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Henry Porter: He should have stuck to being a policeman, not a politician

Henry Porter: Ian Blair's besetting sin was to forget he was a servant of the public, not our master

CBS asserted "Democrats and many in the media" question "Palin's readiness to be president," but not that many questions came from conservatives

A September 29 CBSNews.com article asserted that "[Gov. Sarah] Palin's readiness to be president in the event she and [Sen. John] McCain are elected and McCain becomes incapacitated has been widely questioned by Democrats and many in the media," but did not note that many of those who were "question[ing]" Palin's readiness are conservatives. In fact, as CBS Early Show national correspondent Jeff Glor noted during the September 29 edition of The Early Show, "even some conservatives are concerned, including syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, who said Palin is 'clearly out of our league' and called for the Alaska governor to leave the race." Earlier, Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez stated: "[T]he question a lot of Americans are asking this morning, including some prominent Republicans, is whether Sarah Palin is ready." On September 26, Parker wrote: "As we've seen and heard more from John McCain's running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion." Parker later wrote: "Palin's recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League." She concluded: "Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first. Do it for your country." Numerous other conservative media figures also have expressed concerns about Palin's readiness to be vice president. For instance: As the website Raw Story and others have noted, on the September 28 edition of the NBC syndicated Chris Matthews Show, New York Times columnist David Brooks stated: I admire Sarah Palin for many things. Not many of us put our careers on the line to challenge something. And she put her career on the line to challenge the corrupt Republican Alaska establishment. So, I give her a lot of credit for that. But is she ready to be vice president? Based on what we've seen with the Katie Couric interview, it's embarrassing. It's painful to watch those things. You want to turn them off. And, so, I just think that's the fundamental fact. She is a very talented politician who was brought to the national limelight before she was ready, and it's just a problem. In a September 26 column, National Review editor Rich Lowry wrote: "Does Palin know enough to be a national candidate right now? No, but she can be mostly walled off from the press." Earlier in the column, he said McCain was "making moves that mark him as different, but can be seen as risky or gimmicky, whether choosing Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee or canceling the first day of the Republican Convention during Hurricane Gustav." Additionally, in a September 13 post on National Review Online's The Corner blog, Lowry said of Palin's interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson: "[T]his was a merely adequate performance. The foreign-policy session was a white-knuckle affair. She barely got through it and showed no knowledge more than an inch deep." Lowry later added: "The fact still remains that she very likely didn't know any of the possible definitions of the Bush doctrine. I can't imagine if Obama had picked Gov. Tim Kaine [VA] and he had had a similar moment, conservatives would have rushed to say that the Bush doctrine is just too amorphous and complicated for him to know anything about it. [italics in original]" Lowry added: "Palin seemed weak on economic and budgetary policy too, talking in the vaguest generalities. She was much better, and positively good, on the social issues -- which are dear to her and she's thought about -- and anything having to do with her personally or with her record in Alaska." And he concluded: "I understand how we all want to be protective of her -- I feel the same impulse -- but let's not be patronizing. I believe the truly pro-Palin position is to think she can, should, and will do better than this." In a September 13 blog posting, titled "Sarah The Unready," Ross Douthat, conservative blogger and senior editor at The Atlantic stated of Palin's interview with Gibson: "[S]he seemed about an inch deep on every issue outside her comfort zone." He further stated that Gibson's questions "were all questions that a vice-presidential nominee needs to be able to answer." Douthat added: "There's no way to look at her performance as anything save supporting evidence for the non-hysterical critique of her candidacy -- that it's just