FactCheck.org picks up on the following errors by both candidates at the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate last night.

Gov. Sarah Palin:

• Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.
• Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.
• Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,” costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain’s plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.
• Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases.

Sen. Joe Biden:

• Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.
• Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn’t address taxes at that income level.
• Biden wrongly claimed that McCain had said “he wouldn’t even sit down” with the government of Spain. Actually, McCain didn’t reject a meeting, but simply refused to commit himself one way or the other during an interview.

Now, who’s fact checking FactCheck? 🙂

Related post: How to Watch a Debate

In case you missed it, here is the video of the full 2008 Vice
Presidential Debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden.
(Video length: 1:32:30)

Here are some good tips on watching the debates from Alan Johnson, a reporter with The Columbus Dispatch (with extra comments by H.B. London).

• Listen actively. Switch from a passive mode to a learning mode. Pay attention.
• Focus on substance not style. It is not so much how they look and how they sound as it is the clarity of their plans and positions.
• Ignore subtle and disruptive behavior. You have seen candidates twist questions to the point that no answer is ever really given. You need to listen for a response that represents your questions. Discount gamesmanship.
• Keep an open mind. Sometimes I find myself wanting the debaters to say what I want them to say and discounting the other person, even if he or she makes sense. Do you? My political bias many times gets in the way.
• Turn off the TV when the debate is over. The spin zone and post-debate analysis are designed to influence you. Make up your own mind.
• Give your own grade. Be objective. Weigh the significance of the issues. The polls are for the masses — the debate is for you.

HT: The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing

Related post: Fact Checking the Palin/Biden Debate

I have mixed feelings over the recently defeated bailout bill. I would like to see the American economy succeed without it, but there are strong indications that some sort of bailout is necessary to keep the economy afloat. Still, no one seems to know whether the bailout will succeed in fixing our problems or only delay the inevitable, perhaps even making things worse.

I can see why Congress is so divided on the bill. $700 billion ($700,000,000,000) is a lot of money to throw around when you are not sure if it will even work. As Bob Krumm writes:

How big is $700 billion? This source reports that to date America has spent $583 billion to fight the war in Iraq. That’s right, we taxpayers are being asked to add an immediate expense to the federal budget that is more than $100 billion greater than has already been spent on more than five years of war. (Bob Krumm: Call me a skeptic)

Of course the $1.1 trillion ($1,100,000,000,000) lost on Wall Street yesterday cannot be ignored either, although thankfully we are seeing some of that made back today. Thomas Sowell at Townhall recognizes the difficulties but still ends up arguing against the bailout:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not deserve to be bailed out, but neither do workers, families and businesses deserve to be put through the economic wringer by a collapse of credit markets, such as occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Neither do the voters deserve to be deceived on the eve of an election by the notion that this is a failure of free markets that should be replaced by political micro-managing.

If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were free market institutions they could not have gotten away with their risky financial practices because no one would have bought their securities without the implicit assumption that the politicians would bail them out.

It would be better if no such government-supported enterprises had been created in the first place and mortgages were in fact left to the free market. This bailout creates the expectation of future bailouts.

Phasing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would make much more sense than letting politicians play politics with them again, with the risk and expense being again loaded onto the taxpayers. (Thomas Sowell: Bailout Politics)

Meanwhile Terence Corcoran at the Financial Post argues that we should let the market correct itself.

It would be unwise to read too much into the Dow plunge, or to link it exclusively to the political circus in Washington. Stocks appeared to be heading lower no matter how Congress voted. Indeed, from the moment congressional leaders announced Sunday they had a deal, filled with anti-market schemes and regulation, stock prices began falling in Asia and Europe. Early yesterday, when it was expected the bailout would be approved, the Dow was down 500 points.

Bailout or no bailout, the stock markets were heading lower as financial markets continue to undergo massive asset revaluations. No matter what elaborate new rescue packages Congress, the Bush administration and the U.S. Federal Reserve bring to the party, the market is going to continue marking stock prices and other assets down until values reach realistic levels.

This is not, nor can it be, the beginning of the end of the U.S. or world financial system. It’s simply how the financial market works, how it should work. And it is working, whatever the games being played out in Washington and whatever their belief that governments can resolve the crisis. (Financial Post: Financial markets go up and down as they should)

So, what do you think? Should we be bailing out the bailout? Or let the economy run its course?

