March 8, 2012

"Senator McCain, though convincingly played by [Ed] Harris, is a secondary character..."

"... decent and sympathetic to his running mate’s plight but preoccupied with his own problems. Ms. Palin dominates as a disarming egotist whose presumption is balanced by charisma and animal cunning — and in this film, as in life, she has the last smirk."

AND: "Republicans pan HBO Palin movie."

107 comments:

Mark O said...

Explain why this is interesting?

edutcher said...

Color me shocked.

The Crack Emcee said...

The L.A. Times is more convincing:

Never mind the lessons that current political candidates might learn from this moment; here it serves as a powerful and necessary reminder of what Palin represented in the early days following McCain's decision. For many Americans, and not all of them McCain supporters or even Republicans, Sarah Palin provided, if only briefly, an unexpected vision of hope, a chance to see what would happen if a no-nonsense, non-Ivy League mother of five suddenly became a player in national politics.

...Although it would be easy, and perhaps accurate, to portray the choice of Palin as utterly cynical — give the voters a choice between two firsts and hope the white woman wins — but that is not how "Game Change" plays it. McCain comes off close to saintly, with Harris lending him a grave bafflement over Obama's success; trusting his advisors despite his own misgivings, he approves the choice of Palin but remains distant from her, stepping in as things spiral out of control in an almost fatherly way and refusing to place any blame on her, either for her mistakes or for his loss.


THAT's the campaign I saw,...

rhhardin said...

Ms. Palin dominates as a disarming egotist whose presumption is balanced by charisma and animal cunning..

In lit crit, that's known as a Shakespearean pun.

traditionalguy said...

This is actually the Hollywood guys bitter admission that she beat them because she was smarter than they were.

Chase said...

I do not want Sarah Palin for President.

But to see her scare the shit out of liberals and Democrats is absolutely a highlight and joy of life. The narrative about women from Steinem and the progeny fruit of her cunt must be maintained at all costs, truth and reality be damned.

Go Sarah. You make the world a better place by just being willing to stand up to the feminist trash that daily harms our nation.

The Crack Emcee said...

I love the way the NYT let's themselves (and the rest of the media scum) off the hook:

This moose-hunting Alaskan hockey mom was polarizing in 2008, but few would argue that she cost Senator McCain the election; the economy and his own miscalculations did the trick.

Please. McCain predicted the crash all the back in 2006, so when it came he took it seriously by suspending his campaign and doing his duty. It was the media that portrayed that act as the dithering of an old fool - which even Ann, at her most cynical, fell for so she could see what she wanted to see - compared to her calm, cool, collected (and empty-headed) black boyfriend.

It's a betrayal (and a peek into how the shallow accept the media narrative without question) I'll not soon forget,..

shiloh said...

(3+) years ago Nate Silver was convinced mama grizzly would run in 2012 and I kept sayin' it was fairly obvious she was a grifter/charlatan only in it for the $$$. This was before she quit her "high stress" job of governing 700k peeps in AK.

Indeed, she should give McCain a small percentage of her fortune as he made her a media cash cow lol. America, what a country!

To be fair, Nate was probably wishin'/hopin', like the rest of the national media, she would run for president, more than makin' a rational prediction.

Again, palin was a quick study as there was never any "there" there.

You bet'cha!

Hoosier Daddy said...

Amazing the obsession liberals have with this woman.

Weird.

rcocean said...

So the Cable TV company that finances Bill Maher, so he can call Palin a Cunt, now produces a movie attacking her.

Yep, that's surprising. The jokes really on HBO, no doubt they though Palin would be running for President. Little did they understand the deep Republican desire to lose with Mitt, after all, its "his turn".

chickelit said...

Poor Julianne Moore. It's not often that an actress* has to play someone who better looking than she.
_________
*Is actor the new non-gender specific term for for male and female actors?

chickelit said...

Amazing the obsession liberals have with this woman.

