Sarah Palin Thread
- Thread starter GAP
- Start date
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I don't know if too many of you have seen this piece, but it's pretty thought-provoking - and happens to cover a lot of what we've bantered about... I personally don't agree with a lot of what Tim Wise advocates (like affirmative action programs, etc), but I do think he kind of hits home with this...
=========================================================
This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08
For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a “f**kin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you’ll “kick their f**kin’ a**,” and talk about how you like to “shoot sh*t” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s–while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you’re black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do–like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor–and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college–you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light” burden.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
White privilege is, in short, the problem.
=========================================================
This is Your Nation on White Privilege
By Tim Wise
9/13/08
For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a “f**kin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you’ll “kick their f**kin’ a**,” and talk about how you like to “shoot sh*t” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s–while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.
White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you’re black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do–like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor–and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college–you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light” burden.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
White privilege is, in short, the problem.
- Reaction score
- 4,849
- Points
- 1,060
Sounds like someone besides Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton is worried about the white man not feeling guilty anymore, if Obama wins. :
Articles found September 17, 2008
Just Over One-Third Say Palin, McCain, Obama More Ethical Than Most Politicians
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Article Link
Despite both sides running campaigns aimed at changing a climate of special interest corruption in Washington, just over one-third of voters find three of the four major-ticket candidates more ethical than most politicians.
The Republican ticket fares marginally better than Democratic standard-bearer Barack Obama, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate and a newcomer in the race, comes out on top, viewed as more ethical that most politicians by 39% of voters. Palin is slightly ahead of her running mate, John McCain, and Obama who are viewed that way by 37% and 34% respectively (see demographic crosstabs).
The fourth candidate – Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden – is viewed as more ethical – and less ethical – than most politicians by the identical number (22%). Nearly half (46%) say the Delaware senator is about as ethical as his political peers.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) say Palin, who is running in part on her willingness to confront corruption in her own party in Alaska, is less ethical than most politicians. Nearly as many (25%) believe that of Obama who has been running for months as an agent of change in Washington. McCain seems to benefit from his image as a maverick Republican because only 18% see him as less ethical than other politicians.
The GOP presidential candidate, like Biden a longtime member of the Senate, is viewed as about as ethical as most politicians by 41%. Thirty-five percent (35%) feel that way about Obama, the junior senator from Illinois since 2005, while 28% say that of Palin.
More on link
Palin Online: Staggering Numbers
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Exactly how broad is the reach of this online political earthquake known as Sarah Palin?
Article Link
Check out the numbers: More than 1.1 million people read the Alaska governor's Wikipedia article within the first 36 hours following her introduction as Sen. John McCain's running mate, according to the online metric site Compete.com. In fact, Palin's Wikipedia article clocked in as the most popular on the site in the month of August. Michael Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist, placed second.
YouTube has been flooded with Palin videos -- some of them snarky and mean, others equally effusive and elated. Before her announcement on Aug. 29, there were about 300 Palin-oriented videos on the site. Now it's more than 130,000, ranging from television clips spliced and uploaded countless times, to serial parodies that mock the Republican vice presidential candidate.
And in her first two days in the national spotlight, U.S. Internet searches on all things Palin -- her photos, her biography, her family, anything -- outnumbered any other politician in the past three years, says Hitwise.com, which also monitors Web data. In many cases, her name was searched alongside the word "hot."
More on link
Palin imitators flood YouTube with mocking videos
Article Link
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — YouTube is being flooded with mocking videos by Sarah Palin imitators, attracting millions of viewers and triggering stormy online debate between the aspiring vice president's fans and critics.
Snippets of a sketch featuring actress Tina Fey mimicking Palin and comedian Amy Poehler playing former White House contender Hillary Clinton have rocketed to fame on the video sharing website just days after airing on the television show "Saturday Night Live."
"I believe diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy," Poehler's Clinton character asserts in the sketch.
"And I can see Russia from my house!" Fey's convincing version of the neophyte governor of Alaska chimes in response with a beauty pageant smile.
The web, and in particular file sharing sites like YouTube, is notoriously fertile ground for US political satire; Clinton, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are routinely made fun of.
More on link
Electoral Vote Predictor Obama 247 McCain 257 Ties 34
Wed, Sep. 17
Article Link
In a hypothetical matchup for President, Sara Palin defeats Joe Biden 47% to 44%. Palin has considerably less experience than Obama and Biden has much more experience than McCain so the gulf between neophyte and graybeard couldn't be ...
More on link
A Sarah Palin Double Billing
September 17, 2008 at 6:03 am
Article Link
While the media diligently fact checks everything Sarah Palin says — fair enough — it’s interesting to see when the media gets its own facts wrong about Sarah Palin.
Consider today’s Washington Post corrections box: a rare double-correction for one subject matter.
This:
CORRECTIONS: A Sept. 7 Page One article incorrectly identified a mother and daughter who were in the maternity ward at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center at the same time Sarah Palin was there delivering her baby, Trig. The mother is Jennifer Krueger of Wasilla, Alaska, who gave birth to daughter Haylee Davison.
And this:
CLARIFICATION: A Sept. 12 Page One article quoted Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin as telling a brigade of Iraq-bound soldiers that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.” The report linked Palin’s comments with the idea that Saddam Hussein was connected to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said Palin was referring to al-Qaeda in Iraq, a terror group that formed after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and claims to be allied with the global al-Qaeda organization.
Whether it’s a maternity ward in Alaska or the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, it’s good to see fact-checking working both ways.
More on link
The Palin file: It had to be said
BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist September 17, 2008
Article Link
I do have an opinion. Really. I rarely write about my life, except for occasional references to my family and growing up in the grasslands of North Dakota.
And rarely, as a columnist, do I write about issues . . . although I have the cachet to do so.
Then Hillary Clinton ran for president and was hit with more sexist barbs than St. Sebastian had arrows.
And when John McCain chose (gulp!) a good-looking woman from Alaska named Sarah Palin as his running mate, the liberal pundits threw every red shoe at her they could find -- and tossed as many hair pins at her as they could muster.
That frosted my cake.
Being first and fair was my journalistic baptism in the tumultuous 1960s.
Unfortunately, fairness keeps getting redefined.
Our reporters are fair and unbiased, but it's no secret Obama adoration is overflowing in our columns.
My colleagues have a right to their opinions, but I've decided to interject a little balance in the column trade.
I've been in the newspaper business a hell of a lot longer than most of our columnists, but that doesn't mean I'm wiser and smarter. But I do have history.
Covering the return of nine Marine POWs to Camp Pendleton from Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton -- where McCain was imprisoned for more than five years -- gives me an intimate perspective.
Words barely describe his bravery and valor. I heard it first hand.
There is also no excuse for the way McCain deserted his wife, who waited for him to come home. But as with every tortured mind there is a reason -- and McCain has never tried to hide what he did or make an excuse for it.
More on link
Palin, Sexism and Women in Politics
September 16, 2008 ·
Finally, a few more words about the presidential campaign.
Article Link
Yesterday, I talked about how hypocritical, not to mention destructive, I thought the Republicans were being by trying to portray Obama as an elitist at the same time as they are steadily pushing education as the cure for all social ills. I said that — at a time when education is more important than ever before, and millions of young people, especially black and brown young men, are as turned off from school as they can be — the Republicans are dealing the country a very bad hand if they keep attacking one person who might be able to persuade at least some of these kids that studying is okay. That, my friends, to paraphrase John McCain, is not putting "Country First."
But now I want to tell you how the Democrats are getting on my nerves, and to do that I'm going to tell you a story. A true story, one that takes place when I was a White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal covering the first Bush administration — Bush Forty ONE as we now say — and there was a high stakes political fight brewing over extending the Civil Rights Act.
