While the subject of her political passing may be grossly exaggerated, The Washington Post took full advantage of a preemptive moment in this satirical video called Mouthpiece Theater:
http://tinyurl.com/ljjuhr
Memories of Sarah Palin
By the way, Governor Palin needs to know that the New England Patriots are a football team and not a political party. She offended a lot of New England football fans by wearing a team sweatshirt to make a political statement during one of her staged farewell parties in Alaska.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Final chapters on Palin? Well....I Said This in the First Chapter, Didn't I?
A Starter, Not a Finisher By Eugene Robinson:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/06/AR2009070603141.html?wpisrc=newsletter
(Julie's notes, I began Alaksa Women blog as soon as John McCain announced Governor Palin as his incredulous choice to be the Vice Presidential running mate in the 2008 Presidential campaign. My intuition was 100 percent correct - Ms. Palin is not cut from the political cloth which makes a person qualified to be President or Vice President of the United States. One can rationalize about her intentions, her right to be who she is and to say what she wants, that's fine with me. But, she is not qualified to be President of the United States. Period. Following is a column by op-ed writer Eugene Robinson, which underscores my opinion, only, he writes about one year too late...he should have said these things out of gate, when the Republicans endorsed her to run on the Presidential Campaign ticket. Nevertheless, better late..... and, that said, I also disagree with Robinson's ending sentance. Is Palin really "one of us"? Ambition does not impact all people equally. If Palin is one of us, then, please excuse me. She is not like me.)
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
What can you say about a public official who ridicules those who would take the "quitter's way out" -- as she faces reporters to announce that she's quitting? A governor who claims that "the worthless, easy path" would be to serve out the remaining 18 months of her term? An ambitious politician who says that "life is too short" to worry about, you know, boring things such as responsibility or duty?
You can say that all of us who ever took Sarah Palin seriously -- or pretended to take her seriously -- should be deeply ashamed. And you can say that John McCain should publicly apologize for putting the nation he loves at risk by choosing Palin as his running mate. Imagining Palin within a heartbeat of the presidency should be enough to make even die-hard Republicans shudder.
The reasons she gave for stepping down are not just contrived or implausible but literally nonsensical. She can most effectively serve the people of Alaska by ceasing to exercise the powers of chief executive? She worries that as a lame duck she would somehow be compelled to waste taxpayer money on useless junkets? In her "Don't Cry For Me, Alaska" news conference announcing her departure, the folksy non sequiturs -- "Only dead fish go with the flow" -- were like nuggets of Cartesian logic amid a tub of mush.
But I'm stating the obvious. The thing is, Palin's unsuitability for high public office has been obvious all along. Tina Fey got it right; the rest of us were far too reluctant to state plainly that the emperor, or empress, has no clothes.
There are basically two reasons the political class and the commentariat continue to speak and write about Palin as if she were a substantial figure whose presence on the national stage is anything but a cruel, unfunny joke. The first is fear -- not of Palin and her know-nothing legions, but of being painted as elitist and sexist.
From the beginning, Palin has been a master at maneuvering her critics into this trap. Like most Americans, she didn't go to an Ivy League school; like most women, she deals every day with the challenges of juggling work and family. She highlighted these aspects of her biography, then used them to portray herself as a victim whenever anyone had the temerity to criticize anything she said or did. The most recent illustration is what she posted on her Facebook page last weekend on the reaction to her announced resignation:
"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."
What is she talking about? Who are these "countless others" who supposedly have made the same decision to abandon governorships for no credible reason? The names don't come rushing to mind. Why is any criticism of Poor Little Sarah the result of the "different standard" that mean old "Washington and the media" always apply? Because blaming her favorite alleged persecutors allows her to ignore the bewildered reaction from her constituents in Alaska who are stunned and mystified at her decision to skip out.
The other reason Palin is taken more seriously than she deserves is that she has a constituency. Heaven help us.
Palin has far-right conservative views, and while I disagree with her on almost everything, there's certainly nothing inappropriate or illegitimate about her philosophy. But I feel sorry for conservatives who look to her as a champion because she's going to let them down. Articulating a political vision and inspiring people to believe in it are true accomplishments, and no one can take that away from her. But realizing that vision through legislation or executive action requires discipline, persistence and rigor. To return to stating the obvious, these are attributes that Palin lacks.
Anyone tempted to see her resignation gambit as a masterstroke, positioning her for a presidential run in 2012, is riding for a fall. She will flake out.
Sarah Palin is by nature more of a firebrand opinion-maker than anything else. I know one when I see one. She can deny it all she wants, but really she's -- gulp -- one of us. eugenerobinson@washpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/06/AR2009070603141.html?wpisrc=newsletter
(Julie's notes, I began Alaksa Women blog as soon as John McCain announced Governor Palin as his incredulous choice to be the Vice Presidential running mate in the 2008 Presidential campaign. My intuition was 100 percent correct - Ms. Palin is not cut from the political cloth which makes a person qualified to be President or Vice President of the United States. One can rationalize about her intentions, her right to be who she is and to say what she wants, that's fine with me. But, she is not qualified to be President of the United States. Period. Following is a column by op-ed writer Eugene Robinson, which underscores my opinion, only, he writes about one year too late...he should have said these things out of gate, when the Republicans endorsed her to run on the Presidential Campaign ticket. Nevertheless, better late..... and, that said, I also disagree with Robinson's ending sentance. Is Palin really "one of us"? Ambition does not impact all people equally. If Palin is one of us, then, please excuse me. She is not like me.)