Which ugly "actress" wanted to see Palin gang-raped again? I think she played the psycho in "King Of Comedy"

yashu said...

chickenlittle, that was Sandra Berhnard I believe. That was truly loathsome.

yashu said...

typo, Bernhard

edutcher said...

chick, yes, and for some time now; and Sandra Bernhard, who goes beyond ugly, outside and in.

PS According to Fox News, Miss Sarah pulled in the undecideds and kept the election form being a double digit rout.

So Chase is right. She does scare the Lefties out of their minds.

Which is a short trip.

Chase said...

Sandra Bernhard, or as we call her here, shiloh.

I ♥ Willard said...

Sarah Palin... so dumb, so very dumb.

damikesc said...

Hmm, they say former McCain campaign advisors were heavily involved with the book.

I am amazed.

edutcher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
edutcher said...

I ♥ Willard said...

Sarah Palin... so dumb, so very dumb.

Which is why ♥ obsesses about her constantly.

Revenant said...

Is the title meant to be ironic?

Palin's nomination gave McCain a short-term boost, but he had started out losing to Obama, spent basically the entire election losing to Obama, and ultimately DID lose to Obama. Where's the change?

sakredkow said...

the feminist trash that daily harms our nation.

Someday we're going to have to explain to our kids all the crap we wrote.

YoungHegelian said...

@yashu,

The Berhnard performance at the DC Jewish Center in 2008 was a real low point for the American Jewish community, especially its secular wing.

The reports, of course, concentrated on Berhnard's rape threat against Palin. What they didn't mention was the anti-Christian slurs, and worst of all, the audience just yucking it up over the sorry, vile, bigoted mess.

It was a glorious day for every anti-semite in the world, who now had a picture perfect example of not just one "ugly Jew" but a whole room full of them.

When the director of the was asked about Berhnard's performance she replied that "Sarah is in our hearts, and knows what is in our hearts". The only members of the Jewish establishment who spoke up, were, as always, the orthodox. The ADL was missing in action.

I ♥ Willard said...

Which is why ♥ obsesses about her constantly.

Constantly? I think I've posted 2 or possibly 3 comments about Palin in 3+ weeks.

If that constitutes "obsession," then edutcher is definitely obsessed with me.

Revenant said...

McCain predicted the crash all the back in 2006, so when it came he took it seriously by suspending his campaign and doing his duty.

It was a gamble, and I argued at the time that he needed to take that gamble if he wanted to have any chance of pulling ahead.

That being said, I don't think you can blame the press for Americans' rejection of the idea. For starters, it became immediately apparent that nobody in Washington -- not Bush, not Congressional Democrats, and certainly not Congressional Republicans -- was actually looking to McCain for guidance.

To make matters worse, the upshot of all the emergency sessions was the bank bailouts, which were and are incredibly unpopular with voters. Even though Obama voted for them just like McCain did, McCain had been more involved in the process and thus bore more of the blame.

Andy said...

Where does it come down on the "crazy versus idiot versus liar" question regarding Palin?

shiloh said...

Damn, from mama grizzly to Bernhard to an out of the blue shout-out from Chase ?!?

hmm, how many off/topic segues can a palin thread create.

sakredkow said...

Constantly? I think I've posted 2 or possibly 3 comments about Palin in 3+ weeks.

If that constitutes "obsession," then edutcher is definitely obsessed with me.


Ouch!

edutcher said...

Andy R. said...

Where does it come down on the "crazy versus idiot versus liar" question regarding Palin?

What does it matter? Hatman fills the bill around here.

PS ♥ and phx continue their Lefty circle jerk. Embarrassing to see 2 guys acting like that.

PPS ♥ needs to get some new material or people will think he's another manifestation of the bathtub swabbie/some phony folksy schizoid festival.

YoungHegelian said...

@shiloh,

Not really as off-topic as it seems, since we are talking about the performing arts community's reaction to Palin through-out.

Well, except, maybe for Chase's brief love note.

shiloh said...

"Constantly? I think I've posted 2 or possibly 3 comments about Palin in 3+ weeks.

If that constitutes "obsession," then edutcher is definitely obsessed with me."

phx, the key to political blogging is phrasing your response so that any reply makes said disgruntled conservative look like a frickin' fool/idiot.

