Surprises Abound in Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue
I picked up Going Rogue at Target a couple of weeks ago. It has a number of surprises, some pleasant, some just startling. It tends to confirm my belief that Sarah Palin, while perhaps not qualified to be president or vice president last year, was certainly more qualified than McCain, Obama, or Biden.
My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.” In a few places, I noticed sentences with “I” instead of “me” for the direct object — a mistake that a professional writer wouldn’t make. There is also a bit more use of “I” (at least, properly used as the subject) than a professional writer might use, even in an autobiography. There are also quite a few places where her tangents in telling her story mark this as a first book; they don’t show the organization that I would expect from a professional. (Before you ask what I know about ghostwriting, I have ghostwritten part of a book by someone not as well known as Governor Palin. No, I can’t tell you for whom; that’s part of the contract.)
Going Rogue is well written, and it reads quickly and easily. Unlike some other “first books” that I have read (and many books by academics), I almost never found myself going back over a sentence to figure out her meaning. Palin’s B.A. from the University of Idaho is in journalism and she worked as a journalist for a while. She also had the advantage growing up that television was still not dominant in her remote corner of Alaska. Her schoolteacher father came up with some clever ways to make sure that books took precedence over television — such as putting the idiot box in an uninsulated room above the garage (pp. 25-27). It is possible that Going Rogue was ghostwritten; it just doesn’t read like it. Or perhaps Palin hired a ghostwriter so skilled that you can’t tell! (If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?)
There are some surprises in Going Rogue. She makes a point of telling you that her administration set a goal of achieving 50% of Alaska’s energy from renewable resources by 2025. Throughout the book, she emphasizes the importance of both developing resources and protecting the environment. Big Oil (yes, capitalized by Palin) is her recurring enemy throughout her involvement in Alaska government. This is no surprise; like many Alaskans, at one time she made her living in the fishing industry, which was badly hurt by the Exxon Valdez disaster.
Another aspect of the book that surprised me is her portrayal of what went wrong with the McCain campaign. I assumed that part of why McCain operatives tried to throw her under the bus in the closing days of the campaign was ideological: that they represented the left end of the Republican Party (like McCain) and therefore found Gov. Palin offensive. My guess was that these left-wing Republicans had picked Palin in the hopes of getting conservatives to enthusiastically support the McCain ticket. When it became apparent that this was not enough to win the election, I assumed they vented their personal disapproval.
I enjoyed your article and agree. The problem seems to be that those that are to be governed really like her and those who would govern hate her. Simply there is a set aside class in this country made up of academics, mainstream media, and career electees that believe they know what is good for the majority of the poplulation and that anyone that attempts to upsurp thier authority is castigated to the utmost.
It will take a very large popular uprising to overcome their control since they make all the rules.
I don’t understand your reservations about “being intellectual”. She may not be academically certified, but she clearly has a better intellect than the Harvard-degreed Obama. Name for me a high-performing “intellectual” President. Certainly not JFK, LBJ, Truman, either Bush….or Reagan. Maybe you’d prefer Nixon with his IQ of 143 or Jimmy Carter. Most American voters are fed up with “intellectuals” and “academics” and their “nuances” and lofty elitism They’ll take – rightly- a smart, common-sense candidate with a proven record of accomplishment. Part of “smart” is attracting intelligent advisors, not surrounding yourself in an asp-pit of opportunists.
And honesty. Pallin is clearly a straight-talker. Her passion for politics is motivated to a high degree on her contempt for the wide-spread dishonesty and outright corruption, particularly in big city machines. This is a woman who has made her mark in politics not through wealth like Roosevelt or Kerry, not through family connection like Kennedy or Bush, not through machine politics like Truman or Obama, but from scratch, the hard way, against dirty tactics – delivering on her promises to the voters. That and sheer guts.
We’ll take that over snotty “intellectualism” and academic “deconstructionism” and Chicago sewer patronism, starting the coming year.
My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.”
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/sd-ghostwriter-mum-sarah-palin-memoir/
Lynn Vincent, Palin’s ghostwriter, has signed a non-disclosure agreement. She has been hard at work on the book for the past few months with Palin, the former Alaska governor and John McCain’s running mate.
I’ll take the rest of your “review” with a grain of salt.
My 8 year old son got me a copy of the book for Christmas. I’m almost through with it (actually forcing myself to put it down to draw out the process) and i’m more appreciative of Gov Palin than I had already been. Her descrptions of the receptions she received from everyday americans at rallies and such choked me up. One thing is for certain, without her on the ticket Obama would have won in all 57 states…….
The magnitude of the mistake America made with the election of Obama is becoming more clear every day. Barack Obama is a professional politician of the worst sort, completely self centered and ruthless. He cares nothing for the good of the country or it’s people, only for his self interest and the accumulation of personal power.
Palin is the exact opposite. She started by becoming involved on the Wasilla city council wining 530 votes out of 840 cast, humble beginnings to be sure. There was no rich benefactor, affirmative action or powerful allies to grease her path to power. And least of all no nuanced smooth talk with a half life of days or even minutes. She is a true visionary who has not been dissuaded by setbacks or attacks by bottom feeding political hacks. She see’s a world that could be and plainly shares this vision.
In the eyes of the founding fathers she would be the most qualified presidential candidate we have seen in decades.
“So far, Gov. Palin is looking like our best shot for 2012.”
Sarah Palin was always more knowledgeable than either Barack Obama or Joe Biden. She was thoroughly slimed by the leftist establishment and their “moderate” Republican allies. Palin is unfairly perceived by many Americans as something of a dunce. The good news is that she has roughly three years to change their minds. In other words, the odds are in Palin’s favor! She has more than sufficient time to read and study. The former governor of Alaska will probably easily defeat her Democratic Party opponents in a debate. They won’t stand a chance.
“I have ghostwritten part of a book by someone not as well known as Governor Palin. No, I can’t tell you for whom; that’s part of the contract.)”
I think we can take it for granted that Clayton E. Cramer did not ghostwrite any of Barack Obama’s books. Nevertheless, somebody else likely did—and also signed an agreement to keep their mouth shut.
Thank you for your insights into Palin’s book.
I will definitely have to get in line for it at the library!
After the curtain rings down the American public turn to each other and ask what kind of play they’re about to see. Now they’re seeing it and don’t know what to think, as usual.
Who do you think will save you from the Stalinist Left no in power?
Mush mouthed willow-in-the-wind Lindsay Graham?
Baton-less “leader” Boehner?
Bozo get-along MacCain — son of a son of a son of an admiral or senator?
Newtie the Neutered?
Pawlenty who never opened his pie hole until it was popular to do so?
All cheesy trust fund babies that could never take their gloves off, let alone put on the brass knucks.
The GOP put up Bozo in 2008 because THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE.
The Demogoguic Party put up Obama because THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE.
With no white knights on either side, the conservatives and libertarians within the GOP have a shot of finding one to send into the arena in 2012.
I’d go with Palin-Bachmann-Malkin — even females without brains before I’d EVER vote for the eunuchs of the GOP.
Your home and kids need protection? Do you buy a male or a female German Shepherd?
Go Palin. Go Galt.
You say you would prefer someone who is more of an intellectual. Given you think she wrote her own book and that many people think Obama did not write his, I wonder what makes someone an intellectual. Their pedigree? Their associates? If she runs I imagine she will attract a lot of smart people as advisors.
