The cover of next week’s Newsweek features a picture of Sarah Palin, along with the headline “How do you solve a problem like Sarah?” The cover is one more example of the periodical’s positioning itself as the ideas journal for people who think that the New York Times’ in-house editorials are middle-of-road, but have too many big words. And of the magazine’s cultural disconnect from much of the United States.
To wit: “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” is an early song in The Sound of Music, which won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Picture. In the song, several nuns at an abbey in the Austrian mountains summarize the problems with the novice Maria (Julie Andrews): Maria is too physically active, athletic and outdoorsy. She is too expressive emotionally, particularly about her happiness. She is flighty, and late for everything except meals. She has a good heart, but does not listen well to advice from her elders, and she is highly self-directed: “How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?” The harsh nun, Berthe, calls Maria “a headache” and “a demon.” Newsweek’s subhead take’s Berthe’s role, calling Palin “bad news for the GOP–and everyone else too.”
The Mother Superior knows better: Maria is no bad-news demon. Rather, Maria is someone who lives the Good News, and whose talents, energy, and will-power are going to waste in the abbey. So she ships Maria off to a job outside the abbey–a job for which Maria is totally unprepared, and a job at which Maria’s predecessors have failed. After a rough start, Maria becomes a great success, due to her common sense, kind heart, wisdom, and readiness to defy convention. In the process, Maria also stands up to foreign totalitarian aggressors (winning the support of even her staunch critic Berthe), fortifies the nationalist sentiments of her country against those aggressors, and leads the people in her care to safety and freedom.
Ergo, the question “How do you solve a problem like Sarah?’ provides its own answer, at least to people who know the film from which the song comes: Make her the President of the United States.
I’m not arguing for or against Palin for President–just observing that, as is so often the case, the Palin-hating media are less clever than they think, and end up inadvertently making her stronger.
B.D. says:
Palin as Republican nominee in 2012 is a Democratic wetdream. She’s an embarrassing national joke that many conservatives—including me—wish would go away.
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November 14, 2009, 5:52 pmProf. S. says:
Here I thought the answer was going to be to make her live with a governor, raise his kids, and then flee to the mountains in the dead of night.
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November 14, 2009, 5:52 pmRyan Waxx says:
She’s more qualified than Obama was.
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November 14, 2009, 5:54 pmjosh bornstein says:
I think, as a group, we can come up with a kick-ass list of “Top 10 quotes edited out of ‘The Sounds of Music’” i.e., things that Maria (or other characters) would have said, if Sarah Palin had been the star of the movie.
My contributions:
1. Maria: I can see Nazi Germany from my house.
2. Maria [sung]: ... Abortion restrictions and low income taxes. The best US president?–our last one from Texas.
Gun rights expansions forced on the Left Wing. These are a few of my favorite things.
[DK: Although I agree with some comments critical about #1, I think #2 is pretty funny, and if I could still award a Green Border, I would. I wish that this comment thread had more “Sound of Music” in it, and less of the Palin vs. Anti-Palin (and derivative pro/anti Obama/Biden) material. One can read pro/con Palin anywhere, but a good comment thread on “The Sound of Music” is rarer.]
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November 14, 2009, 6:01 pmLester Hunt says:
Before she can be a good candidate, Sarah has a lot of reputation-damage (the worst of it inflicted by herself) to repair, and a lot of learning to do. Whether she has the talent and humility needed to do these things remains to be seen.
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November 14, 2009, 6:06 pmB.D. says:
Eh, she was more EXPERIENCED than Obama. But experience is just one factor when assessing qualifications.
Obama may be inexperienced and naive and laughably thin-skinned, and his instincts may be worryingly leftist and statist . . . but he is clearly smarter and more disciplined than Palin. The best thing she had going for her was that she was running for VP, and not President.
Don’t get me wrong, if President McCain died, she would have been a reliable veto on the absurd congressional Democratic agenda. But she is still the most ridiculously unqualified major party candidate in my lifetime.
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November 14, 2009, 6:06 pmCornellian says:
She’s more qualified than Obama was.
Awesome, that can be her slogan in 2012 — “more qualified than you were in 2008.”
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November 14, 2009, 6:08 pmMithras says:
They can’t win, David. If they strike her down, she shall become more powerful than they could possibly imagine.
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November 14, 2009, 6:14 pmRoger J. Buffington says:
Very well said indeed. Yes, Sarah lives the Good News.
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November 14, 2009, 6:15 pmDarleen says:
Maria: I can see Nazi Germany from my house
makes me giggle that people attempting to criticize Palin don’t have the brains enough to separate her from Tina Fey.
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November 14, 2009, 6:20 pmRichard Romano says:
I have a feeling your conservative bonafides are suspect — why did you have to throw in the qualifier (many conservatives including me)? That’s always a dead give-away.
Palin has not announced any ambition for office — you’re just engaging in a rarified form of self-congratulation.
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November 14, 2009, 6:20 pmRichard Romano says:
That won’t be her slogan moron — nice try though. If anyone is still living in 2008, it’s robotic Obamaites like yourself.
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November 14, 2009, 6:24 pmSoronel Haetir says:
I see no way Palin gets the 2012 nomination. The way she quit here in AK just stinks. She’ll make a fine TV personality after the speaking engagements run dry.
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November 14, 2009, 6:25 pmBD= Concern Troll says:
Thanks for your ....concern....
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November 14, 2009, 6:25 pmneurodoc says:
Painful prospect for those, like me, who would like to be able to vote Republican without grave misgivings. Better Caligula’s horse, Incitatus, even from the dead.
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November 14, 2009, 6:25 pmTCO says:
She killed herself with supporting the bailout in 2008 as did the Republican party as a whole. She really can’t even run as a maverick.
I think she has a lot more balls than the stuffed shirts that the GOP is full of. She’s a genuine citizen. But she’s not going to get it done. She’s over nationally. The best she can hope for is to influence the debate (which is a worthy thing).
The Republicans (K street pussies) still are honestly, more concerned with winning than with advancing policies. They’ll say that they want to win to advance policies...but don’t beleive them. We did better on a lower spending government under a hamstrung Clinton, than under Bush. As a true conservative who cares about the results, that feels good. But for the “want to win the horserace” maggots (which deserve to be physically hazed and are usually chickenhawks), they preferred the Bush time, because all they cared about was how many positions had an R in there.
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November 14, 2009, 6:27 pmRogervzv says:
I like Sarah Palin and respect her, but she is not my choice for the Republic nominee for President in 2012.
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November 14, 2009, 6:28 pmSoronel Haetir = Hey Look Another Astroturf Concern Troll says:
She quit in AK to stop the attacks on her family by the liberal lynch-mob.
If you had a family you had any concern for you would have done the same thing .
For Conservatives , family always trumps politics.
As a non conservative Axelrod –bot , you wouldn’t understand.
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November 14, 2009, 6:29 pmSuperSkeptic says:
Is it not obvious that she was a vain and desperate attempt by McCain to throw a bone to the ladies to lure them from Obama (and offset his “historicalness” and “rally-the-base”) and never anything of serious value? All of this backfired.
...and the winking...
Why am I still hearing about this woman?
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November 14, 2009, 6:30 pmsherlock says:
In my opinion, anyone who isn’t incensed by the treatment accorded Ms. Palin by the self-proclaimed watchdogs of the media, especially when contrasted with the free ride given to Mr. Obama, simply has no sense of fairness worth arguing with.
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November 14, 2009, 6:31 pmTCO says:
It doesn’t surprise me to see the Newsweek cover though. The AP news blurbs that run on the Yahoo email welcome screen had a relentless anti-Palin drumbeat during the election. Now, they are running one ‘FACTCHECK: Palin book has wrong facts’. I’ve never seen them run such a blatant piece of analysis/editorial in the past. And certainly no “factchecks” on any liberals.
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November 14, 2009, 6:31 pmsection9 says:
TCO:
Actually, TCO, she did that because that’s what second fiddles do-you do what the boss wants you to do. It wasn’t her campaign. VP’s support what the POTUS candidate calls for.
As to your contention about the GOP, you are dead-on-it’s Clown Shoes City over there, which is why I suspect Palin will be far stronger than you imagine. She did the extremely smart thing of separating herself from the Washington GOP and its lobbyists, just as the Obama Administration settled down to dine on their turn at the fatted pork.
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November 14, 2009, 6:35 pmTony S says:
So we were told by the media that John Edwards was right for the country. We were told that Biden was a strong, intelligent candidate for president. Yes, the same Joe Biden that beclowned himself countless times as a Senator, and many more times as a candidate. We were told that Al Gore had Gravitas, which made him a shoe-in for president. Even ‘Crazy’ Dennis Kicunich had positive press throughout his campaign. And don’t forget how much racism was displayed against Obama in 2008 by his own democratic ‘friends’ who supported Hillary or Biden.
Yet we’re made to believe that Sarah Palin was the worst candidate to ever run for office.
Biased, agenda driven sexism is now the cornerstone for the modern media in the U.S. Had Palin put a (D-AK) next to her name she would have been hailed a hero to the masses. Instead, the (R-AK) label magically transformed her into lunatic, and her gender made her a target for sexism by the press just as Obama’s race made him a target for racism by his own party during the primaries.
Why is it that when the Democratic party has a solid leader running for office the Conservative candidate respectfully debates him or her on the issues, yet when Republican runs for anything they are degraded, defiled, and ridiculed?
The idea that the Dems are the party of inclusion and diversity is a pathetic joke. They were the party that fought for decades against equality and civil rights for minorities. Funny how we ignore history.
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November 14, 2009, 6:37 pmRJ says:
Sarah Palin was a fine Governor. She would have made a fine Vice President. I don’t particularly want her to run for President in 2012, however. She’s not wonkish enough, and the MSM has successfully portrayed her as a moron to the average swing voter.
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November 14, 2009, 6:38 pmBruce Hayden says:
I don’t see this at all. Maybe he is, and maybe he isn’t. If we saw his SATs, LSATs, and college grades, then, maybe it might become obvious. But so far? I think about all we can say about President Obama is that he is economically illiterate and over his head in trying to run this country.
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November 14, 2009, 6:42 pmAbe Froman says:
I’m not particularly impressed by Palin. But how can you not love someone who drives the left absolutely insane? Their obsession with her is rather demented and creepy. She is their hatred of conservatives fully on the table. She is their dweeb’s revenge on the popular girl from high school leaving the realm of fantasy. She is the ultimate manifestation of their by any means necessary ethic.
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November 14, 2009, 6:42 pmSuperSkeptic says:
Until she quit, of course.
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November 14, 2009, 6:43 pmAaron says:
Unlike Obama, she will never bow to foreign leaders or denigrate this nation. Those who hate Palin are just showing their hatred of independent women and their hatred of America.
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November 14, 2009, 6:45 pmB.D. says:
Do you still have that feeling?
Obama may be inexperienced and naive and laughably thin-skinned, and his instincts may be worryingly leftist and statist . . . but he is clearly smarter and more disciplined than Palin. The best thing she had going for her was that she was running for VP, and not President.
Don’t get me wrong, if President McCain died, she would have been a reliable veto on the absurd congressional Democratic agenda. But she is still the most ridiculously unqualified major party candidate in my lifetime.
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November 14, 2009, 6:47 pmCato The Elder says:
I’m not a fan of the Carrie Prejean/Sarah Palin GOP; I say that as a rock-ribbed conservative. I think it’s fine, even helpful, for their sort of populism to be played about as a sort of freelance operation, but I would be intensely wary of placing them at the seat of official power. I’m not a huge fan of the hyper-educated class — they can be annoyingly cloistered from reality on the ground — but the fact of the matter is that culture-warriors like her turn them off, and this is politically dangerous in an age where more and more power of all kinds is being invested in the highly educated (cf. our 31 year old YLS GM “czar”.) Recently, I’ve felt that many normally sober conservative commentators have become positively doe-eyed when talking about Palin and her advantages to the GOP; part of it is because she’s a woman, I think. I think it is her 1) relative attractiveness, 2) the chivalrous instinct that conservatives look upon more favorably than leftists, and 3) the tendency of men in elite professions to sometimes elevate the aptitude of the rare women they encounter beyond the merits as a sort of “competition” and 4) plain-old political vulnerability in conceding the point, that causes this.
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November 14, 2009, 6:48 pmMichael J. Myers says:
Let me see now; the last two successful Democrat candidates for President (other than the current Mr. Wonderful)had been governors of a small state. That was the highest office they’d held–and they were deemed qualified. So what’s the beef with Sarah B.D.?
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November 14, 2009, 6:52 pmtroll_dc2 says:
1. Palin is a demagogue-in-training.
2. She is stupid for criticizing Gibson and Couric for how they conducted their interviews. She messed up those opportunities. If she wants to play in the big time, she cannot shift the blame.
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November 14, 2009, 6:53 pmDangerMouse says:
Tony & Abe,
You guys nailed it. That’s why Palin is their worst nightmare. Libs, in general, don’t do subtlety. They see Palin, they shriek like a vampire sees a crucifix (actually, libs do that when they see a crucifix too).
Libs hate women who stray from the accepted political line. That’s why Liz Cheney also drives them batshit insane.
What’s more cynical about that Newsweek cover? That they’re using Palin’s awesome charisma in her sexy Runner’s Magazine pose on the cover to sell magazines, or that they’re trying to piggyback on her book debut to sell magazines?
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November 14, 2009, 6:54 pmpunditius says:
All I know is that if Sarah runs, I’ll vote for her.
Reagan in a skirt.
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November 14, 2009, 6:56 pmMalvolio says:
Let me see.
We’re coming off of eight years of unpopular Republican rule, when the president managed to combine an embarrassingly leftist expansion of the government with a huge and not-very-popular war overseas and suspicion of corruption.
His Democratic replacement has squandered his own popularity with vacillation, shows of military weakness, and inability to bolster the faltering economy.
The new front-runner is a conservative lion, a former Western governor derided as an inarticulate moron by the media and lamented by GOP wets as inexperienced and too right-wing for America.
I haven’t been this cheerful since 1980.
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November 14, 2009, 6:57 pmDangerMouse says:
troll,
1. Yeah, it’s not like the President of the United States uses nasty language at all.
2. Yeah, it’s not like the President of the United States would ever slam the media....
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November 14, 2009, 6:58 pmepobirs says:
B.D.,
Please offer some evidence that Obama is smarter than, well, anybody. All I’ve seen him display is a cunning for reaching a series of elected office by eliminating the competition rather than beating them in the polling booths. Last year was his first genuine campagn and it still relied on some despicable practices. Further, this man has gone to great lengths to avoid any public documentation of his academic record. We know less about this man’s schoolwork than any President in my lifetime and a good many before. I can more easily find out how Teddy Rosevelt did in school than Barack Obama.
So far, this administration has been defined by the question ‘stupid or evil?’ Worse, they may be both.
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November 14, 2009, 7:00 pmbyomtov says:
the Palin-hating media are less clever than they think,
True also of the Palin-loving media.
anyone who isn’t incensed by the treatment accorded Ms. Palin by the self-proclaimed watchdogs of the media,
Palin acts like an idiot, and it’s the fault of the media for reporting it?
She quit in AK to stop the attacks on her family by the liberal lynch-mob.
Lynch mob? She’s the one who dragged her family onto the stage. No one else. And Levi and Bristol were just so deeply in love...
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November 14, 2009, 7:00 pmMCM says:
Sounds pretty smart to me. Guess you answered your own question there.
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November 14, 2009, 7:01 pmDavid Welker says:
I blame John McCain. What was he thinking?
Sarah Palin is a bit on the ignorant side. She definitely was not and is not qualified to be Vice President. Nor will she ever be qualified in all probability. But she isn’t unlikeable.
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November 14, 2009, 7:05 pmBenP says:
ITT: Conservatives portray how they think liberals think about Sarah Palin.
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November 14, 2009, 7:05 pmDangerMouse says:
This “Palin isn’t qualified to be Vice President” line is hilarious. JOE BIDEN is vice president, in case you haven’t noticed. Joe Biden, who probably isn’t qualified to tie his shoes. Sarah Palin, or Joe Biden? Yeah, I thought so.
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November 14, 2009, 7:07 pmSpartan79 says:
B.D.: But she is still the most ridiculously unqualified major party candidate in my lifetime.
Actually, B.D., the most rediculously unqualified major party candidate in your lifetime actually won last year. America lost. Go back to trolling somewhere else.
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November 14, 2009, 7:10 pmrpt says:
For [some] conservatives, the chance to walk away from responsibility and a real job and make a lot of easy money always trumps family.
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November 14, 2009, 7:12 pmrpt says:
John McCain was “eliminated?” Who knew?
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November 14, 2009, 7:13 pmSuperSkeptic says:
That’s “manipulative,” not “smart” in the sense that’s being used here.
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November 14, 2009, 7:14 pmAbe Froman says:
True also of the Palin-loving media.
When the leftist dweebs are in full-blown attack mode it is a natural impulse to be protective. It isn’t like FOX “fact checks” Saturday Night Live skits.
Palin acts like an idiot, and it’s the fault of the media for reporting it?
We just giggle when Biden says moronic things on a daily basis. It is Muzak. We snicker when Obama says idiotic things. But the left is deeply, emotionally invested in a narrative about Palin. And why not, it is their baby.
Lynch mob? She’s the one who dragged her family onto the stage. No one else. And Levi and Bristol were just so deeply in love...
Yeah. She’s the first candidate to bring her kids on the campaign trail. But thanks for this response as it reveals just how much of an emotion-driven left-wing child you are.
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November 14, 2009, 7:15 pmChristopher Johnson says:
Let’s put it this way. You don’t spend that much time and effort denigrating someone unless you perceive that person to be a serious threat. The only reason LefistOpinionWeak ran that cover is because it knows how strong Governor Palin is with the people and it’s terrified. As for the alleged intelligence of the current occupant the White House, I have yet to see any evidence that that Chicago machine hack knows how to do much of anything useful or beneficial for anyone other than himself.
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November 14, 2009, 7:15 pmCato The Elder says:
BTW, I’d love to see a defense of the Levi Johnston/Bristol Palin brouhaha; don’t others agree with me that if you’re going to run a social conservative plank, you shouldn’t allow an out-of-wedlock pregnancy to turn into a train-wreck played out on the national stage? At what point can we scream “hypocrisy”? Personally, nothing turns me off politicians so much as their everyday hypocrisy.
I also agree with the Left that Obama would have had hell to pay if he ever allowed his family to get out of control as she did.
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November 14, 2009, 7:17 pmDavid Welker says:
DangerMouse,
Joe Biden is qualified to be Vice President or President. Just because you personally don’t like him means you would prefer he not occupy that position, not that he isn’t qualified. Joe Biden knows a lot about foreign affairs and has been in positions of serious responsibility in the U.S. Senate.
In contrast, Sarah Palin is clearly unqualified. She intellectually vacuous in terms of both style and substance.
I am not saying this merely because I wouldn’t vote for Sarah Palin. I wouldn’t vote for Mitt Romney either. But I don’t doubt he is qualified to be President.
Anyway, your whole argument is logically unsound. If you think that Joe Biden isn’t qualified, how exactly does that make Sarah Palin qualified? Answer: It doesn’t.
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November 14, 2009, 7:18 pmrpt says:
I suppose you voted for John McCain: bottom of the class, etc.? Who knew that Columbia and HLS were such badges of academic inferiority?
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November 14, 2009, 7:18 pmtamerlane says:
Evidence? Away from a teleprompter his public utterances have been inept and — at best — embarrassing. As others here have pointed out, he has gone to unusual lengths to keep his academic records from public scrutiny. There’s some persuasive evidence that his two “autobiographies” were ghost written (just like “Profiles in Courage”). His campaigns were run by a cabal that created him not, as is usual, the other way round. His “private sector” jobs were standard just-out-of-school hackery and, later, appointments to place-holder positions in foundations that appear to have been gotten for him by political supporters. I’m not sure which is more frightening–the utter lack of any real evidence of Obama’s capabilities or the clear evidence that his career has been supported and run by a shady group of political opportunists.
