To follow up on the story where several Ohio agencies did investigations into the background of Joe The Plumber, we get

Ohio’s inspector general is investigating why a state agency director approved checking the state child-support computer system for information on “Joe the Plumber.”

Helen Jones-Kelly, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, confirmed today that she OK’d the check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher following the Oct. 15 presidential debate.

She said there were no political reasons for the check on the sudden presidential campaign fixture though the Support Enforcement Tracking System.

Amid questions from the media and others about “Joe the Plumber,” Jones-Kelley said she approved a check to determine if he was current on any ordered child-support payments.

Such information was not and cannot be publicly shared, she said. It is unclear if Wurzelbacher is involved in a child-support case. Reports state that he lives alone with a 13-year-old son.

“Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight, we often take a look” at them, Jones-Kelley said, citing a case where a lottery winner was found to owe past-due child support. “Our practice is to basically look at what is coming our way.”

Ah. So they just do that on anyone who gets famous. Is she serious? Joe should file a lawsuit against her and the department for violating his civil rights and privacy. Maybe the ACLU of Ohio, or even the national office, would care to help? Interesting how it also seems to be Democrats who use government offices to check people out for the hell of it, eh?

Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland [who appointed Jones-Kelly this past January] is satisfied that there are no political overtures to the check on Wurzelbacher, a spokesman said.

Did I forget to mention that Jones-Kelly is a maxed out Obama donor? Ace has the scoop on that. Nothing political in the investigation, though. Are Democrats taught to lie like that, or is it just natural?

After all the complaints about Sarah Palin not meeting the press (which, in my opinion, she should have right from the get go), what about Barry?

On Oct. 24, 2007, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said that as president he would hold regular press conferences and “not just call on my four favorite reporters.”

But the Democratic presidential nominee hasn’t held a full press conference — submitting himself to more than a handful of questions from his whole press corps — in more than a month, since Sept. 24, 2008, in Clearwater, Fla.

The candidate often bemoans the media asking silly and superficial questions. The media isn’t focused on the important issues facing the nation, he complains.

On Saturday in Nevada, Obama sat for an exclusive interview with Mario Lopez, the actor who played “A.C. Slater” on “Saved by the Bell,” to air on the TV show “EXTRA!”

According to the promotional materials from “EXTRA!,” “Asked about the tragic news that (actress Jennifer) Hudson’s mother and brother were killed Friday in Chicago, Obama states, ‘Oh it was heartbreaking, in fact I’m still trying to get a phone number to call her at this tragic time. She is somebody who has campaigned for me, she also lives in my community. So, we’re really going to have to help her and pray for her and her family during this difficult time.’”

If Obama wins, it will be an interesting dynamic. The majority of the media will be thrilled to have a Democrat in office, but, if you want to really tick of the 4th Estate, don’t hold press conferences and do not allow tough questions. Somehow, I get the feeling that the relationship between the media and The One will not be cozy. Certainly won’t be like it is with Bush, who has seemed to say “why bother?”

Anyhow, what of the tough questions, Mr. Obama?

One would think that with a title like Obama Avoids Partisan Rhetoric, Focuses on Unity, the Washington Post would have a flowery “gee, ain’t he just swell!” article to follow the headline up. The flowery part is there, but, it subtlety makes the point that Barack H. Obama is not Mr. Unity

On Barack Obama’s march through the red states, there is no inclination to examine the philosophical differences between the political parties.

There’s no point, he says. “We’re all in this together,” the Illinois Democrat assures the crowds who flock to his events, including one Sunday in the Colorado capital that drew between 75,000 and 100,000 supporters. “We don’t have the luxury of relying on the same political games and the same political tactics that are used every election to divide us . . . by who we are or what policies we support.”

And people are buying the kool aid in massive amounts. What, exactly, has Barack H. Obama done to bring everyone together? Can anyone name one thing he has done that crosses Party lines? That is acceptable to both Left and Right, even the closer to center Right? Anything? How does he work with those on the other side of the aisle, not withstanding his voting with the party line 97% of the time? Are there any of the “policies we support” that are acceptable to Republicans and Conservatives?

You know, at least with Kerry, I could find a few things that I liked. I thought his policy stance on the environment was wonderful, better the Dubya’s. Personally, I liked that Kerry was a beach kinda guy, and liked hockey. He may have been a bit pompous and elitist, but, at least he tried to connect with the inner sports guy, despite a few foul ups, such as the “Lambert Field” gaffe. But, with Obama, I can’t find anything. Like with Kerry, I have read all his policies. Cannot agree with anything. Can you? I can’t connect with Mr. Hope and Change on a personal level, because he seems divorced from modern day Americana. I’m not looking for a dynamic authoritarian leader, which seems to be what the Obamazombies want.