Because I worked for one of the big papers and was spending a lot of time covering the bill, I was invited to one of those so-called background briefings with a senior administration official and a couple of aides who were supposed to give me the inside dope on the administration's position and reasoning. At one point, I asked the official why the bill made a distinction between discrimination based on gender and race discrimination? He looked at me sort of, I don't know, pityingly and said, "I don't expect you to understand."
Can I Just Tell You? ... what I was thinking is not repeatable here, but because I liked my job, all I said was 0"try me." Thankfully, the official's younger and smarter aide gave me a real answer, which was that case law on race discrimination was far more extensive and more settled than on gender discrimination. Now what was so hard about that? I'll tell you what was hard: Mr. Senior Administration Official did not take me seriously. His aide saw a reporter for one of the most prominent and, I would say, best newspapers in the country. But all Mr. Senior Official saw, evidently, was a black girl who somehow couldn't shake the twin pillars of her identity long enough to write down a simple sentence.
More on link
5 legislators sue to end inquiry into Palin firing safety commissioner
Article Link
JUNEAU, Alaska - Five Republican legislators sued yesterday to end the bipartisan investigation into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's firing of the state's public safety commissioner.
A bipartisan oversight committee had unanimously approved an inquiry into whether Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, dismissed Walt Monegan because he wouldn't fire her former brother-in-law, a state trooper.
But in their lawsuit, three state representatives and two state senators called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial, and partisan." The suit seeks to either delay the investigation until after the Nov. 4 election or remove the Democratic senator overseeing the investigation and the one who heads the Legislative Council that authorized it.
Though Palin said in July that she welcomed the probe and wanted to be held accountable, she and John McCain's presidential campaign have sought to distance her from the controversy and have taken actions that could slow its resolution until after the November election.
The McCain campaign late Monday released e-mails supporting Palin's contention that she dismissed the commissioner over budget disagreements. Calling the investigation "tainted," the campaign also said that Palin is unlikely to speak with an investigator hired to look into the matter and report on Oct.
More on link
Just Over One-Third Say Palin, McCain, Obama More Ethical Than Most Politicians
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Article Link
Despite both sides running campaigns aimed at changing a climate of special interest corruption in Washington, just over one-third of voters find three of the four major-ticket candidates more ethical than most politicians.
The Republican ticket fares marginally better than Democratic standard-bearer Barack Obama, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate and a newcomer in the race, comes out on top, viewed as more ethical that most politicians by 39% of voters. Palin is slightly ahead of her running mate, John McCain, and Obama who are viewed that way by 37% and 34% respectively (see demographic crosstabs).
The fourth candidate – Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden – is viewed as more ethical – and less ethical – than most politicians by the identical number (22%). Nearly half (46%) say the Delaware senator is about as ethical as his political peers.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) say Palin, who is running in part on her willingness to confront corruption in her own party in Alaska, is less ethical than most politicians. Nearly as many (25%) believe that of Obama who has been running for months as an agent of change in Washington. McCain seems to benefit from his image as a maverick Republican because only 18% see him as less ethical than other politicians.
The GOP presidential candidate, like Biden a longtime member of the Senate, is viewed as about as ethical as most politicians by 41%. Thirty-five percent (35%) feel that way about Obama, the junior senator from Illinois since 2005, while 28% say that of Palin.
More on link
Palin Online: Staggering Numbers
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Exactly how broad is the reach of this online political earthquake known as Sarah Palin?
Article Link
Check out the numbers: More than 1.1 million people read the Alaska governor's Wikipedia article within the first 36 hours following her introduction as Sen. John McCain's running mate, according to the online metric site Compete.com. In fact, Palin's Wikipedia article clocked in as the most popular on the site in the month of August. Michael Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist, placed second.
YouTube has been flooded with Palin videos -- some of them snarky and mean, others equally effusive and elated. Before her announcement on Aug. 29, there were about 300 Palin-oriented videos on the site. Now it's more than 130,000, ranging from television clips spliced and uploaded countless times, to serial parodies that mock the Republican vice presidential candidate.
And in her first two days in the national spotlight, U.S. Internet searches on all things Palin -- her photos, her biography, her family, anything -- outnumbered any other politician in the past three years, says Hitwise.com, which also monitors Web data. In many cases, her name was searched alongside the word "hot."
More on link
Palin imitators flood YouTube with mocking videos
Article Link
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — YouTube is being flooded with mocking videos by Sarah Palin imitators, attracting millions of viewers and triggering stormy online debate between the aspiring vice president's fans and critics.
Snippets of a sketch featuring actress Tina Fey mimicking Palin and comedian Amy Poehler playing former White House contender Hillary Clinton have rocketed to fame on the video sharing website just days after airing on the television show "Saturday Night Live."
"I believe diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy," Poehler's Clinton character asserts in the sketch.
"And I can see Russia from my house!" Fey's convincing version of the neophyte governor of Alaska chimes in response with a beauty pageant smile.
The web, and in particular file sharing sites like YouTube, is notoriously fertile ground for US political satire; Clinton, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are routinely made fun of.
More on link
Electoral Vote Predictor Obama 247 McCain 257 Ties 34
Wed, Sep. 17
Article Link
In a hypothetical matchup for President, Sara Palin defeats Joe Biden 47% to 44%. Palin has considerably less experience than Obama and Biden has much more experience than McCain so the gulf between neophyte and graybeard couldn't be ...
More on link
A Sarah Palin Double Billing
September 17, 2008 at 6:03 am
Article Link
While the media diligently fact checks everything Sarah Palin says — fair enough — it’s interesting to see when the media gets its own facts wrong about Sarah Palin.
Consider today’s Washington Post corrections box: a rare double-correction for one subject matter.
This:
CORRECTIONS: A Sept. 7 Page One article incorrectly identified a mother and daughter who were in the maternity ward at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center at the same time Sarah Palin was there delivering her baby, Trig. The mother is Jennifer Krueger of Wasilla, Alaska, who gave birth to daughter Haylee Davison.
And this:
CLARIFICATION: A Sept. 12 Page One article quoted Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin as telling a brigade of Iraq-bound soldiers that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.” The report linked Palin’s comments with the idea that Saddam Hussein was connected to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said Palin was referring to al-Qaeda in Iraq, a terror group that formed after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and claims to be allied with the global al-Qaeda organization.
Whether it’s a maternity ward in Alaska or the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq, it’s good to see fact-checking working both ways.
More on link
The Palin file: It had to be said
BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist September 17, 2008
Article Link
I do have an opinion. Really. I rarely write about my life, except for occasional references to my family and growing up in the grasslands of North Dakota.
And rarely, as a columnist, do I write about issues . . . although I have the cachet to do so.
Then Hillary Clinton ran for president and was hit with more sexist barbs than St. Sebastian had arrows.
And when John McCain chose (gulp!) a good-looking woman from Alaska named Sarah Palin as his running mate, the liberal pundits threw every red shoe at her they could find -- and tossed as many hair pins at her as they could muster.
That frosted my cake.
Being first and fair was my journalistic baptism in the tumultuous 1960s.
Unfortunately, fairness keeps getting redefined.
Our reporters are fair and unbiased, but it's no secret Obama adoration is overflowing in our columns.
My colleagues have a right to their opinions, but I've decided to interject a little balance in the column trade.
I've been in the newspaper business a hell of a lot longer than most of our columnists, but that doesn't mean I'm wiser and smarter. But I do have history.
Covering the return of nine Marine POWs to Camp Pendleton from Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton -- where McCain was imprisoned for more than five years -- gives me an intimate perspective.
Words barely describe his bravery and valor. I heard it first hand.
There is also no excuse for the way McCain deserted his wife, who waited for him to come home. But as with every tortured mind there is a reason -- and McCain has never tried to hide what he did or make an excuse for it.