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November 14, 2009, 7:19 pmRonald McDonald says:
“She’s more qualified than Obama was.”
Yeah well, so am I. Better public speaker, too.
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November 14, 2009, 7:20 pmCato The Elder says:
Of course the liberal media is debased and hypocritical; that isn’t the point here, conservatives have known that for a long time, Palin didn’t prove it. A broken clock is right twice a day — the real question, is Palin a good spokesman nationally for the GOP? I think the answer is clearly “No”, even outside of the biased reporting.
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November 14, 2009, 7:22 pmbyomtov says:
It isn’t like FOX “fact checks” Saturday Night Live skits.
Fox doesn’t even fact-check Fox. They say whatever they feel like.
She’s the first candidate to bring her kids on the campaign trail.
Of course not. But she put them front and center in way that many candidates avoid.
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November 14, 2009, 7:23 pmDangerMouse says:
Anyway, your whole argument is logically unsound. If you think that Joe Biden isn’t qualified, how exactly does that make Sarah Palin qualified? Answer: It doesn’t.
Libs love the “hypocrisy” argument, which is why they’re still doing investigations into the status of Palin’s uterus and whether Trig is really her baby. So when they claim that Palin isn’t qualified to be VP, all you have to do is mention Joe Biden and then they’re forced to defend Biden’s stupidity (as you try to do) or to admit the hypocrisy. The reason this argument is worthwhile is that it shows that libs don’t give a crap about qualifications, since they have Joe Biden as their guy.
What makes you think I “personally” don’t like Biden, anyway? Actually, he seems like a nice guy (as opposed to the Narcissist-in-chief). But despite his pleasant personality, Biden is clearly a moron.
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November 14, 2009, 7:25 pmMathMom says:
. . . but he is clearly smarter and more disciplined than Palin.
Uh, Obama was given a $40,000 advance to write a book about his tenure as The First Black Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He went on vacation to Bali for several months, ostensibly to write, blew the money, and came home without money and without a book. Some fool got him another book deal. He became “hopelessly blocked” when trying to write, not about the Harvard Law Review, but about himself. So, his wife told him to take his boxes of notes and other materials to Bill Ayers, “just a guy in his neighborhood”, and Ayers cranked out a memoir that eventually gave Obama the reputation of being a writer. Ayers has now claimed authorship of the book, twice, and has asked for someone to prove it so he can have royalties. Both times he made his claim to conservatives, because he knows they won’t cover for Obama. This is a story that is not finished.
Sarah Palin’s book was due out in March, but with her ghost writer (Palin is not pretending to write the book alone), Palin finished early, by several months. It comes out next week.
More disciplined? I think not. He didn’t finish his book on his first try, didn’t finish it on his second try, and in all cases was late. Palin is ahead of schedule and under budget.
So...clearly smarter? Uh, no. When his teleprompter stops, he stands there slack-jawed as if the electric cord to his brain has been unexpectedly pulled out of the wall socket. When Palin’s teleprompter failed several times at the RNC, she simply went to her notes and continued unfazed.
Do not underestimate Palin. I did not think she was truly ready to be president when McCain picked her, but I believe in her ability to learn fast. If she gets the nomination, she has my vote.
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November 14, 2009, 7:25 pmDangerMouse says:
Of course not. But she put them front and center in way that many candidates avoid.
Yeah, it’s not like Obama brought his kids on stage at the Democratic National Convention. Oh, wait...
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November 14, 2009, 7:27 pmNIck056 says:
David,
You seriously present the idea that alluding to The Sound of Music in the header creates an association that winds up “inadvertently making [Palin] stronger.”
Let’s repeat that: because Newsweek chose to reference a popular movie in its coverpiece on Palin, people are likely to see Palin as some kind of Maria — sharing her attributes. Therefore, Newsweek is less clever than it thinks it is.
No, you are, because the above assertion is nonsense. Newsweek alluded to the movie because both concerned women who stir controversy; neither Newsweek nor its readers are particularly likely to feel that the comparison must be, or ought to be, extended any further. This kind of limited allusion happens frequently — especially in copy meant to be eye-catching. People know this. You don’t, because you’re too busy writing books that mention Heidegger despite knowing ‘little’ about him.
Some advice, David. A reasonable post would’ve extended the comparison and said, tongue-in-cheek, “if only Newsweek knew what it was really suggesting. Ha!” Instead, you actually made the serious observation that Newsweek inadvertedly made Palin stronger with that leader. Why make such an absurd claim?
[DK: Since neither of us know the future, including the effect of Newsweek’s Sarah-as-Maria cover, my post is my prediction. Probably most people who read the issue will accept whatever the article tells them; at least a few may ruminate over the Sound of Music allusion, and think there is some comparison between the two characters, who are both rougish and naive.
More importantly, the Newsweek cover reaches a much larger audience than the Newsweek articles. There are millions of people who will see the cover, and never read the magazine. Most will never give it a second thought; those that do will think of their own comparisons of Maria and Sarah. Anytime somebody starts spending time making a mental list of ways you are like Maria in “The Sound of Music,” that person’s probably thinking good thoughts about you.
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November 14, 2009, 7:28 pmbyomtov says:
There’s some persuasive evidence that his two “autobiographies” were ghost written
No there’s not. There’s a baseless wingnut theory at the level of birtherism or worse.
His campaigns were run by a cabal that created him not, as is usual, the other way round. His “private sector” jobs were standard just-out-of-school hackery and, later, appointments to place-holder positions in foundations that appear to have been gotten for him by political supporters. I’m not sure which is more frightening–the utter lack of any real evidence of Obama’s capabilities or the clear evidence that his career has been supported and run by a shady group of political opportunists.
With a few minor changes to this rant, it would be an accurate description of George W. Bush’s career, not Obama’s.
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November 14, 2009, 7:30 pmB.D. says:
David Kopel: you’re right that the media is probably inadvertently making her stronger. But by inadvertently making her stronger, they may have also inadvertently improved the reelection chances of Obama.
BTW, everyone, THAT is why I do not want Palin as the GOP nominee in 2012. She has Obama reelection landslide written all over her.
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November 14, 2009, 7:31 pmDavid Welker says:
Cato The Elder,
I think your wrong. Just because you advocate certain ideals and truly think they are better, that does not mean that you or your family have or always will live up to those ideals perfectly. Nor does it mean that you don’t have a right to assert an opinion about wise versus unwise courses of action.
In fact, in some respects, having made certain mistakes makes warnings against those mistakes more powerful. An anti-gang message from a former gang member who understand the situations of those tempted by that sort of life is more powerful, precisely because the person advocating the anti-gang message is less than perfect and has been there. Likewise, parents who don’t want their kids to not make the same mistakes they did are acting wisely, not as hypocrites.
I personally dislike hearing about Sarah Palin’s personal life and think it is totally irrelevant. I am not saying that all acts in one’s personal life are irrelevant. But I think that Sarah Palin’s personal life in particular does not qualify as relevant to her political life.
The fact that Sarah Palin bailed out of the job of being Alaska’s governor, on the other hand. THAT is very relevant.
As if we didn’t already have enough reasons to think that Sarah Palin was unqualified to be in a position of serious responsibility in terms of public office, that she doesn’t stick with the job is yet another one. Sarah Palin wasn’t really even qualified to be the governor of Alaska and certainly isn’t qualified to move even higher.
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November 14, 2009, 7:31 pmAbe Froman says:
The argumentation of a child.
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November 14, 2009, 7:34 pmAthelstane says:
Love Sarah or loathe her, I think it’s hard to disagree with Kopel’s take on what Newsweek, at any rate, is up to.
As preface, I might argue that the danger for conservatives now is what I might call the “Clinton Effect” — so-called because of how a triangulating, protean narcissistic southern governor-become-president — and icy wonk wife — managed to become much of a darling of a great swath of the left simply for his/their enemies. “Anyone the Republicants hate this much *must* have something going for him (or her).” A previous incarnation of this phenomenon was called the “Nixon Effect,” last seen manifested as posters on Alex P. Keaton’s walls and perennial conservative “Nixon (fill in year)” t-shirts, never mind that the guy imposed wage and price controls and exploded the Federal Register and authored detente. After all, by God, anyone the Washington Post and Pauline Kael despised that much had to be “one of us.”
Palin is exploring this phenomenon now with conservatives — which at times almost makes me think it’s a lefty conspiracy. So Pavlovian has been the response to her on the Left that she’s become close to untouchable as icon in many of the right-wing populist watering holes. In so doing it’s become easy to overlook not only the lack of information on her positions on key issues of concern to conservatives (like, say, immigration) but the increasingly undeniable reality that, however considerable her virtues might be or nominally more experienced than Obama she might have been, it was (at the least) premature of McCain to pluck her out of Alaska to try to save his campaign as his attack dog.
Some people might question my use of the word “Pavlovian,” but I think it has merit. I have met enough politicians to have no high opinion of their intelligence, wisdom or character by and large (this is something that transcends party lines); and it’s hard to think she’s any worse on any of these scores than a great many of them, which I grant may not be much of a recommendation as a potential president. And I think the too-cute-for-its-own-good Newsweek cover is just one more piece of evidence of this — even as I give credit to them for dropping the pretence that they’re an above-the-fray news objective journal.
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November 14, 2009, 7:35 pmmbabbitt says:
Okay, let’s get this straight for all the genius critics of Palin: A hypocrite is not someone who preaches something publicly but fails to achieve or live up to it in actuality. A hypocrite is someone who preaches something publicly but in private actively promotes or lives the opposite. Al Gore is a hypocrite because he preaches conservation to everyone and yet actively lives an extravagant, energy wasteful lifestyle in his private life: giant megahouse and private jetting across the globe. He does not fail at conservation; he just doesn’t do it because he thinks he is too important to the cause to be held to his own preaching standards. He actively keeps his wastefulness in full mode — with a once in a while all-for-show demonstration of his caring for the environment. Thomas Friedman is the same. He is all about saving the planet, except not for him personally. He has a house that could be shared with many families for maximum energy efficiency. These are hypocrites.
Sarah Palin is just a very busy mom who failed at getting her daughter to live up to her ideals. Not a big surprise in today’s crazy world. By the way, Sarah, consistent with her Christian ideals, forgave her daughter’s transgression and kept loving her despite her acting contrary to one of her mother’s most cherished ideals. That’s not hypocrisy.
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November 14, 2009, 7:38 pmDavid Welker says:
I will agree with you that “investigations” into this stuff have been utterly irrelevant. But I would not say that irrelevant investigations are due to the media being liberal as much as the media catering to the lowest common denominator in the electorate. People like lurid gossipy human interest stories.
Watch Fox News if you want to see similarly stupid investigations from a conservative perspective.
I will tell you what. Why don’t you check out some footage from Joe Biden leading Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then tell me how unqualified he is. At least base your assessments on some actual data.
The bottom-line from the perspective of an objective observer, I think, is that Joe Biden is qualified and Sarah Palin is not. However, at the end of the day, even if Joe Biden is not qualified, that does not make Sarah Palin qualified. Likewise, even if liberals didn’t “really” care about qualifications, that does not make Sarah Palin qualified. So, your arguments have been mostly irrelevant to the question of whether or not Sarah Palin is qualified.
Okay....
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November 14, 2009, 7:45 pmChris R says:
The only thing I hate more than liberal Palin haters is conservative Palin haters. They are tools of the former who allow themselves to be used as a wedge to divide the right. Even if she isn’t your cup of tea, stop bashing her. Defend her, it drives liberals mad. And in the end, isn’t that the point?
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November 14, 2009, 7:46 pmPersonFromPorlock says:
I’m not especially pro-Palin but I have to say her quitting the Alaskan governorship impressed me. Her political opponents were using it to harass her, it had become an albatross around her neck and so she... made a strategic decision and quit, freeing herself to run for leadership of the conservative movement. She took a real hit — loss of status/income/reputation — to secure a future gain, and that much foresight and decisiveness is impressive.
However, my feeling at this point is mainly that, if it comes down to it, I’d rather watch a pretty fool than a jug-eared one.
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November 14, 2009, 7:49 pmCato The Elder says:
No. I feel badly for you if you really believe that. The point is to be elected to govern smartly with a realistic mindset, not to slowly become the Democratic Party in guise because we are so invested in triumphing at all costs. If Palin can’t deliver classically conservative policies at the helm, then I want no part of her, “winning” be damned.
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November 14, 2009, 7:56 pmMrJimm says:
Ya gotta say one thing about Sarah — Liberals, Democrats and the MainStream Media are TERRIFIED of her. They see a reincarnation of Ronald Reagan in Palin — she’s got that plain folksiness and common sense that appeals to flyover-country middle Americans. And with Obama repeating all the past mistakes of Jimmy Carter, you have a rematch of 1980 for sure.
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November 14, 2009, 7:57 pmOzcar says:
Libs also don’t seem to understand the qualifications requirement for president. The only requirements for president are: 1) be a natural citizen of the United States, 2) be at least 35 years old, and 3) and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years (Article II, Sectoin 1, US Constitution). While Obama meets conditions 2 and 3, the jury IS still out on condition 1. There doesn’t appear to be any question about the qualifications of anyone else in the race.
All that other stuff (aka experience; foreign policy, executive, etc.) is real nice to have in the office, but IS NOT required. We likely wouldn’t want to go that route, but assuming the constitutional requirements are met, the McDonald’s retard is qualified to be president.
EOTIS
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November 14, 2009, 7:58 pmtherut says:
Governor Palin gave the best speech at a Convention in a very long time. She is a much better speaker than Obama. And she is much more likable. Black folks saw Obama and saw themselves. I see Sarah Palin and see myself. She represents alot of females in this country. It is just that the left wing feminist sort and the MSM think most women are made in their image. They are mistaken.
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November 14, 2009, 8:02 pmMathMom says:
BTW, everyone, THAT is why I do not want Palin as the GOP nominee in 2012. She has Obama reelection landslide written all over her.
I disagree. Obama seems to be getting stupider in office, not smarter. He bowed to the Japanese Emperor today. His outreach to Muslims around the world has gotten us the first terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11. He’s trying to find a way to slither out from under the war in Afghanistan. I don’t think he actually, you know, works. I think he thinks the job of president is to speechify.
This is going to come back to hit us, hard, right in the huevos. Obama’s ineptness and lack of qualification for the job he holds is going to get a lot of Americans killed. I believe Obama is manufacturing Republicans.
Why do I say this? Because, to my eternal shame, I cast my first vote for president, for Jimmy Carter. I moved overseas, to Saudi Arabia, during his tenure. I saw how short he was next to other world leaders of the day, but he looked short, too. He looked out of his depth. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, American hostages taken in Iran, the botched rescue operation in the Iranian desert — Carter was the actual Father of the Iranian Revolution which brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power, and caused the relations between Iran and Iraq to sour. Carter planted the seeds for our eventual involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq invaded Iran on Carter’s watch, and Saddam started gassing Iranians as practice for his later escapades. Carter acted like the noob he was, and worldwide bullies gave him atomic wedgies.
I voted for Reagan when I had the chance. The perceived wisdom on him was that he was an amiable dunce, he went to a stupid little college, he was just a “B” movie actor. During the campaign, Reagan told the Iranian hostage takers, “Don’t make me come over there!” I was listening on shortwave radio in Saudi Arabia to Reagan’s inauguration, and in the middle of it Reagan announced that the hostages left Iranian airspace. Iranians were afraid of Reagan, and thank God for that.
Our silly president now thinks his words part the Red Sea. No one is afraid of Barack Obama, except for those who might get kneecapped by his Chicago thug friends. His atomic wedgies on the national stage are coming, and if we don’t have radioactive craters where our large cities now stand, in three we’ll need a rock-ribbed replacement. Sarah Palin will look really fine by that time.
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November 14, 2009, 8:04 pmsherlock says:
If the Demolibacademedia were actually as contemptuous of Palin’s achievements and intellect as it claims to be, wouldn’t it be encouraging Republicans to run her, instead of warning that she will destroy the Republican party? Do you think they love spirited competition or something?
Get ready for the Demolibacademedia to try to encourage us to let McCain run again, perhaps with Olympia Snowe as VP! There’s the ticket! I’ll tell you who IS as stupid as they pretend Sarach is, and that is any RINO that thinks they can compromise with the media machine to get a fair deal. That is simply foolish naievete, and the Demolibacademedia dines on it every election.
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November 14, 2009, 8:05 pmBT says:
Is Palin’s popularity a symptom of the GOP’s thin bench? At this point as far as 2012 goes, it looks like Palin and Romney, neither of whom do much for me. It is hard for me to take Palin seriously as a national candidate for many of the reason already stated here. God knows I didn’t want BO the first time and don’t want four more years in 2012. I am concerned that there may be yet another poor candidate put up by the RNC just like McCain or Dole. Time will tell.
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November 14, 2009, 8:06 pmyankee says:
I agree that the prospect of Palin in the White House is terrifying. Consider, for example, her position on TARP:
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November 14, 2009, 8:09 pmDavid Welker says:
therut,
In that case, I doubt you are qualified to be President either.
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November 14, 2009, 8:10 pmDangerMouse says:
David,
Palin is more than qualified. Beyond her experience as a Governor (which dwarfs Obama’s pathetic 2 year experience in the Senate before he began running for president), she also demonstrates a love of America and its people, which Obama has so far failed to do. The President’s most important job is representing the people of America. Obama only seems capable of denigrating America when abroad, and bashing the people. Palin’s experience as Governor and her faith in the People and this Country make her more than qualified. She is another Reagan, to be sure.
What is it about her that you think makes her unqualified? She has more political experience than Obama than when either began campaigning, has more brains than Biden, and loves America more than all the libs in the Democratic party put together. And don’t pretend you’re an “objective observer.” You’re not. If you have some bug up your butt about qualifications, then let’s hear what it is. Also, if anyone was purely voting on qualifications, they’d have voted for McCain over President Narcissist.
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November 14, 2009, 8:14 pmJohn Moore says:
Yeah, I felt that way about Reagan in 1980 and hence voted for Bush in the primary. History proved me far, far wrong.
Many in the “hyper-educated” class in America is turning into an effete elite. Their belief that only they know what is right for America is a classic lead-in to autocracy. Rather than run someone they might approve of, let’s defeat them.
Palin represents a serious and powerful reaction to the perceived elite — of whatever party. She didn’t create the reaction, but is well attuned to it by her nature and beliefs. That reaction, along with the reaction to the incredible bumbling of this same elite in the Obama Administration will be the biggest political story of the next few years.
It is good for these people that America is a moderate country — otherwise they might suffer the fate of a similar elite in Mao’s China — in the “Cultural Revolution.”
Palin as a presidential nominee right now (who knows in 2012) would be a disaster. The media has intentionally done a smear job on her equivalent to what the did to Dan Quayle. The difference is that Palin has more charisma and may recover.
As to her qualifications... she was a bit short on the wonky side of things — not surprising for a very busy governor of a far away state who is also a full time mother. Time will tell whether she develops wisdom and knowledge during her our time, or turns out to just be a symbol.
The parallel to Reagan is instructive. Reagan, after his governorship, spent his time as a conservative spokesman, and also educated himself about the issues. We now know (the “investigative” media would never bother to dig this up even in the Reagan years) that he was a brilliant writer, a consummate force in the international arena, and a serious student of policy issues.
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November 14, 2009, 8:19 pmDangerMouse says:
David,
I just checked out your blog. You’re writing positive blurbs about Krugman, and think that the stimulus should’ve been bigger.
No offense, and I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but based on that, I think you’re the last person who has any standing to discuss qualifications. Yeah, the stimulus should’ve been bigger. Let’s spend a jillion dollars next time...
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November 14, 2009, 8:20 pmyankee says:
By what definition of “terrorism” is the Fort Hood attack terrorism, but the anthrax attacks, Beltway snipers, Seattle Jewish Federation massacre, Virginia Tech massacre, Unitarian church rampage, and the George Tiller assissination are not?
