Rendell: If I Was Palin You'd Be Calling For My Impeachment

Gov. Ed Rendell decried a double standard in the treatment of Sarah Palin on Monday, saying that if it was he who was at the center of the "troopergate" investigation, the press would be calling for his head.

"She [claims to be] a reformer," said the Pennsylvania Democrat. "And yet she is being investigated on the charge that she used her power as governor to fire someone who was going through a messy divorce with a relative of hers. Could you imagine if I was doing the same thing in Pennsylvania? You would be calling for my impeachment."

The remarks came at the end of a long list of criticisms that Rendell, one of the foremost supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, launched against the Republican vice presidential nominee. Ignoring the directive of the Obama campaign to focus attentions on McCain, Rendell called out Palin on everything from ethics to earmarks.

"[The McCain camp] has tried to again obscure the facts about Gov. Palin. 'She is a reformer and against earmarks.' No she isn't, when she was mayor of that town she hired a lobbyist to get earmarks... 'She was against the bridge to nowhere.' No she wasn't. She was for the bridge to nowhere first... She is a budget balancer. But she left the town in greater debt then when she became mayor, so she is not a budget balancer."

"I like her," Rendell concluded. "She is a good person, she has tremendous potential but in no way shape or form is she ready to be president of the United States."

The Rendell call, organized to preempt a McCain appearance in Pennsylvania, was ostensibly on the topic of how the Arizona Republican has engaged in dirty politics when it came to discussing Obama's tax record. And on this issue, Rendell was again in vintage outspoken form.

"First of all, let me say it should be embarrassing for the Republican ticket that Rick Davis, Sen. McCain's campaign manager, said 'this election is not about issues.' Good lord, with all the challenges facing America it has to be about issues...They don't want to talk about issues because when the truth comes out about issues the American people will favor Sen. Obama tremendously."

The Republicans, he added, "would make the all time all-star team for spiders the way they can spin."

But most questions, as has been the case since the Palin announcement, were focused on the Alaska governor.

Would she siphon of Clinton supporters in Pennsylvania? No, said Rendell, who expected Obama to receive somewhere along the lines of "95,96, or 97 percent of the vote."

Was she qualified to serve as VP? Absolutely not, he bemoaned.

The McCain camp argues that, "Governor Palin, because of her executive experience as a mayor of a small 9,000 person town and governor of Alaska for 20 months, has that experience. Well, I refer you to a McCain camp document they put out when [Virginia] Gov. Kaine was considered to be vice president. They attacked his experience and derided Richmond [where Kaine was formerly mayor] because it was the 105th largest city ... I think Gov. Palin was mayor of the 50,000th [most populated] city in the America... It was fair game to say Gov. Kaine was not qualified because of his credentials. If they are going to be consistent then they believe that Gov. Palin is unqualified to be vice president."

Comments

[loax]

Way to go Rendell! Show them what is what and lets kick their sorry asses out of our White House! Liars and theives, that should be the Republican campaign slogan!

[Bond007]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdXaE-mMXTg

[grf67]

Excellent - lying is ok only if you are a republican. Anything to get your hands on power.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Thank you, Gov. Rendell.

Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas need to give their versions of the same speech in their state. Kansas and Arizona are red states.

[Jezreel]

Sebelius and Napolitano already did. And they will continue to do so.

[MAXIE19]

Thank you for speaking the truth, Governor Rendell. If Barack Obama continues on this holier than thou path, he will lose this election and justifiably so. I say that as an African American female attorney who believes in Mr. Obama's message but is growing increasingly frustrated with his soft punches. He needs to sharpen his rhetoric but not his appeal. You do not have too many chances to make a first impression. America wants a fighter to fight for them at home and abroad. Akin to when you hire a lawyer to defend your cause, will you hire a lawyer who appears to throw soft punches almost to the point of appearing wimpy or would you hire the most aggressive pitbull of a lawyer you can afford. Even if you lose, you want to go down fighting. On too many occasions, Mr. Obama finds himself having to modify his responses to questions over and over again because he was not clear or sharp enough the first time around, i.e., the abortion issue. He has great difficulties with his delivery or his responses to questions when he is not using a teleprompter, so much so that he loses his audience before completing his response to questions his campaign should have anticipated and helped him practice.

By the way, talking about sharper rhetoric, what exactly is Biden doing these days. He has been very quiet in the past week. I hope he is not Leibermann or Edwards dressed up differently.

[rock2casbah]

Sorry but I ain't buying what you're selling. First red flag the * As an AA female*. You had no need to qualify your comment. What difference would it make to the validity of your comment. Second all you are doing is dogging Obama in a most juvenile manner. You aren't the only one with a law degree. So I am sure he knows when and how to deliver a punch. He was a law professor and practiced civil rights law.

He also went up against the folks that could write the book on playing hard and dirty when the media is not on your side running against the Clintion with a whole lot of help from the Rove mothership.

