Palin Interview Reax

by: tremayne

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 22:28


The opinions are coming in.

Josh Marshall:

Sarah Palin's "perhaps" in response to the question of whether we might have to go to war with Russia over Georgia is getting a lot of attention. The truth, though, is that Palin was doing little more that drawing out the logical inference of McCain & Co.'s unhinged policy vis a vis Russia -- not a huge surprise if you've just learned the policy in the last week. But McCain and those in his entourage at least have the seasoning to know not to traipse into throwaway hypotheticals about 'war' with the only other country in the world with a vast and eminently deliverable nuclear arsenal.

Georgia10 at dKos:

How absolutely, head-in-the-ground oblivious do you have to be to our national politics to not be familiar with the Bush Doctrine, the very cornerstone of this administration's foreign policy and the doctrine that led us into the most disastrous foreign policy decision in American history?

Oh, that's right. This oblivious:

"I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

 

 

 Andrew Sullivan:

I'm not sure how to respond because I believe the entire last two weeks have been a farce, and ABC News is now an integral, enabling part of that farce...... All I have learned thus far is that a McCain administration would be prepared to go to war with Russia over Georgia and will never, ever criticize or oppose any decision made by the government of the state of Israel. And I knew that already.

 

What is your take?

 
tremayne :: Palin Interview Reax

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Palin Interview Reax | 92 comments
I think it's time to bring the Daisy ad back. (4.00 / 8)

Grand Plan (0.00 / 0)
I think the interview, while not terrible for her, betrays that she not only lacks depth on a number of matters, but is not quick on her feet when snared.

the "in what sense" question back to Gibson about the Bush doctrine, and the God has a "Grand Plan and... its a Grand Plan!" when she tried to dodge having said the war in iraq is part of gods plan, stood out for me. she didn't kill herself in this, but she won't be doing many more. the debate with Biden could give her trouble - but we're at the mercy of Gwen Awful on that.  

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare

It's The StOOpids! (4.00 / 10)
I don't think there's any lower limit on how idiotic Sarah Palin can get, because the media will always accomodate her by getting equally idiotic itself--either by going along with her, or in they way they react against her.

If a Democrat were to nominate someone like her... well, first the Democrats would have to elect someone like her governor of one of the states.  And while that's certainly theoretically possible, the political geography of today makes that extremely unlikely.

But, say it somehow were to happen--a governor who knows nothing about federal politics, except how to get pork, nominated as VP.  Do you think for a moment that Faux News, Drudge, and Limbaugh would talk about anything else until he/she was forced from the ticket?  And for once, they'd be absolutely right to do so.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

There's a general etiquitte in academic physics (4.00 / 4)
when a grad student takes their oral qualifiers/defense.  The rule is that you keep the initial questions as directly related to the topic of the talks as possible.  The questioners respect the speaker's knowledge and experience, and shows this respect by staying on topic.

Unless, the student shows ignorance during their talk.  If that happens, all bets are off, and almost anything is fair game, as the questioners try to figure out just how little the speaker knows.  

It's getting close to this time with Sarah Palin.  Does she kow what the Bretton Woods system was?  The Marshall Plan?  The Warsaw Pact?  Has she ever heard of Augusto Pinochet?  Nikita Khrushchev?  I'm actually beginning to wonder if she knows what any of these things are.  

Considering the post-Reagan period of US politics, I think I'd actually be in favor of requiring Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates to take two 100 question multiple choice tests on foreign and domestic policy, and that the results be made public.  It is getting absurd how ignorant these people are.

[ Parent ]
This wouldn't work... (4.00 / 2)
While it may seem eminently reasonable to you, even if she claimed ignorance, most people would just say "Well, I don't know what any of that is either.  Who cares?"
[ Parent ]
At least it would give 'academic' conservatives no damn excuse (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
It's not just about (0.00 / 0)
what works to our advantage (although I'm in favor of that too), it's about a politics that demands respect for facts in evaluating claims made by candidates.

