Althouse: "I need NOW’s defense, like a fish needs a bicycle."

March 25, 2011

"I need NOW’s defense, like a fish needs a bicycle."

Sarah Palin's joke writers are better than Bill Maher's.

178 comments:

Anonymous said...: Bill Maher is a dumb twat.

How in the hell does this guy make a living?

He's a comedian who's never been funny.

And, he's an awful, sanctimonious scolding leftist.

He is almost as awful as Michael Moore.

What an disgusting twat!; 3/25/11, 8:31 AM
Joaquin said...: I seriously don't think she has "writers"
Whether you like her or not, she's pretty candid.; 3/25/11, 8:32 AM
rhhardin said...: Fish needs a bicycle is a feminist slogan.; 3/25/11, 8:34 AM
rhhardin said...: Calling somebody a twat is self-censorship. The idiom is cunt.

Both are part for the whole, but the latter is in addition a dirty word.; 3/25/11, 8:35 AM
Milwaukee said...: Sarah is awesome, because she isn't full of herself, as Bill Maher is, as George Carlin was. The left doesn't get it. I didn't realize Bill Maher employed joke writers. Unless of course demeaning ridicule and scorn are humor now.; 3/25/11, 8:36 AM
Bob Ellison said...: The really sad part of all this is that some fish actually do need bicycles. Those few, rare fish go wanting, and we keep resurrecting their plight as though it's a joke.; 3/25/11, 8:37 AM
ricpic said...: Writers my foot. Sarah's a witty gal in her own right.; 3/25/11, 8:41 AM
vet66 said...: Shame on NOW and Bill Maher and all the other misogynists in our culture who use sexual innuendo to push their cause. I would expect this sort of behavior in a third world Islamic culture. Conservative women have rightly decided to not take the bait and ignore the folks who violate most, if not all, EEOC regulations that would get the rest of us fired from our jobs if we did the same.; 3/25/11, 8:41 AM
traditionalguy said...: That was a smooth move by Sarah who is suddenly using Bachman's attack style to position herself as the less angry and shrill conservative. Sarah is getting in her shots while managing to appear as a kind person. The independent voters don't want a harsh woman as President. But they will accept a good hearted and strong woman who has guts to fight for the right.; 3/25/11, 8:44 AM
Anonymous said...: The think about being a vacuous know-it-all is that eventually somebody calls your bluff.

Bill Maher has been shown up by the best and the brightest, but he doesn't seem to know, or if he does know, he doesn't feel any normal shame.; 3/25/11, 8:45 AM
bagoh20 said...: I continue to see on a daily basis people insulting Palin or her children in the vilest sort of ways. I instantly lose all respect for that person and it cancels any appreciation I may have had for their talent, and Maher never had any talent. It's a tell that you are not smart and not funny. Seriously people, if you think you want to insult the Palins to get a laugh, just don't. It's completely lame, especially now after watching her be right and influential on nearly every issue for two years as her detractors watch their sand castles crumble around them. Attacking the Palins shows that you think you are superior to that family. Think that over for a minute first.; 3/25/11, 8:47 AM
Bill said...: I don't think Bill Maher was even making a joke, just pointing out the obvious. Sarah Palin is about as intelligent as a house plant.; 3/25/11, 8:50 AM
kent said...: Sarah Palin's joke writers are better than Bill Maher's.

Hell, so were Goering's.; 3/25/11, 8:50 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: How come they never attack Joe Biden, the absolute dumbest man in America?

Biden makes Palin look like a member of Mensa.; 3/25/11, 8:51 AM
rhhardin said...: I think dumb cunt would be fair criticism for Palin.

Maher's mistake was cleaning it up.; 3/25/11, 8:52 AM
Hank Rearden_WI said...: Calling Sarah a tw*t, or caling me a teabagger does much more to define their character than it does to defame ours.; 3/25/11, 8:52 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: Ace pointed out a few days ago that Bill Maher has never really told jokes:

Like Margaret Cho, he's just always specialized not in jokes so much as, I don't know what to call them -- sentences. He said sentences. The audience agreed with many of these sentences. They didn't like the people Maher didn't like and so clapped at sentences calling other people stupid.

But they weren't jokes. Most jokes are sentences, but most sentences are not jokes.; 3/25/11, 8:55 AM
Franklin said...: Sarah Palin's biggest lie is her insistence that she IS a fish. She is not a fish, not really, she's a type.

- paraphrased from Heather Malik, the Canadian, upright garbage pile; 3/25/11, 8:57 AM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

I think dumb cunt would be fair criticism for Palin.

Maher's mistake was cleaning it up.

The fact that you would even use the word, publicly, says little about you that's good.

I wouldn't use it to describe Hillary or Angela Davis...; 3/25/11, 8:58 AM
sonicfrog said...: What I don't get is why Maher is even taken seriously by anyone. He lives in some alternate universe. Just the other day he said this about the Democrats and Obama:

[he] “never blames the Republicans for anything, he’s their best friend…”!

Yes... I had to do a double-take!

Maybe I have a very short memory or something, but… if I recall… wasn’t blaming the Republicans for everything THE ENTIRE campaign strategy for Democrats in 2010???

Obama never blamed the Republicans for the debt, the mortgage crisis, the financial crisis, deregulation of the banks, the wars, and… Gosh, what am I leaving out???

And wasn’t there some campaign speech given by Obama about not putting the car in “R” after driving into a ditch??? OK, logically, if you’ve driven into a ditch, and you’re being pulled out, wouldn’t putting the car in “D” be the move that puts you right back into said ditch???? The rhetoric never really made sense… but that’s politics I suppose.

The funny thing is, the message that everything was the fault of the Republicans DID penetrate the voting consciousness! Look at this headline!

“Americans Blame Bush, Not Obama, for Deficit, Jobs, Afghan War”

Seems pretty clear to me general public got the message.

So, given that Spitzer and Maher are flat out wrong, alternate universe type wrong, and Obama DID indeed blame Republicans for everything, AND convinced the general public that this was the case, there are two ways you can look at the devastating defeats suffered by the Democrat party in November:

(A) Either the Democrats and Obama have proven themselves to be even more inept than the Republicans,

or

(B) You can blame voters for being STUPID!!!! A winning strategy to be sure.

Well, at least we’re clear on one thing – Democrats such as Maher and Spitzer and Tina Brown of Newsweak think you’re all stupid!; 3/25/11, 8:59 AM
Anonymous said...: I've wondered why Ann Coulter is (used to be?) friends with Maher.

It boils down to success. You might not think he's funny, and that's fine, but he makes many millions of dollars and has sex with supermodels to the point it's a knock against him. Roissy would say Maher is WINNING.

I think Iowahawk is much funnier than Maher, but by no standard could Iowahawk be considered a more successful comic. Same with the Ace O' Spades.

In the end, we can encourage people like John Fund and Breitbart to show Maher's audience what a mean-spirited, midgetty-gnome Maher is, and Maher might be silly enough to again let George Will explain basic facts (Brazil isn't off oil) in a pedantic manner to him, therefore showcasing Maher's idiocy, but that's about it.; 3/25/11, 9:00 AM
rhhardin said...: You have to respect the idiom.

Palin's trading on being a woman, and is not too bright, at least in her judgment of the audience and probably further.

"I am, as you can see, a woman, and I have these manly ideas."; 3/25/11, 9:02 AM
Bill said...: sonicfrog,
Obama never said that about the car--you've got it completely wrong. His analogy was actually quite brilliant, even if mistaken.; 3/25/11, 9:03 AM
KCFleming said...: Palin's comment was pretty damn smart, turning Steinem's feminist riddle on its head.; 3/25/11, 9:05 AM
kent said...: I think dumb cunt would be fair criticism for Palin.

