Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
No matter what the Media has to say, I should not be surprised if Mrs. Palin were our next President. In the next four years, the people of the United States will find out just what happens when a Chicago Machine politian get elected.
And thus the first documented cases of PDS.
I’ve come to realize that I am now officially an old fart and just don’t understand the culture anymore.
I’ve had the pleasure of having my mid-20 something nephew living with me for a few months and he has introduced me to some of the popular culture. I’m talking about things like “Southpark” on the TV, etc. Now I am hip enough to appreciate satire and have been accused of being rather sarcastic myself at times -even sometimes at the expense of those in greater positions of authority than myself. But what I don’t get is the deeply seated lack of any respect for anything or anyone that in the least bit represents the “traditions” of this country. We can all agree this isn’t a perfect country and we have not always offered the full blown ideal of the American opportunity to all citizens on an equal basis purely based on race or gender, etc. But what I don’t get is the constant drone of negativity and lack of any respect for any institution (government, industry, military) that those in the media seem hell-bent on filling our senses with 24×7.
The effect on the culture is on display in the comments cited on the article listed. The absolute hatred and bile dispensed for no valid reason leaves me angry and wanting to strike back knowing that to do so would only provide yet another target for the smug commentary and rude insolence that is their stock and trade.
I know we should not invest too much hope in any leader as, being human, to do so will only invite disappointment. To decide then, that those who do lead, if not aligned with our political compass perfectly, are worthy of vile contempt seems to lead only to a place destined for ruin.
And yes, saying that makes me feel like the old fart I surely must seem to be to all those so much more glib and hip than I ever shall, or would want to, be.
See,
The hatred on the left comes from the fact that Sarah is the embodiment of everything that the Feminists sought to enact, everything they fought for. The opportunity to shatter the political ceilings, have a family and a career, be good looking as well as smart, secure in her femininity, yet a down-to-earth mom and wife.
And the thing that causes the feminists bile to rise in their throats and choke and burn so much, is that she is a Conservative. She did it without all the left-wing victim talking points, programs, and government help. She and her husband put their shoulders to the wheel and ended up with a good life and a happy marriage and the prosperity that the American Dream offers.
Sara Palin puts the lie to every single left-wing mantra about the need for Government assistance, and how “It Takes A Village” to do anything. Her family is the epitome of American hope and dreams, and her story leaves a lost of old, haggard, shrill-voiced feminists standing alone without anyone to need them anymore.
Sarah took the path that others warned about and she got the brass ring. That’s why she struck such a positive chord with so many. because she is what we all know we can be.
Sarah is hope, and that frightens leftists more than anything else. And so they attack and try to destroy that which they cannot control, which terrifies them, and shows their policies to be nothing more than political renditions of the Emperor’s New Clothes.
Respects,
Just caught today’s (just now over) Chris Mathews “Hard-Ball ” (know your enemy.) He and the usual suspects were busily savaging this latest above video and Palin.
Lex’s post SO very timely.
What Tim said. Amen, brother, amen!!!
Matthews and Olberman are vile. No way to candy coat it.
AW1Tim is right on.
IMHO, Palin walks in the light and the left and far left want the darkness where they skulk about to overwhelm all. Darkness hates the Light. “You will know them by their fruits.”
AW1Tim and Lex … you are so right, Tim, about the viciousness and unfairness of the attacks against Palin. I think that the Eastern Elite female ‘journalists’ are desperate to destroy her because she didn’t have to make all the tawdry compromises and fawning gestures that they did, to achieve what little they have personally achieved. What those ‘journalists’ have done is to lastingly taint themselves and their reputations for honest reporting, serving as one more dead weight to drag the MSM into its final death spiral.
Unless the MSM starts to drag itself out of the mud pretty soon, there are going to be a lot of gravestones out there marked “Here Lies Truth, Killed By Media Lies.” Meanwhile, Sarah will keep her wits about her and soldier on.
Marianne
P. S. Lotsa metaphors here. Oh well…I’m allowed a little leeway, aren’t I?
Kudos to AW1 Tim. He has nailed it.
Sarah Palin scares the crap out of the liberals and the media (as a wing of the Democrat party) is determined to destroy her. They may succeed, as too many idiots are (a) allowed to vote based on know knowledge at all, and (b) cannot distinguish between news and “entertainment” (e.g. Colbert, SNL) and simply do not follow the new at all, except for accidental exposure to the rabid mainstream media lackeys doing their propaganda chores.
I just hope we can survive The Obama reign without collapsing.
What AW1 Tim said. Also, Sarah Palin reminds me of my Mom, an intelligent, accomplished woman who was the first female to be secretary to the president of GM&O railroad, and later raised me and my brother. Those people are insulting the memory of my mother. Eff’m.
I fear most of you are reading far more into this than what, I believe, these talking heads are capable of comprehending. Sarah Palin isn’t of their tribe, the city-folks who believe the important things in life are found in The Beltway or Hollywood, and everything else is fly-over. She is, to them, a hick, a rube, somebody who was obviously elected by inbred yokels who probably didn’t even know the difference between a salad fork and a dessert fork, let alone have the kind of insight necessary to elect a proper governor.
