhall.com (another conservative outlet), was high on Palin earlier this month in the immediate aftermath of her selection as John McCain's running mate.

In a commentary following Palin's boffo speech at the Republican National Convention, Parker wrote that the Alaska governor had shown "strength, conviction, determination, confidence, a willingness to rumble and fearlessness."

Now, in the wake of Palin's less-than-well-received Q & A with Katie Couric of CBS, Parker writes:

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted. Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.

Parker, who if nothing else has increased her visibility, concludes her column with her call for Palin to "bow out [of the national race] for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn."

Those on the left with a conspiratorial bent may wonder if the latest developments in the Palin saga are part of a hidden effort to create an environment in which she can't help but exceed expectations in her Thursday debate with Joe Biden.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Associated Press

Barack Obama: We'll never forget what's-his-name

From the presidential debate Oxford, Miss. Sept. 26, 2008, between Sens. John McCain, Republican, and Democrat Barack Obama.

--Andrew Malcolm

More than elsewhere, St. Louis folks watched the McCain/Obama debate

Missouri has not been widely viewed as a top-tier battleground state in the presidential race -- it's competitive, as usual, but it would surprise most pundits if it does not ultimately land in John McCain's column.

Recent polls have shown some tightening, though, so perhaps that's a reason preliminary Nielsen Co. ratings for the nation's top metropolitan areas found the St. Louis market with the largest TV audience for Friday night's debate.

Nielsen reported that a majority of households with televisions in and around the city -- 52.1% -- were tuned to the McCain/Barack Obama faceoff.

The "share" figure was even more impressive -- among all TVs in use as the debate aired, 82% in the St. Louis area had it on. That was far and away the highest such number in the major markets. Soon, St. Louis will host one of the debates, too.

The area where the debate attracted the smallest audience? McCain's backyard.

The household rating for the Phoenix/Prescott market was 24.8% (with a 47% share), according to the preliminary report.

Next to last: Los Angeles.

In both of these latter cases, viewership no doubt was lower than in many other places because the debate started at 6 p.m. local time.

Overall, in 55 of the nation's top 56 markets (Houston was excluded because of disarray caused by Hurricane Ike), the debate's rating was 33.2% -- impressive for a Friday night.

The report can be perused here. Nielsen's promises its complete numbers on Monday.

-- Don Frederick

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Ticket's Sunday Talk Shows: McCain, Obama, B. Clinton

ABC This Week: Republican presidential candidate John McCain; round table with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Steve Pearlstein of the Washington Post, Robert Reich of the American Prospect and George Will of ABC News.

CBS Face the Nation: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

CNN Late Edition: President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan; New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, author of “Hot, Flat, and Crowded”; Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; CNN senior political analysts Gloria Borger and Jeffrey Toobin and CNN national correspondent John King; Democratic strategists Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile and Republican strategists Alex Castellanos and Leslie Sanchez.

Fox News Sunday: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C./McCain supporter) and John Kerry (D-Mass./Obama supporter).

NBC Meet the Press: Former President Bill Clinton; senior campaign strategists Steve Schmidt (McCain) and David Axelrod (Obama); Senate debate series begins with the candidates for the U.S. Senate seat from Colorado, Democratic Rep. Mark Udall and Republican former Rep. Bob Schaffer.

-- Leslie Hoffecker

Photo credit: Associated Press

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John McCain's singular theme: Barack Obama just "doesn't understand"

John McCain had a single tune he wanted to sing in his Friday night debate with Barack Obama, and he was willing to run the risk of sounding like a broken record to do it.

It took him a while to get to his refrain, because events demanded the first part of the forum deal with the economic crisis facing the nation.

But once the debate settled into its announced topic -- international issues -- McCain rarely lost an opportunity to make his core point: In matters of foreign policy, Obama just doesn't get it.

As the discussion turned to Iraq, in particular last year's "surge" in U.S. troops there, McCain said: "I'm afraid Sen. Obama doesn't understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy."

On Afghanistan: "And yes, Sen. Obama calls for more troops, but what he doesn't understand, it's got to be a new strategy, the same strategy that he condemned in Iraq. It's going to have to be employed in Afghanistan."

On Pakistan: "I don't think that Sen. Obama understands that there was a failed state in Pakistan when [Pervez] Musharraf came to power." [Update: As a reader has noted, The Ticket should have -- and now will -- point out that this assertion is very much in dispute.]

On a president agreeing to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: What Sen. Obama doesn't seem to understand that if without precondition you sit down across the table from someone who has called Israel a 'stinking corpse' and wants to destroy that country and wipe it off the map, you legitimize those comments. This is dangerous. It isn't just naive; it's dangerous."

On the conflict between Russia and Georgia: "I was interested in Sen. Obama's reaction to the Russian aggression against Georgia. His first statement was, 'Both sides ought to show restraint.' Again, a little bit of naivete there. He doesn't understand that Russia committed serious aggression against Georgia."

Again, back to Iraq: "Sen. Obama still ...

The Ticket verdict: Who won the debate--McCain or Obama?

A pictorial history of past debates ... check it out

Now that the first general-election debate of the 2008 presidential campaign is in the books, ready for a trip down memory lane of past encounters?

Elsewhere on our site, a 10-picture photo gallery (complete with brief historic notes) should scratch that itch.

It starts with the 1960 faceoff between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, then picks up with the 1976 Gerald Ford-Jimmy Carter forum. Why the gap? Because the 1964, '68 and '72 campaigns were debate-free.

-- Don Frederick

Updated: John McCain was first to fire off a post-debate fundraising pitch

That wasn't long.