More on link
Palin, Sexism and Women in Politics
September 16, 2008 ·
Finally, a few more words about the presidential campaign.
Article Link
Yesterday, I talked about how hypocritical, not to mention destructive, I thought the Republicans were being by trying to portray Obama as an elitist at the same time as they are steadily pushing education as the cure for all social ills. I said that — at a time when education is more important than ever before, and millions of young people, especially black and brown young men, are as turned off from school as they can be — the Republicans are dealing the country a very bad hand if they keep attacking one person who might be able to persuade at least some of these kids that studying is okay. That, my friends, to paraphrase John McCain, is not putting "Country First."
But now I want to tell you how the Democrats are getting on my nerves, and to do that I'm going to tell you a story. A true story, one that takes place when I was a White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal covering the first Bush administration — Bush Forty ONE as we now say — and there was a high stakes political fight brewing over extending the Civil Rights Act.
Because I worked for one of the big papers and was spending a lot of time covering the bill, I was invited to one of those so-called background briefings with a senior administration official and a couple of aides who were supposed to give me the inside dope on the administration's position and reasoning. At one point, I asked the official why the bill made a distinction between discrimination based on gender and race discrimination? He looked at me sort of, I don't know, pityingly and said, "I don't expect you to understand."
Can I Just Tell You? ... what I was thinking is not repeatable here, but because I liked my job, all I said was 0"try me." Thankfully, the official's younger and smarter aide gave me a real answer, which was that case law on race discrimination was far more extensive and more settled than on gender discrimination. Now what was so hard about that? I'll tell you what was hard: Mr. Senior Administration Official did not take me seriously. His aide saw a reporter for one of the most prominent and, I would say, best newspapers in the country. But all Mr. Senior Official saw, evidently, was a black girl who somehow couldn't shake the twin pillars of her identity long enough to write down a simple sentence.
More on link
5 legislators sue to end inquiry into Palin firing safety commissioner
Article Link
JUNEAU, Alaska - Five Republican legislators sued yesterday to end the bipartisan investigation into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's firing of the state's public safety commissioner.
A bipartisan oversight committee had unanimously approved an inquiry into whether Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, dismissed Walt Monegan because he wouldn't fire her former brother-in-law, a state trooper.
But in their lawsuit, three state representatives and two state senators called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial, and partisan." The suit seeks to either delay the investigation until after the Nov. 4 election or remove the Democratic senator overseeing the investigation and the one who heads the Legislative Council that authorized it.
Though Palin said in July that she welcomed the probe and wanted to be held accountable, she and John McCain's presidential campaign have sought to distance her from the controversy and have taken actions that could slow its resolution until after the November election.
The McCain campaign late Monday released e-mails supporting Palin's contention that she dismissed the commissioner over budget disagreements. Calling the investigation "tainted," the campaign also said that Palin is unlikely to speak with an investigator hired to look into the matter and report on Oct.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 63
- Points
- 530
Leftist hackers broke into Palin's yahoo email account posting emails from Sarah and her hubby,plus cell phone number of Bristol. As Palin is under Federal protection the FBI and Secret Service will no doubt start a criminal investigation. Charges could be filed against the hackers,web site owners ect.
Articles found September 18, 2008
Palin Derangement Syndrome: Obama's Worst Enemy?
Cinnamon Stillwell Wednesday, September 18, 2008
Article Link
There's a new affliction sweeping the nation, and it's known as Palin Derangement Syndrome. The phenomenon is similar to Bush Derangement Syndrome, a term coined by political columnist Charles Krauthammer to describe the personal animosity and irrational hatred directed at President Bush by his leftist opponents. But this time, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is the object of wrath.
The feeding frenzy began with the news of Palin's selection, but it was her electrifying speech at the Republic National Convention last month that really set it off. In one fell swoop, Palin managed to energize the Republican base, breathe life into the McCain campaign, launch some very effective jabs at Barack Obama, and quite possibly, attract the support of the 18 million Hillary Clinton voters.
The attacks on Palin have ranged from patronizing to vicious to fantastical. She has been caricatured as an inexperienced rube, a baby-making automaton, an uneducated underachiever, a bad mother, trailer-park trash, a rightwing religious fanatic, a sexual fantasy, and of course, a fascist. No subject has been deemed taboo in the effort to take Palin down.
What her detractors don't seem to realize is that in the process of insulting Palin, they are insulting the majority of the country. If being a self-made success story, a working mother, a church-going member of a small-town community, and a believer in moderate to conservative political viewpoints disqualifies Palin, what does that say about mainstream America? The inherent condescension at the heart of the anti-Palin campaign is coming across loud and clear and it may actually be boosting her popularity.
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Palin reaffirms support for Arctic drilling
Article Link
Sarah Palin, in her second national interview since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee, said last night that she and running mate John McCain disagree on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but that she's "going to keep working on him."
"He is not asking me or anybody else to check our opinions at the door," the Alaska governor said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." "He wants that healthy deliberation and debate with it.
"John McCain knows, more so than any other leader in our nation today, that for national security reasons we must be an energy-independent nation," Palin added.
In the wide-ranging interview, whose second part is scheduled to air tonight, Palin also downplayed the effectiveness of attacks on her. "You can't underestimate the wisdom of the people of America," she said. "They're seeing through the rhetoric, and they're seeing through a lot of the political cheap shots, also. And they're getting down to the facts and the voting records that are going to show that stark contrast."
FOON RHEE
Clinton pulls out of event after learning Palin's plans
The only joint appearance by Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin any time soon will apparently be by their comedic alter egos in a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Clinton pulled out of a protest being organized by several Jewish groups outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when she found out that Palin planned to attend. Clinton aides were furious at organizers, saying they first learned from reporters. "Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event," Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said. "Senator Clinton will therefore not be attending."
More on link
Sarah Palin Attends First Town Hall
The New York Times's Michael Cooper reports on Sarah Palin's first town hall appearance, which took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Article Link
Some excerpts:
As she took questions from voters for the first time since she was tapped as Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin was asked here Wednesday about her “perceived lack of foreign policy experience.’’
She responded with an invitation for people to play “stump the candidate” with her.
“As for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared,’’ Ms. Palin said at an enthusiastic town-hall-style meeting she held alongside Mr. McCain. “And I know that on Jan. 20, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we’ll be ready. I’ll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness. And if you want specifics with specific policy, or countries, go ahead and you can ask me. You can even play stump the candidate, if you want to.’’
But before anyone could take her up on the offer, Mr. McCain stepped in to praise Ms. Palin’s qualifications, saying that she understands energy issues, had led negotiations for a new gas pipeline, and, as governor of Alaska, was the commander of the Alaska National Guard. “So I think she understands our national security challenges,’’ he said. ...
Governor Palin showed herself to be a crowd-pleaser, and it was clear that she and Mr. McCain – who had only met once before offering her a spot on the ticket – have begun to develop an easy rapport. (She no longer called him “Senator John S. McCain,” as she sometimes did right after she was picked, calling him “John.’’) Ms. Palin highlighted her breezy style, as with her remark that energy independence was “going to be my baby” in a McCain administration, but sometimes seemed less sure-footed on other issues. ...
Ms. Palin got her biggest cheer of the night when a woman who identified herself as a mother asked her to rebut the false suggestion that she would have difficulty balancing her role as a mother with being vice president.
“Well, let’s prove them wrong!” Mr. Palin said, to huge applause.
More on link
How Palin caught Obama off-guard
Andrew Stephen Published 18 September 2008
Article Link
Because she is a mum who shops at Wal-Mart and disembowels moose many Americans, suspicious of intellectuals or elitism, have granted her celebrity status
The Democrats have finally chosen their woman. The stand-in for Sarah Palin who will tussle with Joe Biden in closed-door rehearsals for the vice-presidential debate on 2 October will be 49-year-old Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan - a brilliant Democrat who would undoubtedly be a presidential contender herself, had she not been born in Canada and thus constitutionally ineligible to occupy the White House. She will undoubtedly give Biden a hard time, but will Palin?