too much, too soon -- and a splash of cold water for those of us with high hopes for her future on the national stage." In his September 5 Washington Post column, Charles Krauthammer stated that "the choice of Palin remains deeply problematic." Krauthammer later stated: The vice president's only constitutional duty of any significance is to become president at a moment's notice. Palin is not ready. Nor is Obama. But with Palin, the case against Obama evaporates." George Will stated in a September 3 Washington Post column that "the man who would be the oldest to embark on a first presidential term has chosen as his possible successor a person of negligible experience." He later wrote: "Clearly, experience is not sufficient to prove a person 'qualified' for the presidency." In an August 29 column in the National Post, columnist and former speechwriter for President Bush David Frum asserted that "she [Palin] has zero foreign policy experience, and no record on national security issues." He went on to say that "Mr. McCain's supporters argue that he is more serious about national security than Barack Obama. But the selection of Sarah Palin invites the question: How serious can he be if he would place such a neophyte second in line to the presidency?" He further claims that "if anything were to happen to a President McCain, the destiny of the free world would be placed in the hands of a woman who until the day before Friday was a small-town mayor." Frum concluded his column by stating: "Ms. Palin is a bold pick, and probably a shrewd one. It's not nearly so clear that she is a responsible pick, or a wise one." From the September 29 CBSNews.com article: A month ago, Sally and Chuck Heath's third child, Sarah Palin, a self-proclaimed hockey mom and wildly popular governor of Alaska, was thrust into the national spotlight when John McCain picked her to be his running mate. In the time since, Palin's readiness to be president in the event she and McCain are elected and McCain becomes incapacitated has been widely questioned by Democrats and many in the media. But, in an exclusive interview at their home in Wasilla, Alaska, the Heaths told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith their daughter is, indeed, ready to occupy the Oval Office at a moment's notice. From the September 29 edition of CBS' The Early Show: HARRY SMITH [co-host]: You bet. Now here's Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: Thank you, Harry. You can bet the vice-presidential candidates will be asked about the bailout during their debate on Thursday. But the question a lot of Americans are asking this morning, including some prominent Republicans, is whether Sarah Palin is ready. Early Show national correspondent Jeff Glor is in Columbus, Ohio. Jeff, good morning. GLOR: Maggie, good morning to you. This is a state -- Ohio -- that could, once again, decide this election. It's one of the reasons why we're here. It's one of the reasons why John McCain and Sarah Palin will be here today as the campaign deals with these continued questions. [begin video clip] GLOR: Sarah Palin has mostly been kept away from reporters, but the interviews she has done are raising eyebrows. PALIN: It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. GLOR: The most recent, with Katie Couric, provoked widespread criticism from liberals on the Web and a lampooning on Saturday Night Live: TINA FEY: Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines. AMY POEHLER: You don't have any lifelines. FEY: Well, in that case, I'm just gonna have to get back to you. GLOR: But even some conservatives are concerned, including syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, who said Palin is "clearly out of our league" and called for the Alaska governor to leave the race. ALEX BURNS [Politico reporter]: I think there are a small number of people who will publicly say that they're worried about her abilities as a candidate. I think there's a larger number of people who privately express kind of muted criticism and concern. GLOR: McCain himself was asked about the chatter on Sunday. McCAIN: I'm so excited about the reaction that Sarah Palin has gotten across this country -- huge turnouts, enthusiasm, excitement. She knows how to communicate directly with people. They respond in a way that I've seldom seen. [end video clip] GLOR: Palin will be interviewed again today by Katie Couric -- which you can see on the Evening News -- and then Palin is off for a couple of days of debate preparation in Arizona before Thursday's much anticipated vice-presidential debate in St. Louis. Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: CBS' Jeff Glor in Ohio. Thank you, Jeff.