Within 25 minutes of the end of tonight's debate, the first pitch for money was sent. John McCain was first out of the block, sending a fundraising appeal even as his aides still were spinning reporters about why he had won the debate and Barack Obama and lost.

But McCain also went on the fundraising offensive. His missive, sent on behalf of the Republican National Party, said the debate proved he would make a better president than Obama, and then made the pitch: "We won't win without your support. ...

The Ticket's complete McCain-Obama debate transcript, Sept. 26, 2008

This is the complete presidential debate transcript for Sept. 26, 2008 at the University of Mississippi, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS and including Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois:

LEHRER: Gentlemen, at this very moment tonight, where do you stand on the financial recovery plan?

First response to you, Senator Obama. You have two minutes.

OBAMA: Well, thank you very much, Jim, and thanks to the commission and the University of Mississippi, "Ole Miss," for hosting us tonight. I can't think of a more important time for us to talk about the future of the country.

You know, we are at a defining moment in our history. Our nation is involved in two wars, and we are going through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

And although we've heard a lot about Wall Street, those of you on Main Street I think have been struggling for a while, and you recognize that this could have an impact on all sectors of the economy.

And you're wondering, how's it going to affect me? How's it going to affect my job? How's it going to affect my house? How's it going to affect my retirement savings or my ability to send my children to college?

So we have to move swiftly, and we have to move wisely. And I've put forward a series of proposals that make sure that we protect taxpayers as we engage in this important rescue effort.

No. 1, we've got to make sure that we've got oversight over this whole process; $700 billion, potentially, is a lot of money.

No. 2, we've got to make sure that taxpayers, when they are putting their money at risk, have the possibility of getting that money back and gains, if the market -- and when the market returns.

No. 3, we've got to make sure that none of that money is going to pad CEO bank accounts or to promote golden parachutes.

And, No. 4, we've got to make sure that we're helping homeowners, because the root problem here has to do with the foreclosures that are taking place all across the country.

Now, we also have to recognize that this is a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush, supported by Senator McCain, a theory that basically says that we can shred regulations and consumer protections and give more and more to the most, and somehow prosperity will trickle down.

It hasn't worked. And I think that the fundamentals of the economy have to be measured by whether or not the middle class is getting a fair shake. That's why I'm running for president, and that's what I hope we're going to be talking about tonight.

LEHRER: Senator McCain, two minutes.

MCCAIN: Well, thank you, Jim. And thanks to everybody.

And I do have a sad note tonight. Senator Kennedy is in the hospital. He's a dear and beloved friend to all of us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the lion of the Senate.

I also want to thank the University of Mississippi for hosting us tonight.

And, Jim, I -- I've been not feeling too great about a lot of things lately. So have a lot of Americans who are facing challenges. But I'm feeling a little better tonight, and I'll tell you why.

Because as we're here tonight in this debate, we are seeing, for the first time in a long time, Republicans and Democrats together, sitting down, trying to work out a solution to this fiscal crisis that we're in.

And have no doubt about the magnitude of this crisis. And we're not talking about failure of institutions on Wall Street. We're talking about failures on Main Street, and people who will lose their jobs, and....

Live-blogging John McCain and Barack Obama's first debate: Was it a game changer?

8:06 p.m. Was this debate a game-changer?

More than likely, we won’t know that for at least a day or two. And the continuing economic cloud hanging over the country could mitigate its effect.

Obama was strong on the part of the debate that spotlighted the economy (which, because it was at the beginning, was probably the most-watched). But McCain closed strongly, becoming more assertive in the debate’s final 30 minutes and zinging Obama time and again as out of his league on foreign policy.

Obama, who in the past has frustrated fellow Democrats for not being more sharp-edged in responding to GOP attacks, may come in for more such criticism for not more directly responding to McCain’s general theme tonight. Indeed, several times he said he basically agreed with McCain’s critique on various foreign policy issues. GOP operatives can be counted on to take every opportunity to make note of that –- and to argue that if that’s the case, why settle for him instead of McCain? 

We're signing off now, but be sure to keep checking Top of the Ticket throughout the evening for more analysis of the debate.

And look for us on Oct. 7, when we blog the second presidential debate, which will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

Good night, all. And thanks for reading.

7:51 p.m. That's all, folks. The candidates have walked off the stage and into the arms of their respective wives.

7:46 p.m. As they deliver their closing statements, the candidates move on from the fray of the debate and drive home their personal narratives, which have played such a big role in this election.

Obama talks about the unlikeliness of his story, and casts himself as a product of the American dream. And John McCain talks about being a veteran, and the lessons that has instilled in him.

7:40 p.m. As the debate enters its last few minutes, McCain again seeks to depict Obama as unready to serve as commander in chief.

With the conversation returning to Iraq, McCain asserts that Obama “still doesn’t quite understand or doesn’t get” what is at stake there for the United States. And, more broadly, he says, “I don’t think I need any on-the-job training.”

And then, in a surprising twist, he compares Obama to Bush, saying that the Illinois senator's shown a "certain stubbornness" that reminded him of the current administration.

7:35 p.m. As the debate has settled into the stated topic of foreign policy, it’s become clear that McCain, with each answer, is seeking to achieve a larger goal: Paint Obama as wet behind the ears.

A prime example came when McCain, as he has in the past, scoffed at Obama’s initial response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August. Saying Obama’s first statement did not adequately recognize Russia as the aggressor, McCain said: “Again, a little bit of naivete there.”

7:25 p.m. Did Obama commit a tactical error ...