Three weeks ago, just the thought of this year's vice-presidential debate would have made most Americans yawn. But the sudden emergence of Governor Palin on the world stage on 29 August has electrified this election and turned just about every previous assumption upside down. Biden's little finger, for example, probably knows more about foreign policy than Palin. However, I can easily visualise him patronising or bullying her - which would be catastrophic. Palin, just as easily, could reveal her ignorance or extremism in some equally disastrous way.
The very fact that it is the vice-presidential debate that is suddenly the hottest ticket in America - far more so than any of the three presidential confrontations between Barack Obama and John McCain - is indicative of the disaster that Palin has been for the Democrats so far.
More on link
Sarah Palin's accent explained
Posted September 18, 2008 7:30 AM by Jason George
Article Link
Have you noticed Gov. Sarah Palin's accent?
If so, you're not alone. Ever since U.S. Sen. John McCain added the Alaska governor to the Republican presidential ticket, Palin's speech pattern and pronunciation have prompted Web and water-cooler conversations.
Some keyboard critics enjoy the sound of Palin's voice; many don't. Fans and foes alike describe it with colorful phrases, such as "a little Minnesota, a little Valley Girl," "an interesting mix of Minnesota, and Mississippi" and "bush-like," as in Native American accents heard in Alaska's bush or remote areas. Many commentators wonder if Palin's voice reflects a true "Alaskan accent."
It does--at least it's one Alaskan accent, said William Labov, a University of Pennsylvania linguistics professor and co-author of the "Atlas of North American English."
"She's a good example of the Northern speech with a Western influence," he added, pointing to several examples, such as Palin's dropping of "g's" from word endings and pronunciation of "terrorist" as two syllables instead of three.
Also, "that 'O' sound is a character in the 'Fargo'-like speech influenced by the German and Scandinavians," he added.
Of course, Alaska's isolation and its large population of transplants from the lower 48 mean that there's not just one state accent. Palin herself was born in Idaho before moving to Alaska as a young child. Except for her infancy, and college stints in Hawaii and Idaho, Palin has lived her whole life in the nation's 49th State.
More on link
Palin Derangement Syndrome: Obama's Worst Enemy?
Cinnamon Stillwell Wednesday, September 18, 2008
Article Link
There's a new affliction sweeping the nation, and it's known as Palin Derangement Syndrome. The phenomenon is similar to Bush Derangement Syndrome, a term coined by political columnist Charles Krauthammer to describe the personal animosity and irrational hatred directed at President Bush by his leftist opponents. But this time, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is the object of wrath.
The feeding frenzy began with the news of Palin's selection, but it was her electrifying speech at the Republic National Convention last month that really set it off. In one fell swoop, Palin managed to energize the Republican base, breathe life into the McCain campaign, launch some very effective jabs at Barack Obama, and quite possibly, attract the support of the 18 million Hillary Clinton voters.
The attacks on Palin have ranged from patronizing to vicious to fantastical. She has been caricatured as an inexperienced rube, a baby-making automaton, an uneducated underachiever, a bad mother, trailer-park trash, a rightwing religious fanatic, a sexual fantasy, and of course, a fascist. No subject has been deemed taboo in the effort to take Palin down.
What her detractors don't seem to realize is that in the process of insulting Palin, they are insulting the majority of the country. If being a self-made success story, a working mother, a church-going member of a small-town community, and a believer in moderate to conservative political viewpoints disqualifies Palin, what does that say about mainstream America? The inherent condescension at the heart of the anti-Palin campaign is coming across loud and clear and it may actually be boosting her popularity.
More on link
Palin reaffirms support for Arctic drilling
Article Link
Sarah Palin, in her second national interview since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee, said last night that she and running mate John McCain disagree on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but that she's "going to keep working on him."
"He is not asking me or anybody else to check our opinions at the door," the Alaska governor said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." "He wants that healthy deliberation and debate with it.
"John McCain knows, more so than any other leader in our nation today, that for national security reasons we must be an energy-independent nation," Palin added.
In the wide-ranging interview, whose second part is scheduled to air tonight, Palin also downplayed the effectiveness of attacks on her. "You can't underestimate the wisdom of the people of America," she said. "They're seeing through the rhetoric, and they're seeing through a lot of the political cheap shots, also. And they're getting down to the facts and the voting records that are going to show that stark contrast."
FOON RHEE
Clinton pulls out of event after learning Palin's plans
The only joint appearance by Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin any time soon will apparently be by their comedic alter egos in a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Clinton pulled out of a protest being organized by several Jewish groups outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when she found out that Palin planned to attend. Clinton aides were furious at organizers, saying they first learned from reporters. "Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event," Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said. "Senator Clinton will therefore not be attending."
More on link
Sarah Palin Attends First Town Hall
The New York Times's Michael Cooper reports on Sarah Palin's first town hall appearance, which took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Article Link
Some excerpts:
As she took questions from voters for the first time since she was tapped as Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin was asked here Wednesday about her “perceived lack of foreign policy experience.’’
She responded with an invitation for people to play “stump the candidate” with her.
“As for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared,’’ Ms. Palin said at an enthusiastic town-hall-style meeting she held alongside Mr. McCain. “And I know that on Jan. 20, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we’ll be ready. I’ll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness. And if you want specifics with specific policy, or countries, go ahead and you can ask me. You can even play stump the candidate, if you want to.’’
But before anyone could take her up on the offer, Mr. McCain stepped in to praise Ms. Palin’s qualifications, saying that she understands energy issues, had led negotiations for a new gas pipeline, and, as governor of Alaska, was the commander of the Alaska National Guard. “So I think she understands our national security challenges,’’ he said. ...
Governor Palin showed herself to be a crowd-pleaser, and it was clear that she and Mr. McCain – who had only met once before offering her a spot on the ticket – have begun to develop an easy rapport. (She no longer called him “Senator John S. McCain,” as she sometimes did right after she was picked, calling him “John.’’) Ms. Palin highlighted her breezy style, as with her remark that energy independence was “going to be my baby” in a McCain administration, but sometimes seemed less sure-footed on other issues. ...
Ms. Palin got her biggest cheer of the night when a woman who identified herself as a mother asked her to rebut the false suggestion that she would have difficulty balancing her role as a mother with being vice president.
“Well, let’s prove them wrong!” Mr. Palin said, to huge applause.
More on link
How Palin caught Obama off-guard
Andrew Stephen Published 18 September 2008
Article Link
Because she is a mum who shops at Wal-Mart and disembowels moose many Americans, suspicious of intellectuals or elitism, have granted her celebrity status
The Democrats have finally chosen their woman. The stand-in for Sarah Palin who will tussle with Joe Biden in closed-door rehearsals for the vice-presidential debate on 2 October will be 49-year-old Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan - a brilliant Democrat who would undoubtedly be a presidential contender herself, had she not been born in Canada and thus constitutionally ineligible to occupy the White House. She will undoubtedly give Biden a hard time, but will Palin?
Three weeks ago, just the thought of this year's vice-presidential debate would have made most Americans yawn. But the sudden emergence of Governor Palin on the world stage on 29 August has electrified this election and turned just about every previous assumption upside down. Biden's little finger, for example, probably knows more about foreign policy than Palin. However, I can easily visualise him patronising or bullying her - which would be catastrophic. Palin, just as easily, could reveal her ignorance or extremism in some equally disastrous way.
The very fact that it is the vice-presidential debate that is suddenly the hottest ticket in America - far more so than any of the three presidential confrontations between Barack Obama and John McCain - is indicative of the disaster that Palin has been for the Democrats so far.
