Why Palin Still Matters »
Posted By Neophile 1 year, 1 month ago in Political News
Let's be real in a way the national media seems incapable of: this person should never have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural "identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent this from recurring.
Read Full Story at andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com »
1925 Views Share Story 51 Comments Report
Submitted By:
Neophile
I'm a Propeller Scout so if you have any questions or concerns, send me a message and I'll be happy to help.
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentShowing 202 of 203 Comments (view all)
-
-
92%
CRYMTYPHON1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
It is a quandary.
Reply
The very phrase Palin 2012 sends a jolt of pleasure to the brain center of anyone who wishes the democrats well.
We could sip the wine of her presence for victory banquet after banquet, -
But would that be good for America?
The 2008 election was a vindication of the American system; both candidates were serious and worthy leaders;
the issues of war and the economy never left our attention.
Palin was comic relief, - or comic distraction.
To have her on the center stage in 2012 would diminish the process.
With incompetent opposition the Democrats will fail to reform, fail to listen to the people, and the idiot cycle will just repeat itself.
Let Palin be a footnote for historians to chuckle over.-
92%
earthlingerer1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
When a party has to dig down deep enough, and pull out someone like Palin for the job next to the most important in the world, and highest in the nation, you have to really think how the general public is perceived by either the candidate or the people running the political race/campaign/ideology.
Reply
The only thing that will be heard about or from Palin will be muffled howls from Alaska, and not even for all that long. -
17%
DaneL1 year, 1 month ago
-
-
15%
CajunChamp1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Palin is bright, intelligent and a bit of fresh air in an otherwise quite stale political venue. With Stevens being tossed out (hopefully), Palin may just run for the Senate in a special election. Her on-the-job training will be a tremendous asset to the republican party's rebuilding effort. Watch out Obama, better do good the next four years. Go ahead,let the usual smear campaign continue onward as it's the best thing that can happen as witnessed by the last campaign smear tactics that didn't work for the republicans. It got Obama elected, the American voter just won't stand for it any longer.
Reply-
91%
smithichie1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Other than the bright and intelligent assessment I agree with you. Unlike some of my fellow Dems, I don't think she will necessarily be the easy candidate to beat in 2012, I remember people thinking the same thing about Ronald Reagan back from '76 to the '80 election. I do, however, think she has a bigger hill to climb than Reagan did, as far as her public image.
Reply
Of course there might be a few things that happen between now and 2012. -
95%
sinophil491 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Cajun - Palin may be politically smart, tenacious, and charismatic; but "bright" and "intelligent"? No way. She is far too parochial, narrow-minded, exclusionary, and intellectually lazy to be a responsible and assured leader of this world power.
Reply
How could she not read and become at least passingly familiar with the great issues facing our world and our nation? The basics of the scientific disciplines, economics?
Why did she become such a babbling incoherent fool when answering interview questions? She cannot think on her feet.
Why did she call the sympathetic fans and voters the "real Americans" and clearly regarded all those who disagreed with her as "unreal" Americans?
The president of the United States is exactly that. One can not be the president of only the Gays, or of the neoconservatives, or of the animal lovers, or of the corporate executives, or of the Latinos, the whites, the blacks, etc. No. The president has to see to the welfare and security of all the peoples of the nation. Palin has not shown that she has that broad of a vision. She should not be placed in a position where she could possibly become the president. She would be as divisive and controversial as Bush (and Cheney) has been. -
100%
sinophil491 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Cajun - Palin may be politically smart, tenacious, and charismatic; but "bright" and "intelligent"? No way. She is far too parochial, narrow-minded, exclusionary, and intellectually lazy to be a responsible and assured leader of this world power.
Reply
How could she not read and become at least passingly familiar with the great issues facing our world and our nation? The basics of the scientific disciplines, economics?
Why did she become such a babbling incoherent fool when answering interview questions? She cannot think on her feet.
Why did she call the sympathetic fans and voters the "real Americans" and clearly regarded all those who disagreed with her as "unreal" Americans?