 

[ Parent ]
You've Got A WICKED Sense Of Humor, Valatan! (4.00 / 3)
Sarah Palin kow what the Bretton Woods system was?  Huh-huh-huh-huh! Huh-huh-huh-huh! Huh-huh-huh-huh! Huh!

Oh, sure, the Bretton Woods.  Up near Fairbanks, right?

The Marshall Plan?  That would be in case the local police need backup.

Warsaw Pact?  Wasn't that, like a movie back in the 70s?  No, wait, it was a metal band, that's it!

How'm I doing?  Am I elected yet?

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
If they added a few unnecessary umaluts, I'd totally go see (4.00 / 3)
a metal band called the Wärsäw Pact
[ Parent ]
Oh, No, Man (0.00 / 0)
Those umlauts are like, totally necessary, dude.

Otherwise, it would be a movie.  

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
they don't care (4.00 / 2)
because they believe they make reality by belief. The AP article reports it

Major news outlets have written such fact-checking articles for years. "But in the last two election cycles, the very notion that the facts matter seems to be under assault," said Michael X. Delli Carpini, an authority on political ads at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "Candidates and their consultants seem to have learned that as long as you don't back down from your charges or claims, they will stick in the minds of voters regardless of their accuracy or at a minimum, what the truth is will remain murky, a matter of opinion rather than fact."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

[ Parent ]
Which is really scary (0.00 / 0)
(obviously) but on another level it's scary because it means we're going backwards as a nation to the days of the 19th century when any slanderous lie was fair game. You think politics is bad now? You should have seen the Whigs and Democrats go after each other.
[ Parent ]
youtube clip? (4.00 / 4)


Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare
[ Parent ]
Not available (4.00 / 2)
Martin Van Buren wouldn't release the footage.
[ Parent ]
Yeah, we're not quite to the point (4.00 / 2)
that we're having canings that result in hospitalization on the Capitol Steps...

yet.

[ Parent ]
Precisely (4.00 / 1)
And they're right, at least within the context of winning or losing a campaign. It's not about the individual statement, it's about the narrative.

This is why Palen is sticking to the Bridge to Nowhere line, because it doesn't matter that the statements are false: they're betting on the narrative.

The story or narrative is what drives emotional or subliminal decisions. That's what moves most undecideds in the end.

Facts matter in reality, but political campaigns aren't reality. Facts still have weight there, but 1 fact vs. 100 repetitions of a sound byte... the sound byte builds the narrative.

Me | My Work | Future Majority

[ Parent ]
So are you a physicist? (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
Yes, or at least, almost (0.00 / 0)
I"m approximately a year from becoming Dr. Valatan
[ Parent ]
Me too (about a year away) (0.00 / 0)
but in geography (climate change).

I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't get slaughtered in my oral exam. I guess I knew my "Bush Doctrine" question!

[ Parent ]
Yeah (0.00 / 0)
It's really scary sitting alone at that blackboard while they ask you to work out the little details you leave out of that talk.  I thankfully didn't get asked to go back and define the basics.
[ Parent ]
Come on, Valatan, those things you're talking about are like... (4.00 / 1)
sooo ancient.  I mean even even the Bush doctrine is pushing middle age by Bush standards (remember what he said about the "really old" 1972 FISA law?).

Get up to speed.  We're living in the 21st century.  The only questions I expect my Vice Presidential candidates to be able to answer are "Who are Michael Phelps and T. Boone Pickens?" and fill in the blank: "_____, Baby, ___".  

[ Parent ]
a little closer to home... (0.00 / 0)
has Governor Palin ever talked with, listened to and understood the lives of:

- the casino employee in Las Vegas?;

- the laid off factory worker in Akron?;

- the retired person in Clearwater?;

- the tech worker in Cupertino?;

- the black entrepeneur in Atlanta?;

- the farmer in Iowa?;

- the union worker in Dearborn?;

- the government service worker in Arlington?;

- a Latino family in Albuquerque?;

- the person with no health insurance in Pueblo?

