Palin pick an insult to our intelligence

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In summary: I guess you could say that I was surprised that the information released about her turned out to be such a non-issue to the American people. In summary, the VP pick of Sarah Palin has been largely successful in attracting women voters to the McCain campaign. However, the media's initial response was mostly in support of Mrs. Palin, and there was little questioning of her ability or experience.
  • #911
The 2012 republican presidential candidate will depend on how well Obama runs the country... (and with the current situation, I am sure he's going to fix a few things)... so Palin is the best lamb to throw to Obama the Wolf in 2012 if things get better... she's stupid enough to never realize what's goings on... lookin at this woman you sometimes wish there was 3rd gender because she's embarrasing to humans...
 
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  • #912
Hexnergy said:
The 2012 republican presidential candidate will depend on how well Obama runs the country... (and with the current situation, I am sure he's going to fix a few things)... so Palin is the best lamb to throw to Obama the Wolf in 2012 if things get better... she's stupid enough to never realize what's goings on... lookin at this woman you sometimes wish there was 3rd gender because she's embarrasing to humans...

I think that's a little extreme. Four years is a long time in politics. There is a lot that remains to happen in the next 4 years, including 2010 elections, and many others among the Republicans have plenty of time to emerge.

So long as Republicans cling to their extreme faith based interference agendas I suspect that they will continue to marginalize themselves. The Newt Gingrichs and the Sarah Palins of the world are little more than modern George Wallaces in the breadth of their base appeal. This last election cycle saw this more extreme element of the Republican Party dismantle the tent and drive out those Republican fiscal and social conservatives.

Let the wing-nuts rattle around inside the empty tent for awhile and when the echoes of their ignorance begin to make them lonely, maybe they can once again come to the party and celebrate the US along with the rest of us.
 
  • #913
LowlyPion said:
Four years is a long time in politics. There is a lot that remains to happen in the next 4 years, including 2010 elections, and many others among the Republicans have plenty of time to emerge.

Very true...after all, where was Obama four years ago?
 
  • #914
lisab said:
Very true...after all, where was Obama four years ago?

It's not like he wasn't on the radar after his Convention Speech in Boston in 2004. But I'd say the presumption was that he was going to be a possibility further out, maybe VP candidate sooner. Kerry lost and so I think Hilary has been the presumptive front runner through early this year.

Now Sarah Palin's challenge appears to me to be her need to recreate the truth to suit her image. 4 years of scrutiny will be quite a challenge for her Hillbilly ways I think. And it is surely not aided by her shallow grasp of issues. There are far too many problems that need addressing, for the country to think she will ever be suited to lead. She' no Ronald Reagan. Quoting him is likely about as close as she will ever come.

For the most part though it seems that there really is no clear front runner for the Republicans because each of the possibilities I see now looks flawed. Not the least of which is Palin herself. But as they say that there will be 30+ Governorships up for grabs in 2010, there's no telling who may come from that pack.
 
  • #915
Stupid is, as stupid does.

Joe the Plumber on Sarah Palin:
Q: Why do you and so many other Americans find the words “spread the wealth around” so troubling?

A: Well, I am fairly well read and have read Karl Marx’s work, and spread the wealth around is something that he mentions quite often. If you look up the word [socialism] in [Webster’s] Dictionary, the definition may not mention “spread the wealth,” but community work and sharing of goods all plays into it. Obama’s health-care plan is a very socialist experiment. [Obama’s plans] all revolve around socialism, and that’s what scares me about it.

... Q: You had the opportunity to campaign with Sen. John McCain in different areas of Ohio. What is your opinion with regards to Mr. McCain?

A: This is a tough question. [The McCain campaign] is trying to throw Sarah Palin under the bus. They are trying to allude to the fact that she is the reason that John McCain might have lost this election. That does not sit well with me. John McCain has not come out and said that Sarah Palin is an honorable woman and has not protected her. In terms of my opinion, he has my respect for being a war hero, and I told him that personally, but you got to get along to go along or go along to get along. Washington has been ingrained with that mentality.

Q: As a Republican, do you feel that Gov. Sarah Palin was the right vice-presidential selection?