Palin is a sharp as a whip. If her enemies believe otherwise, fine, it puts them at a great disadvantage. See Sun Tsu. Only one thing disqualifies her as an intellectual. She gets the obvious, something intellectuals are incapable of. See George Orwell.
Mostly a fair recap but with the usual stupidity of punditary.
How is it that many pundits show their elitist egoism by declaring an American citizen not “qualified” to be President. Poppycock is a mild term. BS is better. Pure sophistry.
Palin is (doh!) an America citizen turned politician. Simply put, even Clay Cramer is qualified, under our Constitution, to be President should he get enough votes. Politicians get elected. They are not draped in the aura of “qualified” by desk jocks. Politicians do not write “Politzer” Prize literary works. They do not write The Wealth of Nations. They do not win the Nobel Prize in Physics. It’s just not the real world. All they do is draw a curtain for their weak heart to hide behind.
Actually, it’s disgusting to see writers say everyone is not qualified. The only question is whether Palin would make better decisions than her opponent. This brings into issue the decision making process and not how intellectual a person is. Let’s ese simple examples that writers should understand. Which would you prefer handling your investment money? Buffet or that super smart Harvard guy named Bernanke? How about picking a person to run a computer software business? Bill Gates or Clay Cramer?
First full disclosure – Woods is my married name. As a Quebecker the name I use professionally is my maiden name since all Quebec females legally retain their birth surnames hence all my publications are under another name.
Second as a linguistics professor I was more than a little annoyed by all the putdowns of Sarah Palin’s speech by MSM types like Couric and Olbermann who speak what I refer to as Sloblish where medial t’s are routinely thrown under the bus and gonna’s and wanna’s are standard renditions of verb forms plus to. In fact Sarah Palin’s English is more like average Canadian speech which again is much much better than the Obama duos’ and their sycophants’ Sloblish.
Third as a mere de famille as well as a working mother I know the type of juggling required to handle two such jobs successfully. One has to be focused and organized as well as realistic – something which the average left leaner is not.
No. 11 is right, this not “intellectual” enough arguement is really saying she is not part of the intellectual elite that believe they should have a lock on running this county. It amuses me when I hear leftist talk about Gore or Kerry, two of the most arrogant and clueless members of that class, as models of ruling elite. The issue should be about her leadership abilities, decision making and character. She towers over the current POTUS in all of these categories.
I’d rather have one of “us” as POTUS any day. Intellectuals have proven over and over again what they are good for…not much.
Palin has more experience and common sense than Obama. Common Sense!! something Obama seems to have none of…
Obama appears to be a fish flipping around on the beach. We are in deep trouble with this man, prepare yourselves..
thumbs up
The most Qualified to run for president brought us the civil war.
The least qualified won it.
Kerry, Edwards, Reid, Durbin, Murtha, Frank, Dodd, Schumer. God! I could go on….and on! “Experience is for old men that nod wisely and speak foolishly”.
Palin ’12!
There’s a lot of support for Palin around here, but here also seem s to be a lot of rationalizing:
My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.”
(Isn’t’ it an admitted fact that it was ghostwritten?)
delivering on her promises to the voters
(Didn’t she resign the office and duties she was elected to fulfill?)
They are not draped in the aura of “qualified” by desk jocks
(Isn’t the conservative argument is that she was “more qualified” than others?)
She has more than sufficient time to read and study.
(This isn’t a driver’s test, people.)
Palin has a lot of admirers, but it’s curious just how defensive people are about her not being qualified or genuine.
No, that was a pretty good review. However, Palin writes from the perspective
of the journals she kept on the Campaign, The post election commentary by Steve Schmidt at the University of Delaware (from which he didn’t graduate)
on how the campaign had lost it’s mojo, after the fall of Lehman Bros is more instructive.Her respect for McCain’s record of service, also prevents her from pointing out that he greenlighted many of these decisions. One would havepreferred that she had been able to complete another term, but 1), it would have foreclosed her role, in challenging Obama’s initiatives, because of the abuse of the ethics process which would likely have bankrupted her, and immobiilized the state. A ghost is an unacknowledged writer, and Vincent is well known as her collaborator (unlike say Barbara Feinman and William Ayer, for instance)
You _hope_ Sarah Palin does not have
the qualities needed in our next POTUS:
SarahCuda is the only person who might
be able to hold the US together through
the coming Hard Times.
While the “intellectual” reference could be taken to mean a fancy degree from an elite university, it should perhaps more accurately point to a “deep thinker”, especially one who can articulate both a policy and a philosophy in ways that can persuade. Bill Clinton, for example, was deemed a “wonk” for the breadth of his interests and ability to discuss the issues. He was able to thus to make the case for welfare reform. Palin is not there yet, but the fact that within a short while she was able to hold her own on foreign policy in her debate with Biden says as much about her as about him.
What *is* missing is a quality of gravitas – of dignity, seriousness and purpose. Those smiles and winks make her likable and approachable, but won’t cut it when confronting a determined foe. Somehow she needs to present the side that faced down her Republican opponents and Big Oil. But to go by the Obama precedent, this is a necessary but not sufficient quality. Obama has that sonorous voice, and can *look* serious, but he crumbles before any tin-pot thug or dictator.
Anonymous:
“My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.”…”
Hey bonehead, he said “apparently”, and explained why he thought so.
Reading and understanding should go hand in hand.
We often confuse intllectual with smart, you do not have to be an intllectual to be smart and many intellectuals are really not very smart. Ronald Reagan was not an intellectual but he accomplished a lot because he was smart, smarter than most intllectuals. perhaps I should modify my statement, we have a lot of self appointed intellectuals who really are just average joes trying to pat their own ego. They reside mostly in the NE of the country with some really foolish along the California coast. They have no resembelance to real intellectuals like Thomas Sowell. Intllectuals tend to ponder and I think smart is better for governing. Our current Presindent does ponder and many think he is an intellectual but in reality he is neither and intellectual or smart in sense needed. He has an uncanny ability to sell ice to eskimos and that is why the Democrats were so engaged with him. I do not know if PAlin can pull it oof but the lesson here should be she has lead a REAL LIFE, unlike most of our politcos and any of the leite media from Katie Couric to Dianne Sawyer. These later folks intellectual capactiy extends only as far as is every hari in place.
I agree with the author on Sarah Palin. She is not a pseudo-intellectual and does not impress pseudo-intellectuals, and that has hurt her a lot. Pseudo-intellectuals control the media. The media is where our political campaigns are waged. If you don’t pander to pseudo-intellectuals, they will undermine your campaign in every way they can. Pseudo-intellectuals are just smart enough identify and create problems, and they are never smart enough to find solutions.
There’s a lot of support for Palin around here, but here also seem s to be a lot of rationalizing:
My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.”
(Isn’t’ it an admitted fact that it was ghostwritten?)
If you read the book she discusses being holed up in an apartment using the phrase “As I write this” see page 400. I would describe it as co-written.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-29-admire-gallup-poll_N.htm
Poll: Americans most admire Obama, Clinton, Palin
Sarah Palin is a tragic figure: many like her but they are not enough to make her win an election. She’s living a dream and if she doesn’t wake up, the crash may hurt her. Republicans are desperate for a 2012 leader, but it’s yet too early to decide on one. Politicians will keep the status quo in 2012, and then you’ll be surprised at the choice . . .
Comment 3:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/surprises-abound-in-sarah-palins-going-rogue/#comment-3
LOL:
My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.”
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/sd-ghostwriter-mum-sarah-palin-memoir/
Lynn Vincent, Palin’s ghostwriter, has signed a non-disclosure agreement. She has been hard at work on the book for the past few months with Palin, the former Alaska governor and John McCain’s running mate.
