Time for Sarah to Grapple
Sarah Palin’s current book tour has afforded her overwhelming media exposure, including numerous high-profile television interviews. The full array of her strengths and weaknesses was on display, and she would be well advised to examine both in depth.
Palin has many allies and supporters. She has won their hearts by, in most cases, showing she is like them. She is, however, still despised (read, alternatively, feared) by her opponents, particularly the coastal “elites” who simply refuse to see her as intellectually competent to handle high office.
While her book and media blitz give plenty of evidence to the contrary, this resistance can be confronted in part with a few minor but consequential tweaks of her style. These adjustments can all be learned and must be practiced. If absorbed into a natural manner, they will make a major difference in how her opponents are able to object to her. Whether or not she ever runs for office, her impact upon both fans and foes is too formidable for her to leave this matter unattended.
Simply put: Palin must learn how to convey to her audience that she comprehends and can grapple with the depth and nature of presidential-level problems. This is the fundamental weakness to which most other criticisms of her are tethered.
In an attempt to demonstrate her proficiency, she often rushes to show she has an answer to issues — on health care reform, Afghanistan, the economy, energy security, Iran, and so forth. She also likes to show that she can somewhat succinctly summarize a solution or strategy and then pretends to be comfortable with her simplicity.
This is, however, fodder for her opponents, who like to think of themselves as intellectually superior not only to Palin but to the rest of us as well. They argue, not without reason, that Palin simply does not understand the complexity of our problems. Consequently, to them she appears little different from high school or college students foolishly believing they are experts on a subject to which they have just been exposed.
In contrast, (and while arguably much less “qualified” for executive office than Palin) President Barack Obama has mastered this game. Palin should study Obama’s effective style and utilize some of his most rudimentary techniques.
Obama will frequently appear to answer a question by articulating something worthy from each side of the debate. He will use the disjunctive form, saying “on the one hand …” and then pointing out “however, we must be mindful of. …” This is precisely the skill of the law student and lecturer that he was. Law school training is steeped in “issue spotting” or expressing the understanding of each side’s arguments. Obama is a Jedi at this talent.
It should be made clear, however, that Obama simply uses this as one of his many sleight of mouth tools. He frequently talks of bipartisanship and “bringing folks together” and creates the sense that his recognition of both sides will engender an open and deliberate struggle to get to the truth. In fact, Obama actually does none of this and resolves issues with the typical far-left bias he brought to the table. And often, he seats no one from the other side at the table at all.
Palin must confront her fundamental weakness: conveying to the public that she comprehends and can handle presidential-level problems.
I bet she will handle presidential-level problems better than the one currently occupying the White House.
Let’s she how smart Sarah is with a little political acumen test I concocted. Ready? Start.
1. In the first week of a Palin administration, would she be smart enough not to tell her new attorney general to call all Americans cowards
and racists?
2. In the early weeks of a Palin administration, would she be smart enough not to introduce an idea for socialized medicine?
3. Early in her administration, would she realize it’s not good for the value of the American dollar to print money to pay for
financial programs to the tune of 900 billion dollars, thereby creating 600 supporter millionaires, while making each American taxpayer poorer?
4. Would Palin be smart enough to know a bigot named Sotomayor should not be nominated for the supreme court?
5. Would Palin be smart enough to to know, without any facts, it’s racist to defend a smart black friend and condemn a “stupid, (implied racist),
Sgt. Crowley of Cambridge who arrested the racial taunting Hank Gates, a teacher at Harvard.
6. Would Palin be smart enough to live up to missile defense agreements with Poland and the Czeck Republic, and have the balls to stand against
Russia for the freedom and safety of millions of Eastern Europeans?
7. Would Palin be smart enough to try the mastermind of 9/11 by a military tribunal or dumb enough to give him a circus trial in NYC?
8. Would Palin be smart enough to bring down the cost of healthcare by allowing medical insurance to be bought on a competitive out of
state basis? Or would she be destructive and greedy enough to try to create 25,000 government jobs so a trillion and a half dollar government
option is created that is paid for and front loaded with taxpayer money and which contains a loophole so illegal aliens will be covered by
taxpayer dollars?
9. Would Palin be smart enough not to try to make the United States some sort of Euro/socialist/communist state?
10.Would the American people be smart enough to elect Sarah Palin President of the United States?
The problem is, great swaths of the electorate think (unfairly)that she is an airhead. And that’s not going to change very much whatever she does. I’m not altogether sure the left is afraid of her. Many view her candidacy (or Gingrich’s, for that matter) in 2012 as a gift from God.
Palin is a good woman, a true conservative, and I’d vote for her in a heartbeat if she heads the ticket. But I think the ticket probably loses. Here’s a question: is it possible for a lifelong conservative who detests the Democratic party to register concern about the dangers of a Palin run without being labeled a troll or a tool of the left?
“conveying to the public that she comprehends and can handle presidential-level problems”
Wrong. That’s missing the point entirely. From my point of view, I just want to see some evidence that he’s ever been INTERESTED in the sorts of things that presidents worry about.
When she’s thought about the issues, and has worked her way to a genuine belief in her own position on, say, military deterrence, or the security paradox or floating exchange rates – THEN we can start asking “well, do I agree with her?”. To date, she’s just been a cardboard cut-out. She’s great on those “heartland” issues – i.e drugs, gays and abortion. They’re simple – you just pick a side and try to present a small target. It’s not readily apparent (so far) that she’s ever pondered bigger issues. You know, complicated ones – problems that don’t have easy answers, or necessarily even good answers.
If she HAS, then she’s seriously let herself down on the hustings (which I doubt – she’s quite good at speaking), or wants to avoid discussing them – which is just as bad. Ask obama or mccain about something like religion or marriage and you’ll get an answer that gives you the distinct impression that they’ve really thought about it. They don’t just repeat the party line (although mccain really slipped in the debates – he let himself down badly).
Palin was redundant to her own campaign. She didn’t need to say anything, because everything she said, I already expected her to say. At least have the guts and curiosity to be her own woman, is all I’m saying. If she can’t manage that, then the prospect of her being president is frankly terrifying.
Bill, you have perfectly described exactly what I don’t like about our psuedo-intellectual president. So now I would want an Obama style Palin to satisfy the left?
I’ve been fan of Sarah Palin since hers pick up as VP candidate, but I agree with this article too (which is constructive critique btw). I also saw the rushing and thought “hey girl, you’re almost there, keep calm”. I don’t think there is something wrong in Sarah, these critiques are just about the form, not the substance. Form is less important than substance, but still important, nobody wants to see Sarah winking in a G8 meetings.
Matthew, you seem to be a perfect example of a person who shuts out anything that conflicts with his preconceptions.
Ever hear of “death panels”? That wasn’t a trivial toss-off to “those ‘heartland’ issues.” Nor are her statements on energy self-sufficiency or national defense (is that what you mean by “military deterrence”?). Floating exchange rates? Yeah, important, but virtually moot if we’re going to be impoverished by big government.
Palin gutless? Palin not her own woman? A Palin presidency “terrifying”? Maybe you spend a lot of time at Kos or Huffpo.
With all due respect to the author, why hold Sarah to a higher standard than the current president? I’m still waiting for him to demonstrate he can handle serious problems.
While I agree with many of the things suggested, the person I’d recommend that she study and copy is Bill Clinton. I have always found his conversational style of presenting complex problems in a simple(r) way to be very effective. Bill’s genius is he makes others feel important, like they are the only person in the room. Palin also connects with people in a powerful way so I’m not sure I’d want to turn her into a cold, tele-scripted, puppet.
Sarah would benefit from slowing down just a bit, when talking about more serious topics. Her enthusiasm and high energy are attractive qualities and I would hate to see that disappear or be significantly squashed. On the other hand, the President would benefit from speeding up. What some consider a thoughtful pause seems to me to be hesitant and slow. And the only enthusiasm we’ve seem from him has been when he’s calling people names or talking about himself. Yep, I think there is more to like about Bill Clinton’s communication style.
Why hold Palin to a standard no other candidate has to meet? There’s no evidence Obama, B&H Clinton, McCain, et. al. thought about anything seriously in their lives other than how to advance their political career.
“Ask obama or mccain about something like religion or marriage and you’ll get an answer that gives you the distinct impression that they’ve really thought about it”
Gales of riotous laughter. Fail.
The left viewed Ronald Reagan much the same way they viewed Palin. Reagan, like Palin, was a damned sight smarter than he was given credit for being. However, he had the polished skills of an actor to give him the ability to deliver his message in a way that connected with people. Palin would do very well to study – really study – Reagan’s films, tv appearances, and any available film of him as a speaker, candidate, governor, and presidential candidate.
“Palin has many allies and supporters. She has won their hearts by, in most cases, showing she is like them”.
Do you really want the next leader of the USA to be on par with the average Joe(sephine)?
This is supposed to be the person LEADING the country forward to bigger & better things.
The President should be better than the average American
I have been fortunate to be part of some highly successful turnarounds and found the following to be true:
#1 concentrate on the 3 things that will make the most difference
#2 go back to #1
Sarah is successful because she gets this. I have no interest in a politician that ‘says ‘ the right thing. I only will vote for a politician that ‘does ‘ the right thing. Mr. Siegel, we are tired of Madison Avenue bullcrap.
If she can’t manage that, then the prospect of her being president is frankly terrifying.
Even more terrifying than the current TotUS?
Really, people said the same things about Reagan and he turned out to be a good President, better than the others we’ve had since and several before him.
What exactly do you consider “presidential-level problems” anyway? Once you’ve defined them then point out the Presidents that have actually seriously pondered them prior to campaigning for the office. Campaign rhetoric doesn’t count either.
Re: #3
In 1980, Jimmy Carter thought the nomination of Ronald Reagan was a gift from the gods. How did that work out?
Sarah would do better to ignore all the well meaning, condescending advice from the countless self appointed experts. Obama’s con wears thin, even if he wows the gullible. Sarah’s integrity rings true and overwrites the media spin.
It is a bit of an outrage that one of ours has to show far superior ability – just to be considered average – compared to the dunderhead the left saddled us with. But, life isn’t fair.
sagman888,
Best plan: pick another candidate to support. If Palin emerges as first rate in your book, switch to her.
If she can’t manage that, then the prospect of her being president is frankly terrifying.
More terrifying than our current administration?
They said similar things about Reagan and he turned out to be one of our best Presidents, certainly head and shoulders above the ones after him and miles above his predecessor.
Can we please define exactly what these nebulous “presidential-level problems” are in your opinion? Many of the most important in my opinion are the ones you can’t prepare for.
Siegel offers some good advice here, and the Governor and her many fans (I am one) would do well to take it to heart. Palin shouldn’t imitate Obama’s style. That would look and be phony, and would eliminate much of her appeal – which is her directness and lack of calculation. However, she should grasp and use those rhetorical devices (pauses, changes of tone, etc.) that can underline her message and give it added pop and gravitas. Beyond that, she does need to keep reading and thinking about those issues beyond the ones (energy, pro-life, limited government) that she’s already well versed on.
Really, I am optimistic about this in view of the progress she’s made in just a few months. Most of her recent interviews were good. Some of her Facebook articles have been well sourced, thoughtful, and persuasive. Her Hong Kong speech on the world economy was more than good. Too bad it didn’t get that much publicity. Beyond that, polls are showing that at least independents are willing to take a second look. She isn’t where she needs to be by a long shot — but she’s moving forward.
I think she’s a quick study. With some of the humility she’s recommended to all those who hold or seek office plus some hard work and good coaching she could surprise some of those who doubt her capabilities.
Also let me point out this:
Did FDR ponder the possibility of WWII before he was elected?
Did Truman ponder dropping the bomb when he was elected VP?
How about Carter pondering the storming of a US embassy, capture, and holding hostage of US citizens?
Did Bush Sr. ponder Iraq invading Kuwait?
How about Clinton pondering a terrorist attack on the US Cole, the impact of the Internet, the .com bubble bursting, or the “Blackhawk Down” incident in Somalia?
Do you think G.W. Bush pondered terrorists flying planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon? (if you’re a Truther I’m sure you believe he did)
How about our current President and Ft. Hood, the first terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11? How about him labeling Afghanistan the “good war” and promising to hit the ground running yet taking a year to actually figure out what to do?
The most important “presidential-level problems” are rarely ones that anyone can prepare for.
The numbers tell the story. 28% say they would vote for Palin again on another ticket. 52% dislike her/would not vote for her…and the rest either do not care nor have an opinion one way or the other. These are fairly typical numbers a year or so after an election where/when America throws the bums out (like with Carter). The question for most is…is Sarah Palin doing the right things to fix her shortcomings, to sway the voters. I would say she is. I also think she has a long time to improve/repair her image as well. Will she do it in time for 2012? Anybody got a spare chrystal ball?
My apologies for the double post @ 13 and 17, the site is behaving badly for me and I didn’t think the first one went through so I rewrote it and tried again.
If the choice in ’12 is between Sarah and President I’m-Sticking-It-to-Ya-Proles-Because-I-Won and Americans put their thinking caps on and say “I heard on SNL she said she can see Russia from her house, and I know her eyesight isn’t nearly that good, so I think 4 more years of Communists destroying America is a better bet” then we deserve to be serfs.
Come up with some alternatives who aren’t Mormon with a track record of healthcare debacles or clemency for killers behind them, or totally acharismatic governors who make limp noodles seem fascinating.
Face it, Sarah is our rock star and she’s done it without input from any political mavens.
Well we wouldn’t have had to wait eight months to get a decision on Afghanistan, the Iranian students would have had a stalwart supporter in her. The economy would be recovering under a more proactive economic program that sought to reinforce not shatter
the fundamentals. We would be acknowledging that we are not at War with Islam, but certain currents within it, are certainly at war with us. We be moving on a program of robust energy
development, like Russia and China and India are doing. We would be discontinuing the flawed, impromptu TARP plan, and not using it to take over banks and auto companies.I’m not at all convinced that this would be occurring under McCain, at anything close to the proper timestable.
