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Monday, September 15, 2008

Apparently I'm an arm of the mainstream media

Reader-submitted question: Why are you so afraid of Sarah Palin?

AHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, I have to catch my breath.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Afraid? Are you kidding me? You have to be on the wrong blog.

I'm not afraid of her. I think she's pathetic. A ludicrous pick. Seriously, this has to be a joke. The real choice for VP has to be someone qualified. Harriet Miers is probably waiting for all of this to settle down before she reveals herself.

I couldn't possibly be afraid of Ms. Palin. I don't know very much about her. I'm sure I actually agree with her on some issues. It's just awfully hard to figure out what those might be. She tells lies that anyone can disprove with a Google search. When she's not lying about her record, she's pretending to be tough and determined. It's a total joke. I can think of another American leader who's desperate to make everyone believe that decisions should be made without much thought because they are directed by God. Actually, the last time I checked, this was the same thing several other world leaders were claiming.

I don't think this question was actually directed at me. It couldn't reasonably be. I think it comes from the fact that Ms. Palin is getting a lot of attention in the media. This is because reporters are doing their jobs (well, some of them are). Nobody knows who she is, because she has exactly zero experience at the national level. None of us have ever heard of her. The only thing we know is that she consistently lies about her record and is the queen of pork. (Heh, lipstick on a pig! OK, that was probably inappropriate.)

It's the media's job to ask questions about her background and find out what she actually believes. She's making this more difficult by refusing to answer their questions. I have to admit that I find this really, really strange. It's certainly not John McCain's style, or at least it WASN'T his style as a senator. But she's getting the headlines because everyone else in this race has been scrutinised for years.

To a lesser extent, this is the reason Mr. Obama got headlines over Ms. Clinton. She's been on the national stage for 16 years; he's only been there for four. Clinton supporters complained about this, but the fact is that a year ago we all knew much more about her than we did about him.

Ms. Palin is going through the same thing right now. We don't know anything about her, so she's in the news. As time goes by, we'll learn more about her and the focus will shift back to Mr. McCain.

I'm going to turn this question around. YOU tell ME what you like about her. Which of her unstated policies do you like, and how did you figure them out? How is she different from the guy you want to throw out? What do you actually know about her that makes you support her?

Sure, I have a ton of respect for her personally as a mother, and in some ways she reminds me of myself. That's the entire problem. I want someone smarter and more experienced than myself in the White House. That's sort of how we all got into this mess, isn't it?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

...I like her hair...

Anonymous said...

You know what I like about her.

But none of it is her policy, because I can't figure most of it out either.

Usually, we wouldn't care about that -- she's just the VP running mate.

But in the post-Cheney era, and with McCain's age, her positions are important.

Instead, she's message-tracking -- and BADLY.

Still love Trig, and admire her personal life. And I'm an old-school feminist in some ways. The personal is political, and her family life does reflect on some of her positions, the social stuff.

But I have no idea of her economic, health care or foreign policy, because she says much without saying anything.

She needs decent PR staff.

Anonymous said...

A quick search came up with this:
She has been the Governor of Alaska for two years and Mayor of Wasilla Alaska for ten years. She also served as President of Alaska Conference of Mayors and was also a City Council member (1992-1996).

Here are 3 things she has done since late August:
1.) Natives of Alaska have dreamed of a pipeline for more than 30 years. Sarah Palin in less than two years got the bill passed and the framework is now laid for them to move forward with the project.

2.) House Bill 4001 and Senate bill 4002 were signed into law by Governor Palin on August 25, 2008. SB 4002 pays $1,200 to each resident who qualifies.
The money for these payments comes from the state's natural resource revenue. This bill also suspends the state's tax on gasoline.

3.) Administrative Order 242 signed August 20, 2008.
This order puts together a co-op of the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Revenue to work with organizations who wish to commercialize Alaska's North Slope natural gas.

mom

Jenn Martinson said...

You crack my shit up! I ran across a blog called Women Against Sarah Palin http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/ so there is more than a few people who are confused about her politically.

Megan said...

Mom, you might have found those things with a Google search, but I actually live here, and I can tell you that Sarah Palin is not responsible for any of those things.

There has been a pipeline in Alaska for years, and the work on a new one has been underway for years. Alaskans have been getting payments from oil revenues for years. Commercializing oil revenues from the North Slope, again, has been going on for years. She deserves no credit for this: all of the work was done long before she was elected governor.

I have a few readers who know a lot more than I do about arctic gas, and I hope they will chime in.

And if you had to use Google, this wasn't what impressed you about her.

Anonymous said...

You watched her acceptance speech,and if I remember correctly, was impressed at the time.

mom

Anonymous said...

She either passed these bills or not. Why try soooo hard to belittle her?

mom

Megan said...

It's hard to belittle someone who's already so small. I just went back and re-read what I wrote at the time. (I liveblogged her speech.)

I said that I would have liked to see her as an up-and-comer. I stand behind that.

I said that families with special needs really do need a friend and advocate in the White House. I stand behind that.

I asked if she really put the jet on eBay. It turns out that she did, but she didn't actually SELL it on eBay. It was sold offline. So yeah, this is true. (Apparently the Alaskan government has sold aircraft on eBay in the past.)