A: Honestly, I think she shines too much. I think vice president no, president definitely. She has moral values. She has a record of change that ... John McCain had supposedly … Sarah was actually too big of a personality, too big of a person to be vice president.
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/an_interview_with_joe_the_plumber

And what exactly was he doing reading Karl Marx?
 
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  • #916
Palin/The Plumber ticket in 2012?
 
  • #917
LowlyPion said:
Stupid is, as stupid does.

Joe the Plumber on Sarah Palin:

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/an_interview_with_joe_the_plumber

And what exactly was he doing reading Karl Marx?

The assumption being that Republicans only read books by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly?

That only a Democrat would be open-minded enough to read a book that might disagree with their world outlook?

Palin and Joe the Plumber lower the intellectual level of any discussion, but your closing question still seems way out of left field.

(On the other hand, :smile: - I can understand a person being left speechless by Joe's endorsement and, well, I wouldn't know how to respond either.)
 
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  • #918
BobG said:
The assumption being that Republicans only read books by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly?

That only a Democrat would be open-minded enough to read a book that might disagree with their world outlook?

My guess is that he hasn't read all that many books to begin with, since maybe Goodnight Moon. I imagine he hasn't read Coulter or Limbaugh or O'Reilly either.

I'm uncertain at this point how many people that read books are even still in the Republican Party.
 
  • #919
I am still awestruck that the Rep. VP candidate did not know that Africa was a continent.

She is pretty good for comedy though, have you heard this prank call.



I think it deserves to be in the mastercard "priceless" commercial.

"Long distance phone call, 10 dollars.

Prank calling Sarah Palin durring the campaign and helping her get defeated, priceless."
 
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  • #920
jreelawg said:
I am still awestruck that the Rep. VP candidate did not know that Africa was a continent.
No, she just believes that it is one country really but was split apart by evil colonial oppressors.
Remember Sarah Palin is a black man - why do you think they had to spend so much money on hairdressers and markup artists during the campaing ?
 
  • #921
She probably didn't know Alaska was a state rather than a country until McCain asked her to run for VP.
 
  • #923
All this makes me wonder if Colbert was right, and the LHC has plunged us into an alternate universe.
 
  • #925
Kathleen Parker's column today about taking G-O-D out of the GOP pulpit if they ever hope to win. I'd say she's got a valid point.
Parker quoting Palin: said:
"I'm like, okay, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is... And if there is an open door in (20)12 or four years later, and if it's something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."
Parker said:
Let's do pray that God shows Alaska's governor the door.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111802886.html
 
  • #926
Office_Shredder said:

This only exposes that the person who claimed to be the leak is not the leak. He was never the source of the information (gossip) on Palin. Meaning there is apparently a McCain staffer out there still who actually spread the gossip.
 
  • #927
jreelawg said:
I am still awestruck that the Rep. VP candidate did not know that Africa was a continent.

And I am awestruck by the fact that the Dem. Presidential candidate didn't know how many states there were.

The only difference is that one of those statements is true. :smile:

We all make slips of the tongue, no matter how smart we are. Doggone few of us could be expected to be in front of a camera 6 to 8 hours a day for months and never make one. When we say that we know Sen. Obama is a smart guy, so it must just have been a slip-up, but we know Gov. Palin is an idiot and that this is evidence for this, we are merely reinforcing our prejudices.

The same behavior we are vocally critical of when it comes from the Right.
 
  • #928
Vanadium 50 said:
When we say that we know Sen. Obama is a smart guy, so it must just have been a slip-up, but we know Gov. Palin is an idiot and that this is evidence for this, we are merely reinforcing our prejudices.

The same behavior we are vocally critical of when it comes from the Right.

OK. I would be thrilled to see a recitation of thoughtful policy responses from Sarah Palin. Do you seriously believe that her idea of solving energy problems is simply "drill baby drill"? That's a half-time cheer at a North Slope football game perhaps, but it is hardly thoughtful National Policy.

Perhaps when her erudition on policy questions begins to outstrip her gaffes and demonstrated infantilized grasp, your point might be valid. But even you must allow for the possibility that there is little more to her than a narcissistic personality disorder looking for a larger stage on which to bloom.
 