Were hicks and rubes to be elected to the highest echelons of power, it’d take us right back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt and perhaps even Jefferson. She’s not even a lawyer, for crying out loud! Educated at her little state school, even!
This doesn’t require delving into the depths of the feminist movement, nothing of the sort. Look at OldT6Flyer’s comments — this is about keeping power in the hands of their tribe, the old media and Hollywood and the Beltway where they are relevant and ranked and hold sway over others. Where the Today show and Oprah are watched (1), and influence opinion.
I’ve never seen Catie Couric. Wouldn’t likely know her if we bumped into each other on the street. Were she and I to happen to talk I suspect she’d look at me as if I were from Mars. I’ve not watched a television in over a year, and find I don’t miss it. I don’t read the tabloids, nor spend much time upon the major media websites. The newspapers I read are mainly locals. She is, to me, entirely irrelevant.
I don’t think she can understand that one can think that way. Somebody who thinks that way is obviously from Bloom County, the unwashed masses stubbing their toes in the dirt and with corn-silk still in their underwear. Such people are to be subjugated, or at least reminded of their proper station in life. Which the coastal media did with great fervor.
There is good news in all this. If present trends continue and population congregates towards the coasts and the conservatives continue towards the center of the country, eventually these liberal elites will occupy under 10% of the land. They’ll have all the Ivy League elites and the American Idol worshipers, we’ll have all the food and the guns. They’ll have the majority in the House, we’ll have a permanent majority in the Senate.
Which is sort of a MAD approach, or at least a trench warfare approach, to running a country but stalemate isn’t a bad place to be if you’re numerically in the minority.
(1) Who *watches* these shows? I mean, I get up around 0600, do chores, grab a cup of coffee, help the Spousal Unit with the kid or whatever, and am in the home office by 0730 with a cup of black C most days. Some days, like this one, I have to stay up until at least 0200 for work so I’ll report in around 0900. While I’m, you know, working I might hit a news-related website but I’m sure not watching television. Evenings I do chores again, grab a bite, play with the kid a bit, maybe watch a movie or read a book for a half-hour and the day is *done*.
Used to be, at least in my home, we had *things to do* and TV was for relaxation. We caught an episode of the Carol Burnett show or maybe Little House on the Prairie (that one sort of hit a little close to home), especially if Michael Landon was the director because Mom *knew* it would be a tear-jerker and thus exercised supreme executive power over the TV for that hour. Those shows all came after supper, you’ll note. We watched the 10 o’clock news to see what was going on in the world, watch a bit of Johnny Carson to wind down the day with a smile, and went to bed. I do not recall that old Admiral console ever being turned on prior to 7pm unless it was a holiday or a weekend, or there was a child under 10 or so and then they got to enjoy the half-hour of cartoons after school.
Maybe it’s just me, but I get the same thought whenever I hear of morning news shows that I do when I’m driving on business and see all these cars on the road at 10am.
“Don’t you people have *jobs?*”
OldT6? Right there with ya, man.
– Max
Wow, there’s over a thousand comments, there. I looked at the first coupla pages, and yup, the moonbats are flying, and biting.
What’s the best load for moonbats? We need light recoil, so as to come up on the next one quickly, but it should put’em right down so they don’t crawl up and bite, if we just winged’em.
I’m intrigued by Sarah Palin. I’m still trying to sort her out.
Is she a genuine rising star being unfairly slammed…
or an attractive woman with a good story but little content who has become a canvas on which the latest culture wars’ skirmishes have been grafted? (after all, women’s bodies are often appropriated in such ways in our culture)
I watch interviews with her for some evidence to swing me to one answer or the other.
I was surprised that when asked “if she had been a candidate on the Obama ticket would she have been treated differently?”, that Palin didn’t immediately say, “nothing to speculate about, I would have turned it down, I don’t stand for what he stands for…”. I mean, wouldn’t that be the reasonable thing to counter?
I don’t claim to know what it means, but she had two opportunities in the interview to draw a line between his agenda and hers, and failed to make that statment despite her earlier comments about the negative tone of Obama’s campaign or any of her statments on the campaign trail about the wrongness of his vision for America.
Does this mean, if asked she would have run with him?
If I were her and asked that question, that would have been my first response–”in no possible universe would I have agreed to be that man’s running mate.” It seems the obvious answer, and if she is wedded to her beliefs, the first answer that would come to mind. Instead, she speculates about how much better she would have been treated had she been on the Obama ticket.
I wanted to hear more from her than victimization–everyone writes here about how Palin is the post-feminist anti-hero, but all I keep hearing from her is that the media is to blame, Obama’s campaign was to blame, McCain’s campaign was to blame….from what I understand in this blog’s discussion section, victimization is seen here as a feminist whining ploy–or the ploy of beneficiaries of the welfare state…yet Palin is constructed as the anti-feminist feminist.
But she’s whining.
And not taking responsibility for herself.
She screwed up the Couric interview, whether she was being flippant or not in her responses, she gave them something to work with. She’s playing it off like a damsel in distress, and that irritates me. She claims to be better than that; I expect better of that from strong accomplished women.