And it's an ongoing occurrence at Althouse. :D

I ♥ Willard said...

♥ and phx continue their Lefty circle jerk. Embarrassing to see 2 guys acting like that.

Not that it matters much, but edutcher has been told at least twice previously that I'm a "gal" rather than a "guy."

Some folks are quite slow. :(

MadisonMan said...

For starters, it became immediately apparent that nobody in Washington -- not Bush, not Congressional Democrats, and certainly not Congressional Republicans -- was actually looking to McCain for guidance.

Yes. McCain stopped campaigning and went to DC to do what, exactly? Be a Senator -- which is not a Presidential thing to do.

sakredkow said...

♥ Willard is a gal? Really? Hey, babe. How'd you like to go to the show? We could make sweet music together.

Awww. I was only kiddin' baby. You don't have to look at me that way. All I wanted was a kiss. I wasn't gonna hurt ya!

sakredkow said...

Sorry. For a second I was channeling Paddy Chayefsky.

coketown said...

Not that it matters much, but edutcher has been told at least twice previously that I'm a "gal" rather than a "guy."

You're a "gal" of the feminist variety--which is to say a guy with tits. Feminism deluded itself into believing that masculine qualities were superlative ideals of human behavior, and they modeled themselves accordingly.

Snarky antagonism and insufferable, petty bickering used to be the exclusive realm of men. Welcome aboard, I guess.

sakredkow said...

Where were we? Oh, edutcher!

A bug.

shiloh said...

"Some folks are quite slow. :("

Again, he thinks it's "cute" to be deliberately obtuse. It's a grade school flashback, assuming he's still not attending.

wild chicken said...

I'll bet it would really gross them out at the Times to know that a lot of politicians and entertainers are egotists! And narcissistic, and stuff.

Churchill was the worst.

chickelit said...

Not that it matters much, but edutcher has been told at least twice previously that I'm a "gal" rather than a "guy."

I think you're a switch hitter. Hence the confusion.

Nothing personal, mind you.

sakredkow said...

Coketown, chickenlittle. Jeez you boys act like you aren't used to being around women very much.

coketown said...

If anyone is interested in donating, I am beginning production of my 6-part Obama biopic, starring Koko the Chimp as Obama, Hulk Hogan as Hilary, and stock footage of teenage girls during the height of Beatlemania as The Democratic Base.

I understand using an ape to play Obama is as tasteless as using liberal Democrats to portray both Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher, but at least I'm using a smart ape. She knows 2,000 ASL words.

pm317 said...

Cindy McCain was classy and lent supporting words to Palin.

coketown said...

Coketown, chickenlittle. Jeez you boys act like you aren't used to being around womyn very much.

Fixed it for you. Whatever she is, she ain't a woman.

YoungHegelian said...

@Coketown,

f anyone is interested in donating, I am beginning production of my 6-part Obama biopic

Dude, that's just cold!

But, I have to admit, it made me laugh like a sonfabitch when I read it.

sakredkow said...

Coketown, cripes your just old and cranky. You gotta move out of the way. Your ways are going, going, gone.

Get out of the way so the young people have some room. They aren't interested in you how you think.

chickelit said...

Mild dislike or ambivalance towards Palin is common, but PDS is the hallmark of a bigoted gay or feminist, or a Cedarford.

There maybe other phenotypes--please self-identify.

sakredkow said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Henry said...

Key quote from the USA Today link: "There are a lot of important lessons to be learned," [Steve] Schmidt said. "I regret playing a part in a process that yielded someone on the ticket who was not prepared to be president."

I would regret McCain being on that ticket too.

coketown said...

Get out of the way so the young people have some room. They aren't interested in you how you think.

*In my best I Heart Willard impression, with the difference being that I actually have balls to scratch and don't have to feign being a man*

Not that it matters much, but everyone has been told at least twice previously that I'm "25" rather than "old."

sakredkow said...

I dunno Henry. Steve Schmidt gets paid a lot of money, doesn't he? Maybe he makes sense.

Synova said...