New Yorkers, after they repudiated Guiliani who brought the city back from the brink, who rallied on it’s darkest day, in favor of
the nanny state, Salafi coddling Bloomberg, how solid can their
instincts be. The continued tenure of Schumer and Gillibrand, who
I thought was sensible, also makes me doubt their judgement.
Sarah speaks from the heart, informed by the spirit of American traditions, totally absent from this administration. One must begin there, and with the proper advisors, who will guide us on the details. It was those instincts that showed how to see beyond the facade constructed by Axelrod and Plouffe. To see the measure
of the man, but too many saw the caricature painted by Fey and edited by Couric and Gibson. How did that spectacular level of myopia work out for all those concerned
Bill, you’ve been listening to too many nuances. Being president is not rocket science. The problems we face seem overwhelming to leftists because they, as relativists, have no fixed principles. In actuality, our problems are not that complex and every one of them can be solved by simply returning to the principles set forth in the Constitution.
As Ronald Reagan, the great simplifier (but by no means simple) said about the conflict between democracy and communism, “We win, they lose.”
Sarah Palin totally gets this. You don’t seem to.
If Obama had gone through the scrutiny Palin does on a daily basis, he would not be the President today.
Also, the polls that we read this morning are much differnt than a couple of you say on this post. You must be reading Huffington again….
Also, there is nothing wrong with being a Mormon.
It is no different than a Catholic, Baptist,or a Rev Wright follower.
So you want Palin to lie out of both sides of her mouth?
Even if she was as dumb(shes not) as you want us to believe, SHE
LOVES THIS COUNTRY WITH A PASSION, that would go a long way for
us if she was President. There is a big dust up coming and you
guys will just be sitting here typing and griping. You are useless
in the fight to save this country.
Republicans are scrambling for leadership. Leaders are nor chosen, they emerge.
Lets see she has to win the support of the “coastal elites” , aren’t they the same idiots that gave us Obama. I don’t think so! Sarah Palin talks the same talk that the American people talk. The so called elites talk of Marxism, communism and socialism. The less we listen to them the better off the country is.
As a liberal, I’m afraid of this strong, intelligent, and conservative woman.
Please don’t let her become the Republican presidential candidate.
She’ll destroy the socialist utopia we’re busy building.
And please don’t throw me into the briar patch.
With all due respect to the author, Palin needs to remain Palin. You want to make her over so she is more like the current resident of the White House? Give me a break!!!!!!!!!!!
The man with the gifted oratorial style nauseates me. He is so good at talking both sides of the issue he succeeds in only obscurring the issue and making your eyes glaze over by the time he stops when you ask your self “What”? “We are sending in thirty thousand troops today and pulling them out in eighteen months.” (All in the same sentence) Now that takes four months of study? This is exactly the political double speak that the American people are sick of.
BTW– why does she have to prove she is smart enough to be president. Did Jimmy Carter? Did Bill Clinton? Did Barry Hussein Obama? How do you prove you are smart enough to be president anyway? When you look at the havoc BHO has wreaked on this nation in one year of his presidency, don’t, just don’t tell me that Sarah Palin, a breath of fresh air, needs to take some clues from that lunkhead. God Help Us All.
2 raging peoples . . .
Would Sarah Palin be smart enough to know early in her presidency that she’s no longer the governor of Alaska? Because she thinks she still is, you know. Per her Gridiron speech THIS WEEK, she’s been “so busy raising the five kids, doing the book tour and running a big state.”
Airhead? Maybe some day, if she studies hard enough. And let’s see that birth certificate. What has she got to hide? Why would she lie about having shown it? Could it be for the same reason she lied about the Bridge to Nowhere – just because she felt like it? Because it’s pathological with her?
So, basically, you’re saying that Sarah Palin should learn to be a bullshitter. Frankly, I’ve had quite enough of that.
The only think Sarah Palin needs is the desire to run. If she possesses that, she will do fine. I look forward to her debating the current occupier of the office. Palin has a record that when viewed reveals she left every job she attempted better. Obama cannot say that. Well, he can and will say it but that does not make it so. Obama is a liar and Palin is not. It is as simple as that.
Do you really want the next leader of the USA to be on par with the average Joe(sephine)?
Uhmmmm, looking around at the problems that we’re in, largely caused by the very smart people from the Ivy league, yes, that would be GREAT!!!!! Give me somebody who articulates simple conservative values and will stick with them.
At its bottom, leadership is simple. A leader is someone who knows where he or she wants to go and has some idea of how to get there. Since most of us don’t really know where we want to go, or maybe have no idea how to get there, we quickly form a line behind someone who does.
Although Obama often seems to bumbling, that’s only for show. He is a leader who knows where he wants to go, and his core of knowledgeable followers know where that is. The apparent bumbling is for the purpose of hiding his goals and direction from the great majority of us to whom that direction is anathema.
Palin must confront her fundamental weakness: conveying to the public that she comprehends and can handle presidential-level problems.
Is that really her weakness?
He is a leader who knows where he wants to go, and his core of knowledgeable followers know where that is. The apparent bumbling is for the purpose of hiding his goals and direction from the great majority of us to whom that direction is anathema.
Obama may know where we are going, but he’s not the leader, he’s the figurehead. He’s never shown any leadership ability before, nor has he been shown to have lead a single project to a successful conclusion. Show me a single bill he championed in either the IL or U.S. Senate. Show me the results of the Chicago Annenburg Challenge. Show me the results of his time at the Harvard Law Review. Show me the results of his time as a lawyer. No, he has no noteworthy leadership credentials. From this, you must conclude that Obama is being used. He’s a useful idiot. He agrees with where we are headed, no doubt, but he’s not the nuts and bolts leadership.
“27. vivo:
Republicans are scrambling for leadership. Leaders are nor chosen, they emerge.
Dec 8, 2009 – 6:27 am”
Hey, vivo gets one right! Leaders do emerge, through various unforseen crises and the battles they choose as well as those that choose them. The best thing we can do is not ask of leaders what we should be doing for ourselves–that way we won’t turn them into either gods–or demons when they disappoint.
For those of you who think Palin is an airhead because she doesn’t get more deeply into a problem she is asked about in an interview – the interviewer is listening to her but at the same time is waiting to break in with another question. How, I ask, is she able to talk more deeply about anything at all?
She uses common sense, as most of us do, which is how she seems to be one of us – because she is….and yet she is able to talk smoothly with the so-called “elite”. Common sense, love of country, and honesty are three essential ingredients missing in the current administration and its minions. And I miss them greatly.
#2 A very big
The author clearly does not understand presidential level problems. Grappling is a sign of being ill prepared. This is why Joey Bishop was never a screaming national success and Woody Allen is only a star in Obama country.
Competent Americans confronted by a new and unknown problem sort and analyze they do not grapple. Sarah Palin has a body of accomplishment in Alaska the places her above any other living Governor or ex-Governor.
Could you tell me why the media do not recognize solutions and Hamlets are celebrated? This is true not just in politics but is also true for Energy, Medicine and Education too. As long as the media places this weird value on drama America will remain in decline until the current media is dead, based on current trends another five to eight years.
This analysis is so representative of the myopia that plagues the American dialogue. Why is it that so called intellectuals must require a “nuanced” presentation by a so called “leader” in stating their position or their advocacy? Lincoln showed a great command on the issue of slavery at Cooper Union but by no means gave support to the view he opposed.
It would be great if both the American people and today’s politicians had the time and ability to thoughtfully consider each issue, giving proper weight and balance on the scales so that the most suitable position could be formulated. However, we live in an age of 5 second sound bytes and bumper sticker solutions to the most vexing of problems.
Sarah Palin may seem anxious to those who don’t like her, but she may seem only excited by those who do like her. She has to talk fast to get a word in edgeways from a hostile media, and subtle uses of tempo and dramatic “rests” on her speaking are met with the cold look by Katie Couric or from the august view down from the glasses of Charlie Gibson. Excuse Mrs. Palin if she is just a little more than wary of so called “friendly” interviews where 20 hours of video taping (by CBS) lands on the cutting room floor and only the “gotcha” moments play in heavy rotation during the 24 hour news cycle.
If Bill Siegel had taken the time to watch the full one hour interview that Palin had with Sean Hannity, obviously a friendly interview, he would have seen her in a relaxed atmosphere where Palin made many points at length on the international situation, starting with the fact that we shouldn’t coddle Iran, shouldn’t abandon Israel, should stop spending money we don’t have and to finish the job in the Middle East. Those were not really nuanced positions but I suspect that Mr. Siegel finds Dick Cheney to be too indelicate to debate an intellectual argument.
The problem with intellectuals and nay-sayers is that they don’t understand that sitting around and noodling on thoughts and ideas are not really productive means to an end. As a writer, I could sit here all day and re-write each sentence in my posting and never quite be satisfied with it.
What Sarah Palin understands, Dick Cheney understands, Ronald Reagan understood and the large majority of people understand is that the remaking of America is the changing dynamic that occurs in the everyday living of this country and what it stands for. We don’t need a “fundamental re-making of America” nor do we need heavy thinkers trying to control the infinite actions and creativity of 300 million people. It is beyond the scope of government and was never intended by those who created this country.
Siegel’s problem is form over substance. Obama’s problem is form over no substance. Politicians like Palin, Cheney, and Reagan before them, put substance over style. Siegel was probably left apoplectic when Reagan called the Soviet Union “an evil empire” and told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”. Those were strong, un-nuanced positions that are so out of favor today in the acidic climate of the Beltway. But, those statements are clear and crisp statements of American resolve and determination. After only 10 months of Obama dithering, the United States may well be more than ready for a serving of straight and plain talk from the grapplings of Sarah Palin.
Final Score “Grappling’s” 1 “Dithering” -1
Time for Sarah to Grapple
To get down in the mud, and wrassle
with the rest of the political pigs ?
What is your motive in giving this
sort of advice ? If it is sarcasm,
it is too subtle by half.
Sarah soars with eagles, and need
only learn the OODA Loop, in order
to become an Ace: Look around, identify
friends, enemies, opportunities and hazards,
decide what to do, and act.
http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/method
_boyd_ooda_loop.html
In contradiction to your emphasis on complicated
problems requiring esoteric expertise, I give you
Clausewitz on war:
“In War, everything is simple,
but even the simplest things
are very difficult.”
Anyone who thinks the solution is politics as usual
is part of the problem; We are in a fight for
national survival, and equivocation, AKA
Triangulation, is a losing strategy.
The success of the Republican Party has always been due to the thinking capacity and intelligence of its leaders (i.e. Reagan or Buckley.) Sarah Palin is the voice of those who fear thinking and wisdom. She will lead her followers down an ill-fated path.
The success of the Republican Party has always been due to the thinking capacity and intelligence of its leaders (i.e. Reagan or Buckley.) Sarah Palin is the voice of those who fear thinking and wisdom. She will lead her followers down an ill-fated path.
It is curious that Sarah Palin must prove that she is competent to handle multifarious inteernational and domestic problems before she can announce her run for the presidency. The present bozo who occupies the white house had no experienc in anything but self promotion and racial grievance. So a Republican is required to show that he/she is qualfified for the office of presidency but a democrat only has to send chills down Chris Mathews legs.
Quit trying to force Sarah to be perfect. She will continue to develop consistent with her experiences and WHO SHE IS.
Stop trying to gimmick-ize her.
I don`t know who`s going to be POTUS in 2013 but it sure ain`t gonna be BHO. The economy will bring him down. He is a narcissitic marxist and his only solution for anything is more gov`n employees. Problem with that is gov`n doesn`t produce anything. Never has and never will. Americans are already tiring of him and by Nov 2012 we will be chomping at the bit to get rid of him….
“The success of the Republican Party has always been due to the thinking capacity and intelligence of its leaders (i.e. Reagan or Buckley.) Sarah Palin is the voice of those who fear thinking and wisdom.”
What elitist crap!
The narrative from the left — that they are smart and conservatives are stupid — is daily revealing itself to be nothing more than masturbation which can’t even reach a climax.
Enjoy the empty pleasure.
wow, sounds like charm school. ever hear how HIllary Clinton “articulates” some of her positions on issues in interviews? And you’re going to talk about Palin’s voice yet Hillary’s wasn’t as shrill as a screaming saxophone? Obama is a jedi and a jedi only at double talk. and his poll numbers as of late are showing that he’s losing his mojo and the people in the majority aren’t buying it. Palin is not a double talker but a straight shooter. in another 3 years America will be looking for the straight shooter. the anti government advocate. the anti socialist. the anti apologetic. will she be it? still too early to tell. but I’d take her over this nightmare in a suit any day.
2012 ANYONE BUT OBAMA
jml
Obama didn’t have to convey anything to the public other than that he could sell snake oil. The people of this country are already stupid enough to vote for someone who’s not qualified. They shouldn’t have any problem voting for someone who is.
Even the liberal MSM now acknowledges that Reagan spent years reading and reflecting while formulating his political philosophy.
Palin spent months having a book ghostwritten.
******
However, since Bill Siegel’s post focuses on how Palin should present herself:
Palin’s looks are going. Video close-ups reveal heavy pancake makeup that doesn’t entirely conceal crow’s feet.
Soon she’ll look like Harriet Miers.
In 1992 Hillary Clinton successfully mimicked an all-American girl. Subsequently, she found a viable way to age in the public eye. In contrast, Harriet-Miers looks will not mesh well with Palin’s high-pitched voice and cheerleader demeanor.
Personally, my only gripe with the “new” post-Palin (after her V.P. run)is that she CAN come off like “chatty-Cathy” & talk too much, & too fast. THAT, I believe, is what she needs to do; SLOW DOWN & articulate, plus be a little more abbreviated in her responses to questions, etc.
Beyond that, I simply ADORE her nativist persona, and I think she’s the most GIFTED natural politican since maybe Abe Lincoln. And I totally agree with ‘Rachel Peepers’ about the hypocrisy of how she is viewed by the hyper-liberal media. Great series of questions, statements, etc.,Rachel. So let’s leave Sarah basically alone; she’s got IT & the corrupt lame-stream media know it, that’s why all the ferocious attacks. GOD BLESS ALL, MARKRITE
Yes, Rachel (#2) Palin would be smart enough on all those counts, and more.