No. This -- just so you won't publicly humiliate yourself again, the next time this topic comes up in polite conversation -- is what a "dumb cunt" looks like:

Chris Matthews Swoons Again: 'Everything' Obama's Done 'Has Been Good for This Country'

Find anything Palin's ever written or uttered to match that one for sheer, unbridled imbecility... and: you'll be the stone first to do so, guaranteed.; 3/25/11, 9:06 AM
bagoh20 said...: See that's what I'm saying. Rhharding, in one sentence, just crapped all over everything he's been trying to do here for years. Such a common unforced error, or maybe it is forced.; 3/25/11, 9:07 AM
Bill said...: kent,
Have you even watched her interview with Katie Couric? Palin is like the grown-up version of Miss Teen South Carolina. I've never seen someone stumble through an answer so badly, and it certainly wasn't a "gotcha" moment. Couric may have thrown a bunch of those at Palin, but the interview wasn't one of them.; 3/25/11, 9:08 AM
kent said...: Shorter Ren: "Hate
Emmanuel Goldstein! KILL Emmanuel Goldstein!"

*yaaaaawwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn*; 3/25/11, 9:12 AM
Milwaukee said...: Obama abused the car-in-the-ditch story. I doubt he has ever helped anybody unstick a stuck car. Wouldn't want to get his hands dirty or run the risk of getting a scratch. He would speak of getting down in the mud, of getting dirty, of having to breathe all that dust. What is it? Muddy or dusty? Mud requires moisture while dust signals the absence of moisture. Nice picture but dissonant physics.

Obama did say that the country that invented the automobile wasn't going to let the American auto industry go bankrupt, which was news to the Germans. Obama is just so articulate, anything is says is worshiped by the left. As others have pointed out, Obama didn't put together a coalition on Libya: he has us joining an existing coalition. He didn't persuade others to action, they have been waiting for him to join.

Does Obama employ joke writers? When do they work?; 3/25/11, 9:13 AM
Bill said...: *Yawn* is right. I think the fact that a lot of you think Palin is actually intelligent is, well, hilarious. The woman is an absolute moron. Bill Maher is obnoxious, but this comment is pretty much completely true. We on the left are really hoping she's your nominee; it certainly would be an easy reelection campaign for Obama.; 3/25/11, 9:14 AM
rhhardin said...: Cunt used properly Barthelme

Read the whole thing.; 3/25/11, 9:14 AM
kent said...: Does Obama employ joke writers? When do they work?

1.) MSNBC; and --
2.) 24/7; 3/25/11, 9:15 AM
Bill said...: kent,
Also, love the link you put up. Damn all that liberal media bias! I'm guessing you actually find Faux News to be fair and balanced?; 3/25/11, 9:16 AM
KCFleming said...: It ain't gender.

Being a mere few IQ points above full retard only hurts non-Democrats.

Biden, for example.
Scarlett Johansson.
Joy Behar.
Brad Pitt.
Barbara Boxer.
Jimmy Carter.
Al Gore.
Shirley Maclaine.
Dan Brown.

On the left, colossal stupidity is a cause for worship.; 3/25/11, 9:17 AM
Christopher in MA said...: "Sarah Palin is about as intelligent as a house plant."

And yet, I imagine she knows there are 50 states.

And that Austrians do not speak Austrian.

And what comprehensive coverage on your insurance means.

And how to pronounce "corpsman."

Palin may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, Ren, but if you want to compare her to a house plant, you might want to consider whether your Little Black Jesus' IQ is also room temperature.; 3/25/11, 9:17 AM
kent said...: kent,
Also, love the link [SNIP]

No actual refutation, eh? Gotcha.; 3/25/11, 9:17 AM
Rich B said...: I thought for sure that this post would attract AL, Garage, and Jeremy, but alas, you only got the second-stringers.; 3/25/11, 9:20 AM
Bill said...: Christopher,
She didn't know Africa was a continent. She said we had to stand with our "North Korean allies." She made up more words than Bush (an impressive feat). She doesn't (most likely can't) read. She doesn't know any other Court case except for Roe. Hell, she even let herself be prank called--and proceeded to look like the idiot that she was.; 3/25/11, 9:20 AM
rhhardin said...: Nobody said Palin is dumber than Obama. I don't know anybody who's claimed that.

It's just that not everybody on the right likes Palin's act.

Getting things right counts for a lot with some people.; 3/25/11, 9:20 AM
Bill said...: Kent,
I have no reason to refute something that's true. But still, I found the website hilarious--all that damn liberal media bias. And still, I'm guessing you sit on your biased-ass and watch Fox News, which is the worst of them all.; 3/25/11, 9:22 AM
kent said...: I have no reason

Granted.; 3/25/11, 9:23 AM
Bill said...: Kent,
Where do you get your news from?; 3/25/11, 9:24 AM
Palladian said...: "His analogy was actually quite brilliant, even if mistaken.."

Brilliantly mistaken is a wonderful summation of the Obama administration.

Sarah Palin is the Barack Obama of the right.; 3/25/11, 9:26 AM
Christopher in MA said...: "She doesn't (most likely can't) read."

Ah. My mistake. You don't have a point. You're a troll. Carry on, then.; 3/25/11, 9:28 AM
kent said...: Where do you get your news from?

Can't make this thread about me, in your flailing attempt to regain intellectual footing. Sorry.

You're too slow to dance with, kitten. Step up the pace, or give someone else a crack at your spot.; 3/25/11, 9:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Ren, you don't strike me as particularly bright.

So, what are you talking about?

Perhaps you ought to read a book or two.; 3/25/11, 9:29 AM
sonicfrog said...: Ren said:

Obama never said that about the car--you've got it completely wrong. His analogy was actually quite brilliant, even if mistaken.

What?

Quote:

“I also want to make a simple point — not to belabor this analogy,” he said, “but when you want to go forward, what do you put the car in?

And this time the audience got involved. "D!" the crowd shouted. “D,” Obama replied.; 3/25/11, 9:29 AM
Bill said...: Kent,
I'm now going to assume it's somewhere much, much worse than Fox News. Your refusal to answer the question tells me that you know wherever you go has an absurd, right-wing tilt...which certainly is no different than most people on here.

And please, the Obama of the right? Say what you want about his decisions, but Obama is actually intelligent. I'll take a Harvard Law Grad over some dumb buffoon who barely made it through college.

Still, we're really hoping she runs. What a fun, absurdly easy election campaign it would be for the Democrats.; 3/25/11, 9:31 AM
kent said...: Perhaps you ought to read a book or two.

Socks don't "read," per se. They just... chant.

"Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm."; 3/25/11, 9:32 AM
Bill said...: sonicfrog,
You need to watch/read the entire analogy. His point was that, after getting the car out of the ditch, you don't hand the keys over to a group of people who want to put it back in reverse. If you push a car out of a ditch and then put it in reverse, it's going to go back into the ditch. I fail to see how this is confusing you.; 3/25/11, 9:32 AM
kent said...: I'm now going to assume

The Ren "argument," in perfect miniature. ROTFLMAO!!!!

Nnnnnnnnnnext...?; 3/25/11, 9:34 AM
Bill said...: kent,
Whenever you're ready to answer, go ahead. You've already linked to Michelle Malkin and some random "LIBERAL BIAS" media website. Obviously, you have no interest in getting any sort of news or information without an extreme conservative slant.; 3/25/11, 9:35 AM
Bill said...: Also, you follow a Palin for President blog? Like I said--we're all really, really hoping she runs. Easy victory for the Dems.; 3/25/11, 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: I fail to see how this is confusing you.

What is the evidence of this incredible intellect you're gassing about!

You seem to be the usual jackass.

You've never really had anything to say on this blog except:

You're a bunch of right wingers!

Or, the ever popular:

Faux Noise! Faux Noise!

So, you don't have anything of any substance to say. This blog has a couple of dozen fruitcakes who repeat those two idiot remarks endlessly.

So, you're just the usual idiot. There's a website out there that classifies commenters according to type.

You're EGO. The main point of every one of your posts is:

Look at me! Look at me!

So, once again, idiot, where's the evidence of your superior intellect?; 3/25/11, 9:37 AM
TMink said...: Yeah RH, but Palin is not sexually attracted to little girls like some people. Glass houses pal.

Trey; 3/25/11, 9:38 AM
kent said...: kent,
Whenever you're [SNIP]

Second consecutive failed attempt at making thread about me, noted (and duly snickered at).