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November 14, 2009, 8:21 pmNicole Coulter says:
Sound of Music is one of my all-time favorite movies. I do see a little Maria in Sarah. Congratulations to Newsweek for inadvertantly paying homage to one of the greatest heroines in the the history of film, while convincing anyone who wasn’t convinced already that Sarah Palin must be doing something right to engender such derangement in her enemies.
Sarah and Maria
God-fearing Christians — check
Full of forgiveness — check
Slightly mischievous — check
Bold — check
Unconventional — check
Sense of humor — check
Not afraid of confronting power — check
Young and capable of improvement — check
Way to go, Newsweek. Do you have anyone working over there over the age of 25 who might have seen this movie?
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November 14, 2009, 8:25 pmDavid Welker says:
DangerMouse,
How about this. If you quit your job serving the people before the end of your term, then you don’t have the personal quality of perseverance to be President. I don’t like the gossip and such surrounding Palin. But that was no reason to fail in her duty to serve Alaska as she promised when she campaigned to be governor.
She was totally unprepared for her interview with Katie Couric. She is clearly an intellectual lightweight. I am not merely talking about her speaking ability. I am talking about the substance of her “analysis.”
Palin seems like a nice and sincere person. Good for her. But you need more than that to be President.
As far as your assertion that Palin loves the country more than I do (as a liberal and a Democrat), that is just plain BS. You can make arguments without resorting to such absurd statements.
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November 14, 2009, 8:28 pmRich says:
The smart man who said ” I want the Us and Irans relationship back to what it was 20, or 30 years ago”.
That smart man?
What happened 30 years ago? In Iran. Something involving hostages. Oh wait, Oblahblah was high.
He gets a pass
But she talked in front of turkeys being killed..............thats IMPORTANT
get it?
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November 14, 2009, 8:31 pmDarury says:
You’re right. Of course, just bringing them on stage is far more exploitive than say, running People magazine articles on them.
This continued double standard never ceases to amaze me. I’m not suggesting that Obama’s children should be fair game, but give me one example of where she put them “front and center” compared to the Obama’s photo ops at every turn.
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November 14, 2009, 8:33 pmDavid Welker says:
I personally don’t think most Democrats dislike Sarah Palin personally. I think they are puzzled at why certain Republicans like her so much when she is clearly unqualified.
By the way, do you think the fact that Michael Moore irritates conservatives means he is doing something right? I have met some people who irritate nearly everyone. Is that praiseworthy in and of itself?
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November 14, 2009, 8:36 pmSecond Amendment Sister says:
Because liberals and the mainstream media are scared to death of her. Well, not so much her as flyover-country’s public reaction to her. The more those who think they have the right to direct public opinion wring their hands about Sarah, the more ordinary people turn out to her speaking engagements and buy her books. And show their outrage en mass in Washington DC, but I digress.
If Sarah Palin wasn’t perceived as a huge, uncontrolled threat to everything and everyone on her polar opposite, they wouldn’t pay her a bit of attention.
So you’d best be defining “Who/what is the opposite of Sarah Palin?”
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November 14, 2009, 8:38 pmDavid Welker says:
For the record, I much prefer silly people being fans of Sarah Palin than silly people being fans of Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity. (Actually, I think I might be being unfair to Hannity putting him in the same list as Limbaugh and Beck...) At least Sarah Palin is not completely unpleasant, although she has said some crazy and ignorant things, like her ignorant comments about “death panels.”
Maybe some liberal are surprised that Palin has a large following among certain segments of the population. But then, you have to remember that people who are pretty much nuts, like Beck and Limbaugh, also have large followings. There are a lot of people out there who are very ignorant, so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised.
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November 14, 2009, 8:47 pmMathMom says:
Yankee,
My sentence should have said the first Islamic terrorist attack, what with the screaming of “Allahu akhbar” while shooting up 50+ people, but I take your point that the Beltway snipers and the Seattle Jewish Federation massacre were also inspired by Islam. My bad. The anthrax attacks were part of 9/11.
Gotta admit, though, Ft. Hood certainly topped the body count, making it the largest Islamic terror attack since 9/11. The worrying thing is that our silly president wants us not to jump to conclusions about a man screaming “Allahu akhbar” while on a shooting rampage at a military base. He wants us to turn a blind eye to Hasan’s business card, which had under his name, SoA, meaning “Soldier of Allah”, followed by SWT, meaning “Glory to Him, the Exalted”. We should not worry too much that Hasan went around saying his goodbyes to people before the shooting, handing out Korans with that business card, as jihadis are taught to do.
But our silly president certainly knows when the police act “stupidly”, without the benefit of, you know, facts.
After three more years of this nonsense, we will be needing someone who can look at facts for what they are and be fearless enough to come out from behind the cover of political correctness. One thing I know about Sarah Palin — she is fearless.
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November 14, 2009, 8:51 pmnarciso says:
The polar opposite of her is Barack Obama, who just this week, made NY a bigger target if possible, who has dawdled
on a decision about what he called a ‘war
of necessity, who scorns doctors and is indifferent to soldiers, who is set on passing an unworkable health care plan, a stimulus, which has the opposite effect of what has been intended. Who seems it shows somekind of wisdom to debate whether
his grandmother should have gotten a hip
replacement. Whose inaugural address was
the most petty self absorbed in recent memory. Those are just some of the points
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November 14, 2009, 8:52 pmNorthern Dave says:
Not to change the subject, but I just read the comments and no one mentioned the fellow I thought you Americans were sure to run for the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012,
Newt Gingrich.
Did he convert to Romanism for no advantage?
Palin maybe as number 2 (Dick Cheney being too busy this time?)....
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November 14, 2009, 8:52 pmMartha says:
I know a lot of liberals, and they are all *hoping* that the GOP nominates Palin. Even the pro-abortion and pro-gay liberals. Because they don’t think she can win.
I don’t look at Palin and see myself. I look at Palin and mentally catalog all the ways in which she is in MUCH better shape–after five kids!
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November 14, 2009, 8:52 pmLinda Gottfredson's Apprentice says:
And Tina Fey didn’t have the integrity to criticize the statement Palin actually made. Hint for the not so intelligent. It was not “I can see Russia from my house!”
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November 14, 2009, 8:52 pmBaseballhead says:
It’s fun to read these comments. The left hates Palin, the right hates Obama, both sides think the other is irrational in their hatred while being utterly justified in their own.
The problem with American politics isn’t with Palin or Obama. It’s you guys.
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November 14, 2009, 9:02 pmMithras says:
Oh yeah, us liberals are absolutely terrified of Sarah Palin running for office or — doing whatever it is she thinks she’s doing now. Yep. Terrified. Every time she opens her mouth, we’re afraid of cracking a rib from laughing so hard.
Speaking of fear, why is it that other countries — like Spain, Britain and India — put their terrorism defendants on trial without a worry but American conservatives pee themselves at the thought of even bringing prisoners into the country, much less giving them a fair trial?
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November 14, 2009, 9:03 pmMartha says:
I learn something every day from VC commenters.
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November 14, 2009, 9:06 pmGrover Gardner says:
A flibbertijibbet!
A will-o’-the wisp!
A clown!
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November 14, 2009, 9:11 pmBaseballhead says:
I don’t, but I learn something about VC commenters everyday.
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November 14, 2009, 9:13 pmBruce Hayden says:
They aren’t — for White or (now) Asians. We have no reason to believe that Obama did not attend either school as an Affirmative Action admittee. And, of course on AA scholarships. If Palin and Obama had identical IQs and test scores, there is every reason to believe that he would have been able to attend much better colleges and for much less money, than she, solely on the basis of his skin color.
And keep in mind that the presidential candidates in the previous two elections all had Ivy League diplomas (2 Yale, 2 Harvard), and had SAT scores likely lower than most here.
The idea that just because someone graduated from such elite schools makes them somehow qualified for the Presidency is somewhere between naive and delusional.
As for McCain, my understanding is that class rank at military academies includes behavior — demerits result in reduction in class standing, and the same wild behavior that resulted in a lot of demerits also helped him fly off of a carrier at night, survive a catastrophic fire on a carrier deck, only to catch the next carrier headed back to Vietnam, and then brave the flak over Hanoi.
Besides, keep in mind that probably the two smartest Presidents of the last half century are also the two who most dishonored the office — one impeached, and the other resigning to avoid impeachment.
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November 14, 2009, 9:13 pmParamusParis says:
This is a great, insightful observation.
I need to say this again and again: Romney-Palin 2012. This is our best chance to slay Obama, and pull out of the dive the USA is on right now. Yes, it’s true.
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November 14, 2009, 9:14 pmKent says:
The entire thrust of this post is wrong. Whether or not you like Sarah, David has simply not understood what the song is about, and his conclusion does not follow.
I’m confused by the conclusion that Newsweek’s query “How do you solve a problem like Sarah?” results in making Sarah president. Maria wanted to be a nun. Sarah wants to be president. Mother Superior was wise because she knew that Maria would be better at something other than what she wanted to be. Newsweek is asking what else should she be.
[DK: Not really the “entire thrust,” but you make a useful point. The Maria/Sarah analogy which Newsweek invites is valid in some ways, but not in others. On the one hand, they both like snow. On the other hand, Maria’s skills in the performing arts much exceed Sarah’s.
As for the Mother Superior, her wise insight was that pushing Maria into a higher level of responsibility and a bigger stage, even if she wasn’t prepared for it, would call forth her virtues, engage the best part of her boldness, and force her to control her immaturities. ]
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November 14, 2009, 9:15 pmA. Zarkov says:
While I have nothing against Palin, she strikes me as an airhead. The GOP needs to be reformed and she’s not the one to do it. It really needs something better. Right now, in my opinion, the party has become dysfunctional, and a lot of Republicans I meet agree with me. If it can’t be reformed, then we need a third party. If Obama can pull off his trifecta: health insurance, cap and trade, and amnesty, it could damage the US beyond repair. It would be worse than losing WWII.
Obama certainly has a better academic resume than Palin, but he has no record of accomplishment. For one thing, I now strongly suspect his two books were written by someone else. The evidence for this is building, and I think I will be able to show that he’s not the author on a completely objective basis in the near future– stay tuned.
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November 14, 2009, 9:17 pmMithras says:
That’s true. And the post of president of HLR is given away every year to the first swarthy student who walks by the office door.
I do love it when conservatives reveal their views on race. Please, tell us more.
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November 14, 2009, 9:18 pmMalvolio says:
It doesn’t matter if anyone agrees with you or not, since Palin isn’t running as a social conservative.
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November 14, 2009, 9:20 pmSirKev says:
It’s been interesting reading this spirited discussion. At this point, I’m not sure if Sarah Palin would be a good president or not, but it’s not based on any of the “qualifications” that people have mentioned here. Instead, it comes down to what are her core values, who does/will she surround herself with (who will fill the cabinet/adivsor roles), and what kind of manager will she be?
I say it in this context because being President amounts to being the CEO of the largest company in the world. Obama’s failures are in large part because he reflects poorly in the questions above. During the campaign he was able to deflect/hide his true core values from enough people to obtain the votes. We have been entertained daily with the missteps, mistakes, and horrible decision making by this administration from day one. From protocol mishaps (accidental or purposeful, I’m not sure) to hiring decisions to policy issues its clear to me that Obama is not qualified to be a CEO of small company let alone President.
Getting this back to Palin, I can’t answer the above questions yet, because we just don’t know. I’m less concerned about the ‘gotcha’ policy questions than what her character is and what are her core beliefs. Because anyone can say anything on the campaign trail, as evidenced by who is sitting in the White House. What matters is what values you use to base your decisions on, who you trust for advice, and what your character is. You can mention 1000 issues during a campaign, but during the course of the presidency an issue will arise that was never discussed/thought of. The only way you can evaluate how a person will deal with it is look at their decision making skills and that comes down to character, values, and judgement.
Obama failed that test; Palin: Time will tell.
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November 14, 2009, 9:25 pmbyomtov says:
Abe Froman,
The argumentation of a child.
Wow. There’s a stunning refutation.
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November 14, 2009, 9:29 pmParamusParis says:
SirKev, I agree the Palin is an open book, i.e., an unknown quantity, and I really hope the reservations I have about her intellectual depth evaporate in the next 24 months. I’ve said many times that she needs to, in effect, go to the “policy gym” and work out aggressively. The early signs are that she is doing precisely that, but she needs to take it up another level or two.
Her book will help if it is good. Yes, cries of GHOST WRITER will begin soon enough, but if she can go on an interview tear over the next few weeks, and months, those cries will ring hollow.
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November 14, 2009, 9:33 pmbyomtov says:
While I have nothing against Palin, she strikes me as an airhead.
Good for you, but do you think an airhead should be President?
I now strongly suspect his two books were written by someone else.
Wait. Bill Ayers? Right? Give me a break, Zarkov. You have heretofore undisclosed evidence? Don’t be a jackass.
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November 14, 2009, 9:34 pmMathMom says:
New York, March 23 (Bloomberg) — A Florida physician last June treated one of the September 11 hijackers for what is now being called a case of skin anthrax, raising the possibility of a connection between the hijackers and the subsequent anthrax attacks, the New York Times reported.
Ahmed Alhaznawi, who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 when passengers apparently forced it down in western Pennsylvania on September 11, went in June to an emergency room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a lesion on his leg, the Times said.
Dr. Christos Tsonas cleaned the lesion and prescribed antibiotics. Only after the attacks on New York and Washington, when the antibiotic was found in Alhaznawi’s possessions, did Tsonas review the case and conclude it was anthrax.
A Johns Hopkins University panel of experts, which also reviewed the case and diagnosed anthrax, said the discovery “raises he possibility that the hijackers were handling anthrax and were the perpetrators of the anthrax letter attacks,” which killed five people, the newspaper said.
The report has been examined by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, both of which are continuing to pursue the issue, the Times said.
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November 14, 2009, 9:35 pmpalintologist says:
Let’s review shall we? Thus far, Precedent Toonces has talked about the 57 states (funny, there ARE 57 Islamic states); the “Austrian” language; people getting “wee-wee’d” up (how presidential!); called approx. one half of the American population who disagrees with him a vile name; points out “I won” when challenged (classy!); bows to foreign heads of state but refuses to salute the American flag (notice I didn’t say “his own”) when it suits him; claims police acted “stupidly” even though he didn’t have the facts; lies about his policies while videotapes show his true allegiances...
Whew! I better stop before I get banned. But you get the picture.
Palin/Rubio ’12!
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November 14, 2009, 9:41 pmMartha says:
MathMom, when did that story run? It appears to have been published in March 2002. In 2008, the FBI announced that Bruce Ivins was the perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks, so apparently this after-the-fact suspicion by the emergency room doc didn’t pan out.
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November 14, 2009, 9:44 pmtamerlane says:
One thing for sure: Palin would never look this stupid. Surreptitious prompt from Hillary: “Ehrr, Mr. President, we won that war.”
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November 14, 2009, 9:45 pmMithras says:
So the hijackers killed themselves on September 11th, then mailed the anthrax from New Jersey on September 18th and October 9th? Diabolical.
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November 14, 2009, 9:46 pmnarciso says:
By all means, lets have Lindsey Graham who is willing to sign on to cap n trade
with the promise that there will be oil drilling and nuclear power plants. Or
Romney who was suckered into the horrid
Romneycare, who also approved the sacking of the GM CEO by Obama. Or Huckabee, the Republican version of Carter.
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November 14, 2009, 9:48 pmMithras says:
Kent wins the thread.
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November 14, 2009, 9:49 pmLinda Gottfredson's Apprentice says:
Well, the problem is that we know that liberals like you Mithras will want to let them go free in the US.
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November 14, 2009, 9:54 pmrpt says:
1. Applying the good old equation that black=affirmative action=stupid, means that no black person’s achievement can ever be good enough for you. If you say his grades, you would conclude that they were gifts. Blacks are never good enough for you. I thought the R’s beat this to death last year.
2. John McCain was a brave guy, no doubt about it. But he was also a beneficiary of “legacy” style affirmative action to get into Annapolis„ got into aviation the same way, left his disabled wife for a younger much richer second bride, and was not a skillful or prudent pilot. He was a daring risk-taker who put others around him at risk as‘ well.
3. Palin seems to like the money and notoriety more than power. She is not a hard worker, and won’t run for anything else.
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November 14, 2009, 9:54 pmA. Zarkov says:
Of course an airhead should not be president. As for the Obama books, I still have more work to put in — if my outcome is positive then I will publish it, but I’m not releasing anything until I have an ironclad result.
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November 14, 2009, 9:57 pmMathMom says:
Martha -
I believe it ran in 2002. I remember another article which I’m laboring to find, in which a pharmacist was quoted. He said after the attacks, when Atta’s picture was in the news, that he recognized Atta as a customer at the pharmacy. He came in with a nasty rash on his hands, and asked that pharmacist for a cream for them. He said that at the time, he felt he was looking into the face of evil, and it made his blood run cold. He realized later, after the anthrax attacks, that Atta had cutaneous anthrax.
Regarding Ivins, I am unconvinced that he was solely responsible for this. You have two future hijackers being treated at hospital for black scabs on their legs and Atta seeking help from a pharmacist with the nasty rash. Do rashes and skin complaints cause hijacking? I dunno. You’ll soon hear that Nidal Hasan was just “psychotic”, too, not an Islamic terrorist.
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November 14, 2009, 9:59 pmDave N says:
The tenor of this thread clearly demonstrates why Jim Lindgren no longer allows comments.
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November 14, 2009, 10:02 pmtheobromophile says:
When there is actually hypocrisy to scream about.
It would have been hypocritical for pro-life Sarah to encourage Bristol to have an abortion. Remember that, in spring of 2008, Sarah was a very popular Governor living in a very small town; this pregnancy would not have gone unnoticed.
It would have been hypocritical of Sarah to throw Bristol out of the house, to cast Levi out of their lives, or to otherwise not support her daughter and grand child.
Reality, however, is that two people were involved in getting Bristol pregnant, and, unless you are alleging that some sort of incestuous threesome occurred, Sarah wasn’t one of them. There’s no hypocrisy in not performing FGM on your daughter so that she doesn’t have premarital sex.
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November 14, 2009, 10:03 pmMathMom says:
So the hijackers killed themselves on September 11th, then mailed the anthrax from New Jersey on September 18th and October 9th? Diabolical.
Wow. I am humbled. I’m certain that those hijackers didn’t know anyone else who was involved in the conspiracy, and would carry on after their deaths.
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November 14, 2009, 10:10 pmMithras says:
Edelweiss and anthrax. Clearly, you are all totally, absolutely sane.
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November 14, 2009, 10:15 pmnarciso says:
The point is they were experimenting with biological weapons, Atta tried to buy a crop duster for that purpose.The issue with Newsweek is like that of a used car
dealer who sold you a lemon, are you going
to trust them with another purchase, from asserting that we are socialists, that Christianity is dead in America, we must
make accomodations with Islam, Biden is an
unknown genius, you don’t buy that swill.
They were trying to sell us on the idea that Nidal Hassan was suffering from PTSD
rather than being a raging Islamist
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November 14, 2009, 10:20 pmLeo Marvin says:
Today I learned that B.D., Soronel Haetir, and presumably Cato and Zarkov, aren’t real conservatives. They’re left-wing concern-trolls who pretend to be conservative 364 days a year to properly position themselves to astroturf left-wing talking points on Day 365. (I wish you guys had flashed me the secret Soros hand sign a long time ago. I’d have run interference for you in the threads.)
Whether Palin creates this sort of RW cannibalism or she just draws attention to the Republican disintegration that’s happening anyway I have no idea. Anyway it fuels my daydream that the conservatives who see the shortcomings of a movement that would have Palin as its leader might join with moderate liberals, blue-dog Democrats, independents and all the erstwhile Republicans who already want nothing else to do with that party, and finally form a meaningful, centrist third party. But I suppose daydreams are worth what you pay for them.