More on link
Sarah Palin's accent explained
Posted September 18, 2008 7:30 AM by Jason George
Article Link
Have you noticed Gov. Sarah Palin's accent?
If so, you're not alone. Ever since U.S. Sen. John McCain added the Alaska governor to the Republican presidential ticket, Palin's speech pattern and pronunciation have prompted Web and water-cooler conversations.
Some keyboard critics enjoy the sound of Palin's voice; many don't. Fans and foes alike describe it with colorful phrases, such as "a little Minnesota, a little Valley Girl," "an interesting mix of Minnesota, and Mississippi" and "bush-like," as in Native American accents heard in Alaska's bush or remote areas. Many commentators wonder if Palin's voice reflects a true "Alaskan accent."
It does--at least it's one Alaskan accent, said William Labov, a University of Pennsylvania linguistics professor and co-author of the "Atlas of North American English."
"She's a good example of the Northern speech with a Western influence," he added, pointing to several examples, such as Palin's dropping of "g's" from word endings and pronunciation of "terrorist" as two syllables instead of three.
Also, "that 'O' sound is a character in the 'Fargo'-like speech influenced by the German and Scandinavians," he added.
Of course, Alaska's isolation and its large population of transplants from the lower 48 mean that there's not just one state accent. Palin herself was born in Idaho before moving to Alaska as a young child. Except for her infancy, and college stints in Hawaii and Idaho, Palin has lived her whole life in the nation's 49th State.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
The clips I saw of the town hall meeting were incredible. I've never seen anyone dodge questions like Sarah Palin can - at least in the parts I saw.
Better, though, was Larry King last night, I didn't catch the name of the Republican talking head, Andrea something I think...? She was brilliant. Everything she said was patently nonsense, and just foolhardy smear attempts that were roundly hammered on by the other participants in the discussion. She came off as rude and unable to debate, it left me shocked and a little embarrassed for the GOP.
Best line of the night was on Palin's "I can see Russia..." statement. "I can see the moon from my backyard, that doesn't make me an astrophysicist." It later came up again from another one of the people on - "I can see a freeway from my porch, so I'm qualified to be Secretary of Transportation."
What really gets me is that they call John McCain a "maverick". That's the best selling point they can come up with. How, exactly, is he a maverick though when he went with the party line some 90% of the time, that strikes me as a good obedient Republican.
Better, though, was Larry King last night, I didn't catch the name of the Republican talking head, Andrea something I think...? She was brilliant. Everything she said was patently nonsense, and just foolhardy smear attempts that were roundly hammered on by the other participants in the discussion. She came off as rude and unable to debate, it left me shocked and a little embarrassed for the GOP.
Best line of the night was on Palin's "I can see Russia..." statement. "I can see the moon from my backyard, that doesn't make me an astrophysicist." It later came up again from another one of the people on - "I can see a freeway from my porch, so I'm qualified to be Secretary of Transportation."
What really gets me is that they call John McCain a "maverick". That's the best selling point they can come up with. How, exactly, is he a maverick though when he went with the party line some 90% of the time, that strikes me as a good obedient Republican.
Exclusive: Gov. Palin on 'Hannity & Colmes,' Part 2
Friday, September 19, 2008
Article Link
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," September 18, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Senator McCain's son has served in Iraq, as we move to national security. You just said good-bye to your son, who is off. He's going to serve in Iraq.
First off, on the personal side, what did you say to him as he was leaving for Iraq? And what did he say to you?
GOV. SARAH PALIN, VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, as a mom, you know, he's heading to Iraq, taking a fifth of my heart with him, you know. And I'm just so extremely proud of him. He's independent and he's strong and he's serving for the right reasons. I'm just as proud of every man and woman in uniform serving our country and trying to usher in democratic values to the rest of the world, protecting our freedoms.
Very, very proud of these guys and these gals. They are America's finest and I think that, you know, the Army is lucky to have my son.
What my son said to me, though, was — it was an awakening for me to realize that he knows what he is doing in this and he knows that he has chosen the right reason to serve. I was just being mom to him just a few weeks ago — no V.P. talk even then — but just as mom I was probably getting on his nerves, asking him a whole lot of question about the deployment and about he and his Stryker brigade, what his job will be and he's like, Mom, I belong to the Army now. I belong to America.
HANNITY: He said that to you?
PALIN: He did. And he was telling me, Mom, it's going to be OK and I've chosen to do this. And you know, I'm like, man, thank God for this voluntary military that we have with America's finest. These young men and women, they just — they just make me so proud.
HANNITY: Why do we need to win in Iraq? Just get right to the bottom line. Why is losing not an option?
PALIN: Losing is not — retreat is not an option. Retreat is defeat in Iraq. Al Qaeda, they're acknowledging even, along with General Petraeus, that Iraq is the central front on the War on Terror and the violent Islamic extremists who hate America would love that stronghold to be built in Iraq.
If we were to lose there, we're not going to be any better off when we fight in Afghanistan either, nor the other areas where terrorist cells are growing across our world.
HANNITY: What countries today pose the most danger, in your view, to America?
PALIN: Any country that is going to house violent Islamic terrorists. We have to keep our eye, of course, on Iran. We've got to keep our eye on some of the ongoing activities in Russia, also. North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong Il — certainly there is a lot of concern there.
What we have got to commit to, also, especially when we talk about Russia, no Cold War. We have got to know that our mindset needs to be opportunity for pressure and diplomacy and sanctions if need be, as we keep our eye on a country like Russia.
HANNITY: You don't want to start a war with Russia —
(CROSSTALK)
PALIN: We do not want to start a war with Russia. No Cold War. That's got to be off the table. And — opportunity comes with new leadership being ushered in, being elected in into our democracy where we can start forging even better relationships and strengthening the allies that we have. That's the opportunity that John McCain is going to make sure happens.
HANNITY: What do you view — and I know this came up in your interview with Charlie Gibson, as it relates to the Bush Doctrine — what do you view as the Bush Doctrine and what do you view as America's role in the world? What is our role as a country, as it relates to national security?
PALIN: That's a great question and being an optimist I see our role in the world as one of — being a force for good and one of being the leader of the world when it comes to the values that — it seems that just humankind embraces the values that encompass life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And that's not just in America, that is in our world.
And America is in a position, because we care for so many people, to be able to lead and to be able to have a strong diplomacy and a strong military. Also at the same time to defend not only our freedoms but, to help these rising, smaller democratic countries that are just — you know, they're putting themselves on the map right now, and they're going to be looking to America as that leader. We being used as a force for good is how I see our country.
HANNITY: When you were first announced as Senator McCain's running mate, the Obama campaign put out a statement and here's what it was. It said, "Today, Senator McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000, with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat from the presidency." Perhaps they forgot you got promoted.
But how did that make you feel?
PALIN: Oh, you know, it's motivating to me, Sean. Because it's, OK, not only personally, well, I have opportunity to prove what the capabilities are here. But I so respected John McCain, his maverick streak in him there really being made manifest in choosing someone who has a track record of that commitment to reform, of being able to share the examples of the reform, the practices that have been implemented and have been good for the people whom I have been serving. I've been working for the people of Wasilla and Alaska. And in my job also in overseeing such a healthy portion of the U.S. domestic production of oil.
Those things that I add to the ticket, certainly our opponents are going to ignore all that and they're going to send their opposition researchers up to Alaska. They've got dozens of them up there now.
HANNITY: They called it a mini-army in "The Wall Street Journal."
More on link
Friday, September 19, 2008
Article Link
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," September 18, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Senator McCain's son has served in Iraq, as we move to national security. You just said good-bye to your son, who is off. He's going to serve in Iraq.