You surely do suck at this. Just an observation.; 3/25/11, 9:39 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: You need to watch/read the entire analogy. His point was that, after getting the car out of the ditch, you don't hand the keys over to a group of people who want to put it back in reverse. If you push a car out of a ditch and then put it in reverse, it's going to go back into the ditch. I fail to see how this is confusing you.

And you find this analogy brilliant, do you?; 3/25/11, 9:39 AM
Bill said...: shoutingthomas,
Are you telling me that if you push a car out of a ditch, putting it in reverse won't make it go back into the ditch? Really, this is a stretch, even for someone like you.; 3/25/11, 9:39 AM
TMink said...: Palin is completely different from Obama. He is smart and sophisticated, she is not. She has a moral compass and values the truth, he does not. He presents as much slicker and can sell you snake oil while she would not even peddle the stuff.

Style, meet substance.

Trey; 3/25/11, 9:40 AM
Anonymous said...: shoutingthomas,\

Are you telling me that if you push a car out of a ditch, putting it in reverse won't make it go back into the ditch? Really, this is a stretch, even for someone like you.

So, you concede that you have nothing to say?

That's been obvious.

At least that post was minus the usual "You're a bunch of right wingers!" or "Faux Noise" screeching.

You left that out.

What, again, is the evidence of your intellectual brilliance?; 3/25/11, 9:41 AM
Paddy O said...: Maher insults Palin. Palin responds. Comments use Couric's interview as evidence of Palin's intellect.

Hi, I'm wondering how I stumbled into a thread from 2008.

Stupid Blogger, now it's messing up the space-time continuum.; 3/25/11, 9:46 AM
bagoh20 said...: "Where do you get your news from?"

My kitchen window. Everything else is people making stuff up, more or less.; 3/25/11, 9:58 AM
roesch-voltaire said...: These days it seems right and left like to point out the "limpness" of the other in an attempt to project the macho war image required by so many. The new twist on Palin is that she is such a macho/top dog that the office of President is below her. Bow wow!; 3/25/11, 9:58 AM
Milwaukee said...: And please, the Obama of the right? Say what you want about his decisions, but Obama is actually intelligent. I'll take a Harvard Law Grad over some dumb buffoon who barely made it through college.

Sorry Ren, but you have disqualified yourself on grounds of intellectual dishonesty. Our President of the Harvard Law Review wrote some pretty brilliant stuff, didn't he? Perhaps you should give quotes from those to prove his intelligence. My guess is that the faculty at Harvard figures the admissions committee has done all the hard work, and their job is to present the material, not to flunk people.

Palin has demonstrated that she can overcome failure. Obama never has. "It is easy to score when you're born on third base." Obama has had his path eased for him. There are lots of ways of being a dumb buffoon.

A person who has "barely made it through college" has made it through college. People weren't bending over back wards to give Palin breaks when she was in school.; 3/25/11, 9:59 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: And the best part is she ain't got no joke writers!; 3/25/11, 10:00 AM
sonicfrog said...: Ren, you said:

"Obama never said that about the car"

I know that the metaphor started with keys when he first introduced it, but, the story evolved to include the "D" and "R" bits, as is demonstrated by the DIRECT QUOTE.

Now, I think where you're getting hung up is whether you pull or push a car out of a ditch. Obama would sometimes say push, other times it would be pull.

Regardless, lets examine the analogy. I think we can agree that the economic crash of 2008 was no little pot hole; this was a BIG ditch! But this is where real world experience comes in. In the real world you almost never "push" a car out of a ditch, you pull.

Why?

Two reasons.

(1) If you drive a car into a ditch at any speed, it goes in nose first. Because the front end is where the engine is at in most cars, that weight causes the front end to wedge into the ditch. This makes pushing it out impossible.

(2) If the car was driven off the road into the ditch, and you push the car out of the ditch... Oh, you're on the wrong side of the ditch! The road is on the other side!!!!

No wonder the economic recovery is going so crappily. We're not on the road to recovery, we're stuck in the field of economic stagnation! Good going Democrats!!! :-); 3/25/11, 10:01 AM
PaulV said...: rhardin, using that slogan against the liberal fascists of NOW is humor.; 3/25/11, 10:04 AM
kent said...: What, again, is the evidence of your intellectual brilliance?

Good heavens, Thomas... you've actually struck the poor, dim brute dumb.

I hereby move to have your birthday legally declared a federal holiday.; 3/25/11, 10:05 AM
sonicfrog said...: PS. I live in an area where ag is king, and there are lots of ditches around here. I've never driven into one, but it happens quite a bit. They NEVER EVER push a car out of a ditch. It is always pulled out, with a tow truck.; 3/25/11, 10:13 AM
Unknown said...: The Lefties are afraid of Miss Sarah because she's a self-made woman (yes, I've said it here before) and they know they can't browbeat her into submission the way they can the "feminists" who are nothing but the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Democrat Party.

She beats them with their own arrogance every time and they can't lay a glove on her.

Ren said...

I don't think Bill Maher was even making a joke, just pointing out the obvious. Sarah Palin is about as intelligent as a house plant.

The only thing obvious is that only one less intelligent would stoop to that level in attempting to demean her.

Churchill and Bernard Shaw would actually have something intelligent to say, but Maher (and Ren) haven't the mind for anything better.

I'd say, "Takes one to know one", but that gives them more credit than they deserve.; 3/25/11, 10:14 AM
X said...: Bob Knepper, call your wife NOW!; 3/25/11, 10:21 AM
Aridog said...: Regarding the car/ditch analogy, I am surprised at how many people, apparently, back in to ditches in reverse gear. Who knew?; 3/25/11, 10:23 AM
Michael K said...: The hatred of Sarah Palin by the left, as demonstrated here, is one of her assets. She did make a hash of the Couric interview. There were two reasons, I suspect

The McCain campaign had kept her from interviews in friendlier circles and the McCain staffer who set up the interview is a personal friend of Couric. That interview was also heavily edited and it would be good to see the out takes.

Palin has said she was disgusted by the "What do you read" question but had not been coached on what to do when you are asked a stupid question.

She is a more polished TV personna now but I don't think she is going to run unless the field self destructs.; 3/25/11, 10:30 AM
bagoh20 said...: "The new twist on Palin is that she is such a macho/top dog that the office of President is below her. Bow wow!"

Palin hasn't gained so much as the Presidency has lost stature.; 3/25/11, 10:30 AM
sonicfrog said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/25/11, 10:30 AM
bagoh20 said...: What does it mean that you have to go back to a 3 year old interview to make your point? Has Palin been gone the whole time? I can show Obama being stupid daily.

BTW, Palin ran for VICE President. Obama IS the President. Holy shit! Is that true? How the hell did that happen?; 3/25/11, 10:35 AM
sonicfrog said...: And Ren, here you go!

The first time President Barack Obama used the metaphor at a Democratic fundraiser in April, he spent exactly four sentences on it: “And yet, after driving our economy into the ditch, they decided to stand on the side of the road and watch us while we pulled it out of the ditch,” Obama said at the Los Angeles event for Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. “They asked, ‘Why haven't you pulled it out fast enough?

Note he is QUOTED as saying "pulled" TWICE. You said:

Obama never said that about the car--you've got it completely wrong. His analogy was actually quite brilliant, even if mistaken.

I love politics. I love the game! (hate the stench though). Because I blog about politics, I pay close attention to these things. I got it completely right. I think a retraction is in order.; 3/25/11, 10:36 AM
bagoh20 said...: Being from Western PA, I've seen a lot of cars slide into icy ditches. Yea, they usually go in front first and come out backward. Going forward usually just gets you more stuck. So yea, the analogy works, but the opposite of how Obama meant it.; 3/25/11, 10:39 AM
PaulV said...: Ren, why has Couric & CBS refused to release entire interview with Palin? Could it have have dishonestly edited?
Why did Gibson not know that there were several Bush doctines? Is he that stupid or did he want to do a gotcha interview. I suspect you are too stupid to try to answer.
Are you too dum that you need to out car in R to get out of a ditch?
Obama surely is which explains why economy has not recovered as he gave taxpayer money to his supporters.; 3/25/11, 10:43 AM
jerryofva said...: ren:

The Couric interview was edited and rearranged to make her look dumb. They juxtaposed her answers with different questions. Unlike Andrew Breitbart and John O'Keefe who post unedited video, CBS hides the complete interveiw from public sight so they can fool idiots like you.

