Robert Scoble

I spread the "someone cleaned up Palin's Wikipedia entry on the day of McCain's announcement" rumor, I hope that's okay with folks. Does that even count as rumor mongering? - Daniel J. Pritchett

Smart move, Robert. Any way you cut it, whether the rumors had been true or not, this is a no-win story for absolutely everyone. - Sean McBride

Hear Hear! - Josh Haley

Shows just how viral rumors can be in the blogsphere. - Jeff P. Henderson

Blogosphere, too instant. 'Shoot' first, think later. - Yung-Hui Lim

Very true. Especially on political blogs (both sides) things can get crazy fast. The sheer level of hate out there is amazing. You saw it in the extremist attacks on Obama and no you see it as folks attack Palin and her family. I think it is a sign of how effective a choice this was that dirty attacks are coming so hard and fast, - Soulhuntre via twhirl

These posts are leaving a bad taste in my mouth. - Ernie Oporto

Ernie, you're supposed to READ them not EAT them...LOL - ♫ Rahsheen™

If I ate some of these posts, I'd die from an incurable disease. It's key to stay informed and read multiple sources, including those with which you disagree. If you only read one point of view, you'll believe anything. - Ontario Emperor via fftogo

I don't think it speaks to it being an effective choice - attacks come hard and fast no matter what these days. - Shawn Farner

+1 rahsheen - Michael J. Cohen (mjc)

america shows its face to the world via social media - Gregory Lent

no it doesn't. - PC Easy via twhirl

Robert, I bear you no ill will. However, you don't have a clue with your comment here. - bill giltner

Bill: please do explain what you mean. - Robert Scoble

please clue us in bill - Kyle Lacy via fftogo

look a some of bill's posts ... - "Oldengrey" Tannenbaum

This goes two different ways. I think there are many that are tired of the Rush's and Roves of the past decade using every little thing against anything they didn't like against someone. Now that there is a huge hole in the RNC people are going to pounce on it. - Chris "The Bored" W

The rumors are reflections of the cynicism toward awkward presentations by politicians and handlers. For example, Tucker Bound refused to answer any questions by Campbell Brown (CNN) regarding Palin's experience -- an issue created by McCain's campaign - thus driving speculation and gossip that she has none. Mix in the wikipedia scrubbing -- and people sense the same ploys we've witnessed the past 8 years. Do you really want more false presentations? No, yet some really appear strange. - LPH™

For my own curiousity, how do you think people *should* respond if they've been involved in spreading the now-debunked rumors? - Glen Campbell

Glen: they should post a post that corrects the rumors and explain that they passed along information that now has been demonstrated to be false. They should also apologize for the harm they did to the Palin family. - Robert Scoble

Pretty much what I had suggested. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of that yet. - Glen Campbell

Glen: yeah, me neither. This is why journalists make fun of bloggers and why bloggers don't get access to lots of things. - Robert Scoble

Do you mean the "little known fact" joke meme, or the personal family issues which are neither the media nor blogosphere's business? - Andrew Feinberg

Andrew: no, I'm talking about the original rumor that was on Daily Kos site about Palin lying about her own baby to cover for daughter's pregnancy. Personally some of this stuff +is+ some of our business, especially because she's so against sex education. - Robert Scoble

@Robert, I doubt she's "against" sex education any more than anyone with any sense is for destroying the environment. I think she's against mandating sex education outside of the confines of the family since it should be the parents who should influence their children in matters of faith, conscience, and the things you should do with your body, not "the village" (so to speak). Oh, and in the matter of abortion, it's my considered belief that once you've conceived a child, it ain't just *your* body anymore. - Craig Eddy

I proactively posted that the picture was false as soon as I realized it; and then the news that the daughter is currently pregnant. Initially I ignored the story. I do not feel I owe an apology b/c in my posts on the issue, I indicated that the news was spreading and the only way it could be dealt with is if the McCain campaign providing a response. I stand by my comments that to leave Dallas after her water broke, and passing two more qualified hospitals is odd. Also her handling of these events provide voters insight into her leadership style. - Ruth Ferguson

