Calculated move? Or political suicide? I'm still trying to figure it out.
Driving to an appointment on Friday, I caught the tail end of a radio news report.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
The Curious Case of Sarah Palin - Comments Page 2
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Arch Conservative
"though his rise to power has been phenomenally fast, his fall may be equally phenomenally fast."
I've got my fingers crossed. I hope the fall kills him (that's meant figuratively for all of you Obama nuthugging whackadoos) It amazes me how people can still support him or justify their support by blaming Bush. Ageneration ago they had to endure Carter to get to Reagan so I guess we now have to endure Barry to get to Mitt.
27 - Baronius
I still can't believe that George Allen isn't president. It should have been so simple.
28 - Ruvy
I still can't believe that George Allen isn't president. It should have been so simple.
Say, goodnight, Gracy.
29 - Dr Dreadful
It amazes me how people can still support him
I guess not everybody sees the world in the same peculiar one-dimensional way you do, Arch.
30 - Dr Dreadful
I still can't believe that George Allen isn't president. It should have been so simple.
Making jokes involving monkeys is never a shrewd political move.
Pigs, though, are OK. Especially if someone else starts it and applies lipstick.
31 - DW
This is one of the most mysterious things I've seen.
32 - Baronius
Dread, I don't believe that Allen deliberately used an obscure Belgian Congolese racial slur. What he did do was riff off the funny-named Indian guy at a campaign stop in Appalachia. Different crime, equal severity, same sentence.
He also taught us a valuable lesson about politics in the technological age. To succeed these days, you can't be prone to racially insensitive remarks, or gaffes of any kind, which is why a guy like Joe Biden will never become vice-president.
33 - El Bicho
How did he know the guy had a funny name? Of course, the fact that his mother spent time in Tunisia was likely just an odd coincidence.
34 - Phillip Winn
In today's political world, everything is "gotcha" politics and plausible deniability.
Good thing I'm not a politician.
35 - Baronius
EB, the guy said his name, which Allen apparently took to be funny and foreign. As for the proximity of Tunisia to the Belgian Congo, let's wait for Zedd to weigh in.
36 - Dave Nalle
Macaca does sound funny, though.
37 - handyguy
Thanks to the ever-invaluable Wonkette, I found this list of Sarah Palin's contributions to American 'idiocracy.' Many are quite funny and nearly all are appalling. I only count 50, but maybe that's part of the joke?
my resumeThe Queen of Idiocracy
38 - roger nowosielski
What you're saying, Handy, she's a female version of Dan Quayle. (You're not gonna earn brownie points with this one.)
39 - Cannonshop
Amazingly, the woman quits, and the Democrats can't find anyone else to talk about STILL.
Amazing...If anything is true, then the pettiness of the American left, their absolute obsession with destroying people is their defining characteristic.
Handy, the woman LEFT THE BUILDING. You can find someone else now, okay? It isn't like she had a chance after being tied to McCain's campaign in the first place (McCain was Dole, the token party sacrifice in a year they knew they would lose. Palin was put on the ticket mostly to fill a hole nobody else-at least, nobody with any actual chance of a future in national politics, wanted.)
I know there are a few folks who still don't like Kerry on the right-but the Kerry jokes (and Dukakis jokes, and even the Clinton Jokes) ended when the candidate was no longer running for or holding office. YOU folks just can't leave it alone, though. What is it, can you not function if you don't have a viable enemy, so you make one up??
Are things really going so badly for your party that you have to obsess about enemies you no longer have to worry about, in hopes of hiding your own failures, or is it that you want to make a point that any opposition to your chosen messiah will be ground down AFTER being defeated, that you will continue to run the attacks AFTER you've won, because you want to make certain nobody dares oppose you again?
Meh. Petty. just f'in petty, guys. Show some F'in class.
