the good, the questionable, and the ugly (bonus pic)

(a preface: to state the obvious, this was a freakin busy news day. send me links to anything i've missed that you think important, and i'll blast that out tomorrow)

GOOD:

• Check out this great new ad by Obama's campaign! obama's killer new ad!

• While the Sarah Palin storm sucks up all the air in newsrooms across the country, Obama's out there doing all the right things. And the polls are showing a positive trend upward.

• The media actually have started asking real, reasonable questions about Palin's experience. And having to start every other sentence with "but the fact is..." is not a good sign.

QUESTIONABLE:

• Did Rove really just say that Palin was "not a governing decision, but a campaign decision?" Since when does Rove speak truthfully?

• Did McCain really just cancel an appearance on Larry King's show? Since when does tough-guy McCain shy away from talking to his buddies in the media?

• Did Charlie Black, McCain's campaign manager, really just say that this election is not about the issues? Since when does...oh wait, that's right, McCain's campaign has ONLY been stunts and biopics, not focused on the issues...

• Is McCain's campaign stalling the investigation into "troopergate"? That's not maverickyness we can believe in!

• Is she really crying sexism, after criticizing Hillary for "whining"?

• Do they ALL have ties to Jack Abramoff? Apparently her lobbyist worked for Abramoff, too~!

• Are her surrogates really so unprepared that they can't summarize her vast and profound experience?

• Palin uses religious language in stark ways--hoping that Iraq is a "task from God," and that it's "God's will...to get that gas line built."

• Does Palin have her very own Rev. Wright? Who said: "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government..."

AND JUST DOWNRIGHT UGLY:
Palin sought to ban books, tried to get librarian who protested fired.

Her company (co-owned car wash) was SHUT DOWN by the state--after she became governor--for noncompliance and for not paying requisite fees...

Palin finagled $27 million in earmarks for Wasilla, population 6k. I love the smell of a reformer in the morning!

Palin slashed funding for programs for teen mothers who need a place to live!

Palin got her first passport in 2007. Said she traveled to Ireland, in addition to visiting the troops in Germany and Kuwait. Turns out Ireland was just to refuel. Truthiness!

And whoa! Check out this pic. That is not the cover headline they were hoping for, I bet!