The thing that has bothered me the most about Palin is that reliable sources report that she returned to work full-time three days after giving birth to a special needs baby. It's her right & to each his own, but I don't have much in common with a person like that, and wouldn't care to have them one step away from the presidency. Cheney has shown us that a VP can hand-puppet the President, so I take a closer look at a VP candidate than I did in years past. - Robert Linthicum

The DailyKOS report was about as low as I've ever seen. Andrew Sullivan even got in on the act too. Someone said too much shoot first and think later in the blogosphere. They are so right. - Peter Simard

Robert, I doubt McCain will allow Palin to have a Cheney role, how could she even begin to. I agree returning to work three days after giving birth is odd, esp. in this case: if it is true. It was strange things like that which gave an element of belief to the earlier rumors. - Ruth Ferguson

We may be overlooking another big story here: Sarah Palin just threw her daughter under the bus in order to refute the rumors that she (Sarah) wasn't the mother of Trig Palin. Why instead didn't she release to the press the medical records concerning the pregnancy and put the focus entirely on herself, not her daughter? This is all about Palin's judgment, not about any criticism of her family, and about McCain's judgment in selecting her as VP. - Sean McBride

Ruth: you must have missed that McCain is in his 70s. How long do you think he'll live? Hence, there's a BIG chance that Palin will take the top office. That's WAY more important than a simple "Cheney role." - Robert Scoble

Why is Palin's experience an issue and not Obama's? She's actually got much more executive responsibility than Obama has had. I'm not afraid of either being president - I'm EXCITED about an outsider making office and trying to clean it up. - Douglas Karr via twhirl

for me experience and JUDGEMENT are important. That is why I support Barack. He has shown it in his views on Iraq, dealing with enemies and selecting a VP: just to name a few. Also as a state legislator and US Senator from a city that probably has a larger, more economically and culturally DIVERSE population, I have more confidence in the experience he has. He has demonstrated "executive" experience in building an organization from the ground up in under two years that has more participants, nearly three times the size as the population of Alaska. Unlike other various wealthy participants in the race, he has successfully managed the budget of his enterprise. - Ruth Ferguson

Robert - I totally agree with you, I was really just responding to the earlier comment. - Ruth Ferguson

And here is another big story: the McCain/Palin campaign has just been forced to respond to a story that was generated on the Internet and ignored completely by the mainstream media. The response in turn has generated huge controversy in the mainstream media. Internet as engine, mainstream media as caboose. The revolutionary social dynamic here has nothing to do with how you feel about the questions that were raised about Palin's family life. - Sean McBride

Robert, McCain's mother is in her 90s and is still going strong. The fact that he survived Vietnam proves he has a strong constitution. To suggest he's going to die any minute is age-ism and is as disgusting as suggesting Obama is going to break out in dance any second. - Dawn

Dawn, McCain's father died at 71, a year younger than he is now. So his mother's age isn't the full story, just a campaign talking point. - Scott Gatz

As for going back to work after three days, women used to give birth in the fields, pick the baby up and then keep working. I bet nobody here would think twice about the father going back to work after three days. So if the mother is strong and healthy, what's the difference? She kept the baby with her, even carrying it around a govenor's conference while she attended sessions, etc. What was she supposed to do? Resign her office? Sit at home and watch soap operas and eat bon bons? - Dawn

Regarding Obama's judgment, he came out against the war when he was just a state senator. He wasn't briefed or saw any intell. Those who did, Republican AND Democrat, backed the war. Later, after Obama IS getting briefed he decided the war was lost, said the surge wouldn't work, voted to deny our troops funding, and demanded that we pull out of Iraq this past March. If we had, countless Iraqi's would have been slaughtered, Iran would have stepped into the vacuum and we would have had to go in yet again, starting from scratch with our boys dying in the thousands. If that's "good judgment" I hope he never subjects the country to poor judgment. - Dawn

Dawn, regardless, McCain's choice of a running mate is a serious indication that he cares more about winning an election than he does about the future of the United States. Haven't we experienced enough irresponsibility? - JC unwired

