It's like some bizarre nightmare/dream (depending on your party preference). The Dems had Obama, and then... suddenly Sarah.
It's as if some mad right-wing scientists designed and built an android to counter all the things that Obama is. Can she be real? Can it be that there was this actual human entity, on ice in Alaska, waiting for this moment to be thawed out and set loose in the lower 48?
IN THE COMMENTS: Simon:
Ann, remember Jon Turley's line about John Roberts et fam. at the 7th Circuit Bar meeting last year? "Hydroponically raised by Karl Rove in the White House basement" or something to that effect.
Good memory. Here's Turley:
Roberts is a handsome, perfectly groomed man who looks like he was raised hydroponically by Karl Rove in the White House basement.
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55 comments:
Ann, remember Jon Turley's line about John Roberts et fam. at the 7th Circuit Bar meeting last year? "Hydroponically raised by Karl Rove in the White House basement" or something to that effect.
""This woman is an Obama-level political natural.""
I'm tellin ya.
There is nothing more amusing this morning than reading the comments on the New York Times about how terrible Sarah Palin was giving her speech last night.
She is gifted in this arena. In Clinton, Obama territory. Why people can't begin by acknowledging that - whatever their political stripe - is simply an indicator of blindness caused by hyper-partisanship
These are the kind of same people who would immediately begin calling Tiger Woods an amateur if Tiger declared himself pro-life.
They are each too good to be true. Which means, of course, neither is.
Obama stinks. He's no political natural, unless you mean aversion factor.
But perhaps the vibrating-woman factor is being proposed as the new political factor.
Can it be that there was this actual human entity, on ice in Alaska, waiting for this moment to be thawed out and set loose in the lower 48?
Yes, and the "plot" was hatched by 12 evil men. The wanted to call it "The Thong", but they figured that had negative vibes. So they settled for The Thing .
I have many pro-Obama friends and it was startling this morning to read a few comments. How quickly glee turned to horror.
THAT WAS CAPTAIN AMERICA YOU FOOL!
Seems 'Culture War' is today's buzz phrase...speaking of, when was the last time an unwed pregnant teen took the stage at the Democratic National Convention?
Be it Rovian tricks or quirk of fate, this election just got so much more interesting.
Face it. Even Tom Shales, the ultra-liberal TV Columnist for the Washington Post and someone who will never vote for her, titles his positive review of her VP speech "She Winds, She Shoots She Scores".
Which is further proof that critics who are deragatory of Sarah Palin's speech-giving ability are , well, it's impolite to say it, but. . . .
hypocrites
scared
You should do another bloggingheads with Megan. You probably have a lot more to talk to her about now. The last one was good.
You mean, Obama is Austin Powers and Palin a fem-bot? So McCain's Dr. Evil!
It's as if some mad right-wing scientists designed and built an android to counter all the things that Obama is.
I have an alibi.
Megan McArdle wrote....and given that she's married to an eskimo, it's going to be hard to fit her into the narrative of conservative closet racists trying to perpetuate white domination...
I really wish Palin would lose the phony Eskimo references. Her husband Todd is a White man whose GRANDmother was half Eskimo.
If this guy is an Eskimo then Brad Pitt is Idi Amin's body double.
Actually Sarah Palin look part American Indian to me. Not unlike other American pioneer folk heroes.
Megan wrote, "the notion that if a woman is to hold power, she has to make herself non-threatening by emphasizing her domesticity and fertility"
If powerful, then domestic and fertile. This is college-level logic, and just as wrong-headed as many other logical things you learn in college can be hard to let go of afterwards.
Is Hillary Clinton emphatically domestic and fertile, too? Is Condi? (Condi--because I don't know how to spell her real name.) Boxer, Feinstein? Meg Whitman? Would baking cookies and having babies have saved Carly Fiorina?
I always find it painful to watch politicians try to act like they're just folks. Does McArdle think Palin is acting a part?
The Megan line that resonates with me and Victoria is:
We might as well not bother to talk about policy issues in this campaign; we're now in all out culture war, with the coasts and the heartland fighting for control of Ohio.
who do you think wins Ohio? Union member, hockey mom, NRA member, Iraq Mom Palin will be camped there. They've already made her an honorary citizen says my in-laws from Ohio
jdeeripper: if Todd isn't an Eskimo, then Obama isn't black. One drop rule, right?
And it will only get worse (or better): we've seen that Obama either can't think on his feet or is too busy listening to himself to simply say what he means. I'll bet Palin doesn't have that problem.
No whining was heard at the Rep convention. Palin epitomizes the American pioneer spirit which is one of our few remaining and universally loved American icons.
The Dems whined a lot about stuff.
Whiners vs. Non-whiners. Who you gonna call?
One thing she is disturbingly good at is telling a lie with a smile, which got another round of applause. Again last night she said "I told the Congress, Thanks, but no thanks, on that Bridge to Nowhere." She told Congress nothing of the kind, she couldn't have. Congress killed the earmark in 2005, 1 year before she took office!
You know, that's odd, GM. I mean, there is a valid criticism about the bridge to nowhere business, but that isn't it. The earmark was stripped, but the money was still sent.
