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Barack Obama continued with the lie that has spread like wildfire through the press.  But according to the Secret Service, it just isn’t true.

The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Tuesday’s Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.

The Scranton Times-Tribune first reported the alleged incident on its Web site Tuesday and then again in its print edition Wednesday. The first story, written by reporter David Singleton, appeared with allegations that while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd and mentioned Oabama’s name a man in the audience shouted “kill him.”

News organizations including ABC, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly and MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported the claim, with most attributing the allegations to the Times-Tribune story.

Agent Bill Slavoski said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.

“I was baffled,” he said after reading the report in Wednesday’s Times-Tribune.

He said the agency conducted an investigation Wednesday, after seeing the story, and could not find one person to corroborate the allegation other than Singleton.

Slavoski said more than 20 non-security agents were interviewed Wednesday, from news media to ordinary citizens in attendance at the rally for the Republican vice presidential candidate held at the Riverfront Sports Complex. He said Singleton was the only one to say he heard someone yell “kill him.”

“We have yet to find someone to back up the story,” Slavoski said. “We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it.”

It was yelled by one audience member at an earlier rally about unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, and clearly not directed to Barack Obama.

“And, according to the New York Times, he [referring to Ayers -- P] was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” [Palin] continued.

“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.

“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.

The Mainstream Media and Barack Obama’s campaign continue to perpetuate this ridiculous lie.  Don’t you think the Secret Service would be rounding people up if they were calling for Barack Obama to be killed publicly?  This claim is ludicrous and after last night’s debate, Barack Obama personally owes a public apology to the McCain Campaign and his supporters.

Much more from Patterico, hat tip Michelle Malkin.

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Is it right to yell “kill him” about the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers?  No, but that’s a far cry from saying it about a Presidential candidate.  Ayers is a vile, evil man who rightfully should have faced the death penalty for his actions with Weather Underground.  But he got off on a technicality.  We don’t exercise vigilanty justice in this country.  But that doesn’t mean we should allow our President to associate with such evil people.

The fact is that Barack Obama would likely not pass the background check to be a TSA screener much less have the nuclear codes thanks to his lengthy relationship with William Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Reverend Wright, Rashid Khalidi, and others.

After tonight’s debate, we had to offer these two t-shirts to our visitors.  Your choice this November is crystal clear.  You can support the real engine of our economy, the middle class, or you can support big government and redistribution of wealth.

If you support the middle class, American workers and entrepreneurs, get this Elect Joe the Plumber T-Shirt.  Joe understands what so many in Washington don’t, that higher taxes and government spending hurt real Americans.  And Joe did something Conservatives have been trying to do for over a year, point out the socialist policies of Barack Obama.

If you support big taxes, big government and “spreading the wealth around” get this Senator Government t-shirt and support socialism and Barack Obama.  Barack Obama wants to help all of the people “behind” Joe, but he’s policies won’t help for long.  Redistribution of wealth stifles creativity and hard work and rewards mediocrity.  Barack Obama’s tax and spending plans will cripple America and make our current economic troubles permanent.

This debate was much, much better than the last debate.  I wish McCain would have hit Obama harder on Ayers and ACORN, but at least he hit him part of the way.  He brought up Mr. Obama’s “spread the wealth” socialism, and reinforced the idea that Obama’s answer to everything is more government spending and bigger government interference.  Obama once again failed to name any program or any spending he would cut.  No surprise there.

It was better than the last two, but it could have been more.  I think McCain assumes the average American understands the facts, the background and American history.  Unfortunately, I’m not sure most people understand the truth about Ayers, Obama’s ties to ACORN, why “spreading the wealth” means socialism, or even what a disaster Hoover’s policies were to the American economy.  So some of McCain’s arguments probably fell short.

I’m glad Obama’s infanticide votes were mentioned, but it wasn’t hard enough.  I also think its rather interesting that in response to Joe the Plumber comments, Barack Obama mentioned billionaire Warren Buffet and oil companies.  There are not many Warren Buffets or Oil Companies in this country but there are thousands of small business people like Joe.  And people like Joe will be decimated by Barack Obama’s tax and spending plans.

Well, John McCain missed a lot of opportunities at the beginning of the debate, but he ended very, very strong.  His last three answers were strong, and his final answer was superb.  That answer made the difference between them very clear… during the last question, Barack Obama only talked about himself while John McCain talked about the country and how he hoped to work on behalf of the greater good.

Like the surge, John McCain ended with a winner… but I don’t know if it was enough.