Absolutely hilarious.
Reading Palin’s book I came to the conclusion that she may have had a ghostwriter, but the bulk of the work was hers. It was written in her voice and, at least for me, it rang true. At the time she was running for VP, I found myself wondering if she was McCain’s choice, but not the campaign’s choice, for running mate. After reading the book, this is clear. I also think she hit the nail right on the head when she said she thought a lot of the hideous choices the campaign made for her were made by people more concerned with finding jobs AFTER the campaign than they were with winning the campaign they were running. It was obvious at the time that her key Communications person was more concerned with currying favor with Katie Couric than with presenting the best possible image of Palin – which was her JOB!
As for the stupid question about what media she reads, for heaven’s sake, Palin is a woman with FIVE children, AND was the Governor of Alaska! Maybe in Washington the politicos have the time to sit around and read a half dozen newspapers every morning, but I suspect Palin had more important things to do. Besides, Couric would not have been satisfied unless Palin claimed to read the NYT and Washington Post cover-to-cover every day – AND watched CBS Nightly News. And then Couric probably would have quizzed her to see if that was true.
I think that the things that went wrong for Palin in the campaign were John McCain’s fault. I give Palin credit for remaining loyal to McCain to the end and beyond (after all, he brought her to the dance), but it was HIS campaign, he should have KNOWN they were having these problems (painfully obvious), he should have KNOWN his own people were sabotaging her, and he did NOTHING about it.
(Just an aside, Clayton, it has been my observation that most “professional writers” today are clearly completely confused about the personal pronouns – the subjective I, the objective me, and the reflexive myself. They all seem to be in love with the word “myself,” and use it for all three categories. I can only conclude that they think it makes them sound more intellectual. For those of us who know the difference, it just makes them sound pompous and stupid. I hope you are not one of those writers.)
I disagree with the “being intellectual” part. There is much to recommend a style of expression that is simple, clear, and contemporary. I’ve met ‘way too many “intellectuals” who don’t know the meaning of the over-elaborated phrases that they use, and who don’t start thinking through their remarks until they are mid-way through them. The real mark of an intellectual in today’s society is a person who has thought about a subject long enough before speaking to distill it into an intelligible philosophy. From what I’ve seen and heard so far, Sarah Palin fits that description, over-edited interview with Katie Couric notwithstanding.
I have the book and read it. I have no idea what all the controversy is about. The book, while entertaining and enlightening, contained no scandal, no earth shattering revelations, and is fairly vanilla in flavor. It makes one wonder how she and it became such a lightning rod, and makes those who become unraveled by her look like idiots.
MacBeth, the Scottish Play:
The Scots are looking for a
competent Ruler, and are willing
to accept flaws, even vices,
to get one.
“Ave, Imperatrix Regina” is
better than a balkanized US,
with 48 squabbling states,
and a serious problem on
the southern border.
Jim Baker, well said.
I don’t think anyone should really expect much from the intellectual class as most have never really been independent in their adult lives. From their mother’s teat to the governments with no real life experience in between, why would you?
I’m surprised that any one would expect an incoming individual to be “ready” or has the background to be president. “No one is pre qualified”. No successful executive operates in a vacuum. A good executive is able to recruit good people to assist them in running a business. The executive to be successful should have “wisdom” at one time called common sense (which is no longer common). I believe Sarah Palin has that wisdom needed to set this country back on its track to becoming the country it once was.
I would have preferred she had at least two terms as governor.>>
This is an awfully strange and nonsensical statement.
Did Mr. Cramer prefer a candidate based solely on having two terms as Governor? So to Mr. Cramer’s way of thinking a Senator should not run for POTUS!!!
I ask Mr Cramer: Does having two terms as Governor automatically qualify one to be POTUS regardless of their political leaning and success and failure as governor?
Being President is not an intellectual experience but a difficult job. Academia is great but Socrates,Plato etc. were not politicians or workers rather teachers. The Presidency takes a person of action with an intellect not an intellectual.
One place where it might be tempting to use “I” as an object is in compound nouns such as “John and I” in the middle of a sentence. “Mary gave the list to John and I as we walked down the hallway.” If this is Sarah’s worst gaffe then she is destined to go far. Her epitaph will not read “Sarah Palin, grammarian” but she never intended it to.
Who’s Katy Couric and what office has she held?
Palin had written editorials and op-eds for major news outlets before the calls from the McCain campaign. She should have indignantly asked Katie why she was not familiar with those.
Also, the Governor thanks Lynn Vincent for helping her get the words on paper in her acknowledgments.
More insight into the failure of the McCain campaign managers comes from “The Persecution of Sarah Palin” by Matthew Continetti: Apparently, the people who vetted Palin did not share any info – even that she was the pick – with the McCain communications group.
The unfair treatment Gov. Palin received from the liberal elite leftist media is unbelievable. Only on FOX and with someone like Sean Hannity can she get a fair interview. Katie Couric’s unfair leftist elitist questions sprung on Gov. Palin with No Warning are responsible for the loss of the election by the McCain/Palin ticket. I hope Gov. Palin Refuses to grant ANY interviews to the leftwing media during the 2012 campaign.
I have all the respect in the world for genuine scholars, like Dr. Hanson. The trouble is that the chattering classes in this country confuse glibness and snark with wisdom, and think unquestioned acceptance of pc cliches is sophistication. I don’t think Obama is stupid, by any means, but he’s not a deep thinker. He certainly is ignorant of history, especially US history. And he simply has no experience with or knowledge of average middle class Americans, which is why his reactions to events like Ft. Hood and Detroit are so unnervingly dispassionate, as even Maureen Dowd has noticed. It’s also why the more he talks about health care, the more support drops for his plan. He has a tin ear when it comes to the concerns of ordinary people, a fact obscured by his adoring fans in the media during the campaign.
It was the “best and the brightest” who mismanaged Vietnam. It is the so-called “experts” (like failed divinity student Al Gore) who are pushing the AGW scam. Ivy Leaguers like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are up to their necks in corruption. The genuises at Duke U. nearly ruined the lives of young men who were presumed guilty before being proven innocent – all on account of their skin color. I could go on and on about the failings of our so-called elites, who are to real scholars and thinkers what tinsel is to gold. I suspect that there will be a huge backlash against the pseuds and snobs who make up this elite and pols like Palin, who demonstrate basic common sense, will be the beneficaries.
I can’t understand wishing that Sarah Palin be more intellectual in order to be better qualified in executive positions. Executives are often our best defense against the distractions advocated by intellectuals whose legs are too short to reach the ground. An executive is one who establishes a connection of trust with the constituency, sets a standard of behavior and integrity by example, and choses competent individuals to staff the team with. What does intellectualism has to do with any of this?
Our current chief executive would not be making so many costly mistakes if he was not such an intellectual, and demoralizes his team by alleging that policemen are prone to stupid reactions, intelligence agents should be scrutinized for criminal behavior, and security personnel should not profile because that would be unsensitive. An executive who does not have any tire-hits-the-road sense simply cannot execute the function effectively, because he needs the respect of the folks at the other end of the chain of command. You can’t do that by living in the stratosphere.