 

[ Parent ]
I agree and ifI were the reporter I preface it by saying that we are in (4.00 / 1)
unchartered waters because she admittedly said she focused on state issues but at the federal level and especially what the VP focuses on is entirely different.

I'd give a question that was asked of Dan Quayle..... someone must have  a transcript of that debate....or I'd say something like someone who aspires to the job you are interviewing for should know the  following and ask her what you suggest....I wouldn't even leave out the Monroe Doctrine!

I love your last paragraph's suggestion

Too many think you can learn on the job.....the job comes with some prerequisites...has she mastered those?

Clearly NO

[ Parent ]
That's wonderful! (0.00 / 0)
I'm trying to dig up the questions of the first Quayle interview ...
[ Parent ]
Joint press conference, the day after (4.00 / 1)
(or the same day?) GHWB chose Quayle. Here.

But apparently ABC, CBS, and NBC all interviewed him (one live) alone, within days of the announcement, and were v. sharp. Haven't been able to find transcripts yet ...

[ Parent ]
She did fine by the absurdly low standards set... (4.00 / 1)
That's the secret. The standards are so, so low for her.

She hesitates and genuinely looks like she has no idea what the Bush Doctrine is, but she does a decent job ad libbing a response after it's explained to her. She also has a bit of a fumfer with Pakistan where she seems uncertain what the correct answer is. A better interviewer would've tried to box her by saying "Obama supports blah" and then seeing if she tries to disagree with Obama and ends up accidentally going off script.

There's obviously more interview coming, if I were rating this, I'd give her a C-. It's obvious to the well informed insta-reaction blog set that she's out of her depth and is falling back on generalities at every opportunity, and she's also saying "Charlie" a lot which has a weird effect of making her answers seem even less serious.

But I think to a more casual observer, she looks non-threatening and the generalities take the edge off her far right beliefs. Whether she looks "Presidential" is such a weird, vague topic that I can't even address it.

Gibson was getting mad at her about Pakistan (4.00 / 1)
I think she looked even worse on that than she did on the Bush doctrine.  She basically forced Gibson to say 'Do you support it, yes or no?!'  It made her not only ignorant, but also irresolute.  
[ Parent ]
He Was Getting Rather Peeved With Her (4.00 / 4)
What was his line, "Lost in a blizzard of words"?

Coming from him in that sort of softball setting, that was downright harsh.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Even the jaundiced Gibson can see (4.00 / 1)
McEmperor has no clothes
[ Parent ]
He reminded me of Gore in the debates in 2000 (0.00 / 0)
I didn't know if he was falling asleep or was trying not to sigh in disgust every time he looked down at his notes after he asked her a question.
[ Parent ]
Obama or a third party could put up a devastating ad using this footage (4.00 / 2)
That's the FAIL indicator.

Yeah, but McCain's the one running for prez... well, if this election isn't a referendum on Palin, why not make it one? She's the reason the GOPs are excited. Hang Palin around McCain's neck -- it's his foreign policy views as retold by a child. Make him own them.

[ Parent ]
It's McCain's judgement that is in question (4.00 / 2)
not Sarah Palin.  Some conservatives are getting ready to be hopping mad that McCain took Palin, who has lots of political promise, and put her on the national stage before her time.  If she crashes and burns - the judgment argument will fry him with those who love Sarah, and independents.

QT

Visit the Obama Project


WindOnWater.net



[ Parent ]
Non-Threatening? (4.00 / 3)
The less she knew, the more pissed/cocky her tone as she delivered the same precanned talking point over and over again. It's like watching a drowning person who thrashes their arms even harder to try to stay afloat. Watch her. Aggresively leaning forward. Jabbing her fist in Gibson's general direction like she's wielding an imaginary knife. What makes her look terrible in this interview is her body language.