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Here are a couple answers I wish I heard.

On Health Care.

The federal government oversaw Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and you see how well that went.  Government oversight (or lack thereof) of Fannie and Freddie was the catalyst that brought our economy to its knees, causing a complete collapse of our financial system, freezing the credit markets and a precipitating a $2 Trillion loss in American pension funds.  Do you really want the same people managing your health care?  You can not afford people using your health care for political purposes or personal power.  Your home may have lost its value because of government interference… what would they do to your health?

On Sacrifice.

First, all Americans need to tighten their belts.  Its not popular for a politician to tell you that, but I have always promised to be honest and tell you the truth.  I empathize with the struggles you are going through, we all are facing tough times.  But its not just tightening your belt, we have to get back to the ideals and values of our parents.  Americans need to remember the importance of personal responsibility.  We don’t need to go out and buy things we don’t need and put them on credit.  We don’t need to buy a $300,000 home if we only need or can afford one half that size.  Americans need to remember once again to live within their means.

That being said, I also don’t want to downplay the real suffering in this country.  Many people are hurting through no fault of their own.  So I am asking all of us to pitch in and help.  If you are doing ok and you know someone down the street is struggling, lend them a hand.  Whether through your church, through a charity, or on your own… now more than ever it is important to practice the Golden Rule and a few random acts of kindness.  You can be much more effective at reaching out to people where it is needed the most than the federal government ever could.  Please lend a hand.

And if you are a young, able bodied man or woman who wants a good job and great education, consider volunteering for our Armed Services.  The fine troops at home and abroad have been fighting for our country for a long time and they need some relief and back-up in their efforts.  Military service offers a great opportunity, it changed my life and afforded me more discipline and experience than I could have learned anywhere else.  It would be a great way for you to get involved and serve the greater good.

Earmarks.

Barack Obama wants to downplay earmarks, but my friends I believe that is a mistake.  The real cost of earmarks to the American taxpayer is not the $18 Billion they cost every year, but the hundreds of billions of dollars in legislation that gets passed because earmarks bought the votes.  Make no mistake about it, the true cost of earmarks are hundreds of billions of dollars and have a direct and devastating effect on our budget deficit and outrageous Washington spending.  That is why I have always refused to ask for earmarks in legislation and why I have fought them for my career.  I will not be bribed for my vote and nor should anyone else on Capitol Hill.

Cutting Spending.

Barack Obama says that a spending freeze would be like taking a hatchet to a problem that requires a scalpel.  I beg to differ.  We just passed a $700 Billion rescue package and are facing over $10 Trillion in federal debt.  My friends, combating spending on that level does indeed require a hatchet… there is not a scalpel big enough to fix this mess.

If you look at your credit card statements and realize you have too much debt, what do you do?  You don’t have the Treasury Department at your disposal to print more money, and you certainly can’t vote yourself a raise.  You have to look around at where you are spending your money and find places where you can create efficiencies, cut back and save.  You have to pay down that debt, otherwise you will never be able to get ahead.

That is exactly what our government needs to do.  We have to make some tough choices.  Some programs, even some good programs will have to be cut.  Some efficiencies will have to be found.  Its going to be tough, but if you have to do it in your home, there’s no reason why the federal government shouldn’t do it in the people’s house.  And I tell you the first place I would start.  Americans are losing jobs and wages are flat or have even fallen.  As a symbol of unity to the American people, I will ask Congress to cut the salary of every elected federal official by 10%.  Will that make a big difference to us?  Probably not… but its not fair for your budgets to be shrinking and us not to feel the pain with you.  We are all in this together, and we all must work together to climb our way out.

Maybe Gwen Ifill should retitle her book.  Could Sarah Palin have just short circuited the “Age of Obama”?  Time will tell, but I think Governor Palin connected with the American people in a way that Joe Biden, Barack Obama or even John McCain cannot.

Sarah Palin knows what its like to lose her family’s health care when her husband lost his job.  She knows what its like to run a family business.  She knows what its like to deal with the local issues in a PTA, Town Council or Mayor’s office as well as broader issues on a state wide level.  She knows how to deal with the CEO’s of the multi-billion dollar oil companies and bring down the party establishment and corrupt politicians.  She knows what its like to cut a budget, veto spending measures and bring real reform.  She knows what its like to have a special needs child and deal with the issues that every other family in America deals with on a daily basis.

Sarah Palin did more than hold her own tonight.  She reminded Americans that the government is of the people and not of the elite.  The elites in Washington have stolen the government from us, and with John McCain and Sarah Palin we have a chance to take it back.