There was no statement of responsibility–like, “I should have demanded final review of the Couric interview before letting it take place.” She was IN the media. She was on the other side of the camera. She should know better. Anyone who has done any tv or newspaper interviews learns how to deal with the media–knows that media people have to be managed to ensure that they get the right message. She has been governor of a state, this shouldn’t have been new to her. Or are we to suppose that Alaska media is so civil that they would never criticize or misrepresent issues?
That she admits that she didn’t watch the final Couric interview suggests an unwillingness to learn how to better engage with the media from her mistakes. That she claims that she didn’t know what was being portrayed on SNL suggests extreme negligance on her part as a candidate. I was astounded at the time that she agreed to appear AND use SNL’s script with little alteration. I would have negotiated to do the opening monologue, as McCain did, with my own script, and make a condition of my appearance that Tina Fey not appear that night (Fey wasn’t a regular cast member after all, but another guest). The show would have done anything to get Palin to appear–they needed the ratings, they regularly agree to strict conditions from guest stars.
I would like to see a female president before I die, and have no particular investment in which party she’s from as long as she is bright, accomplished and saavy enough to deal with gender politics on top of Washington politics (because the success of the first female president will determine how long it takes to have a second one). So given her populist base, I’ve been watching Palin carefully.
I still can’t decide if Sarah Palin’s willingness to take questions like these in the interview at a very superficial face value is a sign of overly genuine sincerity on her part (wanting to just answer what is asked of her without thinking about subtext or implication–what others are reading as a charming lack of pretense) or an inability to think two steps ahead of an interviewer. Since I don’t think much of most tv media personalities, the latter is a very disturbing possibility to me.
I am kind of ambivalent about her, but I’m also trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s making it hard for me.
Yes, you can cite stats of what has been achieved in Alaska during her time as governor. I don’t care if she’s pretty (or ugly), I don’t care about her daughter’s reproductive life, and there are lots of women who have successfully juggled family and career against great odds, she’s not unique there.
That’s all a great back story, but doesn’t say too much about street smarts. I like to see the ability to think on one’s feet from my potential leader, and even in sympathetic interviews, she’s not making the sale.
Sincerely, I would like to like her given her popularity, ability to galvanize an audience, and the fierce loyalty she engenders (as evidenced on this blog). She is probably the best likelihood for a female presidential candidate in the short term; but she’s not giving me what I need to be won over. Anyone can deliver a speech from a teleprompter, with practice.
I keep hoping she’ll convince me that there is some there there. Right now, I’d be happy to have coffee or a beer with her, she seems pleasant and personable. That’s not enough for me to see her as presidential.
I guess I need four more years to decide.
Laurie, if you need four more years to decide, then you already have.
Laurie,
You know, I don’t, you know, know what you know, you’re talking about wrt to, you know, Palin, since she, you know, has held elective office for, you know, a decade like you know so when someone like, you know, you, question, you know, her, you know qualifications but swallow whole those of Caroline Kennedy, your words bring the taste of bile.
As I understand it, those first interviews were “EDITED” BY THE MEDIA after she left the room and done so in a vicious fashion to make her look as bad as they could manage. She learned her lesson right there and then with the media. It’s live coverage or no coverage. That’s confidence in being able to bring the message to the people…..without, you know, a teleprompter.
Laurie, you queried: “when asked ‘if she had been a candidate on the Obama ticket would she have been treated differently?”, that Palin didn’t immediately say, ‘nothing to speculate about, I would have turned it down, I don’t stand for what he stands for’…”.
That answer didn’t address the question, it side-stepped it and gave a talking point.
Which is sort of what we dislike in most politicians.
She answered the question, and it seems so odd to us that she would do so.
Might just be we’re giving the political class too much slack if we no longer expect them to give honest answers to honest questions.
One other thing to ponder, Lincoln was a political loser from the start, Jefferson couldn’t manage his own bank account let alone a nation, Adams was a great writer but his Presidency isn’t much action to talk about, and shall we get to Grover Cleveland and Harry Truman and Gerald Ford?
Alright, now from memory name their vice-presidents. No google-fu, who was the president of the senate during their terms?
If you cannot remember, if it was so inconsequential as to be irrelevant to history, then how can one explain Sarah being interviewed and commented on in a harsh manner while the presidential candidates were largely given open questions and Biden allowed to disappear from the last months without question?
Take a gander at the Constitution. The VP gets one power. Other duties include going to funerals and, in recent history, shooting lawyers. Heck, *I* could do that! Might even enjoy it if we could add insurance agents to the list of quarry.
So, Abe Lincoln was a loser, TR a flash-in-the-pan, FDR a quasi-socialist, Jefferson was a scatterbrain, Ike was a control freak, Nixon was paranoid, Carter was a smart man bested in policy and practice by an actor and spokesman who was Reagan (I like to think)…
And somehow this election the media congregates upon the VP who can only cast a vote in case of a tie in the Senate and might have to go to a funeral?
Sorry, while your points are valid I’m seeing them as irrelevant in a presidential election and this media cycle.