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November 14, 2009, 10:28 pmBama 1L says:
I would love to see some polling on how many Americans can identify “How Do You Solve a Problem like Sarah?” as an allusion to a number about the heroine of a musical. I suspect that, even if Palin ’12 now has that demographic locked up, the election is not quite won.
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November 14, 2009, 10:40 pmA. Zarkov says:
What’s a real conservative?
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November 14, 2009, 10:41 pmrpt says:
Now if someone could explain why Lindgren is allowed threads.....
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November 14, 2009, 10:49 pmRob Miller says:
Before you say that, you might just want to look at the unedited version of the Couric interview and see how it was edited into a hit job. John Zeigler and Newsbusters have a/b’d the two.
Having met Governor Palin in Alaska before she went national, I can personally tell you that the character portrayed in the dinosaur media and on SNL has as much relation to reality as Prez Zero’s ‘jobs saved or created’ numbers.
Her being on the ticket was the sole reason a lot of people had for voting for McCain, and the jealousy over that once it became evident that she was the draw and not the head of the ticket has a lot to do with why she was essentially sabotaged by McCain’s people.
I think it taught her quite a bit.
She’s been smart enough to distance herself from the GOP establishment and tap into the populist energy of a lot of Americans who are fed up with how the country has been governed during the last 2 administrations.
People relate to her the way they do because she comes from the same sort of roots they do,and because she reflects the same concerns.
Reagan had the same instincts, and he was likewise ridiculed as a charismatic dolt who was unqualified to be president, if you remember.
You can hire expertise, but instinct and principle are a different matter.
The Left is scared witless of her, and with good reason, so they have attacked her in ways that have actually focused attention on her as people tune in to see what all the fuss is about. Ultimately, her appeal is to independents like me, which is where elections are won.
And that should give some of her critics on the Right food for thought.
Regards,
Rob
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November 14, 2009, 10:56 pmTweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » Newsweek promotes Palin for President -- Topsy.com says:
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Martha says:
You know that these belated realizations are highly dubious, right? Even eye-witnesses who know they are witnessing a crime are unreliable; this pharmacist’s 9/11-prompted memory is even less trustworthy. Maybe Ivins didn’t do it, but if the FBI, motivated as it was, with all the resources at its disposal, couldn’t manage to pin the anthrax attacks on the 9/11 hijackers, it’s tough to put much stock in these reports.
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November 14, 2009, 10:59 pmJohn Moore says:
Yeah — that’s a great one. First, the liberal media establishment does everything they can to trash Palin’s family; then all sorts of frivolous ethics charges are brought against her — with the express purpose of ruining her reputation and bankrupting her. And it’s HER fault she needed to step down?
Furthermore, she left a competent replacement who was ideologically consistent with herself, so I don’t know how anyone can say that she failed in her duty. Was it her duty to do the best for Alaska, or to serve our her full term like a jail inmate?
Anyone who puts Beck and Limbaugh in the same category has a lot to learn. Beck relishes conspiracy theorism, and hence indeed seems a bit nutty — sort of like every Democrat in 2000 and 2004. Limbaugh is not a conspiracy theorist and not a nut, although sadly he does’t realize his ignorance on scientific matters. On political matters, Limbaugh, unlike Beck, is an astute analyst.
No, what it shows is two important things:
1) Obama successfully covered up all of his grades and other academic product, and the “investigative media” never even tried to dig out the information. Since Obama hasn’t bothered to set the record straight, the logical conclusion is that his academic performance was not up to snuff — for whatever that’s worth.
2) Affirmative action naturally leaves a stain on those it “helps” — because it is a fact that a significant proportion of AA beneficiaries (today, not when AA first came about) are not up to the standards of those they displaced. Of course, in ivory league institutions, this is also true of legacy admits.
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November 14, 2009, 11:06 pmRonald McDonald says:
David Welker: “I will tell you what. Why don’t you check out some footage from Joe Biden leading Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then tell me how unqualified he is. At least base your assessments on some actual data. ”
I’ll go you one better. Here’s a catalogue of the 22 factual errors and/or brazen lies delivered by Joe Biden IN ONE SINGLE DEBATE. [some assembly required]
You’re welcome.
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November 14, 2009, 11:07 pmRonald McDonald says:
Okay what happened to my linkies?
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November 14, 2009, 11:08 pmRonald McDonald says:
Well, harrumfphgh!! I uh I meant to do that, yes.
Here they are in cuttable/pastable form, as uh as an exercise for the reader, yes that’s it!
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/274757.php#274757
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/274811.php#274811
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/274817.php#274817
And seriously, that’s just the lazy, hasty tip of the iceberg; much MUCH more thick and chewy Biden imbecility can be found, IF one looks for it. Or one can, you know, count on Newsweak to keep one abreast of his antics.
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November 14, 2009, 11:11 pmnohype says:
Have you noticed that there is a lot of projection from those who hate Sarah Palin, that is, the faults of Barack Obama are projected onto her? She was derided for being inexperienced, while Obama’s complete lack of any accomplishment was ignored. (We are paying for that now big time.) Critics claim that she is narcissistic but ignore the supreme Ego who tolerates no criticism. Those who despise her insist that she is stupid and Obama is brilliant, but Obama will not release any academic records, which only makes sense if there is something to hide. Though some gloat that she had to have a ghost writer to write a book, there is strong circumstantial evidence that Bill Ayers had a major role in Obama’s first autobiography. Opponents says she is a liar but overlook the deceit, dishonesty, and deception that have marked the political life of Obama. She is supposed to be corrupt, but Obama thrived in the cesspool of Chicago politics. Or she was not vetted and the news media needed to expose every aspect of her life, while no efforts were made to fact check Dreams of My Father. (The little fact checking that has been done shows some significant errors.) They claim she is too extreme, which is rich given Obama’s associations with Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dorn, Rev Wright, and a host of others from the loony Left with whom he has associated.
Have you ever noticed that projection?
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November 14, 2009, 11:12 pmWardOffMonkey says:
You need to quit projecting Olbermann and Maddow onto Fox News.
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November 14, 2009, 11:13 pmMartha says:
The thing is, any attacks are likely to be more ferocious at the national level. If attacks forced her to step down from being governor, how could she could handle them as president?
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November 14, 2009, 11:14 pmSirKev says:
I think that she needs to take another page from Reagan’s playbook and that is to bypass the MSM when getting her message out. Use the alternative technologies and go straight to the people. Engage the MSM only to refute their comments, but never to express your opinion.
Great point. And if you have good instincts and principles you usually hire the right people. Again, today’s President needs to be a CEO and act accordingly.
This is where the hard left continually overplays their hand. Rather than just let her missteps stand on their own, they gleeful pile on and attempt to create additional ones where none exists. While this may galvanate their supporters it also creates sympathy from independents and those otherwise not disposed to support her. It happens time and time again and she will only benefit and if she is smart use it to her advantage.
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November 14, 2009, 11:26 pmMithras says:
It’s true. We’re always galvanating when we shouldn’t be.
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November 14, 2009, 11:28 pmjoel cairo says:
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
I’d like to say a word in her behalf
Sarah makes me laugh
[DK: Worthy of the honorable Green Border.]
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November 14, 2009, 11:31 pmnarciso says:
On the national stage, she would not be precluded from defending herself, or have
the government machinery entangled in this operation. She was kind of naive, in the Elliot Ness or Jimmy Stewart sense about how to fight public corruption, as with the ethics code that was used as a cudgel. We are going to need someone of her caliber and integrity if we are to get out of this mess we are in.
For the record,I am hispanic and I live on the East Coast of the United States.
But I learned about her from the right
bloggers and reading the first bio about
her. And I have dug through enough lies
distortions and omissions by the press
to know the truth.
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November 14, 2009, 11:33 pmrpt says:
If she can’t handle Katie Couric, what’s she going to do with Putin?
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November 14, 2009, 11:36 pmuberVU - social comments says:
Social comments and analytics for this post...
This post was mentioned on Twitter by Qball105: Newsweek promotes Palin for President http://bit.ly/4bQJJu via @AddToAny...
Harvey Mosley says:
It seems that the people critisizing Palin for not finishing her term as governor have overlooked the fact that Obama, Biden and Clinton failed to finish their terms as Senators,
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November 14, 2009, 11:49 pmDavid says:
WTF?Just have to say to all you shes a quitter idiots,did you notice her book publisher has to do a 2nd print?Thats another 1.5 million more books going worldwide,as you all say shes a quitter.I would of quit too if a 75,000 per year job was costing me 500,000 to keep.As well as looking at another million over the next 18 months on route,going to my lawyer for wearing a logo on a jacket.Everyone knows now about Obamas blogging pals in her state registering bogus ethics complaints to bankrupt her.She had to pay to defend herself,they did not to file bogus crap.Every complaint was tossed,one a hockey stick a minor league team signed for her,ya thats an unethical gift,or the boquete of flowers given to her in a parade.Tossed by an independent ethics board not a gov appointed ethics board.That was there long before she took office.So now shes out there with almost a million FB supporters,a book going #1,interview offers galore,over a thousand 1–250,000 dollar speaking offers worldwide,and your sick with jelousy.hahahahahahaha!!!!
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November 15, 2009, 12:10 amunseen says:
I see no way Palin gets the 2012 nomination. The way she quit here in AK just stinks. She’ll make a fine TV personality after the speaking engagements run dry.
No way? Do you not understand basic math. there will be at least 3 or 4 strong canidates with there block of supporters. Mitt, huck Palin and T-paw most likely with maybe one or two more in the mix depending on how bad Obama sinks.
In a race like that Palin needs at the most 34% of the vote. She has that and then some in most states south of the mason dixion line. The only way I see Palin not getting the nomination if she runs is if the elites force out every other contender but one. And makes it a two person race. Then She may or may not get it. It will be a real battle then for the nomination. But if there are 3 or more Palin walks away with the nomination. Like McCain walked away with it since the GOp has a winner takes all in their primaries.Since the base of the GOP is about 80% conservative and 20% moderate a true conservative like Palin will most likely get upwards of 40% of the GOp primary vote. More than enough to win in a 3 or 4 person race.
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November 15, 2009, 12:11 amTim says:
And here all along I thought the point was to run someone who can actually make positive change so that we can save our republic.
Thanks for pointing out that the only real purpose of national elections is to piss off the “other side.”
Nicely done.
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November 15, 2009, 12:30 amHoundOfDoom says:
Yeah, thank God we have that intellectual powerhouse Biden in the whitehouse, right?
Many more conservatives than you and your little circle jerk are pulling for her. If she runs, will you vote for B. Hussien 0bama again?
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November 15, 2009, 12:49 amMartha says:
I’m wondering whether this level of conservative-on-conservative vitriol was always there and I just didn’t notice, or whether it’s new. Didn’t the GOP used to have a big tent?
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November 15, 2009, 1:03 amtemoc94 says:
MathMom: His outreach to Muslims around the world has gotten us the first terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11.
The first assumption you make here is that “lone wolf” attacks, even where the lone wolf professes some kind of religious motivation, ought to be classified as terrorist attacks.
Perhaps that assumption is reasonable; perhaps not. But if you make it, you must also admit that Fort Hood was not the first terrorist attack in the US since 9/11. The lone wolf who attacked the El Al counter at LAX in 2002 (whose profile is remarkably similar to the Fort Hood guy) would qualify, for example. Bush visited some mosques after 9/11; do you blame him for the El Al attack?
The second assumption you make is that Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world somehow caused the Fort Hood massacre. I think that assumption is absurd. There’s absolutely no evidence that Obama’s outreach motivated the Fort Hood attack; the perpetrator clearly had psychological problems that pre-dated the Obama administration.
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November 15, 2009, 1:27 amzuch says:
Oh, you’re sooooo right there. Spot on. Palin For Preznit 2010!!!
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:31 amzuch says:
Stop giving out national security secrets. If the Terra-ists ever get wind of this tactic, we’d be in a real pickle should Palin ever attain office again....
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:35 amzuch says:
Try looking up “magna cum laude some time.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:40 amzuch says:
Yeah. Just as many platitudes, and neither of them had a brain.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:42 amzuch says:
Good thing you didn’t specify “news media” there. If you had, you’d be wrong.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:45 amzuch says:
Oh. My condolences.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 1:49 amKirk Parker says:
RJ,
Wow–when did wonkery become a necessary qualification?
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November 15, 2009, 2:13 am4rc says:
If Obama is a leftist than he is clearly not smarter than Palin. Without a teleprompter Obama is lost
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November 15, 2009, 2:32 amneurodoc says:
I expect that making HLR was a purely meritocratic achievement accomplished either through grades or a write-on competition. But after Obama made law review, he won what was in effect a popularity contest in getting elected its president. Later he taught Con Law at U of Chicago, which surely bespeaks an IQ at least the equal of Palin’s.
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November 15, 2009, 2:44 amA. Zarkov says:
If Obama has good grades and a high LSAT, then why won’t he allow the public to see his transcripts? Ditto for his senior thesis. He could end the controversy over his long-form birth certificate by just allowing public access– cheaper than springing for legal fees. Perhaps he thinks it adds to his mystique, or perhaps there is something embarrassing about his record. Why would a gifted author, not publish anything beyond his two vanity books? Obama has drawn a dark shroud around himself and it makes some people nervous to have a cipher as president.
We could overlook all this mystery if his performance as president were suburb, but it’s not. He made promises to have a refreshingly transparent administration, and it’s anything but that. Note that his approval numbers have been in steady decline for about 6 months. I know a lot of people who voted for him who now have buyers regret.
Notice. My criticisms of BHO should in no way be taken as approval of John McCain or the Republican party. Nor should this statement be taken as approval of the Democrats. In my opinion we need a third party.
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November 15, 2009, 3:06 amzuch says:
Understatement of the century. Magna cum laude at HLS ... when some pretty damn smart people don’t even get in the door. And what’s Palin’s academic credentials?
But we have this fine explanation for the RW’s assertion that Obama can’t hold a candle to Palin:
Cure the ED, as they say in acamadecia. This arguement is cleerly a winner.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 3:10 amJim Treacher says:
You seem to think he’s capable of learning.
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November 15, 2009, 3:29 amJim Treacher says:
As opposed to every other political candidate in American history, who never shared a stage with a family member.
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November 15, 2009, 3:36 amJim Treacher says:
Your credulity is noted.
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November 15, 2009, 3:37 amzuch says:
What “controversy”? You Orly Taitz’s lawyer? ROFLMAO....
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 3:39 amzuch says:
That the new euphemism for “big black man”? Seems that way at times.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 3:41 amNIck056 says:
David, now you’re predicting that some people are likely to think fondly of Sarah Palin because they transfer the good attributes of Maria, from Sound of Music, to her — all based on that cover.
You also “observed” that, owing to this possibility, Newsweek “made Palin stronger.” I suppose next you’ll say that those “Obama as Spock” comparisons from a few months ago didn’t take into account the fact that Spock was a half-human alien, and as such not able to serve as president, so the comparison inadvertently made Obama weaker, because it brought to mind a pointy-earred biracial nerd whose ineligible for the presidency.
Wait a minute ... Jesus, David, you’re right. This is apparently how people reason. I’m either going to watch the Sound of Music — or I’m headed to Vulcan.
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November 15, 2009, 3:44 ampot meet kettle says:
nohype, the projection is why i have a big tent.
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November 15, 2009, 3:52 ampot meet kettle says:
gotten us the first terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11.
“first attack since 9/11″ was probably the most brilliant redefinition of success dubya engineered. in a presidency with many brilliant redefinitions. mission accomplished, anyone?
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November 15, 2009, 3:57 amyankee says:
Fair enough, but her lack of knowledge of policy goes far beyond an inability to answer “gotcha” questions. At the time of the Katie Couric interview, the U.S. was in the grips of the most serious banking crisis since the Great Depression. Major financial institutions were collapsing and the stock market was in freefall. As a result, the #1 policy issue on the national stage was the Bush Administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial markets, which McCain supported even though it was very unpopular with the public. When Couric asked Palin about the bailout, Palin produced a bunch of incoherent blather about jobs and healthcare, making it clear she had no understanding whatsoever of the most important policy issue of the time.
To be fair, she has another two years to brush up on policy before the Presidential campaign begins in earnest.
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November 15, 2009, 4:05 amStating the obvious says:
As for the Mother Superior, her wise insight was that pushing Maria into a higher level of responsibility and a bigger stage
So from the Mother Superior’s perspective, being a governess was a “higher level of responsibility” than being married to God and serving Him exclusively?
I think your analogy is beginning to fall apart.
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November 15, 2009, 4:11 amStating the obvious says:
Also, remember the real Von Trapp family story is a lot less romantic than the movie.
No late night escape from the Nazis, just broke-ass former Hapsburg royalty destroyed by bank failure fleeing the chaos of pre-WWII Austria to Italy and eventually the U.S., where they ended up running a resort in Stowe, Vermont.
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November 15, 2009, 4:20 amJust saying says:
Wow, so many people who know so much more then I do. I especially like you dullards who know I am silly, ignorant and/or a nut because I do not agree with you. Hmmm, who does this remind me of? Hint; see like minded people already in office (for now). Why is it that you feel so threatened by somebody who relates well with the common person in fly-over country?
From your lame blog: “Welker & Rosario was founded by three Harvard Law graduates and has offices in New York and California. We are sophisticated, humanitarian, and revolutionary.” Sophisticated and revolutionary? I am really impressed now. BTW, regarding yourself, you forgot “condescending and arrogant.”
Big surprise to see a thread on your blog about why we need more stimulus. http://www.werolaw.com/2009/11/why-we-need-more-stimulus.html Brilliant ace, just brilliant. What would we stoopid, unejikated people do without you and your moronic ideas? I forgot, we are already seeing that unfold before our very eyes. Problem? I see no problem, let’s just print more money, right? Say, didn’t President shout out, smarty pants go to Haahvard too, but I digress.
I think you just like to hear, or read, your own blathering. This is based on your need to post repeatedly. Good luck with that! Frankly, it is people like you that encourage me to vote for Palin. Assuming she even runs for anything. It must just chap your rear a bright pink that people like “Beck, Hanntiy, Limbaugh” AND Palin all make more money then you do. Much more:) I think if Palin ever does run, I will vote for her just so I can hear you (and others of your ilk) squeal. Please watch the movie Deliverance for the proper way to squeal. I am sure you already know how to assume Ted’s position.
Mathmom: Intelligent and articulate posts. Unlike some of the others, I enjoyed hearing your perspective. However, please do not waste your time and energy posting facts. Libs and unreasonable blowhards (but I repeat myself) never do deal that well with facts.
Zuch: What’s wrong? Why do you have this need to post over and over? Careful, all that repetitive posting makes your Kool-Aid stained lips show what your true colors are. In case you are as smart as your non witty posts make you look, here is a translation; you suck!
Hope all you pseudo intellects have fun sacking me after I post this. Wish I could be hear to read all the windy, high falutin comments that will inevitably come after, but I will not be. Unlike some of the intellectual wanna bee’s on here with all those impressive degrees (that strangely have so much time to post over and over) I can only handle so much entertainment from one comment section.
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November 15, 2009, 4:23 amRicardo says:
If the Fort Hood massacre qualifies as terrorism, so do the D.C. sniper murders (10 dead). These occurred in 2002 during the administration of You Know Who. Either both of them qualify as terrorism or neither of them do.
At least one of the “birther” lawsuits charged that since he was born a UK citizen (acquired automatically by virtue of having a Kenyan father), his automatic dual citizenship renders him a non-natural born U.S. citizen. Another lawsuit charged that by residing in Indonesia and being referred to in official documents as an Indonesian citizen, he relinquished his natural born citizenship status by virtue of his adoption and apparent acquisition of Indonesian citizenship. So releasing documents would not have done anything to stem the tide of frivolous lawsuits. It’s like saying that releasing every single remaining record of the JFK assassination would put a stop to the grassy knoll theorists.