40 - Ruvy
Cannonshop,
In Israel, the people on what is called the "left" here, the peaceniks, the Labor Party, Meretz, etc., are known not merely for petty hatred, but for the long-lastingness of that hatred. And they are not s nice bunch, continually shouting down any opposition, grabbing microphones at meeings - all the traits the "infantile left" and Arab sympathisers have become known for in the States. I wonder who learnt from whom? Or was it a trait inborn to both?
Of course, Cannonshop, I would not want to eay anything uncharitable about fellow commenters on BC - it's against the comments policy! So, I won't....
41 - MarkSaleski
show some class? so if a dem resigned and filled the "exit speech" with a half a metric ton of lies and silly half-truths...the "classy" thing to do would be to ignore it?
riiiight.
42 - sid (not the kid)
Boo f*ing hoo. if anything is true it's the ignorance of the american right. if she left the building she wouldn't still be conducting interviews and continuing to lie while she walks out the door. you really think people aren't going to call her out? and where do you live that people have gotten over clinton?
43 - Baronius
I don't recall people singing derisively as Clinton left office. And if Gore had been in a wheelchair, we wouldn't have laughed about it.
44 - sid (not the kid)
You don't recall the mark rich pardon? How old are you? And spare the hypotheticals, nostadamus. You can't make any claims about what others would have done.
45 - Baronius
I remember the pardons, the Clintons stealing furniture, the staff trashing White House offices. What about it? The transfer of power was handled with class by the Bush people on the way in, and on the way out. The Democrats showed themselves to be bad losers in 2000, and bad winners in 2008.
46 - sid (not the kid)
You just disproved your point about what people said about clinton when he left.are you schizophhrenic or no short term memory? I wouldn't want to make fun of someone with mental illness. Funny that you don't remember the crap about the offices being trashed and w's being removed from pcs was false. When did lying become classy?
47 - Dan(Miller)
Some may be amused by this, some not. I thought it rather clever.
Dan(Miller)
48 - sid (not the kid)
You just disproved your point about what people said about clinton when he left.are you schizophhrenic or no short term memory? I wouldn't want to make fun of someone with mental illness. Funny that you don't remember the crap about the offices being trashed and w's being removed from pcs was false. When did lying become classy?
49 - Baronius
Sid, my point was not that Bill Clinton was respected as he left office. He wasn't. My point was that he wasn't heckled the way Bush and Cheney were.
With regard to the offices being trashed, the initial stories were exaggerated, like the one about the W's being removed (which is why I didn't bring it up). But there was some frathouse-mentality trashing of the offices.
PS - They run a pretty tight ship around here. Check out the comment policy.
50 - Bliffle
Clinto was the most conservative pres in 30 years. More conservative than RR, he left office with budget surpluses. and surpluses projected far enough into the future that Alan Greenspan thought they were 'dangerous', (what a nitwit Greenspan was!).
Clinton also championed and signed the welfare Reform bill, which I daresay nobody else had a chance at.
I guess the neo-republicans didn't like him diddling everything in skirts ( although nowadays after all the neo-rep heroes have been brought low they may change their minds).
As for pardons, Clinton claimed that by pardoning Marc Rich he recovered $150million for the IRS which otherwise would've escaped. I bet he also got some off of Richs Ex, a toothsome piece if I ever saw one. Just proves that a randy southern governor doesn't have to go to Argentina to have some fun.
51 - zedd
Cannonshop,
The point is not that she quit. I think you kinda missed it. What Sara Palin does would really not be too shocking. Yes its entertaining and contributes to the delicious rubber necking that we all are engaged in, watching the train wreck that the Republican party has become. But no, the real issue is not about her per se.
I do however have to ask, did you actually listen to her speech? Were you not confused and pained through it all. Was it not almost a tad too cringe-some? Did you not feel awkward and were you not left with the sense that this ain't gonna end well; that there's more to this fiasco a'commin?
However there is a much bigger point. She (the person who maid that wackadoodle speech... strange sports analogy of herself and all) was submitted by your party as the person who is second most qualified to be President. This is worth talking about. This says a lot not necessarily about her (because she's just a precious individual, bless her heart)but about a large percentage of people in our country. It speaks volumes about our acumen and who we believe is wise enough to lead us. It says a lot about party loyalty before rationale (if we have rationale).