Sarah Palin is the link from Main Street to Wall Street that the American people have been missing for years.  If you want to change Washington you have to bring in people who are not hyper-partisans, and no ticket exemplifies that better than John McCain and Sarah Palin.

In less than 2.5 hours, Gwen Ifill will try to appear unbiased and welcome Governor Palin and Joe Biden to the one and only Vice Presidential Debate.

I can’t wait.

Sarah Palin needs to let the pit bull out and and go after Obama and Biden. She’ll probably have some slip ups, but I’m not too worried. There is something to be said for someone without the polish of a regular guest on Meet the Press or a history of bloviating on Capitol Hill. Sarah Palin’s story (other than her gender maybe) is the very story the founders had in mind when our Representative Republic was formed. A citizen servant who comes from everyday life to serve the greater good. That is a stark contrast to even Barack Obama who has done remarkably little other than prepare his resume for a Presidential run since his first day at Harvard.

Governor Palin has to remind everyone that she is one of us. She was a PTA Mom and Town Council Member when Barack Obama was teaching ACORN workers how to threaten banks into making subprime loans. She was a Hockey Mom and effective Mayor when Obama was on a beach in Bali writing his memoir. She was a Governor reforming Alaska and working for energy independence when Barack Obama was voting against our troops and playing the race card to silence Hillary Clinton.

And while Governor Palin was doing all of that, Joe Biden was doing what Joe Biden always does… plagiarizing stump speeches, lying about the horrible death of his wife, making up stories about being shot down in a helicopter or attacking America’s coal industry.

But the debate isn’t about Biden… and it likely won’t even be a debate. Instead it will be Sarah’s night… where she will be re-introduced to the American populous and her picture will be forever set in stone. However she is seen after tonight will be how she is seen throughout history. She can triumph and be a bright star for the GOP regardless of the election’s outcome, or she will be tagged as a lightweight and fade into the cold Alaskan air.

Unless Joe Biden walks over and asks for Governor Palin’s autograph (a la Rick Lazio), Joe Biden can’t really lose. It will be up to Palin to win.

Grab the popcorn and something cold to drink. It’s going to be an interesting night.

I thought McCain started slow.  He seemed measured and a little reserved, but also serious about the issue.  It was clear these are dire times and McCain seemed almost like he felt he should have been working in Washington instead of having this debate tonight (and I agree).

After the first couple questions, I think McCain took the debate too him.  McCain commanded virtually every issue after the second question.  Obama sounded like he was talking from a text book while McCain sounded like he was speaking from experience.  Obama sounded like he was pushing theory.  Theory is fine, but anyone who has made the transition from college into the real world knows that theory goes out the window when boots hit the ground.  I’ll take a successful business owner over an MBA anyday, and I’ll take a guy who has fought in wars, dealt with international relations, bridged the partisan divide and forged real reform instead of talking about ethereal hope and change.

That being said, I’m not sure John McCain did enough.  He might have needed a knock out tonight, and I don’t think he got it.  He didn’t answer some of Obama’s more ridiculous charges and he probably should have.  There were at least three questions where I was screaming at the tv with a better answer, a more powerful answer… something that the Average American could relate to more.  I was wanting for more.

I think McCain won, but not overwhelmingly.  I don’t expect to see him get a bump in the polls.  If people tuned in for just the first few minutes, you might even see Obama extend his lead in the polls by a point or two… and that might be enough to put it out of reach.

Two minor points.

I thought Barack Obama’s bracelet retort was cheap and contrived.  Certainly he knew John McCain was going to mention that bracelet as he often does.  To come out with an “I have a bracelet from a soldier too” came off as whiny and childish.  He could have made the same point in a different manner, instead he looked like a child on stage with a man.

I wish McCain had been defensive and detailed on his health care plan and tax plans more.  The plans are detailed and thus don’t lend themselves to two minute sound bites, but if the American people heard them I think they would respond.  McCain’s plans for both are better for average Americans, better for the middle class, and better for small business owners.  His health care plan levels the playing field, puts the consumer in charge, and offers health care portability for American workers.  His tax plan is much better for small business owners, better for the middle class, and more apt to help us come out of this desperate economic times.  McCain did start to make the very valid point of our corporate tax rates driving jobs away, but he didn’t hit it hard enough.

The Bailout.

Tonight’s debate might not even matter if McCain goes back to Washington and a fiscally responsible bailout package results.  I doubt the partisan Democrats will allow that to happen as it would further McCain’s cause.  Sad, because that issue is much more important for Americans than tonight’s debate.

