Add this piece to the ravenous media fawn that it is itself decrying, that would be the obsessive and at times goofy media attention the former Governor from Alaska has racked up in the last two years—especially in the months since Sarah Palin, in fact, early-departed the very gubernatorial position that led to her assault on our collective psyche.
Other than the daily Palin onslaught what, you might ask, is prompting such a bah-humbug lament, especially at a time of the year when we should focus on kindly old men with gifts (see: John McCain)?
Just this: a whimsical Google search — or ping, in current parlance — of various terms as they pertain to Sarah Palin, during which I discovered that no politician save President Obama, and not many celebrities (thank you, Justin Bieber, which I can’t believe I’m saying) outranked the Alaskan assault rifle. Not surprising, perhaps, but really, Sarah Palin’s Alaska??
The latest of these inanities has Ms. Palin taking on the First Lady for supposedly dictating to Americans what we should and should not eat — desserts falling into the latter category.
Only Sarah Palin could reduce a childhood anti-obesity campaign to an infantile suggestion that we eat all the s’mores and cookies and sweets we can wrap our independent, free, and over-governed teeth around. It’s useful, I suppose, to know that the former Governor, who hands out cookies while expressing her view, knows her way around a kitchen.
But really, other than aiming for the low fruit of another kooky comment, what is behind this fixation? What makes Palin so worth the coverage? Probably, it’s that she is the political equivalent of Ms. South Carolina or, recently, Ms. California—two pretty women who infamously miscued on “serious” questions about politics and culture. The two beauty queens, though, went quickly away, their moments having passed fleetingly.
But Ms. Palin is the train wreck that keeps on crashing, over and over. We can’t watch or look away while Ms. Palin manages her own personal tea party, and nothing is being tossed overboard this time — except common sense and intelligence. We worship or fear or condescend to Palin, and the political Ms. Alaska continues taking questions and vying for the crown — and in the meantime the bank is always open.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dr Dreadful
Stephen, you may just have done enough to stir our own Al Barger from his self-imposed silence to leap to an indignant and vigorous defence of Gov. Palin. We wait with bated breath...
2 - Irvin F Cohen
Dear Comrade Foster,
Rather short and pithy. Well done. But I must ask, don't you elitist commie-lib qua commie-symp, self-appointed mavens and arbiter elegantiae et gustium have anything better to do than to obsess tediously with Sarah's level of intelligence or lack thereof, or her lack of an Ivy League education with its supposed, so-called superior cultivation, belles lettres and high-blown intellectual and cultural sophistication?
Would it be better for you, would it make you truly happy if she had a Ph.D in let us say French Renaissance Humanism from Princeton with a stint as an undergrad at La Sorbonne? And could quote at will Montaigne and Rabelais and their contemporaries at length - in let us say, the original French? Or would it make you even happier if she were a Classicist and had a Ph.D in Greek Tragedy or Philosophy or History with a stint at Oxford or Cambridge? And could quote at length and at will; Euripides, Plato and or Thoucydides - also in the original Greek? Would that ultimately make you happy?
Why do I doubt not? Why do I doubt your motives? Could it be because you're a typical pretentious and pompous commie-lib etc., elitist cultural phony and basic, devious and deceitful ideologue? Who in mindless phobia and commie-lib bias and hatred must get his or her intellectual, ideological jollies off by attacking good 'ol Sarah with a rather nauseating uniformity and conformity of shared consensus?
I suggest you stick with culture and go read a book, preferably a Great Book, something in Greek or Latin or French, but in translation will do too - just read something worthwhile with "ideas" which educate and inform, but most importantly, which inspire and uplift your mind and soul.
But again, why do I doubt that you could possibly achieve the former? Could it be that you are much too smug and complacent, and much too much self-satisied and into yourself? And much too much into belaboring the point of this shared crusade of yours and your ilk to disparage and ridicule the supposed non-intelligence and utter vulgarity of the extreme commonness and ordinariness of dear 'ol Sarah? Could that be the root of this obsession of yours? Naaaaahhhhh!
3 - Baronius
Based on the writing style, I figured that Stephen is Irv, playing devil's adocate.
4 - Dr Dreadful
Irv is Al on speed...