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November 15, 2009, 5:20 amA. Zarkov says:
We don’t really know that until we try it. There should be nothing lost by allowing the public to see the long-form birth certificate. I have yet to hear a credible reason for not allowing access. Most likely the long-form would prove he’s a natural-born citizen, but something else is embarassing, like the identity of the actual father.
The frivolous lawsuits you cite are not questions of fact, the birth certificate is.
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November 15, 2009, 5:30 amRicardo says:
The point is that releasing any long-form birth certificate won’t save Obama or anyone else a single penny in legal fees, since these silly lawsuits make claims apart from Obama’s supposed birth in Kenya.
But are you alleging that the Hawaii Department of Health falsified its record of Obama’s birth by listing a certain Barack Hussein Obama as the father in contradiction to the supposed “real” father listed on the long-form birth certificate? Paternity tests didn’t even exist back in 1961! How on earth could any doctor know Obama Sr. wasn’t the father, even if it was true? We really are rapidly heading into grassy knoll territory.
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November 15, 2009, 5:46 amJim Treacher says:
Because she wouldn’t be bound by the peculiarities of Alaskan law that allowed her to be almost bankrupted by frivolous ethics complaints.
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November 15, 2009, 5:47 amRicardo says:
“I’m trying to remember if I’ve met [Palin] before. I’m sure I must have... What is she, the governor of Guam?... This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for. She hasn’t spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family. Let’s wait and see how she looks five days out.” — George W. Bush
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November 15, 2009, 5:56 amA. Zarkov says:
They sure did, but unlike today’s DNA testing, they could only prove non-paternity. For example Joan Barry won a paternity suit against Charlie Chaplin in 1943 dispate the fact that a blood test proved non-paternity. From Wikipedia on Joan Barry:
But we are getting side tracked. I brought up paternity as speculation.
To repeat I see no reason for Obama to deny public access to his long-form birth certificate even if other lawsuits would continue. It would certainly make him look better.
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November 15, 2009, 6:13 amTim Condon says:
Wow. The number of trolls and mobies on posting on this list is impressive. For all of you, Sarah Palin will be on TV with Oprah Winfrey this Monday (tomorrow, Nov. 16th) at 4:00 p.m. EST. Let’s see how she does. Similarly, we shall see how she does in her ensuing multi-week book tour. And then we shall see how she does and who she supporting during the 2010 elections. My bet is that she’s far, far smarter, tougher and more disciplined than either liberals or most conservatives think she is. If I’m right, she’s on track to be the first female president in U.S. history.
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November 15, 2009, 6:22 amA. Zarkov says:
Although John Allen Muhammad was charged with murder, terrorism and conspiracy, there is substantial doubt he was acting his Islamic beliefs like Hasan. From Wikipedia:
Unlike John Allen, we have strong evidence that Hasan was motivated by his Islamic beliefs. Fort Hood and the DC sniper attacks are not the same kind of crime. The latter is more like the Chicago Tylenol Murders.
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November 15, 2009, 6:39 amFederal Dog says:
“but he is clearly smarter and more disciplined than Palin.”
Laughable.
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November 15, 2009, 7:14 amChas C-Q says:
Moby.
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November 15, 2009, 8:04 amKansasGirl says:
Palin for President!
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November 15, 2009, 8:05 amDiversityHire says:
There’s no call for Biden in this thread, he and his buddy Rosencrantz are from an entirely different medium.
As for Newsweek’s problem with Sarah Palin—couldn’t they write something that scanned?—if she’s Maria, is McCain the baron von Trapp? Joe Lieberman the Baronness Elsa Schraeder and Lindsey Graham Detweiler? Liesl and Rolf: Bristol and Levi. Track, Willow, Piper, Trig, Taiga, Carbine, Muktuk, Tundra, Widgeon, Polaris, Oosik, and the other Palin children pretty much map onto the Von Trapp kids… Camille Paglia and Hillary are sisters Margeritte and Berta, respectively. Barry is who? the Lonely Goatherd? Clearly, Wally Hickel was Mother Abbess…and George Bush is Hitler.
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November 15, 2009, 8:08 amDiversityHire says:
I’m looking forward to Going Rogue: The Musical featuring Chris Colfer as Levi Johnston.
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November 15, 2009, 8:36 amMithras says:
Camille Paglia as a nun. That’s horrifying.
But Bush as Hitler? Nah. If Palin is Maria, then Hitler is ... anyone who is not American and doesn’t speak English.
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November 15, 2009, 8:43 amsoozer says:
If Sarah Palin was ugly, no one would care.
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November 15, 2009, 8:58 amPragmaticist says:
My wet dream is Rand Paul, (son of Ron Paul and the likely winner of the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky in 2010), against Obama in 2012. Of course it’s understandable if one has wet dreams of Sarah. ;)
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November 15, 2009, 9:00 amRichard Aubrey says:
Interesting responses.
More interesting than the subject. There is one thread which impresses me,not. It’s not despicable, it’s clever, to win races by getting divorce decrees illegally unsealed. It’s not despicable, it’s clever to try to bankrupt a political opponent by the use of frivolous lawsuits. And these are the people who desperately want the government to have access to everybody’s (including potential political opponents) medical records.
Additionally, Palin would be a useful opponent for the dems since the media have already demonstrated how vile and dishonest–more than usually–they will be in attacking Palin.
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November 15, 2009, 9:42 amrpt says:
No, Finn is much more the Levi type.
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November 15, 2009, 9:51 amczekmark says:
Too funny. Sarah keeps getting under the skin of many of you commentors. As for that, I say ‘well done, Sarah’.
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November 15, 2009, 11:00 amMatthias Neeracher says:
Ah, but that’s the beauty of it! Maybe the cover was the perfect dog whistle to promote Palin among gay males?
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November 15, 2009, 11:05 amMathMom says:
You know that these belated realizations are highly dubious, right? Even eye-witnesses who know they are witnessing a crime are unreliable; this pharmacist’s 9/11-prompted memory is even less trustworthy. Maybe Ivins didn’t do it, but if the FBI, motivated as it was, with all the resources at its disposal, couldn’t manage to pin the anthrax attacks on the 9/11 hijackers, it’s tough to put much stock in these reports.
Martha –
I appreciate that you can disagree without being disagreeable.
Regarding eyewitnesses to a crime, there is a lot of adrenaline pumping at such a time, chaos, fear, and other descriptive terms. In such a situation things seem bigger, louder, whatever, and perceptions may be imperfect. For example, my son was recently coming home from college at oh-dark-thirty in his VW GTI, when “the biggest raccoon I have ever seen” stepped out of the darkness into his path. He hit the critter, and did a lot of damage to his bumper and the underside of the GTI. He phoned me and asked what to do. I told him to go find the critter and photograph it for the insurance company, and save anything that had fur and blood on it. He found the raccoon. It was not the “the size of a small dog”, it was the size of a raccoon. Adrenaline made it huge, coming out of the darkness and turning a nice drive home into an expensive trip to the body shop.
By comparison, Atta walks in to a pharmacy during business hours, chats up the pharmacist who at that time felt he was staring into the face of evil, and showed the pharmacist his rash. It was nasty, unusual, and combined with the perceived evilness of Atta made an indelible impression on the pharmacist. Two other future hijackers sought treatment for black sores on their legs at a hospital, not during a tsunami or earthquake, but at a time when a doctor could look carefully at the lesions and prescribe Cipro. In this case, I’d give hindsight a better-than-even value, especially with the help of Google Search Images Cutaneous Anthrax (not for the queasy).
Did you know that when GWB came into office, the FBI was forbidden to use the internet in pursuit of criminals? The FBI was not online. (I do not know their status at this time.) This is because of such patriots as Jamie Gorelick and the famous “wall” erected to prevent sharing of information between law enforcement agencies. Agents were even forbidden to use the internet at home. A blogger around that time posted that his friend, an FBI agent, was stunned when the blogger had a bucket of information that would normally come out during an FBI investigation. The FBI agent asked how the information was obtained, and the blogger replied that it was a simple internet search. The FBI was not allowed to use Google! Think about that! This is like finding one of those tribes in the jungle of the Philippines and showing them a flashlight, only to have them faint dead away at the sight.
This is why I don’t trust that Ivins, especially conveniently dead, was the only reason for the anthrax attacks in 2001. Your mileage may vary.
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November 15, 2009, 11:09 amLN says:
Let’s get real people. If there was ever some sort of popularity contest with Barack Obama on one side and Sarah Palin on the other, and the people deciding were real down-to-earth Americans, there’s no way Obama would win.
But it’s too bad we’ll never get to see that. I blame the liberal media for creating a distortion force field that prevents “most people” from seeing the truth that conservatives (i.e., real Americans) are somehow able to perceive effortlessly.
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November 15, 2009, 11:18 amArkady says:
@MathMom
The most cursory of internet searches would show that to be pure bullshit:
Sourec: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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November 15, 2009, 11:26 amMathMom says:
See my comment above
http://volokh.com/2009/11/14/newsweek-promotes-palin-for-president/comment-page-4/#comment-687800
No way, Jose! I’m not blaming the Islamic jihadi attack at Ft. Hood on Obama. I’m shocked, shocked!! that these attacks haven’t ceased because of his Muslim outreach! The seas have stopped rising, the BusHitler re-education camps have been emptied and those who were incarcerated are receiving counseling at government expense, hope has sprung anew, but the perpetrators of Islamic jihad have not gotten the message??? How can this be?
His psychological problems predating the Obama administration include an identification of himself as Muslim first, American after that, and a desire to engage in jihad (see linked comment above), in a country that is so free that people made allowances for his loudly professed beliefs. Willful blindness enabled his attack. Now, he’s paralyzed, he’s alive, and, bummer that, he’s not in paradise!
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November 15, 2009, 11:30 amMithras says:
So, uh, tell us more about this invisible force field that you are seeing.
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November 15, 2009, 11:31 ammike says:
I guess I don’t really understand the “Republican disintegration” comment. Last I checked, the GOP was up in Gallup’s generic ballot survey by 4 points, with something like a 22 point margin amongst independents.
Oh, and I also heard something about the “Pro-Choice” party having its health care bill held up by 40 Pro-Lifers on its own side...
Seems to me that if there’s any “disintegration” going on, it’s with the Democrats.
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November 15, 2009, 11:31 ammike says:
I guess I don’t really understand the “Republican disintegration” comment. Last I checked, the GOP was up in Gallup’s generic ballot survey by 4 points, with something like a 22 point margin amongst independents.
Oh, and I also heard something about the “Pro-Choice” party having its health care bill held up by 40 Pro-Lifers on its own side...
Seems to me that if there’s any “disintegration” going on, it’s with the Democrats.
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November 15, 2009, 11:31 amMathMom says:
Yankee and I have already discussed my oversight. See linked comment above:
http://volokh.com/2009/11/14/newsweek-promotes-palin-for-president/comment-page-4/#comment-687800
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November 15, 2009, 11:32 amA Conservative Teacher says:
“How do you solve a problem like Barack?” Just imagine if a national magazine had this on the cover, and then discussed the problem that is presented when a black man runs for office. Imagine the horror of someone who is black actually thinking he could be President, the magazine would suggest. This is the double-standard that exists in liberals minds– they think that it is okay to view people as problems that must be solved. As a conservative, I see no problem with Barack or Sarah, only people who have wrong and right answers to the problems facing our society.
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November 15, 2009, 11:44 amMithras says:
They’re implying that she’s a problem for the GOP which, you know, she is. But don’t let that get in the way of your persecution complex.
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November 15, 2009, 11:48 amMathMom says:
Post in haste, repent at leisure. The FBI has been going after pedophiles online, you are correct. The FBI was online. Just not allowed to use it to fight terror proactively:
Mr. Ashcroft said the old guidelines prohibited F.B.I. investigators from surfing the Web ”in the same way that you and I can look for information.” Justice Department officials said that under 1999 guidelines, the Policies for Online Criminal Investigation, F.B.I. agents could not search for leads on the Internet but could use it only in cases where a criminal investigation had been established.
For example, one official said, agents would have been permitted in recent months to look at Web sites for information about anthrax because of the agency’s broad investigation of anthrax-contaminated letters to officials.
But agents would not have been allowed to search the Internet for information about smallpox’s potential as a biological weapon, he said, because it was not the subject of a criminal investigation.
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November 15, 2009, 12:33 pmpc says:
Palin threads really bring out the crazy.
Shh, the FBI was part of the conspiracy. From “long form” birth certificates[0] to FBI agents not being able to use the internet[1], this thread is full of win.
if(thread_subject == “Sarah Palin”) {
do {
crazy++;
} while(comments > 1); //yes, crazy requires an unbounded loop
}
[0] — I’ve never seen my “long form” birth certificate and I’m 100% sure I wasn’t born in Kenya
[1] — perhaps Kevin Mitnick could chime in on this lulzy factoid
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November 15, 2009, 12:37 pmtheobromophile says:
Zuch: Obama graduated magna from Harvard Law, but we do not know anything about his high school record (other than that he had a B– average, IIRC), his SAT scores, his grades at Occidental, his grades at Columbia (other than that he was part of the 20% who did not graduate with honours, IIRC), nor his LSAT scores.
The question that was asked was about his pre-HLS performance, which is relevant to his HLS admission. You did not answer that.
The point that a lot of us are making is that, if he really were supremely qualified for admission, we would probably know about it. That we don’t leaves us with but one conclusion: affirmative action.
As a woman with a shiny engineering degree, I can tell you that the stigma of affirmative action is very real; I can also tell you that I had a load of fun pointing out to anyone who accused me of being an affirmative action admit that my grades and SAT scores were both higher than most of my fellow admittees and that of the person making the accusation.
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November 15, 2009, 12:58 pmRichard Aubrey says:
wrt Hasan.
Rep. Hoekstra is complaining that the CIA and FBI are not being forthcoming about Hasan’s red flags.
I sympathize with them.
One, two, or a dozen intel/LEO squaddies are going to have to say that, yes, they saw the red flag(s), but were afraid to say anything for fear of being called an islamaphobic bigot, or actually ending their career.
Problem is, it will happen the next time. If they say anything about the next Hasan’s red flags, they will be attacked as islamophobic bigots and possibly end their careers.
The Ft. Hood shooting won’t change that. Hell, 9–11 didn’t.
So they’ll have to admit they did a cowardly, dreadful thing in the full knowledge that they’ll do it again at the next opportunity.
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November 15, 2009, 1:08 pmA. Zarkov says:
You make an important point here. Obama should be anxious to reveal his grades, SAT, and LSAT to dispel accusations that he got through elite schools on the basis of affirmative action. But he doesn’t. Either there is something embarrassing about his record or his test scores and grades are well below his classmates. His supporters keep trying to spin his refusal to come clean, but I’m afraid it won’t wash. His lack of an achievement record doesn’t do him any good either. If he had an outstanding record of accomplishments, say in law, then few would care about this records. But we have nothing and that’s troubling because we don’t want a man of mystery as president. He has chosen a public life and I think he’s obligated to be forthright about himself especially since he put his life on display with his two books which have material we can’t verify.
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November 15, 2009, 1:19 pmLN says:
Well, if Barack Obama only got into Harvard Law because of affirmative action, and then went on to become president of the law review, graduate magna cum laude, serve in the United States Senate, and become the first black President of the United States, I guess this just proves how affirmative action is simply an embarrassment to everybody.
I wonder what his classmate Andrew Schlafly’s LSAT scores were.
Regarding Obama’s “economic illiteracy,” it seems weird to just say this without making mention of his economic advisors. You know, I’d figure that one would want to argue that his advisors are economically illiterate, or that Obama doesn’t listen to his economically literate advisors. Too much work I guess.
And yeah, I’m sure everyone doing intelligence work for the “war on terror” is deeply worried about having their careers end because of some politically incorrect suspicions they have about some Muslim person. “Let’s see, my entire job is to investigate al Qaeda, but I don’t want to raise any red flags about Muslims because that wouldn’t be PC.”
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November 15, 2009, 1:35 pmJohn Moore says:
It is really amusing to watch the left come out in favor of keeping information from the public. I wonder how many of the Obamaphiles in favor of continued cover-up of his personal history were in favor of hunting down every detail of Bush’s National Guard service?
I don’t know what, if anything Obama is hiding, but his refusal to release that birth certificate, and any of his grades or academic product, should cause all the lovers of damaging government leaks, deep Sarah Palin investigations, et all, to be demanding information.
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November 15, 2009, 1:37 pma3strand says:
The President of the United States does not have to battle lawsuits while he/she is trying to govern. I think she did the right (honest) thing to do by handing the governorship over to a competent replacement when the state became burdened with all these ethics complaints. Ethic complaints which were later found to be bogus.
When is doing the right thing for your constituents the last thing we expect a politician to do? It is a long time before 2012. Let’s see how Sarah stands when we get closer.
Martha: The thing is, any attacks are likely to be more ferocious at the national level. If attacks forced her to step down from being governor, how could she could handle them as president?
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November 15, 2009, 1:48 pma3strand says:
Now President Obama is a problem for all of us.
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November 15, 2009, 1:50 pmMartha says:
Paula Jones.
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November 15, 2009, 1:59 pmRandy says:
Andrew Sullivan has kept tract of her proven lies on his website. When you read them, you do come to the conclusion that if she will lie about stupid stuff as well as the important stuff, you realize that he is right when he asks, ‘is there anything she won’t lie about?’
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November 15, 2009, 2:01 pmJoan says:
I will vote Palin over any Harvard trained president with no fear of God. I think you Liberals are delusional. You are full of hate and anger. You hate Palin because of what she stands for. Why are you persecuting the messenger instead of the message? See what Obama has done to America — He fails to attend the national day of prayer but he has time to attend Gay, Lesbian, Transgenders banquet. He is giving handouts instead of giving people hands up.
Wake up people. Any empire or nation that fail to honor God will soon collapse. Call me whatever you want, with all our technology advancement, twentieth century is one of the most immoral century of our times. We glorify fame, popularity, sex, beauty and money. We elect someone because he is charming. Words no longer have meaning. We call evil good. We care less about moral and integrity.
Obama is God’s judgment on this nation. We forsake God’s 10 commandment and we say yes to man’s laws.
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November 15, 2009, 2:02 pmA. Zarkov says:
This is exactly what I mean by spin. George Bush went to a private prep school, then to Yale (more selective than Columbia at least now days) and earned an MBA at Harvard Business School. He was elected governor of Texas, and president of the United States– twice. Yet his detractors deride him as stupid. George Bush had legacy for Yale, while Obama had AA for both Columbia and Harvard. So pretty much your whole case for Obama’s superior intellect rests on his class standing at HLS. That’s pretty thin if you ask me. Moreover unlike Obama, Bush released his academic records. We even have his records from the Air National Guard here. You keep dancing around the issue: Obama’s persistent secrecy– a secrecy that should be unnecessary if he’s really the superior intellect his supporters claim.
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November 15, 2009, 2:22 pmLN says:
His class standing at HLS doesn’t seem that thin to me. But anyway, you’re right, it’s just spin anyway. Let’s get objective.
If Obama had gone to four different undergraduate institutions, none as good as Occidental or Columbia, and then worked as a sportscaster, and then served as mayor of a small town, and then been a governor of a state with 20% of the population of Chicago, that wouldn’t in itself disqualify him intellectually from the President’s office in your eyes. So why do you really care what his LSAT scores were?
Oh yeah, you just don’t like “spin.” Obama can’t read without a teleprompter! Palin is a misunderstood genius! Now we’re in a spin-free zone.
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November 15, 2009, 2:37 pmArthurKirkland says:
After observing a seemingly endless string of comments questioning the intellect and record of a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School (who served as editor of the law review and is a Columbia graduate ) while lauding someone who kicked around at a series of bottom-scraping institutions before picking up an undergraduate degree, I am tempted to conclude that this no longer qualifies as an “academic” blog.