Funny the media doesn’t see it that way.
Maybe we should have a cabinet post of Foreign Funerals? Then we could concentrate upon the candidates for POTUS themselves?
I hear we get to elect those folks, be sort of nice if had some tidbits of information on them.
— Max
It’s hard to tell whom exactly Palin is criticizing here. The Obama campaign, bloggers, and the mainstream media all become one vast “they” who have treated her unfairly. During the campaign, Obama straight-forwardly condemned the stories that were floated about Palin’s family
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=UA3m-g_SBY4
(sorry I could find a better quality version of the video)
and her suggestion that he or his campaign were responsible for the actions of independent bloggers and journalists is unjust. If she wants to argue that she was unfairly portrayed by media sources—no doubt this was true in many instances—then she ought to cite specific examples rather than broadly accuse everyone who criticized her candidacy of participating in a conspiracy against her. Surely, it is possible to find fault with a person’s positions or record and say so publicly without being part of a cabal that is motivated by blind, unreasoning hatred.
Come on, Laurie does make some valid points. I am neither for nor against Palin (in all honesty, if anything, I am probably more positive than negative towards her, a kind of 60/40 thing) and I agree that the media treated her awfully and should be held accountable for that. But IMHO she really hasn’t shown enough to decide whether she would be a good President or not. I might well take the point often made here that Obama has not had the experience to walk into the office but, then again, neither has Palin. Not really. To her credit, of course, she was neve running for President but still…
And no (before anyone bothers to speculate, as I think some here might be tempted), whether it could possibly be a female jealousy thing, don’t go there. If anything *we* have more invested in having a female Pres/PM, leader, whatever than the guys do. I think we’re just saying (if I can speak for Laurie) we need Palin to show us her stuff and so far we haven’t seen enough. Maybe we’re less
takenpersuaded by her legs, I dunno.Well, to follow on the first group of posts, for all the fear she appears to generate in the ruling party, she appears to generate just as much fear in the Republican Party as well, who are used to getting their piece of the pie, too. Anything that puts fear into their fat elephantine arses, I’m for.
Laurie, you’re thinking way, way too hard about it. Nearly every scenario you come up with that you can’t explain is a negative–something Palin didn’t do–and so you can never prove or disprove from your catbird’s seat why Palin didn’t do something. It lets you feel warm and cozy in your doubts. And if you want to feel warm and cozy in your doubts, it’s because you want to believe they’re justified.
You’re not the only poster on this board who’s not fond of Palin. I only liked her because I can’t abide McCain, and the actuarial realities of the world put her in the White House in a few years–to my mind, a much better option than either McCain or the current incumbent. But she’s just a women who’s done well on her turf, no different than you. Support her or don’t support her, but don’t think it to death.
Max please, don’t paint all Easterners as elitists of the Ivy League persuasion. Some of us – like AW1Tim, B2, Snake Eater and myself – live on the east coast and don’t drink that Kool Aid.
Besides – what’s wrong with American Idol?
Actually Michelle, Palin has far more “political managerial” experience than Obama. She runs a state. What did Obama run? A campaign? With the worst voting record in the Senate – he voted “present” about 80% of the time. Palin can’t vote “present” as a Governor – she is all there is.
All that aside, Palin is genuine and unafraid to show that. The Liberal media can’t understand how to deal with a politician who actually tells the truth, who speaks directly and clearly – so they cut her apart in every way they can, right down to the speculations about the parentage of Trig.
The interview here was about how that media treated her in comparison to Obama – he gets questions about how he must be feeling, thinking about his parents, blah blah blah. Palin has to quote the Bush Doctrine and, to quote Ann Coulter – Palin had to memorize all the kings of Swaziland.
Obama got a free pass on everything – anyone ever see his college transcripts? And Palin was excoriated by the very same media who refused to talk about Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko except to publish Obama’s denials.
Sarah Palin doesn’t have to justify her answers to any questions asked in this particular interview. She answered honestly – which is more than anyone will ever be able to say about Obama.
I agree with Max – I think people are over-analyzing what it all means. The MSM annointed Obama from the start and no one was going to get in the way of that. If they had to launch one of the most vicious negative campaigns against a politician in history to ensure that The One was elected – then sobeit.
Isn’t it interesting how thoroughly the leftists scour the internet for any blog commenting on Palin? Here we are on li’l ol’ NeptunusLex, and we’re being graced with first time posters criticizing Palin. Notice the trend – it begins with a semi-reasonable post, but is never supportive. If you take the bait, the more extremist views will come out, the thread will quickly degenerate, and they will have hijacked the discussion on yet another even semi-conservative site. They certainly must have a great deal of time on their hands. Has anyone seen “Laurie” or “Amy” here before?
Palin engenders fear and loathing on the left for a whole host of reasons – for one, she is a living repudiation of much of what they hold dear, and at the same time, there is the elitist snobbery that reviles anyone not of their kind daring to try to enter the circles of power. I think most of all, Lex is right, there is a terror that she is a personality, and a story, that could be very difficult to deal with, and ultimately upset this long-term democrat majority the media seems to have sold out for. I think it has had one, very clear, benefit, however. The MSM has clearly chosen sides, finally, permanently, and without recourse to obfusication. Conservative candidates should now know, once and for all, that traditional media sources are unremittingly hostile and will do anything in their power to defeat them, and should conduct their candidacies accordingly.