I’ve made this reference before, but it bares repeating.  Ask anyone who has ever played or been involved with team sports.  Winners and Leaders want the ball when the game is on the line.  Losers and Followers want to pass.

During the current economic crisis, with the economy on the brink and the bailout on the line, John McCain wanted the ball.  He has proven he is a leader… Barack Obama, not so much.  Barack Obama whined about meeting tonight, I guess acting as a Senator and not just running for office is above his pay grade.

Barack Obama told Fox News tonight:

“It’s not clear to me that having presidential candidates in a high-profile way in the negotiating process is useful.”

Does that surprise anyone?  Barack Obama is whining because he is expected to do his job as a U.S. Senator.  If he is too busy to do that, and is whining about having some responsibility to fix the current economic mess, what will he do as President?  The President doesn’t get to pass the ball, and he doesn’t get to vote present when the country is on the line.  Barack Obama is proving without a shadow of a doubt that he is not a leader and not capable of being President.  You would think someone running for the highest office in the land would take a stand and lead at this tumultuous time… clearly Obama can’t be bothered with that.

And it is incredibly phony when they complain that John McCain is there, doing his job, even with the stakes of his Presidential campaign are on the line.  John McCain was asked to be there.  We know Harry Reid asked John McCain to take a leadership role in this mess:

“We need, now, the Republicans to start producing some votes for us. We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands and what we should do.”

And we know from Bob Scheiffer, no friend to the right, that Secretary Paulson asked John McCain to get involved:

Paulson then called, according to my sources, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is very close to John McCain, and told him: you’ve got to get the people in the McCain campaign, you’ve got to convince John McCain to give these Republicans some political cover. If you don’t do that, this whole bailout plan is going to fail. So that’s how, McCain, apparently, became involved.

So John McCain is not only doing his duty as a United States Senator, but he is doing what both the Majority Leader and the Secretary of the Treasury asked him to do.  Now that John McCain is doing his job, acting Presidential and trying to lead in a moment of crisis, Barack Obama and the Left are whining and moaning because it might be beneficial to the McCain Campaign.

Clearly some people are playing politics with this mess, and they all have a (D) beside their names.

Complaints from the Democrats ring incredibly untrue, especially when McCain is doing the right thing.  What kind of hypocrite thinks he can be President, but can’t be bothered to help lead at a time of crisis.  A crisis that Barack Obama himself called the most serious since the Great Depression.  If Obama truly believed that, but wasn’t willing to take a leadership role in getting it fixed, you have to question why.

By the way, the ridiculous assertions on the left that John McCain is some kind of chicken and doesn’t want to debate Barack Obama is absolutely absurd.  McCain proposed many more debates, but Obama ran scared.  After saying he would participate in joint Town Hall meetings, Obama broke his promise (just like he broke his promise on public campaign finance rules).  John McCain spanked Obama at Saddleback.  John McCain stood tall at many of the Republican debates.  Meanwhile Obama got his butt handed to him time and time again by Hillary Clinton in the Democrat debates and refused to debate her in the end because he was getting beat so badly.  So to assume that John McCain is scared to debate Obama is preposterous.

John McCain has once again put his country first, something Barack Obama will never understand.

The FoxNews focus group tonight overwhelming thought Fred Thompson won the debate tonight. I agree, but that is about all we agree on. Then many of them went on to question Fred Thompson’s consistency. What? Obviously these people haven’t been paying attention. Hopefully they’ll get a chance to see Senator Fred and the red truck in South Carolina and do a bit of research on their own. Fred Thompson’s message and ideals have been consistent throughout his career. No one else on the stage can say that. Huckabee on Illegal Immigration? Giuliani on gun control? McCain on many things? Romney on everything? The only person who has a consistent record and whose policies are intellectually consistent is Fred Thompson. Period.

Electing the President is an important privilege of living in a democracy and we have a duty to make an informed decision. An informed decision. I hope this debate will prompt the focus group folks and many others to look into Fred’s record, views, and his policies. When everyone was making sound bytes months ago, Fred had clear policies. Fred has experience, strength, courage, and character. And he is a true conservative. Can anyone else on the stage actually say that? No.

As I watched the debate tonight I felt Fred Thompson commanded this debate. He always rises above and seems much more professional than the rest… he was a bit more antagonistic this time than he has in past debates, but obviously that resonated with voters. Apparently voters agree, at least according the FoxNews’ focus group with Frank Luntz.