Then she mentioned the bridge to nowhere (a lie she has continued to repeat) and attacked someone she called "our opponent" for not having enough experience. Hilarious.

I also said that she is an unqualified candidate who had read someone else's speech. I also stand behind this. She is a joke who has no ideas of her own. She is not even very good at remembering what's in her briefing books. She is, however, pretty good at reading the words someone else puts in front of her. Is that really what we want in a national leader? She doesn't even meet my standards for a state leader. Name of Town Withheld's mayor does a better job in interviews than she does.

Anonymous said...

I'm not trying to distract you (really), but I hope you will investigate this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSEaHyzbqTA

If it's not a gag, it would make a great addition to your PETA file.

Dad

Anonymous said...

Here's why we love Sarah Palin:
1. We love her because so many people love her, and want to vote for John McCain because she's on the ticket. If you're a Republican, that's a good reason to love a person.
2. We love her because she's raising a down syndrome child, and most Americans abort them.
3. We love her because her selection has proven how canny and courageous John McCain is. With this selection, McCain rattled the supremely confident Barak Obama.

We don't think she is very well qualified to be President, but if she doesn't get elected Vice President, Barak Obama will be the President, and he is no more qualified to be President than Sarah Palin is. She is qualified to be Vice President.

The nasty things in the press don't mean anything to us, because we've lived through enough campaigns to disregard them. Mud is plentiful.

Mom and Dad
Democrat and Republican
Palin Supporters

Mr. Mandal said...

"Democrat and Republican"?

When did this happen?

Anonymous said...

Your mother registered as a Democrat when we moved to Florida. Call it a midlife crisis.
She voted for Barak Obama in the Florida primary. I voted for Ron Paul. Call it a midlife crisis.

Dad

The Capitalist said...

Come off it. Loving a person does not qualify them for anything at all. Mom is a registered democrat because the republicans try to highjack the democratic nominee, and only voted for Obama over Clinton because her hate for Clinton is soooo high she could never bring herself put a check by her name, no matter how much Rush Limbaugh was forcing it.

What I find most amusing is the notion of nasty things in the press against Palin. They are reporting the FACTS! There is no spin! The only nasty things in the press are McCain's ads.

Honestly, I find it hard to believe anyone supporting Ron Paul could back McCain. I say this as a Paul supporter myself. Him & McCain are polar opposites. Your opinions are purely 'party-line'...Look at the economy today and see where it's gotten us...

Megan said...

I think they are pretending to be stupid Americans. Only a complete moron would vote for someone for any of those reasons.

We Canadians didn't get the joke because they tapped into our preconceived ideas about Americans. Well played, Mom and Dad.

Jenn Martinson said...

I love that your parents got into this!

Anonymous said...

"Well played, Mom and Dad."

We don't do irony (comedy, yes; irony no.)

I am a pro-life voter. Protecting the innocent is the #1 duty of any government. I will always vote for the prolife candidate.

I don't know what to do about the economy. Neither does Barak Obama. Neither does John McCain. Neither does either one of you.

Dad

Anonymous said...

"They are reporting the FACTS!"

Of course the press is reporting facts. I figure that they do generally report facts, but the facts they report are generally not important facts.

The goal right now - - for both candidates - - is getting elected. This isn't about having a "national debate"; this is about winning a national election. Every "fact" you hear over the next two months is selected for that purpose. Keep clear about that.

Dad

The Capitalist said...

The problem with the pro-life voter is the inaction by the government they put into place. Is it worse to do something while knowing it is wrong, or to do the same thing while thinking it is right? Perhaps thats a question for Matt's Blog. Either way, I have less confidence in the capability of your candidate to promote a pro-life policy than I do for mine. Don't get fooled again.

Also, I DO know what to do about the economy. Unfortunately it involves short-term pain, and long-term work, both of which the general pulic doesn't want to hear talk of.

The Capitalist said...

It's also intriguing to me how the 'pro-life' candidates are the ones FOR wars, FOR the death penalty, and AGAINST gun control. In all my time as a Pro-life Conservative I've never understood this concept.

Anonymous said...

Wait till Palin attacks Russia. And I say "Palin" because anyone with contacts to the Washington elite (media, govt, etc...)knows that McCain is not well and isn't going to last for 4 more years. And then she's going after Canada. But the good ole USA won't be there to defend you. Too bad. Maybe Russia can help you. Cuz it is close to Canada.

Anonymous said...

Nathan,
Perhaps you can spell out your plan to improve the economy, and explain why Obama is the candidate you expect to follow it.
(It would make a good topic for "A Perverted Truth").

Dad

The Capitalist said...

Actually, nearly every post I have ever made is related to that very issue to some degree. I won't even say Obama will follow my ideas, as I have said my opinions often greatly differ from his. I think Obama can inspire others. He also brings less corruption with him, and is obviously the candidate of change.

Unknown said...

Wow, and I thought this was a hot topic around here! I am voting the Democratic ticket. It is, I believe, the lesser of the two evils, though not by much. They both scare me, but I really get nervous if I start thinking about McCain's health and who would be running the nation.
It is not the first crazy election we have been through.
I don't even have much faith in their promises about change. Am I becoming a cynic?
The Auntie in New Hampshire