(She’d be smart enough to not claim that proper tire inflation will solve our energy problems (she’s more attuned to domestic drilling and not being victimized by despots on whose oil we’re dependent). She knows how many states there are and that Austrian is not a language. She groks the Constitutional notion of limited government & does not sing the praises of the Holy Koran and Izz-lam. She would not apologize for America, bow obsequiously to foreign potentates, surround herself with Chicago thugs, work for Andy Stern and SEIU instead of Americans at large or attempt to orchestrate a socialist future for this land…)
The author seems mainly to object to Palin on the basis of style & to advise that she needs to conform herself to a more conventional “considered” posture.
In fact, it is precisely her departure from the (phony) blah blah blah that has been a big aspect of her appeal from the getgo.
Put some testosterone back in the White House !
Palin/Bachmann 2012
Very amusing seeing you all fawning over the dumbest pol ever placed on a National ticket.
By all means go for it. Please do. I also hear the teabagger party has stronger support than the GOP. No doubt this is good news for republicans.
Palin/Beck? Palin/Bachman? Or are you going to wise up and pick the guy who believes the garden of Eden was in Missouri? I’m sure the bible thumpers will have no problem with that.
The GOP is so screwed.
Palin spent months having a book ghostwritten.
Yes, because she’s done nothing before that time.
11 Douglas. Do you really want the next leader of the USA to be on par with the average Joe(sephine)?
When our forefathers founded this country it was on the belief that we would have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. A businessman would give his time to help our country, then LEAVE politics and go back to their business, ensuring that those who are in office do for the american people because they are one of us. We do not need the ‘elite’ controlling the government because you end up with a mess, just like we have today. We need to get the brightest people who do NOT want to be in office and put them there, so they will not seek to make politics a career, they will do what’s best for our country and the American people, then go back to their businesses. Career politicians only have one goal, to continually get elected until they retire, and they will try to accomplish this feat any way possible, by lying, backroom deals, and every once in a while actually doing something good for our country.
They argue, not without reason, that Palin simply does not understand the complexity of our problems. Consequently, to them she appears little different from high school or college students foolishly believing they are experts on a subject to which they have just been exposed.
Then what’s your point? Why not any mother of five, any female mayor from a moderately sized city, any mother of a special needs infant? You apparently really want Palin to be your president, but you also apparently have no way of justifying it.
First Rick Moran, now Bill Siegel. Interesting that Pajamas Media “conservatives” are threatened by the Palin phenomenon. Could it be that they smell a touch of paleo in her makeup?
Some people come out of college with big words, and endeavor to impress the rest of us by making up some far-fetched context in which to frame them. Their “brilliance” consists in the ability to say nothing while using many words, and our president is definitely a master of the art. If you have master this art, how much of your time was left to actually accomplish something?
On the other hand, we have Sarah, who knows how to say something relevant by using simple words, like “death panels” for instance. The big mouthes of this world would benefit by learning from Sarah, instead of the other way around. Like the rest of us, Sarah will accomplish something of substance (who can predict what that might be?) by just being herself. How many of us would prefer to be like Obama rather than like Sarah Palin?
I admit, sometimes Palin drives me a little bonkers when I hear her speak. She is all over the place. She reverts to the same points, offering very little new and insightful. Her chirpiness works against her sometimes. I prefer deep, intellectual conversation.
That said, I am smart enough to wade through all that, and see through to the substance of the person. She uses the same points, but they are the RIGHT points. I am also smart enough to understand that all these things that drive intellectuals nuts are the very things that make a populist like her so POWERFUL. She engenders trust in the common man.
Winning over the elites is a fool’s errand. They will never accept her, because she never went to the right schools. Starting to sound like them, rather than like herself, will WEAKEN her. She is one of the proles. She thinks like them, feels like them, and shares their values. She is of those who are no longer represented by our ruling aristocracy.
Mr. Siegel, your way has proven itself a gross failure. It is, indeed, style over substance. While I recognize the strengths of Obama, I also recognize that these strengths of a Campaigner, are his weaknesses as a Governor. The more skilled Palin gets at nuance, the less skilled she’ll become at leading. One is “teach”. The other is “do”.
It’s nuance versus candor.
When the next President describes our situation (if we actually get a chance to unseat the Once) and explains what the new administration intends to do about it, I’ll take the straight talk. At that point, any serious solutions will require US citizens to “face it folks” on every issue. Since everything must be encapsulated in sound bites, Sarah can simply say things like:
All Czar positions are hereby eliminated
Staffs of Congress will be reduced to no more than 10
WE will make no new Laws for 4 years (thereby eliminating earmarks)
We will reduce regulation at all levels of gov’t by XX%
We will eliminate 95% of the EPA bureaucracy over our first term.
No more public service unions.
We will let no contracts to union shops (they should thrive in the private sector, no?)
We intend to substantailly strengthen defense.
UN? – withdraw, defund, evict.
Etc. No nuance is required. Resonates with any voter that loves US. However, about a third of the populace would explode, so the rest had better be prepared for sickouts, workstoppages, strikes, sabotage, voter fraud on a grand scale, etc.
I would very much like to hear that the next administration intends to prosecute (under RICO) all those in Congress who voted for “the bill without reading it.” Theft resulting from shirking their sworn duty.
Fat chance. However, this ongoing enterprise of corruption must be eliminated, or the battle will be for nought. Eradicate the political class or we’re all kulaks. Vote’m all out.
Imagine a Congress made up entirely of newbies. No seniority. Nobody owes anybody anything. They could all actually get to work on reversing course. I know that’s like whirled peas.
“Why not any mother of five, any female mayor from a moderately sized city, any mother of a special needs infant?”
Are they bright, conservative, and ambitious? Have they been brought up to believe in the U.S.A. and the spirit of public service, not private enrichment? Then, it would probably work. We don’t need some sort of “elite” leadership class to tell us what to do, that’s what’s gotten us in the mess we’re currently in.
You mean like Obama has? Sara is as prepared as anyone. More so then most. Professional politicians and their strap hangers just refuse to admit that. The old boys are not going to cut her any slack.
That’s OK, Sara won the State Championship shooting free throws on a broken ankle. I don’t think she is worried about the old boys, except perhaps where to raise the money to build the jails to put them in.
Here is a little something worth about 3 million votes on election day;
Promise to launch a FULL and complete investigation of ALL politicians that have left office in the last decade. Everything, stem to stern. ALL financals, all ‘campaign contributions, all extra income gets matched to their voting record.
Then let that former congress critter explain things to a jury of their peers.
Meanwhile, the Usurper has set a new record for low approval rating at this point in pffice.
You can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time. You cannot fool all the people all the time.
I am not Palin fan, yet I find her interesting, and, why not, because liberals hate her, quite an option for a future presidency -
And here’s the fresh good news for the Palin supporters, and the explanation for why liberals hate her with such a passion -
The latest pols put her %1 behind Obama!
Bellow is this fresh post from LA Times analyzing this, liberals-depressing numbers:
“Shocker polls: That Sarah Palin-Barack Obama gap melts to 1 point!”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/12/sarah-palin-barack-obama-poll-gap-narrows.html
Ugly moments for Mojo & Cie, mean, ugly, no good, bad, bad, news – and the Copenhagen implosion ain’t strated yet!
soooooo, you want her to a lying, ignorant, faker like the current ahole in office? I don’t. I don’t want her to be better than us either, just ONE of us. The current ahole BELIEVES that he is and knows better. She’s doing just fine the way she is. She’s maturing adn refining her “game” quite well. thanks, but no thanks for your “sage” advice.
Surely the things that you consider Palin’s shortcomings are beter than what Obama has shown and given the USA to date.
I do not believe Palin will run in 12..she is too smart for that. Perhaps later in life.
2012 will be a banner year, Mayan prophecy, a USA presidentail election….all that hot air.. Perhaps we will all explode!! The left hates..hates…Beck because he has given us things to look at and he has given us facts that we can check out, but he’ll never run.
@ #2 ..I agree with Rachel on Palin. Many of us do. There is a lot venom and nastiness about Palin on the left. why pay so much attention? You should be paying so much attention to Obama, and maybe your job and taxes.
I also agree that if Obama had been through the hell fire Palin has been through with the press and democratic party, he would not be president of anything, and I do not believe he should be.. We saw Palin’s college transcripts,tore into her church standings, questioned the birth of her son etc, The mass media did not question Obama’s…anything…although we did finally hear about Rev Wright..and that got put away fast.. It has all been very dishonest. I don’t like mcCain either..
I do not know that I want Palin as President. However, I do enjoy her honesty and candor. OMG it is refreshing to hear someone come out with something other than the standard grinning SE party line!!! That being said, Palin could NOT EVER be as bad as or worse than Obama.
Why do we allow the media to put one candidate under the spot light that the other “refuses” to stand under?
The mess our country is in is our fault. Someone mentioned a candidate that is not a Mormon, why is that different than any other religion? Obama obviously has no religion preference. Another mentioned pancake make up…you guys need to get a life and see there is a big picture that includes all Americans, and all ages, all education levels.
Many people like Palin, perhaps we see her as a regular person, an executive, a mom, a moderate athlete like many of us, a staunch christian in a country founded on christian values (I am not a Christian) We may never vote her into the presidency, but we will follow her and consider the candidates that she recommends .
The left would do much better to merely ignore her…
Sarah entered politics via the PTA in Wasilla, seeing problems and wanting to solve them. Before everybody and their uncle tried to put her and her family in their gunsights, from a media terrified of her challenge to The One™ (Barack himself was obsessed when McCain first named her), to the reprehensible MSM, to official harassment in Alaska itself (post election), her approval rating as governor of Alaska was around 80%.
(if we actually get a chance to unseat the Once)
Another 2012 campaign slogan…
From The One to The Once!
“Arguably?” There’s nothing debatable about the claim that Palin is more qualified for command than Obama. I’m more qualified for command than Obama. There are very few people who aren’t more qualified for command than Obama.
I met Sarah Palin yesterday.
If ever there was a person who has the “it” factor, it is Sarah Palin.
Bill Siegel, and all of you men who comment here who think you know better, are CLUELESS to the power of Sarah Palin.
It always makes me laugh when I read articles written by MEN who want to tell a woman how she should “be” and what she should “do” and how she should “act”. Who the hell do you think you are?
As long as Sarah Palin continues to be herself, she will be a winner.
Oh, and the “concern trolls” who post here are peeing all over themselves with fear of Sarah. They know deep down that she has what it takes to win against Obama in 2012.
Keep it up, trolls! We WOMEN see right through you. It will take a little more time for men to see through your bull, but eventually(hopefully) they will catch on.
Sarah will have the last laugh, Bill Siegel.
Go give your lame advice to someone who needs it, like Barrack Hussein Obama.
Bill – if I read your article correctly, what I think you are saying is that SP should smooth off the rough edges in order to be more saleable to the American public.
I would disagree with that. By 2012 Americans are going to be – as many are now – fully aware of the hidden costs involved in buying into a smooth message without substance, and they are going to be looking for its antithesis.
In the meantime, Sarah Palin has much more important work to do than constructing a campaign for the presidency. The biggest job is rallying the troops, and reaffirming American values. In particular hard work, individual responsibility, charity, faith, religious tolerance, the Constitution, the family (and a host of others) that have been so egregiously dismissed on the Left are actually values that make the United States a uniquely exceptional country in world history, and are worth fighting for. She does this through the example of her own life, and by speaking of her beliefs and experiences directly to the American people, in their own language. These things – which are by and large common sense – cannot be expressed through pontifications and haphazard verbal meanderings of the sort coming from the President.
But most importantly, she is doing this her own way. She has stood resolute in the face of truly unwarranted scorn and abuse, she’s found her strength – in her God, in her country, in her family and in herself – to remain true to herself and her beliefs. That is a huge, and very American, lesson.
Sarah Palin needs to do this, she needs to do that? Says who?
Bill Siegel needs to stop telling Sarah Palin what she needs to do. She doesn’t answer to you. She can do whatever she damn well pleases.
In the meantime, Sarah Palin has much more important work to do. The biggest job is… …reaffirming American values. In particular… …religious tolerance.
71. HalifaxCB:
If she does that I might even vote for her. That would be one hell of a feat convincing the ignorant hillbilly teabagging white trash to be tolerate of Islam.
No. Way. In. Hell.
Emphasizing showing grappling ability, providing it’s not at the expense of decisivesness, is a wise suggestion. Here’s another suggestion. If Obama is beatable in 2012 it will be be primarily for two reasons; one is his ideological overreach, the other his multitude of missteps due to sheer inexperience. Sarah does have more executive experience than Obama, but not for long enough or at a high enough level in a sizable enough venue. Because of this, the inexperience part of Obama-voters’ buyers’ remorse will spill over onto her. To counter this I recommend two courses of action for her: one would combine briefings from people who have been part of administering the Executive Branch with roleplaying by Sarah of scenarios that could arise during her tenure; the other would take place after she’s assimilated this training and would consist of presenting, in speeches or interviews, her analysis of administrative gaffes by Obama and how she would have done it differently, and of administrative challenges that could arise in her own administration and how she would handle them. Previous candidates haven’t had to get into the weeds like this but there’s been enough vetting and resumé that they haven’t needed to. This is a new day.
I would recommend Palin learn the art of “gaining agreement” on what exactly the questioner is asking. This will allow her to be able to avoid ambush questions and the “ditz’ factor.
Basically she needs to restate the questions that the questioner is asking, followed by, “is this what you are asking?”
This is sometimes a difficult thing to do because if done incorrectly it can make you look petulant or rhetorical…but the upside is that she has 2 years before she takes this thing to the next level.
In addition to that she should never allow an interview to be recorded solely by the agency conducting the interview. For example, this would have prevented the creative editing that she asserts happened in the case of Katie Couric.
#71 Halifax:
YOU GET IT.
When will YOU get it, Bill Siegel?