You lecture on about how she was a sacrificial lamb.... You cant really be serious. Hmmmm let's see.... A war hero who against a Black guy for President of the United States... Hmmmm? Who was a sure bet?
52 - roger nowosielski
Zedd,
If there's to be any pain to be felt about good old Sarah, it has only got to do with the diminishing acumen of the average American who would take her seriously.
I think that's your point in a nutshell.
Come back to me!
53 - handyguy
The transfer of power was handled with class by the Bush people on the way in, and on the way out. The Democrats showed themselves to be bad losers in 2000, and bad winners in 2008.
Further evidence that you live in some alternate universe, perhaps one invented by Lewis Carroll.
54 - Dan
Bush far out classed Obama. One example of many is Obama's perpetual blame shifting.
Cringe worthy is his use of the word "inherited" every chance he gets.
Bush inherited a recession. He never cried about it like Obama. He just fixed it through tax cuts. When that worked like it always does he didn't take any credit, not that the MSM was offering any.
Obama is a fool, voted in by fools. Many who are unsalvagable. As this symbiotic relationship born of ignorance, envy, and sloth begins to rot, as it must, Sarah Palins star will only become brighter.
55 - handyguy
He just fixed it through tax cuts. When that worked like it always does he didn't take any credit, not that the MSM was offering any.
I believe you really believe this. But honestly, it has as much relation to reality as Through the Looking Glass.
56 - roger nowosielski
To speak of Bush outclassing anyone (one word, by the way) is already a misnomer. And to follow it up by speaking of Sarah Palin's star is to add insult to injury. Zedd indeed was right when in #51 she alluded to the diminishing acumen of the average American.
One would think, of course, that the BC community is a cut above. Fat chance.
57 - Cannonshop
#51
You lecture on about how she was a sacrificial lamb.... You cant really be serious. Hmmmm let's see.... A war hero who against a Black guy for President of the United States... Hmmmm? Who was a sure bet?
The Black guy-he's a Democrat, and didn't have a record to attack. (But, unlike the Republicans, he had a competent publicist.)
After all, the "War Hero" gig didn't work against the Frat Boy when Kerry tried it, did it? (and GW was an EASIER target-no pop culture skin-color armour, and a record that COULD be attacked.)
As for Palin...I called it months ago-as in after the election: She will never be a viable candidate. She finally *(apparently) figured it out.
Unfortunately, her newly-minted enemies still can't work out the math on that, so we get the wall-to-wall coverage of her resignation.
She's still a better choice than the man who's president of fifty-SEVEN states, and far easier to handle guilt-wise than watching the Iranians string up people for wanting a clean election...
Maybe we can send ACORN to Iran to help Ahmedenijad cover his tracks a little better.
58 - roger nowosielski
Below standard, Cannon, and you know it. Indeed, even above average Americans apparently suffer from diminished acumen. That's the worst I've seen from you yet.
59 - Clavos
One would think, of course, that the BC community is a cut above. Fat chance.
That would, of course, include you, right Roger?
No need to reply.
60 - roger nowosielski
But I shall, Clav. I was speaking selectively. And to refer to a class doesn't necessarily refer to each and every member.
61 - Baronius
Why would one expect the BC community to be a cut above? I think the quality of discourse on this site is amazing, but for the life of me I can't imagine why it hasn't been overwhelmed by the usual internet crowd: the Hinckley wannabes, the Klan dropouts, the single-issue "libertarians" who don't know anything about the Founding Fathers except for the fact that George Washington grew hemp, the larval hippies who think that wearing a bandana at OSU is "speaking truth to power", the eco-emos burning hundreds of kilowatt-hours blogging about energy efficiency, the equality bullies, and every public school graduate who thinks that lol is a full sentence and only ever uses the shift key to type strings of exclamation points.
62 - Glenn Contrarian
Dan #54 - Bush 'out-classed' Obama? If you'll do the research, you'll find Bush did NOT inherit two wars and the worst economic situation since the Depression...and 9/11 happened on Bush's watch.
