Bush backer endorses Obama, calling Palin 'scary' RAW STORY

Published: Tuesday September 9, 2008





Print This Email This A former Democratic New York mayor who backed George W. Bush for President in 2004 has now labeled Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "scary" and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).



Politico asked Koch "what prompted the move."



"The designation of Palin to be vice president," he replied. "She's scary."



"Any time someone goes to the library and says, 'I want to ban books,' and the librarian says 'no,' and she threatens to fire them -- that's scary," he said.



As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin inquired about banning a slew of "controversial books," including those by Stephen King and Wiliam Faulkner. The McCain campaign says "she was just inquiring about the library's policy on banning books, with no aim of actually banning any. 'It was a rhetorical question -- nothing more,' the McCain-Palin campaign said in a memo yesterday.'"



In his endorsement statement, he termed Palin "a plucky, exciting candidate." But he added that "when her record is examined, she fails miserably with respect to her views on the domestic issues that are so important to the people of the U.S., and to me. Frankly, it would scare me if she were to succeed John McCain in the presidency."



Notes the LA Times: "Koch, true to his New York roots, had backed Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. But in 2004, he gained a lot of ink when he stumped for President Bush's reelection. And previously, he had supported Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg in their successful runs for mayor of the city over which he once presided. And, at the statewide level in New York, he backed former GOP Sen. Al D'Amato and former GOP Gov. George Pataki."