The president of the United States is exactly that. One can not be the president of only the Gays, or of the neoconservatives, or of the animal lovers, or of the corporate executives, or of the Latinos, the whites, the blacks, etc. No. The president has to see to the welfare and security of all the peoples of the nation. Palin has not shown that she has that broad of a vision. She should not be placed in a position where she could possibly become the president. She would be as divisive and controversial as Bush (and Cheney) has been. -
PsychoHosebeastComment removed: Spammer, Abusive2 Replies
-
-
93%
cowboygrandpa1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
CC:
Reply
There you go one idiot replacing another in Alaska.
My how the stupidity continues !!! LMAO hahahahaaaa
Tell me something seriously. Do you truly believe Palin is capable of dealing with the enormous responsibilities of being the CinC.
Man, she can't even handle her daughters' hormones. That should have been more important to her than her freaking Governor job.
Yeah let her run in 2012, show the world what idiots are still in charge of the neocon party. Notice I didn't say Republican Party, you haven't had a true Republican since Goldwater ran in '64.
Enjoy your fantasies there CC
-
-
83%
Markdistinction1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I think the Republican Party ought to give Sarah Palin complete control the the party and nominate her right now for the 2012 election. The Republicans badly need another uninformed idealogue with a mandate from God to practice Neocon economics and fear-based politics. The new rallying cry can be "Palin-- putting the last 'nail in' the Republican coffin. I do miss her speeches, though. She must hold the world's record for the longest run-on sentence. Could someone do a word count so she could qualify for that honor.
Reply -
82%
gamahuche1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
FTA
Reply
The Palin nightmare also happened because a tiny faction of political professionals has far too much sway in the GOP and conservative circles. This was Bill Kristol's achievement.
It was a final product of the now-exhausted strategy of fomenting fundamentalist resentment to elect politicians dedicated to the defense of Israel and the extension of American military hegemony in every corner of the globe. Palin was the reductio ad absurdum of this mindset: a mannequin candidate, easily controlled ideologically, deployed to fool and corral the resentful and the frightened, removed from serious scrutiny and sold on propaganda networks like a food product.
This deluded and delusional woman still doesn't understand what happened to her; still has no self-awareness; and has never been forced to accept her obvious limitations. She cannot keep even the most trivial story straight; she repeats untruths with a ferocity and calm that is reserved only to the clinically unhinged; she has the educational level of a high school drop-out; and regards ignorance as some kind of achievement. It is excruciating to watch her - but more excruciating to watch those who feel obliged to defend her.
******
It still is niggling at me as to whether McC DID choose her.
And if he didn't who did?
They looked terrible together; their body language spoke of intense embarrassment on his part, and very soon into their "partnership" she was unavailable for public viewing because she was locked in her room with people who were trying to put something useful into that empty brain.
Will we be seeing her next-time around as any kind of candidate?
I betcha we won't!-
25%
DeauxNut1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Her interview on Larry King a little while ago completely negates all you said, which means that nobody will give you any sort of credence henceforth in your hate filled continuing smear of Palin. The hate club is slowly disappearing and soon will be just an annoying memory.
Reply
-
-
84%
chuck-the-canuck1 year, 1 month ago
-
mackiemesserComment removed: Retracted by user1 Reply
-
-
71%
toph19731 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
They had the chance to nominate a credible candidate this time around, but the sheeple decided on McBush, who then chose a running mate that was completely unqualified. What makes you think that they will nominate someone credible in 4 years? I have no faith in republican constituents or the republican party anymore.
Reply
-
-
HMMaceComment removed: Spammer, Hard Banned12 Replies
-
78%
dwemm1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I've got the Sarah Palin of twenty years from now in one of my classes. She's a star softball player who is very bright and capable. When given the opportunity and pushed into it, she speaks well. She's slowly working herself out of eligibility for playing at my college, though, because she's so drawn to ideology and dominant males that she can't focus her attention.