First off, on the personal side, what did you say to him as he was leaving for Iraq? And what did he say to you?
GOV. SARAH PALIN, VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, as a mom, you know, he's heading to Iraq, taking a fifth of my heart with him, you know. And I'm just so extremely proud of him. He's independent and he's strong and he's serving for the right reasons. I'm just as proud of every man and woman in uniform serving our country and trying to usher in democratic values to the rest of the world, protecting our freedoms.
Very, very proud of these guys and these gals. They are America's finest and I think that, you know, the Army is lucky to have my son.
What my son said to me, though, was — it was an awakening for me to realize that he knows what he is doing in this and he knows that he has chosen the right reason to serve. I was just being mom to him just a few weeks ago — no V.P. talk even then — but just as mom I was probably getting on his nerves, asking him a whole lot of question about the deployment and about he and his Stryker brigade, what his job will be and he's like, Mom, I belong to the Army now. I belong to America.
HANNITY: He said that to you?
PALIN: He did. And he was telling me, Mom, it's going to be OK and I've chosen to do this. And you know, I'm like, man, thank God for this voluntary military that we have with America's finest. These young men and women, they just — they just make me so proud.
HANNITY: Why do we need to win in Iraq? Just get right to the bottom line. Why is losing not an option?
PALIN: Losing is not — retreat is not an option. Retreat is defeat in Iraq. Al Qaeda, they're acknowledging even, along with General Petraeus, that Iraq is the central front on the War on Terror and the violent Islamic extremists who hate America would love that stronghold to be built in Iraq.
If we were to lose there, we're not going to be any better off when we fight in Afghanistan either, nor the other areas where terrorist cells are growing across our world.
HANNITY: What countries today pose the most danger, in your view, to America?
PALIN: Any country that is going to house violent Islamic terrorists. We have to keep our eye, of course, on Iran. We've got to keep our eye on some of the ongoing activities in Russia, also. North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong Il — certainly there is a lot of concern there.
What we have got to commit to, also, especially when we talk about Russia, no Cold War. We have got to know that our mindset needs to be opportunity for pressure and diplomacy and sanctions if need be, as we keep our eye on a country like Russia.
HANNITY: You don't want to start a war with Russia —
(CROSSTALK)
PALIN: We do not want to start a war with Russia. No Cold War. That's got to be off the table. And — opportunity comes with new leadership being ushered in, being elected in into our democracy where we can start forging even better relationships and strengthening the allies that we have. That's the opportunity that John McCain is going to make sure happens.
HANNITY: What do you view — and I know this came up in your interview with Charlie Gibson, as it relates to the Bush Doctrine — what do you view as the Bush Doctrine and what do you view as America's role in the world? What is our role as a country, as it relates to national security?
PALIN: That's a great question and being an optimist I see our role in the world as one of — being a force for good and one of being the leader of the world when it comes to the values that — it seems that just humankind embraces the values that encompass life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And that's not just in America, that is in our world.
And America is in a position, because we care for so many people, to be able to lead and to be able to have a strong diplomacy and a strong military. Also at the same time to defend not only our freedoms but, to help these rising, smaller democratic countries that are just — you know, they're putting themselves on the map right now, and they're going to be looking to America as that leader. We being used as a force for good is how I see our country.
HANNITY: When you were first announced as Senator McCain's running mate, the Obama campaign put out a statement and here's what it was. It said, "Today, Senator McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000, with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat from the presidency." Perhaps they forgot you got promoted.
But how did that make you feel?
PALIN: Oh, you know, it's motivating to me, Sean. Because it's, OK, not only personally, well, I have opportunity to prove what the capabilities are here. But I so respected John McCain, his maverick streak in him there really being made manifest in choosing someone who has a track record of that commitment to reform, of being able to share the examples of the reform, the practices that have been implemented and have been good for the people whom I have been serving. I've been working for the people of Wasilla and Alaska. And in my job also in overseeing such a healthy portion of the U.S. domestic production of oil.
Those things that I add to the ticket, certainly our opponents are going to ignore all that and they're going to send their opposition researchers up to Alaska. They've got dozens of them up there now.
HANNITY: They called it a mini-army in "The Wall Street Journal."
More on link
Republican VP candidate Palin to meet Afghanistan's Karzai
Article Link
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin will meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week in New York, a McCain campaign spokesman said Saturday.
Karzai will be in New York with leaders from around the world to participate in the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds confirmed the meeting.
Palin, the 44-year-old first time governor of Alaska, is seen as a novice in the key area of foreign policy -- especially when measured against her Democratic counterpart Joseph Biden, with 36 years' experience on the Senate foreign affairs committee.
Palin got her first passport in 2007 when she traveled to visit Alaska National Guard -- of which she is commander in chief -- in Kuwait and Germany
More on link
Obama Tries to Stop the Palin Effect
by Bonney Kapp
Article Link
CORAL GABLES, FL - “It is good to see so many so many women in the house! You can feel that women power,” Obama exclaimed to a crowd of some 8,000 in South Florida, waving signs reading “Women for Obama” and “Moms for Obama.”
The candidate is hoping to attract women voters - despite, or perhaps because of recent polls that have shown the McCain/Palin ticket drawing support from women. Sarah Palin has complicated matters for the Democratic candidate in the race, so Obama is busy touting his record on issues he considers important to women, such as equal pay, health care, and a woman’s right to choose.
“You’d think that solving these problems would be a high priority for anybody running for president in this country. Well, you haven’t met my opponent, John McCain,” Obama said to cheers.
Careful not to mention Sarah Palin’s name during his speech, Obama accused McCain of not understanding what’s gong on in the lives of women in this country. “Why else would he oppose legislation to help women get equal pay, and suggest that the reason why women aren’t paid fairly isn’t because of discrimination on the job, but because they need more education and training? … Why else would he say that Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision and run away from a platform, and run on a platform to outlaw abortion – even in cases of rape and incest? Why else would he propose a health care plan that actually taxes your health care benefits for the first time in history and gives insurance companies free reign to discriminate against women with histories of breast cancer and heart diseases and other illnesses? He must not know!”
More on link
Article Link
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin will meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week in New York, a McCain campaign spokesman said Saturday.
Karzai will be in New York with leaders from around the world to participate in the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds confirmed the meeting.
Palin, the 44-year-old first time governor of Alaska, is seen as a novice in the key area of foreign policy -- especially when measured against her Democratic counterpart Joseph Biden, with 36 years' experience on the Senate foreign affairs committee.
Palin got her first passport in 2007 when she traveled to visit Alaska National Guard -- of which she is commander in chief -- in Kuwait and Germany
More on link
Obama Tries to Stop the Palin Effect
by Bonney Kapp
Article Link
CORAL GABLES, FL - “It is good to see so many so many women in the house! You can feel that women power,” Obama exclaimed to a crowd of some 8,000 in South Florida, waving signs reading “Women for Obama” and “Moms for Obama.”
The candidate is hoping to attract women voters - despite, or perhaps because of recent polls that have shown the McCain/Palin ticket drawing support from women. Sarah Palin has complicated matters for the Democratic candidate in the race, so Obama is busy touting his record on issues he considers important to women, such as equal pay, health care, and a woman’s right to choose.
“You’d think that solving these problems would be a high priority for anybody running for president in this country. Well, you haven’t met my opponent, John McCain,” Obama said to cheers.
Careful not to mention Sarah Palin’s name during his speech, Obama accused McCain of not understanding what’s gong on in the lives of women in this country. “Why else would he oppose legislation to help women get equal pay, and suggest that the reason why women aren’t paid fairly isn’t because of discrimination on the job, but because they need more education and training? … Why else would he say that Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision and run away from a platform, and run on a platform to outlaw abortion – even in cases of rape and incest? Why else would he propose a health care plan that actually taxes your health care benefits for the first time in history and gives insurance companies free reign to discriminate against women with histories of breast cancer and heart diseases and other illnesses? He must not know!”