I would think he knows what he is doing.

So save your platitudes about Biden. If you really had any interest you would clearly have known where he is. He is not hiding under the desk in terrors from the press like your VP candidate. Away with you troll.!!!!

[nonconformist2]

It's simple, if Mc Cain is able to win using his current strategy, then all future campaigns, including presidential campaigns, will become unbearable. Once the republicans realize that they can inject h.ate, devisiveness and b.old faced lies into all of their campaigns and make it all about personal attacks against their opponent, there will not be one single election run on the issues again. And the media will do exactly what they are doing now. Nothing.

That is why, even beyond the issues (which are huge), this election is nothing less than a battle between the forces of g.ood and e.vil.

[CaptainVideo]

"Once the republicans realize that they can inject h.ate, devisiveness and b.old faced lies into all of their campaigns and make it all about personal attacks against their opponent, there will not be one single election run on the issues again"

The Republicans already have realized this and have been doing that at least since the Bush Senior versus Dukakis election. And except in the case of Bill Clinton, it has worked.

[MajorKong]

IOKIYAR - It's OK, If You're A Republican

[politicojunkie]

Complaining on these blogs will not help Obama. The complaints and suggestions should be directed to headquarters. Send emails through the website. Maybe if we flood them with our concerns they will begin to listen.

[allonfla]

oh yeah - so original your plan - it's not like they don't get the same "advice" from the posters on their own website, or phone calls, or e-mails or the dozens of editorials, articles touting "advice" every. single. day. Yeah, they just work in a bubble and have no clue about what goes on in the blogosphere. pish posh.

[NTO08]

So then you and others will continue to b--ch endlessly here...and that will matter how?

[Frenchy9]

RIGHT! I just did it. Hope many will do the same.

[LynndaMaree]

Just sent the Obama Campaign an email.

[lionsforlambs]

I sent an email as well. I told him about Gov. Rendell and that he needed to let his attack people out of the cage. Hopefully, someone will start listening.

[nonconformist2]

There don't seem to be any tr0lls on this particular posting.

It feels good.

Like a chronic and persistant throbbing pain, finally being lifted from one's shoulders.

I'm sure it won't last.

[NTO08]

In other words, one is preaching to the choir...sadly, that's not what's out there.

[KarenJW]

AWESOME, GOV. RENDELL................Senator Obama could pick up some pointers from you!

[johnthomascook]

John McCain and the Republicans have often bent and twisted the truth -- it's the only way to make four more years of George Bush's disastrous policies look like change.

But now they're flat-out lying.

[nonconformist2]

Remember the "kitchen sink" strategy?

This has gone WAAAAAYYYYY beyong the "kitchen sink" strategy.

This is the nuclear option. As in a d.eranged group of leaders know that they are losing the power that they have come to rely on. So they've s.old their s.ouls and d.amned the consequences.

[nonconformist2]

Dear Senator Biden:

See Ed Rendell? Follow his lead. It's okay to pick on the "girl". Especially since she just made a speech at the convention that turned into a cruel and vicious personal attack against Obama. And she is repeating the same lines from the speech at each stop she makes.

Time to take the gloves off and S.MACK THE PITBULL WITH LIPSTICK BACK TO ALASKA WHERE SHE BELONGS!

[KarenJW]

Rendell, this is the way to do it........call a spade a spade............call a LIE a LIE! I agree that more of the Democrat politicians need to get out there and raise these concerns, raise the roof....Sarah "Who" has raised McDumb's campaign from the DEAD..........and their joint lies and re"thug"lican spin will BURY them!

[speechteach]

Gov. Rendell is in the perfect position to question Palin. As a fellow governor, he would know better than most whether or not she is qualified. I think the more she misrepresents herself, the more people will call her on it. The media won't ask her the really tough questions, but if enough others do it in public, the media will look like wimps. They need to treat all candidates with equality. Palin and McCain took the gloves off with their inane statements at the convention (and now on the stump). Their statements that mislead the American public need to be revealed. I wonder what would happen to the media jobs if the ultra right wing extreme religious faction gets total control.

[Roll451]

Obama is right to keep the main focus on McCain, but it is good for someone like Rendell who is outside the immediate Obama campaign to put some heat on Palin.

[Daly]

you've nailed it - Obama & Biden, CLinton and senate types should take the high road, but Rendall and the Govs with states with are more population that Alaska need to speak out.

[NTO08]

Rendell can point out how running a state with a population 30x Palin's has a little more to do and a little more importance than she does.

[nonconformist2]

I'm hearing "hints" that the O.bama campaign plans to hit hard about the issues and contrasts between the two tickets.

I hope this translates into some of the hard hitting we are hearing from Rendell

Enough with the nice guy, O.bama, time to fight back. Think of it not as sticking up for the American people who are, once again, being lied to and manipulated by the republican spin machine.