Silver lining: It offers a home to people who see a bottle-blonde, fake-boobed, contract-violating, topless-photo-posing, sex-tape-making as a model of virtuous adolescent womanhood, at least so long as she wears God prominently on her bikini.
The cherry on this thread: Any empire or nation that fail to honor God will soon collapse. . . . Obama is God’s judgment on this nation.
Fear not, faithful: God has delivered Sarah Palin and Carrie Prejean unto us.
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November 15, 2009, 2:47 pmEH says:
Whew, guys, thread-drift much? I’d say that it’s clear that everybody (in this thread, or who has hung on this long) who thinks Palin is viable, only does so in comparison to Obama. The only way Palin looks better is if you knock Obama down.
If you read back, there is nothing innate to Palin that makes her a good choice, and there is nothing that she has that nobody else does. She is nothing special, if you read these comments the way I have.
But really, don’t mind me. Your Orly Taitz Fan Club business is very important. And have another cocktail, it’s almost lunchtime. Really, go ahead. It’s Sunday.
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November 15, 2009, 2:51 pmpc says:
Perhaps a linear progression isn’t the right formula.
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November 15, 2009, 2:57 pmeric s. says:
There used to be a conventional wisdom about conservatives and the type of Americans they purportedly admired: hardworking, no excuses, take-no-sh1t, merit-based producers.
The mental gymnastics you people go through to justify Palin quitting in the face of “adversity” renders said conventional wisdom completely bogus.
But you go ahead and keep talking about LSAT scores and Alaskan ethics rules if that helps you sleep at night.
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November 15, 2009, 3:10 pmAnon21 says:
Without remarking on Palin’s (nonexistent) merits as a candidate or public leader, I’ll just note that she has a huge hole to climb out of if she’s going to be a viable 2012 candidate. In a recent Gallup poll, 63% of respondents indicated that they would not seriously consider voting for her. Now, this memoir may be a first step towards clawing her way out of that hole, and it may not, but I think it’s probably correct to say that she’s the one GOP candidate who could hand Obama re-election even if the economy hasn’t significantly rebounded by 2012.
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November 15, 2009, 3:12 pmJAM2 says:
wow...
Welker needs to cut back on the dope smoking....
drugs are bad... mmkay..?
Nichole Coulter — big thumbs up.. Check!
Cato the Senile — conservative my ass. also lame attempt at linking prejean and Palin you pathetic POS.
MathMom — I truly hope you have raised dozens of children... you obviously “get it”. America needs more Mom’s like you!
Darleen gets it...
Josh evidently smokes with Davy Welcher....
Christopher Johnson “gets it”....
byomtov is so damn dumb that ADA funds should cover the necessary remedial education.
Mithras — throws the first “Racist” card on the pile.... obviously to cover his own racist tendencies. Reaching into the racist bag is tantamount to saying “I can’t argue your point because it is correct... so I’ll change the dialog...”
SirKev..... well stated!
I think more and more of us are seeing the true dilemma and will ultimately make the correct choice for our country.
Hopefully Sir Bows Alot won’t send us over the cliff before we can correct our mistakes.
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November 15, 2009, 3:23 pmBaseballhead says:
Your arrogance is spectacular. Don’t presume to know God’s will, and certainly don’t project your own feelings upon Him.
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November 15, 2009, 3:31 pmBT says:
224 comments and counting and this on a weekend yet!!! Whether you love or hate her, Palin does draw a heated response.
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November 15, 2009, 3:45 pmRandy says:
“Obama is God’s judgment on this nation. We forsake God’s 10 commandment and we say yes to man’s laws.”
So please tell me why God favors someone who allowed her unmarried daughter to have sex in her house and eventually gave birth to a child without the benefit of marriage?
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November 15, 2009, 4:22 pmTCO says:
section 9: doesn’t matter that she did it because she was second fiddle. She is still tarred with the brush. And even portraying herself as a maverick, when she fell in line on a crucial issue like that...muddies the message of that.
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November 15, 2009, 4:30 pmDavid Welker says:
I really don’t think it is Palin herself that draws these sorts responses. It is a difference in standards. When the teacher in elementary school said that anyone could be President, the less sensible conservatives got the idea that this meant that anyone should become President.
So, this leads to a clash between liberals and conservatives who believe in high standards for Presidential candidates, and those conservative Palin supporters who do not believe in high standards. It is as simple as that. This isn’t about Palin, it is about differing perceptions of the sort of person who can and should be President.
If I merely wanted to ensure a Democratic victory, I would want Republicans to nominate Palin in 2016. But I hope they are more sensible than that, because I think we are better off with robust competition.
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November 15, 2009, 4:37 pmJoe says:
The idea the “left” or “far left” or whatever “hates” Palin is funny. Some self-projection there. Many, including some all over the spectrum, think she is an embarrassment.
People like Keith Olberman target her as easy pickings. I think this is a bit dumb — you are just adding to her popularity and other people are more worth our time, but then, she’s a great target (and no serious threat to Obama in ’12) / puts more serious (those left) Republican leaders in a bad light and is easy story so why wouldn’t they do it?
But, they don’t “hate” her. Some might not respect her. I think she earned this,* but hey, disagree if you want. Some people truly did hate George Bush, and some felt this was childish, as if those who honestly thought he promoted horrible policies that hurt our nation without really trying to be serious at times should be ashamed for hating him. But, Palin is no George Bush. Sorry.
—-
* I like her resigning her job since it just wasn’t fun any more.
Not that other people don’t do something similar. We call it being “laid off.”
Oh, and the mean press just HAUNTED her, and for so little reason! Awwww. Two reporters with a new bio was on C-SPAN recently promoting their book, at least one was someone who worked on FOX. They noted the local press loved her but after awhile, just couldn’t take the lies, corruption and so forth.
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November 15, 2009, 4:38 pmzuch says:
Why? Why would you expect to know about it? I mean other than what we all know, like, you know, HLS is one of the most selective schools in the country, etc.
Wow. A “two-fer” (to go with the “troofers” here): Argumentum ad ignorantiam and fallacy of bifurcation. All in two consecutive sentences.
Cheers,
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November 15, 2009, 4:42 pmTMLutas says:
Even more fun, after the Anschluss, every Austrian could see Nazi Germany from their window. That’s what the Anschluss meant, Austria becoming part of Germany ruled by the Nazis.
It’s fun when Sarah Palin’s critics are so historically illiterate.
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November 15, 2009, 4:59 pmtrespinos says:
I have the fond hope that Sarah Palin will keep herself on the sidelines in 2012. Gov. Pawlenty or Gov. Romney would be wise not to give her as much consideration as a running mate, as perhaps for a Cabinet secretary post. Give her a single, serious portfolio for four to eight years and she could grow.
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November 15, 2009, 5:04 pmmariner says:
LN:
If that contest ever happens, many of the people deciding will be in-the-earth Americans. ;)
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November 15, 2009, 5:53 pmLN says:
Conan could do a “In the Year 2008″ segment.
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November 15, 2009, 6:05 pmTim Condon says:
My, my. Palin isn’t important at all. Yet this thread goes on forever. Those with the most extremely nasty, sneering attitudes seem to predominate. And yet...and yet...you think about how those same people were all aboard on demanding “full disclosure” from every past Republican Presidential candidate. Yet here they are, preening in their intellectual and moral superiority, as they repeatedly explain why reams of information about our President are not available, will not be made public, and need not ever be disclosed. Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, eh?
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November 15, 2009, 6:29 pmLeo Marvin says:
That’s my question. I always thought you were, but what do I know? Obviously, some of your fellow conservatives think your criticism of Palin disqualifies you.
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November 15, 2009, 6:36 pmwake up america says:
take a look at what is in the white house. the media has to keep protecting him because they know that he is so bad that they need to protect their boy! by the way the 3 oclock call came in and Obama hasn’t answered it!!!
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November 15, 2009, 6:42 pmTim Condon says:
Palin is clearly going to have the inside track for the 2012 GOP nomination. Has nothing to do with the party leadership, which is as corrupt and ugly as the rest of the Political Class that owns Washington, DC, especially the Democratic nomenklatura. But it does have to do with her innate smarts and toughness. We shall see, won’t we? All of the hatred, fear and loathing that the Left and its media toadies are spewing at Palin today are precisely the same things that were said about Ronald Reagan. Cheap college. Only a bachelor’s degree. Far too right-wing. An “amiable dunce.” Believed in God (imagine that!). Was patriotic (imagine that!). Loved his country (awful, wasn’t it?). And so forth. And then, in the wake of a Really Smart President—Jimmy Carter—Reagan pulled off two of the most complete and massive electoral landslides in American history. Obama today is Jimmy Carter. The sneering leftist toads on this list are the same as the Smart People who swooned over Carter. Because she is smart, tough, uncorrupted by the Political Class, and extremely savvy, Palin will most likely take the GOP nomination in 2012. She will then utterly defeat Obama in any debates they may have (if Obama dares), just as Reagan did with Carter. And she will win in a landslide...in the same way and for the same reasons that Reagan did. The sneers and smears will continue, of course, just as they did with Reagan. But the historical wreckage left behind by Obama will set the Political Class and the plans of its Smart People back for decades. It’s going to be great.
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November 15, 2009, 6:46 pmneurodoc says:
Some here think that Palin has a great shot at national office in 2012; I think her chances are close to zero. So what would one of you supremely confident Palin supporters propose as a wager on Palin in 2012 — how many $$$?; even money or odds?; bet pre-2012 primaries, or only after?; on just the nomination, or on the office itself?
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November 15, 2009, 6:55 pmJoe thompson says:
Incredible — folks, a lot can change before 2012 — so I see little point in debating whether Sarah Palin should be running for president next time around or not. Sarah Palin is . . . well, she’s a lightning rod, she has incredible charisma, and she oozes “genuine American.” In about six years, she went from nowhere to being Governor of Alaska, and then VP-nominee, and she now has positioned herself as a leading voice for constitutionalism, energy independence, and fiscal conservatism. She is recognized world-wide.
For all the people posting here — just what the hell have YOU achieved over the past six years? You get my point? So shut up, sit back, and watch the show. No-one cares what any of you think.
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November 15, 2009, 7:04 pmOdysseus says:
Obama says there are 57 states and from the media? Crickets. At least Quayle had the excuse that Potato was misspelled on the flash card. How does anyone not know there are only fifty states?
Will any of them have the stones to ask him why he feels it’s OK for the US president to bow to emperors?
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November 15, 2009, 8:32 pmDiversityHire says:
@rpt Finn or Puck are the natural choices, but Kurt’s got the range to do the psycho-sexually complex role of Levi Johnston, like hitting the high-f’s in “I’ve grown accustomed to MySpace”
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November 15, 2009, 8:35 pmSgtRed says:
The only reason that Liberal Dems would have a wet bed if Sarah was to run in 2012 is because they are so scared of her they can barely control their bowels.
On her worst day she would have been a better President than Barack Hussein Obama.
I truly hope the libs keep trashing her because it just makes others realize how nasty and petty libs actually are and it gives her attention that will help build her voter base.
Stock up on your depends Democrats because Sarah won’t be the only conservatives you have to deal with in 2012!
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November 15, 2009, 8:42 pmGary Ogletree says:
Wake up and see the Sarahcudda, boys and girls. The Thrilla from Wasilla is unchained and commands the media battlefield this time. The AP is smarting over the counter punch she landed. If David Brooks wants to see a joke all he needs is a mirror. No wonder President Wee Wee had to leave the country during the book roll out. Too bad, so sad for the Chicago con artist to miss all the fun. It’s Sarah Palin Week in the USA! And it’s fun fun fun for the Obamas til Sarah takes the White House away.
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November 15, 2009, 8:51 pmLeft coast right ideas says:
So unqualified and non serious she caused changes in the health care debate and bill without being a member of congress.
Shes elucidating ideas on energy that include using the natural resources of the US and nuclear energy instead of allowing the environmentalist movement to take them off the table.
She cautions against overspending, and her policies as governor bear that out with waste elimination and personal budget allowance decreases.
She understands you can’t spend your way out a recession by ballooning the debt such that it will reach 80% of GDP in 5 years at current spending levels.
She wouldn’t have supported stiffing investors to give auto companies to Unions. She wouldn’t have attempted to slant coverage by declaring MSNBC not a real news network. She wouldn’t have bowed to a foreign head of state. She wouldn’t be dithering on Afghanistan. She wouldn’t back legislation that makes health care costs, energy costs, and taxes to all rise simultaneously.
The ideas that Palin espouses aren’t terribly complicated but are not well presented by most in the GOP. Therein lies the problem. Fiscal conservatives get undercut by tools like Frum and Brookes that are beltway democrat lites passing themselves off as conservative when they have done little to nothing towards presenting republican ideas aside from “more moderates must get elected”. End result? The GOP looks like Dem lite and bi-partisan simply becomes democratic policy with GOP backing that loses elections because everyone is disgusted with Washington establishment right now.
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November 15, 2009, 8:59 pmEH says:
Sarcastro is Gary Ogletree?
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November 15, 2009, 9:18 pmsection9 says:
Oh, merde!
ONLY Bruno Ganz can be Hitler!
Haven’t you seen ANY Downfall parodies yet? Bruno OWNS the role.
Bush can be the understudy. Nobody puts down poor General Bergdorf like good ol’ Bruno Ganz.
Going Rogue, the Musical, with Bruno Ganz doing a special reprise of the Bunker Scene, with Ted Stevens as himself and David Axelrod as Martin Bormann.
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November 15, 2009, 9:24 pmsection9 says:
Nonsense. Levi must be played by Will Farrell or Broadway will burn I tell you! BURN!
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November 15, 2009, 9:31 pmSteveM says:
Folks, if your knowledge of Sara Palin is from the left leaning media or SNL, then I can safely say that you are making you assumptions based on ignorance. Why not be fair and do your own investigations of her and not be led by people who are scared of her. Quit being led like sheep and learn the truth. Unless it is less time consuming to take the word of known liars in the press.
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November 15, 2009, 9:45 pmDiversityHire says:
@section9 Der Unterfall: die Musikalische des Filme practically writes itself, just needs a librettist. Who couldn’t write some catchy lyrics for “Davon geht die Welt nicht unter”, “In Hof der Reichskanzlei”, or “Hoffnung am Ende der Welt”?
As for Going Rogue: The Musical let’s cast Till Lindemann as Todd Palin.
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November 15, 2009, 9:48 pmyankee says:
Sarah Palin a patriot who loves her country? This is a woman who thinks cities and suburbs are fake America. If you hate the actual America, you’re not a patriot.
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November 15, 2009, 10:18 pmBaseballhead says:
How can people possibly believe this? How?
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November 15, 2009, 10:23 pmstacy says:
The hypocrisy of the liberal left and the liberal left media is just unfreakinreal!!! During the campaign the seriously biased media flocked to Alaska and searched under each and every rock hoping for some dirt on Palin, who was a VICE Presidential candidate! But, shamefully, they failed to even do a minimum of vetting on Obama, who was a Presidential candidate! Palin is an intelligent, beautiful, conservative wife and mother of five. Her and her family are an all American, bible-clinging, gun-toting, Constitutional loving, fiscal conservative, Country-honoring, middle American family and are an asset to this Great Country. As Governor, she began by rooting out the corruption in her own party, before moving on to the corruption in the opposing party. From the moment she stepped on the national stage, the media began their savage and unprecedented attack on her, her husband and her children and through it all she showed an amazing grace and determination. After the campaign, left wing liberals began to attack her in the courts, filing 15–20 bogus lawsuits that, one after another were dismissed, none “stuck”.
On the other hand the media ignored, or never bothered to look at Obama and his past or present. Had they taken a few minutes and done a google search they would have easily seen him for what he is. He is an American hating, marxist loving, social justice, redistribute the wealth, corrupt Chicago machine politician who has spent 1.7 million dollars in lawyer fees to keep from having to produce ANY of his personal records. He has in his administration more than 30 unelected. unconfirmed czars that We the People pay and yet they answer to him and him alone, not us. He gave to his union buddies the car companies, bypassing bankruptcy laws that have been in place from the start and at We the Peoples expense! He has labeled half of the people in this country as terrorists while bringing actual terrorists to this country, giving them full rights and a show trial that will cost We the People millions of dollars and decrease our national safety.
I could go on and on and on, listing dozens and dozens things this man and his administration, czars, fellow democrats, union buddies and ACORN cronies have done to We the People and this great Country, things that done by any conservative or republican would have landed them in jail, but it is pointless to try talking about the truth to a liberal, as there is only their way and no other. Most liberals won’t even try telling you that what you are saying is not true, but will immediately resort to name calling and personal attacks. so please continue your frenzied attack on Palin and other conservatives and ignore the destruction of this great Country by our Marxist-in-Chief.
The only thing I ask is that you keep your crying and whining to yourself when you wake up and find that YOUR Freedom and Liberty are gone, the same as mine.
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November 15, 2009, 10:26 pmJohn Dunshee says:
I agree that Sarah would be a problem. She is too ordinary for any Democrat to support. She was not born into a prominent family, did not attend any Ivy League University, neither inherited or married any significant money and has too many children to every attract the feminist vote.
In short, she is not a member of the elite and should in no way be considered for high office.
Why, she doesn’t even vacation at “The Vineyard”.
What would the little people think?
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November 15, 2009, 10:36 pmLN says:
It’s hilarious that Sarah Palin’s legal fees are evidence that she is being unfairly prosecuted by hateful liberals, but Barack Obama’s legal fees are evidence that he will leave no penny unspent to defend himself from reasonable inquiries.
I mean, the lawsuits against Palin are “baseless,” “one after another were dismissed,” “none ‘stuck.’” Meanwhile the lawsuits against Obama have been dismissed as frivolous — which is proof of how much he has to hide! Why are liberals such hypocrites?
Back in reality land there is no sensible argument that we should attribute 100% of Organizing for America’s legal fees over the course of three years to the defense of the frivolous Obama birth certificate lawsuits. As the Wingnut Daily article from which this claim is derived points out, John McCain by himself had to pay out $1.6 million in legal fees over the same period.
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November 15, 2009, 10:46 pmCornellian says:
The only reason that Liberal Dems would have a wet bed if Sarah was to run in 2012 is because they are so scared of her they can barely control their bowels.
On her worst day she would have been a better President than Barack Hussein Obama.
I really, really hope the majority of Republican primary voters in 2012 actually believe this.
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November 15, 2009, 10:47 pmNemo says:
It’s instructive how quickly the Palin-haters attach themselves to every Palin discussion. What’s Rahm paying these days?
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November 15, 2009, 11:03 pmldenton says:
Sometimes I have to just wonder about all you folks. You just start running off at the mouth without ever really thinking through anything. Or is it that you just don’t KNOW anything?
1. The President with the highest IQ? According to those who know, it was Jimmy Carter. He graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in Nuclear Engineering. Proof that a high IQ doesn’t mean you will make a good President. And for those who claim that Obama was Magna Cum Laude, where is the proof of that? Quit spouting off about it. Prove it. If he was Magna Cum Laude, then we would know what his grades were, ignoramus. Nowhere has there ever been any proof that Obama was Magna Cum Laude. And just in case you didn’t know, Magna Cum Laude is certainly not the highest rank in college graduation. That would be Summa Cum Laude.
2. For those of you whining about starting a third party — have you never heard of Perot? When has there ever been a successful third party candidacy for President? Hint — never. Don’t waste your time or the country’s. Pick a party and reform it if you must, but shut up already about a third party.
3. When has Sarah Palin ever said she was interested in running for President in 2012 anyway? And don’t talk about exploratory committees, etc. Everyone does those. No proof at all that she will even run. Personally, if I were her, I wouldn’t lower my standards to become President. She has a much better life now that she is a private citizen.
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November 15, 2009, 11:04 pmLN says:
From the Harvard Crimson:
Someone graduates summa cum laude from Harvard Law about once every 6 years. So magna cum laude is a pretty good distinction.