Compared to the real Palin the actress (yes, actor, whatev') looks... limp.

Palin has an incredible amount of energy.

sakredkow said...

Yeah. I think you're an old thinker Coke.

You're a "gal" of the feminist variety--which is to say a guy with tits. Feminism deluded itself into believing that masculine qualities were superlative ideals of human behavior, and they modeled themselves accordingly.

Move it old guy!

shiloh said...

"I would regret McCain being on that ticket too."

Rep 2008 hierarchy crowned McCain early on. And in 2012, mittens is the heir apparent.

Such is the conservative conundrum!

The irony of conservative's demi-god, Reagan, not being able to pass muster in the 2012 Rep party notwithstanding ...

sakredkow said...

That generation is dead and spent. They don't have anything to offer us anymore. {{shrug}}

Synova said...

"Steve Schmidt gets paid a lot of money,.."

... and is highly motivated to explain how it wasn't his fault.

I still find it hard to believe that they wouldn't let her go running while she was cramming for debates.

I'm not an athletic person, but by all accounts, people who are athletic and highly driven *need* to have the physical workouts. It's part of their process.

How does someone decide that they, first, have the authority to disallow what a candidate says they need to have, and secondly, shouldn't someone who's career is dealing with driven personalities have known to actually listen to the person they were working with?

YoungHegelian said...

@Henry,

Ah, dear Steven Schmidt!

In DC, among the political class nothing is valued like loyalty. I have often bemoaned that fact, as staff loyalty is often used to cover over many of the fearless leader's sins.

But then I see Mr. Schmidt, and I understand how a lack of loyalty reflects poorly on everyone in the organization, including the tattler.

Mr. Schmidt is a coward. He has never held McCain publicly accountable for the campaign, and McCain was the motherfucker in charge. If he was so upset, what stopped him from resigning?

No, he just whores himself out to the Palin-haters, because, like you know, he's seen her up close, warts and all. He probably hasn't figured out yet that no one ever trusted Benedict Arnold again.

Rusty said...

I ♥ Willard said...
Sarah Palin... so dumb, so very dumb.


Oh the irony! It is thick like brownie batter.

Rusty said...

phx, the key to political blogging is phrasing your response so that any reply makes said disgruntled conservative look like a frickin' fool/idiot.


You should try it then.

The Crack Emcee said...

Revenant,

It was a gamble, and I argued at the time that he needed to take that gamble if he wanted to have any chance of pulling ahead.

At that point he was ahead.

That being said, I don't think you can blame the press for Americans' rejection of the idea. For starters, it became immediately apparent that nobody in Washington -- not Bush, not Congressional Democrats, and certainly not Congressional Republicans -- was actually looking to McCain for guidance.

Oh yeah, like the press had EVER been fair to McCain during the entire election. Stop it. I know what I saw and I saw what Breitbart called the Dem/Media Complex slant an election away from a old racist who was half out of his mind and about to croak any minute.

To make matters worse, the upshot of all the emergency sessions was the bank bailouts, which were and are incredibly unpopular with voters. Even though Obama voted for them just like McCain did, McCain had been more involved in the process and thus bore more of the blame.

Again, media spin. McCain warned us in 2006. Bush warned us in 2005. Where was the acknowledgment of their superior reading of events? It never came because framing the story honestly would've resulted in the tar and feathering of DEMOCRATS during the election - starting with the pencil-necked geek that voted for all of it:

Barack Obama.

The entire 2008 election was a lie, from top to bottom, and, thus, one of the most disgusting political spectacles I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. As a guy who had just got divorced ugly, and after having returned from a bruising battle defending my country politically in France during Abu Garaib, the entire fiasco was a brutal slap on the face to me, personally, and all I thought of my fellow Americans.

People, like Ann, taught me there are those who only pose at being intelligent because they can't be trusted to value anything beyond that pose. There was more-than-enough information out there to let ANYONE know McCain was on top of things, Bush was doing a decent job, and Obama was The Zero we now know - without the media's assistance - but they didn't care. They wanted to look "progressive" more than they wanted to fulfill their responsibilities to their country and I, for one, will never forgive them for that - nor will I forget the lesson:

They are shallow, they are sheep, and they are malleable.