  • #929
Katie Couric on David Letterman talking about Sara Palin interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfV8U16OkL0
 
  • #930
Vanadium 50 said:
And I am awestruck by the fact that the Dem. Presidential candidate didn't know how many states there were.

The only difference is that one of those statements is true. :smile:

We all make slips of the tongue, no matter how smart we are. Doggone few of us could be expected to be in front of a camera 6 to 8 hours a day for months and never make one. When we say that we know Sen. Obama is a smart guy, so it must just have been a slip-up, but we know Gov. Palin is an idiot and that this is evidence for this, we are merely reinforcing our prejudices.

The same behavior we are vocally critical of when it comes from the Right.

LowlyPion said:
OK. I would be thrilled to see a recitation of thoughtful policy responses from Sarah Palin. Do you seriously believe that her idea of solving energy problems is simply "drill baby drill"? That's a half-time cheer at a North Slope football game perhaps, but it is hardly thoughtful National Policy.

Perhaps when her erudition on policy questions begins to outstrip her gaffes and demonstrated infantilized grasp, your point might be valid. But even you must allow for the possibility that there is little more to her than a narcissistic personality disorder looking for a larger stage on which to bloom.

I understand Vanadium's point - that turning your opponent into a cartoon caricature is a weak style of arguing. It seems based on the idea that if you're funny enough, then she's an idiot.

I'm not sure what your point is. I know you're not arguing that her simplification of a complex argument into a three-word slogan proves that one-liners are an effective and intelligent debate style.
 
  • #931
Vanadium 50 said:
And I am awestruck by the fact that the Dem. Presidential candidate didn't know how many states there were.

The only difference is that one of those statements is true. :smile:

We all make slips of the tongue, no matter how smart we are. Doggone few of us could be expected to be in front of a camera 6 to 8 hours a day for months and never make one. When we say that we know Sen. Obama is a smart guy, so it must just have been a slip-up, but we know Gov. Palin is an idiot and that this is evidence for this, we are merely reinforcing our prejudices.

The same behavior we are vocally critical of when it comes from the Right.
How can you even compare the two? One is clearly a slip of the tongue. How is the other?

Besides, your argument makes the faulty assumption that the judgment of the person's intellect is based entirely upon a single quote.

One doesn't need to have a quote from Palin calling Africa a country or South Africa a non-country to make a reasonable judgment of her intellect - there's plenty enough other examples from her interviews.
 
  • #932
BobG said:
It seems based on the idea that if you're funny enough, then she's an idiot.
Did you watch the SNL bit on the Palin - Couric interview? Most people that watched it probably thought it was funny. But most who watched it likely didn't know how close it was to the real thing (particularly the part about the financial sector bail-out).
 
  • #933
BobG said:
I understand Vanadium's point - that turning your opponent into a cartoon caricature is a weak style of arguing. It seems based on the idea that if you're funny enough, then she's an idiot.

I'm not sure what your point is. I know you're not arguing that her simplification of a complex argument into a three-word slogan proves that one-liners are an effective and intelligent debate style.

Why the concern for the styles of characterization?

Observing that Palin is a cartoon may in fact be the only characterization available since she demonstrates so little apparent depth.

What I have failed to yet see from Palin, and those of her supporters, is any depth to what she represents. If you or others think she can think her way out of a paper bag, if you think having a vacuous Miss Congeniality in Chief solves any problems or has any value outside a swimsuit competition, then offer up the policy initiatives that you think she espouses that offers some hope for the problems the Nation faces. I certainly heard nothing from her during the campaign in that regard.

Being able to see Russia, and wearing lipstick unlike a pit bull, and tossing about silly guilt by acquaintance slurs hardly seems qualifying for any office.

Maybe if those supporting her had more to work with there could be a discussion. But that is hardly anyone's fault if she herself so readily amplifies the stereotype of her incompetence for office. You would blame the people for pointing out the Emperor has no clothes?
 
  • #934
I have no idea why McCain chose Palin, but it is frightening how many people voted for their ticket despite her lack of qualifications. If he had chosen a qualified conservative running mate, we would be calling him President-elect McCain, today. I don't think he would have had to fight for the religious right - they would have voted for his ticket anyway.
 
  • #935
Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS' "Sixty Minutes" on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a President who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate - we get it, stop showing off."