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November 15, 2009, 11:15 pmloki13 says:
What’s the argument here?
1. Being intelligent doesn’t make you a good President, in fact, it might make you a bad President.
2. Obama is dumb.
3. Profit!
No..... wait..... there must be something else there. Let’s try again:
1. There is no proof that Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude (even though there is– that’s publicly available), but it doesn’t matter, because there’s Summa.
2. Of course, at HLS summa is only granted every few years, which makes magna an incredible achievement, but, um, Obama’s dumb.
3. Profit!
Oh.... I just don’t get it.
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November 15, 2009, 11:18 pmLarry Sheldon says:
Be serious. You know that The Daily Show is the premier news source.
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November 15, 2009, 11:31 pmRoland Hirsch says:
B.D., You will soon be celebrating your fifth birthday. Congratulations for such fine writing style at an early age! Since you were not around for the 2004 election, let me mention John Edwards. You have not heard of him? Probably your parents do not allow you to read the recent news about him. So, take it on my word, he was the ultimate in unqualified.
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November 15, 2009, 11:32 pmRicardo says:
Well, for one thing, it’s part of Japanese culture to bow as a greeting during formal occasions. C’mon, this is silly. Even an American whose entire knowledge of Japan comes from watching “Mr. Baseball” would know this. How far you bow down and for how long depends on the status of the person you are greeting.
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November 15, 2009, 11:41 pmWilliam in AZ says:
You people that attempt to slam Palin are grasping at soundbites from your own little echo chambers. The woman has the good sense to write a book in order to set much of the record straight and reconnect with a public starving for someone who sees things as they are and can do something about them. Something as simple and straightforward as a main story line from ‘The Sound of Music’ escapes these ‘smart’ people and is turned to the advantage of their intended target — how rich is that?!
The media critics and haunty ideologues, who laughingly like to think that they are above it all, simply display their slow wit and bile when they attempt to manufacture yet another ‘fact’ about this rising political star. Palin may have had a rocky start, but she’s a real quick learner, especially when the Lib-Dem mouthpieces have opened their entire playbook before the first quarter has even ended. You creepy folks can save your vitriol and jealousy for those in your own Party, because you’re going to need it fairly soon due to the way they’re planning to take care of you. What a hoot.
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November 15, 2009, 11:41 pmBenP says:
Impressive trolling there. I stand in awe.
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November 15, 2009, 11:48 pmsparklespeaks says:
As a small business person and a woman, what I see in Sarah is this:
NOT a product of the political professional class.
Real world experience in running a Business, and a demanding one at that. Do a little research, you wouldn’t want this job.
Knows how to make a profit, and meet a payroll.
Executive management experience.
Lest we forget, we are in this financial meltdown because of financial ignoramuses in the government.
I include George Bush, running a company you got with daddy’s connections, and daddy and his friends money to bail you out, ain’t runnin’ nothin.
She fought the corruption in her own party.
She knows energy policy backwards and forwards.
Seems to like her country a hell of a lot more than Obama.
Has great personal charm, which is simply nowhere to be found in the current GOP stable.
Isn’t Huckabuck
Has kids, and the problems which come with them, understands family life, unlike the dried wombs of the Maureen Dowds of the left.
Can handle a gun, and knows what it is to kill, libs who can only kill unborn babies, have no idea what this mindset means. If you are a woman it means you can take care of yourself, it means you can personally defend your family, and are prepared to, and aren’t expecting someone else to do it. It is very empowering, and sobering. People with guns take that power very seriously.
Has lived a lower, to middleclass life, working at a job that makes something of value, food.
Their business also means they have direct experience of the DC elite, lawyers for the most part, regardless of whether they are styled Senatwhore or congresstheif, ruining the country with unfunded mandates, stupid laws (2000 pages anyone?) hard by the sweat of your brow tax money they steal and give to rich cronies and welfare scum who can’t even be bothered to say thanks to the American people.
We working stiffs know she gets it, and has lived it, and has earned every bit of her success on her own,.
No Daddy Admiral, No Senator Granddaddy or President Daddy, No Booze empired family trust, No sudden suspicious rocket ride to wealth in a small state catapulting into the White House. A breath of fresh air really.
We also think after watching Obamatuer, and Jorge Bush hour, that WE the people, any one of us could do a better job running the country.
This illusion that the elites try to foster, that only the properly anointed with some sort of secret knowledge can be Kings, is exactly that an illusion.
The only effective Kings were the warrior kings who had to personally run armies and deliver victories.
Once they turned their countries over to their dilettante offspring whatever the secret knowledge was they all still lost their kingdoms to either the barbarian hordes, their own underclass, or as here in America, to the common man.
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November 15, 2009, 11:56 pmbullwhip says:
Boycott Newsweek!!
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November 15, 2009, 11:57 pmBenP says:
The spirit of andrew jackson applauds you.
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November 15, 2009, 11:58 pmVod Kanockers says:
For all of you bitchin’ about Sarah quitting her Gov job early. Look at your phony liar you have up in DC now. He quit his senator job didn’t he???
Sarah has more time as a politician than the fool you have up there now. All he did was vote present on most stuff because he wasn’t smart enough to know any better.
Yep, I’d take Sarah any day over the phony obammy character....
Vod Kanockers
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November 16, 2009, 12:01 amCornellian says:
Haven’t you seen ANY Downfall parodies yet? Bruno OWNS the role.
The one where he’s upset at the delay in releasing the last Harry Potter movie is definitely a YouTube classic.
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November 16, 2009, 12:15 amC. S. says:
Does the name John Edwards ring a bell?
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November 16, 2009, 12:15 amrpt says:
There’s a lot of William Kristol Syndrome here. Thinking outside the box and below the belt. For you Palin triviologists, I’m probably the only person here who knows both Mary Glazer and Lance Wallnau. No one is as good or bad as Palin is portrayed. The one sure thing is that she has made a lot of money for herself and is now on the lifetime conservative celebrity circuit, from which is impossible to be removed.
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November 16, 2009, 12:16 amxax says:
Wait What?? You don’t make any sense.
I love these trolls. Barack “Bend Over” Obama is horribly wrong in every way... but he’s really, really, really smart. Really. I think. In fact, he’s so smart, he’s figured out how to spend his way out of a deficit. And he’s so disciplined he’ll continue on that path until we’re all broke.
You gotta be jokin’
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November 16, 2009, 12:42 amSarcastro says:
Wow, I missed some fun, it looks like.
Sad that no one mentioned those 3 gay guys from his church Obama had killed yet.
Or how Sarah Palin (will soon have) singlehandedly elected Hoffman to the US Congress and stop the health care bill with her Death Panel insight.
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November 16, 2009, 12:45 amWilliam in AZ says:
‘The one sure thing is that she has made a lot of money for herself and is now on the lifetime conservative celebrity circuit, from which is impossible to be removed.’
First of all, I don’t buy your assertion that she’s now forever locked into some ‘conservative celebrity circuit’, and second, if Palin is attracting notoriety and money as a result of her efforts, that can be considered a great thing for someone in her up-and-coming situation.
Palin is probably quite a bit better than portrayed — it all depends upon whatever legacy sources you’re referencing in your post. She’s just begun to really materialize now — the Lib-Dems turned every rock on this woman and found nothing of consequence — so just hold your judgement until you actually have something firm to go on. My money is, of course, on the shiny side of that penny.
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November 16, 2009, 12:52 amSapwolf says:
She’ll be POTUS in Jan. 2013.
Count on it.
She is the Anti-Obama.
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November 16, 2009, 12:53 amyankee says:
This pseudo-populism is pretty rich coming from the people who just gave us 8 years of rule by the most elite of elites, then nominated an admiral’s son to run against a man with no prominent family background or inherited wealth.
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November 16, 2009, 12:54 ama west says:
I have often felt that if you did a fingerprint analysis of the knives sticking out of Sarah Palins back half of them would be from Mitt Romneys operatives clearing a path for 2012.That is the problem with Romney While he is smart enough and ruthless enough to be president he is not loved. We love Sarah and if the object of our love is unworthy We dont need anyone to figure that out but us.
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November 16, 2009, 12:54 amSarcastro says:
Thread summary:
Funny how you libs all hate Sarah so much, as is proven by how you don’t love her like I do.
The fact that you don’t hate Obama like I do is also proof you are all fools.
Have I mentioned how awful Obama is? I have my thumb on the pulse of mainstream America! Check it: OBAMA IS STUPID AND SOCIALIST AND GOD HATES HIM AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS I YELLED ABOUT BEFORE HE WAS ELECTED BUT PEOPLE WILL CARE ABOUT THIS TIME!
Thus having proven my mainstream bona fides, it is clear Palin will win because it is only idiots I hate who hate her.
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November 16, 2009, 12:58 amSarcastro says:
I hope she never debates Obama then, cause the handshake could be explosive!
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November 16, 2009, 1:04 amLeo Marvin says:
I wish we had more of these impromptu visits from the Free Republic comment thread.
[DK: Only the true VC bloggers have offered any useful insights about “The Sound of Music.”]
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November 16, 2009, 1:06 amtheobromophile says:
Zuch: ROFLMAO. Epic fail.
So your argument goes as follows: Barack Obama, whose grades from Columbia probably put him in the bottom of his class and whose LSAT scores are unknown (and therefore was probably not a credible candidate for a top school), was not an affirmative action admit to one of the best law schools around; we know this because it’s one of the best law schools around.
Then you accuse me of making logical fallacies? Too funny!
(Oh, by the way: when there is a binary situation — i.e. release v. non-release — there is no logical fallacy in pointing out that the lack of one necessitates the other. Just saying....)
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November 16, 2009, 1:23 amSarcastro says:
[theobromophile, I must confess, I seem to have lost the thread of the Obama grades argument.
Is the argument the broader thesis that Obama is probably of a lower IQ based on what he has not released and HLS’s affirmed policies of Afirmative action?
Or is it merely that he was effected by Affirmative Action in getting into HLS?
If it is the second, I am confused as to the practical upshot of such a fact might be.
Indeed, based upon his subsequent grades, extracurriculars and then professional success, Obama seems a poster boy for Affirmative Action, assuming AA is indeed what got him into HLS.
Unless you think his grades an accolades are also attributable to AA, in which case your logic overproves — it may be used to show all black men are secretly dumb regardless of grades or later success.]
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November 16, 2009, 1:39 amBaseballhead says:
Ah, for the salad days of 2, 4, 6 or 8 years ago, when deficits didn’t matter. Good times.
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November 16, 2009, 1:54 amDilan Esper says:
The point that a lot of us are making is that, if he really were supremely qualified for admission, we would probably know about it. That we don’t leaves us with but one conclusion: affirmative action. As a woman with a shiny engineering degree, I can tell you that the stigma of affirmative action is very real; I can also tell you that I had a load of fun pointing out to anyone who accused me of being an affirmative action admit that my grades and SAT scores were both higher than most of my fellow admittees and that of the person making the accusation.
Is there any political issue in the world that isn’t, at its center, about how brilliant Theobromophile is?
Seriously, if Saracastro thought he was going to run out of material, he just needs to keep reading your comments.
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November 16, 2009, 2:54 amcubanbob says:
Ricardo the questions unanswered is was he a dual citizen and has ever renounced his dual citizenship? Has he ever travelled on a foreign passport after the age of majority? At eighteen he is supposed to have been required to renounce a dual citizenship, I believe that being the law at the time of his 18th birthday. So did he have a Kenyan or colonial citizenship status at birth from his father and was he ever an Indonesian citizen by virtue of being adopted by his step father? If the answer is yes to either one or both then there really is a problem and one the courts for political reasons are apparently dodging.
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November 16, 2009, 3:25 amMark says:
Palin is right on so far as the issues are concerned.
I support Palin 100%. She thinks like an American. Not a politician.
Those who think she’s some kind of a joke are living proof that liberal media brainwashing of simple minds can be quite effective.
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November 16, 2009, 3:27 amcubanbob says:
Anyone indeed can become president. Obama is living proof. High standards? After Obama that is truly risible.
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November 16, 2009, 3:30 amcubanbob says:
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November 16, 2009, 3:52 amA. Drumheller says:
Sarah Palin never said “I can see Russia from my house.” That was a line from SNL. If you had any kind of a brain you would know this already.
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November 16, 2009, 5:52 amRevnant Dream says:
If Sarah Palin was such a Joke. Why does Obama with his lap dogs wet themselves at the mention of her name? Why use 11 reviewers at the Soros Front: “Media Matters”? Why are they so frantic about this nobody? Why the continuous law fare? You gage the power of someone by the fear they inspire in their opponents. The Democrats with the hose bleed Republicans are terrified. She’s the lefts worse Nightmare. The rights darling by the Vox populi scares to death these old fossils. Deliverance a calling, served by a girl!!!
She has no power, little money, yet the Mandarins of the beltway shiver in fear of her.
That tells me all I need to know.
In truth our leaders fear us. Sarah is just an archetype made flesh to be attacked by the Social miscreants now in power. A visible target of scorn of the average American by the entitled.
JMO
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November 16, 2009, 6:00 amjaa says:
There is one BIG difference between PALIN and OBAMY. Palin loves this country,
Obamy does not. If you are to0 stupid to see what he is doing, then thats too
bad.
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November 16, 2009, 6:05 amfrances says:
If she is such a joke why are the libs peeing their pants in fear, why put 20 journalists around the clock dissecting everything she says? Pretty smart conservative woman always rile up the unattractive lib crowd
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November 16, 2009, 6:07 amSarcastro says:
More discussions of liberals pissing themselves! I know I only mock what I fear, and that fear often makes me pee my pants, so I can only assume liberals are the same!!
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November 16, 2009, 6:23 amapodoca says:
Palin is both more experienced and qualified than Obama to be president. Someone states that Obama is more disciplined than Palin. Prove it! Having two ghost written books is no proof of personal discipline—he first got nothing done in spite of a $100K+ cash advance. His entire life he’s done nothing. That is not the product of a disciplined mind. Based on achievement only, I would argue that Palin is more experienced, qualified, intellectually savvy, AND disciplined. Obama may have gone to Columbia and Harvard, yet Sarah Palin beats him hands down wrt critical thinking and practical problem solving. Moreover, her solutions are usually correct. She is a better analyst than Obama and more capable of reading trend-lines, assessing the problem, devising a solution with alternates, and taking active measures to realize and implement the solutions. Obama couldn’t even take care of a resident housing problems in the community he was organizing in Chicago! That tells me he is a man incapable of analytical thought oriented to practical problem solving. Therefore, he’s bad presidential material. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is the stuff of which excellent presidents are made.
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November 16, 2009, 6:55 amdacoelec says:
Amen!
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November 16, 2009, 7:32 amphysics geek says:
The fact that you omit John Edwards from this list makes your comment suspect at best, and alternate reality dwelling idiocy at its worst. Of course, I don’t actually know the color of the sky where you live, so the view from your padded cell might be different. You know: tomato, brain fart.
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November 16, 2009, 7:40 amfoster970 says:
I’m always astounded by the dislike for her. She is not a dumb person, she ran her state well. She is attacked without mercy from the left and right. OB has done nothing other then speak well...NOT ONE THING. He has ushered more hate in our country, Wants to force everyone into a socialist world where frankly I do not want to go. Congress and the administration has turned their back on our constition. I can tell you this, She has stood up to corruption in her state and believes in small gov and individual rights. She might not be the perfect person. But she believes in freedom and right now we need that.
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November 16, 2009, 7:52 amStephen says:
This person is concerned about our legal system’s ability to provide justice. Do the people of India, Spain & England fear entanglement in their legal system? I do.
This is a show trial in every sense of the term. Will the present administration allow SMK to walk out of the court house if aquitted? It would be political suicide if he does. Therefore, the decision is already made. Consider what Hillary Clinton said on Sunday’s meet the press.
“... the most important thing for me is that...They pay the ultimate price for what they did to us on 9/11...” Not “IF” they did it, just execute them.
It is just another way for “O” to blame “Bush”
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November 16, 2009, 7:55 amRichard Aubrey says:
LN.
WRT Hasan. I did the opposite of jumping the gun, whatever that may be called.
Some of the folks who spotted the red flags have already said they were afraid of being called islamophobic bigots (I paraphrase).
If called before Lieberman, I don’t know what they’ll say, but it will be under oath and they’ll have to think of something.
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November 16, 2009, 8:02 amchuck says:
palin is the conservative “wet dream” and a libiral nightmare, if Iwher alilriral( God please help me) Iowuld be afrade of someone who has alreaad been thought the media jugernaute and come htjough wihtmore suport than she went in with( i do mean except for bho). She was the govener of Alaska not a senitor form Deleware or an asembly man form chicagio, she has doem mroe to enerjise the bace notthe cook fringe or lib light the bace hard working, conservatives hwo by all acounts are the US. not the west end or lake shore or hollywood libs thta the media would want you to beleive we are. The media and washington politcal elite want to tell the rest fo us who ot vote for(libs) what to eat(vegitables, i’m almost 30 and still hate beans and brusel sprots), what to read and watch(newoyrl times, and anyooen but Fox) what doctor to go to, and of corse to fi we don’t liek it sit down and shut up. IF Mrs. palin is the nominee and is elected president she will reverse the damage that the congress has caused and that si what libs are afraid of, so when we win back congress in 2010 and the whitehouse in 2012 libs you sit and down and shut up and maybe we can make this great country back to wher it was in 1988 the worlds last great hope and alight for democricey aorund the world.
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November 16, 2009, 8:09 amRicardo says:
The irony here is that any second citizenship Obama may have acquired in the past would have been by virtue of the laws of a foreign country. Your position appears to be that eligibility for the Presidency should be dictated in part by foreign law. Obama is — and was since birth — a U.S. citizen under law. Why do the citizenship laws of other countries have any relevance under the U.S. Constitution?
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November 16, 2009, 8:25 amSnoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg says:
Yeah, funny, isn’t it? Liberals consider her such an amazing liability to conservatives. And despite the fact that said conservatives are basically ignoring her, liberals simply can’t stop talking about her.
She’s what you fear most, isn’t she. A female executive who didn’t ride to the top on her husband’s coat tails like Hillary Clinton and doesn’t belong to the victimhood-obsessed democratic party.
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November 16, 2009, 8:32 amSam Deakins says:
Newsweek should be avoided and shunned by any organization that considers itself a real News organization.
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November 16, 2009, 8:33 amThe Rugged Individual says:
A world better than McCain, two worlds better than Obama, and more useful as a replacement for Rush Limbaugh in 10 years. People like Palin are the closest we’ll get to anything Reagan-esque, but they serve the country better by being free to talk about the issues and draw fire from the enemy so those in office can get things done. Go Sarah...!
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November 16, 2009, 8:48 amfurious says:
Cato the Elder: I also agree with the Left that Obama would have had hell to pay if he ever allowed his family to get out of control as she did.
“Hypocrisy” would entail if it were Mrs. Palin who was out-of-wedlock pregnant, or who shipped her out-of-wedlock-pregnant daughter off to a discreet private clinic to “solve the problem.” Mrs. Palin walked the walk, both with Trig and your grandson. You couldn’t be more wrong.
As if the Kennedys have ever suffered electorally for allowing their families to get out of control. Heck, it’s why the Left and the Media (but I repeat myself) love them and keep returning them to office.
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November 16, 2009, 8:52 amfurious says:
B.D.: Palin as Republican nominee in 2012 is a Democratic wetdream.
Most creepily, just not in the way Democrats would like the rest of us to think.