Governor Palin has my vote; period. That means I’m part of about 40% of the population today–which isn’t enough to get her “over the hump” in 2012. But she’ll work on getting the remaining 10.1% she needs; and the Anointed One’s conduct during the next four years will go a long way towards assuring she gets it.
And as for the fact that they don’t like her in Manhattan and D.C?–tough noogies.
Mmm, Larry, I can’t recall seeing you here before, but I have seen Laurie here before (not sure about Amy, but she’s welcome so long as she wipes her feet and puts her glass on the doily). Of course, if you’re an irregular that I’ve missed, let’s go see what Lex left in the frig.
Yes, Laurie and Amy have both commented here before.
Laurie came out of the woodwork and was very open about who/what she was within the past few weeks and I have seen Amy (assuming it’s the same one) comment here infrequently/occasionally. And of course, y’all know me … and to know me is to love me. /snark off
Not every conversation that I carry on occurs within the postings or comments on this blog. People communicate through back channels or sometimes in real life.
I know.
We have to be able to respectfully disagree with those who respectfully disagree with us. Otherwise this becomes an echo chamber and mere vanity.
Laurie and Amy are both friends, although I’ve only ever met one of them. I hope you’ll extend them the same courtesy as you do me.
Whoa.
Lex has spoken.
And, behold, it was good.
Laurie and Amy … While you’re “thinking Sarah Palin through” during the next four years, please take note of some things in your sometimes invidious comparisons. The president-to-be the country just elected has held only one job so far in his life — community organizer — a “foot soldier” position in the corrupt Daley political machine. He has never run a company, run a city, run a state, met a payroll, or indeed done much of anything in the tough competitive world of free enterprise.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin has been successful in the rough and tumble world of frontier politics for more than ten years, been elected governor of one of the country’s largest states and has served it so well the past two years she has an 80% approval rating among her constituents. At the same time, she has helped her husband run a commercial fishing enterprise in a very hostile weather environment, is raising five children successfully, the oldest of whom is serving in the Mid-East, the youngest of whom is a Down syndrome baby whom she and her husband refused to abort.
Just staying alive in Alaska is a constant challenge Right now the citizens are enduring -60 F degree cold and have been for more than a week.
Sarah endured the most vicious constant denigration from our nation’s “journalists” all during the political campaign, and did so with largely unimpaired grace.
In a recent interview with a person making a documentary, she finally broke her well-controlled silence and expressed herself, in clear non-violent terms, about some of the
ugly things she felt were unfair in her news coverage. I say, “good on her.” We all have a right to resent ugly, unfair criticism.
Few of us could be more honestly gracious about it.
Marianne
“What’s the best load for moonbats? ”
20mm DUP preferably from a CIWS system.
One other quick observation on why so-called “feminists” despise Sarah Palin so much:
Ever meet any of the men these women have to deal with? Their boyfriends, husbands, etc tend to be pretty wimpy guys. Let’s face it, not many men of integrity will spend their lives hearing about how horrible men are. The ones that do…
Not only does Palin have a very successful career and family, she also manages to have a “real man” for a very loving and supportive husband.
That must really chafe the hides of the “feminist” womyn who have to go home to Mr. Milquetoast every night.
Before addressing Palin herself let me say that it seems to me that Larry’s 2nd para., above is the key to the vehemence with which she has been attacked for all the reasons stated therein. Further, I would suggest they see in Palin the mirror image of Obama in that she is someone whose personality alone inspires a loyal following (albeit for very different reasons) and that she has the “Q-Factor” so beloved of PR types who regard people who seemingly effortlessly attain such favorable recognition factors as having achieved PR Nirvana. Continued post-election attacks on her would seem to bear this out, as an attempt is being made to put a stake in the heart of this future and continuing threat. The left realizes, I think, that whatever the chinks in Palin’s armor policy-wise or gaps in her knowledge of world geo-politics, these currently existing deficiencies can all readily be filled in the interim and her public persona will only become more polished with time and practice–thus current ceaseless, on-going attempts to discredit her.
On top of that, even more enraging to the left in general and the MSM in particular was her pointed slap at both in her VP Convention acceptance speech when she very publicly proclaimed that she personally cared not one whit for their good opinions. And while types like me thought it was great, she had to know that that this was the proverbial red flag before the bull, as all stops were let out to savage her from that point forward. My criticism (and it’s hard to point exactly where the blame lies–with Palin herself, her McCain “handlers, or a mixture of both–is that this should have been expected and prepared for, and it seemed that it was not.
First, she immediately interviewed with Couric, a major mistake on two levels. One, she had just said she cared not a whit for the opinions of people like Couric, and thus by the simple act of acquesing to the interview in the first place, suggested that she really did so care–and thereby gave credence to the status of the MSM, and (Two) she seemed–even selective editing taken into account–inarticulate, un-knowledgeble and unprepared.