But, I digress

“Policies we support” might seem an important distinction as voters face this historic election, but it appears Obama would prefer the examination not extend beyond him and his Republican rival.

And, guess what, WP? You have contributed to this non-examination of Barack H. Obama, in what I call journalistic malpractice..

Yet, in his recent speeches in early-voting states that went for President Bush four years ago, Obama never mentions a future in which Democrats run Washington. Instead, he seeks to reassure voters that what comes after Nov. 4, if he is successful, will not be a revolution but more of a reconciliation.

“Together, we cannot fail,” he says. “Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save.”

Obama, in his short tenure in the Senate, has rarely crossed Democratic orthodoxy, and McCain says his opponent cannot point to a significant issue on which he disagrees with the Democratic congressional leadership.

Words, just words. It’s easy to talk the talk, but, Obama has never walked the walked, and, if he wins, will not walk the walk, either.

There is no “together,” though. People have different opinions. And, based on the thuggery by his campaign and his supporters, if you disagree with The One, you will be destroyed. Personally. Change you can be silenced by.

Barbara West, whose interview with Joe Biden prompted a meltdown and hissy fit from Biden and the rest of Camp Barry, had this to say to the Orlando Sentinel

In a call to me Friday evening, West (pictured) said of Biden: “I have a great deal of respect for him. I have a great deal of respect for Sen. Obama. We are given four minutes of a satellite window for these interviews. Four precious minutes. I got right down to it and, yes, I think I asked him some pointed questions. These are questions that are rolling about right now and questions that need to be asked. I don’t think I was rude or inconsiderate to him. I think I was probing and maybe tough. I can’t believe that in all of his years in politics, and all of his campaigning and such, that he hasn’t run into some tough questions before. He’s certainly up to it in giving good answers.”

In other words, suck it it, Team Lightweight. You’d think someone who has been in Congress since 1972, and That One, who wants to be president, could take some hardball politics. Those who want to take on America around the world must be LTAO.

Video below the fold, since I never got around to posting it Saturday

Yeah, pretty easy to guess. They even use a word that is verbotin in Liberal World in describing their hope for change

There are no “Obama 2008″ buttons, banners or T-shirts visible here at U.N. headquarters, but it might be difficult to find a sliver of territory in the United States more enthusiastic over the prospect of the Illinois senator winning the White House.

An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body.

Obama supporters hail from Russia, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. One American employee here seemed puzzled that he was being asked whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was even a consideration. “Obama was and is unstoppable,” the official said. “Please, God, let him win,” he added.

Is a UN official allowed to say “God?” I know that Allah is allowed, and Gaia, but, “God?”

Of course, it is no wonder the United Nations would prefer Obama. They love getting more and more money from the United States, particularly when the U.N. doesn’t have to say it came from the U.S. During Dem administrations, the money tends to go up, and let us not be unmindful of Barack’s “Global Poverty Act,” which will transfer, at a minimum, an extra $845 billion to the UN coffers. They love when they are able to use legitimate programs, such as the Oil For Food program, to enrich themselves, even if fraudulently. They like when people like the UN. And they love when America is humbled and laid low before the world.

Conservatives who are skeptical of the United Nations said they are not surprised by the political tilt. “The fact is that most conservatives, most Republicans don’t worship at the altar in New York, and I think that aggravates them more than anything else,” said John R. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “What they want is the bending of the knee, and they’ll get it from an Obama administration.”

The UN is full of thugs, criminals, and countries that are dictatorships, many of them murderous. The UN Human Rights Councilis slightly better in membership then the previous Commission on Human Rights, but not by much. And, like in their own countries, they love to have control in the world. Multiculturalism is great, dialogue beyond reasonableness is supa!, and global warming as a means to control also rocks the vote

Speaking at a gathering of US environmental journalists last week, the chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the news media has not done enough to communicate the severity of global warming.

Like the media hasn’t already lost all standards of objectivity.

LaborPains.org brings up a good point from the 3rd debate between Mitch McConnell and Bruce Lunsford

But when it came time for the candidates to pose questions directly to each other, we learned that Bruce Lunsford is more than willing to fight for the rights of terrorists but not Kentucky workers. It’s hard to believe, but unfortunately it’s true.