She comes off like Bush in a skirt with less composure. Cripes, throw in a few mangled attempts at English and she'd be Bush.

And I don't think the McCain camp can even spin this as media bias because, quite frankly, I don't think Gibson was that tough on her. She just failed Foreign Policy 101, not the graduate level class.

After watching this, God how I wish Tim Russert was still alive.  

[ Parent ]
She'll pull the same garbage at the debate... (0.00 / 0)
...her cocky arrogance.. like most republicans, she thinks her shit doesn't stink...  she'll be extremely snotty with Biden at the debates... fortunately, he's already stated that he knows that she will do this and won't be baited...

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!
[ Parent ]
Can You Imagine (4.00 / 2)
What if Biden was in that chair asking the questions and not Gibson?

I'm feeling really good about that VP debate right now.

[ Parent ]
"throw in a few mangled attempts at English and she'd be Bush." (4.00 / 1)
You mean like "nucular"?

No wonder they had it spelled out phonetically for her on the teleprompter during the convention.

So far there's two tracks I've seen in the media reaction. The politico reaction and the AP reaction. Politico reaction is all about the soft bigotry of low expectations. Meaning they think she did a boffo job because she didn't say she wanted to get her hands on those nuke codes so she could blow up the world. AP reaction is she totally bombed. Maybe now that politico has seen more of it and see how others are responding they'll rethink their initial reaction.

[ Parent ]
Also (0.00 / 0)
Contrary to her convention speech, I think the bar was higher for her in this interviewer. She's been made out to be a superstar. A game changer. I'm sorry, C- isn't good enough.
[ Parent ]
I don't know that I agree with that assumption... (4.00 / 1)
all we've been hearing for the past 10 days is "don't underestimate Sarah Palin"  "Sarah Palin is one quick study" "Sarah Palin is tough and quick on her feet."

I don't know how the networks are going to spin this, but the expectations, I think, were a bit higher than she performed.  And I do mean performed.

[ Parent ]
You Know, This Really Puzzles Me (4.00 / 2)
They really did build up expectations, and you have to wonder why.  It really was shooting themselves in the foot.

My first guess simply is that they knew they had a nothing hand, and the only way to play it was pure bluff. Intimidate the media into quivering and quaking before her, and savagely attack anyone who didn't fall in line.

But they clearly had no idea how bad she'd be.  And that, I think, goes back to the "heckuva job, Brownie" gene in the GOP DNA.

I mean, really, how much more did Bush know than Palin does?  Not very much, I'd say.  But he's lived all his life in a protective cocoon, and he knows just what he needs to do to keep that cocoon wrapped around him.

So now the game is really on to up the media intimidation so they don't say bad things about her.  But I think that's going be a lot harder than they expected it to bo.

Combine that with the apparent levelling of the McCain/Palin bounce, and I'm starting to feel optomistic again, instead of nervously uncertain, but still hopeful.  We're not out of the woods yet, by any means.  But I do think we can start to see the right path.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
I disagree (4.00 / 1)
I actually think Bush does know more than her...

and that is scary as hell.

Wonder if she'll be wearing a wire in the debate against Biden?

[ Parent ]
Remember Him Not Being Able To Name Any World Leaders? (0.00 / 0)
That's sort of an upper limit on how much more he knew (or cared) re foreign policy.

Now, clearly, he'd travelled in much more elite circles.  He put together the Texas Rangers scam that made him a wealthy man at taxpayer's expense, and he did it all legally (unlike some of his earlier stuff).  But that's my point--he's only marginally smarter and more knowledgable than her in the foreign policy field, and was clearly not very interested in most domestic policy.  So the differences aren't that big.

They are there, don't get me wrong.  But they're not huge.  If Palin handn't been rushed onto stage in 2 years, rather than 6, like Bush, she might even have closed the gap, with proper tutoring.  