Related posts:

• How Big Is a Trillion?
• Scary Financial Movie Trailer

Last week I posted an article called Palin, Prayer and Precedent. The article looked at Sarah Palin’s prayer for U.S. troops in relation to historical examples of U.S. presidents who also invoked prayer during times of war. (Gov. Palin’s remarks were made during an address to students at Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska.)

The post was linked by Ann Althouse which prompted one reader to respond by raising an additional question concerning Palin and prayer — this time in relation to Palin’s request for prayer about the Alaskan pipeline (made during the same address to students at Wasilla).

We had a back-and-forth discussion in the comments section at Ann Althouse which I thought would be fun to reproduce here. A big thanks to Amy Jacobs for granting me permission to post her comments. Enjoy the discussion!

______________________________________________________________

Amy: The Ray Fowler post makes the same arguments seen elsewhere for Palin’s prayer. The problem with Fowler’s spin is that it doesn’t explain a similarly bizarre comment from Palin: “I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that.” In this instance it’s clear that Palin claims to know God’s will.

Fowler’s attempt to spin Palin’s prayer offers up this distinction: “There is a big difference between claiming that something is God’s plan and praying that something we do lines up with God’s plan.” Palin says that building the gas line is God’s will. I have no idea how Palin claims to know God’s will regarding US economic and energy policy. In any case an invocation of Lincoln doesn’t help Palin out on this one.

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Ray: I don’t think Gov. Palin is necessarily saying she knows God’s will for the pipeline. I am sure if you asked her she would explain more clearly what she meant. It is similar to Senator Obama and the lipstick on a pig comment. His words could have been interpreted negatively towards Palin, but when given a chance to explain himself, he told us what he meant by the words. In the same way I think we should let Gov. Palin interpret her own words instead of jumping to conclusions.

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Amy: I can only go by what Palin says. In this case it’s perfectly clear: Palin claims to know God has a plan for building a gas line. Words have meaning, which is why you spent so much time analyzing precisely what Palin said about our troops in Iraq. We should hold our politicians responsible for their actions and their words.

Except the new Republican game is to defend ridiculous comments by Republican politicians by arguing that it’s just “verbiage.” Palin did this when she defended McCain’s assertion that the fundamentals of the economy are strong: “Well, it was an unfair attack on the verbiage that Senator McCain chose to use.” I think you use the same sort of defense of Palin: “I am sure if you asked her she would explain more clearly what she meant.”

It’s perfectly clear what she meant. She’s used phrases like “God’s will” and “God’s plan” on more than one occasion in support of political positions. If Palin had used the phrase “God’s will” in urging humanitarian work, it wouldn’t be a concern since the Bible offers instruction about charity and giving. But the Bible offers no guidance about gas lines. Therefore when Palin talks about “God’s will” regarding gas lines, she’s using religion to carry a political agenda.

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Ray: Well, it’s more than possible that I am reading my own worldview into this whole scenario, but I don’t think it is perfectly clear that she meant what you say. Palin said: “I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that.” Couldn’t she simply be saying that if its God’s will for this pipeline to be built, then it is going to take a lot of people coming together, so let’s pray for that?

Once again, I could be pushing my own world view onto this, but I come from a Christian background where we talk about God’s will a lot. And we never assume that “my will is God’s will.” We hope that what we are doing lines up with God’s will, and we pray for God’s will to be done, but I sincerely doubt that Sarah Palin was claiming divinely revealed knowledge about the Alaskan pipeline.

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Amy: That might be what she meant to say, but it’s clearly not what she did say. What she did say is that it’s God’s will for Alaskans to build a gas line and the project will require people and companies to come together.

I come from a Christian background too. I’ve heard people talk about “God’s will” and “God’s plan” in regard to Biblical lessons, but not in referencing specific political projects like building gas lines. Based on your Christian background, can you provide a textual reference to support the idea that God has a plan for gas lines in Alaska?

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Ray: How about Zechariah 4:12? (“Again I asked him, ‘What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?'”) Just kidding. I am sure both you and I would agree that this is an irresponsible use of the Biblical text by taking it out of context. But that is exactly my point. From what I know of Gov. Palin’s background, she also would be firmly against using a text like this to justify building a pipeline in Alaska.

I don’t believe Gov. Palin was saying or has ever said that she has Scriptural warrant or a direct decree from God to build a pipeline in Alaska. But she was asking for prayer about it. And she was praying for God’s will to be done.