In the winter of 2007, I sat in the living room of my in laws (whom I was visiting in Wasilla) watching the news every night. I saw on TV the Governor that most everyone in Alaska was excited about. I saw her respond to the issues that Alaska was dealing with at that time. I will tell you, I was totally impressed how she carried herself and expressed the wishes of her people she was governing. I thought to myself, “Wow, she is going to go somewhere someday as a politician.” I had no idea she would have been launched to the VP- elect so soon. I was thoroughly thrilled with McCain’s choice. It was a shot in the arm for his campaign. But claims she was not smart enough to be president I think are bogus. She may not have all the degrees behind her name and correct pronunciations of words in her speech, but she listens to people and is thoroughly concerned for their welfare. Remember, Lincoln was called a uneducated buffoon when he became president. Sarah may never be Lincoln but she would be a leader that would promote the “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
“Her take is that the foul-mouthed and amoral campaign managers who blamed her for the campaign failure did so for a purely mercenary reason: concern that they might have trouble getting another job, if they were perceived as the failure.”
That wasn’t what I took away from her description of the campaign. She clearly didn’t think very much of Schmidt (and vice versa), and there are independent reasons for thinking that he didn’t run a good campaign. I thought she was saying that they were trying to shift blame to save their sorry a$$es.
There is no doubt that the campaign seriously screwed up their roll out of Palin: the lack of summary information about her and her accomplishments in her various positions in Alaska to give the press after the announcement created a vacuum that got filled with every idiotic rumor imaginable, and resulted in her actual track record never becoming part of the public record about her. That was damaging not only to her but also to the McCain campaign.
For what it’s worth, Palin’s account of the $150,000 worth of clothes rings much truer than the sniping leaked stories. But either way, the very fact of those leaks – right before the election – indicates that there was serious dysfunction and a lack of professionalism among some of McCain’s campaign staff.
First, BO is not an intellectual. He is an activist, leftist, America hating ideologue. Reagan wasn’t an intellectual either. He was a conservative, America loving capitalist. BO is bad and Reagan was good. This concern for intellectual credentials is misplaced and time not well spent.
Considering what a candidate believes, his accomplishments, experience, and what his policy position statements are, is of more importance.
But what is more important than any of these elements is the candidate’s character. Without character one can not count on a candidate to do as they say while on the campaign or while in office. Palin has done what she has promised in her campaigns. And when faced with negative political situations such as corruption, she has acted well. 80% approval ratings prove that Alaskans loved her. I submit that she has exhibited a quality of character that is needed in our elected representatives and especially our president.
Corruption is another teller of character.
If there were any corruption in Palin’s background, we would know about it by now. Palin, I think anyone would agree, has been thoroughly vetted.
I will be very interested in Palin’s future policy position statements. At this point, I believe I will agree with more than most of them.
Oh, and as for ghost written books, when a BO or a Palin puts their name on their book, they are bound by the ideas and facts that are in their book. Who cares if it was ghost written. If what was written in the book is untrue, however, that is an issue as that will reflect on that person’s character.
Great article. I, too see Sarah as our best hope in 2012. The comments about her intellectual shortcomings are duly noted. But, don’t forget, Margaret Thatcher had to be *schooled* in a myriad of matters where she was deficient. I think the outcome was superb.
America sorely needs a leader with good JUDGEMENT, sound CHARACTER, common-sense ‘smarts’, a proven record of accomplishment in governance, and traditional American values ….. also, someone who is not beholden to any ‘special interests’, and who is not bought and paid for. Gov Sarah Palin IS that leader.
Gov Palin is the ‘Deborah’ sent to the American people by Providence ….. for such a time as this ….
It is breath-taking to watch the heads of the lefties and the LSM spin, every time she tosses one of those well-aimed ‘grenades’ from Facebook, or from a newspaper OP-ED or even from ‘The Tonight Show’ *__*
Gov Palin was boxed in by the TOTUS-Saul Alinsky tactics as long as she remained Governor of Alaska. THEY thought they had neutralised her thus:
(ha! she will NEVER be able to get a thing done up here now … that incredible record of accomplishments and of successfully fighting corruption, is OVER ……. she also can never step-down cos she will be destroyed for ‘quitting’ …… we have caged ‘The Arctic Fox’ ….. she can no longer threaten us with a run for the WH …… whew … (smiling evilly) ….. we have won, we have won, The WON has WON!!! …… bwahhahahahaha )
Gov Palin’s enemies must be dumbfounded now, to see what has happened as a result of their Alinsky-inspired tactics …… it is far worse for the LEFT now that she is free than it would have been had Gov Palin continued as CEO of Alaska.
Pray, pray, pray for the protection of the Governor and her family ….. her enemies are America’s enemies and they will not give up attempting to destroy her …. but take heart America because:
“Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Mr. Cramer you state: “I would also prefer someone who is a bit more of an intellectual” What a snob! I believe this Country has had enough of that so called “intellectualism” that has raped us of our rights and liberties over the last 50 years. Intellectuals lack any form of common sense so we are now paying dearly for this. Talk about someone out of touch!! Run along, go read another book. See Spot Run should work.
I think much more important than intellectualism is a strong moral core. From this perspectve, the contrast between BHO and Palin couldn’t be more stark. BHO thinks pregnancy is a ‘burden’, Palin has clearly not only expressed but lived her right to life principles. BHO has talked about Wall Street fat cats while bailing out his Democrat—connected cronies. Palin cleaned out the ol’boy corruption in Alaska. BHO shoves America’s friends (Poland, Israel) under the bus while kowtowing to tinpot dictators. Palin is a strong supporter of Israel and supports Americas allies. The list goes on. Conclusion? Morality counts.
Sybill @47
Yes, MT did have to be schooled (and a lot of it was in voice coaching, deportment, and grooming apparently, as well as policy areas!) She was not an intellectual: but then intellectuals ARE NOT best suited to be political leaders. But MT was no slouch–Oxford educated Chemist.
Unlike MT, I just don’t think Palin has the basic chops. She can be a contender, sure. Maybe even get elected. But that is because she, like many others, have been groomed for–and their abilities suit–our superficial, sound bite, media driven, throw-away line, society. She has no depth. She’s a political opportunist, and she has no staying power. (Really, does anyone truly buy her reasons for leaving the governorship? Major mis-step.)
I think most people are praying for someone of substance and neither O nor SP fulfill that need. We should hold out for something better. We deserve something better.
George Son, you are one of those idiots that can be provided with an explanaion over and over again and still not be capable of grasping it.
The reason for her changing strategy (IT WASN’T QUITTING) has been eksplained perhaps ten times and I (for example) had no trouble with undestanding it after her first spech.
And again, she didn’t quit. She has left the state of Alaska in equally professional hands of Gov. Sean Parnell who is continuing her good work.
Would you expect a general to stick to a losing strategy during a war beacuse changing it could be taken as a sign of a weakness?
There is also something that I have difficulties to grasp; The very people (even some who are moderate supporters of her) expect from Sarah Palin to be an example of an ULTIMATE SUPER-PERFECTIONISM before deciding to endorse her, while at the same time are willing to accept or at least tolerate uncomparably bigger vices desplayed by Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton, Carter not to mention breathtaking moral degeneracy of Barrack Hussain Obama himself.
How on Earth can anyone be tempted to even compare those two?
I want somebody as President who has had to make the real decisions in life that matter. Namely those decisions that are concerned with how best to keep a roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, and your car on the road so you can get back and forth to work.
I want somebody as President who has had to deal with some real adversity in life. Namely getting foreclosed upon, getting ticketed because you can’t afford your outrageously priced auto insurance, getting sued for six digit medical expenses incurred when you were between jobs and couldn’t afford the COBRA.