Quick question: Who said "I can see Russia from my front porch"; 3/25/11, 11:01 AM
vbspurs said...: ""I need NOW’s defense, like a fish needs a bicycle.""

Love it. Just love it. Unfortunately, I think moderates don't like back-talky politicians. This is the problem.; 3/25/11, 11:04 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I don't think Bill Maher was even making a joke, just pointing out the obvious. Sarah Palin is about as intelligent as a house plant.

I love the irony of people like Ren parroting "Palin is stupid" with no reasoning behind it. If you ask him/her why they think this is so, they sputter ......"Just because I say so.!!!" with no evidence. OR, their evidence of Palin's stupidity are quotes from Saturday Night Live and other things taken completely out of context.

If Ren is a man, I'm guessing he is threatened by Palin's sexuality in the same way that the dry prune feminists are threatened by Taylor's sexuality (see other threads).

I'm not claiming that Palin is a genius, however she seems to be intelligent and clever. Unpolished, to be sure, but not stupid.

I would rather have an honest unpolished politician than the manufactured politician that we have now in the White House. Obama does not strike me as being very bright or smart. Polished and shiny, but not really very intelligent.

Ren should bring in Stimpy for back up.; 3/25/11, 11:10 AM
Fen said...: The narrative has always been that the Republican is dumb. Its the same script they used for Reagan and Bush.

It works because the Democrats like Ren are stupid enough to keep swallowing it every time its brought out.

So its ironic to hear him whine on and on about "Faux" news. Ren is too shallow to see that he is what he hates - a little eichmann who's easily misled by the MSM.; 3/25/11, 11:18 AM
cubanbob said...: Ren said...
I don't think Bill Maher was even making a joke, just pointing out the obvious. Sarah Palin is about as intelligent as a house plant.

3/25/11 8:50 AM

Compared to Obama bin Biden she is a veritable rocket scientist. The good thing about the Obama bin Biden (Mis)Administration is there is simply no possibility of ever electing another president and vice president this stupid and arrogant. The laws of the universe preclude this. Folks we have hit bottom. The good news is come November 2012 we can only start rising.; 3/25/11, 11:20 AM
Anne M Ford said...: No blood for oil!!! Get out of Libya now!!!; 3/25/11, 11:21 AM
cubanbob said...: rhhardin said...
I think dumb cunt would be fair criticism for Palin.

Maher's mistake was cleaning it up.

3/25/11 8:52 AM

And Obama bin Biden are two stupid limp pricks. What else is new? Given a choice between two limp pricks or one feisty cunt, I'll go with the feisty cunt in a heart beat.

As for Maher, Stalin could wipe the floor with him in a stand up comedy shoot-out.; 3/25/11, 11:26 AM
rhhardin said...: And Obama bin Biden are two stupid limp pricks. What else is new? Given a choice between two limp pricks or one feisty cunt, I'll go with the feisty cunt in a heart beat.

Why not work to open up better choices this time?

A lot of posturing has to be cleared away.; 3/25/11, 11:29 AM
jerryofva said...: Fen:

The dumb Republican/brilliant Democrat has been a theme since the Eisenhower/Stevenson matchups in the 50s. You know the brilliant Stevenson versus the bumbling dumb general. Except the "brilliant' Stevenson was a poorly read, academic mediocrity, Chicago machine controlled Governor while the dumb general somehow managed to run the most complex military operation in history. Go figure.; 3/25/11, 11:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Except the "brilliant' Stevenson was a poorly read, academic mediocrity, Chicago machine controlled Governor while the dumb general somehow managed to run the most complex military operation in history. Go figure.

It's easy to figure out.

For liberals, great ideals and Utopian visions are proof of intellectual acumen. Doesn't really matter whether those ideals and visions can possibly be implemented.

For liberals, accomplishment in the real world is the standard.

Depends on which you prefer.; 3/25/11, 11:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Let me try that again:

It's easy to figure out.

For liberals, great ideals and Utopian visions are proof of intellectual acumen. Doesn't really matter whether those ideals and visions can possibly be implemented.

For conservatives, accomplishment in the real world is the standard.

Depends on which you prefer.; 3/25/11, 11:44 AM
cubanbob said...: rhhardin said...
And Obama bin Biden are two stupid limp pricks. What else is new? Given a choice between two limp pricks or one feisty cunt, I'll go with the feisty cunt in a heart beat.

Why not work to open up better choices this time?

A lot of posturing has to be cleared away.

3/25/11 11:29 AM

Who knows who the republicans will nominate. Other than Pat Buchanan (if he is still a nominal republican) it is impossible for the republicans to pick a worse candidate to run for either president and vice president than Obama and Biden. Even Palin is infinitely better than those two and she would be at lower end of the probable candidate scale. Any one is better than Obama bin Biden. Pick any name at random from the phone book and you couldn't do worse. Jimmy Carter can now die a happy man. He will no longer be considered the worst president in the last 70 years.; 3/25/11, 11:48 AM
rhhardin said...: I was suggesting a clearing away of posturing not to beat Obama but to get some good candidates.

The scandal over Maher saying twat is something to be cleared away.

Palin isn't a victim of it; if anything it's accurate, just badly phrased owing to Maher's cowardice in the face of different posturing. He thought he'd get a pass from feminists.

None of it matters except that posturing has taken over the entire field of political debate.; 3/25/11, 11:56 AM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

Palin isn't a victim of it; if anything it's accurate, just badly phrased owing to Maher's cowardice in the face of different posturing. He thought he'd get a pass from feminists.

None of it matters except that posturing has taken over the entire field of political debate.

As far as I’m concerned you just joined the Ritmo/Jeremy/Opus one Media crew…….Anything you have to say henceforth is just to be ignored, you are an unserious and unprincipled human…Let me call YOUR Mother/Daughter/Wife/Girlfriend Tw@t or C*nt and see how it flies….As I said, I have no love of Gorelick, Hillary, or Angela Davis but I wouldn’t call them C*nts”, either…just as I hope no one who wishes to be taken seriously would call Obama, or Allen West or Condi Rice “n!ggers”…the words C*nt OR n!gger are just about equivalent. Your use is despicable and unforgivable….; 3/25/11, 12:02 PM
rhhardin said...: I wonder if posturing is obvious.; 3/25/11, 12:08 PM
William said...: A ditched car is the dead and beaten horse of our time.....Maher's monologue has more applause lines than gags. He occasionally treats the Muslim religion with the same hostility as he treats the Catholics. As liberals go, that's being fair and open minded.......There's a kind of folie a deux with Sarah Palin and the left. A good part of her support and magnetism is due to the ugliness of the ridicule she inspires among the left. The more they mock her, the more her supporters bond to her.....Liberals feel that only people who are stupid or evil could possibly disagree with them. The inherent arrogance of this position is exemplified by Maher.; 3/25/11, 12:23 PM
Paul said...: The idea that native intelligence is the preeminent qualification for the Presidency is foolish. Intelligence matters, and Palin is very intelligent, but principals and courage are far more important and she has no peers in this regard on either side of the aisle. Therein lies the stock of true leadership. She is America's last best hope.; 3/25/11, 12:31 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Following on Fen and jerryofva, I should note that IKE wrote a very sound non ghost-written memoir "Crusade in Europe" ALL BY HIMSELF--unlike a certain current President we know.. And even pink-diaper baby lefty Evan Thomas (currently writing an IKE bio) has publicly admitted that his research has revealed IKE to be a "surprisingly" (only to a lefty like Thomas) "sophisticated" thinker and complex man. The same with Reagan. Many liberal historians are even now being forced to re-evaluate the Reagan Presidency--especially with the publishing of his collected writings (mostly his yellow legal-pad musings/commentary/speech writing) "Reagan in his Own Hand" revealing him to be a thoughtful and deeper and wider thinker than most had imagined; it also revealed that not only did he not have a ghost writer; he didn't even have an editorial assistant!

