WhereIstand blog

I didn’t find there to be anything particularly earth-shattering about the revelation that George W. Bush questioned Sarah Palin’s qualifications:

This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for. She hasn’t spent one day on the national level.

Her candidacy was, at the very least, an improbable rise to national politics and at the very most a product of irresponsible  selection procedures and a disturbing game of politics. The general consensus among political insiders a year later is that Palin’s nomination was more of the latter. That conservative pundits like George Will and Charles Krauthammer so publicly expressed doubt about Palin merely affirmed as much. Just imagine what Republican colleagues said behind closed doors, in company of one another instead of the media…which is what Bush thought he was doing. It’s just too bad for him that among his company happened also to be an opportunistic speechwriter looking to cash in on just these types of ‘gotcha’ sound bites from the Bush Administration.

That Bush kept his private skepticism as civil as he did is what is notable.

Me Talk Presidential One Day [Men Style]

I am usually more interested in the political debates that align people in a way that is contrary to their traditional party line. That is, independent thought becomes a greater source of personal opinion than political ideology. Anytime a breakdown of the ‘us vs. them’ defense takes place in any dialogue, there’s a greater chance that some degree of productive takeaway can result.

Plus, it’s always fun to see two political opponents accidentally agree.

The recent town hall protests against health care reform is a great example of this kind of debate. While the protests themselves have been at times counterproductive, misinformed and downright ugly, the reaction of politicians and pundits is not intuitively partisan. Read more…

Nothing fills air time like a Sarah Palin story and last weekend’s announcement that she would resign as governor of Alaska – without indicating actual details for future pursuits – fueled a week’s worth of speculation. Was it to focus on building momentum for a 2012 Presidential run? Would she seek another political office, like a seat in Congress? Or was the resignation a sincere retirement from politics to perhaps pursue a career as a media personality? Read more…

With the Fourth of July upon us, it’s a poignant time to reflect on the values on which America was founded. Weaved into this conversation is an ongoing debate over what role Christianity played when the forefathers drafted their Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

On whereIstand.com, we ask the question “Was America founded on Christian values?” and an overwhelming majority of users answer ‘yes’, including such politicians as John McCain and Pat Buchanan, and perhaps America’s greatest American, Chuck Norris, who said:

The Declaration of Independence from Great Britain was truly a declaration of dependence upon God.

But they are at odds with the founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, who said: Read more…

Recently-posted public figure opinions on whereIstand.com:

Eliot Spitzer’s opponent in the 2006 Democratic primary, Tom Suozzi, switches sides and now supports same sex marriage. The U.S. DOJ, on the other hand, holds firm.

The ‘other’ woman serving on the high court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has some nice  things to say for the nominee.

“It’s a game of narcissist strip poker, and you’re the thong.” – what social media site is Gregg Doyel talking about?

On the heels of Randy Johnson’s 300th win, NY Daily News’ Bill Madden congratulates him as “last pitcher in history to win 300 games.” Fox Sports columnist, Tracy Ringolsby, disagrees. Padres GM Kevin Towers thinks Jamie Moyer will do it when he’s 50.

Over the next couple weeks, perhaps we’ll get a clearer picture of which player – Tiger or Roger – is more dominant. In the meantime, Roger Federer picks…himself to win Wimbledon.

As for Golf’s U.S. Open, NY Post’s Phil Mushnick says to “shut your mouth” if you don’t think golf is a sport.

Most Republican Senators are pissed about Guantanamo Bay prisoners being held on U.S. soil. Lindsay Graham is a lone dissenter, calling GOP opposition “not rational.”

“Why the suddenly shy press corp?” asks Newt Gingrich in response to employments data that he says contradicts promised results from the stimulus bill.

Sarah Palin criticizes President Obama’s Cairo speech, this time for what she called dispassionate support Israel.

The lonely Democrat to vote against last week’s tobacco regulation bill was Kay Hagan, of North Carolina, for those of you keepingt track at home.

Recently-posted public opinions on whereIstand.com:

“I didn’t laugh once. The guy is unfunny. He’s corny. He looks like Popeye, I think, with these teeny eyes and his huge forehead.” Who is  Touré talking about?

David Brooks hopes Sotomayor gets confirmed.

Dave Winer says that without Steve Jobs, Apple is “empty.”

Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, on Radiohead’s experiment: “It wasn’t catered towards their musician brothers and sisters, who don’t sell as many records as them. It makes everyone else look bad for not offering their music for whatever.”

Sarah Palin said in an interview with Sean Hannity that socialism is where we are headed under current economic policies.

Separation of church and state need not apply to Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich.

O”Reilly finds an unlikely ally in Bill Press, who says “it’s wrong to call [him] a murderer.” Kathleen Parker agrees and, speaking broadly on accountability, says “you can’t blame anyone for a crime except the person who commits the crime.”

ESPN Radio’s Mike Greenberg says the French Open clinched the GOAT debate for Roger Federer.

“Outing closeted gays should be avoided in all cases” including gay Republicans, says Ana Marie Cox.

whereIstand.com aggregates the opinions on public figures on a variety of issues and for the last month, wIs researchers have been steadily tracking pundits, politicians, columnists, TV personalities, celebrities and bloggers to see which candidate they thought won each debate. To see a comprehensive list of all public figures click on the links for each debate. Below is a :

1st Presidential Debate (Jim Lehrer)

• Out of all 67 public figures recorded, 33 gave Barack Obama the victory; 23 for John McCain; 11 called it a draw
• Of 41 media personalities:
  • Obama: 21
  • McCain: 14
  • Draw: 6

• Of 9 News Publications:
  • Obama: 2
  • McCain: 3
  • Draw: 4 Read more…