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
I live in the Boston area and it was a reporter from a Boston station who asked those questions (4.00 / 1)
Bush was livid

Then right on que the Bushie's got mad on Bush's behalf and the defense was he'll have people that will know that and he can earn that on the job.

It think it is more important that she understand policy rather than names.

Or you could describe an incident that actually happened like the Cuban Missile crisis and without saying it is and see if she can identify it and see if she agrees with JFK's response.

Pick any incident by any President from her lifetime and describe an actual incident without naming it and see if she gets it or so totally screws it up that it is shocking.

I have a feeling I know what she'll answer.. so say I have 2  scenarios or 3  let me describe them what would you do?  

[ Parent ]
I hope the Obama camp counters the subordinates defense... (0.00 / 0)
If we have learned anything from the past 8 years it should be that if the President doesn't understand we are entirely at the mercy of that person's ability to select people.  Bush was dumb, but was supposed to select top-notch people, instead we got Brownie and Rummy.  The Obama campaign should be ready to pounce if they try that one again.  If the President lacks knowledge and judgment his subordinates will likely be even worse.  That should never be a successful line of defense again.
[ Parent ]
They Tried to Hide This (0.00 / 0)
That's why it aired on 9/11. They were trying to get it out of the way on a day where they could hide it in all the memorial coverage.
[ Parent ]
NYT and AP articles are pretty good (0.00 / 0)
The New York Times and AP articles are pretty devastating.

NYT:

At times visibly nervous, at others appearing to hew so closely to prepared answers that she used the exact same phrases repeatedly, Ms. Palin most visibly stumbled when she was asked by Mr. Gibson if she agreed with the Bush doctrine. Ms. Palin did not seem to know what he was talking about.

AP: "Palin tries to defend qualifications in interview"

John McCain running mate Sarah Palin sought Thursday to defend her qualifications but struggled with foreign policy, unable to describe President Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threatening nations and acknowledging she's never met a foreign head of state...

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: "They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska...

Palin said other than a trip to visit soldiers in Kuwait and Germany last year - "a trip of a lifetime" that "changed my life" - her only other foreign travel was to Mexico and Canada. She also said she had never met a head of state..."



"tries to defend" (4.00 / 4)
Let's see how long that headline lasts. Bet McCain campaign aides are already giving the AP an earful.
[ Parent ]
Somehow... (4.00 / 3)
Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: "They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska...

I do not find it reassuring that a candidate for Vice President who is governor of Alaska pipes up with a fun fact that I learned about Alaska when I was, like, in the second grade, and living in Northern California.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Also, (0.00 / 0)
saying that you can see Russia from Alaska is kind of like someone from St. Kitts saying that they can see the US from home, because on a clear day you can see the Virgin Islands over the horizon (I have no idea if this is actually true).

It's technically true, but also really deceiving.  Alaska time is, after all, 11 hours off of Moscow time.  

[ Parent ]
i can see Russia and lots of other countries (4.00 / 3)
with my Google Earth. Does that mean I have a lot of foreign policy experience? Cool. Maybe if I keep looking I'll pick up some new languages too.
[ Parent ]
In Alaska, you see Russia (4.00 / 7)
 In Soviet Russia, Russia sees you!
[ Parent ]
Languages, No (4.00 / 1)
But you could be Vice President!

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
Sarah is the litmus test (0.00 / 0)
of just how stupid Americans might be - personal identity is the key for her. if people identify with her more after this, then we're in for really long term trouble.

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare
[ Parent ]
i think bush was the litmus test n/t (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
you thought (0.00 / 0)
consider the bar lowered.

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare
[ Parent ]
After you've... (0.00 / 0)
...buried the bar under miles of earth, how can you possibly lower it?

I say the bar is in exactly the same place.  My money says lots of American's will still trip over it on election day..
40, 50 million of them.