I also have always loved the Bush-as-dumb meme. The only US President to hold an MBA, does anyone realize what small per-centage of the American public hold both an undergraduate AND a graduate degree from an Ivy-League school or it's equivalent? (Stanford, MIT, etc.) Add to that the fact that fully 50% of all applicants to USAF pilot training are rejected for one reason or another and that 60% of the remaining half are washed out before completion, and one can see how vanishingly small the chances are that the majority of his detractors could EVER equal his accomplishments--not even counting being elected Governor of one of our largest States and POTUS for two terms. Some dumb-ass...

The problem with our society in this media-soaked age is that we equate glibness with intelligence.
Bush's unforgivable sin was that he wasn't qlib--the sin qua non indicator of the modern educated man for intelligence as far as lefties go.; 3/25/11, 12:32 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Well, now that Ren has emptied his bladder all over another thread by dragging us through his catalog of received wisdom, absent a single unique thought, I suppose it's time to fire up the old pearl script and turn all his words to white so that they show up appropriately against this comments background.; 3/25/11, 12:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Wake me up when Governor Palin says something as dumb as this,

Barack Obama, 2004: "You know, I am a believer in … in knowing what you’re doing when you apply for a job. Uh, and I think that if I were seriously to consider running on a national ticket, I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now there may be some people who are comfortable doing that, but I am not one of those people."

Or this,

“I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless,” said Mr Obama. “This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.”

Or starts a war and then flatly refuses to lead it....Dumb?

This president redefines the word but the left can't see it, or so they say.; 3/25/11, 12:41 PM
chickelit said...: Chip Ahoy said...
Well, now that Ren has emptied his bladder all over another thread by dragging us through his catalog of received wisdom, absent a single unique thought, I suppose it's time to fire up the old pearl script and turn all his words to white so that they show up appropriately against this comments background.

You gave new meaning to the term "la pisse blanche."

Merci beaucoup.; 3/25/11, 12:43 PM
Paul said...: "The problem with our society in this media-soaked age is that we equate glibness with intelligence."

This.

And I would add "and cynicism with wisdom".; 3/25/11, 12:54 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: RrHardin would enjoy this factoid:

Imus said that Bill Maher's father worked for or with Imus years ago and Imus remembered Bill Maher from when Bill Maher was a little kid. He said Maher was fugly then too [I made up the last sentence heh].; 3/25/11, 12:57 PM
vbspurs said...: Michael K wrote:

She is a more polished TV personna

Much more. She has grown into her role of attack dog, to eminence grise.

The problem is not her polish, per se. It's that chip on her shoulder, still there, squarely lodged, three years later.; 3/25/11, 1:01 PM
sonicfrog said...: I normally don't request this, but...

Ren... Still waiting for at least a partial apology, or at least an acknowledgment that I was not wrong, as Obama had indeed said "pull" several times.; 3/25/11, 1:06 PM
vbspurs said...: Re: chip on shoulder.

Palin is a wholly self-made person, with a gee-willikers patter that grates on people's nerves. These 'people' tend to be overwhelmingly self-made themselves, but urban, not rural.

Years ago, I read that Beverly Hillbillies was amongst America's most watched television series. Americans, in the mid-60s, were becoming removed from those kind of backwoods origins, so much that they could enjoy but cringe a little, when watching Jed skin a coon for supper.

Sure, no one wanted to be the snobby, WASPy Drysdales next door, but they also knew they didn't want to be the Clampetts anymore.

And here comes Sarah Palin with her moose-hunting, and her dropping of the 'g's, and they think: who does she think she is? Get back to Alaska, chillbilly!; 3/25/11, 1:18 PM
Paul said...: "The problem is not her polish, per se. It's that chip on her shoulder, still there, squarely lodged, three years later."

I see it more as an acute awareness that the left is as real a threat to America as any foreign enemy, and a steely resolve to take them head on. A feature, not a bug, and something no other candidate has the balls to face. She has seen the true destructive, pathological hatred of the left up close and personal and knows it for the national sickness that it is.; 3/25/11, 1:19 PM
Fen said...: I see it more as an acute awareness that the left is as real a threat to America as any foreign enemy, and a steely resolve to take them head on. A feature, not a bug, and something no other candidate has the balls to face. She has seen the true destructive, pathological hatred of the left up close and personal and knows it for the national sickness that it is.

I could have wriiten all day and never summed it up so precisely.

Can I steal it? ;); 3/25/11, 1:37 PM
chickelit said...: vbspurs wrote:

Palin is a wholly self-made person, with a gee-willikers patter that grates on people's nerves. These 'people' tend to be overwhelmingly self-made themselves, but urban, not rural.

And that's a nice analogy you go on to make with the Beverly Hillbillies.

Look, I realize that Palin is not for everyone. The historic "rural" core you identify her with is waning. Yet it would be a mistake for any group to disclude a historical constituency - sort of like cutting a donut hole near the center of a Venn diagram comprising the GOP (Karl Rove, are you listening?)

The GOP is in the midst of redefining itself, deciding who is in and who is out. Raising a tent not big enough for the likes of Palin is a tent I’d rather not see pitched.; 3/25/11, 1:51 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Fen:
I like to tell people "I plan to borrow that phrase or idea" and almost everyone takes it as a compliment.; 3/25/11, 1:54 PM
vbspurs said...: Paul and Fen, would you hate me if I said I don't hate liberals? Not even close. I dislike their philosophy, I think it's misguided and if not tempered with democracy, can lead to wicked communism.

But I don't hate liberal Americans, even the ones who I dealt with in academia, who basically made my life impossible.

So, no, I don't hate. But I think Palin does.; 3/25/11, 1:57 PM
vbspurs said...: Chickelit wrote:

The GOP is in the midst of redefining itself, deciding who is in and who is out. Raising a tent not big enough for the likes of Palin is a tent I’d rather not see pitched.

Amen to that, brother.

Even though, Chicken, the whole concept of "big tent" politics is a liberal construct of inclusiveness, and consequently, bunkum.; 3/25/11, 2:00 PM
chickelit said...: But I think Palin does.

I see a bit of resentment there on her part, but it's worse on the other side.

But hatred? Real hatred? I don't see that, sorry.

wv = "rosynona" That's what I'd call Synova if she had a rose for an avatar.; 3/25/11, 2:03 PM
chickelit said...: vbspurs wrote:

Even though, Chicken, the whole concept of "big tent" politics is a liberal construct of inclusiveness, and consequently, bunkum.

Perhaps a three-ring circus would be a better metaphor? Let the "tent" self-erect to enclose ;); 3/25/11, 2:07 PM
Paul said...: Sure Fen!

vpspurs:

I hate certain liberals. Bill Maher, Mike Moore, Joy Behar....you get the ideas. I work with liberals too and many are friends, but I hate what liberalism does to them and I particularly hate what it is doing to Western Civilisation in general and America in particular. Does that clarify things?

I think Sarah feels the same way except being a Christian tries not to hate even the individuals that I mentioned. That doesn't mean she won't fight them like our survival depends on it.

Because it does.; 3/25/11, 2:09 PM
vbspurs said...: But hatred? Real hatred? I don't see that, sorry.

Granted, I am attributing it to some of the things she (and her family) say; for example, when Bristol Palin said winning Dancing with the Stars, would be a middle finger to her and her mom's critics.

Try as I might, I can't see Chelsea Clinton saying that about her parents' critics (in public).

Is this hatred or obsession or rancour...or justifiable feisty pushback? I don't know. I interpret it as the former, though.; 3/25/11, 2:10 PM
vbspurs said...: Chickelit wrote:

Perhaps a three-ring circus would be a better metaphor? Let the "tent" self-erect to enclose ;)

America is a helluva an unique country. In most countries, there is no need for "big tent politics" because every little political faction has their own political party. When voting time comes, the medium-sized winner just gathers up all the smaller ones who more-or-less share their philosophy, and they run the country together. Hell, in the UK right now we have a coalition government (unusual, but certainly not unheard of).

Whereas in the US, people feel alienated when their side doesn't win, and that's true, even when their side is led by someone with slightly different politics than theirs (Romney is a Republican, and I would vote for him...but he's not my kind of Republican. Ditto for Palin, for others).