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November 16, 2009, 8:55 amTim Condon says:
It’s an interesting tribute to Sarah Palin that this thread is both so very long and so hard-fought. She has her most ugly, vicious detractors here, and she has a strong presence of very strong supporters. I just wonder how many of those who have spent all this time and energy attacking her are members of the Political Class. No doubt many of Palin’s detractors here live off of tax money. Supporters of Palin generally have jobs, like most Republicans. Thus, the fact that so many are taking time off of their busy lives to defend Palin makes this thread, and what it implies about Palin’s political power, all the more impressive. Whenever a potential conservative leader appears, the political class and its media toadies go into overdrive in an attempt to kill them off. After all, such people are dire threats to the Political Class. Barry Goldwater was a modern example. Dan Quayle. George Allen. Jack Ryan. Katherine Harris. Mark Foley. Some survive but wilt under the liberal smear campaign, and go over, to one degree or another, to the Political Class. Richard Nixon. George W. Bush. Newt Gingrich. Only the very strong survive such concentrated liberal viciousness and vitriol: Rep. Ron Paul, Sen. Tom Coburn, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin. Soon Michelle Bachman. And now, front and center, Sarah Palin. It is not a large exaggeration to quote Obama and observe that the Political Class gets “all wee-weed up” over the threat that Sarah Palin presents to them. We shall see if the dying leftist American media still has the clout to pull off one more campaign of personal destruction. My bet is they don’t. The Internet, talk radio, and Fox Cable News (bless them all) have sapped the media’s smear-power (which is one Big Reason why Obama and the Democrats are maneuvering to assert government control over all three of them in one way or another). The next three years...and the eight years after that...are going to be most interesting. And the Political Class is going to lose. Bigtime.
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November 16, 2009, 8:56 amOrson Buggeigh says:
Newsweek, like the New York Times, long ago proved to be nothing but a public relations arm of the Democratic party. This, like much of the criticism of Mrs. Palin, proves the intellectual bankruptcy of the Democratic Party these days. For starters, contrast the treatment of Mrs. Clinton, or the Speaker of the House, with that of Mrs. Palin. Now, had anyone in the media chosen to treat Mrs. Clinton the way they treated Mrs. Palin, they would have been denounced by the various so-called feminist organizations for being sexist. Yet no one seems perturbed by the treatment of Mrs. Palin. Obviously, feminism and its values only apply to those sufficiently to the left of center.
Or what about all the suits against Mrs. Palin? If those had been suits brought by people on the political right against Secretary Clinton or Speaker Pelosi, we would be hearing them described as SLAPP suits — “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.” No inteerest on Newsweek’s part, of course. Just as Newsweek had no interest in Senator Obama’s breaking his promise to rely on public funding for his campaign, John Edwards’ affair with the campaign worker, etc. etc. Nope, nothing to see here. Get your Democratic Worker here, folks.
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November 16, 2009, 8:56 amTim Condon says:
Oh, one other thing: For those who are unfamiliar with class analysis theories identifying the Political Class vs. everyone else, including the Working or Industrious Classes, I recommend the short introductory piece by Sheldon Richman, “Libertarian Class Analysis.”
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November 16, 2009, 9:00 amjohnt says:
If you think Sarah Palin is a joke, how about Al Gore as, I quote, “The Thinking Man’s Thinking Man. You might want to throw in Joe Biden also, quintessential raver.
Not that I want to disrupt anybody’s laughing at Palin. People need whatever false feelings of superiority they can cling to, especially the ones fed to them by an idiot and corrupt media. Which said people swallow whole,speaking of intelligence.
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November 16, 2009, 9:07 amTim Condon says:
Sarah Palin came out of nowhere in Alaska and took on the corrupt, totally-entrenched Old Boy Republican network in that state, and utterly destroyed them. She then took on the oil pipeline project that had lauguished for 10 years or more, stared down the oil companies who threatened to entirely withdraw, and got the project DONE. She also decreased spending by Alaska state government, sold off the governor’s jet, and generally served as governor with 70%+ approval ratings. HAW HAW HAW. I’M A DEMOCRAT. AIN’T SHE STOOPID? As I have said in previous posts, she is a deadly threat to Democrats and other members of the Political Class, which is why they are pulling out all the stops to destroy her NOW. This is why her resignation from the governor’s office was a masterstroke (while all you Dimocrats were laughing). By doing that, she has become ever more politically powerful, and is assuming a position front-and-center on the national stage. Not bad for someone who is “totally unqualified” according to the sneering Democratic posters on this thread.
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November 16, 2009, 9:15 amJohn says:
Wait, Obama is “smart”? Since when? Provide proof of “smart” — which speech, which action as POTUS, which ‘decision’ and what grade from any level of prior education can you produce to show he’s “smart”? Gore and Kerry proved that the DNC will automatically get ANY candidate 50 million votes. The whole MSM ordaining the Democrat’s candidate as “brilliant” doesn’t make it so.
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November 16, 2009, 9:33 amJim Treacher says:
Whereas Obama would still be on every magazine cover on earth no matter what he looked like.
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November 16, 2009, 9:59 amjohnt says:
On the subject of Palin’s looks; That may be another reason why liberals hate her, not that they need reasons to do what comes naturally to them.
We’ve got Sarah, they have Janet Napolitano.
Come to think of it why are so many liberal women ugly? And why do they have to take it out on the rest of us?
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November 16, 2009, 10:41 amzuch says:
... where “debate” is defined as “standing on the mall and yelling inanities, falsities, and ‘we’re all gonna die, which however is better than that socialist fascism Dachau the Dems would prefer to inflict on us’....”
Cheers,
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November 16, 2009, 10:48 amzuch says:
Did you say “personal”? As in “personal”?!?!? Perhaps you want to know if his willie has “distinguishing characteristics”, as you folks so dearly sought to know about the previous Democratic president.
Here’s a source you can trust. Go look it up. Watch it. Then from now on pay attention and STFU with these debunked RW “talking points”.
Car companies that were worth nothing? That’s the “Christmas fruit cake” of presents. And just FYI, we own [parts of] the companies, not the unions. The unions just wanted to make sure their retirement money (read: “pensions”) didn’t evaporate into thin air. Maybe you think it’s a good idea of companies to auger themselves into the ground and make the pensions of even previously retired workers disappear....
Cheers,
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November 16, 2009, 11:07 amzuch says:
In the same file cabinet as his long-form birth certificate.
Mention “Palin” and you bring all the real doozies to the surface, I tellya....
Cheers,
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November 16, 2009, 11:13 amOy says:
The comments on thread force me to reevaluate my opinion of the average VC commenter. Didn’t we used to engage in intelligent conversation?
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November 16, 2009, 11:42 amMartha says:
U.S. citizens are currently under no obligation to renounce dual citizenship, and on a very quick search, I could find no evidence that they were ever obliged to do so during Obama’s lifetime. (Perhaps someone can post a credible link that demonstrates the state of the law when Obama turned 18?)
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November 16, 2009, 12:05 pmyankee says:
I don’t know if such a law existed in 1979, but Americans cannot be involuntarily stripped of their citizenship under Afroyim v. Rusk.* Naturalization can be revoked in cases of fraud, but Obama is a citizen by birth, not naturalization, so that exception is not relevant. If there had been a requirement for Obama to renounce his (nonexistent) foreign citizenship, it could not have been enforced by stripping him of his American citizenship.
Even if Obama were an Indonesian citizen and there had been a requirement to renounce foreign citizenship in 1979 and there were a “failure to renounce foreign citizenship” exception to Afroyim (which there is not), it could not take effect automatically. Due process would have been required before Obama could be stripped of his American citizenship, and no such process ever took place.
* Also under Vance v. Terrazas, but that was decided in 1980, after Obama turned 18.
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November 16, 2009, 12:27 pmMithras says:
I love it. The racism, sexism and anti-intellectualism on display here really cheer me up. No matter how dysfunctional the Democrats get sometimes, it’s nothing compared to the lunacy on the right.
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November 16, 2009, 12:33 pmgary gulrud says:
“But she is still the most ridiculously unqualified major party candidate in my lifetime.”
B.D., wasn’t born when McGovern faced off with Nixon, or Jimmy against Ford?
Conservative like David Brooks and Andy Sullivan.
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November 16, 2009, 12:37 pmjohnt says:
Mithras, don’t lose control. Remember Obama and the Rev. Wright, and were you noticing sexism when Palin was on the receiving end. And if Napolitano is ugly and I do a turn on that why is that lunacy, or is it
hysteria on your part.
Come on big guy, give me an example of your intellect.
I may “cheer” you up some more.
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November 16, 2009, 12:52 pmMithras says:
Exactly my point. Liberals did speak out about the sexism in some of the opposition to Palin, as well as some of her support based primarily on her looks. Did anyone on the Republican side do something similar when, for example, Rush Limbaugh called Chelsea Clinton the White House dog? Has anyone on your side ever confronted you about saying things like “liberal women are ugly”? Of course not. For all the kvetching in the primary, racism and sexism aren’t organizing political forces on the left, unlike the right. Those who maintain otherwise are either Republican shills or low IQ types. Speaking of which, there are several
idioticPUMA sites that would be your speed. Enjoy!Quote
November 16, 2009, 1:24 pmSarcastro says:
This is complicated, so take note: criticizing Sarah is sexist per se, cause she is a woman.
But commenting on the ugliness of liberal women in general is totally okay because the broad brush stereotyping cancels out with the women I disagree with are ugly sexism.
It’s like how calling liberals gay girly-men and Conservatives rugged real men is also totally fine.
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November 16, 2009, 1:26 pmcubanbob says:
It has to do with having no other loyalties to other potentates and powers. That does not mean his is not a US citizen by birth, but does he meet the qualification of natural born citizen? I may be wrong but as far as I know, no other President since the time of the founders had that set of circumstances of birthright citizenship.
Now I may be wrong, but I highly doubt anyone born in the US but having dual citizenship by virtue of birth is eligible for a high security clearance. I my case I was naturalized under the age of 18 through my parents when they obtained citizenship, however had I obtained citizenship at 18 I would have been required to relinquish any other citizenship I had. I believe that was the law in effect when Obama became 18. Then there is the matter of Obama traveling to Pakistan when he was 18 or in his early adulthood. What is not clear and has not been disclosed is whether or not he travelled there on a US passport. My daughters by virtue of their mothers birth citizenship are citizens of a EU country and can apply for an EU passport and yet they are born on US soil to both parents who US possessed citizenship at their time of birth. If they failed to renounce their US citizenship at 18 (unlike Obama whose step father had him obtain Indonesian citizenship, my daughter have no foreign passports but can apply for one) would they be qualified in theory to be president of the US? If they travelled on an EU passport at any time over 18 (or now perhaps 21) they would not lose their US citizenship but they would not be eligible for a high security clearance either if they were to serve in a position that would require that.
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November 16, 2009, 1:39 pmBaseballhead says:
Madeline Albright + Phyllis Schlafly + jello pit. Now everyone’s happy!
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November 16, 2009, 1:53 pmjohnt says:
Mithras, I expected, no, hoped for a flash of brilliance, that intellectualism you mentioned in passing. Instead I get the typical, stunted, evasive, dumb sarcasm that is the mark of the self delusional leftist,
You will notice, and to only a momentary discomfort, your cowardly side stepping of the Obama/Wright connection. Too hot to handle?
Limbaugh? Do you in all your intelligence and superior learning seek to equate what he said years ago with the pure weight and intensity of the hate your side heaped on Palin, and still does. A tad unbalanced I’d say. I hope that is not your ordinary state.
But enough. Do remember however that pretension is no substitute for a feigned intelligence.
You don’t mind if now I ignore you?
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November 16, 2009, 2:04 pmRPT says:
Several summary comments:
1. She is very skillful at self-promotion and has made a financial killing. That makes her worthy of conservative respect, although it generates some dissonance with her professed religious beliefs.
2. Obama is president, and will stay president until at least the next election. Orly Taitz and the birther litigation is over except for the collation of the sanctions. Those who focus their attention on his birth and school records are encouraged to spend their time in this area.
3. Palin now has the opportunity to prove herself before non-fawning favorable audiences. If she can handle the slightest bit of cross-examination in situations where she can’t mute the questioner, or divert a hard question with humor, she will likely improve her standing with current non-fans.
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November 16, 2009, 2:05 pmMithras says:
My honest reply would violate the posting rules.
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November 16, 2009, 2:12 pmzuch says:
Well yes. The one thing we do know is that HLS is one of the most selective law schools around (and keep in mind that law school is far more selective that an undergraduate school, like, say, North Idaho College). It seems you Know™ that Obama’s grades from Columbia were “in the bottom of his class”. Of course, your reason for this assertion is that you’re presuming your conclusion, to wit, that Obama’s stoopid, which brings in a third logical fallacy, circulus in demonstrando. Keep it up and you’ll get all the logical fallacies nailed by the end of the thread here. And ... forgive me for asking ... wasn’t it you that were bragging about your scores here? Just goes to show....
Cheers,
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November 16, 2009, 2:16 pmRPT says:
How about if commenters are required to include their undergraduate and graduate transcripts with every post? TheoBP, are you game?
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November 16, 2009, 2:34 pmzuch says:
OBTW, I guess that utilizing logic goes flying 40,000 feet over your head. Here’s the fallacy of bifurcation:
I don’t think I can make it any clearer than I did originally. If you can’t figger it out, you’re really beyond help.
You still haven’t explained why they would favour you with information on Barack’s “supreme[] qualifi[cations] for admission”. Care to elucidate?
Cheers,
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November 16, 2009, 2:39 pmLN says:
Once again, if Obama only got into HLS because of AA, then that just proves that AA is an embarassment. I mean, what a mistake that admission was. Magna cum laude, President of law review, Chicago law prof, United States Senator, first black President. There are probably thousands of people who would have made HLS more proud.
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November 16, 2009, 2:59 pmMartha says:
You’re wrong. There are lots of defense contractors in my part of the country, and they employ many foreign nationals who have high security clearances. Some of these people were born with dual citizenship, other eventually obtain naturalized U.S. citizenship, but none are required to renounce their foreign citizenship or to travel exclusively on U.S. passports.
Yankee, thanks for the information you posted. I do always learn something from VC commenters, which is why I keep coming back. (This thread, however . . . oh my.)
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November 16, 2009, 3:03 pmDavid Welker says:
It turns out that the American People are much more sensible than a lot of the Palin defenders commenting here. According to a CNN poll released today, fewer than 30% think that Palin is qualified to be President. In fact, even a large number of Republicans, 44%, agree that Palin is not qualified.
That is just common sense. Palin is not qualified now and will never be qualified in the future. End of story.
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November 16, 2009, 3:58 pmSarcastro says:
Statistics hate Sarah Palin because they fear her homespun common wisdom that doesn’t need polls or math!
Ever seen Statistics wet itself? It ain’t pretty.
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November 16, 2009, 4:08 pmLeo Marvin says:
What’s the evidence Obama has “generated” any loathing except by the sort so prominent in this thread, i.e., RW’ers who loathed him long before he was President, and would have loathed any other Democratic President and even a good number of Republican ones? In fact, how would you describe the emotion you guys showered on John McCain and GWB when they backed their ill-fated immigration reform?
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November 16, 2009, 4:23 pmLeo Marvin says:
I always hesitate to answer this sort of comment, since few things could be better for Democratic electoral prospects than keeping alive the Right Wing fantasy of Obama the dumb Muslim foreigner who hates Americans. So don’t take this as an attempt to convince you. On the contrary, please stay strong! But for the benefit of anyone who’s just awakened from a coma and might take your silliness seriously, here’s the opinion of libertarian law professor, fervent Obama opponent, and VC blogger, Jim Lindgren:
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November 16, 2009, 4:32 pmLeo Marvin says:
I spoke too soon. In my last comment I should have said “few things could be better for Democratic electoral prospects than keeping alive the Right Wing fantas
yies of (1) Obama the dumb Muslim foreigner who hates Americans, and (2) ugly liberal women.Quote
November 16, 2009, 4:40 pmjohnt says:
leo marvin, doubtless Obama & the Democrats will ride to landslide victory on the “ugly women” gaffe.
But first they have to stage manage the KSM show extravaganza in NYC. a few blocks away from the scene of the mass slaughter of Americans.
But gee leo, how does this work, I mean all the bile directed at Palin, calling thousands of protesting citizens Nazi’s, routinely smearing anybody who criticizes The O as racist, maybe you’re being to optimistic.
In any case Napolitano is still ugly. I suppose name calling is a one way street for you guys, ok for you, a sin for others.
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November 16, 2009, 4:55 pmLeo Marvin says:
Not without your help, so please keep it up.
Yeah, but come on, it’s not like they were real Americans. They were New Yorkers. They’d have surrendered anyway. Aren’t we better off without them?
The bile on this thread seem mostly directed at anyone, left or right, who dares question Palin’s qualifications.
That’s funny. When some of the protesters accuse Obama of Nazism, I guess complaining about it qualifies as calling them Nazi’s. Nice Orwellian spin.
What I see routinely is demagogues on both sides smearing their opponents with the behavior of their most obnoxious factions. So a relative handful of racists and a relative handful of people who cry racism become poster children.
Let’s see. You’ve called names. I haven’t. But name-calling is OK for me and a sin for others? A one way street? Yeah, on Bizarro World.
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November 16, 2009, 5:47 pmCareless says:
The weird thing about Palin is that she brings out some of the worst in partisans of both sides. What a train wreck.
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November 16, 2009, 6:27 pmjohnt says:
Leo, you’re starting to swing wild, reading comprehension problem? Just where do I call you a name?
Or for that matter Napolitano. Ugly is a description of a physical state, you may not like it, you may respond with incoherent posts, but it remains descriptive of an external condition. In any case it is small stuff compared to what normal people have to take from the left, sort of like Obama referring to “tea baggers’. He’s the President you know.
Now then, re my help, an unimaginative cliche, get some new material, your boy is doing it all himself & doesn’t need me.
Next, 4th para,“that’s funny”. when did you learn English? How do you twist being called a nazi & complaining about it to actually stating the protesters are nazi’s? Those are two entirely different things. The term was used, directly by leading Dems.
Last,and a new low, downright scummy as a matter of fact, your” it’s not like they were real Americans”, An attempt at wit? Are you gross enough to insinuate that to me, and worse to think it’s parody or humor?
Crude and ugly, but just what I’d expect, you can’t defend it so you swing wild. 3,000 deaths and this is the best you can do. What trash.
Enjoy your man Obama. He probably will be laughed out of office after one horrible term, but maybe you like pain.
You’re not much Leo, maybe I’ll check in tomorrow, but I’m sure you’re not worth it.
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November 16, 2009, 6:28 pmMithras says:
Here are some real Americans at a Palin rally during the election. Classy bunch.
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November 16, 2009, 7:17 pmTim Condon says:
I don’t think this thread is a “train wreck” exactly...but it does highlight the hatefulness and nastiness that is characteristic of the political left in this country. It’s easy to see how leftists could have killed millions of people in the 20th century that they deemed insufficiently supportive of their social engineering plans. I must say, it’s not hard to see these people as of the same type: I do believe they would kill their opponents if they could, judging from the hatred they’re spewing on this thread. (And I still wonder...do any of them have jobs? Or are they paid to do this? And is it only one person commenting under different names, or several? Whatever.)
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November 16, 2009, 7:29 pmRPT says:
Attention Geokstr and other tea persons: While we agreed not to use the “tb” word any more, it appears that the dictionary writers are fully on board the liberal media train:
“In February, when conservatives began protesting against President Obama with tea parties, the Washington Independent’s Dave Weigel photographed a protester carrying a sign that declared, “tea bag the liberal Dems before they tea bag you!!” Soon after, the term “tea bagger” became a ubiquitous and often derogatory handle for right-wing protesters. Now, Mediaite reports that the term “teabagger” was a finalist in consideration to be the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year:
In a press release touting “unfriend” as the word of the year, the New Oxford American Dictionary may have unwittingly made a more controversial move than the New Oxford American Dictionary pretty much ever does.
No, it wasn’t another cutesy tech neologism: they included “teabagger” as one of their Word of the Year finalists.
According to the release, they define “teabagger” as “a person who protests President Obama’s tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as ‘Tea Party’ protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773).”
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November 16, 2009, 7:48 pmzuch says: