While Mayor of Wasilla:
The budget grew by 40% in 7 years -- after adjusting for inflation.
She raised taxes to build a stadium.
When she became mayor, the city had no long-term debt; she left behind $19 million in debt.
She hired a lobbyist to bring in federal earmarks -- that lobbyist, Steven Silver, was a former chief of staff to Ted Stevens.
Among pork that McCain has found "objectionable": A 2001 earmark of $500,000 for a public transportation project in Wasilla; $450,000 for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla in 2002; In 2002, $1 million for an "emergency communications center" in Wasilla that local law enforcement said was redundant and confusing.

As Governor:

(Note: This is cross-posted from my website.)

Last week, presumptive Republican nominee for President John McCain surprised the political world by choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. As self-appointed pundits bombard us with phony and irrelevant "theories" as to why he would choose her, the truth goes eerily silent.

Governor Palin has almost no experience, and has clearly not demonstrated any readiness to lead. She has legal and ethical problems surrounding her attempt to get someone fired from a state job for the heinous "crime" of divorcing her sister. Now it turns out that this "abstinence-only" politician doesn't practice at home what she preaches in public.

This has to be the worst choice for a running mate since George H.W. Bush picked Dan Quayle. So why would John McCain pick her?

Last night, on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, McCain was asked how many houses he owns. You'd think his staff would have been able to complete the count by now, but apparently not. Instead of answering the question, he talked about spending five years as a POW.

It seems that every sentence out of McCain's mouth is the same -- it contains a noun, a verb, and Vietnam.

Full disclosure: I have never been a big fan of Hillary Clinton. Many of you have read my rants against some of her campaign tactics. With that history in mind...

She gave a speech today!

It had to be the most difficult speech she has ever made. It had to be the most difficult public act she has ever taken. And she rose above all expectations, even those of her most ardent supporters. Hillary Clinton is not a great public speaker. She is good, and has gotten better over the campaign. But this speech exceeded any she has ever made, but a very large margin. It was, in many ways, classic Hillary, but the speech she made, in terms of both the writing and the delivery, lifted her to a new level.

There are some questions about why Barack Obama was not there; I believe he wasn't there because this was her day, her speech, her moment in the sun. And I believe she shone.

For those of us who believe we absolutely need a Democratic victory this fall, today is a very good day.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president:

Acting on behalf of its more than 1.4 million members, the AFT executive council on Wednesday endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, citing her proven ability to advance our nation's key priorities, and her bold plans for a stronger America.

"Our members have told us that they want a leader they can trust to strengthen public education, increase access to health care, promote commonsense economic priorities and secure America's place in the world," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "Hillary Clinton is that leader."

Chris Bowers at Open Left calls it, "the biggest endorsement of the campaign for me so far." Here's a longer quote:

...so here's a video the campaign of one Mitt Romney, who seems to be running for the Presidency square jaw and all, would rather you not see.

It's Larry Craig. him of the mens' room episodes and the concurrent votes against LGBTQ equality, holding forth on Mitt's family values.

The newest polling numbers from Rasmussen are pretty bad for a certain Democratic frontrunner.

After being virtually tied with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for several months, Republican contender Rudy Giuliani now leads Clinton up 47% to 40% in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Clinton, a sitting Senator, edges out Fred Thompson, an actor, 46% to 43%, within the poll's margin of error.

The real whammy is her approval/disapproval gap. 45% of Americans like Hillary Clinton. 52% do not.

How badly do Democrats want to lose the White House in 2008?