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Articles found September 23, 2008
Wake up, America
Susan Kerins, North Pole Published Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Article Link
To the editor:
Thank you to Ken Peterson! He has stated what I have been trying to tell people all along. You all believe so much in Obama. He is not for America, he is for himself and he will turncoat on America the first chance he has.
If you live in Alaska, then you know that Alaska is bigger than any state in the Lower 48. So I would say Sara Palin has plenty of experience governing a large area. And yes, Bush was wrong, but I will not blame McCain for that. If you had one bad waitress, would you blame all of them?
Obama is racist, in his own words. From his book. He is merely telling you all what you want to hear!
A true American will, in fact, want someone in office that is for our country. He has not once that I have seen (and this is my opinion) thanked our men and women in the armed forces enough for their duty and sacrifice.
He is constantly, like McCain, talking about energy and reform. Our economy is crumbling and everyone is worried about the first female vice president or first black American president. Has he mentioned one thing about our issues with Russia? So far, I only have heard Sarah Palin’s input on them. Russia is landing jets in Venezuela right now. Did he comment on our safety for that? When confronted about his books, he changes the subject. When asked about everything he states by his own mouth in these two books, he denies, and this is someone you all want as the president of our country?
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Hunt for Palin hacker shaping up to be simple case
23. September 2008, 10:10 Uhr
Article Link
The hunt for the hacker who broke into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account is shaping up to be a remarkably simple investigation, by the standards of major cybersecurity whodunits.
U.S. investigators figure the hacker claimed responsibility in a detailed accounting that included his own personal e-mail address and that he tried to cover his trail using a U.S. Internet anonymity service that has been surprisingly cooperative
More on link
Palin 'ready to cooperate' in firing probe, lawyer says
Article Link
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's lawyer met Monday with the independent counsel hired by the state to discuss the investigation into Palin's firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner, campaign officials said
Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has been battling allegations she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan for improper reasons in July.
Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, met with special counsel Timothy Petumenos to discuss documents and witness interviews, campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.
Stapleton was asked whether Palin would agree to be interviewed by the special counsel. "If necessary and Mr. Petumenos wants it, absolutely," Stapleton replied.
"We believe and expect Mr. Petumenos has demonstrated that he is fair and impartial and is searching for the truth and facts behind Monegan's reassignment," Stapleton said. "The governor stands ready to cooperate."
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Sarah Palin Takes Manhattan
Sits down with Foreign Leaders, Policy Experts and a Rock Star
By KAREN TRAVERS and RIGEL ANDERSON September 22, 2008
Article Link
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's coming out party on the world stage kicks off tomorrow with a series of meetings with the types of foreign leaders she would regularly interact with as vice president, ABC News' Imtiyaz Delawala reports.
Palin sits down with foreign leaders (and one rock star) in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.
Sarah Palin will be in New York to have meetings with world leaders.
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The speech Sarah Palin would have given today
Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise." -- Sarah Palin, 22 September 2008
Article Link
I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country — leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.
Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York — to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan — and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.
Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.
The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" — the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman — not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.
The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.
The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.
So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.
If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons — they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.
But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.
Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.
It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.
If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested
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Wake up, America
Susan Kerins, North Pole Published Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Article Link
To the editor:
Thank you to Ken Peterson! He has stated what I have been trying to tell people all along. You all believe so much in Obama. He is not for America, he is for himself and he will turncoat on America the first chance he has.
If you live in Alaska, then you know that Alaska is bigger than any state in the Lower 48. So I would say Sara Palin has plenty of experience governing a large area. And yes, Bush was wrong, but I will not blame McCain for that. If you had one bad waitress, would you blame all of them?
Obama is racist, in his own words. From his book. He is merely telling you all what you want to hear!
A true American will, in fact, want someone in office that is for our country. He has not once that I have seen (and this is my opinion) thanked our men and women in the armed forces enough for their duty and sacrifice.
He is constantly, like McCain, talking about energy and reform. Our economy is crumbling and everyone is worried about the first female vice president or first black American president. Has he mentioned one thing about our issues with Russia? So far, I only have heard Sarah Palin’s input on them. Russia is landing jets in Venezuela right now. Did he comment on our safety for that? When confronted about his books, he changes the subject. When asked about everything he states by his own mouth in these two books, he denies, and this is someone you all want as the president of our country?
More on link
Hunt for Palin hacker shaping up to be simple case
23. September 2008, 10:10 Uhr
Article Link
The hunt for the hacker who broke into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account is shaping up to be a remarkably simple investigation, by the standards of major cybersecurity whodunits.
U.S. investigators figure the hacker claimed responsibility in a detailed accounting that included his own personal e-mail address and that he tried to cover his trail using a U.S. Internet anonymity service that has been surprisingly cooperative
More on link
Palin 'ready to cooperate' in firing probe, lawyer says
Article Link
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's lawyer met Monday with the independent counsel hired by the state to discuss the investigation into Palin's firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner, campaign officials said
Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has been battling allegations she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan for improper reasons in July.
Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, met with special counsel Timothy Petumenos to discuss documents and witness interviews, campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.
Stapleton was asked whether Palin would agree to be interviewed by the special counsel. "If necessary and Mr. Petumenos wants it, absolutely," Stapleton replied.
"We believe and expect Mr. Petumenos has demonstrated that he is fair and impartial and is searching for the truth and facts behind Monegan's reassignment," Stapleton said. "The governor stands ready to cooperate."
More on link
Sarah Palin Takes Manhattan
Sits down with Foreign Leaders, Policy Experts and a Rock Star
By KAREN TRAVERS and RIGEL ANDERSON September 22, 2008
Article Link
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's coming out party on the world stage kicks off tomorrow with a series of meetings with the types of foreign leaders she would regularly interact with as vice president, ABC News' Imtiyaz Delawala reports.
Palin sits down with foreign leaders (and one rock star) in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.
Sarah Palin will be in New York to have meetings with world leaders.
More on link
The speech Sarah Palin would have given today
Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise." -- Sarah Palin, 22 September 2008
Article Link
I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country — leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.
Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York — to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan — and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.
Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.
The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" — the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman — not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.
The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.
The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.
So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.
If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons — they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.
But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.
Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.
It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.
If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.
If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested
More on link
Tina Fey As Sarah Palin: Amy Poehler As Katie Couric SNL Skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFpAPyq4fA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFpAPyq4fA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8__aXxXPVc
An interesting clip, however with all the cut shots of Curic I wonder how many edits were made to it. Either way, Palin's answer reminds me of Miss South Carolina from a couple years back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
An interesting clip, however with all the cut shots of Curic I wonder how many edits were made to it. Either way, Palin's answer reminds me of Miss South Carolina from a couple years back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
I wish I could find the link, but there are even conservative pundits calling on Palin to withdraw. She's in so far over her head. While there surely was a lot of edits in the CBS interview, and I'd love to see the transcripts of the entire thing, it seems clear to me that Palin can't stray much from talking points. In the Presidential debate I think Barack Obama came off a lot better than McCain, but it was fairly equal (and as a sidenote, I wish our debates were as dignified and pleasant to watch as that was), but I think Biden is just going to take Palin right to school. It's going to be ugly, I think.