I've always given credit to Reagan for winning the Cold War, because the victory happened on his watch. By the same token, 9/11 happened on Bush's watch (and he WAS warned), so he gets the credit for that, too.
63 - roger nowosielski
That's eloquent, Baronius. Like a stream of consciousness.
64 - Glenn Contrarian
Baronius -
When the discourse on a forum or blog is a cut above the rest, the credit goes to the editors. I'm not kissing their butts by saying so, because they're both on the wrong side of the political spectrum (as are you). But the credit goes to Dave and Clavos.
That said, the REAL reason why the level of discourse on BC is higher is...ME! ME ME ME ME ME! That's just how good I am and how right progressives like myself always are, so there!
Sorry - couldn't resist. The credit does go to Dave and Clavos.
65 - El Bicho
"Bush inherited a recession. He never cried about it like Obama."
Right. Bush was running around like Chicken Little talking about the upcoming recession, which contributed to it. Plus he had his people constantly blaming Bin Laden on Clinton. You appear to be in no position to declare who the fool is.
Good luck with Palin in 2012. Hope she doesn't quit on you in the primaries when the full court press in on.
66 - roger nowosielski
Correct, Glenn, insofar as the published articles are concerned. But that's got nothing to do with the threads. And I'd like to take another exception to what you said.
It's not "You You You!" but ME!
Now, I fixed that for you.
67 - roger nowosielski
I don't think she'll make it to primaries but will self-destruct instead. Unless of course the Republicans are bigger fools than we give them credit for.
68 - Bliffle
I'll second Glenn on #64.
Thanks, editors.
69 - Dan
Liberals are driving the Sara Palin phenomenon.
A lot of us Conservs would only like her peripheraly if Libs wouldn't lose all pretense of sanity in their obsession with her.
I understand why they do.
I've said before that Libs will need to match their enthusiasm for trashing her with some substantive behaviour on her part.
15 frivoulous and ironically labled, "ethics" charges have been cancelled. Critics of Palin should step away from their kool-aid and do a little self examination.
But I hope they don't, because it's fascinating to watch.
70 - Bliffle
Another useful metaphorical diversion bites the dust (as it were):
"...step away from their kool-aid and do a little self examination."
A recent memoir by a Jonestown survivor says that the True Believers weren't killed by poisoned Kool-Ade but by machine-gunning guards.
71 - Glenn Contrarian
On Sarah, I think David Horsey nailed the issue (no pun intended) with his political cartoon.
Come to think of it, here's one of his others that came after Sarah indicated that small-town rural white-bread America was the 'real' America.
And let this be a brazen shill for David Horsey - he's won two Pulitzers and is IMO the best political cartoonist in America.
72 - Baronius
Bliffle, as I understand it, people died both ways, along with the ones who were forced to drink the kool-aid at gunpoint. I've always found the kool-aid analogy appalling.
73 - Zedd
Dan,
The Libs didn't make that crazy speech. Dude, it was bad. That speech was confusing and she sounded nuts or high. No one prompted her to make it. Does it really escape you that its shocking that THAT woman was presented as a potential for the Presidency?. Im not nec a Liberal but I vote Dem or than Rep. I am baffled by people like you who cant recognize stupid. I'm amazed that your party loyalty is so strong that you'd be willing to have what seems to be an imbecile run the nation ANGAIN just to say you won. You guys don't even evaluate your principles to see if they make sense under the specific circumstance. You just spout this stupid stuff that has no real meaning....
"I'm pro states rights". What does that really mean? What does that do?
"I hate big government". What does that mean? Big how? Why do you hate it really?
"I am for family values" What the heck does that mean?
I may be shallow and simply don't get it. Could you answer these questions and then tell us all what Sara Palin was really saying in that speech. Why did she resign?
74 - Zedd
Roger,
@52 We are in agreement.
75 - roger nowosielski
I knew you would. Forget about #73. It's no use.