Just as we let Senator Obama explain what he meant by “lipstick on a pig,” (and I accepted his explanation), I think we should let Gov. Palin explain her words instead of interpret them for her. Now, if she suddenly starts spouting Zechariah 4:12 in favor of two Alaskan pipelines, I will grant you your point and come over to your side. 🙂

______________________________________________________________

Thanks, Amy, for a fun discussion. I enjoyed the back and forth even if we ultimately end up disagreeing with each other on this one. And the comments are open if you would like the last word!

Related posts:

• Palin, Prayer and Precedent
• Journalists Code of Ethics
• Sunday at Sarah Palin’s Church
• Sarah Palin Roundup

Here are some examples of putting the cart before the horse this political season. I’ve got two examples from Barack Obama and one from John McCain.

• Obama’s Presidential Seal: Sen. Obama unveiled this Presidential Seal at a round-table discussion with Democratic governors on June 20, 2008. The seal was dropped from campaign use several days later.

      Obama Presidential Seal                 Actual Presidential Seal
         

• Obama’s Presidential Coin: A Birmingham company is minting presidential coins for Sen. Obama. They have already sold more than 300 limited edition coins to the Democratic Party to hand out to key members of the campaign to elect Obama. (HT: Don Surber)

  

• McCain’s Early Debate Ad: Hey, there’s nothing wrong with either candidate declaring victory in the debate. But Sen. McCain ran this ad in the Wall Street Journal online Friday morning before the debate even took place. You can see a screen shot of the ad in the WSJ here. (HT: Museum of Hoaxes)

  

Was Sarah Palin out of line with her prayer or simply following presidential precedent? On June 8, 2008 Sarah Palin prayed for our troops at Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska. In a heavily edited interview broadcast September 11, 2008 Charles Gibson questioned Palin about the appropriateness of her words as a political candidate.

GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war?

PALIN: You know, I don’t know if that was my exact quote.

GIBSON: Exact words.

Well, yes and no. Gibson only quoted part of her words. Palin’s words come out very different when placed in context. Here are her exact words:

Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan. So, bless them with your prayers, your prayers of protection over our soldiers.

There is a big difference between claiming that something is God’s plan and praying that something we do lines up with God’s plan. Gibson accused Palin of doing the former, when she was actually doing the latter. As Palin explained to Gibson in the interview:

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.

Palin has historical precedent for praying this way, as the following video makes clear. The video contains clips of former presidents Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln praying or requesting prayer for our nation in times of war. (As an aside, I get a little tired of the “media elite” mantra that gets thrown around as in this video, but the content of the historical clips is well worth a watch.)

(Video length: 4:52)

(HT: Instapundit)

TRANSCRIPTS FROM VIDEO:

Bill Clinton asks for God’s blessing on our troops (from Clinton’s address announcing air strikes in Iraq; December 16, 1998):

In the century we’re leaving, America has often made the difference between chaos and community, fear and hope. Now, in the new century, we’ll have a remarkable opportunity to shape a future more peaceful than the past, but only if we stand strong against the enemies of peace. Tonight, the United States is doing just that. May God bless and protect the brave men and women who are carrying out this vital mission and their families. And may God bless America.

John F. Kennedy prays for God’s blessing concerning the imminent Soviet threat (from Kennedy’s Inaugural Address; January 20, 1961):

The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God … (With a good conscience) our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt leads the nation in prayer on D-Day (from FDR’s radio address to the nation; June 6, 1944):

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization … O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; … faith in our united crusade … With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy … Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace … Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.

Abraham Lincoln speaks about prayer, God and war (from Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address; Saturday, March 4, 1865):

Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.

Back to the Gibson/Palin interview:

PALIN: But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.

That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie …

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”

PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That, in my world view, is a grand — the grand plan.

GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?

PALIN: I don’t know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer.

So, what do you think? Was Sarah Palin out of line with her prayer, or was she simply following presidential precedent?

LINKED: Ann Althouse (Thanks!)

Related posts:

• Palin, Prayer and Pipelines
• Journalists Code of Ethics
• Sunday at Sarah Palin’s Church
• Sarah Palin Roundup

In light of ABC’s recent editing of Charles Gibson’s interview with Gov. Sarah Palin, I thought it might be helpful to review The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. The Code outlines four major responsibilities for those in professional journalism: 1) seek truth and report it, 2) minimize harm, 3) act independently, and 4) be accountable. Here are some of the bullet points under the first heading.

