Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up

Your one stop pundit shop:

Dermot Cole of The Daily News Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska, debunks Sarah Palin's laughable claim that she rejected money for the "bridge to nowhere," and raises an interesting question that hasn't been talked about:

One of the immediate related questions for Alaska is whether Palin plans to change her position and accept McCain's view that earmarks should be abolished and that any bill containing them should be vetoed.

This is significant because the state, along with dozens of local governments and nonprofit groups across Alaska, routinely asks Congress to fund everything from new buildings to docks and road work. The Alaska Railroad alone asked for about $80 million this year, while Nome wanted $13 million for wind generation, North Pole asked for nearly $7 million, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough asked for about $25 million.

Perhaps if the traditional media could stop waxing poetic over her love of mooseburgers, and if the McCain campaign releases her from her undisclosed location, someone could ask her about this. I'm sure Alaskans would be interested in her answer.

Sebastian Mallaby takes John McCain to task for his dishonest claims, yet can't bring himself to call him a liar, instead opting for the more sanitized, "a convenient untruth." It's called a lie, Mr. Mallaby.

Andrew J. Cherlin talks about the families of the presidential and vice presidential candidates and manages to avoid mentioning the circumstances of how John McCain's current family came to be. But why ruin a good column with pesky details about adultry and the disabled wife he left behind?

John D. Shages believes that Barck Obama's plan for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should be adopted.

Michael Barone apparently gives a critique of the Democratic and Republican convention themes, but I couldn't make it past this point:

George W. Bush's convention produced one that was sustainable until Katrina and the 2005-06 meltdown in Iraq - yet that may be redeemed in history by the success of the surge and the rapid response to Gustav.

We still have more than 150,000 soldiers in Iraq with no end in sight, the political reconciliation that the surge was supposed to make possible hasn't happened, and people continue to die every day. Yes, victory is right around the corner. And the rapid response to Gustav makes up for a major American city nearly destroyed, almost 2,000 dead, with tens of thousands of lives changed forever? Have I got a bridge (to nowhere) to sell you.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner arrives late to the the-liberal-media-is-mean-to-Palin party. And as always, there's nothing like a member of the traditional media assailing the traditional media.

David Limbaugh props up a straw man as his lead-in for an all-purpose attack on everyone who doesn't agree with him:

Liberals are outraged at the supposed hypocrisy of Sarah Palin (and conservatives) for supporting abstinence-only education and family values generally in light of revelations concerning the pregnancy of her teenage daughter.

Sigh. Wrong, David. We're not outraged at her hypocrisy (on this issue), we simply think she's delusional given that abstinence-only "education" doesn't work. The rest of the column is cribbed from a book he wrote.

Andy Stern President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) vows that:

At the SEIU, we are committed to leading a reform movement within labor. That means setting the highest standards of honesty and integrity. If we want to continue to be the voice of millions seeking fairness in their workplace, we can be nothing less.