I saw the media do their dirty work alright - that's for sure - but (just like with the Iraq war coverage) they were still, ultimately, responding to the Left's ugly, cynical response to it.

Rusty said...

Not that it matters much, but edutcher has been told at least twice previously that I'm a "gal" rather than a "guy."

Some folks are quite slow. :(




Some gals it's hard to tell.
Just sayin'.

shiloh said...

ok Althouse Republicans, which 2008 wannabe riding in on a white horse would have done better than McCain?

mittens?
Rudy?
Thompson?
Huckleberry Hound?
Paul?
Duncan Hunter lol

And oh the irony that bi-racial, African/American, Satan, the anti-christ, the devil incarnate, wealth distributor, Islamo-Fascist yada yada yada easily led the Dems to the promised land in a country w/a 300/400 year history of racial oppression!

>

And save me the whining of the political media all being in Obama's pocket after (8) years of Republican ineptitude/incompetence/corruption ie cheney/bush.

Cry me a river ...

>

We now return you to mama grizzly, game changer ~ oh wait! :D

Rusty said...

Thank you Mz Althouse and Mr Meade.

Barry Dauphin said...

"animal cunning," eh?

Oh, I see. It's a review from the NY Times so it's OK to use a term like animal cunning to describe a Republican woman in the public eye. Good thing it wasn't Fox News referring to Debbie Wasserman Schultz or Nancy Pelosi with a term like that. Now that would be wrong.

Bender said...

Know this --

Most of the McCain campaign staff moved over to Romney soon after the election.

For all of you Romney supporters, understand that even if he personally was the savior of the universe, he is only one guy, and who he has around him will matter as much, if not more, than himself.

You want to know who it was that circulated all of that unnamed source trashing of Palin from 2009 and 2010? It was the Romney staff made up of McCain ex-staffers. The Steve Schidt types.

The Crack Emcee said...

Oh - and they're doing the same thing, again, during this election - on both sides:

There is no way you can convince me that, if right-wingers wanted Jeremiah Wright's sermons on the table during the last election, somehow there's a reason why Romney's "church" should get a pass during this one.

We, THE PEOPLE, are supposed to vett the candidates - not wait for the media to do it for us. But people like Ann - again - are impediments to that process. Consumed with their own image, and armed with the narrative of "bigotry," the most important issue of this election - an actual cult assuming power in this nation - will be swept under the rug just as the most important topics of the last one were. And once again, when it all comes apart, they'll act like they had nothing to do with it because of the rest of you will still be too pussy to pass judgment.

Even when it all goes to Hell.

Which is why it's bound to, to begin with.

Pussies.

And before any of you decide to step up to defend yourselves, don't - it's an election year:

You're supposed to be defending the nation,...

jeff said...

"The irony of conservative's demi-god, Reagan, not being able to pass muster in the 2012 Rep party notwithstanding "

An impressively idiotic statement. If there was a Reagan out there running, this race would be long over. It's amazing just how someone who could say something like that has the total lack of self awareness to call ANYONE else below average in intelligence.

Revenant said...

At that point he was ahead.

You are mistaken. He suspended his campaign on September 24th. Polls had him behind Obama from late January through the beginning of September, and from September 11 onwards. Basically he got a brief bump from Americans feeling more hawkish on the 9/11 anniversary, but that's about it.

Complete list of poll results here.

Oh yeah, like the press had EVER been fair to McCain during the entire election. Stop it.

I didn't say their were fair to him, I said it wasn't their fault the American people rejected the stunt.

Here is the plain, simple, unvarnished objective truth: McCain's help wasn't asked for, wasn't needed, and wasn't used by anyone involved in dealing with the crisis. It was a political stunt that nobody on either side of the aisle was particularly interested in helping with.

garage mahal said...

Interesting that Romney gave the McCain camp 23 yrs of tax returns for Veep consideration, and McCain picked Palin.

shiloh said...