I saw women CRYING after they met Sarah Palin. She moves women in ways that none of you men will ever understand.
And she doesn’t need your damned advice on how to be herself.
Well written piece. I don’t disagree with what Siegel says about Palin and I think his advice to her is rock solid. But I particularly enjoyed Siegel’s masterful description of Obama’s effectiveness at appearing informed and the implication that he will solve difficult problems. Yet he achieves nothing and dithers on making decisions. Palin on the other hand, can point to real accomplishments. Under her watch, Wasilla and the State of Alaska saw their economies boom, thanks to her cutting taxes and spending. Furthermore, she was responsible for the building of Alaska’s natural gas pipeline, a project which had been stalled for 30 years. While Obama talks and holds “summits”, Palin gets real things done. Palin should not have to take advice on how to best the empty suit Obama. Alas, the world is not fair. But Siegel has shown the way, there is plenty of time, and Palin is smart and, unlike Obama, “man” enough to take some advice.
Time to grapple? I thought it was time to redeem herself. If only we could make up our minds, maybe she could make up her minds, and that way all of our minds would be made up together, just like a well tended bed with crispy sheets and hospital corners. Then we’ll show em, you betcha . . . just as soon as Gunsmoke is over and we have our “jello medicine.” It’s my favorite part of the day. I see women crying after they get their jello. Then again, women cry at a lot of things. I’ve seen women cry after meeting Wayne Newton. That doesn’t mean I want him to be president. But that’s something women will never understand.
Jharp:
I see that in two posts, you couldn’t even do one without calling your opponents a slimy sexual slander that refers to a practice mostly associated with an integral part of the left. Must be a projection problem that fudge packers like you have, eh?
Isn’t that exactly what we are sick and tired of… Politicians talking out of both sides of their mouths, paying lip service to their bases, not mention out right lying? It would be refreshing to hear exactly where somewhere stands, in what he/she believes and what exactly it is they want to achieve on behalf of our country, and then let the chips fall where they may. Isn’t it time to end the reign of the lawyers and career politicians who can dazzle and memorize the people with their so called intelligence and teleprompter speaking abilities and just put a plain average American in the office who can pick decent and solid people around them to assist them and navigate the Washington mind fields. You betcha I would take the truth for once over double ease b.s. talk for a change of pace. In any event Palin can certainly do no worse then his majesty at this point.
While some of Mr. Siegel’s remarks are helpful with respect to sharpening up a person’s presentation, some of us already know there is no way Sarah Palin is ever going to convince the less-talented talking-heads of either party. She did not graduate from any of a short list of universities, and that is as far as they will inquire. It’s called “prejudice.”
Ah, but prejudice can be overcome.
79. geokstr:
Jharp:
“I see that in two posts, you couldn’t even do one without calling your opponents a slimy sexual slander”
Just using their own words they used to describe themselves. I saw it myself on Fox News.
It isn’t my fault that they’re stupid enough to opt for the title “teabagger”.
Now and Then:
Go play with your jello, as it seems that is the only thing you can grapple with.
None of your posts make any sense, but then again, most Lefties talk to themselves, so you are just par for the course.
Yet (Obama) achieves nothing and dithers on making decisions. Palin on the other hand, can point to real accomplishments.
Indeed, most recent case in point of dithering, last week’s pompous “jobs summit”, single most impressive outcome, words words words, what those boyz do best, & excluding some of the biggest representatives of small business in the nation, like the Chamber of Commerce that Obama’s Chicago thugs & are trying to marginalize ’cause the Chamber isn’t on board for cap ‘n trade, among other reasons, like, maybe, the independent spirit of small business cannot be allowed in the New World Order that is ever so much more enlightened than that boring old Constitution.
As for any comparison between what Sarah accomplished on behalf of Alaska and other female governors, the 2 female governors Obama enticed to work for him, Big Sis Napolitano from AZ and Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas, one seems poorly attuned to “homeland” security or anything else (too many years coddling AZ’s illegal aliens) and the other (“never met an abortion doctor I didn’t love”) teaches you how to cough into your sleeve.
Maybe Palin should have tried to emulate Gov. Jenny Granholm, under whose tutelage the entire state of Michigan has sunk into the toilet.
you couldn’t even do one without calling your opponents a slimy sexual slander
jharp is a piece of work.
78.reduced to mocking women and the elderly-in nursing homes no less.
now that’s classy.
Two afterthoughts to my previous comment (#52):
1. I wrote that Palin may start looking like Harriet Miers. My only point was physical appearance, which, like it or not, counts in politics. Although Bush and the religious right have driven me out of the Reagan coalition, Miers’ overall record compels my respect; after being impressed and hopeful back in 2007, I have come to view Palin as a slick-and-quick opportunist.
2. When I observe Palin supporters boosting Palin, I am reminded of how Obama supporters boosted Obama before a measure of reality set in.
Mrs Palin should play it the way her gut instinct tells her to play it every step of the way.
I think this is good advice, not just for Sarah, but for everyone.
Tea baggers…huh..the people that participate in the “tea” parties..need to call themselves something else…Teabagging,( thus “teabagger”)
is an activity used within the context of BDSM and male dominance.
It’s not the cute little American term of resistence that everyone seems to think it is..Although we know it is ment in complete innocence…
Bill Clinton seemed to get a charge of calling these people “teabaggers”.
87. Greying Wanderer:
“Mrs Palin should play it the way her gut instinct tells her to play it every step of the way.”
Idiots. The whole lot of you. We just had a guy who listened to his gut, George Bush. And how’d that turn out?
You wingnuts need to use common sense. You think things through and evaluate ALL of the options. Whether it be in business, politics, personal finances, or ANY decision one must make.
Where did you nitwits go to school? Let me guess. Home schooled by Bible freaks.
I’m really starting to like this Levi guy.
December 07, 2009 CNN: Levi Johnston really spills the beans on the Palin family in his interview with Joy Behar. “There was a lot of talk about divorce in the Palin home,” Johnston said. “I’ve never even seen them sleep in the same room.”
Do you mean to tell me that you can look at this evil and mendacious scheisskopf in the White House and think that even your 12 year-old son couldn’t do a better job?
You must be hard up for something to write about.
I appreciate this article a lot, some points more than others.
I think that Palin absolutely needs to slow down and express a larger understanding of the issues at hand. I agree with the writer’s assessment of how she presents herself in interviews and, in my opinion, she is doing herself a disservice. (That said, a lot of folks seem to love her, so what do I know?)
But, I don’t think creating some Obama-inspired overlay of false gestures and expressions is the way to go for anyone. One of Palin’s great appeals is that she seems to be genuine. I don’t want her, or anyone running for office (or anyone I know, for that matter), making faces to seems like they’re feeling something, or thinking something. It drives me nuts when Obama does that (he paces his speech in contrived ways, as well, as if to convey mentation). I think all of those non-verbal ways we communicate should be natural, should reflect the truth of who we are, what we think, what we feel, how we are reacting.
So, I don’t know what the answer is for Palin. I know that her manner of speech, her pace of speech, her apparent satisfaction with the quick and simple answer isn’t enough to sell me on her as someone I (yet) want for President. But, this seems to be who she is and I wouldn’t want her to become handled by the handlers to the point of becoming something she’s not. This is one problem with so many politicians.
Palin puts out there who she is. Take it or leave it. Like it or not.
Still, if she has Presidential aims, the reality is, she probably does need someone coaching her on some of these matters.
Meanwhile, as a final thought, I don’t think these discussion are helpful when we automatically compare Palin to Obama and say we prefer Palin. I think that’s obvious. The point isn’t whether she’s better than Obama for the job. Of course she is. The point is, is she right for the job, on her own, without comparison to anyone else. At least, that’s the question for me.
Again I really appreciate this piece. I am concerned about what appears to be the right’s version of the left’s cult of personality re: Obama, when it comes to Palin. And if any conservative dare criticize anything about her, they are shouted down for it. Perhaps the horrible way she has been treated by the press and the left (and the right) contribute to these feelings of protectiveness toward her. But I think that if we’re going to take Palin seriously, we need to feel free to talk about her in a way that is free of a preconceived agenda (i.e. we are conservatives, we love Palin, if you don’t love Palin you’re wrong and your argument is unworthy).
jharp gets let out of the (full metal) jacket once a day for “typing practice”
Unfortunately, this is his hour
All Sarah has to do is continue to immerse herself in national issues like she is doing.
If you turn her into the GOP Obama, she would come off as another phoney politician and it wouldn’t be her anymore.
The last thing we want is another Obama, both in style and substance.
All she needs is more time to work the issues like she has been doing, but even more after she gets more time after the book tour.
She will never be a slick salesman and I think that is not a bad thing.
I may be a know nothing working stiff, but I do know one thing serious as a heart attack; here is a person in the public realm who works from principle. Within her heart, Mrs Palin cares about a working stiff like me. Any and all high and mighty assessments and opinions about Mrs Palin are rapidly becoming meaningless. The people of this great nation and it’s prosperity is what matters most to Mrs Palin. Hogwash about how she has to do this or do that misses the true and open intentions of this honorable person; and you can take this to the bank my friend,Mrs Palin is the soul and spirit of hard working decent folks like me.
95. Sapwolf:
“She will never be a slick salesman and I think that is not a bad thing.”
Good grief. You could not be more wrong. You single out the one thing she is good at and claim the opposite.
Let me guess. That’s your gut instinct.
Now think about it for 10 seconds. You’ve got an ignorant hillbilly who didn’t even know the duties of the office she was seeking, the vice presidency of the United States. And you idiots bought her act hook, line, and sinker.
And she’s sold you morons that she’s has a chance for national office. She’s nothing but an opportunist fleecing you ignorant taebaggers out of your hard earned money for her ghost written book.
Fear not for she has common sense,something our President does not. Sarah cares for her country,something our president does not.She has more experience than our president who has failed in uniting like he promised .
mtntopforge:
“I may be a know nothing working stiff”
Your post makes it quite obvious. And I tip my hat to you for having the guts to admit it.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn. Now turn off Fox, Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, OReilly, Ingraham, Boortz, Levin, Dobbs, Coulter, Van Susteren, and the like.
And get yourself enrolled into a good school. It’s never too late.
tanstaafl @97
LOL, though I figured he was more some sort of cross between Compost and Tiny Yapper. Anyway, it does bring back (fond ?) memories of old newsgroup & BB flamewars….
Tammy @76.
Thank you! And just to inject a note of optimism – I also think that Palin gets the fact that this is going be a long struggle. America has been steadily eroding from the Left at least as long as I have been politically cognizant – say roughly around the ’64 election – and getting the country back on track is not something anyone is going to change overnight. So I’m happy with her slow but steady rise in the polls, it indicates people are actually taking in her message, and learning to apply it to their own lives.
After 4 years of what a Harvard scholar is doing to the USA, I think you can comfortably throw out the perceived value of an Ivy League background.
Richard A.:
“After 4 years of what a Harvard scholar is doing to the USA”
Can’t you bozos get at least one thing right. If it’s Obama you are referring to, it’s been 10 months.
And Bush left things in such wonderful shape it’s hard to believe Obama can’t fix everything in 10 months. Get flipping real.
I also measure the effectiveness of a candidate by how much he or she is able to throw the opposition in fits of complete apoplexy. Check.
What I like about Sarah Palin is that she plain speaking.
J Harpie:
Keep it up, man! Your Leftist rants make people fall in love with Sarah Palin even more. She doesn’t spew the kind of hate that you vomit out on a daily basis.
I’m glad you love Levi the porn star so much, because it just shows what kind of character you have: none.
The only “bozo” posting here is you.
The more Leftists, like you, scream and screech about Sarah, the more the “uninformed” want to learn about her.
The more that you and the MSM talk about her, the more you keep her in the news, and that is fantastic PR.
Thanks, man.
Too bad you’re too stupid to know what you’re doing.
Like I said before, keep it up!
The problem is that some of us are old enough to recall Socialist US President v1.0, including all of his disastrous policies which are still plaguing us to this very day (Iran, anyone?).
This “unprecedented” President Obama is nothing of the kind. All of his ideas are old ones, and with proven track records.
We know how this movie ends. Nothing the trolls say to us can change that.
Douglas #11. Palin IS better than the average American, which is why people are standing in freezing cold weather to greet her and get her autograph. She also IS an average American in what she holds dear: freedom, family, our heritage, the belief in limited government, and yes a belief in God.
#2 Rachel Peepers
You are right on the money. I wish that I had thought to make such a blog posting. Thanks.
Some commentators might want to read the following..
Is “Rube” Sarah Palin Redefining E-Campaigning?
“With little more than that, no hundred thousand dollar DC e-consultants in tow, Sarah Palin has made herself into Obama’s chief antagonist from the Right. Talk about stripping away the media filter, or going over the media’s heads? Every time Obama launches another new initiative, there is Sarah Palin on her Facebook page trying to knock it down.”
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2009/12/is-rube-sarah-palin-redefining-ecampaigning.html
or
Postmodern literary theorist and legal scholar, ex-Duke English Department Chairman, Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and a Professor of Law at Florida International University, in Miami, as well as Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, goes rogue.
“The (Palin’s) message is clear. America can’t be stopped. I can’t be stopped. I’ve stumbled and fallen, but I always get up and run again. Her political opponents, especially those who dismissed Ronald Reagan before he was elected, should take note. Wherever you are, you better watch out. Sarah Palin is coming to town.”
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/sarah-palin-is-coming-to-town/
Among the other time bombs that was given us by Socialist President v1.o, The Community Reinvestment Act. That time bomb blew up during Bush’s Presidency, and he gets the blame.
The Socialists afflict Capitalism, bind it hand and foot, plant their time bombs, then crow that it doesn’t work.
Tammy at 70: you sound like an Obama acolyte sounds.
The issue is whether Palin ought to be a GOP nominee in 2012–not if she can surmount the low bar set nowdays for Presidential candidates from both parties.
Palin appears to be an intellectual featherweight. That matters a lot to those of us who don’t “feel” the power of the candidates and who were repelled by the “Star power” the Obama camp insisted we accept as a substitute for a track record and solid ability.