The President-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.
http://borowitzreport.com/
 
  • #936
Oh, the horror! Palin pardons turkey

They never did this on WKRP! ... but at least this was fun

Edit: And this is different from the Africa comment. It's definitely true (unless that's really Tina Fey) while the Africa comment is still a comment from an anonymous campaign staffer, meaning its completely devoid of context, even if true.
 
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  • #937
BobG said:
Oh, the horror! Palin pardons turkey

They never did this on WKRP! ... but at least this was fun

You should warn people about what they will see in watching the video.

If beheading turkeys and draining their blood makes anyone squeamish ... look away.

That Sarah Palin ignored the whole thing and chatted up reporters is a monument to her apparent lack of sensitivity.
 
  • #938
LowlyPion said:
You should warn people about what they will see in watching the video.

If beheading turkeys and draining their blood makes anyone squeamish ... look away.

That Sarah Palin ignored the whole thing and chatted up reporters is a monument to her apparent lack of sensitivity.
I grew up doing seasonal slaughtering on family farms, and it's no big deal. People who hunt won't be turned off, either. The people likely to be offended are the ones that buy their meat at a supermarket with little to no thought as to how it got there.
 
  • #939
turbo-1 said:
I grew up doing seasonal slaughtering on family farms, and it's no big deal. People who hunt won't be turned off, either. The people likely to be offended are the ones that buy their meat at a supermarket with little to no thought as to how it got there.

Yeah. Well I grew up hunting and I've skinned rabbits and seen geese and chickens beheaded in the backyard for plucking. It's not something that I enjoy watching even though I am familiar with it and all right with it when it is necessary for a purpose like eating.

But still ... I've seen the video and it was a little uncomfortable for me to watch. Slaughterhouses for livestock are just places I am not drawn to. So call me squeamish I guess, if not just conflicted in reverence for life and for living. I just imagine for some people though, it likely may even be more so. Hence a warning seems in order.
 
  • #940
BobG said:
Edit: And this is different from the Africa comment. It's definitely true (unless that's really Tina Fey) while the Africa comment is still a comment from an anonymous campaign staffer, meaning its completely devoid of context, even if true.

A not so anonymous, not so existent campaign staffer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/arts/television/13hoax.html?th&emc=th
 
  • #941
Office_Shredder said:
A not so anonymous, not so existent campaign staffer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/arts/television/13hoax.html?th&emc=th
Funny, I guess Palin did say it, she only complained that it was mean that her conversation about Africa had been reported, not that it didn't happen.

The pranksters behind Eisenstadt acknowledge that he was not, through them, the anonymous source of the Palin leak. He just claimed falsely that he was the leaker--and they say they have no reason to cast doubt on the original story.
 
  • #942
LowlyPion said:
Hence a warning seems in order.

I do agree with you. However, one might argue that, it being a Sarah Palin video, the warning is a forgone conclusion.


Warning:
Sarah Palin

Now that's a bumper sticker!
 
  • #943
But Evo, can you really trust anything he says?
 
  • #944
Evo said:
Funny, I guess Palin did say it, she only complained that it was mean that her conversation about Africa had been reported, not that it didn't happen.

Image is everything with her I think.

I thought her cover-up the next day with Carl Crawford after the Katie Couric interview was most disingenuous. She rattled off 3 things she alleges she reads regularly. The WSJ, NYT, and Economist. Like yeah right. Being Governor, 5 kids, 1 a special needs infant and she sits down to read those and then couldn't name a single Supreme Court decision other than Rowe that Couric mentioned? And then she rattled off to Crawford after 24 hours study, 3 obscure recent decisions? It just wasn't credible.

Her claiming to know lots of countries in Africa like Somalia when interviewed by Van Susteren had the same hollow timbre as her Carl Crawford revisionist history attempt. It looks to me like a disturbing pattern.

What's mean apparently is that people noticed that she knows so little. That people had to disturb the enchanted spell and observe that the Emperor had no clothes regardless of how fine the stitchwork was that the Emperor alleged it to be.
 
  • #945
Office_Shredder said:
But Evo, can you really trust anything he says?

The point, as I already pointed out myself, is that he was not the source of the comments. He only claimed to be the source of the comments.
 

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