Again, the big rhetorical question:

Will Rep party operatives let palin speak at the 2012 Rep convention?

Notwithstanding the really big question:

Will Rep party operatives let cheney/bush speak at the 2012 Rep convention?

Revenant said...

easily led the Dems to the promised land in a country w/a 300/400 year history of racial oppression!

Is it 2176 already? That would explain why I'm so tired -- I haven't had a decent night's sleep since early 2012.

MadisonMan said...

I liked Cindy McCain's comment that her husband is more handsome than Ed Harris.

Alex said...

I'd like anyone to show me how Sarah Palin has had an impact on American life. Just show me one tangible thing.

Revenant said...

I'd like anyone to show me how Sarah Palin has had an impact on American life. Just show me one tangible thing.

She turned Andrew Sullivan from "mostly nuts" to "fully nuts".

So... there's that.

Ralph L said...

McCain's help wasn't asked for, wasn't needed
He was a Senator, and he went to his post as a military man would in a crisis. To do otherwise would have been a dereliction of duty.

He was also then the de facto leader of the Republican party, and if he won, would have to implement much of the bailout and its fallout. If he had openly opposed the bailout, it probably wouldn't have passed, and he would have to accept responsibility for whatever happened.

Bruce Hayden said...

Here is the plain, simple, unvarnished objective truth: McCain's help wasn't asked for, wasn't needed, and wasn't used by anyone involved in dealing with the crisis. It was a political stunt that nobody on either side of the aisle was particularly interested in helping with.

Yeh, and we see how that went. All those experts, and it sure looks to me that they were looking after themselves and Goldman Sachs first, and the country fourth or fifth.

I think that the absurdity here was that so many thought that Obama's apparent thoughtful consideration as a response indicated either understanding or interest in the melt down. We now know that it was a pose. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Sure, McCain might not have been at the center, been a key player there, but I think that his instincts were good - that he was willing to sacrifice his dream of the Presidency for the country. Would Obama ever do that? Indeed, would he give up a golf date or ask his wife not to take another elitist vacation on the public dime for the American People? But, McCain was a McCain, third of his name, and willing to make the sacrifice.

Look, I don't think that McCain was all that good of a candidate. But the one thing that he has always been (with the possible exception, but unlikely, exception of Keating) is honorable. Can anyone say the same about Obama?

Michael K said...

"Not that it matters much, but edutcher has been told at least twice previously that I'm a "gal" rather than a "guy.""

Easy mistake to make.

Palin came up through retail politics and would have been a hell of a lot better VP than "plagiarism" Biden. McCain was dead meat until he picked her. I supported him in 2000 but thought he was too old in 2004.

Does anyone think they can name a Republican candidate in 2004, like Rudy for example, worse than Obama has been ?

Jesus !

Revenant said...

Yeh, and we see how that went. All those experts, and it sure looks to me that they were looking after themselves and Goldman Sachs first, and the country fourth or fifth.

You do remember that McCain both endorsed the final plan and voted for it, right? Hell, until the Tea Party put the fear of Adam Smith in him he was STILL defending it well after the election was over.

It was a bipartisan effort between big-government Democrats and big-government Republicans. Bush and McCain were, and are, fully paid-up members of the latter group.

I think that his instincts were good - that he was willing to sacrifice his dream of the Presidency for the country.

Can we get a reality check here? He stuck with it all of two days and left before anything was resolved.

Sep 20: Paulson proposes TARP
Sep 24: McCain suspends campaign
Sep 26: McCain unsuspends campaign
Sep 29: Congress rejects TARP
Oct 3: Congress passes revised TARP, Bush signs it.

shiloh said...

AND: "Republicans pan HBO Palin movie."

Art imitating life or life imitating art? :-P

ok, both!

William said...