Of course the MSM immediately translated these failings (such as they were) as meaning she lacked both intelligence and wisdom as well as knowledge. I regard the Couric interview as a fatal error on her and/or the McCain staff’s part.
Palin also should also have known that, being a Tri-Delt sorority suzy from UVA and a HS graduate from prestigious Yorktown High (overshadowed only by the even more prestigious Washington and Lee HS where W&L students look down on even Yorktown types) Couric’s background was anthetical to everything Palin represented on the one hand, but still just close enough to the same middle-class spectrum both had come from–although at opposite ends–that Couric, I am sure, felt the need to put as much space between the two as possible by demonstrating the superiority of her “station.” (Yorktown HS , Delta Delta Delta and UVA all inhabit the upper-middle/lower-upper tier of society’s institutions–although members/graduates of each would beg to differ I’m sure–and thus are still uncomfortably linked–however loosely/tenuously– to those institutions from which Palin herself emerged)
Finally, as far as for Palin herself? To my mind she seems to be typical of small-town mid-western “good government” Kiwanis/Elks/Rotary Club, non-professional political types of both political persuasions who seem to predominate life at the local levels of government. Usually non-ideological, PTA “get-’er-dun” sort of earnest, well-meaning people without any firm, well thought-out philosophy or in-depth policy positions; these types tend more to the fiscal conservative (whether Dem or GOP) practical side–a style often well-suited for the local or State level–both in getting things done and attracting the widest possible range of voters. It is at the national level where the culture wars and media spotlight really kick in that
this approach often falters–and so it did with Palin–this time.
Will she maintain her star power and get another shot? I’m a Yogi “predictions are very hard–especially about the future” Berra man myself.
Kris, Re your comment # 21 above…agreed not all us North-Eastern folk are Ivy League elites (although I’ve known a few of the breed who would, without any pretext, drop the ” H-Bomb” just for the fun of watching the fallout)…
which reminds me of a somewhat relevant story I heard this AM on Morning Joe( the only thing worth watching on that vile MSNBC )… it seems…and I paraphrase… that Ronald Reagan, as President, was giving a speach at Havard. During the Q & A a question about Eureka College ( read small no name school in Eureka,Illinois ) and his experiences there came up. Ole Ronnie standing there at the lecturn emblazoned with the Presidential Seal… pauses then answers…” it was indeed a great experience to attend Eureka College…but I’ve often thought about how much more successful I might have been in life if I had attended Yale…”
… thus spake Ronaldus Maximus… nothing more need be said. Best
PS, Lex re Laurie and Amy… for what it’s worth I welcome them both…the more Lex Babes the better…just one question regarding Laurie…is she that verbose in real life or does she save it all up for the blogosphere? Please advise.
Ms. Matthews, while Palin’s conduct in her personal life is certainly very admirable, she was not well-rounded as a candidate. In addition to her being a very likable and charismatic politician with an appealing life’s story, John McCain seemed to specifically choose her to help push forward one important aspect of his policy agenda: fiscal reform. She would also have been generally effective at ensuring party discipline on key votes and bringing a valuable perspective to energy issues. Her interests and experience were narrow (or “focused,” if you prefer), and I don’t say that as a criticism of her candidacy because, at least before “trooper-gate,” I thought that she was a brilliant choice to supplement the weaknesses in McCain’s own background and to help him accomplish the main goals of his domestic agenda.
The problem was that Palin seemed to sense—and rightfully so—that many people would find fault with her for not having a breadth of experience and policy interests. It might not be necessary for one to have a long record in politics or a strong familiarity with foreign policy issues in order to act effectively as Vice President, but not having that background leaves one open to criticism. So she tried to finesse these shortcomings and play up her strengths. The former tactic usually wasn’t convincing (see her comments on Russia) and made her more vulnerable to criticism, but the latter often was very effective and helped her to gain the sort of following that she has today. She deserved to come in for criticism because she was being disingenuous about the breadth of her qualifications, but she also deserved support from conservatives as a candidate who would have been very successful in the task that was before her.
That, along with too much ugliness about her family but also legitimate questions about her ethics that were raised by “trooper-gate”, is what I saw playing out in the media during the election, which is why I find it difficult to accept Palin’s assertions of victimhood. As a politician, she tried a certain tack with the media. It didn’t work out. It seems that she should accept that instead of claiming that she didn’t play the game, but that the game played her.
What I saw of Palin did not allow her the opportunity to show how well rounded was, or not. As I recall, she wasn’t the candidate of Prez, Juan McCain was. If she is compared one to one with Biden, he comes out pretty poorly.
I did not see one criticism applied to Palin that did not apply in spades to Biden. Sorry if you disagree, but press coverage of Palin was malicious and unworthy of anyone but a shameless leftist that was in the tank for Obama and was willing to do anything to see the One elected.
There are two standards in the press. One for the left, and lies about the right.
Ya beat me to it, Byron. What Tim said…with reverb, baby…and that guy with the voice on the Geico commercials (except he just died. RIP).