Here you go, GM. An entirely legitimate criticism is that Palin just diverted the funds to other projects. But the funds were sent.
the catharsis that went missing in the dem convention could be found in her speech. she used obama and co. as a pinata. a sort of reconciliation of the party was there. a big F-U to her critics were there.
MCG
So Congress told her! Since the project was 329 million short, it couldn't be built. This is the 3rd time she's said "I told Congress thanks, but no thanks". Whatever word you want to call it, it's clearly not the truth. Congress absolved itself of the matter in 2005, 13 months before she took office.
Can it be that there was this actual human entity, on ice in Alaska, waiting for this moment to be thawed out and set loose in the lower 48?
I'm a cavewoman. Sometimes when I get a message on my fax machine, I wonder: "Did little demons get inside and type it?" I don't know! My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts. But there is one thing I do know...
I really wish Palin would lose the phony Eskimo references. Her husband Todd is a White man whose GRANDmother was half Eskimo.
In most states, that would be enough to entitle him to run a casino.
Obama-level political natural? She is not level with Obama. Obama is not even on the same plane with her. Last night, she made Obama look like a bumbling, babbling, idiot. Even, Hillary Clinton has to take a back seat to her after last night.
She nailed him on experience, substance, and qualifications. There is real fear in the Obama campaign right now.
I really wish Palin would lose the phony Eskimo references. Her husband Todd is a White man whose GRANDmother was half Eskimo.
I really wish that Obama would lose the phony black man cultural references then too, since he is 50% white stock from Kansas ..or is that Hawaii now?
Do you know that at many native american run clinics if you have 1/8 or more indian "blood" heritage, you qualify for free medical care.
If Todd Palin wants to identify himself as part Eskimo, then can Obama claim to be 50% Caucasian or 50% African depending on his whim or on which way the wind blows?
Doncha just love identity politics?
Re: the Bridge to Nowhere.
There's a world of difference between sending Alaska back some of its tax money and mandating by federal law that they build a specific bridge project.
Pork is a menace not just because federal dollars are being spent on local projects. It's because federal dollars are being spent to benefit certain contractors, certain local politicians and other special interests by earmarking particular local projects that put money in their pockets, while perhaps ignoring the real priorities of that locality.
There's something absurd about the federal government imposing such high taxes, and then turning around and doling out the money to the states for local projects.
Better to reduce federal taxes, and let the states raise theirs and thereby let the states decide which bridges and museums they really need. State taxpayers wouldn't object so much to higher state taxes if their federal taxes were lower.
There's a world of difference between sending Alaska back some of its tax money and mandating by federal law that they build a specific bridge project.
Exactly.
There's something absurd about the federal government imposing such high taxes, and then turning around and doling out the money to the states for local projects.
Not from their perspective, since they take a big cut.
...the vibrating woman factor...
I'll drink to that.
if Todd isn't an Eskimo, then Obama isn't black. One drop rule, right?
Different rules apply under different situations. If Todd's one great-grandparent had been Jewish instead of Inuit, he would have been Jewish enough for Hitler to incinerate, but not Jewish enough for Israel to take in.
So Congress told her! Since the project was 329 million short, it couldn't be built. This is the 3rd time she's said "I told Congress thanks, but no thanks".
I see your argument, but it's pretty weak tea considering that Congress sent Alaska the money. You know, it's kind of like "We're not going to give you $200 Mil for the bridge, but we're gonna give you $200 Mil to do, um, something with." Really, there's a pox on both houses here---and as far as Alaska goes it's pretty much all Republican.
Hitler was stringent but you can't outstringent those rebbes.
Re: Eskimo Todd, I actually agree, I'm just being snarky. Todd is not "obviously" Eskimo so his heritage is really more of a novelty.
Palin is great, but McCain is a Cylon.
Proof here: http://tighroslin.com/
Trey
Heh.
* If Palin had blown the speech, the Obama folks would have said she's NOT ready for Washington.
* Palin was not in office when the bridge "earmark" was sneaked through. Once Congress voted the bridge money as a transportation grant it was no...longer...an..."earmark"!!
Palin took the money and spent it on other projects. So what? The "wasteful" part was the damn bridge to nowhere!!
Name me any governor who turns away appropriated federal money.
* Libs have enshrined the notion of "one drop" in defining black ethnicity. So how is being 1/16 Yupik less authentic?
Dishonest Garage Mahal says "She told Congress nothing of the kind, she couldn't have. Congress killed the earmark in 2005, 1 year before she took office!"
Unfortunately for him, I know how to do searches on Wikipedia, which clears the whole thing up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge
Relevant passage: The project was canceled in 2007 by its supporter [14] Alaska Governor Sarah Palin after Congress forced the funds to be used elsewhere.
Yeah, an honest argument can be made that she wasn't as opposed to the bridge as some of us would have liked, but Garage Mahal is telling an outright lie. The irony being that he was accusing Palin of telling an outright lie.
If this guy is an Eskimo then Brad Pitt is Idi Amin's body double.