Lunsford has been an avid supporter of the deceptively-named Employee Free Choice Act, which would strip workers of their right to a private vote when it came to the issue of unionization.

Guess who else is not only a supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, but has promised to immediately sign the legislation if elected? That’s right, Barry!

Of course, Obama has been all over the map on the terrorist surveillence operations. First he was against it, then for it, then against it, then voted for the FISA bill which kept telecom immunity. If elected, where will he stand?

The media were incredibly interested in the BIG, MASSIVE story on Palin’s clothes. Will any of them pick up this story from the Columbas Dispatch? Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber

“State and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for personal information about “Joe the Plumber.”

Public records requested by The Dispatch disclose that information on Wurzelbacher’s driver’s license or his sport-utility vehicle was pulled from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times shortly after the debate.

Information on Wurzelbacher was accessed by accounts assigned to the office of Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Toledo Police Department.

It has not been determined who checked on Wurzelbacher, or why. Direct access to driver’s license and vehicle registration information from BMV computers is restricted to legitimate law enforcement and government business.

We can guess which Party’s disciples did it, though, can’t we? Whoever it was was digging for some serious dirt, and, it appears that the person or persons that did it are being tracked down quickly. Story to buried at 6.

If it was an Obama supporter, anyone notice a pattern of them and the actual Obama campaign going after people to silence them?

Barbara West with WFTV in Orlando decided that, unlike the majority of the Credentialed Media, she would, you know, be a journalist and ask the tough questions, and Joe Biden and the Obama campaign were not amused

West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama’s comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn’t being a Marxist with the “spreading the wealth” comment.

“Are you joking?” said Biden, who is Obama’s running mate. “No,” West said.

West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America’s days as the world’s leading power were over.

“I don’t know who’s writing your questions,” Biden shot back.

Biden so disliked West’s line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate’s wife.

Meltdown ensued. God forbid the Obama camp allow tough questions. And God help Ms. West if Obama wins. $100 says she loses her job, and WFTV has lots of FCC issues.

WFTV news director Bob Jordan said, “When you get a shot to ask these candidates, you want to make the most of it. They usually give you five minutes.”

Jordan said political campaigns in general pick and choose the stations they like. And stations often pose softball questions during the satellite interviews.

“Mr. Biden didn’t like the questions,” Jordan said. “We choose not to ask softball questions.”

You can watch the video of the exchange here. It’s a bit slow on buffering, because it is getting hit hard by the DUmmies, who are not happy that anyone would question The One and his Left Hand Guy. Thug Thizzle.

Send a trackback to this post, but don’t forget to link it.

The Surrender Monkey is really ready to get his groove on today. Surrendie loves all things surrender, but, he particularly enjoys when a supposedly conservative pundit goes catty moonbat, especially at a conservative website

My husband called it first. Then, a brilliant, 75-year-old scholar and raconteur confessed to me over wine: “I’m sexually attracted to her. I don’t care that she knows nothing.”

Finally, writer Robert Draper closed the file on the Sarah Palin mystery with a devastating article in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine: “The Making (and Remaking) of McCain.”

McCain didn’t know her. He didn’t vet her. His campaign team had barely an impression. In a bar one night, Draper asked one of McCain’s senior advisers: “Leaving aside her actual experience, do you know how informed Governor Palin is about the issues of the day?”

The adviser thought a moment and replied: “No, I don’t know.”

Thanks, Kathy. I could swear I was reading something on the Huffington Post, Daily Kos, or Think Progress. Of course, she is certainly entitled to her opinion, but, like several other of the “elite” conservatives, she seems to have a bit of Palin Derangement Syndrome going on, and seems to expect some sort of Messiah like Conservative to spring forth and save the Party, rather then backing our own candidates.

Now, yes, there are some things about Palin and McCain’s policies I do not care for, such as their illegal immigration stances. But, those are policy disagreements. Conservative “elites” are more interestedin making it personal. Jack M at Ace of Spades HQ paraphrase the gist of the article as “John McCain picked Sarah Palin with his dick,” and he is correct.

Does she have to agree with other conservatives? No. But, it would be a nice if she could stop tearing down the conservative movement and becoming the latest Excitable Andy clone. Particularly considering her columns have been blasted by the readers and given poor marks since Sept. 19. She seems to delight more in attacks on Palin and McCain, rather then the guy who would like to silence her, raise her taxes, surrender to Islamic extremists, etc, and so on. You know the deal.