Seek Truth and Report It:  Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. Journalists should:

• Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
• Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
• Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of news photos or video. Image enhancement for technical clarity is always permissible. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged news events. If re-enactment is necessary to tell a story, label it.
• Never plagiarize.
• Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.
• Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

So, according to the Journalists Code of Ethics, there should be no bias, distortion, misinformation, misrepresentation, oversimplification, stereotyping or advocacy in the news media. Hmmm. It seems that journalists from both sides of the political aisle would do well to review these guidelines for the remaining weeks of the election season. What do you think?

Note: Click here to see the edits made in the ABC interview with Palin.

Related posts:

• Palin, Prayer and Pipelines
• Palin, Prayer and Precedent
• Sunday at Sarah Palin’s Church
• Sarah Palin Roundup

Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, attends Wasilla Bible Church, a non-denominational church in Wasilla, Alaska. The Christian Post has an interesting article about what took place at Palin’s church on Sunday. Apparently there were quite a few guests in attendance.

• Pastor Larry Kroon welcomed the attendees including the journalists and guests who were visiting.
• The pastor asked any reporters who might be in the crowd to respect church members’ opportunity to worship. “This isn’t the place to be fishing for interviews,” he said.
• He asked the congregants to pray for all of the candidates for president and vice president, and to be thankful that all four are willing to provide the nation with their public service.
• He urged churchgoers to “pray for the press.” Kroon said the media are to be “cherished and respected,” citing 19th century philosopher Alexander de Tocqueville’s works describing a free press and freedom of religion as essential pillars of democracy.
• He urged congregants to do their own thorough research and investigations when deciding who to vote for.

That all sounds reasonable to me. What do you think?

Related posts:

• Palin, Prayer and Pipelines
• Palin, Prayer and Precedent
• Journalists Code of Ethics
• Sarah Palin Roundup

Democrats and Republicans both seem to agree that Sarah Palin hit the ball out of the park with her speech at the Republican National Convention last night. Here is the video of the speech followed by a roundup of interesting links on Sarah. (By the way, I thought her speech was fantastic. And though I don’t care much for Rudy Giuliani, his speech was a lot of fun, too.)

(Video length: 44:40)

On Sarah’s speech:

• Sarah Palin: A Republican Star Is Born
• Gunny Hartman provides a good summary and highlights

On Sarah’s politics:

• Clashing Worldviews, by Chuck Colson

On Sarah’s Christian faith:

• An interview with her biographer

On gender roles and political leadership:

• An Unexpected New Motherhood Debate
• On Sarah Palin as a working mother VP
• Does Governor Sarah Palin Present a Dilemma for Complementarians?
      – Part 2 here; Part 3 here; Part 4 here.
• God Save Sarah Palin!

So, what do you think of Sarah Palin as nominee for Vice President of the United States?

Related posts:

• Palin, Prayer and Pipelines
• Palin, Prayer and Precedent
• Journalists Code of Ethics
• Sunday at Sarah Palin’s Church

If you missed the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency last night, you can:

• read the transcripts here: Broadcast Transcript Service: Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency; or
• view the videos here: Saddleback Forum Video

Pastor Rick Warren will host Presidential Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain this Saturday at the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency.

Saturday, August 16, 2008 ● 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. (PST)

At the candidates’ request, this two-hour event will be held in a non-debate format, and will be open to all media. Both candidates also requested that questions be posed exclusively by Warren rather than by a panel or members of the audience. Each candidate will converse separately with Warren for approximately an hour, beginning with Sen. Obama, as determined by a coin toss.

This historic forum will be the only joint event for the two, and the last public appearance for either candidate prior to the two-week hiatus during each party’s national convention.

Due to Secret Service mandate, tickets will be required for the event in the main auditorium, but the program will be broadcast live in multiple venues on the Saddleback campus, as well as on several national broadcast networks and online. It will also be streamed live on www.SaddlebackCivilForum.com. For basic information call (949) 609-8778.

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died today of colon cancer at age 53. Last summer in an article for Christianity Today, Snow gave testimony of his Christian faith and spoke of the unexpected blessings of cancer.

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies …

We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us—that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God’s love for others. Sickness gets us partway there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy …

I sat by my best friend’s bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away … His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn’t promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity …

What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don’t know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place—in the hollow of God’s hand.

Snow is survived by his wife, Jill Ellen Walker, whom he married in 1987; their son, Robbie; and daughters, Kendall and Kristi.