Eugene Robinson - Sarah Palin: A Starter, Not a Finisher - washingtonpost.com »
Posted By deathray 4 months ago in Political Opinion
There are two reasons Palin is taken more seriously than she deserves.
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deathray
Hm...summarizing a life...Investment banker, sailor, unintentional gourmet cook. Ex US Naval officer, also Foreign Service. Split my time between NYC and Miami Beach ...
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deathray4 months ago
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deathray4 months ago
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fta:
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What can you say about a public official who ridicules those who would take the "quitter's way out" -- as she faces reporters to announce that she's quitting? A governor who claims that "the worthless, easy path" would be to serve out the remaining 18 months of her term? An ambitious politician who says that "life is too short" to worry about, you know, boring things such as responsibility or duty? -
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deathray4 months ago
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fta:
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The reasons she gave for stepping down are not just contrived or implausible but literally nonsensical. She can most effectively serve the people of Alaska by ceasing to exercise the powers of chief executive? She worries that as a lame duck she would somehow be compelled to waste taxpayer money on useless junkets? In her "Don't Cry For Me, Alaska" news conference announcing her departure, the folksy non sequiturs -- "Only dead fish go with the flow" -- were like nuggets of Cartesian logic amid a tub of mush. -
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Progressive4 months ago
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...how about this one?:
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http://www.caglecartoons.com/images/preview/%7B4b5...
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ChefEOD4 months ago
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"not because she wants to serve America, but because she is self serving"
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I will have to disagree with this assessment.
1) Her "approval rating" has dropped about in half with the state dems no longer willing to work with her (or given marching orders not to); she is no longer nearly as effective & efficient in getting things done. If this simple fact is true (and it is), she is doing exactly what the state needs. Time will tell if her replacement is able to garner that bi-partisan support she enjoyed in the past.
2) With half a million in legal fees sitting on her door step and no viable way to pay for that while in office, I would be hitting the talk circuit too.
Can’t call it self-serving if it is a win-win situation.
"Mrs. Palin has attempted to extend her fame way past the 15 minute mark allotted to her"
We can say that about anyone that is in the public eye can't we? Especially applicable to everyone who is a career politician.
On another subject, had any good Thai food lately? They have a new cook at the restaurant I like here, probably the closest to what I remember the "real stuff" tasting like way back when. LOL - of course, the first stuff I ate over there were some dog kabobs. I didn't know it at the time, but tasty, mmmm-
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deathray4 months ago
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chef -
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look, it's not about taking care of her own; the people of alaska put their trust in her. she left in favor of making money and promoting herself...in the guise of a higher calling. the fact is, she was not good at governing, and found the spotlight too hot after being inflammatory, foolish, and then playing the victim.
i don't favor Mrs. Palin's politics, but even more than that, i find it very difficult to condone or be supportive of, her behavior.
my two cents...and i'm sure many will value it as even less...;) -
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Ciera-Marie4 months ago
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She has a multi million dollar book contract. Plus she made six figures as a Governor. I don't think she's hurting for money.
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She's a quitter. Governor Ventura did not have bipartisan support when he was Gov. of MN. Both parties were unified (and his biggest outspoken critic is Gov. Pawlenty who once he got into office did some of the things Gov Ventura wanted done.) against him. He finished his term. -
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Ciera-Marie4 months ago
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Those who have left office without finishing their term were either a. elected to a higher office b. had to resign because of a personal scandal c. had to resign because of health issues they had d. death.
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So quitting just to quit is about country? Is she serious?
Sure she can rally people together but when push comes to shove, when it comes time to do/finish the job she bails. Love or hate him at least Gov (HE is a Republican. NOT a democrat.). lame duck, Pawlenty is attempting to finish the job he was elected to. Even though he's gone down in MN has the VETO king. Though he's checked out to. He hasn't resigned but its the same thing. He knows that if quit his job as Governor it would look bad when he tries to run for either VP or Pres.
Face it she's a quitter. -
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quicksilver06024 months ago
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"You can say that all of us who ever took Sarah Palin seriously -- or pretended to take her seriously..."
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"
It's early in the article but one of my favorite lines.
If the GOP wishes to be taken seriously, they need to choose candidates that have more to offer than simply playing the role of tactical pawns in the dying moments of a campaign.
Palin excels in role playing and will attempt to re-write the script...if not her recent history...the closer we get to 2012. -
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gamahuche4 months ago
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I'm frequently hideously embarrassed by the idiocies of our politicians.
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Whacking each other on the head in meetings - which they may well have gone into with half-a-dozen beers clutched between their fingers.
Their apparent excuse is that we're a "young democracy".
Does Palin have any equivalent excuse for her immaturity?
Like having the Russians so close and breathing vodka fumes down her blouse, perhaps??
I give up!
I never figured what the heck McCain was doing with this clown, since presumably he wasn't screwing her.-
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AnteUp4 months ago
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Trying to put some oomph into a tired campaign.