I’ve got nothing against being an intellectual, heck without our bright lights thinking up new and wonderful stuff we would still be squating in caves saying oogabooga. The problem with most intellectuals is they haven’t got the common sense God gave to a gnat. Like turkeys, the pointy heads would drown in a rainstorm if you didn’t tell ‘em to come inside!
WFB himself said he’d rather be governed by the first 500 folks in the Boston phonebook than by the intellectual giants stalking Harvard Yard, and he was one of the biggest intellectual giants we’ve ever known.
Being for Sarah Palin doesn’t mean that your against intellectualism, it means you’re longing for some plain old common sense being brought to the table. As Sigmund said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, ya know?
Personally, I have severe doubts about Palin’s common sense. I guess that’s because my own common sense tells me that if you are 8 months pregnant, leaking amniotic fluid, and having contractions, you head for the hospital, not the airport.
Bogdown@52
Thank you. Your rhetoric confirms every stereotype that people have about some of the posters on this site.
I am very sorry that I am not as gullible as you are.
I wish you luck.
You will need it.
26. Rall raised an extremely valuable point:
With all the slams she’s endured from the darlings in the media, Governor Palin is already miles ahead of other honest right-wing candidates should she choose to run in ’12. Just think what’s in store for any of them after they announce – unless, of course, they’re toothless tigers ala McCain.
54. Trish:
You obviously have superior knowledge to me, but wasn’t this her third or fourth pregnancy? I’m content to believe by then she may have been in better tune with her own body and give her a pass on that, but that just might be me.
51. George Son:
I believe that just as the Cli’tons’ barker, Toeman Morris, has spent this past 15 or so years pitching for his next gig, the Lettuce Pickers failed, amoral campaign apparatchiks were setting up their next gig, too, as they so cynically chucked then Alaska Governor Palin under the bus.
But I want to believe that United States of America’s President and Armed-Forces Commander-In-Chief-Elect, Sarah Louise Heath Ronald Wilson Reagan Palin, knew that the RINO, Lettuce McRainman, would make an even bigger hash of things than can 0zero. And that President-Elect Palin also knew the typical Sovereign American’s response to a McRainman mess of things would have been to not vote Republican again in most of our lifetimes.
And that President-Elect Palin consequently began her own 2012 campaign. In 2008!
Sighhhhhhh …..
Again and again, I find myself ready to toss my laptop across the room…
qualified? COMPARED TO OBAMA? She was TEN times as qualified as Obama, and even NOW I think she’s better qualified than he is, judging by his awful management decisions and the dreadful extent to which intellectual bias toward pre-existing ideological convictions have pulled his management decisions to the left…
She has NEVER FAILED, even with powerful opposition on BOTH SIDES against her. Her departure from the governor’s office was a strategic victory against harassing lawsuits and freed her to do what she wants… now she’s travelling and speaking to encourage and teach conservatives how to regain their lost ground…
this criticism of her intellect is snobbish and unfounded. From the other side it’s tactical and deliberate; what is the excuse from OUR SIDE?
God help us if our own people, even those mildly FRIENDLY toward someone like her, still try to drag her down on these bogus charges. Columbia University School of Journalism and Harvard are NOT the determiners of intellectual capacity or ability to lead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama said we had 57 states? or 51? Anyway,he was wrong. Media pretended it did not happen.
Call me crazy if you want, but I trust Sarah Palin in a way I don’t trust any other candidate likely to run in 2012. Keeping her Down’s Syndrome son to term knowing for the last five months he had that problem speaks volumes to me about her integrity and honor. I also think, after dealing with the corrupt pols in Alaska and her rude treatment at the hands of the national press in 2008, that she’s going to be ready for them in 2012. Obama’s disdain for America and the disaster he’s going to be responsible for will have people really looking for the most diametrically opposed candidate available. Cue Governor Palin: Central Casting couldn’t fill the bill more admirably.
Three years is a long time, but I’d have to say that right now she’s the odds-on favorite for the Republicans.
Mac (#60), I’m with you! And, I love the fact that Sarah Palin has the media’s knickers in such knots…just witnessing its reactions to everything she says and does is entertaining. Plus, she has exposed feminists for the hypocrites that they are. Palin is the only female politician to date whom I feel speaks for me. Common sense, no bull, better command of the issues than who is in the White House at present…what’s not to like?
The problem with pseudo-intellectuals is they neither recognize the need for, or seek out, advice from real experts.
There is a cliche about Engineering graduates being of little use until they have 4 – 5 years of experience in the field. It is a cliche because there is much truth in it. The books only teach you so much; after that, real world experience is required.
Imagine a POTUS & CIC who sought out advice from real experts because they recognized their need for it and respected the experts?
Recognizing that economic advice from those relying on money rather than printing the money might have some value?
Recognizing that advice on matters military might be best gained from those in the field, instead of deskbound ‘political’ generals in Washington?
That advice on energy might be best gained from those actually producing it and productively using it?
And on, and on. And asking for that advice with respect for the advisor and his position, simply because he is an expert in his field, not because of his political or familial connections?
Sarah Palin (or another of similar background and temperament) would cause huge changes in Washington as to who would be asked to the Oval Office. This is what they really fear, (both left and right) the death or a sycophant society.
Did Mr. Cramer prefer a candidate based solely on having two terms as Governor? So to Mr. Cramer’s way of thinking a Senator should not run for POTUS!!!
What amazes me is how many of the comments here seem to think that I was saying that Palin was less qualified than Obama. Hardly. She was clearly MORE qualified. I would prefer someone stronger–but she’s certainly a big improvement on the Zero.
I don’t need or expect an intellectual to get elected. I’ll settle for a smart and serious person, as Gov. Palin clearly is. It’s just a bit unfortunate that democracy precludes electing someone really brilliant to the job.
Sorry for the slow reaction to comments. I actually have a full-time job again writing software, and that somewhat limits my ability to respond in real-time!
Debating whether or not Palin is an intellectual is like trying to decide if Hitler was a Christian — doesn’t really matter when you consider the record of accomplishments.
It’s therefore interesting that the comments here seem full of hypothetical “he-said, she-would-have-said” scenarios but none actually touches on exactly what Palin has accomplished in her political career.
Perhaps because there’s so little to touch on?
The first few examples which spring to mind:
* Her “strategic withdrawal” from her first term as Governor. (Shouldn’t we really be worrying about her running mate since that person will be taking over when Palin resigns after just two years ? )
* Her documented and proven abuse of power while hounding a troublesome ex-brother-in-law. (Just one of the well-documented cases which reveal her intrinsic vindictiveness.)
* How about the success rate of her “abstinence only” child-rearing ? (At least she’s helped keep Playgirl magazine from going out of print.)
* And let’s not forget the Biggest Lie of 2009: “Death Panels” !
It’s absolutely psychotic that anyone would dismiss the astonishingly-long list of Palin’s failures, lies and hypocricies as merely the creation of a biased media.
(I mean … come ON, people! If someone asks YOU “What do you read?” are YOU completely incapable of coming up with even a single title ?)
Instead of her syntax or status as an “intellectual” — and FAR MORE honest than more mindless, mad-dog attacks on Obama — Ms. Palin and/or her supporters would best serve their cause by citing:
- precisely what she’s accomplished on her own initiative that’s provided long-term benefit to her various constituencies,
- her specific experience, education and successful endeavors which qualify her to take on the plethor of problems facing America, and
- exactly what goals, policies and legislation she would pursue which might actually help to reinvigorate and restore our very troubled country.