I'm optimistic that when the electoral college tally is complete, 300 or so of those votes will go to "Renegade" and "Just Joe".

[ Parent ]
how? (4.00 / 2)
drill baby drill

but seriously, i got the sense she knows less than Bush new when he first ran. its a tough call, but that's how im scoring it here at home.

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare

[ Parent ]
The whole world is watching (4.00 / 2)
McCain has turned this country into a joke around the world.
Sadly, I bet the public loves it! (4.00 / 1)
After all, they thought that Howdy Doody Bush's "aw shucks" incompetence was absolutely charming...  why wouldn't they feel the same way with Bush in a dress?

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!
Is There Anything Charming About This Interview Though? (0.00 / 0)
Cocky? Angry? Yeah. Charming? I don't think so.

Her body language speaks volumes.

[ Parent ]
How About, "At Times, ALMOST Charming, For An Android" (0.00 / 0)
NOooo....  On second thought....

What with the Android Sisters from Ruby, The Galactic Gumshoe and Summer Glau's character on The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I somehow don't think Palin qualifies as "ALMOST Charming, For An Android," after all.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Maybe she's a replicant? (4.00 / 1)
We need someone to give her the Voigt-Kampf test before the next interview.
[ Parent ]
WHY DIDN'T OBAMA NOMINATE HARRISON FORD AS HIS VP? (4.00 / 3)
Lost opportunity, there.
[ Parent ]
A Few More Interviews Like This (0.00 / 0)
I honestly think if they put her in more interviews like this, her favorables are going to absolutely crater. She's NOT likeable in this interview. Angry. Cocky. Phoney.

In fact, that's probably the best attack Obama's campaign could press against her. Palin's clearly the candidate of "Fake it 'til you make it."  

[ Parent ]
She was angry, cocky, and phoney at her acceptance... (4.00 / 1)
...speech.. and yet she got rave reviews!  We'll see.. the American public is full of dumbasses who want dumbasses running the country... I'm not getting my hopes up at all..

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!
[ Parent ]
Yes, But (4.00 / 3)
The difference is that she also had some bogus small town folksiness worked into that speech. Where was the folksiness in this interview? Where were the jokes? Where were the shout outs to her kids? See what I'm saying? What made her acceptance speech go over at the RNC was completely absent in this interview. All that was left was the venom, plus the unvarnished reality of her complete and utter lack of knowledge of even the most basic of foreign policy issues.

I think the campaign should go right after her tomorrow. Whether it's Biden or Obama. "Fake it 'til you make it." Pin that to her. Then you expand it once it sticks to point out that she's got three houses so she's not the small town working class mom she's been advertised to be. Etc etc. We know she's a phoney. They've just got to connect the dots for people.

[ Parent ]
But almost no one likes Bush anymore (4.00 / 1)
So the more she comes across as being like him, the worse it is for her and McCain.
[ Parent ]
Alaska and Russia (4.00 / 1)
So... I am more traveled than potential Vice President Sarah Palin? I have met as many heads of state as the second in line to man who would be the oldest President in our nation's history?

BUT IT IS OK CAUSE SHE ONCE SAW RUSSIA!

She really is like Bush - the world, international relations, even American politics is simply of no interest to her. She doesn't know or care what the Bush Doctrine is - and she would have happily lived out the rest of her life not knowing if she hadn't been drafted as VP.

Sarah Palin doesn't get it, and she never will because she genuinely does not care. It's like trying to teach a cat to fetch your slippers - it's the wrong animal for the job. She can memorize talking points, sure, but if at 44 and after a decade plus in politics she doesn't even grasp the basics, no amount of tutoring will fix that.

As depressing as this all is, it does bode well.


"Don't hate the media, become the media" -Jello Biafra

She reminded me of students I have called on (4.00 / 3)
who hadn't read the assignment and just tried to stall using buzzwords.

If she was running for Governor in a State larger than Houston we would question her qualifications but national office...not even close.

