erhaps surprising to you, I should like to say a word of support for Governor Sarah Palin. She is not my candidate and I do not believe that she would make a fine president. I am entitled to that opinion. If the need should arise and she had to don the mantle of President, I would not feel comfortable in her ability to take over the executive branch of the United States government. In her defense she has done an exceedingly adequate job of holding up under the withering fire of pundits, politicians, syndicated columnists and radio talk show hosts. Her level of acceptance and support is diminishing, but she should take heart in one regard. She is certainly more popular than Congress. Congress now has the lowest approval rating ever registered in the history of polling; 12%.
She is gracious, strong and has certainly made an impression on many.
The story of the expensive, high-end wardrobe from Neimans, Saks and elsewhere is far too dumb to have been a decision made by the candidate.

peaking of dumb! Rep, Michele Bachman the Minnesota Republican's statement that she was "very concerned that Barak Obama may have anti-American views" and called on the news media to scrutinize members of Congress to...ready for this..."find out - are they pro America or anti-American."
Is it desperation, conviction or ignorance. Ask a dummy named Robin Hayes, a Republican from North Carolina, what he meant and about whom he was speaking when he said to a crowd in Greensboro, "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God". I know he is in a tight re-election campaign and I hope that he comes in second place!

believe that both parties are guilty of using automatic pre-recorded telephone calls. They are known as "robo calls" and for about $2000 you can buy for your candidate over 100,000 calls. They are annoying as hell. In the case of McCain's diatribes in several battle-ground states they are a last-ditch attempt to catch Barak Obama, They are relentlessly negative attacks that, among other things ,seek to link Obama to the former revolutionary, turned professor, Bill Ayres. The statements are untrue and they know it.
Obama is as guilty in this regard, he broke a pledge to use public funding and is far outspending McCain on conventional advertising and also making robo-calls. They had one last Wednesday that attacks McCain's "sleazy phone calls".

This is all too silly and annoying.

The following is not based on any research of mine, but just taken from the front page of the Marketplace section of the Wall Street Journal.

We have, nearly all of us, lost in the financial debacle of the past month, but if you feel that the market has hammered your portfolio, pity the excruciatingly rich. Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffert has lost 9.6 billion dollars. Larry Elison of Oracle dropped $6.6 billion. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, 4.8 billion dollars and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp dropped $3.9 billion.
No flowers by request.

They'll survive handsomely.