Unless she stops her constant carping long enough to offer even ONE substantive proposal, program or suggestion, Palin will continue to prove that she’s nothing more than a Wasilla Wanna-be — a charismatic charlatan too dim or deranged to differentiate between national politics and a high school popularity contest.
60. mac:
I agree.
28. vivo:
Just keep repeating after me, “it’s Bush’s fault, it’s Bush’s fault”. Now go back to sleep.
According to my diary, I spotted Palin as a Presidential sapling back in September 2007. I was elated when McCain picked her, but by Election Day I was no longer a supporter. Enough Republican politicians have lied to me that I restrained myself from donating long enough for things like this to start coming out.
I still think that Gov. Palin is less qualified to be president of the United States than I would like. I would have preferred she had at least two terms as governor.
I’m not going to support somebody because she’d wreck the country more slowly than her opponents would.
But what’s the alternative?
That the question has no good answer is itself informative. With respect, Clayton Cramer, to speak of alternatives to Palin is to stay in the realm of business as usual when it’s business as usual that is driving our decline.
3 years is a long time….
That gives the leftist MSM 3 years to convince enough of the sheeple that everything is just peachy keen.
And you can bet your bottom dollar that they will try exactly that.
The mid terms later this year are number one priority for conservatives.
The balance of power in D.C. MUST be restored NOW.
Most of what you probably came across was distorted, often deliberately so, her attempted dismissal of trooper Wooten, was perfectly legitimate, she’s a feminist for life, so you can’t call her hypocritical about abstinence, she has pointed out, with acknowledgement, most of the flaws of the current administrative framework being imposed on us, sight unseen. She would not have been halfhearted on Afghanistan, the plight of the Iranian reformers,
the need to develop our own resources, She would have called out the enemy by it’s true name in Ft. Hood, and would have made a full effort after the December 22nd meeting, to flag any jihadi frequent fliers like AbdulMutallab
Say Ray Pay Later:
* Her “strategic withdrawal” from her first term as Governor. (Shouldn’t we really be worrying about her running mate since that person will be taking over when Palin resigns after just two years ? )
And, shouldn’t we also worry about Obama campaigning for his next position as U.N. Secretary General after his second year in office? It’s his pattern.
* Her documented and proven abuse of power while hounding a troublesome ex-brother-in-law. (Just one of the well-documented cases which reveal her intrinsic vindictiveness.)
Yeah, because lord knows abusive cops need our sympathy. They don’t get nearly enough support from the union and we need more cops out there who tase their step-children and threaten to murder their in-laws. It’s also telling that Palin would want law enforcement officers to actually obey the law. How dare she be concerned that a cop was drinking and driving and hunting illegally? The unmitigated GALL of Sarah Palin.
* How about the success rate of her “abstinence only” child-rearing ? (At least she’s helped keep Playgirl magazine from going out of print.)
Yeah, because a governor’s young teenage daughter having sex with her boyfriend is so much worse than a president receiving felatio in the Oval Office from an intern. We should never teach kids to develop self-control. They might get the idea that they should be faithful to their spouses after marriage or that we expect them not to engage in workplace copulation.
* And let’s not forget the Biggest Lie of 2009: “Death Panels” !
It’s absolutely psychotic that anyone would dismiss the astonishingly-long list of Palin’s failures, lies and hypocricies as merely the creation of a biased media.
Yeah, because “Death Panels” should never be construed as an apt metaphor for an unelected, unaccountable bureaucratic board that is the hallmark of the Senate’s plan to reduce Medicare costs. How dare Sarah Palin refuse to go along with the rationing of services to the elderly? If unaccountable panels want to reduce breast cancer screenings to at-risk women, we should applaud their ingenuity.
(I mean … come ON, people! If someone asks YOU “What do you read?” are YOU completely incapable of coming up with even a single title ?)
Because when someone asks you what “magazines and newspapers” you read, saying, “I read most” or “all of them” is unaccepatable. This is unacceptable because nowadays most people get their news from subscriptions, not the internet. That is why the newspaper and magazine industries are flourishing right now. People tend to read only one or two publications. They don’t read “most” or “all of them” online through news aggregation services like Drudge and Yahoo! *eye roll*
Instead of her syntax or status as an “intellectual” — and FAR MORE honest than more mindless, mad-dog attacks on Obama — Ms. Palin and/or her supporters would best serve their cause by citing:
- precisely what she’s accomplished on her own initiative that’s provided long-term benefit to her various constituencies,
The largest private infrastructure project in world history is not a long-term benefit to anyone. Leaving her state with a $250 million surplus during a recession while forward-funding education — again, not a long-term benefit.
- her specific experience, education and successful endeavors which qualify her to take on the plethor of problems facing America, and
16 years in elected office and 8 1/2 years as a chief executive can’t possibly be a qualification to serve as the nation’s chief executive.
- exactly what goals, policies and legislation she would pursue which might actually help to reinvigorate and restore our very troubled country.
Cutting taxes, reforming Medicare through vouchers, reducing bureaucratic red tape and regulations, opposing cap and trade, increasing drilling and renewable energy … all of these ideas are just CRAZY!
Unless she stops her constant carping long enough to offer even ONE substantive proposal, program or suggestion, Palin will continue to prove that she’s nothing more than a Wasilla Wanna-be — a charismatic charlatan too dim or deranged to differentiate between national politics and a high school popularity contest.
Yeah, Sarah’s a charismatic charlatan. That’s the ticket. That’s why she frequently makes unpopular choices like taking on corruption in her own party, giving birth to a Downs’ baby, and stepping down from well-paid positions to protest wrongdoing. She just wants to be popular. That’s why she aggressively went after the affirmative action candidate last year because it was the popular thing to do. Everyone in the media was attacking Obama so she joined in. … Oh wait …
Palin will recover from stepping aside as Gov.However you would be amazed at the # of people I talk with who still have no idea why she quit.If she has any hope she should get that reason into their minds front and center.They went after her up there to try and knock her out politicaly and fiscaly.They failed when she side stepped them by handing over power.This year she should figure out a plan to capture a huge headline that involves the bogus crap that went on up there.All she needs is for everyone to find out the real reasons.You should see how mad people get when they find out Os thugs tried to bankrupt her.Most people instantly change their minds about her.I hope she can figure out a way to force the media to report what really went on up there.
Susan, comment #48, I totally agree with you and others such as Adrianne Ross, that Sarah has been called “for such a time as this”. We must continue to keep Sarah in our prayers, and also pray that people that are dissalusioned with Obama will open their eyes and hearts to the person who is a true servant of THE PEOPLE. WE THE PEOPLE can prevail in our fight against this tyrannical government. Let’s take the House in 2010, and put Sarah in the White House in 2012!
Mom in Wisconsin
- precisely what she’s accomplished on her own initiative that’s provided long-term benefit to her various constituencies,
Breaking the power of the corrupt circle that ran the Alaskan Republican Party, which created cozy situations for oil companies.
Forcing a number of oil companies that were sitting on leases, but not developing them, to do so, putting money into the state treasury.
Getting a natural gas pipeline to the lower 48 started, enhancing revenues for the state of Alaska.
Good enough?
Say Rah Pay Later is nothing more than a left-wing character assassin which I suspect get’s a check that originates with Soros. He/she/it spouts the same lies and distortions you find on Huffy Post and Kos so it’s views are meaningless to any thinking person and is here solely to sow doubt and discontent about Governor Palin for they fear her with good reason. She creates such huge waves that she can overturn both party’s boats and destroy thier credibility if they still have any left…..nice try troll. Sarah is coming to turn on the kitchen light to you cockroaches on the left and the elitists on the right.(RINOS)
Say Rah Pay
You are EXACTLY right!! That’s why I love reviewing the comments to any post about Sarah Palin.