Rhhardin makes a shrewd observation about the Shakespearean pun in describing Palin's intelligence as "animal cunning"....It does seem to me that the author of that pun has, herself, limited intelligence. I think Palin is demonstrably more successful--financially, domestically, politically--than most of her critics. She's plenty smart, but just not in a way that those who are afflicted with liberal biases can appreciate.....Liberals, after all, are the kind of people who thought that Stevenson was smarter than Eisenhower, Lenin smarter than Coolidge, and, going all the way back, Napoleon a smarter man than Wellington.....We're all of us wrong about a lot of things, but the liberal mind has absolutely no appreciation of its own limitations and failures. The liberal imagination does not have sufficient breadth to appreciate the drama of Palin.

sakredkow said...

Jeez don't give all that he's smarter than her, she's smarter than him, were smarter than russia jazz.

Palin's smart with her own intelligence. There's smart and Smart.

What's all this nonsense about the liberal imagination? Are we Lionel Trilling suddenly?

shiloh said...

"I think Palin is demonstrably more successful--financially, domestically, politically--than most of her critics."

The same could be said about Spears, Lohan, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, especially since palin quit her strenuous job as AK governor.

"The liberal imagination does not have sufficient breadth"

Indeed, like Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Buffett ...

sakredkow said...

Some of your ideas are old.

sakredkow said...

Some of them weren't good to begin with.

Bruce Hayden said...

You know what is going to be interesting? Which movie does better, this movie about McCain/Palin? or Act of Valor?

Not directly comparable, and that is probably because, no matter how critically acclaimed such a film panning Palin might be, it would likely bomb at the box office outside liberal enclaves. Just like Act of Valor is probably not doing as well in places like NYC and SF as it is throughout the rest of the country.

Of course, it is propaganda. The parent company (Time Warner) has been doing that sort of stuff for a long time (i.e. TW also owns CNN, founded by Hanoi Jane's former husband, and which got the name "Clinton News Network" for its fawning coverage of that Administration). And, they wonder why it has been such a bad investment over the years.

sakredkow said...

The liberal imagination does not have sufficient breadth to appreciate the drama of Palin.

Wow.

shiloh said...

Inane conservative hyperbole is getting pretty deep in this thread, as per usual ...

sakredkow said...

Yes. We have a couple of dramatists who are all fired up about the Liberal Just-My Imagination. 1950s, 1960s I'd say.

sakredkow said...

Well. We're wasting time.

William said...

I think that if Shakespeare were alive he'd be drawn like a moth to a flame by Palin. I don't know if his portrayal of her would be completely sympathetic, but he would find more to her struggles and achievements than animal cunning. Bards exist to sing lays about women like Sarah Palin. (Insert pun here.) The joke is that liberals can only makes jokes about her.......Financially, Snooki makes far more money than Althouse. I would hope that domestically Althouse is doing better, and that her values have led her to what, taken as a whole, can only be considered a more successful life. I note, in passing, that Snooki does seem to have a better understanding of the commerce clause than Althouse.....At any rate, there are many measures of a person, and liberals when they take the measure of Palin are trying to measure energy with a yardstick.

sakredkow said...

@William well Sara Palin is indeed your Rosalind, and you her Orlando. I had no idea how airy your devotion to Palin was. Good on you, it's my favorite comedy.

Sara Palin though! You know, god almighty, I think your genius might actually be better than Shakespeare's.

At the least Stratford or Shaksinthepark should play it that way. It adds a whole entire level of comedy to imagine someone like Sara in the role of Rosalind. They should commission you as well.

sakredkow said...

At least you're literally and romantically in love with Sara Palin. Love like that excuses a lot. You found a legitimate reason for absurdity.

Thank God for love.

William said...

I don't have any kind of crush on Sarah Palin. I like her because of her resemblance to Tina Fey. I just think that there is more to her character and complexities than are dreamt of in a Letterman monologue. Her technicolor vivacity is more typical of one of Shakespeare's (male) heroes in a historical drama than the pale transvestites in his comedies. The fact that you cannot see this is an example of how limited the liberal imagination is.

KCFleming said...

So is HBO trying to commit suicide (Game Change, Bill Maher), or, like the NY Times is it dying because it forgot what business it was in, and really began to believe their own bullshit?

Whatever checks the DNC is writing for propaganda just ain't gonna cover the bills like their old paying customers did. A few top HBO folks will get an ambassadorship for their efforts, but the rank and file are screwed.