I'm pretty sure that 1/8 still qualifies as "Eskimo" under the law.
Megan's still mistaken, though. Democratic complaints of Republican "racism" aren't particularly based in reality in the first place, so why would an Eskimo husband slow them down?
Re Todd's Yupik background--I suspect he is probably enrolled, and most native american tribes determine what "quantum" of blood meets the standard (quantum is their term, not mine)
37,244,000 people watched her last night. She is almost as bright as a star as Obama.
I would like to thank the MSM for creating a star.
Sy said...
37,244,000 people watched her last night. She is almost as bright as a star as Obama.
I would like to thank the MSM for creating a star.
It took Obama almost a year to get 37 plus million to watch him. It took her less than a week.
If you are one-sixteenth Native American, then you can claim it in job applications.
At least that's what I understand. If not, then please correct me.
Obama is fun to listen to once. It's amazing. But then the second time he's run out of rhetorical tricks, and by the third time he's the one that sounds like a cyborg on steroids, repeating the same oratorical gestures, boring the piss out of the proletariat and the patricians alike.
Good luck with that.
Palin is fresh and had some good sharp lines. Let's see how long she remains fresh and sharp.
You have to have a style that wears well with listeners.
Kerry was terrible.
Bush was better.
Gore was terrible.
Bush was better.
Obama is terrible.
McCain is mediocre, or just a shade above.
Hey if Todd has enough of the right blood to open a casino, then he qualifies as a Native American.
In fact I have some friends from South Jersey who want to talk to him about that. I mean he will be bored as second dude in Washington. Just sayn'
Wait, if "First Hunk" isn't "enough" with one grandparent, then under the same standard BHO's children probably aren't African American.
See, their grandfather was not African-American (descendent of slaves) - he was just African.
There mother, like *most* African Americans is not 100% of African descent (for many reasons, most bad, natch, see also Jefferson), so if we get out our Mendellian calculator....
-XC
Do the conservative fans of Palin care that she's not truthful?
Naw, I didn't think so.
Do the conservative fans of Palin care that she's not truthful?
She's a politician, junior.
When you find a scrupulously truthful politician, you be sure and let us know.
reality based community is your source? Really?
Well to be fair, it's a copy of an Obama campaign fact check. But even the first one is a crock. The statement that some politicians say "we can't drill our way out of our energy problem and that drilling in ANWR will have no effect" is simply logically wrong. She said so, but thanks to a substitution of a conjunction she's painted as a liar. And yet, even so, she refrained (prudently) from attaching a specific number to it.
Sy, thanks for the heads-up. I wanted to find out how the ratings turned out:
According to Nielsen, 37.2 million people watched the speech on six networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC). That is just 1.1 million less than watched Obama's speech last Thursday night. Compare that to the estimated 24 million who watched Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden's speech last Wednesday night. You can also compare that to the about 34 million who watched the opening of the Beijing Olympics last month, 32 million who watched this year's Oscars and 31.7 million who watched last spring's American Idol finale.
She was fine. It was a pretty good speech. I liked the energy stuff, like MadMan. I was sort of surprised, since I don't usually (ever) watch this sort of thing, at how she and Giuliani beat Obama like a cheap tom-tom. (I presume the Dems did the same to the Reps.)
A natural?
You know, she did the beauty queen/sportscasting/politicking thing starting, what, 25 years ago?
Who knows if she's a natural? That implies she's not ever done this before.
Actually, in her speech, Gov. Palin did not call her husband an Eskimo. She merely referred to his partial Yup'ik ancestry. I believe it was Megan M. who called him an Eskimo in the story Ann linked.
... and then out of nowhere came, "Hey, I'm Sarah Palin."
And he said, "Aw, damn! Where did YOU come from????"
The whole schtick about Ohio from 2004 is so tiresome and IMO, phony, a wholly artifical attempt at scandal-making by the MSM in the tank for Kerry.
Why do I say that? I can clearly remember from the night of the election that the networks called Pennsylvnia (IIRC) for Kerry very early, when his margin in both percentage and absolute terms was smaller than Bush's lead in Ohio.
WRT Ohio, they kept up the "too close to call" crap in effort to fan the flames in hopes of another Florida style debacle, or to create unjustified festering "we wuz robbed" resentment to last until 2008.
Gov. Palin did not call her husband an Eskimo
Yes. She said this (I have it on DVD-R):
"Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry..."
In her Dayton speech, she was less specific and that's probably why Ann had a more surprised reaction during the RNC speech about the revelation.
(She said he was a "Native Alaskan", which really to your average American can mean he was just born there, unlike her. I think she wanted to emphasise his bi-racial, indigenous roots -- savvy play)
jdeeripper said:Actually Sarah Palin look part American Indian to me.
Yes, she's got that whole Sacagawea vibe thing going for me at least.
Finding the "Republican Obama" seems to be the new parlor game. I remember Frank Rich thought Mike Huckabee might be the Republican Obama. (He still might.) While I am a moderate disgusted with the Republican Party, I do think we do need them to be strong to keep the Democrats from taking us for granted.
The way government should be is that they are always working hard for our vote.
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