You said:
Debating whether or not Palin is an intellectual is like trying to decide if Hitler was a Christian — doesn’t really matter when you consider the record of accomplishments.
Man! Did you hit the nail on the head. I see that you are wise and thoughtful, and I await your next post with baited breath. You are able to cut through all the media B.S. and get right to the point.
I beg you, please turn that incredible intellect towards President Obama, and tell me about his “record of accomplishments”. Yes, I know he was elected, so you can leave that accomplishment off of your very long list.
Thank you.
During my closest brush with politics, back at IT-Austin in the ’60s, I met people who had know both Adlai Stephens and John Kennedy. Adlai puts Obama in the shade as a speaker, IMHO. but though he was cast as an intellectual, he was not. And we know now that John Kennedy was not, that everything he did was ghosted. Both men were well-spoken, charming and intelligent politicians promoted by intellectuals without being members of the tribe. Obama is pretty much the same. Except he is a cold fish and they were not.
What is the f’in infatuation with intellectualism? WTF?
The country needs an f’in LEADER, not a poindexter Adlai Stevenson.
This is not an f’in University geek dept. head we are hiring for.
The last things we need in a President is intellect. It is gravy. What we need is COURAGE and LEADERSHIP.
Palin has it way more than any other GOP politician at the national level. Who else does? Jim DeMint? Sure. Michelle Bachmann? Sure. But who has the convictions, the charisma, the executive experience and bravery to actually REDUCE the federal government?
ONLY Sarah. Any other GOP politician might get elected. And, then they will go Dem-light like both Bushes on the spending, etc.
ONLY Sarah has the tapestry that can unite all the major components of the big tent of the GOP to not only bring a presidential election victory in 2012, but actually work to not only stop the federal beast, but grab it by the horns, throw it to the ground, tie up its legs, and if need be carve it up.
Name me one person who would be brave enough to say….eliminate the Dept. of Education? Or, cut the US Corp. tax to a marginal rate of 10% to compete with Ireland? Or, veto the disgusting stuff a Dem Congress would send to her?
Now let’s get the libertarians and conservatives winning the primaries, take the House back and the Senate and give the Arctic Fox something to work with by 2012 including a nicely gerrymandered post-census Congress.
And to “Recovering Dem Mom” of post #70:
Bless your 2010 you incredible breath of fresh air.
I will also add that Sarah Palin is the most and best grounded GOP figure at the national level. By that, I mean her Faith is real, and she lives it and it tempers all the other areas of her life beautifully. Want an alternative? How about Huckabee’s releasing inmates to pad his Christian vanity?
Sarah is so well grounded, she would never use that tool for 1,000 plus inmates to curry favor with God.
>Sarah Palin, while perhaps not qualified to be president or vice president last year, was certainly more qualified than McCain, Obama, or Biden
——————
In the real world we only can vote for the candidates form 2 parties.
And they will be only those selected by parties bureaucracies
So USA will probably NEVER get what you may call ” qualified to be president” leader up there.
Anyway: GOP must consider Sarah for the next run. It will be an attempt made to break the Right into 2 or more segments: GOP, Tea Party and so on
if we fall for that trick- we are going to lose again.
GOP must CHANGE accordingly to what Palin is representing.
That is our only chance
66. Mike2:
“28. vivo:
Just keep repeating after me, “it’s Bush’s fault, it’s Bush’s fault”. Now go back to sleep.”
Are you sure you’re awake? Looks like you’re having a nightmare . . . Did i mention your mumbling puppet?
I saw 2 old videotape of the round-table debates with her political opponents in Alaska, one of which was the incumbent Republican governor.
No “Ya’ betchas” in the many minutes I viewed. She carved these people up on the facts and on logic. I hoped that side of her would appear on the campaign trail, but I didn’t see it. Too bad. That was the gravitas I needed demonstrated to be excited about her; that and her political and economic record in Alaska. (Oh, and knowing how to dress a moose…Teddy Roosevelt in a skirt.)
What I like about Palin is that she is Plain speaking.
I wish she had included her participation in the Arctic Parliamentarian Conference in August, 2008. She presented and attended the conference which focused on global warming, energy, diseases of the Arctic Circle countries, plus others. She met with reps from @ 20 countries: Russia, China, Poland, Taiwan, as well as the Arctic Circle countries Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc. You can google it to see what was covered and who attended. There were @ 400 there from the 20 countries sending reps. To me, this gave her much more actual international experience than Obama with his grand tour of Europe paid for by we the American taxpayers and used by him – the candidate.
There is also a great video around showing Alaska’s banquet to celebrate its 50th anniversary – including introductions for the 5 – 10 countries which attended plus Palin’s funny “shout out” to the rep from Russia reminding him that you can too see each other’s shores from the other side.
Check them out. Perhaps the writer can investigate and report these stories for others to enjoy.
Sarah Palin is well grounded and loves her/our country! No wonder why McCain would not releash her,It was all a game to McCain..He used he and then stopped her in what she really wanted to say and do.McCain could not have that.Sorry,I lost all respec t for McCain.Any republicans who would not stand up with Sarah Palin “need not the ameica votes’
They used Sarah Palin and McCain knows it.
Oh Yeah,Sarah Palin president 2012 ! Let’s roll america
Strange Tales Of The Vampire Congress Meet the Beltway bloodsuckers. They convene in the dead of night
Meet the Beltway bloodsuckers. They convene in the dead of night, when most ordinary mortals have left work and let their guard down or are lying asleep in bed. Pale-faced and insatiable, the nocturnal thieves do their nefarious business in backrooms and secret chambers.
Their primary victims? Taxpayers, the free market and deliberative democracy.
Democratic leaders have been promising the most ethical, transparent, open and engaged administration for years. Instead, they have delivered a bleak and creepy legislative environment that could double as a “Twilight” movie set.
Skulking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rammed the government health care takeover package through under the cover of darkness before Thanksgiving and Christmas. House Democratic leaders forbade debate on all but one amendment not authored by themselves.
The Senate Finance Committee killed a GOP amendment that would have required Demcare to be available online for 72 hours before the committee voted. Reid and his Volterra-style henchmen cut last-minute cash-for-cloture deals behind closed doors.
And now House and Senate Democratic leaders are reportedly preparing to cut dissenters out of the reconciliation process by bypassing the formal conference committee.
In Hill parlance, this legislative shortcut is called “ping-ponging.” A better game analogy: dodgeball. With mounting opposition from both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats, Obama’s water-carriers must use every trick in the book to speed the final merging and passage of the bill before the end of the month.
The hypocrisy reeks stronger than rotting garlic. In 2006, House Democrats asserted that “House-Senate conferences are a critical part of the deliberative process because they produce the final legislative product that will become the law of the land.”
That same year, Reid railed on the Senate floor against informal deal-making that circumvented the conference committee process — and he attacked the use of manager’s amendments to avoid public scrutiny:
“Of course, nobody can see the manager’s amendment. It is composed of over 40 amendments. How could anyone vote for a piece of legislation such as that — a manager’s amendment with 42 separate amendments? Now, these amendments were not put in a conference committee.
“People complain about that. But at least in a conference committee, you have people working together, sticking things in. . .. Here, you have one person making a decision as to what is going to be in the manager’s amendment. There is no way to know what is in it.”