Don’t assume I dislike Palin. I just find her lacking, like a chuck Pelto argument.
And don’t assume that your awe of Palin (what for exactly?) will be enough: In 2012 Obama will still sound better and will have a united party behind him. And you have….someone who resigned to sell books, who still needs coaxing on the issues and is no more certain to stay on the right ourse than anyone else.
Do we select candidates based how many issues of PEOPLE they sell?
Is there no one else?
I read that report from my doctor too. The one that only women who are pregnant get, to find out if their baby is going to be healthy. Maybe Sarah had to have an amnio too. But nobody without a uterus could possible undertand what goes thru your mind when you find out that you are having a baby with Down Syndrome. She is so strong and her family’s love sustained her thru those very hard moments. I support and symphatize with Sarah.
It is time for a real American women to be in charge, someone who will not bow to a Saudi sheik or a Japanese Emperor!
Conservatives will win the Congress, the Senate and we are gonna kick that Radical Marxist out of office too!
“After 4 years of what a Harvard Scholar is doing to the USA”
GWB went to Yale and Harvard. How’d that turn out?
105. Tammy:
J Harpie:
Keep it up, man! Your Leftist rants make people fall in love with Sarah Palin even more.
The more Leftists, like you, scream and screech about Sarah, the more the “uninformed” want to learn about her.
The more that you and the MSM talk about her, the more you keep her in the news, and that is fantastic PR.
Thanks, man.
Like I said before, keep it up!
*************************************************************************
You are welcome. And I promise to keep it up.
My dream is for Palin to be the republican nominee for President. She has my vote in the primary.
I hate to break it to you but the teabaggers are only about 5% of voters. Trust me, I will do everything I can to get the tea bag candidates to win their respective primaries.
And for a bonus it very much pleases me to see the knuckledragging troglodytes blow their last $5 on her book. Now that, is a hoot.
And oldie but goodie from the Wasilla hillbilly.
HANNITY: The price of oil is going up again. It’s not quite at $140 a barrel, but it’s certainly on its way up to $70 and $80.
PALIN: Yeah, well and I thank God it’s not at $140. You know people say, “Hey, Alaska! Eight-five percent of your state budget is based on the price of a barrel of oil. Aren’t you glad the price is going up?” I say, “No!” The fewer dollars that the state of Alaska government has, the fewer dollars we spend. And that’s good for our families and for the private sector.
Question: So exactly how much of the 85% of Alska’s state revenues does she wish will go away?
mtntopforge: Bravo
Great advice. I think one measure of genius is the ability to adapt quickly. I think Sarah is already an exceptional political talent and will get better with practice. Her opponents fear her because they recognize the raw talent. Her supporters should relax.
\\
since you hate everything that almost everyone on this board posts or stands for..why bother? You degrade everyone, which in turn makes you sound like a screeching old biddie…
We like Palin, and your “screeching” is not going to change that.
We went to Palin’s book signing …it was great!! Women in America support her in great numbers, as do it seems, quite a few men!!, it was great!! It is snowing here and in the low teens…there were hundreds there!!!! We are in a conservative state and appreciate ethics and morals. I hope she makes millions of $$$$$$$!! She has helped many see what crap we have been electing to office.
Will she run for President? Well, we don’t dont’ know, but, almost anyone would be better for America than the present leaders.
Obviously to some of you that call us hillbilly, bozos etcetcetc I take it to mean we are up standing Americans that pay our taxes, help our fellow man, don’t depend on welfare,affirmative actio and appreciate the truth, the opposite of what you are use to…then call us all the names you want to , it makes no difference.
Palin has you in such a spin you are vacillating between reality, wishful thinking and slipping in your spit.
No more troll poop today..or tomorrow..or….gotta quit responding..
#109 Viator:
You got it! And you have the experts to back it up.
Idiots like J Harpie don’t.
By the way where IS harpy? We NEED people like him to keep Sarah alive! As soon he falls away, she will too!
Oh, but that moron doesn’t understand that, does he?
Hello? Where are you Harpy, you Libtard?
@111 Greenberry – Appreciate your post.
101. Richard A.:
You won’t have to wait 4 years. The Harvard MBA contra-indicator has been a great one for the stock market. As for Harvard Law, look no further than Barney Frank…..
There you are, Harpy! Back to your vile self!
Hey, I was paying attention to Palin before any of you on this blog had ever heard her name.
Why?
Because I like to read and hear about leaders who are accomplishing something, and she was a shining example of that.
That is, BEFORE the “sainted” McCain gave her a stage.
Then, all of a sudden, she was an idiot.
Keep up your rambling, Harpie, old boy! The more you rant, the stronger Sarah Palin becomes, and I LOVE that!
Oh, and Carol and Greenbury: Concern trolls?
That’s a great Leftist tactic that I hope PJMedia readers catch on to soon.
They seem to “care” but they use language to “cut down” an opponent, and then chime in to support each other.
It’s so old school.
Ta Ta!
11. Douglas:
“Do you really want the next leader of the USA to be on par with the average Joe(sephine)?
This is supposed to be the person LEADING the country forward to bigger & better things.
The President should be better than the average American”
Our Presidents should be a statesman and clever politician. Look at effective world leaders: JF Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, Hugo Chávez, Jacques Chirac. These are the role models for world leadership. I’m sure there are many others, but the press has not done a good job in exposing them.
122. Tammy:
“Keep up your rambling, Harpie, old boy! The more you rant, the stronger Sarah Palin becomes, and I LOVE that!”
You have my word. I will do everything I can to keep Palin front and center and to strengthen her influence in the GOP. In a perfect world she’ll be the republican nominee in 2012.
She doesn’t, and can’t.
Palin, analogously, would be like a junior high quarterback trying to play in the NFL.
That might be less trying than the present circumstance, in which we find a doper nerd, a candidate for assistant manager of the girls junior varsity crochet team ,masquerading as our quarterback; but it won’t get the job done.
Lets leave Ms. Palin to her housework and very troubled family and not confuse her with anything more complicated than her Walmart receipts.
Romney-Palin could be a formidible ticket in 2012, but can those two parts of the Repub Party get it together? Clearly Palin has her worshippers here, but not nearly enough of them overall. It’s just simple numbers. With Palin leading the ticket, the center would be lost, but it might well accept Romney if Obama proves to be worse than mediocre. If Palin ran, she would probably win the Republican primary because of her strong and loyal base, but short of some miraculous transformation she would lose the general. If she were selected as a VP by Romney, Pawlenty, or someone similar, it would make for a stronger ticket.
But if GWB could win a second term, then Obama could too, and 2016 would be the date to shoot for in the Presidential. But then, what do I know?
I think Sarah Palin is pretty smart, smarter than the left is willing to admit. Alaska did prosper under her conservative governorship. You can’t take that away from her, she was successful there. Done deal,’nuff said’. Politics being politics, she did good things for her people and I like that about her. Can you say the same for Illinois with Obama? Frankly, No~! Chicago is still a shithole of corruption. And will probably be the same for eternity as long as the Dem-O-Craps maintain control there.
Why does the rest of America even care what happens in Chicago? In the long term, the state of Illinois is irrelevant. 1/50th of the nation is not something I worry about here in Texas. Chicagoans deserve to starve in the dark. Cut off their oil and gas and see how quickly they get in line with the rest of us.
It will take twenty or more years of solid conservative leadership from middle America (real America), to slowly reverse the damage Obama has done. He is a fiscal disaster.
Oh,,, and, I love to see posts from jharpy, very entertaining, he just proves how stupid the left libtards are.
To Sallie 25: Thats the dumbest thing anyone ever said.
And you won’t find any mormons, catholics or baptists who agree with you, unless. of course, they are institutionalized.
Put another way, your perspective is colonoscopic.
Mrs. Palin’s article Copenhagen’s political science at the Washington Post seems fairly statesman-like, measured and sensible to me—and right.
127. Dwight:
“Romney-Palin could be a formidible ticket in 2012″
As a committed hard core leftist Romney is my second choice. Not a chance in hell that the snake handlers will vote for a guy who believes the Garden of Eden was in Missouri.
And that leaves Huckabee. Whoops. He’s done as well.
And that leaves Jindal. Also toast.
I guess Pawlenty is the man. Good luck with that one.
I suggest you stay with Palin. The entertainment value is priceless. Just think, we could have another Katie Couric interview with the tough ambush questions. What do you read? And the best part? Palin is on record as a Newsmax reader.
Good Lord. You couldn’t make up more absurdity.
“Nuance”- the art of making simple things seem complicated in order to confuse people. Nuance is the last thing we need in a politician.
Oh,,, and I forgot to add, does anyone have a clue about what; “Cap And Trade”, will do to our energy industry? If that bill is approved, 3/4 of the oil and gas exploration experts will immediately be laid off. Those are the scientists who keep the lights on. And those guys are the heart and soul of the $200,000+ annual salary group that Obama wants to tax to pay for his redistribution plan.
Sorry to say, this is called cutting off the nose to spite the face.
Palin can do a lot of good if she doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her answers to questions sound very “rehearsed” when she is talking about issues where she has no direct experience. She would do better to point out and agree with the opinions of others who *do* have direct experience and have exhibited strong leadership…else it all sounds like she is campaigning for president.
A presidency is all about who the executive chooses to surround herself with. By supporting others who have strong values and leadership, Palin can demonstrate the kinds of people she would surround herself with if she were to become the one in charge.
#123 Tammy – You make my point. Free country. Free speech. I’m a serious conservative, but because I don’t jump on the Palin bandwagon, you single me out as a “troll.” Do all conservatives have to love Palin to be card-carrying members, or is there room for some to have a differing opinion on some points?
@Tom
“GWB went to Yale and Harvard. How’d that turn out?”
That also largely sucked, except in stark comparison with what we have now.
arhooley:
“Ever hear of “death panels”? That wasn’t a trivial toss-off to “those ‘heartland’ issues.””
Er – there aren’t any death panels. There never were. It was a beat-up, and she was reading from somebody else’s cue-sheet. More recently she jumped on the “birther” train. Not at all impressive.
“Nor are her statements on energy self-sufficiency”
Economic nationalism is nothing new. Her twist is that she happens to have done well (politically and personally) from the petroleum industry, so that’s what she’s pushing. If she was from a farming state, she’d be talking about supporting domestic agriculture. If she was from detroit, she’d be all about making life easier for the big three.
Just drilling for more gas will not actually make the US more energy independent. It’s a global market – and that gas will go to whoever pays for it. You’d also require protectionist legislation – and the result would be far more harm to the US than good. Most of the US’ energy imports come from mexico and canada – very little of the US petroleum spend sees its way to the bozos in rhiyadh. If you don’t already know that, then … well, I’m sorry.
“or national defense (is that what you mean by “military deterrence”?)”
Pardon? National defense isn’t a “heartland” issue? I’m astonished. And military deterrence is generally a sub-topic of “national defense”.
“Floating exchange rates? Yeah, important, but virtually moot if we’re going to be impoverished by big government”
Not moot at all – look at the effect china’s having by pegging its exchange rate to the dollar at a discount. That’s having a much bigger effect on the US finances than government spending.
“Maybe you spend a lot of time at Kos or Huffpo”
None at kos, and I sometimes check out huffpo for the entertaining videos. I don’t count either as a credible source of information.
It is fun to watch pundits provide guidance to a significant political figure, along with the responses, both pro and con.
Sarah Palin is getting better. Watch her interviews with Oprah, Walters, Hannity, Van Susteren, and O’Reilly and she will continue to improve.
We have a fair number of folks who judge people based on their accents, etc… the funny thing being that many folks to the left were claiming the accent was put on. Guess what? The area she is from was heavily populated by folks moving up there from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and that is how they (we) speak. Just like a guy with a Jersey accent isn’t automatically a thug, someone with a northern accent isn’t automatically a hick.
Jharp, do you have *any* other arguments than ad hominem ones? Seems like all you have is insults — oh, wait, you are just another attention-seeking troll, so that makes sense. Sorry, carry on…
Sarah appears to be grappling in today’s Washington Post. She’s calling for Obama to boycott that Danish gang-bang — although not in so many words.
90 “Idiots. The whole lot of you. We just had a guy who listened to his gut, George Bush. And how’d that turn out?”
100% wrong. Bush was a puppet for people with lots of brains but no wisdom.
@ 140. arhooley: Danish Gang-Bang
“I’ve got a little list”:
AGW Climate hysterics after today
3rd world con artists after money
1st world con artists after power
“and none of them will be missed”
At least the 3rd world Kleptocrats
are -relatively- honest; They are
stating in so many words that if
their bribes don’t get bigger, they
will not play along.
Here’s a little video for you all. Interviews with Sarah supporters…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKKKgua7wQk&feature=player_embedded
Tea bagging . . . gang bangs . . . Palin sure brings out the horny in you folks.
Bill,
I think that Palin should be herself – one of the lessons from Going Rogue is that politicans are politicans. Thanks for your advice on how Palin could be a better one – just as the American people are making clear that we are fed up with them.
Personally, I love the way that she cuts through the bull, we don’t need nuanced solutions, we need solutions grounded in simple basic principles. After readin’ ’bout how she fixed the leasing/taxing/fees system concerning Alaska’s oil resources, I am confident that she would handle health care reform, very well.
129…please explain.
Someone previusly said that we need to find a “non mornomon” to run…i responded that there is no differrence in electing a mormon than any other religion..
We are Mormon, that does not mean we like Romney.
NEW RULE
If you haven’t read Palin’s book – then don’t comment on Palin posts. The book answers many questions concerning Palin’s political philosopy and the types of policies she avocates. It spells out clearly who she is and what she’s about. She has defined herself and yet there are so many who want to discuss what their barely informed perceptions are. We are past that now.
I am sick and tired of all the people with strong opinions who can’t even bother to educate themselves when answers are so readily available – if haven’t read the book, then you are not up to speed for meaningful debate. If you have read it and have some issue, bring it on.
Simply put: Palin must learn how to convey to her audience that she comprehends and can grapple with the depth and nature of presidential-level problems.============== TYPO: ‘Palin’ should read ‘Obama’.