The Struggles of Sarah Palin
02 Oct 2008 10:33 am
Article Link
What's been interesting - in a watching-from-behind-your-hands sort of way, if you're a conservative who wishes her well - about Palin's interviews with Charlie Gibson and especially Katie Couric is the way they've provided examples of almost every single way that an inexperienced politician can struggle in the media spotlight. Most of the attention has focused, justly, on Palin's flat-out incoherent answers to some of Couric's questions, and her difficulties deflecting obvious "gotcha" situations (Gibson on the Bush Doctrine, Couric asking what newspapers she reads and asking her to name non-Roe Supreme Court decisions with which she disagrees, etc.). But there are other, more subtle dynamics at work as well. In the Gibson interview, as a number of people pointed out, there was her tendency to answer directly in situations where a more practiced pol would obfuscate a bit. (Her response on whether bringing Georgia into NATO would require going to war with Russia, for instance, was a classic case of giving a straightforward answer where a little "the goal is to make sure it wouldn't come to that, Charlie" would have gone a long way - even if her straightforwardness was a refreshing reminder of why putting Georgia into NATO might not be such a hot idea.) And in both interviews, there was an inability to make the talking points she's obviously been forced to memorize in a hurry sound smooth and spontaneous, rather than rote and overrehearsed - or in the case of the whole "Russia is close to Alaska" fiasco (and whichever McCain aide is responsible for that piece of idiocy should never, ever work in politics again), to make deeply stupid talking points sound semi-plausible, rather than, well, deeply stupid.
But her struggles with Couric's questions about Roe and the right to privacy are perhaps the most telling - not just because of how Palin answered them, but because of how Biden answered a similar question. As Ramesh and Yuval point out, judged purely on substance, Biden's answer was much more of a hash than Palin's statement that she believes in a right to privacy but opposes Roe. (This is not, repeat not, an inconsistent position.) But Biden couched his answer in terms that made it sound like he possessed deep knowledge on the issue (as I'm sure he thinks he does), whereas Palin's response made it clear that she did not. And where media appearances are concerned, that makes an enormous difference.
For those conservatives who claim to see no problems with Palin's performance, of course, this is precisely what's so outrageous about the anti-Palin backlash: She's being judged, they complain, less on her record and her positions than on her ability to BS her way through "gotcha" questions from hostile interviewers, and she's being found wanting because she isn't as practiced in the art of the on-air dodge as more experienced politicians. (Thus Joe Carter's pro-Palin complaint, for instance, that he "cannot make the leap in logic required to believe that proficiency on television is evidence of capable leadership.")
I think this view is wrong for several reasons: Because Palin's relatively limited record in politics magnifies the importance of her public comments for anyone who's trying to get a handle on who this woman is and whether she's ready for high office; because her performance has been so comprehensively lousy that it has to reflect, to some degree, on her knowledge base and her understanding of policy as well as on her TV chops; and because like it or not, "proficiency on television" is simply a prerequisite for capable leadership in a mass democracy. But there's a sense in which the apologists for her performance are getting something right: In the process of performing very, very badly on national television, Palin is holding up a mirror to the rest of the political world, and revealing how the mix of talking points, bluster, obfuscation and BS that nearly all national politicians traffic in as a matter of course sounds when it's filtered through someone who isn't practiced in it, and isn't ready for the spotlight. Her performances reflect badly on her readiness for the vice presidency, no question - but they reflect badly on our whole compromised, spin-happy political class as well.
More on link
02 Oct 2008 10:33 am
Article Link
What's been interesting - in a watching-from-behind-your-hands sort of way, if you're a conservative who wishes her well - about Palin's interviews with Charlie Gibson and especially Katie Couric is the way they've provided examples of almost every single way that an inexperienced politician can struggle in the media spotlight. Most of the attention has focused, justly, on Palin's flat-out incoherent answers to some of Couric's questions, and her difficulties deflecting obvious "gotcha" situations (Gibson on the Bush Doctrine, Couric asking what newspapers she reads and asking her to name non-Roe Supreme Court decisions with which she disagrees, etc.). But there are other, more subtle dynamics at work as well. In the Gibson interview, as a number of people pointed out, there was her tendency to answer directly in situations where a more practiced pol would obfuscate a bit. (Her response on whether bringing Georgia into NATO would require going to war with Russia, for instance, was a classic case of giving a straightforward answer where a little "the goal is to make sure it wouldn't come to that, Charlie" would have gone a long way - even if her straightforwardness was a refreshing reminder of why putting Georgia into NATO might not be such a hot idea.) And in both interviews, there was an inability to make the talking points she's obviously been forced to memorize in a hurry sound smooth and spontaneous, rather than rote and overrehearsed - or in the case of the whole "Russia is close to Alaska" fiasco (and whichever McCain aide is responsible for that piece of idiocy should never, ever work in politics again), to make deeply stupid talking points sound semi-plausible, rather than, well, deeply stupid.
But her struggles with Couric's questions about Roe and the right to privacy are perhaps the most telling - not just because of how Palin answered them, but because of how Biden answered a similar question. As Ramesh and Yuval point out, judged purely on substance, Biden's answer was much more of a hash than Palin's statement that she believes in a right to privacy but opposes Roe. (This is not, repeat not, an inconsistent position.) But Biden couched his answer in terms that made it sound like he possessed deep knowledge on the issue (as I'm sure he thinks he does), whereas Palin's response made it clear that she did not. And where media appearances are concerned, that makes an enormous difference.
For those conservatives who claim to see no problems with Palin's performance, of course, this is precisely what's so outrageous about the anti-Palin backlash: She's being judged, they complain, less on her record and her positions than on her ability to BS her way through "gotcha" questions from hostile interviewers, and she's being found wanting because she isn't as practiced in the art of the on-air dodge as more experienced politicians. (Thus Joe Carter's pro-Palin complaint, for instance, that he "cannot make the leap in logic required to believe that proficiency on television is evidence of capable leadership.")
I think this view is wrong for several reasons: Because Palin's relatively limited record in politics magnifies the importance of her public comments for anyone who's trying to get a handle on who this woman is and whether she's ready for high office; because her performance has been so comprehensively lousy that it has to reflect, to some degree, on her knowledge base and her understanding of policy as well as on her TV chops; and because like it or not, "proficiency on television" is simply a prerequisite for capable leadership in a mass democracy. But there's a sense in which the apologists for her performance are getting something right: In the process of performing very, very badly on national television, Palin is holding up a mirror to the rest of the political world, and revealing how the mix of talking points, bluster, obfuscation and BS that nearly all national politicians traffic in as a matter of course sounds when it's filtered through someone who isn't practiced in it, and isn't ready for the spotlight. Her performances reflect badly on her readiness for the vice presidency, no question - but they reflect badly on our whole compromised, spin-happy political class as well.
More on link
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
- Reaction score
- 12,486
- Points
- 1,140
I think she's hot. There!! :
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 430
Can someone help me with this? Do you say her last name as Pay-Lin, or Pal-lin?
Beav
Beav
- Reaction score
- 1,332
- Points
- 1,260
Hasn't this guy already had his 15 minutes?
Levi Johnston, best known as “the guy who knocked up Sarah Palin’s daughter,” will be posing nude ( showing off his "Johnson" ) in a photo shoot for Playgirl magazine.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://yeeeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/sarah-palin-porn-08.thumbnail.jpg&imgrefurl=http://yeeeah.com/tag/sarah-palin/&usg=__CcNUqnHcnTAGp0eK-SUAta47FDM=&h=795&w=530&sz=55&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=VhqakZrXtfTiqM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dold%2Bman%2Blisa%2Bporn%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GBfficial%26hs%3DCrn%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
Levi Johnston, best known as “the guy who knocked up Sarah Palin’s daughter,” will be posing nude ( showing off his "Johnson" ) in a photo shoot for Playgirl magazine.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://yeeeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/sarah-palin-porn-08.thumbnail.jpg&imgrefurl=http://yeeeah.com/tag/sarah-palin/&usg=__CcNUqnHcnTAGp0eK-SUAta47FDM=&h=795&w=530&sz=55&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=VhqakZrXtfTiqM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dold%2Bman%2Blisa%2Bporn%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB
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