I haven't settled on an opinion if this is good or bad for our country.

Cheers,
Victoria; 3/25/11, 2:21 PM
chickelit said...: vbspurs wrote:

Even though, Chicken, the whole concept of "big tent" politics is a liberal construct of inclusiveness, and consequently, bunkum.

On second thought, I'm just cynical enough today to suspect that even that metaphor was appropriated by Democrats from Republicans, much like Lincoln’s civil rights initiatives and the whole “Progressive” mantle as I understand its origins. My grandfather's middle name was Roosevelt and oh how that chafed him in life (he was born in 1903).; 3/25/11, 2:22 PM
vbspurs said...: Paul, that is a good point about her being a good Christian, who fights against hatred. So, I'll call it rancour, because, after all, she's human.; 3/25/11, 2:23 PM
vbspurs said...: Wow, really? Was it an hommage to TR or are you related to the Roosevelts? :P; 3/25/11, 2:24 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: Kent, I believe you were thinking of Goebbels who wrote his own awful jokes. A review of history is in order for you.

Hi, Vics! I don't hate liberals either, I generally feel sorry for them in a very condescending way. I wish they had more self-esteem so that my condescension would hurt them more. And the latter is not a sign of hatred either, just tough love.

wv: cyawall (I c ya wall, I c ya window...); 3/25/11, 2:26 PM
chickelit said...: vbspurs wrote:

Whereas in the US, people feel alienated when their side doesn't win, and that's true, even when their side is led by someone with slightly different politics than theirs (Romney is a Republican, and I would vote for him...but he's not my kind of Republican. Ditto for Palin, for others).

I would vote for a Romney/Palin or a Palin/Romney ticket.

I think the fix is in for a Jeb Bush ticket though and question is whom to exclude.; 3/25/11, 2:29 PM
vbspurs said...: Oye, chico, perdido! We were talking about Little Havana a second ago. I'm sure some Althousians might roll an eyeball, but speaking of cafe con leche is important.; 3/25/11, 2:29 PM
chickelit said...: Wow, really? Was it an hommage to TR or are you related to the Roosevelts? :P

The former.; 3/25/11, 2:31 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: Café con leche is the most important food on Earth. How else can all the old cubanazos justify stopping by Versailles or La Carreta on their way to work every morning?? Without café con leche, there is no country.

wv: siaterry (sounds like a babalawo from Hialeah with a cold); 3/25/11, 2:32 PM
vbspurs said...: Obviously, if it's Jeb, no Sarah, and vice-versa. Also, no need for Marco Rubio as Veep, since Jeb has the Hispanic thing covered on his own. Anyway, I want Marco to run and win after 2016.

Romney/Jeb would win. Handily.

Not sure if Jeb/Romney would win because of the anger towards 43 with the progressive elites.

What say youse?

Incidentally, I wanted Thune to run in 2012. And I want Petraeus whenever.; 3/25/11, 2:34 PM
vbspurs said...: And yes, the fix is in for Jeb, Chicken. You should hear the establishment types I know in the Republican party here in Florida.

What a slap in the face to the Tea Party...; 3/25/11, 2:37 PM
Joe said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/25/11, 2:44 PM
chickelit said...: vbspurs wrote:
Not sure if Jeb/Romney would win because of the anger towards 43 with the progressive elites.

What say youse?

Not to mention it would validate Obama's "I'm not Bush" strategy and ease his re-election.

My only problem with Bush III is the sense that he's being orchestrated into it from the top down. Yes that irritates the Tea Party, which has an opposite heirarchy. Maybe that's what this whole struggle is about: a top-down vs. a bottoms up paradigm for leadership.; 3/25/11, 2:48 PM
Unknown said...: "And yes, the fix is in for Jeb, Chicken. You should hear the establishment types I know in the Republican party here in Florida."

The same types that opposed Mike Lee in Utah, Rand Paul in Kentucky and Marco Rubio in Florida early in the primary season?

The candidate that wins is going to go begging hat-in-hand to Tea Party types, with ironclad pledges to slash the federal budget, build a fence and dismantle the left-corrupted institutions.

Jeb Bush isn't even a factor in 2012. He's too country-club to take on the left. The Florida establishment types have been sniffing their own emissions if they think otherwise.

The 2012 term is straight out of Machiavelli's "Discourses" on what to do when your country's institutions have been corrupted. No-one who doesn't address this in a serious way is going to get close to the WH.; 3/25/11, 2:51 PM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

Romney/Jeb would win. Handily.

Do you mean THIS electoral cycle? If so, you’ve been hit in the head with a mallet….they are as likely to win as an anonymous Crypto Jew and Andrew Sullivan running as a ticket. It is HIGHLY doubtful a Romney, as lead, could EVER win, but certainly two squishes on the ticket, in the near future, will NEVER win in a TEA Party Climate. The ad’s write themselves….and they aren’t pretty…so Jeb can do for America what GEORGE did? So we can have RomneyCare rather than ObamaCare?

Petraeus? WHY? What’s his stance on the Federal Deficit, too large, just right, not big enough? If too large how to close the gap, taxes, spending cuts, both and in what measure? What about Social Security and Medicare? What about Abortion? What about Gay Marriage, the DOMA, Federal amendments, either for or against, or the Federalism argument? What does he look for in a Supreme Court nominee? What are his views on Gun Control? What does he think of Comprehensive Immigration Reform? What are his views on Global Warming and where does he stand on Cap and Trade? Sorry been down the wildly popular General aisle once before with Powell…UNTIL the good General fills us in on his views about a host of issues domestic AND foreign, no deal. And I can’t see why ANYONE would feel differently? All you’re saying is, I want as POTUS, a guy that implement an adequate COIN Strategy in the Middle East.” What that has to do with being POTUS I cannot say…you might as well elect a successful Community organizer..oh wait.; 3/25/11, 2:55 PM
X said...: I've been inundated with requests to respond to petty comments made in the media the past few days, including one little fella's comment which decent people would find degrading

heh; 3/25/11, 2:59 PM
ampersand said...: I don't watch Fox News, nor much of American televised news.
However AFAIK they never did the following:

They never,like the Washington Post, returned Janet Cooke's Pulitzer for a fake story

They never ,like NBC News, rigged a GM truck to blow up.

They never,like ABC News,where"two undercover producers are seen trying to encourage violations
of company policy; however, employees resisted and correctly followed sanitary practices."(Food Lion Wikipedia)

They never,like NPR, fired their chief fundraisers and their CEO.

They never,like CNN, fired two producers for making false Vietnam accusations for Operation Tailwind.

They never.like CNN,forced out Jordan Eason for alleging the military was targeting journalists,but wasn't forced out for admitting covering Saddam Hussein's human rights abuses.

Shorter

NBC, Atlanta, Richard Jewell, $500,000

NYTIMES, Jayson Blair, Howell Raines resigns.

NYTIMES, Walter Duranty

The New Republic, Stephen Glass

Chicago Tribune, Jake Lingle. An oldie but a good one.

Newsweek, Spikes a blue dress story.

All except National Enquirer spike the John Edward story.

and last but not least Dan Rather.; 3/25/11, 3:12 PM
X said...: Ace of Spades weighs in:

The important thing in all of this, however, is that Bill Maher is short, really believed at one point in his career that he could be a leading man actor, dates whores and seems like a petri dish for Herpes and just generally is so skivosa and seedy and nasty that if I my kids needed babysitting and my choices were 1) Bill Maher and 2) the guy on the park bench in "Aqualung" then I think I'll just have to teach my kids how to blow a rape whistle loud enough to be heard over a flute solo.; 3/25/11, 3:13 PM
Milwaukee said...: So where was NOW when David Letterman was making jokes about Yankee baseball players impregnating Sarah's daughters? Was that funny?

Since David Letterman demonstrates a lack of morals, his screwing his female help is understandable. Where was NOW when Letterman's female employees were being exploited for their bodies?