5 - Irene Athena
All is Irv.
6 - Irene Athena
Pythagorus said, All is numba, but he was wrong.
7 - Ruvy
Stephen,
All these stupid attacks on Sarah Palin leave me more and more amused. Instead of doing what an intelligent person would do when trying to deal with an annoyance - ignore it - you attack and attack and attack. And you bring a woman like her closer to the executive mansion every single day.
If Palin is indeed the empty-headed floozy you would make her out to be, eventually even Americans - who are notoriously stupid about these things - they have an empty-headed floozy for "first lady", along with her thief and liar of a husband - will figure it out. Even if they do it too late, as they figured out Obama too late.
Frankly, I suspect that Palin is not the empty-headed floozy you would make her out to be and millions of Americans have figured that out. When it is truly too late - when your dollar is no longer a reserve currency and your living standards have plummeted through the basement - a lot of Americans who dislike Palin now will change their minds. And then all of HER rhetoric about hope and change will be useless to you. A pity.
8 - Christopher Rose
Yes, Sarah Palin is playing the long game and disarming her opponents by just pretending to be stupid. Brilliant!
9 - zingzing
ruvy, the "empty-headed floozy" in the white house actually graduated from princeton and harvard law. she could hack it at two of the most prestigious schools in america. take from that what you will. (didn't you drop out of law school? it ain't easy, i know, but you should know better.)
and if you think palin is getting "closer to the executive mansion every single day," you don't pay close enough attention to american politics. then again, why should you, just to have an opinion?
10 - Dr Dreadful
Frankly, I suspect that Palin is not the empty-headed floozy you would make her out to be
She just plays one on TV.
11 - Ruvy
It don't matter how many diplomas you get or from where - it's what you do with them that counts, zing.
Michelle Obama will be remembered for having married a thief and a liar who hung around gay bars. One hell of an accomplishment, wouldn't you say?
As for Ms. Alaska, well it is is an interesting world, isn't it? Looks like George Soros has your prez in his pocket along with Ms. Alaska - he's got the whole world in his hand, eh?
12 - zingzing
"It don't matter how many diplomas you get or from where - it's what you do with them that counts, zing."
if you think she's dumb, you might be in for a surprise. and she worked for a law firm, was assistant to the mayor, was the director of a non-profit, was on the board of directors for several organizations, was an assistant dean of student affairs at UoC, and worked with the UoC hospital as well. seems like she did a lot with her degrees before she had to give it up.
"Michelle Obama will be remembered for having married a thief and a liar who hung around gay bars. One hell of an accomplishment, wouldn't you say?"
i dunno what the gay bars comment is supposed to say, but i think if you look her up, she's probably accomplished a bit more than you have, sir. what have you done with your degree(s)?
13 - Cannonshop
The less you do in your professional life, the more likely people are to remember what you do for recreation, Zing. Considering prior to his trip to the white-house, Michelle's Husband basically did nothing but run for office-his list of accomplishments after college is shorter than MINE.
14 - zingzing
you could put it that way if you want to, although that would be a rather dim view of things, but how does that make obama's wife an "empty-headed floozy?"
15 - zingzing
and say what you will, but a guy who clawed himself up from a little community organizer to harvard law to editor to president of the harvard law review to law professor at university of chicago to several positions on board of directors to (concurrent to several of these positions) the state senate to the us senate to the presidency is no mean list of accomplishments.
in fact, i call your idea that "his list of accomplishments after college [even if this does include some college accomplishments] shorter than MINE" to be utter bullshit. unless you save babies for a living or something like that.
16 - Mark Saleski
It don't matter how many diplomas you get or from where - it's what you do with them that counts, zing.
you mean like being an internet wind bag?
17 - Cannonshop
First off, Zing... yeah, I exaggerated...a bit. There are lots of college profs, the measure of a prof, of course, is the quality of his output-that is, how good (in the case of a law-prof) your former students do the Lawyer thing.
So...can you name any former Barack Obama students who reference his work in the Harvard Law Review after they get out of school, judges maybe?
(Don't cheat on this, I did my homework.)