Getting the book, and might even venture a trip to AK to have it autographed. Sarah’s honest, she masters her fears, and if you cross her she’ll kick your butt up around your shoulders. Does she have a sister who’s single?
All jokes aside, I have seldom felt so comfortable listening to and believing in someone that I could come to trust them so implicitly in so short a time. Too bad that she got hooked up with Johnny Mac, but, on the flip side, at least we got to see what’s in store for us down the road. I’d be happy to see Jindal kick it up a notch too. That’d be a fiery pair of whoop ass.
Kris, let’s not forget that the organization represented by The Chosen One, and for which he wrote the SOP, is/was under investigation in 15 states for voter fraud. I would SO like to NOT have that on my resume. I gotta stop here or I’ll go on a 4 hour rant about the guy. Someone once said recently (Giolanni?) that 4 hours as governor beats 4 years as a U.S. Senator in terms of experience and command level decision making.
Ya know, Jim C, during my 11 year tour with Aircraft Targets at Pt. Mugu, we used to get a tow target back on occasion that had been perforated by 20mm DUP. Wow! That stuff had so much KE that it didn’t punch holes. It burned its way through the target! We also had to ‘geiger’ the targets post op to check radhaz, but none of us died young or ceased to function ‘biologically’ (polite term). “On top. Clear to fire!” Little R2D2 won most times, and what we got back was pretty…umm…scary to look at.
Since I’m OT: How soon til we see hizzoner, The Chosen One, make a trip to the boat in a War Hoover? Lincoln’s crew was tres impressed that The Boss would venture out to visit them that way.
Mongo,
The Lightworker would most likely transfer across from one of the zodiacs onboard the Rainbow Warrior.
Maybe helo out aboard Marine One when the CV berths.
Amy, quick question. What real qualifications does Barack Obama have? State Legistlature, U. S. Senate (where he did next to nothing), and ???
No one can ask “How is Sarah Palin qualified?” and so blatantly ignore Citizen Barack’s lack of CV, without being questioned as to their unbiased view of the situation.
Ugliness about her family? What do we say about Obama’s community family, as in Bill & Bernadine or Rashid the Anti-Semite(No joke!) or…well, I hope you get the picture.
At least Sarah is honest about her family, and now she is a thrilled grandmother. No smoke. No mirrors. Just Sarah. I can live with that. Totally transparent. Unlike he whose citizenship shall not be verified, and who disparages plumbers mere moments after descrying negativism in politics.
Or is it me? Am I missing something here?
Tim: ROFLMAO…spilled my drink, dude! Shame on you!
Or shame on me for being sloppy…
Amy/
So, remind me again of all the wide-ranging executive experience that Obama had? And you have the unmitigated gall to complain about Palin’s “narrow” focus? As an elected chief executive of a State with an international border? (the Russia thing, you know) Lets see, commander of the Nat. Guard, responsible for logistics support for the Alaskan command–hwys, telephone lines, etc., coordination with Coast Guard on Air-Sea rescue matters; negotiations involving international fishing rights, and oh,did I forget energy? Only one of America’s key energy sources being the state of which Palin was governor–with all that entails–EPA, Energy Dept and Commerce Dept coord., negotiation and letting of multi-billion dollar contracts, etc. And on, and on and…….
Now tell me again about Obama’s many CONCRETE accomplishments and breadth and depth of executive experience? I’m all ears.
Here’s a H/T (see I am learning the lingo) to Amy for putting a toe in the water. Counter-battery fire being what it is, I hope whe will at least answer the questions.
Now if only Laurie and Amy could say what they are trying to say without using three times the words of our erstwhile host uses while he is saying whatever it is he is saying….
But then it would all be boring, huh?
Virgil – pass the blue pills, will ya?
I might add that Sarah also negotiated an international treaty between Canada and Alaska involving an oil pipeline, with all the hazards and benefits with which that entails.
Now, she certainly had folks on various staffs coordinating things, but in the end, she was solely responsible for what that treaty entailed.
Remind me again of what Obama has accomplished? He likes to tout his work as part of the Annenburg Challenge. Obama and Ayers were responsible for the expending of some 153 MILLION dollars to help Chicago schools get up to code. How succesful was that? Well, let’s read the following article, shall we?
http://www.timesrecord.com/website/archives.nsf/56606056e44e37508525696f00737257/8525696e00630dfe8525752e00618375?OpenDocument
The fellow in question was a volunteer in Chicago, helping 3rd Graders how to read, and that after school! So what exactly DID all those millions go to provide? HMMM? Can you say ACORN? Sure, I knew you could….
“Sarah in Chains” era of the campaign.
Yo Virg,
Re: #31
“First, she immediately interviewed with Couric, a major mistake on two levels. One, she had just said she cared not a whit for the opinions of people like Couric, and thus by the simple act of acquesing to the interview in the first place, ”
So V-man, I she didn’t make that call about interviewing with perky Kate. McCain’s campaign made that call. The staff was doing their level best to “handle” her.
There was a month or more of ‘Sarah in chains’ when it went really sour and the worst of the MSM damage to her was done.
