Palin's speech to nowhere: Associated Press exposes the lies

Yet Republicans swallow...

The speech was full of sarcasm and smear but short on any mention of vital issues like health care, education, Afghanistan, Social Security, and more... of course this speech was not Palin, it was written by the McCain campaign, started even before Palin was selected.

Instead of the heart-felt inspiration you heard during the DNC speeches, you heard laughter, glee in response to insult after insult.... smear after smear.

Here, the AP dissects the lies Palin delivered so well last night.

Here are just a few:

Strike one - "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."
- Palin

FACT: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation.

Strike two - "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate." - Palin

FACT: Obama has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate.

Strike three - "To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House." - Palin

FACT: Sarah Palin Slashed Special Needs Education by 62%. Gov. Sarah Palin oversees the budget for the Department of Education and Early Development Special Schools in Alaska. These funds provide supplementary educational services to students with severe disabling conditions and the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. Without the supplementary services the handicapped kids needs would not be met by the local school district in most cases.

Palin is supposed to be a Washington outsider not subject to pork and earmark spending.

John McCain disagrees....

Three times in recent years, John McCain's catalogs of "objectionable" spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time -- Sarah Palin.