147…ditto.
there is also a counterbook that people like barnes and noble are putting in the front of their store…and palin’s real book (going rogue)at the back of their store. such mentality is disgusting, and i believe one of the reasons the public is upset with the status quo demeaning mentality .
Great piece. Unfortunately I do not this the media will let Sarah ever overcome perception. Wish it were not true but I fear it is. With that said if Obama continues to be the disaster he has been to this point I may need to retract. Low voter turnout on the left and high in the middle may make it work for her. The right will be out in droves. Any chance if she is the nominee she would ever pick the equivalent of a Biden as a running mate?
One of the more intersting things that has come about since the advent of electronic media is the concentration on the presidency and resultant wildly unrealisitic expectations of the men elected to the position. The media spotlights the president because it is much easier to cover one man than it is to cover several hundred congressmen or a gaggle of judges (whose workings few would understand in any event). And because the media types are, in their way, just as much ego driven as the politicians they cover they tend to inflate the importance of their subject in order to inflate the importance of their coverage of the subject.
George Will said it very well when he referred to the president as “just a fella”. Presidents do not have all the answers. If you look at who these people are and how they handled matters you find very quickly that they rarely have any answers at all and spend the vast majority of their time reacting to events rather than initiating them. As often as not they are wrong (either partially or entirely) in their conclusions and their actions frequently create problems at least as weighty as those they were meant to address and solve.
What kind of person actually believes they are qualified to govern millions of their fellow human beings? What kind of person really believes that he or she has the answers that meet the needs of millions of individuals most of whom are just as intelligent, capable and often as well or better educated as the men who have held the office?
Some of these people had military expertise and the rest had political experience and had held elective office before. Some had run businesses. But not one of them was anywhere near “fully prepared” to hold the office. Especially in modern times when so much is both promised by and expected of these people. And the lack of preparation is obvious. None of our presidents has performed flawlessly (to say the least). No one could.
There is no person who is going to bring world peace, universal prosperity and contentment. The problems that beset mankind will continue to increase here and abate there. The squabbling among those attached to political matters will continue without letup. The very best we can hope from these people is that they won’t screw up and push the country into economic collapse or war and that if these things do happen they will refrain from making matters worse. But given the expectations that exist (and which politicians deliberately cultivate) the typical political type will almost always try to live up to these and do something to “solve” the problems that beset the nation. And they will usually make matters worse.
I don’t want a genius occupying the position of chief executive. I want someone wise enough to understand his own limitations and courageous enough to act accordingly. We sure haven’t seen many of these (my personal opinion is that the last one was the first one, our greatest president, George Washington).
144. Now and Then: Did I forget to remind you that your messiah got his start in politics turning tricks for a slumlord? Possibly the best education of his life given that his new vocation seems to be cleaning the jackboots of dictators with his tongue.
Matthew,
Let me complement you on your writing, I wish I could say that you had expressed a single valid thought somewhere in there, but..alas.
Examples:
Er – there aren’t any death panels. There never were.
The President set aside a HUGE chunk of cash for “comparitive effectiveness” research. The government will have access to everyone’s medical records and will evaluate the cost effectiveness of various treatments for given conditions. Not plain effectiveness – COST effectiveness. Personally, this being a nominally free country for the time being, I’m not looking for cost effectiveness in my health care – just plain effectiveness is the goal. The minute you have a goverment deciding what my course of treatment will be, there’s your death panels. No government that has taken responsibilty for health care has ever not rationed that care – there’s your death panels. As Robert Riech has pointed out, there is no way the Government can control the cost of health care without denying or curtailing end of life care, that’s where most of the money is – there’s your death panels.
The spin here is that Palin was refering to the end of life counseling clause in the house bill as the death panel, and they took that out, so no more death panel. The death panels are the entire approach they are taking, the government making the decisions that are now between the doctor and patient.
“Nor are her statements on energy self-sufficiency”
Economic nationalism is nothing new. Her twist is that she happens to have done well (politically and personally) from the petroleum industry, so that’s what she’s pushing. If she was from a farming state, she’d be talking about supporting domestic agriculture. If she was from detroit, she’d be all about making life easier for the big three.
Just drilling for more gas will not actually make the US more energy independent. It’s a global market – and that gas will go to whoever pays for it. You’d also require protectionist legislation – and the result would be far more harm to the US than good.
What a bunch of drivel – she’s not from a farming state nor is she from Detriot. If your elbows bent the other direction – how would you eat? It doesn’t matter, your elbows don’t bend the other way. Energy Independance is an important concept because modern life is based on cheap energy. Look at the clout Russia has with Europe – we don’t want to go there.
Natural Gas is not a global commodity – it can only go where there are pipelines. Europe wishes you were correct…but as in everything else.. you are not. You actually think that you logically explained that drilling for our own natural gas reserves would result in “far more harm to the US than good”. Your thoughts are not tethered to anything like logic or reality for that matter. Now why don’t you explain to us how having more money would make our lives more difficult? Totally clueless.
“Floating exchange rates? Yeah, important, but virtually moot if we’re going to be impoverished by big government”
Not moot at all – look at the effect china’s having by pegging its exchange rate to the dollar at a discount. That’s having a much bigger effect on the US finances than government spending.
Exchange rates are being driven directly by government spending – that money has to come from somewhere. They can tax for it, they can borrow it, or they can print it. All three drive the value of the dollar down, it’s that old free lunch thing.
You remind me of that guy at work who’s fructrated that nobody listens to him. He has a lot to say, but doesn’t realize that the more he talks, the more everybody realises that he doesn’t think so hot.
BTW, vis-a-vis the government having access to everybody’s medical records, Obama won the democratic IL senate primary when his opponents sealed divorce records were leaked to the press, he won the IL senate seat when his Republican opponents sealed divorce records were leaked to the press, when Joe the plumber asked an inconvienent question, his private records were scoured by democratic operatives for dirt to release against him. I can’t think of a single person I would trust less with private records than Barack Obama – he has a well documented character problem.
To everyone who would rather have someone other than Sarah (I use her first name more often than her last, to confound and anger “Barack” enthusiasts):
When the day comes that you have to make a choice, tell David Frum where he can go. Vote for someone who has the charisma and the charm to blow Obama out of the water.
There is only one issue in the 2012 Election Cycle: Who can unseat Obama? Sarah can. And if the Big Tenters sit out the election, they deserve the inevitable outcome …
Foont:
What kind of person actually believes they are qualified to govern millions of their fellow human beings? What kind of person really believes that he or she has the answers that meet the needs of millions of individuals most of whom are just as intelligent, capable and often as well or better educated as the men who have held the office?
Your premise isn’t correct. The federal government is supposed to have very limited powers. Defend the country, conduct foreign policy, regulate interstate commerce. I admit that most of the power brokers in Washington believe that they should be governing the lives of millions of their fellow beings, but that’s the whole problem.
The type of person that can look at Washington and think that they are qualified? Sarah Palin. As she did in the PTA, Wasilla city council and Mayor’s office and Alaska Governor’s office, she looked at who was there – and didn’t like the job they were doing. You don’t have to think that you are omnipotent (like Obama), you just have to think you could do a better job than the clown that will do it if you don’t.
In the case of Washington, that’s a pretty low bar.
“The President should be better than the average American”
I am really tired of people like me not being considered “smart enough” just because I don’t have an Ivy League degree. Many, many really smart people take a different path through life and are just as smart or smarter than the Ivy Leaguers.
From the polls and quizzes I’ve seen, they learn less than the rest of us about economics, history, and other important subjects and are no better at problem solving.
Barack Obama is the perfect example of a no-nothing ignorant, inexperienced person with an Ivy League education. If that’s what you get, it definitely NOT worth the money. Our local community college does better.
Sarah Palin listens to the American people and has common sense solutions for taking us back to our Constitutional roots. We need her support for Congressional candidates that have the same knowledge, skills, and ideas.
jharp:
Now think about it for 10 seconds. You’ve got an ignorant hillbilly who didn’t even know the duties of the office she was seeking, the vice presidency of the United States. And you idiots bought her act hook, line, and sinker.
Jharp:, If you’re ever considered for the office of Vice President (which should be a shoe in for somebody as smart as you, after all Palin was nominated, I’m sure you’ll be getting the call any second now), be sure to ask the presidental candidate what he sees your role to be, it’s what a smart person would do, before making a decision. The role that the Vice President plays within an administration is primarily determined by the President, not the constitution. Al Gore had no role within the Clinton Admin, Cheney had a slightly more important role within Bush’s. Biden you ask? Why, he’s the sheriff.
I hate to break it to you but the teabaggers are only about 5% of voters. Trust me, I will do everything I can to get the tea bag candidates to win their respective primaries
Let’s see Gallop’s recent nationwide poll asked respondents to self identify with a political party 32% Democrat, 23% Tea party, 15% Republican.
Oh and by the way, Palin’s favorable rating is within a single point of Obama’s 46-47, pretty good for a private citizen, for a sitting President just 10 months into office, not so much. Actually the lowest ever for this point in a presidency. Of course, if you look at the trends…,
144. Now and Then:
Tea bagging . . . gang bangs . . . Palin sure brings out the horny in you folks.
You should know…some sites have trolls, but you are a Palin stalker. Anywhere there is a word written about her…there you are. And you don’t even like her (wink,wink,nudge,nudge,know what I mean?)
157. HoosierHawk:
“Jharp:, If you’re ever considered for the office of Vice President (which should be a shoe in for somebody as smart as you, after all Palin was nominated, I’m sure you’ll be getting the call any second now), be sure to ask the presidental candidate what he sees your role to be, it’s what a smart person would do, before making a decision. The role that the Vice President plays within an administration is primarily determined by the President, not the constitution.”
When I grew up we had this thing called Civics class we had to take in the 7th grade. It made it quite clear the duties and responsibilities of the VP. I passed, Plain obviously didn’t or didn’t take the course. And neither did you. You have no idea what you are talking about.
“Oh and by the way, Palin’s favorable rating is within a single point of Obama’s 46-47, pretty good for a private citizen, for a sitting President just 10 months into office, not so much. Actually the lowest ever for this point in a presidency.”
More wingnut nonsense. The 46% is Obama’s job approval rating, higher than Reagan at a similar point in time.
Ans since Palin doesn’t hold office how in the hell can one give her a job approval rating?
You give Hoosiers a bad name. Please stop with the moronic posts.
157 Indiana Giver;
Odd, but every time I go to a Palin post, there you are, too. As for Obama’s poll numbers, you had to wait juuuuust long enough for them to dip below Reagan’s 49% to declare Obama a failure, eh? Well, we still got a yeat to go before Obama has to beat Ronnie’s 10.8% unemployment two years into his presidency. You’re trying too hard, know what I mean? Tell you what, call me in a year. We’ll chat. In the meantime, feast your ears on the Herculean issues Sarah manhandled during her Lincolnesque stint in Wasilla. Wow, what a dynamo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMocEINn-E8 of
I have no idea what I’m taking about? I know that in US Government class I learned what the Contitutionally defined duties of the office of Vice President were. Defined prior to the time that the Vice President was nominated by the President and prior to the time they were running mates, running on the same ticket. Now that they are running mates, the Vice President effective serves as a member of the Administration, and their role in the administration is defined by the President. I see your point though, you haven’t learned anything since 7th grade, and judging by the fact you call it Civics class, I guessing it was quite a while ago. Long time – no learn.
The 47% is Obama’s job approval rating, true enough, however it’s lower than any other president at this point in their presidency. That’s just since WWII though, I’m sure that there must be some President that was actually less popular, we just don’t about it. Of course the fact that 40% strongly disapprove already that’s pretty rough. George W. Bush was at 84% approval, just for comparision.
I case you didn’t know it before, Hoosiers don’t give a tinker’s dam what you think anyway.
HoosierHawk: awesome take out of the nat, and his, I mean it’s disgusting post. It needs to be more then and not as much now. Hey nat how do you like Palin giving up that taxpayer funded plane and chef, kind of like the man of the Acorn people getting his Kobe beef and Wednesday night entertainers and flyin’ wifey around in AF1, just to show that he knows as well as any democrat pol how to ripoff the taxpayers.
Now and Then,
It’s not odd that I’m here, I’m a big Palin supporter. If I went to a site that was about Walking Horses and found Walking horse enthusists there I wouldn’t consider that odd, kind of predictable really.
On the other hand, if every walking horse site I went to had the same strange walking horse hater posting anti walking horse trash talk, I’d consider that remarkable, remarkably wierd.
If I then found that the guy was actually collecting utubes about the walking horses he hated….., I’ve asked you before, for your own sake, get help. Perhaps your life wasn’t very meaningful before you discovered Palin, but it’s only going to get worse. Think back to the time when some other uncontrolable obsession dominated your waking hours, wasn’t that preferable? Forget about Palin, she’s no good for you.. you can do better.
HoosierHawk,
Yesterday, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) sat for an interview with KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Colorado. In response to a question sent to the network by a third grader at a local elementary school about what the Vice President does, Palin erroneously argued that the Vice President is “in charge of the United States Senate“:
Q: Brandon Garcia wants to know, “What does the Vice President do?”
PALIN: That’s something that Piper would ask me! … [T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.
Sorry. No linky to You Tube. The video has been taken down.
Palin the moron, believes the VP is in charge of the U.S. Senate!
It’s an embarrassment to our great country that such an ignoramus got anywhere near the White House. Shocking!
The only good news is she’s been reduced to peddling a third grade level ghost written book of nonsense to a bunch of ignorant teabagging rednecks and no longer holds public office.
162 hosersquawk . . .
Yeah, whatever, walking horses aren’t pathological liars. But what about those Wasilla meeting minutes? Here’s a simple question – Does that qualify as executive experience?
jharp:
No link to utube here either. From “The Constitution of the United States” Article I, section 3, paragraphs 4 and 5″
“The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they are equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.”