HOw about that community organizing-is the community he organized in better shape for his having worked with them, worse shape, or the same shape? did his work actually accomplish anything POSITIVE for the people he was serving?
(also did my homework here, Zing, so don't bother lying or splitting hairs).
As a LEGISLATOR (remember, served in the State and Federal roles here) did your hero PRIMARY sponsor any successful legislation-this is different from going "Me Too" with a co-sponsorship. This, too, is fairly easy to check.
Does your Hero read the bills he signs into law? (he is, after all, both a Law Prof, and technically a Lawyer-he went to law school and everything. Reading is fundamental to the career he trained for...) Has he ever mis-stated the outcomes of laws he's signed off on?
(Easy to check here too.)
Here's what I see...
You support this man, not because he deserves it or earned it, but because he has a "(D)" next to his name for political affiliation.
18 - Irvin F Cohen
Dear Cannonship,
Bless you.
19 - zingzing
cannonshop: "can you name any former Barack Obama students who reference his work in the Harvard Law Review...?"
well... who says he was writing? maybe he was, but we know he was the editor, and when's the last time you referenced an editor? care to name an occasion?
"did his work actually accomplish anything POSITIVE for the people he was serving? (also did my homework here)"
care to link?
"Does your Hero read the bills he signs into law?"
i hope so. maybe he does. does he not as far as you know? i'm sure you can provide proof that he doesn't. also, he is not my capital-h "hero." why is he your capital-e "enemy?"
"Has he ever mis-stated the outcomes of laws he's signed off on?"
undoubtedly. laws, as applied, always have unintended consequences. that's the problem with laws.
"You support this man, not because he deserves it or earned it, but because he has a "(D)" next to his name for political affiliation."
maybe. it's also because i like a lot of what he's done. would i give him the benefit of the doubt with an "r" beside his name? i dunno, maybe not. but i've pointed out such ridiculous conundrums in the past. such is the nature of american politics. isn't it?
20 - STM
Sarah would be OK if she had half a clue.
Right now, she comes across as someone whose only genuine reason to visit a service station is to get more air pumped into her head.
Sadly, though, I suspect if she one extra half a brain cell, she'd dangerous.
Like, you run for VP, and potentially end up as the Prez, and have your finger on the big red button. Now people are talking about her as a potential president of the US in her own right. Geez.
On that basis, it'd probably be an idea to know that Africa is a continent not a country, and that South Africa is a country (and one that has undergone momentous change in the past two decades ... how could she miss that??), not just a geographical location in Africa "the country". That's only one of the bloopers.
Seriously, I find it bizarre that any American could even contemplate voting for her just on that basis alone.
If she has no clue about one the major global issues of the past 20 years, what else doesn't she have a clue about??
Oh, I know: tea. It's for drinking, not for partying.
Although given Americas new fascination with tea, the Obamas should throw a tea party on the front lawn of the White House - like the ones Liz puts on at Buck House, with cake and cucumber snadwiches and everything - for all them nice tea party folks.
Imagine that, eh? The Tea Party mob standing around drinking cups of the precious leaf, and with their pinkies up as they chat away to Barack and Michelle.
Tea hee.
Americans should remember that the election of a US president is no longer just about America, whether some Americans like that or not, and the reason is: the modern world is a world largely of America's making.
You fart, the rest of us get the smell.
Think: GFC.
And blame George Bush and Co and the unregulated greed of Wall Street and their mates in London for that, not Obama.
He was just the poor bastard who was left to pick up the pieces.
21 - El Bicho
"Does your Hero read the bills he signs into law?"
A statement that's a sure sign someone is ignorant of how Congress works and shouldn't be listened to.
22 - STM
Things are bad enough as it is. Obama might be ineffectual, but in his defence, he has been required to push shit uphill and has spent most of his term watching it slip out of the barrow whenever he thinks he's getting somewhere. But he's not a complete idiot.
The last thing you need is a fool in the White House.
23 - STM
Look what happened last time.
24 - Dr Dreadful
zing, Roger, I'm sure it's been fun but this particular exchange has run its course. Any further outbursts will be sin-binned.
[Your friendly comments editor for the evening]
25 - STM
Doc, you're not censoring the rapier-like repartee are ya??