Crossposted from Flopping Aces

Is God on the side of the GOP?

Unbelievably, Democrats were hoping for a natural disaster in New Orleans in the same way they have cheerleaded defeat for our troops in Iraq all for political gain.

Wrong on both counts!

As at least one Democrat leader, and followers, have suggested, God’s wrath directed at New Orleans would be proof that God is on their side as Hurricane Gustav would highlight GOP failures to protect the people of New Orleans.

Bad News for Democrats: The Levies Held in New Orleans!

As the storm surge generated by Hurricane Gustav begins to recede one thing is clear: the emergency preparations and multi year effort by the Bush Administration to see that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina is not repeated has succeeded.

It helps also that Governor Bobby Jindal, Republican of Louisiana, took over from the clueless Katrina Governor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco, in directing state efforts.

Even “Negligent” Nagin, the Democrat Mayor of New Orleans, who left the cities school buses to flood rather than evacuate residents in 2005 did a better job this time around.

Rather than distract the public’s attention from the GOP message as we begin our convention, the preparation and response to Gustav can only serve to highlight how seriously we take the most basic responsibilities of governance.

Democrats may put politics first, but it’s clear that Republicans put “Country First!”

also:

Sarah Palin’s Daughter Is Pregnant - Update: Obama Responds, and So Do The Lefty Blogs

Team McCain put out the news today that the 17 year old daughter of Sarah Palin is pregnant, will keep the baby, and will marry the father:

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain…

Senior McCain campaign officials said McCain knew of the daughter’s pregnancy when he selected Palin last week as his vice presidential running mate, deciding that it did not disqualify the 44-year-old governor in any way…

McCain officials said the news of the daughter’s pregnancy was being released to rebut what one aide called “mud-slinging and lies” circulating on liberal blog sites.

I would be shocked if Team Obama attacks seeing as how Obama’s mother was also pregnant at 17 with him. Will they be foolish enough to fall for the trap? I doubt it. But their surrogates will.

They’ve already used the “she should not run for VP while she has a special needs baby at home,” crap, and now they will use the “she should not run for VP while her teenage daughter has a baby,” crap. Team McCain:

A McCain campaign official tells ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that McCain knew of Bristol’s pregnancy and “didn’t believe Governor Palin should be disqualified” from the vice presidency because of it. “If Democrats try to attack, it will backfire spectacularly,” the official said.

Ann Althouse on this line of attack:

Oh, that looks like a meme. Sarah Palin must stay home with her special needs baby. Sarah Palin must stay home with her about-to-be-married, pregnant daughter. Ladies: Put your career on hold until everything in you’re family stops happening… Would a man forgo his career to be there for a family member who is experiencing an important life transition?

Remember when John Edwards decided to go on with his campaign after his wife got a diagnosis of inoperable cancer? Now, I think Elizabeth Edwards was probably excited about the campaign and wanted to go on with it. In that light, why are you assuming that Bristol Palin isn’t excited about her mother’s campaign? Unlike Elizabeth Edwards, Bristol is not facing her last days. She’s just starting out — all caught up in life. Presumably, she intense and positive about her pro-life beliefs, her love for the baby’s father, her impending wedding, and the new baby on the way.

Please, please, please Dem’s…continue to shoot yourself in the foot.

The next line of attack will be that the social conservatives will be unhappy…..not so fast:

I’m sure lots of people will take their shots at the pro-life Christian woman but hold on a moment. If you think Evangelicals are going to ditch her for this, you’re totally misreading the situation. As a matter of fact, they are ready to fire back at any potential critics…

Look, this development will actually be positive for the most part with Evangelicals. First they hear that Sarah Palin chooses the life option even though she had a Downs Syndrome baby and once again the family (and Bristol) has chosen the life option in this recent case. That’s a double “ca-ching”. Let’s call this the Evangelical daily double. If anything, this whole situation will probably make more people around the country relate to her and her family. It makes them more real. Will there by some turned off by the whole pre-marital sex thing? Of course but this type of story doesn’t sink her at all with Evangelicals.

Lets see how the average American feels about a line of attack that chastises a mom who’s 17 year old got pregnant for her parenting skills….don’t think it’s going to fly. But the left will try anyway.

Oh, I guess this puts this conspiracy down eh?

Update

Like I said up above, Obama would be crazy to attack this news and he proved he is not crazy:

Mr. Obama, campaigning here, also noted that his own mother was 18 when she gave birth to him.

“People’s families are off limits,” he said. “People’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. ”

“I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he added. “That shouldn’t be a topic in our politics.”

He vehemently pushed back against an unnamed McCain aide suggesting his campaign had any ties to the blogs that were spreading rumors before the news broke, saying he was “offended” by that and if any of his staff was involved in spreading the issue, “they’d be fired.”

Of course his surrogates did not disappoint either:

UPDATE: It seems Palin is a fan of abstinence-only education: “Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.”

Okay. John McCain chose Sarah Palin without vetting her. That was his rash, impulsive decision. But, it’s time to untangle the Sarah Palin story — and it’s becoming clear that the only person who can really do it is Jerry Springer.

Let’s review: Sarah is one of those fundamentalist types who like her new partner, John McCain, supports abstinence education. Yet, Sarah’s 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant. That story came out to put an end to rumors that Sarah herself is actually the grandmother of her fifth child:

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Either way, like her daughter, Sarah may have gone down that pre-marital sex path herself.

What the hell is wrong with her? What the hell is wrong with her husband? What the hell is wrong with John McCain?

This is a judgment issue. It’s not unlike what John Edwards did, when he put himself forward as a presidential candidate knowing his infidelity was there to be exposed — was he crazy? He thought he could conceal the story. Maybe Sarah Palin did too. But now she’s exposed her daughter to this scrutiny, all because she has an excessive desire to be a political star.

it’s worth noting that Palin is a strong proponent of abstinence-only education and a strong opponent of teaching anything about contraception in schools. Well, as should be obvious to everyone, that kind of approach accomplishes very little other than increasing the number of pregnant 17 year olds.

All this is not even to mention Sarah Palin’s dishonesty and lack of good judgment in (apparently) not telling the man who had asked her to be his vice-president that her daughter was pregnant.

I’m angry that Sarah Palin didn’t put her daughter first and decline the invitation to run for higher office.

is a family as clearly as messed-up as this one you want to have a heartbeat away from the Presidency?

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As a guy, it’s not really my place to make arguments about choice and women’s rights, but as a brother and a son, it disgusts me to think that someone as virulently anti-choice as Palin is going to be thrust into a position where she could set the policy on abortion for decades to come–and the example she sets was letting her daughter get pregnant at 17 without, apparently, any discussion about sexual education or contraception.

Yup, the left is in full tilt hypocrisy mode here.

More here.