The constitution agrees with Palin, but what would the Contitution know? Of course nowdays, most of the wheelin’ and dealin’ takes place behind closed doors and is organized by the Majority Leader, the VP lets the President pro temp. run the Senate, in his (or her) absence, unless there is a need for a tie breaker. You can spot the President Pro temp. on CSPAN, he’s the guy behind the huge podium at the front of the Senate Chamber. When you hear the Senators speak, and they say “Mr. President” they are talking to that Guy at the huge podium, they need his permission to talk.
Of course, when the President makes a speech to a joint session of Congress, you won’t see the President Pro temp., the actual President of the Senate will be there, behind the president along with the head honcho of the other half of Congress – the Speaker of the House. Right now the actual President of the Senate is a fellow named Joe Biden.
Hoosierhawk
“The President set aside a HUGE chunk of cash for “comparitive effectiveness” research”
Yep. That’s how it works in australia, and it works well. You don’t think private insurance companies do it? Turn off the scary music – no insurer should have to fly blind.
“this being a nominally free country for the time being, I’m not looking for cost effectiveness in my health care”
Really? You don’t consider price when you choose a private health insurer? Wow – you must be pretty wealthy. That IS what you’re talking about, you know.
“there is no way the Government can control the cost of health care without denying or curtailing end of life care”
Rubbish. Just look at the figures for health outcomes vs spend in countries with well-run public health systems. You’re just wrong, it’s that simple.
“The spin here is that Palin was refering to the end of life counseling clause”
That’s not spin, that’s just what happened.
“Energy Independance is an important concept because modern life is based on cheap energy. Look at the clout Russia has with Europe – we don’t want to go there.”
The US simply drilling more gas (which is what palin means by “energy independence”) will not make energy “cheap”. To do that will also require export barriers.
“Natural Gas is not a global commodity – it can only go where there are pipelines”
You’re kidding, right? Have you heard of LNG? Right now, the US imports natural gas from all over the world – including asia, the middle east, south america and australia. And it’s rising fast – it’ll be the US’ largest NG import by 2015 (and palin’s “energy independence” won’t move that date by much):
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/analysispaper/global/figure_16.html
The US also exports natural gas. Yes, it IS a global market.
“You actually think that you logically explained that drilling for our own natural gas reserves would result in “far more harm to the US than good”.
No, putting up trade barriers to separate the US from global demand would do more harm than good. That’s the only way you’ll see “cheap energy” through drilling for gas.
“Exchange rates are being driven directly by government spending”
They’re AFFECTED by it, sure – but the effect is (relatively) small. Government spending (even america’s) is dwarfed by private spending and capital flows. China’s peg means the US can’t compete as easily with (effectively) subsidised chinese imports – so the US trade deficit balloons. That’s why china owns all those greenbacks,
Now and Then,
Gee, back when Palin was on the city council of Wasilla, Obama was..what? Is that the executive experience you were after? I’m sure that you’ve read “Going Rogue” by now. Let’s face it, if Obama is as successful in his first real job as Palin was in Alaska, I’ll vote him in 2012.
Unfortunately, Palin’s job approval rating rose well beyond the percent she intially attracted in the election, and Obama’s has headed the other direction, sharply. Let’s see, she attracted 48% of the vote in a three way race and polled in the mid 70s two years in. Obama got 53% of the vote, and 10 months in, he’s at 47% including all those who approve in the slightest. Only 29% strongly approve. Still it’s the trend that’s really disturbing for Democrats.
HoosierHawk:
I’m aware the VP is Prsident of the Senate you buffoon.
I’m also aware that the VP isn’t “in charge” of the Senate.
Something that escapes you and the moron Palin.
The President of the Senate breaks tie votes and presides over the joint session of Congress in the counting of electoral votes.
You’re an idiot. “In charge”? Good grief. Out country is inhabited by morons. You own post debunks your idiotic claim.
166 Matthew
Matthew Matthew Matthew . . . You don’t know how the game is played here. Rilin’ up the retards is frowned upon. Hitting them upside the noggin with truth just makes em angry, then they sulk, then they tell you about their guns. All the while liberally sprinkling their diatribes with turd references. Here in America we call it the Right Wing Scat Alert. So tread lightly, you don’t want to suffer the wild-eyed gesticulations of a right wing tea bagger in the middle of a Palin-inspired book signing fantasy.
163….
Your “yesterday” happened 14 months ago.
a few dtties you seem to have missed, from your God you call president, he not only got clos…but got into the white house…shocking!!
* “Bush doesn’t care about China because it’s full of black people.”
* “Countries in the Middle East don’t like the Jews since they took for themselves the largest country.”
* “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. “I’ve now been in 57 states – I think one left to go.”
HOWEVER!! there are “57-states” in the “Organization of the Islamic Conference.” Since Obama was BORN Muslim into a Muslim FAMILY, went to Muslim SCHOOLS, was raised in Muslim MOSQUES, and said to George Stephenopolis that he WAS MUSLIM – this is obvioulsy the 57 states comes he considers important!
**********************
AND THE KICKER FOR AMERICA!!!…”I do”….
Obama has said dumb stuff…recently…so when you go after Palin in 2008 and try to pass it off as yesterday…read the whole article… You just hate Palin and cannot come up with good reason except you don’t like her. She’s not running for president. HOWEVER!!! better her than the potential of Biden…
Matthew,
As I said earlier, good writer – weak thinker. You made stupid statements and think that volume makes up for lack of insight. You confidently make statements, but it’s BS.
But OK, here goes
Where’s all the people flocking to Australia for medical treatment? Where’s that long list of Australian Medical innovations? Where would the world be without Australian mircle drugs – like I said, you just say things. No, I don’t think that US insurance companies conduct cost effectiveness research, they don’t cover experimental treatments, but once the effectiveness of a treatment has been demonstrated – then it’s up to the doctor, they legally can’t refuse to pay for treatment because it’s expensive. Your insurance plan is a legal contract.
We weren’t talking about cost effective insurers, we were talking about cost effective treatments (focus). When my Land Rover has a problem, I go to a mechanic and tell him, I’m looking for a cost effective remedy, this truck ain’t exactly new. When my mother is sick, I’m not looking for a cost effective remedy, I want her to get healthy again. When the government does it, it’s called a death panel.
Rubbish. Just look at the figures for health outcomes vs spend in countries with well-run public health systems. You’re just wrong, it’s that simple.
Gee Matthew, what exactly is the health outcome vs. spend in end of life treatment, which is what Mr. Reich (Clinton’s Sec of Labor) was discussing. Do you have any idea how stupid your point is? Let’s see the outcome is dead, and your point is that a well-run public health system can do it cheaper. Good point, Matthew. Mr. Reich’s point was that if you actually want to save money, since most of it is consumed treating the elderly, just to buy them another year or two, that’s where the hard decisions have to be made. Are you denying that? Now we’re back to the death panels you said wouldn’t exist, but most certainly do, in any government run health care system.
“The spin here is that Palin was refering to the end of life counseling clause”
That’s not spin, that’s just what happened.
Matthew, Palin wasn’t refering to the end of life counseling – she was refering to the “cost effective” decisions that will be made. It was spun that she was talking about the counseling – they yanked it out and pretended, no more death panels! They are still there and always will be anytime individuals don’t control their own health care.
The US simply drilling more gas (which is what palin means by “energy independence”) will not make energy “cheap”. To do that will also require export barriers.
“Natural Gas is not a global commodity – it can only go where there are pipelines”
You’re kidding, right? Have you heard of LNG? Right now, the US imports natural gas from all over the world – including asia, the middle east, south america and australia
Yes, I’ve heard of LNG – Very little of the NG we use is liquified, and right now, the only places that tiny amount comes from is Egypt, Nigeria, Norway and Trindad according to the US government. If you notice the only places that liquify are places that don’t have pipeines. If natural gas is such a “liquid asset” (pardon the pun) why exactly is Europe so concerned about the Russian monoploy, according to you, they can buy it anywhere, anytime. Those Europeans just aren’t as smart as you Matthew. And as far as export barriers, having the pipeline running into the lower 48 will work nicely, it certainly does for all the Canadian oil we use, or are you going to suggest that Canada has a big port where all the tankers load up? Vancouver? Forget about it. Where are all these LNG processing facilities that will ship our NG all over the world.
The US exports gas via pipeline to Canada and Mexico, again because of where the pipelines run. The amount of LNG traded in the world is tiny compared to NG usage.
This all started because you were telling everyone about how you knew more about energy than Sarah Palin – She’s an acknowleged expert – you still aren’t.
They’re AFFECTED by it, sure – but the effect is (relatively) small. Government spending (even america’s) is dwarfed by private spending and capital flows. China’s peg means the US can’t compete as easily with (effectively) subsidised chinese imports – so the US trade deficit balloons. That’s why china owns all those greenbacks,
The effect is small? What the hell do you think the job of the Fed is? They control the money supply! The value of the Dollar is diving because the government is spending a boat load they don’t have, an the Fed is monitizing the debt. The price of all of our imports (oil) is going up because the dollar is going down.
China is a communist country – with a state controlled economy. The currency of communist countries isn’t traded – it doesn’t mean anything except in their own country, it’s an internal exchange rate. China owns all those Greenbacks because Americans are willing to give up their dollars for Chinese goods, and their Government isn’t willing to give the dollars back back to import our goods (except for ag products and SUVs). It’s called a trade imbalance. Matthew, real currencies are traded on exchanges around the world – you can’t “peg” your exchange rate – it’s set by the markets.
Matthew, you only understand about 20% of what you talk about, but boy do you talk.
Jharp:
Who is “in charge” of the Senate, if it is not the President of the Senate?
What would really blow your mind,is that if Palin had been elected, she was planning on showing up in the Senate everyday, and taking part in debates, as a full member of Senate (and it’s President). Remember, the only restriction to her membership in the Senate is that she doesn’t have a vote unless it’s a tie. But then again, no individual Senator’s vote really matters, unless there’s a tie.
172 Hoosierhawk
Still smarting from that LNG bomb you revert to the hackneyed “President of the Senate” dodge re Palin’s ignorance . . . keep scrambling. We will never forget . . . LNG . . . LNG . . . LNG . . . the relentless drip drip, drip of . . .LNG . . . :NG
Now and Then,
I was discussing LNG with Matthew, I actually like the guy.. he’s clearly intelligent, he just needs a little time to grow up and get some common sense. Like Reagan used to say, “The problem with our liberal Friends isn’t that they are ignorant, it’s that they know so much that isn’t so”.
Jharp is actually pretty ignorant and obviously has something else going on (drinking, drugs, whatever) his comments were going downhill pretty quickly there. I mean, how would you explain what a VP does to little kids? I thought she did a pretty good job, particularly considering what she had in mind.
Really though, why do you find yourself so attracted to Palin blogs? I could see it if you were a big supporter, but you aren’t. I don’t really care for our President, I avoid blogs about him like a plague. Why are you sucked in by things you don’t like, life is short dude,..move on
I didn’t care for Obama to begin with, but now it’s much worse. There isn’t a single thing he said during the election that turned out to be true, I don’t believe a word he says anyway, so why seek it out, see what I mean?
Everybody (well the MSM) talked about what a great speaker he is, but actually he is mind boggling boring. It’s that same monotone, with the strange inflections. It’s like [meaningless flowery platitude][meaningless flowery platitude][something everybody knows isn't true][meaningless flowery platitude]][something everybody knows isn't true][meaningless flowery platitude]blah blah blah. Most boring speaker ever.
HoosierHawk:
You’re not getting any better at this.
“Where’s that long list of Australian Medical innovations? Where would the world be without Australian mircle drugs”
You mean like medical penicillin, relenza, cochlear implants, HPV vaccine, antibiotic treatment of ulcers, oversight of the global smallpox eradication, the invention of physiotherapy, spray-on skin and the pacemaker? All australian. If you want to play some more, say the word.
“Yes, I’ve heard of LNG – Very little of the NG we use is liquified”
Take another look at that graph I gave you. “Very little” isn’t how I’d put it.
“why exactly is Europe so concerned about the Russian monoploy, according to you, they can buy it anywhere, anytime”
Yes, they can – but not overnight. And when your energy supplier turns off the tap in the middle of winter, you have a very serious problem. Piped gas is always cheaper than shipping and regasification, and a lot of european countries don’t have access to ports or major shipping routes, so piped gas is a winner over LNG in their case. But for countries like japan, there’s really no option but LNG (and guess where some of it comes from – alaska).
“Where are all these LNG processing facilities that will ship our NG all over the world.”
It’s not hard to google. Look it up yourself. It’s a massive industry. Smaller than oil? Sure. But most industries are smaller than oil.
“The effect is small? What the hell do you think the job of the Fed is? They control the money supply!”
Um, no. That’s not the reason the US dollar is down. Sorry. It’s too big a subject to be explaining here, and you’re not going to get it anyway. Government spending just isn’t that significant, compared with other factors. Government debt isn’t even significant with PRIVATE debt.
“She’s an acknowleged expert – you still aren’t.”
And you are apparently not a patch on either of us.
“Matthew, Palin wasn’t refering to the end of life counseling – she was refering to the “cost effective” decisions that will be made”
That’s call a “lie”. Read what she actually wrote:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090813/pl_politico/26078
She’s quite obviously writing about EOL counseling. Stop trying to deny the obvious.
“China owns all those Greenbacks because Americans are willing to give up their dollars for Chinese goods”
Yes, and I explained (partly) why that is.
“you can’t “peg” your exchange rate – it’s set by the markets.”
When you’re the only one exchanging it, you can definitely set the rate. You might not get customers, but in china’s case they make sure they do by selling their currency at a healthy discount – which customers can then swap for (therefore artificially cheap) chinese produce. Get it?
“which is what Mr. Reich (Clinton’s Sec of Labor) was discussing”
The problem is that Mr Reich is wrong. You CAN save money without cutting off the life support – and my example is to point you at australia, which delivers the same or better health outcomes than the US system at 1/2 the per-capita expenditure (and covers everybody, unlike the US system). EOL isn’t the whole story, that’s where you’re both wrong.