Reply
So she'll end up going to five different colleges in her life, because she'll come close to flunking from all of them because of attendance. All of them will be on sports scholarships because that's where colleges get free money. But still, she's able to BS and play the game with people who are like her. Every place she goes she gets a little higher in status. If it weren't for the grade thing and the structure thing, she'd surely win. She'll be elected to student offices as soon as she stays in one college for more than a year.
Eventually, she finds that one dominant male who's willing to use her as a front for his aspirations. Then, together, they'll either crash and burn or move on to greatness codependently. -
-
78%
antibrainwasher1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Currently, Caribu Barbie is at the Repug Governors convention in Fla, and to their horror, she is sucking all the air out of the room, getting all the tabloid media attention.
Reply
The brains and money of the GOP know they'll never win another national election clinging with a death grip to ignorant hillbilly evangelical creationist tent revival morons as the base of the GOP.
Palin is like the leech relative that won't go away, McCain's pick has screwed the GOP national party for the next decade, assuming Caribu Barbie is still jumping in front of any camera she can find. And like most ignorant white trash, she definately will. Amazing how ignorance and arrogance join together in the perfect storm.
Be interesting to see who's IQ is lower, Villiage Idiot Bush or Caribu Barbie. Any guesses? -
0%
lloydm651 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Somebody please tell me in what century the constitutional requirments for public office changed.I believe it says,you must be a citizen of the united states of America,be at least thirty five years of age,but I'm still looking.Surely if I search long,and,hard I will find other requirements, such as: you must be a lawyer( honest men,and women need not apply)then maybe being a senator( you can't be for America) would be better,and of course a community (extortionist)Organizer.Governors and business people need not apply,your administrative skills,and common sense disqualify you up front.
Reply -
60%
Poulenc1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
In a better--even reasonably better--world, Palin would be history.
Reply
But until the Repubs decide what they want to stand for now that they're politically bankrupt, Palin remains a potential player.
The pros are her strong appeal to a base that, if the party has any sense at all, it'll try to distance itself from as a defining constituency.
The cons--well, one doesn't have to get into that, does one? Though she may grow in knowledge in the next several years, she'll always be handicapped by a limited ability to communicate, to be intelligible at all, and, I believe, a dangerously parochial worldview. -
80%
cleare1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
IMHO mcsame selected pain because no other GOP politician wanted the spot. they all knew mcsame would lose and didn't want to throw their careers away.
Reply
pain is not going away any time soon. she's become addicted to the attention and the press loves controversy, and she's about as controversial as they come.
hopefully the dem will win in AK and relieve us all of the possiblility of pain getting into the senate, where she might be able to do real damage.
all the same, i'm glad mcsame selected her. it made obama's election soooo much easier.-
20%
CajunChamp1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
"it made obama's election soooo much easier"
Reply
Wow, you don't possess too much of a political acumen do you. The reason, IMHO of course, is that McCain didn't distance himself from Bush early enough and strong enough. Two weeks before election was way too late. His advisers also did not emphasize the economy early on but rather embarked on an Obama smear campaign way to much and too often.
-
-
-
Republicrat1844Comment removed: Retracted by user1 Reply
-
80%
Poulenc1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
A friend once told me that beauty was life's EZ Pass. Were Palin Palin yet less attractive, even by half, would anyone have given her a second thought?
Reply
Would she have been chosen to "energize the base."
We confer all sorts of goodies on those who are pleasing to look at, but beauty is enough in a few corners only.
And has a notoriously short shelf-life.-
-
80%
antibrainwasher1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
McCain had no choice when she walked into the room and his viagra kicked in. It was an evangelical trouser tent revivial. Luckily, Cindy was there, or it would have been an evangelical snake handlin' tent revival, damn Alaskan's are always ready.
Reply
No dog like a salty old navy dog. With Cindy embarassingly there, he had to keep the conversation brief, just git 'er dun. Grampy likes his ladies, give him that. -
BlueAutumn_1989Comment removed: Retracted by user8 Replies
-
-
0%
tadair9191 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
this article is kind of pathetic. it assumes that you must be an establishment media-spin master to run for office. why can't you just be like one of your neighbors?
