Palin = 0

From Pittsburgh's Dave Juliette at One Man's Tofu:

"In the aftermath of last night's debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, one thing is abundantly clear; Sarah Palin is a triumph of Republican style over substance. For all her smiles and winks and "gosh darns" and "hecks," her chanting of slogans, reading from her script, changes of subject, lies and misleading misstatements, close scrutiny reveals that underneath all the glitz, underneath all that slick Republican political operative packaging, there is nothing. Nothing at all.

" 'Gee, I'm sorry, Gwen, I'm not going to answer your question, because I don't have an answer to it written down here in the extensive notes that John's people gave me, so let me change the subject to something completely unrelated so that I can perform my well-rehearsed song-and-dance that all of my simple-minded constituents have come to know and love.' "

(davejuliette.wordpress.com)

Palin = 10

Powerline disagreed:

"Ernest Hemingway famously defined courage as grace under pressure. I thought Joe Biden did well in the debate last night for those who might have been unaware of his liberties with the truth. But Sarah Palin provided a good example of the kind of grace about which Hemingway spoke.

"... One of Gov. Palin's strongest moments came in talking about foreign policy when she addressed Biden:

" 'It's so obvious I'm a Washington outsider. And someone just not used to the way you guys operate. Because here you voted for the war and now you oppose the war. You're one who says, as so many politicians do, I was for it before I was against it or vice-versa. Americans are craving that straight talk and just want to know, hey, if you voted for it, tell us why you voted for it and it was a war resolution.' "

(powerlineblog.com)

Contracts R Us

The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat takes up the contracting controversy in Pittsburgh city government:

"With all the brouhaha surrounding the LED billboard contract, a URA parking contract, a PWSA consulting contract and several other contracts ... it seems inevitable that the Ravenstahl administration would announce that the Mayor's Office is undertaking a sweeping revision to the criteria for awarding contracts.

"And by 'sweeping revision' they, of course, mean 'not changing anything, but we needed a press conference.'

One ADB suggestion: "Develop a complex formula taking the lowest bid, and weighting it by (1) experience of the vendor, (2) minority and women participation, (3) local business participation, and (4) public purpose. Rank each submission in order and throw them off of Mount Washington. The one that goes farthest is selected."

(angrydrunkbureaucrat.blogspot.com)

Pittsburgh for sale

From the Pittsburgh Pist-Gazette:

"For sale: Wonderful northeastern city conveniently located within a few hours flying distance of 80 percent of the country's major metropolitan areas. Many updates but still needs a little TLC...

"Opportunities included: Land at a fraction of its market value, no-bid government contracts, permits issued anywhere for anything, preferential allocation of city services, job placement for felons and wife-beaters, tax breaks for qualified businesses, appointments to boards and authorities whereby you can create your own excellent business opportunities and much, much more...."

(pistgazette.blogspot.com)

Safe haven for savings

We found an ad on the Carbolic Smoke Ball blog for Goldman Sach's "Serta Perfect Savings Plan." It shows a pile of money under a mattress.

(carbolicsmoke.com)

Dizzying debate

Carbolic Smoke Ball also offers this startling headline: "23,000 Americans Suffer Epileptic Seizures While Watching Vice-Presidential Debate," reporting that "neurologists call frenetic speed, rhythm of candidates' delivery 'greatest televised threat' to public health since Wang Chung's 'Everybody Have Fun Tonight' video."