Go Fred!

I spent the first 30-45 minutes of the debate talking with my wife who is out of town on business tonight, so I’m going to watch it again before giving any detailed commentary… but I was very pleased with that I saw.

When you consider that the Democrats refused to go on FoxNews for a debate because of an accused right-wing bias, you have to wonder what the intellectually-honest on the left will say about the number of leftists and their supporters who got to ask questions without their ties being disclosed. Plants?

This is an election for the President of the United States of America, and thus all Americans should be concerned with the answers and have an equal chance at asking questions. Equal, not greater than. If the questions came from the democratic candidates themselves it would not have been appropriate (but at least we could have assessed their motives), so why is it any different if they are from activists within their camps instead? All I’m asking is for a little disclosure. As a one-time member for the Society of Collegiate Journalists, I had to agree to uphold a code of ethics, the same one that the Society of Professional Journalists subscribes to. Apparently CNN is above all that. You don’t have to get past the Preamble of their Code of Ethics to find a number of glaring problems:

… Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.

… Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

… Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.

… Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

And of course this one:

Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.

CNN? Yeah, right. Luckily we can do the last one for them.

I forgot to DVR the debate tonight, thankfully, CNN replayed it at midnight so I didn’t have to watch on the laptop. I anxiously awaited watching the Kerr question from the member of the Clinton Campaign… but it appears CNN edited it out for the replay. I thought the final commercial break was running long, now I know why.

Quick thoughts on each of the candidates and their performances:

Mike Huckabee gives the best sound bytes and always answers with a good cadence. It makes his responses more entertaining, but is there enough substance? His language reminds me a bit of Ross Perot. I like Governor Huckabee, but I wonder if there is a reason I haven’t felt completely comfortable jumping in 100%. I keep finding myself uneasy that he is a committed conservative. Scholarships for illegal aliens? I understand Huckabee’s principal on the matter… but every dollar spent on an illegal alien going to college is a dollar that could have been spent on a citizen instead. Until all citizens who want to go to college can, illegals should not get a penny of tax dollars.

Fred Thompson and John McCain seemed the most Presidential tonight. Their seriousness and candor seemed to rise above the rest of the candidates a bit and they both don’t mind being detailed in their responses, even though the format and time constraints don’t really allow it. Thompson stays high on my list and Senator McCain is on the rise.

Giuliani looked pretty good, but some of his responses came off a bit petty. His record in New York certainly gives him credible experience, but it still sounds funny talking about experience as a mayor preparing you for Washington, DC. It doesn’t disqualify him and shouldn’t be taken lightly… but there must be a substantial bureaucratic difference between the White House and City Hall. I know that, I hope he does.

Mitt Romney seemed like the slick preppie kid who was growing tired of being picked on. Romney doesn’t perform overly poorly, but doesn’t live up to expectations either.

Duncan Hunter never disappoints conservatives, when he actually gets a chance to answer a question. I like Duncan Hunter and hope he is given ample opportunity to be involved in the next administration.

Tom Tancredo had a better performance than previous debates. His issues haven’t changed but he didn’t stumble on them nearly as much. Still he is looked at, and even seems to understand himself, that he is a one issue candidate… as serious as illegal immigration is, we have other problems too.

And Ron Paul. Whatever. It was nice to hear him say he won’t run as an independent… now I just hope he can get behind the party and help us keep the White House. Even more importantly, I hope he’ll get behind the troops until the war is won.

A month or so ago my wife asked me if I would go see My Fair Lady with her. A co-worker gave her tickets and she didn’t want to turn them down. Sure, I thought… why not.

WHAT WAS I THINKING???

I wasn’t. I didn’t bother to look at the calendar or I would have known that the musical was Wednesday, November 28th, the same night as the Republican debate. It is my civic duty to watch the debate… how can I let some musical get in the way? Thanks to DVR and caffeine, I won’t have to… I won’t miss it, I’ll just be late.

This musical better be good!

Governor Huckabee wrote an open letter to Senator Fred Thompson today and urged visitors on his website to sign it. The letter calls on Senator Thompson to join Governor Huckabee in substantive debates in the style of Lincoln-Douglas. While such a debate would take away from the candidates’ quick stops and sound bytes… it is exactly what is needed to reform the political landscape and return it to a process of the people. I urge Senator Thompson to agree to true debates and encourage anyone who reads this to do the same. If they ever make it to a debate in North Carolina, I will certainly be one of the first in line.

Sign the letter with Governor Huckabee here.