172. HoosierHawk:
posted: What would really blow your mind,is that if Palin had been elected, she was planning on showing up in the Senate everyday, and taking part in debates, as a full member of Senate (and it’s President). Remember, the only restriction to her membership in the Senate is that she doesn’t have a vote unless it’s a tie. But then again, no individual Senator’s vote really matters, unless there’s a tie.
*************************************************************************
You are an unbelievable moron.
I’ll make you a deal. You ignore me and I’ll do the same for you.
Good Lord. Help us.
Monckton Says Secretive Copenhagen Treaty Creates Global Government Tax
“We’re looking at a grab for absolute power and absolute financial control worldwide by the UN and its associated bureaucracies and 700 new bureaucratic bodies,” said Monckton.
Speaking about how such draconian measures were being forced through despite the recent scandal surrounding how key IPCC-affiliated scientists conspired to “hide the decline in global warming, Monckton emphasized how the climate change establishment were still ludicrously attempting to downplay the significance of the climategate emails by merely repeating their already discredited propaganda about global warming.
“What has happened is that the mainstream media has done themselves terrible damage by signing up to this climate nonsense and then by servilely refusing to admit that climategate was happening, admit how serious it was and simply inform their readers of what was actually in these emails,” said Monckton, “Admissions that while they’re telling us, as the Met Office did just today, that today is the warmest decade since records began 150 years ago, privately what they’re saying in the climategate emails is ‘hey look we’ve got a temperature which has been falling and we can’t explain why and it’s a travesty that we can’t explain why’ – so they’re saying one thing to us publicly to maintain the scare that’s making them rich, and that’s what’s called fraud, it’s criminal fraud, and on the other hand they’re saying privately ‘oh dear oh dear we can’t account for the fact that there’s been no warming for the last 15 years’”.Monckton said that the Copenhagen treaty meant America was in “immediate peril” of losing its freedom to a “sinister dictatorship” being formed under the contrived pretext of global warming. infowars.com
NEW! NEW! NEW!
Check out the Copenhagen Document Leaks : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W7vrgW8GTQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94KH-WMZuw0 – Tells how they will get rid of UN and use IMF to tax you!
Protest the False Climate Measurments being used in the Copenhagen Treaty: http://www.gopetition.com/online/32485.html
You mean like medical penicillin, relenza, cochlear implants, HPV vaccine, antibiotic treatment of ulcers, oversight of the global smallpox eradication, the invention of physiotherapy, spray-on skin and the pacemaker? All australian. If you want to play some more, say the word.
I said long list, this one is tiny and mostly BS, involved in something isn’t the same as driving it. You want to put Australian medicine up against the US? Nobody’s buying it, bud. Nobody.
Take another look at that graph I gave you. “Very little” isn’t how I’d put it.
No it’s not how you would put, but you’re full of it. It’s tiny compared to the NG usage, and for good reason. Here’s the facts from the US gov. Do some research. Check out imports/exports/domestic usage.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_top.asp
You may not be aware of it, but Qutar has been making a huge investment in NG to diesel. They have a whole bunch of NG, but no oil. It doesn’t do them a lot of good, they don’t have pipelines. I would love to see the US build similar facilites, but it’s not on anybody’s agenda. When a state like Alaska taps their resources – everybody benefits. Worse for the US than not doing so? You can’t possibly believe your own BS. Gee, Matthew thinks it would be bad for the US to have a cheap plentiful source of natural gas. An unfathomable amount of NG is flaired every day from well heads – no pipelines.
Um, no. That’s not the reason the US dollar is down. Sorry. It’s too big a subject to be explaining here, and you’re not going to get it anyway. Government spending just isn’t that significant, compared with other factors. Government debt isn’t even significant with PRIVATE debt.
You just say things – China is specifically warning the US government about exactly what we are talking about – but they don’t get it either, I suppose. The drop of the dollar was predicted for those specific reasons, and it occurred, just coincidence? Even Soros was betting against the dollar – everybody but you knew what was going on. How much private debt isn’t backed by real assets? What is government debt backed by? Why don’t you tell Californians about your theory about Government debt not being significant?
She’s quite obviously writing about EOL counseling. Stop trying to deny the obvious. I thought you said there never was any death panels, there sure as hell was an end of life counseling provision – so were you full of it then or are you full of it now? Either way.
Ok, explain again how the Chinese sell their own currency at a discount and then take it back on real goods, which gives them a competitive advantage because the goods are artifically cheap because they let you have the currency at such a bargain. You are brilliant!
Take your plan all the way, the Chinese GIVE their currency away and then they can sell everything that anybody wants – who could compete against such a sinister trade practice? Matthew, you continue to impress.
Now while you are on such a role, why don’t you explain what consumes the health care dollars since end of life isn’t the whole story. And why don’t you tell Reich he’s wrong, he’s one of Obama’s very liberal economic advisors at this point. Anybody with a shred of common sense knows that what he said in that four year old speech was dead on, but as he himself said, it’s what an honest politican would admit, but never will.
HoosierHawk:
You’re losing it. You don’t have a drinking problem, do you?
“I said long list, this one is tiny and mostly BS, involved in something isn’t the same as driving it”
There’s no BS in that list – if you want to claim otherwise, please provide your argument with supporting evidence, because I’m calling your bluff. A couple of nobel prizes came out of that lot. Just having the world’s biggest economy doesn’t mean everything is invented in your backyard. Based on GDP or population, the US does contribute its fair share – but so do plenty of other countries. I’m not putting australia on the top of the pile – I’m just responding to your suggestion that other countries don’t pull their weight, which really is BS.
“You want to put Australian medicine up against the US? Nobody’s buying it, bud. Nobody”
On the basis of per-population innovation? Sure, no problem. I’d put britain and europe in that fight too.
“It’s tiny compared to the NG usage, and for good reason”
LNG is about 30% of US NG imports (which is what matters if you’re talking about “energy independence”). It’ll be more than 50% in about 5 years. I spelled that out for other readers who think your bluster hides some sort of accuracy.
“Here’s the facts from the US gov. Do some research. Check out imports/exports/domestic usage. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_top.asp”
Just give me a link, please – I can’t see any “imports/exports/domestic” on that page.
“You may not be aware of it, but Qutar has been making a huge investment in NG to diesel”
You might not be aware of it, but qatar bas been making huge investments in EVERYTHING. That’s why they’re broke and begging for a bailout.
“They have a whole bunch of NG, but no oil. It doesn’t do them a lot of good, they don’t have pipelines”
*shakes head in disbelief*
Qatar DOES have oil, which they export along with LNG. That’s how they get money to fund their stupid island-building projects. Do you actually check ANY facts before posting?
“I would love to see the US build similar facilites, but it’s not on anybody’s agenda”
It’s not cost-effective. If you really think the US should invest in producing expensive fuel just to spite … canada? mexico? … then by all means go ahead.
“Matthew thinks it would be bad for the US to have a cheap plentiful source of natural gas”.
Stop being a bozo.
“You just say things – China is specifically warning the US government about exactly what we are talking about”
China is warning the US about external debt, which includes public and private debt owed to foreign creditors. The Us’ total debt is (I believe) pushing something like 60 trillion – of which 13 trillion is external (which represents nearly 100% of GDP).
“I thought you said there never was any death panels, there sure as hell was an end of life counseling provision”
Which is not a death panel. Now you just look desperate.
“Ok, explain again how the Chinese sell their own currency at a discount”
I’m sorry, but that is actually how it works. Don’t trust me – go read a newspaper.
“who could compete against such a sinister trade practice?”
I agree. And so does most of the world: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/business/global/11yuan.html
“Now while you are on such a role”
I think you mean “roll”
“why don’t you explain what consumes the health care dollars since end of life isn’t the whole story”
Here’s a pie-chart: http://www.kaiseredu.org/topics_im.asp?imID=1&parentID=61&id=358
Running hospitals and providing GPs and specialists is over 50%, but pharmaceuticals are growing rapidly – only exceeded by provision of medical appliances (which could be related to aged care, but not entirely). Nursing home services in that chart are 6%.
“And why don’t you tell Reich he’s wrong”
Give me his number – I’ll call him now.
“he’s one of Obama’s very liberal economic advisors at this point”
I don’t care who he is.
I still don’t think you’re very good at this. And you’re not improving. Do you still like me?
Matthew,
Let’s just take one of your BS arguments and break it down. That way we can actually reach a conclusion.
LNG is about 30% of US NG imports (which is what matters if you’re talking about “energy independence”). It’ll be more than 50% in about 5 years. I spelled that out for other readers who think your bluster hides some sort of accuracy.
In sept of ’09, the US used 1,408,682 mcf of NG, 32,186 mcf was imported as LNG. We also imported 270,704 mcf of NG from Canada and 528 mcf from Mexico.
Let’s see
LNG as a percent of total use – 2.3%
LNG as a percent of imports – 10.6%
Imports of NG as a percent of total use – 21.2%
Gee, Matthew your info doesn’t seem to jive, what a surprise.
Energy independance is about not needing to import fuel, it’s not about the relative percents of this import or that.
LNG is primarily used in the US as a storage method, on the east coast there is very little storage capacity for NG, but during cold weather, demand can go up rapidly, stored LNG is a good option.
BTW, Some Australian working in a British University with an international team, who did some preliminary work on Pencillin that inventually led to someone recovering from an infection hardly makes Australian medicine the envy of the world you seem to think it is. It’s not like he discovered pencillin, or even developed a method producing meaningful amounts. They proved it was effective and safe, in mice. Like I said before, involved in something isn’t the same as driving it.
179 Matthew
Matthew Matthew Matthew . . .
Their ignorance is relentless, isn’t it? We learned to dismiss it during the Bush years. That’s when truth and accountability went out the window. You see, we’re dealing with a new species of conservative here in the U.S. . . . one that gorges on hysteria and self-righteous victimhood jammed down their throats by the idiot liver pate makers at Fox News. They have NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in what is true. They only care about what they can claim, which they typically wrap in “family values” or “patriotism” or “the Constitution” . . . none of which actually shape their actions.
http://wonkette.com/412574/former-gop-missouri-house-speaker-beats-up-chokes-mistress-during-sex
So I suggest you continue your trouncing of Hoosierhawk. He will eventually tire of getting bitch-slapped by you and slink away to other thread where he can trowel out his prideful misinformation on some other gaggle of yahoos.
Hail Matthew. Go PatGund!
Ah, we are making great progress here. Let me help. I think that Sarah should have gotten down and dirty and told the little tyke that being VP was about the same as being a bucket of warm sh*t (ok, she could have said doo-doo…or spit. It would have shown a decent knowledge of history, eh?
jharp – Normally, I skip your posts, but I followed the back and forth on this one about the VP being “in charge” of the Senate.
Please, remember that Palin was responding to a third-grader. Should she say “presides over the Senate”? Meaningless to a third-grader. In charge of the Senate is something a third-grader can understand. It’s simplistic on purpose. It’s appropriate.
What really bugs me is the hyper-partisanship on both sides. We should not be jumping all over little things and ignoring the context or greater issues.
For example, I, personally, do not care if the Prez wants a date-night and runs up a huge bill for using AF1. To me, it’s the cost of keeping the Prez in command at all times. I do not believe he should become a complete hermit to save us some money. I don’t need my Prez going bat-shit stir-crazy in the Whitehouse. He has enough flaws. I don’t need them excerbated.
I would ask that you, jharp, provide the same amount of circumspection. Palin’s response was appropriate in the context of answering the question of a third-grader, would you not agree?
For further contrast, Joe Biden didn’t know in the VP debate that his paycheck of 35 years came from Article One of the Constitution. He insisted that Article One was the executive branch and that the VP is part of the executive branch, not the legislative branch. Yet here he is, the current VP. Are you equally appalled that such an “ignoramus” is the VP, or does Joe just get a pass?
jharp! There you are my friend. See you found a blog that hasn’t kicked you out, yet!
HoosierHawk:
“In sept of ‘09, the US used 1,408,682 mcf of NG, 32,186 mcf was imported as LNG. We also imported 270,704 mcf of NG from Canada and 528 mcf from Mexico”
Reference, please.
“Energy independance is about not needing to import fuel, it’s not about the relative percents of this import or that”
Agreed. But to return this whole argument back to its original point – you don’t need pipes to transport natural gas, and if china wants to pay more for alaskan gas than americans are willing to, there goes your “energy independence”. To stop that, you’ll have to put export barriers in place, which is a very bad idea.
“BTW, Some Australian working in a British University with an international team, who did some preliminary work on Pencillin that inventually led to someone recovering from an infection hardly makes Australian medicine the envy of the world you seem to think it is”
You keep trying to recast what I’m saying. I’m not saying that any one country is the bee’s knees. That’s YOUR claim. So go back to your description and tell me – where were the americans in that story? I see poms and europeans, but no americans.
“It’s not like he discovered pencillin”
That was fleming – a scot.
“or even developed a method producing meaningful amounts”
Erm, no. They did that. Their other problem at the time was a little thing called WWII. They did develop a method, but like so many things back then, the industrialization was done in the US (soon, you can swap that for “china”).
So as you can see – medicine isn’t something that america does and other people buy. Its place in 20th century science is influenced by being the world’s biggest economy, hence the place where so much commercialization first takes place. You definitely do your share – no doubt about it. But get over your quaint notion that everything is invented by americans. It isn’t.
So I repeat: other countries, with well-managed public health systems (including forms of universal coverage) deliver the same or better health outcomes for far less money – and they don’t “free ride”. And (here’s the kicker), our companies don’t get burdened with insane health liabilities (would GM be competitive if it wasn’t charging $2k for every car to pay retirement benefits?)
Which reminds me of this old fave: http://www.sniffpetrol.com/issue062.html#GObj34
At some point I’d like to hear you admit you were wrong about the death panels claim. Then we can start on a couple of your other points.
Palin chickens out of debating Al Gore. You’re right, she’s smarter than I thought.
Now and Then:
There’s a debate I’d be really fired up about watching. Not.
Gore has contributed the oratory, but I really don’t care what he thinks about the science or the economics – I’d rather hear about those from somebody I trust.