But four years later, it was Reid who snuck his 383-page manager’s amendment — stuffed with payoffs, special breaks and concessions on health care — into the Senate hopper on the Saturday before Christmas break. Four years later, it is Reid stifling the open, collaborative conference committee process he so fiercely championed.
Where’s Barack Obama? As a candidate, he promised repeatedly to broadcast legislative negotiations on C-SPAN “so that the American people can see what the choices are” and “so that the public will be part of the conversation and will see the choices that are being made.”
But the most transparent presidential administration ever is shrugging its shoulders. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs pooh-poohed C-SPAN’s request to allow electronic media coverage of the Demcare negotiations.
Instead, Gibbs thinks Americans should be grateful for what they got last month: “The Senate did a lot of their voting at 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning on C-SPAN. … And I think if you watched that debate — I don’t know — I wasn’t up at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning for a lot of those votes, but I think if the American public had watched … you’d have seen quite a bit of public hearing and public airing.”
And if you missed the middle-of-the-night broadcasts, tough noogies.
Team Obama’s contempt for meaningful transparency has been on display from Day One. A year ago this month, Obama broke his vaunted open-government pledge with the very first bill he signed into law. On Jan. 29, 2009, the White House boasted that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act had been posted online for review.
Except: Obama had already signed it — in violation of his “sunlight before signing” pledge to post legislation for public comment on the White House Web site five days before he sealed any deal.
From the stimulus to the health care takeover to holiday bailouts for bankrupt financial behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it’s been all backrooms and blackouts ever since. The Prince of Darkness at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is perfectly happy with his Vampire Congress. Wraiths of a sunshine-evading feather flock together.
CAFFERTY WE THE PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THOSE WHO SHUT THE DOORS ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE-THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THIS DEATH OBAMACARE! OH YEAH, WE WILL REMEMBER !…sure I am yelling here with caps!
Important Message From #1 Regarding “Open To CSPAN” Promise In Obamacare Debate.
LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES,THAT’S ALL OBAMA IS,AND THAT IS ONE BIG FAT MILLIONS LIES AND A FRAUD IN OUR COUNTRY!
MEET THE BLOODSUCKER VAMPIRE OBAMA AND A BIG FAT LIAR AND FRAUD OR OUR COUNTRY!
BLAH BLAH BLAH..OH SHUT UP YOU LIAR !
CAFFERTY WE THE PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THOSE WHO SHUT THE DOORS ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE-THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THIS DEATH OBAMACARE! OH YEAH, WE WILL REMEMBER !…sure I am yelling here with caps!
Important Message From #1 Regarding “Open To CSPAN” Promise In Obamacare Debate.
LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES,THAT’S ALL OBAMA IS,AND THAT IS ONE BIG FAT MILLIONS LIES AND A FRAUD IN OUR COUNTRY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO1oJPps1I&feature=player_embedded
MEET THE BLOODSUCKER VAMPIRE OBAMA AND A BIG FAT LIAR AND FRAUD OR OUR COUNTRY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4yFiPQZlF8&feature=player_embedded
BLAH BLAH BLAH..OH SHUT UP YOU LIAR !
http://www.teamsarah.org/
Come join us
Sarah Palin 2012
SARA BRINGS NOTHING NEW TO THE TABLE OF HUMAN NEEDS-BORN ON AN ILL-WIND OF NORTHERN DISPARITY AND TOTAL LACK OF CONNECT IN WASHINGTON, AND ELSEWHERE, TO WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH HUMANITY!A PERSON IS OFTEN JUDGED BY THE COMPANY THEY KEEP-HERS; WAS, AT THE VERY LEAST, CHAOTIC AND SELF-AGGRANDIZING! HER CAMPAIGN FELL SHORT BECAUSE IT WAS RAMBLING, ILL-DEFINED, AND THE REPUBLICAN DISINGENUOUS SMEARS OOZED AT EVERY WHISTLE-STOP ACROSS THE NATION. WE WERE AMUSED BY TALES OF “MOOSE-STEW”. NOT SO MUCH AMUSED BY AN APPARENT LACK OF PERCEPTION OF POLITICS, HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY. THE NEO-CONS USED TO ASSAIL UNMERCIFULLY, THE BUMPKIN FROM PLAINS ,GEORGIA—JIMMY CARTER, CARTER HAS MORE COMPASSION AND WISDOM ABOUT PEACE IN THE WORLD THEN SARA HAS ON A GOOD DAY! CAN;T COMPARE APPLES AND ORANGES—-SARA CAN BLAME THE WORLD, AND THOSE AROUND HER FOR HER FAILURES AND SHORTCOMINGS……BUT METHINKS THE LOOKING GLASS AIN’T GONNA BE KIND TO “THAT ALICE”!
THE STANDARDS OF AMERICAN INTELLECT HAVE FALLEN TO SUCH AN ALL-TIME LOW, THAT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF AMERICAN IDOL IS THE ECONOMY,SARAH PALIN IS THE ANSWER TO NO QUESTION IN PARTICULAR, AND SIMPLETON GRINS OF IDIOTS ARE IN ABUNDANCE AT EVERY ISSUE WHISTLE-STOP!SARAH NEEDS TO JUST RUN-AWAY-AWAY FROM ANY ISSUE THAT REQUIRES COGENT UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL POSITIVE THINKING POSTURING AS “THE NEOCON DARLING OF DISENFRANCHISED RUSH LIMBAUGH DITTO-HEADS” isn’t going to make for a positive American experience—not now, and not in 2012! DID ANY OF THE POLITICIANS EVER GO TO A UNIVERSITY TO LEARN COMMON SENSE AND WHEN TO KEEP THE MOUTH SHUT, SO AS NOT TO VERBALLY BESMIRCH THEMSELVES SHAMELESSLY IN PUBLIC? METHINKS NOT! we already know politicians are whores and liars—mainly about caring about fellow citizens PALIN-MORE OF THE SAME LOW STANDARD ON A NEW POPSICLE STICK!LAUGHABLE—BUT FRIGHTENING THAT YOU ALL BELIEVE SHE IS SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN—-NOT!
THE STANDARDS OF AMERICAN INTELLECT HAVE FALLEN TO SUCH AN ALL-TIME LOW, THAT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF AMERICAN IDOL IS THE ECONOMY,SARAH PALIN IS THE ANSWER TO NO QUESTION IN PARTICULAR, AND SIMPLETON GRINS OF IDIOTS ARE IN ABUNDANCE AT EVERY ISSUE WHISTLE-STOP!SARAH NEEDS TO JUST RUN-AWAY-AWAY;; FROM ANY ISSUE THAT REQUIRES COGENT UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL POSITIVE THINKING! POSTURING AS “THE NEOCON DARLING OF DISENFRANCHISED RUSH LIMBAUGH DITTO-HEADS” isn’t going to make for a positive American experience—not now, and not in 2012! DID ANY OF THE POLITICIANS EVER GO TO A UNIVERSITY TO LEARN COMMON SENSE AND WHEN TO KEEP THE MOUTH SHUT, SO AS NOT TO VERBALLY BESMIRCH THEMSELVES SHAMELESSLY IN PUBLIC? METHINKS NOT! We already know politicians are whores and liars—mainly about caring about fellow citizens PALIN-MORE OF THE SAME LOW STANDARD ON A NEW POPSICLE STICK!LAUGHABLE—BUT FRIGHTENING THAT YOU ALL BELIEVE SHE IS SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN—-NOT!