Then the whole ‘unleash Sarah’ cry went up, they turned her loose and she started firing on all 8 cylinders — SNL appearances, Drill Baby Drill and so on.
Bottomline? McCain and his staff was huge part of the problem.
Sarah on her own? Does fine. Just like in this most recent interview.
Mr. Mongo, I didn’t say that Palin was unqualified for the vice presidency (I believe that she was). The arguments that she was politically inexperienced and unfamiliar with foreign policy issues were weak ones given the nature of the task that was before her: to act as a popular “outsider” who could help push fiscal reform measures through the senate. But weak arguments are not malicious ones. Her inexperience was a short-coming. Was it an important one? Not really, but it was certainly not beneath voter consideration, and in an election where people were parsing the exact nature of a dinner gathering held for Obama at the Ayers’ residence, you could hardly expect it to go without comment. Obama’s inexperience was also a short-coming, but for voters (such as myself, yes) who agreed with his policy positions and gained a sense of his style of leadership through his conduct during the campaign, it was not enough to tip us into the McCain camp. My comment about “ugliness” related to Palin’s family was meant to refer to the personal attacks she experienced because of her daughter’s pregnancy and the rumors about her not being the mother of her youngest son. Those were utterly offensive and uncalled for. Though less personal, I think that the rumors and accusations that Obama is a non-citizen who “pals around with terrorists” were on the same level of offensiveness.
Mr. Xenophon, I hope that I wasn’t speaking with gall when I referred to the narrowness—I meant in the sense of “focus”—of Palin’s *policy interests*, not her experience. In the interviews that I watched, she clearly was not familiar with many of the economic or foreign policy questions on which she commented. With respect to Russia, she could not describe any sort of interaction that she had had with Russian officials during her tenure in office. Again, I don’t think that this mattered because she was not going to play a lead role on those issues, but every weakness comes in for a great deal of attention during a national campaign, especially when the candidate tries to unconvincingly demonstrate that she has no such weakness. It’s not about malice; it’s about probing for weakness in a candidate and seeing if you can hit upon something that captures the public’s attention.
Oh, and I forgot in my last comment to thank Lex for what he wrote. I have long enjoyed reading this blog both for the strength of its content and the civility of its language.
Kris asked, “Max please, don’t paint all Easterners as elitists of the Ivy League persuasion. Some of us – like AW1Tim, B2, Snake Eater and myself – live on the east coast and don’t drink that Kool Aid.”
Kris, I wasn’t intending to paint with such a broad brush and I apologize if you felt I was painting out of the lines in the that regard. However, I think we both know there are folks in the coastal urban areas that have no idea what the rest of us are like, and consider themselves our betters. That was the group I was trying to reference.
I’ve *met* these people. My wife is an artist, we’ve gone to gallery openings and such events in the past. All black tie and small talk and eating cheese and drinking wine that tastes like, um, prune juice past the sell-by date. Celebrities from the movies, newspapers, television all around, flashbulbs going off like triple-A around Hanoi.
I’m not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, certainly not the most social of animals, but in all my travels I’ve never felt as much a turd in a punch-bowl as at those gatherings.
Wasn’t the dress or manners, it was the ignorance. “You’re from?” “South Dakota.”
I could almost feel the chill in the air. I wasn’t one of them. Half thought South Dakota was somewhere near Nevada, the other half was sure we were to the north but wasn’t certain we had indoor plumbing.
It was most palpable by the media folks. The only thing they knew about my state was that Tom Daschle wasn’t re-elected. Other than that, they were clueless. One might think they’d at least remember Mount Rushmore, or the Rosebud Indian Reservation, or perhaps a ballot issue to outlaw abortion.
Nope. We’re beneath notice. We don’t count.
Again, we’re not of their tribe. And each night I thank God that I’m not of theirs.
– Max
MAX/
I used to spend a bit of time in the “banana belt” at Rapid City–did quite a bit of business with Prairie States Life
which is headquartered there. Mt. Rushmore is one of those things that’s truly more impressive than advertised–first time I saw it was at night overhead flying in from Denver
with it all lit up–hadn’t known they did that at night. Quite a sight! Fortunately I was first there when they had the original elegant wooden WPA era bldg & cafeteria with that wall of glass that you see in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” before they tore it down and put up that Albert Speer-like semi-Fascist stone and concrete monstrosity. The old structure blended with the site so well…Naturally I made all my business trips in the summer–can’t think of why, tho–heh.
Surely Mr. Obama will transfer to the CV by going down the boarding ladder of the Presidential Yacht MAYFLOWER, and walking over to the boat platform of the CV.
Virgil, thank you for the kind words. I’ve often thought that Washington, DC should be abandoned and the houses of Congress moved to Rapid City.
First, it’s a much more central location and thus more convenient.
Second, think of the money we’d save on air conditioning!
Finally, once you gaze upon those busts carved out of a mountain, one might obtain a bit of perspective and realize the pomp, circumstance, and grandeur of a Washington monument or the reflecting pool in the mall is dwarfed utterly by the grandeur that is the vastness of this nation.
Ain’t gonna happen, I know, but I can dream.
– Max