NOW is a joke. Only women who solve pregnancy problems with abortions could possibly support NOW. Clearly Palin wants as little as possible to do with them.; 3/25/11, 3:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: Vicky...A little good old fashioned hate towards his/her opponents is expected in a competitor. Ask a Japanese about Admiral Bull Halsey's attitude towards every half human, backstabbing Rising Sun murderer that was not dead yet. That attitude wins things. As to the fix being put in for Jeb, I knew about the Bush's plan to arrange a loser like Mitch Daniels so Jeb would later be the acceptible choice after Obama's second term. But has the smell of a suddenly easy to defeat Obama made them push Jeb now? That makes Palin into the Bush family's double nemesis since she will never take a dive for them but will win.; 3/25/11, 3:21 PM
Kirby Olson said...: Like a fish needs a bicycle is one of the most surrealistic lines to come out of the feminist movement. It's had legs. I think they should work on this humorous side more.

Bill Maher's lines are almost never clever or surrealistic. He's like a slug trying to jump rope.

Palin can spot good lines and create good lines. This augurs well for her.; 3/25/11, 3:23 PM
Milwaukee said...: Barbara Bush's comment about sitting next to Palin, and 'she's attractive but...' seems incredibly condescending. Blue bloods, blue hair, whatever. There is a wing of the Republican Party which is all about themselves. I would hope conservatives are better than that, and hope for something greater than themselves.; 3/25/11, 3:24 PM
kent said...: Kent, I believe you were thinking of Goebbels who wrote his own awful jokes. A review of history is in order for you.

No, and no. Simply went with Goering because the joke "speaks" better that way, is all. Don't over-intellectualize. ;); 3/25/11, 3:29 PM
chickelit said...: Milwaukee said...
Barbara Bush's comment about sitting next to Palin, and 'she's attractive but...' seems incredibly condescending.

She's his son. Of course she wants him to win. That's just being a mom instead of looking out for what's best for the nation.

Forgivable; 3/25/11, 3:30 PM
chickelit said...: traditional guys wrote:
Ask a Japanese about Admiral Bull Halsey's attitude towards every half human, backstabbing Rising Sun murderer that was not dead yet.

I've been looking for a good biography on Halsey -- do you know of one? Ditto George Patton. Anyone?; 3/25/11, 3:32 PM
Paul said...: We are in dire times. I hear elitists talk about "gravitas" and to them a man like Obama has it.

That is to laugh.

The elite is as out of touch with the hard reality of the looming thunderheads on the horizon as the smug and comfortably ensconced always are. They are mostly Democrats but a good chunk of Republicans are just as dangerously delusional in their smugness and lack of dramatic vision.

We need a warrior now. Jeb Bush? Pawlenty> Romney? Get a grip.

There's only one man up for the job and it's a woman. She will run because she has to and she knows it, even though she knows it may cost her her life.; 3/25/11, 3:35 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Chicklet, get a hold of Patton's Dairies, for starters.; 3/25/11, 3:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: Chickelit...On Patton the best researched biography is by Carlos d'Este called "A Genius For War". But many small books were written by men who served under him that delve into his leadership teachings. Patton was extremely literate studier and teacher of how to do war right. Patton had studied so much that he was accused by other generals of shooting from the hip because he was so far ahead of them in planning things out. Bill Halsy has not been written about as much, although he said some truly great lines. Both these men communicated to their men that the plan was to attack and to win battles with good intelligence, but not with a perfect plan that only delayed the attack which would let the enemy get ready.; 3/25/11, 4:06 PM
chickelit said...: virgil xenophon said...
Chicklet, get a hold of Patton's Dairies, for starters.

Er, I'll grab my milking stool and bucket..who knew?

(Just kidding and thanks for tip!); 3/25/11, 4:07 PM
chickelit said...: Trad guy wrote:
Bill Halsy has not been written about as much, although he said some truly great lines. Both these men communicated to their men that the plan was to attack and to win battles with good intelligence, but not with a perfect plan that only delayed the attack which would let the enemy get ready.

I recently bought a family membership to the USS Midway out here in San Diego. They do a fantastic job at keeping alive the whole essence of an aircraft carrier, even though she was of slightly later vintage.; 3/25/11, 4:12 PM
chickelit said...: Is this what you meant Virgil?

And here's the book Trad Guy mentions link.
Sorry for the threadjack Althouse but those are Amazon links to your profit-bone.; 3/25/11, 4:16 PM
From Inwood said...: Paul @ 1:19

BINGO!

I too, will steal that comment.; 3/25/11, 4:17 PM
From Inwood said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/25/11, 4:18 PM
Kirby Olson said...: Paul @ 1:19. Thanks for alerting me to that. It's a ringer.; 3/25/11, 4:22 PM
Anonymous said...: General George S. Patton Jr.

Known in his time as "America's Fightingest General".

"...We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"

And then of course there's Obama....; 3/25/11, 4:36 PM
Paul said...: You're welcome. Glad to be of service.

Run Sarah run!!; 3/25/11, 4:55 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: But I don't hate liberal Americans, even the ones who I dealt with in academia, who basically made my life impossible.

So, no, I

Why wouldn't you hate those who are deliberately trying to destroy you and your family? Those who twist every word you utter. Those who take glee in hurting you. Glee in hurting your children. Glee in destroying your country. People who make fun of who you are, who your parents are, who your friends are.

These people are evil. They are self centered. They are oblivious of the harm they do. They are beneath contempt.

They deserve hatred at the very least.

The VERY least.; 3/25/11, 5:04 PM
Wiz-ziW said...: One can read an enormous number of anti Palin voices on the internet, and still not find one who makes their points without egregious displays of emotion and/or base language. Where have all the classy progressives gone?; 3/25/11, 5:07 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: I take it there are a lot of disgruntled "true believers" here who resent the fact that the vast market for Maher's talents has spoken - to the tune of a much richer fortune than whatever Governor Half-Term has made.; 3/25/11, 5:14 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: One can read an enormous number of anti Palin voices on the internet, and still not find one who makes their points without egregious displays of emotion and/or base language. Where have all the classy progressives gone?

They saw no reason to bother once it became evident just how redolent in her classnessness Palin was.

I understand that the (R) base (in Arabic: al qaeda) is turned on and energized by her crass ways. But obviously the left, middle, and most independents aren't. And moderate cons understand this all too well.; 3/25/11, 5:17 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: D'oh! Read "classlessness" instead of the typo above.; 3/25/11, 5:22 PM
Milwaukee said...: Chicklit:
She's his son. Of course she wants him to win. That's just being a mom instead of looking out for what's best for the nation.

Forgivable

If she wants to spout off like a mom she can do that with her friends at bridge, or over drinks at the club. She doesn't need to put that opinion in a national forum. So no, not forgivable. Is she a hanger-on or is she a power broker and a player here? I really would have to say she that her voice no more needs to be heard than any other celebrity: she is just a famous face who is related to important actors.

On the other hand Hilary Clinton, if she hadn't been married to Bill, would have warranted a place in his cabinet on her own merit. Hilary probably would have done herself, and the nation, more good by staying in the Senate than running for President. New York would probably have returned her to the Senate for years.; 3/25/11, 5:49 PM
Anonymous said...: I like Sarah Palin.

I do wish she had finished her term as governor and had avoided the lure of reality TV. And I don't want her to run for President.

But I loath the people who hate her. She and her family, whatever their faults, have been the subject of the most nauseatingly sustained personal attack in recent political memory.

During the 2008 campaign, I wish the Palin kids had been accorded one-tenth the respect that the Obama girls were shown--even when BHO trotted them out as props for his pro-abortion rhetoric.; 3/25/11, 6:03 PM
Cedarford said...: We need a warrior now. Jeb Bush? Pawlenty> Romney? Get a grip.

There's only one man up for the job and it's a woman. She will run because she has to and she knows it, even though she knows it may cost her her life.

============
Get a grip yourself, Paul!
Warriors don't quit the only high elective office at half term.
Real warriors don't need to have military service...sometimes they are the guy trying to turn around a dying company and throwing 15 million of their own funds in to show the lenders serious ernest money is in the pot. Or standing up to angry NJ teachers and saying "no".
Being a warrior means more than tossing red meat to the yahoos.