I think the only people watching this stupid movie are the ones reviewing it. Shit, it's free in my hotel room, and I'd rather watch the fat man by the pool clip his toenails.

sakredkow said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AlanKH said...

They sure got that right - wait, I thought they said second-rate character...

I'm not inclined to watch a film that claims Palin didn't know Germany's role in the World Wars. (Cue John Belushi in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...)

Um, why would the subject of the World Wars even surface during a presidential campaign?

Matt Sablan said...

"That being said, I don't think you can blame the press for Americans' rejection of the idea. For starters, it became immediately apparent that nobody in Washington -- not Bush, not Congressional Democrats, and certainly not Congressional Republicans -- was actually looking to McCain for guidance."

Which I always thought was odd, since Harry Reid specifically asked McCain to come back, only to lie and say no one wanted him there.

Bush, Congressional Democrats and Republicans all looked to McCain for advice, since he had been right on Freddy and Fannie.

The problem was that the media was more than willing to ignore "Reid turns to McCain for advice" and instead run lies. But, after the fake affair story, that's what most McCain supporters expected.

Paco Wové said...

And another thing Blogger fucked up... "Collapse comments" no longer works -- at least not in Firefox 10.0 -- making scrolling past the trollish circlejerks that much more onerous.

Matt Sablan said...

"Rep 2008 hierarchy crowned McCain early on. And in 2012, mittens is the heir apparent."

So early on he was bankrupt for much of his early run and had to beat out a divided field of Huckabee & Romney. It's like people didn't pay attention to the same 2008 election I saw.

Matt Sablan said...

"The irony of conservative's demi-god, Reagan, not being able to pass muster in the 2012 Rep party notwithstanding ..."

JFK is much, much farther away from the current left than Reagan is from the right. Just saying.

Well, maybe not. JFK was a pragmatist and probably would do as Obama is now, giving lip service while deciding to bomb other countries.

Oh, wait.

Roger J. said...

Fascinating--who watches an HBO movie and then comments on it?

I suspect this flick will have a half life even shorter than Ms Fluke's

I ♥ Willard said...

And another thing Blogger fucked up... "Collapse comments" no longer works -- at least not in Firefox 10.0 -- making scrolling past the trollish circlejerks that much more onerous.

Yes! Which explains why I read your comment. :(

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Palin dared to criticize the left's sacred golden cow.

How dare she.

paul a'barge said...

Althouse is working up to voting for Obama. Again.

sakredkow said...

JFK was a pragmatist and probably would do as Obama is now, giving lip service while deciding to bomb other countries.

Obama's in a pretty interesting and complicated chess game right now, with Iran, and Israel. And some other players as well. It's more like bughouse chess.

Only it's not a game at all is it? It's really pretty dangerous I suppose.

People with a low rating in this game think the answer is merely to be more bellicose, that'll fix them. They aren't fit to play at the highest levels IMO.

I like how Obama's playing so far. We have a real shitty position but it appears he's managing it well. Iran just made a move after a long think and it looks like it was weakening for them.

But please. Talk about what an idiot Obama is and what you or your favorite Republican would do to punish Iran.

shiloh said...

"So early on"

ie Jan/Feb 2008 after McCain won NH primary and then won FL w/the help of Rep hierarchy endorsements. But McCain was actually more likable than mittens. ok, ok, just about anyone is more likable than mittens.

And in mittens defense, he still has to deal w/the revised Rep primary schedule and less winner take all primaries up front. But this in no way dispels the fact mittens is indeed a train wreck, much like palin.

And Matthew et al copious continuing whining is duly noted.

Revenant said...

Which I always thought was odd, since Harry Reid specifically asked McCain to come back, only to lie and say no one wanted him there.

A leading Democrat didn't have the Republican Presidential candidate's best interests at heart? Dang, how was McCain supposed to see THAT coming?

Bush, Congressional Democrats and Republicans all looked to McCain for advice, since he had been right on Freddy and Fannie.

Where do you get this stuff from?