Dawn - Bush 43 and the neocons tricked Americans into dumping trillions of dollars down the drain in Iraq on the basis of lies, distortions, cooked intelligence and a raft of now discredited conspiracy theories revolving around 9/11. Many of the best minds in the American national security community (including the Bush 41 inner circle) predicted the war would be a disaster long before it started. Obama showed superb judgment in questioning the advisability of the war. The Republican Party has thoroughly discredited itself by ringleading the war. - Sean McBride

Jody: Seems to me that voting for a VICE President with no foreign relations experience is a hell of lot more responsible than voting for a PRESIDENT with no foreign relations experience. Even if McCain dropped dead even months into his presidency, Palin would be much more qualified at that point to assume the office than Obama is now. And there is absolutely no more reason to believe that McCain will die in office than there is that Obama will die in office. My husband was 46 when he died. His 86 year old grandmother is still going strong. - Dawn

Sean: Let's let history decide if creating a large Middle Eastern allie was worth the cost on blood and treasure. - Dawn

Dawn -- the new Iraqi government is closely allied with Iran, and just offered its first big oil contract to China. The chief beneficiaries of the Iraq War have been Iran and Muslim fundamentalists. This current Republican regime has been the worst and most incompetent presidency in American history. Do you really believe that the Iraqi people love Americans after we brutally invaded and occupied their territory, and created hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, casualties and refugees? - Sean McBride

McCain chose Palin because she is a reformer like he has always worked to be. Palin took on the corrupt Republican machine in Alaska. What did Obama do when he encountered an even more corrupt political machine in Illinois? He embraced it, turned his head and accepted its financial favors. Obama has shown from the get-go that he's all about gaining political power not fighting it. That's why he stayed in Wright's church, why he embraced a known domestic terrorist who launched his run for office, and how he got his mansion with the help of now convicted felon. McCain's choice of a running mate is a serious indication that he cares more about actually making REAL changes than gaining power and glory and financial favors. - Dawn

I guess you mean the way Palin was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it [oops forgot to mention that in her intro speech] and the way she against corruption and washington politics as usual after she was a director of Stevens 527, those political groups that have been known to fight for truth and the American way. :) - Ruth Ferguson

I cannot speak for other groups but I agree in the past women did give birth and return to the fields soon afterwards. however I was told slaves had little choice. - Ruth Ferguson

I am not elected official, but I was against the war despite the fact the american government leadership lied and I sure as heck am not as smart as those folks. Yet somehow some of us managed to not blindly believe the testimony given or the progranda they know acknowledge they deliberately spread via the media. Yet we want to criticize Obama b/c he was against something sooner then most elected officials - who now agree he was right. As to the vote against the troops: it is not uncommon for an official to vote against a bill because there are other unrelated elements that get tacked on which they don't support. Or at least I assume that is one of the reasons why McCain voted against the new GI Bill [or was that one of the votes he skipped]? - Ruth Ferguson

Robert -- I am revising my opinion based on recent events -- I think you missed a very big story. :) - Sean McBride

Like Ruth, I was against the war in Iraq, but not until I read a book called "Inside Al Qaeda" (www.tinyurl.com/InsideAlQaeda) which provided much more background on the organization and especially Osama. At the time I caught a lot of flack, mostly from people educated by the media sound-bites and the underlying fear. To their credit, the Bush administration took advantage of this fear and has driven us to the state we are in today. - Jim McCusker

I opposed the Iraq War before it started because 1) I knew the track record of the neoconservatives who engineered and promoted the war and 2) I knew that invasions and occupations of foreign nations almost always end badly for the invader and occupier. The neocons have been trying for decades to goad Americans into wars with Arab and Muslim nations in the Mideast for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with the American interest. They are also notorious liars and deceivers in the Straussian tradition, and their raft of conspiracy theories about 9/11 were patently absurd on their face. - Sean McBride

I'm happy I didn't spread the old stories about Sarah Palin because the new stories are so much better (i.e., Ted Stevens' 527, the Alaska Independence Party. - K Welch

K Welch -- the old stories about Palin on the Internet forced the new stories to front and center in the mainstream media. And, the irony of it all: the old stories were more flattering to Palin than the new stories. In the old stories, she sacrificed herself for her daughter; in the new stories, she sacrificed her daughter for herself. - Sean McBride