What is an earmark?

If you ask for money from the federal government, it's an earmark. If I do, it's a legitimate request for federal aid that is desperately needed by my state, city or community for the health and safety of our citizens.

The LAT this morning makes no distinction. A piece authored by Tom Hamburger and Maeve Reston cites the funds requested by Alaska while Palin was governor and by Wasilla when she was mayor and identifies them as earmarks. Palin, in the Gibson interview, tries to distinguish between aid requested through normal channels and funding slipped into appropriations bills after the appropriation process and sometimes after the bills had passed and become law. The latter are clearly earmarks. The former may properly be called pork in some or even many cases but they are not earmarks if they were not put into bills sub rosa. 

Incidentally, the LAT does not cite earmarks requested by Barack Obama or Joe Biden.

Rainey rants about McCain campaign

Hardly the neutral arbiter he holds himself out to be, LAT columnist James Rainey yesterday blasted the McCain campaign for playing politics. He's upset about some McCain commercials that he claims misrepresent things Obama has said or done. Rainey, for example, looks into Obama's heart and judges that Obama wasn't referring to Sarah Palin when he made the famous "lipstick on a pig" remark. McCain, therefore, is disrespecting Obama and Rainey when he or his campaign suggests the opposite. Rainey knows in his heart who is right about this.

To be fair, Rainey says that Obama has played politics too with things McCain or Palin have said or done but he isn't upset about that, only about the pot shots McCain's campaign has taken. Boys will be boys ... er, campaigns will be campaigns, he seems to say, so let's let the Obama campaign stuff pass and chastise McCain/Palin instead. It shows he's unbiased, don't you know -- Rainey, that is.

Palin offends McNamara

LAT columnist Mary McNamara wrote yesterday that she was offended that Sarah Palin didn't submit to press interviews before those this week with Charles Gibson of ABC and that the first Gibson interview was too short and didn't include McNamara. Oh well, you can't please all the columnists all of the time and some columnists are never pleased if you're a Republican, especially if you're a woman governor with five children.

Skelton: Californians are not over taxed

LAT columnist George Skelton agrees today that California's top personal income tax rate and its sales tax rate are the highest in the nation. But that doesn't mean that Californians are over taxed, Skelton says. A family of four doesn't pay any California personal income tax until its income exceeds roughly $50,000, he says, and California's sales tax doesn't apply to food, prescription drugs and most services.

Does Skelton propose to increase the personal income tax on poor Californians or tax their food and prescription drugs? Ain't likely.

LAT says "no" to war on terror

The LAT, in an editorial this morning, argues there is no war on terror. It's only a police action, the LAT says. Dems argue that Bush has never asked the American people to sacrifice for the war on terror. But the LAT argues today that the sacrifices are too great. Presumably, if there is no war on terror then there is no reason to sacrifice and the American people can therefore relax.

The threat is not as great as Bush makes it out to be, the LAT suggests. Measures the Bush administration has put into effect are no longer needed, the LAT says. Of course, if we were to suffer another terrorist attack the LAT would be among the first to blame Bush.

Rutten upset about "deference" too

LAT columnist Tim Rutten, writing today on the editorial pages, argues that the McCain campaign is applying a double standard when it insists on "deference" when Palin is interviewed. Must be an LAT thing. Apparently, "deference" sticks in their craw.

People often don't select the right word when speaking in public extemporaneously. Sometimes, they get tongue-tied and often don't say what they mean. Why get all bent out of shape over a single word?

On Thursday, Palin will be interviewed by Charles Gibson of ABC. He will not defer to Palin. Other interviews will follow. Those interviewers will not defer either. Why are LAT columnists worried about this?

Rainey on "deference"

LAT columnist James Rainey complains today about Sarah Palin getting too much "deference" from the media, or any at all. So, he has come up with a series of "when did you stop beating your wife" questions for ABC anchor Charles Gibson to ask Palin when he interviews her. Gibson, after all, asked Barack Obama a series of unfair questions last April at a Clinton/Obama debate, Rainey says. Rainey's bias embarrasses him (Rainey, not Gibson or Obama.)