French minister knocks Irish move

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is the latest European politician to criticise the Republic of Ireland's bank guarantee move.

4 Afghan Guards Die in Attack on Politician

4 bodyguards killed in attack on politician; airstrike kills Taliban leader.

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser

Ignoring Keating Every few days, John McCain or his campaign lashes out at the news media, often focusing their ire on The New York Times, for alleged bias against the Republican presidential candidate. It's a strange claim coming from the politician who has enjoyed a cozier relationship with the national media than any other in memory. Patrick Healy's article in this morning's New York Times provides yet another of the countless examples that undermine McCain's claim. Though most public polling -- including the Times' own poll -- shows that more people have confidence in Barack Obama's ability to handle the economy than in McCain's, and more people think Obama understands their needs and problems, Healy asserted that Obama is "out of sync" with the public and accused him of "convey[ing] a certain distance from the ache that many voters feel." On Monday, the McCain campaign accused The New York Times of being "150 percent in the tank" for Obama. On Friday, the Times demonstrated the absurdity of that accusation by publishing an article that baselessly asserted that Obama is struggling to connect with the public on economic issues despite the fact that polling shows the exact opposite -- it is McCain who is struggling. But that wasn't the only bizarre element of the Times article: Seemingly out of the blue, Healy invoked Obama's race: He wants to appear fired up over the economy, but he has written before about wanting to avoid appearing like a stereotypical angry black man. Unlike Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other black leaders whose fulminations could scare white voters, Mr. Obama is not from and of New York, Detroit, or the segregated South; he grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. To some degree Mr. Obama faces the opposite challenge from fiery black leaders who came before him: Is he too cool for a crisis like this one? So, according to Times reporter Patrick Healy, Jesse Jackson is too hot, and Barack Obama is too cool. Presumably, Healy will let us know when he finds an African-American who is just right. And this, remember, is the newspaper that the McCain campaign says is "150 percent in the tank" for Obama. But the week's most striking indication that the media are inadequately scrutinizing McCain rather than, as he claims, unfairly doing so is that in the midst of a banking crisis, there is virtually no media examination of McCain's role in a similar crisis 20 years ago. Sure, the Keating Five has been mentioned in news reports during this campaign. But when McCain's involvement in the scandal comes up in the media, it tends to be a brief mention -- and often one that paints McCain in the best possible light. On Monday, Politico reporter Ben Smith gave a telling response to the Obama campaign's complaints that insufficient attention has been paid to McCain's relationship with Keating: The Keating Five scandal, though, is hardly a secret. Indeed, the story is central to McCain's political narrative. He's called his actions a mistake, and the episode is what transformed him into a self-stylled [sic] reformer. "He has basically dedicated his career since that moment to the cleaning up of Washington," McCain aide Douglas Holtz-Eakin told me last week. As Smith's reaction demonstrates, the version of the Keating Five story the media typically tell is the version that is "central to McCain's political narrative" -- that the experience turned McCain into a political Mr. Clean, rampaging against corruption in the nation's capital. We are told McCain's tale of redemption -- but little of what he did to make redemption necessary. Take, for example, one of the most damning -- and under-reported -- facts of the case: Not only did McCain take campaign contributions and free Bahamas vacations from Keating, but his wife also invested more than $350,000 in a Keating real estate development shortly before McCain met with federal banking regulators on Keating's behalf. Yes, John McCain's wife -- in whose houses McCain lives and entertains throngs of adoring reporters -- had a direct financial relationship with Keating. And according to The Boston Globe, one of the regulators who felt like he was pressured by McCain to go easy on Keating believes McCain intervened in part because of Cindy McCain's investment with Keating. A New York Times editorial earlier this year touched on the investment in arguing for the release of Cindy McCain's taxes: There is no question that Mr. McCain -- the candidate -- has reaped considerable benefits from his wife's wealth, including discounted use of her company's corporate jet to fly from state to state during this campaign. Voters also deserve to know whether any of Senator McCain's official actions have benefited his wife, family members, or their business associates, as they did in the case of Charles Keating, the Arizona developer and savings and loan operator at the center of the Keating Five scandal two decades ago. A year before Mr. McCain's 1987 meetings with bank regulators on Mr. Keating's behalf, Mrs. McCain and her father invested more than $350,000 in a strip mall developed by Mr. Keating. [...] Senator and Mrs. McCain should show that they're both committed to open government and release Mrs. McCain's returns. But Cindy McCain's tax returns still have not been released. And the news media (which obsessively demanded the release of Bill and Hillary Clinton's tax returns) have all but ignored the topic. And the fact that Cindy McCain was a business partner of Keating's has been treated as a state secret by the national news media. Since January 1, 2007: The New York Times has not mentioned the investment in a single news article, even though the paper's editorial board has explained its significance. The Washington Post has not mentioned the investment -- not once. The Post has run two separate profiles of Cindy McCain that mentioned the Keating Five controversy, each of which ran more than 2,500 words. But, incredibly, neither article mentioned the strip mall investment. Nor has any other Washington Post article during the campaign. Neither USA Today nor Time magazine has mentioned the investment. Neither ABC, nor CBS, nor NBC has mentioned the investment -- not a single time. CNN has mentioned the investment in profiles of McCain that have aired several times. In one, the cable channel even aired video of one of the Keating regulators who felt pressured noting that "Senator McCain was unique among the five senators in having a direct financial conflict of interest involving direct investments. ... On judgment, ethics and truthfulness, he failed this test as badly as you can fail." But CNN has been an exception among national media, not the rule. In 1990, in the midst of the Keating Five investigation, the Phoenix New Times noted that the scandal had scuttled McCain's hopes at national office: The stakes are incredibly high for McCain. There was a time, before the Keating bubble burst, when he was reportedly being considered for a spot on the Republican ticket as vice president. Those days are over. Now, with the nation in the midst of another banking crisis caused in part by deregulation, John McCain is running for president -- and the national media are keeping the details of his involvement in the Keating fiasco a secret.