John McCain doesn't care about Vets.


In A Sane World, Would A Candidate For CONGRESS Survive That Interview? (4.00 / 3)
Well, for once I am in total agreement with the conservatives.

Standards have eroded something fierce.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

Well... (0.00 / 0)
...I'd rather not test that theory.  As I find a number of candidates for the House of Representatives, on both sides - including incumbents...are not up to par on many major issues, specifically foreign policy.  House Candidates tend to focus on 2 or 3 issues and then have short answers for everything else...or just pivots back to the 2-3 issues they are confident talking about.  As far as Message goes, 2-3 issues is good, you want that kind of focus for a campaign...but you should be CAPABLE of talking at length about any issue.

Again, I wouldn't want to see the results of such a test.

Out of 435 sitting House Members, I bet more than 125 fail an undergrad level foreign relations exam...non-incumbent candidates...wow that will make Jay Leno's Jay Walk All-stars blush.

[ Parent ]
True, But... (0.00 / 0)
Palin would fail high school civics.

At least where I come from, she would have.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Easy Pickings (0.00 / 0)
If the Obama campaign can't use this to win the media cycle tomorrow, they should close up shop and go home.  
the question about the Bush Doctrine (0.00 / 0)
was obviously sexist

we'll be hearing that in 3, 2, . . .

Huh? They make Dockers for women (0.00 / 0)
clearly you don't shop at JCPenny like Sarah. l33tist.

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare
[ Parent ]
You know when you have people over at talk left arguing (4.00 / 3)
it doesn't matter that she does know the definition of bush doctrine- I am a firm believer that it won't matter. The reality is that there is a segment that has decided to maker her credible becuase she has lady parts.  
It's Not That She Didn't Know What The Bush Doctrine Is (0.00 / 0)
It's that she tried to blow smoke to cover for the fact that she didn't. It's the cockiness and arrogance in her avoiding answering the question. It's that she believes she can fake it 'til she makes it. She's a phoney. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
[ Parent ]
this is what we believe (4.00 / 2)
again I point to Talk LEft for Big tent dem's thought process as to how it willbe spun. ie, she didn't need to know. she can learn on the job. this is al iberal gambit. it's not like obama would have known. she's actually quite sharp. it's gibson's fault for throwing her a gotcha question. they will parse, slice and dice and you will end up with an electorte so confused they will not even remember what the discussion was about. unless of course it's about sex or pigs with lip stick. then the simple imagery is understood. it's offensive. or as big tent dem says it's palin derangement syndrome. just playing devil's advocate about what you will hear. see you can't persuade those who have decided palin is per se legitimate because to say otherwise is a) to point out obama's experience issues and b) is sexism. nevermind palin isn't for women rights. that too is sexism to point that out. welcome to 1984.
[ Parent ]
BTD (4.00 / 1)
Not everyone over there is doing as BTD.  I purposefully went there to get a take on how this thing went and was pleasantly surprised at a good amount of the answers.

That said, there will always be people that are so disappointed their candidate didn't win, they will never back the one that beat them let alone if there's a woman they can support out of spite.

Evagelicals were doing that with McCain before his Palin pick.  I imagine some blacks would have done that if Obama had lost.

I'm not defending it, just pointing out it's a few really bitter people.

[ Parent ]
My point is less about BTD (0.00 / 0)
or the bitters than how the arguments for Palin's interview can be spun. I am answering that question by using some of the arguments in which one can become locked in trying to point out the craziness of saying this isn't bad. They can get you lost in the trees , especially if you are an undecided voter who makes decision on very flimsy arguments.  
[ Parent ]
D'oh! (4.00 / 2)
"Damn it John, the Cliffs Notes that Joe Lieberman gave me didn't have anything on the Bush Doctrine!  He never even mentioned it during our tutoring sessions. I want to be sequestered again--Daddy please don't make me do any more interviews, please?!"  
Missed the interview (4.00 / 1)
but came across this gem from the politico write-up:
We've got to remember what the desire is in the nation at this time...It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state.