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That's not a valid reason to put someone SO inexperienced - and unsuitable -
a heartbeat away from the Presidency - but that shows how much it has become okay to put Party interests above those of the nation. No one seems ashamed when they say it was a good
move strategically. Being strategic to party dominance has NOTHING to do with keeping our country solvent or strong, or fulfilling any duty to lead. -
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lvrofwolves4 months ago
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I'm always reminded of hyenas or weasels when I think of ANY politician....
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do I think she's quitting because of anything remotely resembling honorable???
HELL NO!
I'll say it again, I'd support her in any tv comedy entertainment endeavor she chooses, but never in any kind of leadership role in government. -
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PapaWolf4 months ago
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>>I never figured what the heck McCain was doing with this clown, since presumably he wasn't screwing her.
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I'm sorry, but this was a bit TOOO obvious. They picked Palin because they believed the Hilary voters were only voting for Hilary because she was a woman & would immediately flock to the next woman on the ticket. They didn't realize that Hilary supporters were voting for a woman who is extremely intelligent, competent, knowledgeable, & actually knew what magazines & newspapers she regularly read.
Same reason they picked an incompetent black man to run the RNC.
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Poulenc4 months ago
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She'll be taken seriously as long as the GOP sees in her someone around which to rally the troops.
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And she does make great press: the left loves to dish her, the right (or a grassroots part of it) to defend her.
She's also...photogenic. And a nothing-to-something someone, in the great Amurican tradition.-
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hyperbola4 months ago
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How sad that the GOP thinks that so many Americans are so dumb and docile that a Palin can rally them as "troops".
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How sad that the "media" uses "pie-fights" to distract Americans from real issues and problems. They also seem to think most Americans are dumb and docile.
How sad that "photogenic" seems the most important qualification.
Frankly, the whole Palin episode is a good example of how much disdain our "elite" and the media they own has for Americans.
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Commodore14 months ago
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I don't buy it. This is just the opinion of one nazi liberal reporter who imagines he knows what he's talking about. Of course w/the appalling arrogance and drone like mentality of most liberals they will buy it. Oh no. This is just the beginning. Sarah Palin is a lion and when she roars she is going to shake up and scare every nazi liberal in America. She will scare them more than they already are of her. Not only will she scare them but she will make believers out of them. Well that applies to those liberals who have more than two functioning brain particles. Give them hell Sarah!
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dunkirk4 months ago
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Actually when she roars she scares most sane and rational people that someone who is soooo clueless could have been chosen as the VP candidate of a formerly majpor political party in the US. But if you think on it the Repulicans havent been noted for selecting strong candidates but rather front men, people who cna be manipulated and perform a role as dictated by those pulling the strings. Palin is probably the best example of that, totally clueless and also unwilling to put in the time to brush up on things she should know. The republicans seem intent on becoming more and more unimportant and for some reason seem to be proud of that fact.
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Ciera-Marie4 months ago
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She doesn't scare me.
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Palin resigns amidst ethics scandal as governor, has had numerous family issues, can't handle the job she was elected to do, but does a good job rallying people.
Pawlenty announced with hardly no fanfare that he wasn't running for reelection, his family has stayed out of the limelight (no scandals and we in MN would know about it especially after his VP nomination last summer.) and has done a few things that I have to give him credit for. Most of what he's done has not been good for the majority of Minnesotians. He is definitely a party player. Whatever the RNC wants he gives them. He also knows to run to Iraq or Afghanistan when doing something he knows will not be good for MN and that he'll have to answer for.
I never in million years thought I'd ever have to point out to Republicans the better of two potential candidates for President.
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Spadecaller4 months ago
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fta:
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"...I feel sorry for conservatives who look to her as a champion because she's going to let them down."
Eugene Robinson, the writer of this article, is one of my favorite reporters, but I must confess he is definitely a more forgiving man than I. And that is my polite way of disagreeing with the use of the word "immaturity" in describing Sarah Palin.
I could not muster much compassion for Republicans who have already paid a steep premium for supporting Sarah Palin. As for me, describing Governor Palin as immature is more polite than informative. Unless one presumes that unscrupulous demagoguery is a phase young politicians often outgrow. Exploiting bigotry against Muslims, racism, and using the fear of terrorism to promote a presidential campaign is more than just a mistake of an enthusiastic neophyte.
It is easy to package Sarah Palin; the oil companies and the military industrialists have been more than willing to pave her way into the White House. Americans and the media need to take a good look at what she really is; a ruthless politician who has no problem stepping over the bodies that she often leaves in her wake. Will her victims remember her perfume and pageant walking? I think not.
Who should we take seriously? How about the mainstream media owned and paid for by the military industrial complex and the oil companies who lobby our government hoping to find Sarah Palin or some other malleable sycophant a home in the White House? -
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simonsez4 months ago
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What is unclear to me is why she has been singled out to be the reviled individual in the history of politics.
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She was drafted into the VP position by McCain, spent 2 months on the campaign trail in a failed attempt at the presidency, then became the target of law suits, the butt of everyone's jokes on late night, the press trying to destroy her family at every turn and causing her to spend $500,000 to defend herself from frivolous lawsuits.
What do you people gain from this barrage of personal attacks on this lady. What's the joy in this for you?