Japan's ruling party hopes Aso will restore its reputation

As a popular politician, Olympian, and fan of manga comics, Taro Aso contrasts sharply with the lackluster former prime minister, whose shoes he is likely to fill on Wednesday.

Australian politician quits over 'thong dance'

Matt Brown resigns only three days after being sworn in as police minister for New South Wales

Lebanon politician dies in blast

A politician from a pro-Syrian faction has been killed in a car bombing east of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, officials say.

Fox's Cameron: Obama "run[s] the risk of appearing a little bit arrogant" if he doesn't offer "lipstick on a pig" apology

During the September 10 edition of Fox News' Studio B, Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron claimed that Sen. Barack Obama "run[s] the risk of appearing a little bit arrogant" if he doesn't offer an apology for his "lipstick on a pig" comment, which Obama made while discussing Sen. John McCain's proposed policies. Cameron stated: "[O]ne of the things that happens when a candidate or a politician says something that inadvertently offends people, you eventually hear them say, 'Look, for anybody who misunderstood the context or didn't see where I was coming from, I'd like to apologize.' We haven't heard that from Obama yet, and he does run the risk of appearing a little bit arrogant on this sort of stuff and not recognizing that people have thin skins on some things." Cameron made the comment even though he twice stated during the program that the McCain campaign's complaints about Obama's comment may amount to "crocodile tears." Cameron said that the McCain campaign is arguing that the "lipstick" line "had to have been deliberate attack" on Gov. Sarah Palin. Cameron added: "Now, there are plenty of Republicans who have used that line before. John McCain is one of them. He used them referring to [Sen.] Hillary Clinton's health-care proposal, said it was a 'lipstick on a pig.' No one accused her of calling -- accused him of calling Hillary Clinton a pig with that line. It's been used a lot, but throwing sand in the gears -- even if it's crying crocodile tears and feigning offense -- that's what they're doing." Cameron also stated: "So, whether or not the McCain campaign recognizes that they are perhaps disingenuously exploiting this and crying those crocodile tears, they are saying it." From the September 10 edition of Fox News' Studio B with Shepherd Smith: CAMERON: Well, the phrase that got really popular in the beginning of this campaign, two years ago, was throwing mud and sand into the gears of the opposition. But, look, Sarah Palin very famously said in her convention speech that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick -- SMITH: Yep. CAMERON: -- and she pointed to herself. That was a huge line. It got -- it brought the house down, and it was noted repeatedly because, at the time, she was working off of a teleprompter that didn't work and she ad-libbed it. It got tremendous attention. And the McCain campaign is arguing that for Obama to have used that line, and judging from the reaction of some of the giggles and the uproar that came in the office -- in the audience, it had to have been a deliberate attack. Now, there are plenty of Republicans who have used that line before. John McCain is one of them. He used them referring to Hillary Clinton's health-care proposal, said it was a "lipstick on a pig." No one accused her of calling -- accused him of calling Hillary Clinton a pig with that line. It's been used a lot, but throwing sand in the gears -- even if it's crying crocodile tears and feigning offense -- that's what they're doing, and Barack Obama has issues with women voters. There has been a big, big jump of women voters to the McCain campaign -- the McCain-Palin campaign since the governor of Alaska joined the ticket, and they are concerned about it, so much so, that he actually opened up his event today talking about this attack. So, whether or not the McCain campaign recognizes that they are perhaps disingenuously exploiting this and crying those crocodile tears, they are saying it. Republican women across the country are rallying around Sarah Palin. The two people who have not yet personally expressed offense: Sarah Palin and John McCain. The campaign has, but they haven't. SMITH: Of course not. How could they? I mean, this is classic. This isn't anything new. It's just, you know, 55 days before the election, you wonder: How do we get back to something that matters? CAMERON: Well -- but, look, Shep, one of the things that happens when a candidate or a politician says something that inadvertently offends people, you eventually hear them say, "Look, for anybody who misunderstood the context or didn't see where I was coming from, I'd like to apologize." We haven't heard that from Obama yet, and he does run the risk of appearing a little bit arrogant on this sort of stuff and not recognizing that people have thin skins on some things.

Lebanon lawmaker killed in blast

A politician from a pro-Syrian faction has been killed in a car bombing east of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, officials say.