****************
Id very much like to see the proposed Romney/Jeb Bush ticket. Jeb probably can't head the ticket because of memories of his failed brother and the whole dynasty issue..but he is the extremely well-regarded governor of a swing state, his kids are half Mexican American, one daughter was a drug mess who has turned her life around.
Romney - after George Bush and Obama - I think the country is ready for an able executive leader with lots of smarts and with the perception he will carefully think through each policy and will claim the right to change his mind if he is wrong about something. (something that really vexes True Believers who think all beliefs and ideas should be fixed and immutable in a person by age 20); 3/25/11, 6:13 PM
Nate Whilk said...: rhhardin said, Palin [...] is not too bright, at least in her judgment of the audience

You've unwittingly proven your own statement. She seems to believe in the end the opposition will give her a fair deal and a fair hearing. But considering what you, Maher, and many others have said about her, in that respect she really is stupid.; 3/25/11, 6:59 PM
Synova said...: "So where was NOW when David Letterman was making jokes about Yankee baseball players impregnating Sarah's daughters? Was that funny?"

Which is why they felt forced to make a statement now, and were resentful over it.

"Since David Letterman demonstrates a lack of morals, his screwing his female help is understandable. Where was NOW when Letterman's female employees were being exploited for their bodies?"

*cough* Clinton *cough*

"NOW is a joke. Only women who solve pregnancy problems with abortions could possibly support NOW. Clearly Palin wants as little as possible to do with them."

It takes an expert to even find the sexism to be outraged over these days. What is NOW going to do? Disband?; 3/25/11, 7:10 PM
Synova said...: "Years ago, I read that Beverly Hillbillies was amongst America's most watched television series. Americans, in the mid-60s, were becoming removed from those kind of backwoods origins, so much that they could enjoy but cringe a little, when watching Jed skin a coon for supper."

You'd cringe, but in the end Jed was always right.

Always.

The show seemed to be making fun of the hokey hillbillies but in the end the joke was on everyone else.; 3/25/11, 7:22 PM
Nate Whilk said...: Milwaukee wrote, If she wants to spout off like a mom she can do that with her friends at bridge, or over drinks at the club.

Quite a sexist thing to say. I guess you'd rather she be barefoot, pregnant and chained to the stove, baking cookies.

On the other hand Hilary Clinton, if she hadn't been married to Bill, would have warranted a place in his cabinet on her own merit.

Riiiiiiiiiight. If we forget about the "reset" button and the brilliant success of "smart diplomacy".

Face it. Unlike Hillary, Palin got to where she is ALL ON HER OWN. Hillary has been a lousy politician (at least, so far). Her failed pres primary undeniably showed that. She NEEDED Bill to get her where she is, just for his brilliant political skills.

Hilary probably would have done herself, and the nation, more good by staying in the Senate than running for President.

I agree, not for your reasons, but because she couldn't do as much harm there. And the same goes for Obama.

New York would probably have returned her to the Senate for years.

Well, of course. It was and would continue be a snap for her. An outsider elected in a state simply as a stepping-stone to the presidency wouldn't need to wage any real, rough-and-tumble campaign.; 3/25/11, 7:22 PM
Joe said...: (The Crypto Jew)

Hillary is where she is BECAUSE OF BILL, not her own efforts. WHY would NY have returned her, year-after-year? SHE'S FROM ARKANSAS! She got the job because she was Bill Clinton's wife. You need to tell stories small enough that you'll believe them.; 3/25/11, 8:27 PM
Milwaukee said...: Nate Whilk said...

Milwaukee wrote, If she wants to spout off like a mom she can do that with her friends at bridge, or over drinks at the club.

Quite a sexist thing to say. I guess you'd rather she be barefoot, pregnant and chained to the stove, baking cookies.

You are putting words into my mouth. No thank you. What we are doing here is shooting the shit with our homies. We are not putting forward positions on national television. What has Barbara Bush done to make her an expert whose opinion should carry more weight than say, one of those women on "the view"? Perhaps she did voice her opinion in a forum of similar ilk, in which case, I should say "consider the source and the format".

But, the point I meant to make was that many Republicans are not about conservative principles, but about protecting their position in games of power.; 3/25/11, 8:35 PM
Melissa Clouthier said...: Shame on you, Ann. You posted about Sarah Palin. See what you made them do?; 3/25/11, 10:23 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Chicklet/

Yes, those are good, but my memory was faulty. What I REALLY meant was
the work "The Patton Papers: 1940-1945" by Martin Blumenthal. Blumenthal was the ONLY biographer who has EVER had access to ALL of Patton's papers and those years are considered Patton's most productive.; 3/25/11, 10:24 PM
traditionalguy said...: Chickelit...You seem genuinely interested, so I will mention the new well written book that shows the contrast between Halsey's command style and the timid Admiral he replaced to turn around the 4 month Guadalcanal death match on land, air and sea. It is called Neptunes Inferno by Hornfischer It just came out this month. I had a Barnes and Noble gift card left over from Christmas, and that book in hard cover at full price was the result.; 3/25/11, 11:35 PM
vbspurs said...: Joe (the Crypto Jew) wrote:

I'm not sure anyone is still reading this thread, but apologies for bugging out to run errands. I am back.

UNTIL the good General fills us in on his views about a host of issues domestic AND foreign, no deal. And I can’t see why ANYONE would feel differently?

Joe, what did we know about any of the Generals' positions before they ran for US President? We can, for our purposes, dismiss the earlier soldiers who served in 1600, but would you have demurred in backing Ike Eisenhower in 1952, just because he had never held elected office?

I feel if Petraeus is a Republican (as he is rumoured to be), then for me at least, he has all the experience and personality I am looking for in an US President, and worthy, at least, of being given a shot to run.; 3/26/11, 12:18 AM
vbspurs said...: Milwaukee wrote:

If she wants to spout off like a mom she can do that with her friends at bridge, or over drinks at the club.

Hehe. I agree more with Chickelit than you, Milwaukee, but let me say that hearing BOTH Babs Bush and Jeb Bush put down Sarah Palin, really turned me off the family that week.

But, come on. She's over 80, and she's always been the "Grey Fox". I'll give her a pass.

I know though! We could always let Chuck Heath and Barbara Bush go a couple of runs in a Battle of the Oldies.; 3/26/11, 12:23 AM
vbspurs said...: Synova wrote:

You'd cringe, but in the end Jed was always right.

Always.

Sure! That's the whole gist of what the writers were saying -- that it doesn't take book smarts and elegance to be intelligent.

It was also a version of TV's "Father Knows Best" theme, which America SORELY needs today.; 3/26/11, 12:26 AM
vbspurs said...: Palin can spot good lines and create good lines. This augurs well for her.

My fave comment of the thread, Kirby.; 3/26/11, 12:28 AM
vbspurs said...: DBQ wrote:

They deserve hatred at the very least.

The VERY least.

I don't say this to sound like a latter-day Mother Teresa of Calcutta, but maybe I just don't know how to hate. Maybe I don't have that level of hate in me. Maybe I haven't been given enough cause to fully hate.

BTW, it's my contention that hate propels a lot of people to success. Its twin, a need for vengeance, is key ingredient of ambition.

And hand to God, DBQ, I don't have a lot of that in me.; 3/26/11, 12:30 AM
Gary Rosen said...: Fudd, just to clarify, she's a "ball-licking Christian Zionist", right? Or in her case would you have said "pussy-licking"?; 3/26/11, 1:09 AM
Gary Rosen said...: " it's my contention that hate propels a lot of people to success."

I think C-fudd puts the kibosh on that idea.; 3/26/11, 1:13 AM
Paul said...: C-Fudd is a sick and twisted individual. He has a lot of facts at his disposal but his spirit is so deformed that his opinions and advice are infected by his bile and the shortsightedness of his prejudice.

No one takes him seriously.; 3/26/11, 1:38 AM
chickelit said...: @Virgil Xenophobe & Trad Guy:

Thanks much for your Halsey and Patton book recommends. I put them in my Amazon cart.; 3/26/11, 9:53 AM
Bill589 said...: Sarah has better comic material because there is an element of truth in her jokes. And he does look like a mosquito.; 3/26/11, 5:46 PM