None of us could withstand this level of attack.-
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Will13134 months ago
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What do you people gain from this barrage of personal attacks on this lady
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many of her campaign speeches.. were not laying out the policy the ticket would bring to the table.. but attacking Obama on a PERSONAL LEVEL... terrorist .. associates with terrorists.. those attacks didn't go away after the election.. she railed against the stimulus package as if still campaigning knowing full well the legislature could and would over ride any objections she voiced.. simply put did she not think their might be some payback.. that in itself would seem to indicate a naitivity that would exclude her from high office.. kinda the same a Clinton who committed the unforgivable sin of ending the Republican white house was subjected to 8 years of a 60 million dollar investigation.. you think that wasn't payback at the highest level..
you reap what you sow... and it's apparent shes not up to the task.. very thin skinned.. people right here on propeller would have her in tears with some of the mean spirited posts.. -
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cleare4 months ago
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palin opened herself up to "personal attacks" the minute she ran for office the first time.
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that's why, in olden days, "ladies" did not run for public office...to spare them "personal attacks".
she's a self-described "bull-dog with lipstick" and you're boo-hooing over our arguably accurate criticisms. -
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lfergie8124 months ago
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"What do you people gain from this barrage of personal attacks on this lady. What's the joy in this for you? "
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This question is so ludicrous that it need not be answered but I will anyway. When I find a poisonous snake in my garden, I try to kill it. If I don't, it may bite me the next time. -
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AnteUp4 months ago
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I will echo hyperbola in that the dumbing-down of America
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has come full cycle. The public has lost the ability - or
the desire - to separate info-tainment from hard news.
They become inspired - energized and mobilized over the
most contrived "issues" imaginable. They tune into their
favorite (most entertaining) analyst of their agenda and wait for the verdict of that particular talking head, then parrot that pronouncement as their own..... no thinking required.
Unless substance can be packaged within a media event or a snappy sound bite - they are bored and not interested.
It's frightening. -
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reallypsst4 months ago
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Palin who?, i will say it again,she brought zero to the MCcain camp and now she is trying to pass as a contender for the 2012 presidential ticket,no way can she be taken serious after this fiasco,americans don't go down without a fight,and we have to many jackazzes in our government now,so go home palin !
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Will13134 months ago
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Eugene H. Robinson (born 1955) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist and former assistant managing editor for The Washington Post. His columns are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group. Robinson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
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a columnist for the very liberal (not) Washington Post. -
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cleare4 months ago
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i find it amusing that someone who claims she isn't a "quitter", quit.
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alaskans can heave a sigh of relief; i've been feeling a little survivor's guilt over our alaskan brethren ever since she returned to mis-manage her state.
does anyone have a list of the alleged "frivolous" ethics investigations and lawsuits???-
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Beau78904 months ago
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Palin has already answered the questions about the frivlous ethics investigations:
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"I think on a national level your department of law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we've been charged with and automatically throw them out," she said.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individu...
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fiftynine4 months ago
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This woman was elected for a position of trust by the people of Alaska.She entered into an agreement to fulfill those duty's...she didn't.She quit !!!
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I don't know about the rest of you,but as a vet and an American citizen,that is not excusable.Real leaders don't quit!!!! It doesn't take much of an imagination to think about what she would do in a higher office if she became bored or scared...Real leaders don't quit !!! Period.-
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Ciera-Marie4 months ago
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Yet they seem to think so. I've had a couple of replies and read a lot of comments that she's "not really quitting." That this does make a good leader.
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Would you want her to answer the red phone at 3am? (I already know you answer and I agree with it.) -
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fsev414 months ago
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I think we've all missed an important possibility for sarah's future.
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First Dude was a member of the Alaska secessionist party. Sarah has demonstrated that she can energize radical groups. Sarah and Todd are going to energize anew the secessionist party. When they vote to secede and establish a new country they will need a president.
Voila! The perfect president for the new country of Alaska, none other than Sarah. She will be able to fulfill her dreams and outlaw msm and contrary bloggers. Bristol will be Sec of Education, son Gargoyle (or whatever) will be Sec of the Army. Todd will hold two cabinet posts, Navy and AF sec as there airplane and fishing boat will make up the fleet. And Sarah will still be on the "national" stage.
How could we have missed it? -
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jaern4 months ago
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I would think a one term governor would be more productive for the state not having a pesky re-election campaign getting in the way of getting real things done for the state. She didn't want to be a lame duck, instead she's just a lame-ass.
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lfergie8124 months ago
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FTA: "She can most effectively serve the people of Alaska by ceasing to exercise the powers of chief executive? "
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Translation: addition by subtraction --- It means that the state is better off without her screwing things up any worse. -
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ChefEOD4 months ago
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http://tinyurl.com/kl2wh5
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"People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives, which had little to do with any plans to run for president in 2012...
...all good points, and they lead me to conclude that Ms. Palin mostly likely will not run for president -- in 2012, at least. She made many mistakes after suddenly being thrust into the national spotlight last year, but hasn't merited the sneering contempt visited upon her by national reporters. She simply was not their kind of feminist -- and they disdained the politically incorrect life choices she had made." -
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