I'd like to see that in an ad with her voice over images of McCain meeting heads of state and presenting his "big, fat resume... [with] decades and decades in...Washington"

by the way (4.00 / 1)
Some of you might want to check out the Palin thread down at RedState.  

they thought she was good to ok, though they admit that she had no clue what the Bush doctrine was.  Also, they are mad at Charlie Gibson, who was a big meanie that hates America.  

I don't understand conservatives.

Male Media Employ Flawed Metrics (0.00 / 1)
to measure Palin's success.

Palin flunked her first foreign policy exam. No surprise.

What is surprising is that few bright people here seem to understand that few voters care whether Palin can identify the Bush doctrine.

Palin is red meat. Flaying the 'C' student president simply endeared Bush to a nation of 'C' students.

Indifferent to the mountains of evidence confirming how popular Palin is among 'regular folks', smug Dems continue to play the role of smug Dems, sneering at a woman many will see as a poised and responsible individual who takes her new responsibilities seriously.

I hope that Dems elect a large number of good people to the House and Senate.

The chances of this transformation taking place recede daily with every new poisonous attack.

If the Left wing, predominantly male media continues to attack Palin as it has, I fully expect a McCain-Palin Presidency and far fewer Dems elected to Congress.

Josh Marshall and Andrew Sullivan chirp brightly at their own critiques. PhD from Brown salutes Harvard PhD.

Andrew recently reported that he had to take time off to spend with his husband. Sullivan presents himself as a more responsible conservative than McCain and Palin. Many here seem to agree.

The dis-connect is surreal.

Is this one of those alien posts I hear so much about? (0.00 / 0)
.
[ Parent ]
So, what do you suggest? n/t (0.00 / 0)


REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!
[ Parent ]
The only way to criticize Palin is (4.00 / 1)
to celebrate her.
[ Parent ]
no fair palin's got lady parts so you can't treat her like (4.00 / 2)
the vp nominee.
[ Parent ]
So Many Rightwing Talking Points, So Little Time (0.00 / 0)
Palin is red meat. Flaying the 'C' student president simply endeared Bush to a nation of 'C' students.

Which is why he lost the popular vote in 2000 by half a million to that pointy-headed intellectual, Al Gore.

I find it interesting that you registered here on day one, posted one comment, and then nothing until this one today.


"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
I Would Not Want to Be Sara Now (0.00 / 0)
"ABC News is now an integral, enabling part of that farce."

Not last night.  Gibson was tough and probing, and she was hesitant and nervous at points.  Tonight he presumably will blow the Bridge to Nowhere lies right up in her face.

The Bush Doctrine is the one responsible for Track being deployed to a senseless conflict.  Don't you think she would know what it is?

My take home message was her thoughtlessness (0.00 / 0)
When asked about being chosen as VP nominee, she expressed absolutely no sense that she gave the question any kind of deep thought, or even took a moment to discuss it with her husband, or family.  She "knew immediately" and "did not hesitate" to join McCain.  Really??

She just gave birth to a baby with Down's and has a pregnant teen daughter and she didn't even stop to think about running for VP?  I mean, making that decision after some thought and discussion with your spouse, I can understand.  But making such a huge decision without thinking about it is just not a character trait that makes for a good national leader.

The rest was all soft-ball BS designed to fluff her up and make her look more Vice Presidential.  

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."

her personality makes her take the hard line (4.00 / 1)
no reflection, no mistakes, no regrets, no apologies. That's all signs of weakness. If you are caught in a lie double down and lie harder. She is more like Bush than McCain.
[ Parent ]
Yes, and all of that coupled with the tendency to LEAP before LOOKING (0.00 / 0)
Makes for a dangerous administration.


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Palin Interview Reax | 92 comments
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