Reply
i would pick a random person out of a phone book over any fsking politician *any* day. -
0%
fourthtunz1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
It is so sad that someone like Palin could be foisted upon the American people as Vice president.
Reply
This is not to say that we haven't had candidates that are just as bad.
More than 125 million people voted for either democrat or republican for president instead of voting 3rd party for real change.
So instead of actually thinking which candidate would be best for the country, most Americans voted as if the presidential election was a beauty pageant or a popularity contest.
The owners of our county are very happy that the american people do not think for themselves and that propaganda works so well on them.
One year from now you'll see what a costly mistake not thinking for yourself is. -
75%
Poulenc1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
tadair, what you say sounds "nice" in an up-with-the-people way, but of course what our leaders must be is extraordinary.
Reply
Extra ordinary.
People may get off on Palin's down-homeness as a sort of refreshing contrast to the self-presentation of cynical pols, but in her case, that quality is deadly insufficient--not to mention disingenuous in its own way. -
-
75%
Rayman1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Let's be real, Palin was a nobody till old man Johnny McCain picked her to run with him as VP. McCain lost his marbles, if he's till had any when he annouced Palin as his presidential running mate. Palin reminds me of that 'white trailer trash hot chick' who got picked as 'Prom Queen' for screwing her 'PE' teacher in high school! She failed elementary geography during one of her lame & 'red-neck' speeches about Africa. Palin has NO BUSINESS in politics. She would make a great hostess for the Jerry Springer show. If that's what the GOP has to offer for 2012, then let's rename the GOP to the 'Redneck hee-haw Party'!
Reply -
80%
nus41268621 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Women in general should be offended by Palin and McCain. Women should have the say what happens to their body during pregnancy. I would expect my wife to have the final decision. Secondly, McCain did not admit that lower pay for women is not acceptable for the same jobs as men. The average women is paid 77% of what men receive. That is very wrong!
Reply -
0%
Commodore11 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Palin has more experience than Obama bin Laden that's for sure. And she certainly puts the mave in maverick. More than that loser McCain. People like Palin always show what kind of weirdos are among the ranks of the nazi liberals these days. If she were running I'd have voted for her over McCain or Obama or anyone else. She's got it where it counts. I can't wait to see it when she runs.
Reply-
100%
cleare1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
both barak hussein obama and osama bin laden are better and more successful politicos than palin.
Reply
bin laden got us to do just what he wanted - start WWIV
obama beat the powerhouse clinton team and went on to win the presidency.
palin lost.
good thing too, because the last thing this country needs is another "mavericky" administration. -
75%
Rayman1 year, 1 month ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
We hear you loud & clear Commodere1 or is it 'White Power Supreme Chief'! How many times did u read 'the Turner diaries'? Palin is a white chick with nice lips. That's all she's got to offer to those white rednecks who continu to hide in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming while playing outlaws with AK-47's. Palin's got it! She's got sh*t for brains.
Reply
Come down from the hills and join civilization!!!
-
More News
Politics Daily
Fox News Politics
Changes in Senate Bill Give Democrats Little Wiggle Room for House Compromises
Graham Calls for Legal Review of Nelson Health Care Deal
General Defends Move to Prohibit Pregnancy, Calls Female Soldiers 'Invaluable'
Nelson Decision to Vote for Health Reform Met With Joy, Outrage Back Home
As Government Grows, Obama Touts Reduction in Contractor Payments
The Huffington Post
Jim Wallis: AIG: We Shall Know the Truth
Cenk Uygur: What the Media and Obama Never Understood About the Public Option
Lawrence Wittner: Afghanistan: In War, Winners can be Losers
Madeleine M. Kunin: Why I Don't Agree with Howard Dean
Jose Antonio Vargas: With "Avatar," Technology Has Never Looked So Human in Film (VIDEO)
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.