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
What can you say about a public official who ridicules those who would take the "quitter's way out" -- as she faces reporters to announce that she's quitting? A governor who claims that "the worthless, easy path" would be to serve out the remaining 18 months of her term? An ambitious politician who says that "life is too short" to worry about, you know, boring things such as responsibility or duty?
You can say that all of us who ever took Sarah Palin seriously -- or pretended to take her seriously -- should be deeply ashamed. And you can say that John McCain should publicly apologize for putting the nation he loves at risk by choosing Palin as his running mate. Imagining Palin within a heartbeat of the presidency should be enough to make even die-hard Republicans shudder.
The reasons she gave for stepping down are not just contrived or implausible but literally nonsensical. She can most effectively serve the people of Alaska by ceasing to exercise the powers of chief executive? She worries that as a lame duck she would somehow be compelled to waste taxpayer money on useless junkets? In her "Don't Cry For Me, Alaska" news conference announcing her departure, the folksy non sequiturs -- "Only dead fish go with the flow" -- were like nuggets of Cartesian logic amid a tub of mush.
But I'm stating the obvious. The thing is, Palin's unsuitability for high public office has been obvious all along. Tina Fey got it right; the rest of us were far too reluctant to state plainly that the emperor, or empress, has no clothes.
There are basically two reasons the political class and the commentariat continue to speak and write about Palin as if she were a substantial figure whose presence on the national stage is anything but a cruel, unfunny joke. The first is fear -- not of Palin and her know-nothing legions, but of being painted as elitist and sexist.
From the beginning, Palin has been a master at maneuvering her critics into this trap. Like most Americans, she didn't go to an Ivy League school; like most women, she deals every day with the challenges of juggling work and family. She highlighted these aspects of her biography, then used them to portray herself as a victim whenever anyone had the temerity to criticize anything she said or did. The most recent illustration is what she posted on her Facebook page last weekend on the reaction to her announced resignation:
"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."
What is she talking about? Who are these "countless others" who supposedly have made the same decision to abandon governorships for no credible reason? The names don't come rushing to mind. Why is any criticism of Poor Little Sarah the result of the "different standard" that mean old "Washington and the media" always apply? Because blaming her favorite alleged persecutors allows her to ignore the bewildered reaction from her constituents in Alaska who are stunned and mystified at her decision to skip out.
The other reason Palin is taken more seriously than she deserves is that she has a constituency. Heaven help us.
Palin has far-right conservative views, and while I disagree with her on almost everything, there's certainly nothing inappropriate or illegitimate about her philosophy. But I feel sorry for conservatives who look to her as a champion because she's going to let them down. Articulating a political vision and inspiring people to believe in it are true accomplishments, and no one can take that away from her. But realizing that vision through legislation or executive action requires discipline, persistence and rigor. To return to stating the obvious, these are attributes that Palin lacks.
Anyone tempted to see her resignation gambit as a masterstroke, positioning her for a presidential run in 2012, is riding for a fall. She will flake out.
Sarah Palin is by nature more of a firebrand opinion-maker than anything else. I know one when I see one. She can deny it all she wants, but really she's -- gulp -- one of us. eugenerobinson@washpost.com
Monday, June 22, 2009
I Agree with Sarah Palin - But Let's Also Support the Golden Rule
Governor Sarah Palin is right to object to David Letterman's comments regarding her children. There is no reason for Mr. Letterman to bring the Governor's children into late night comedy.
At the same time, I want to be clear, if the situation were reversed with a political family other than Governor Palin - would the Golden Rule stand? I hope so.
Meanwhile, I support Governor Palin in this discussion:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20284295,00.html
In the wake of her recent visit to New York, David Letterman had some fun at the expense of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on The Late Show this week – but the governor and her husband, Todd Palin, aren't laughing.
On Tuesday's show, Letterman joked in his opening monologue that the governor visited Yankee Stadium, sitting in "far, far right field" with Rudy Giuliani. "They had a wonderful time," he continued. "The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter."
That last bit, a reference to the disgraced former New York governor who was caught with a prostitute, went over like a ton of bricks in the Palin household. Alaska's first couple took to their Facebook page to post the following messages:
From Todd Palin: "Any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too."
'Disgusting'
From Governor Sarah Palin: "Concerning Letterman's comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter): 'Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'"
On Monday, Letterman's "Top Ten Highlights of Sarah Palin's Trip to New York," included the following: "Keyed Tina Fey's car" (No. 7), "Finally met one of those Jewish people Mel Gibson's always talking about" (No. 3), "Bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look" (No. 2) and "Especially enjoyed not appearing on Letterman" (No. 1).
A spokesman for The Late Show had no comment, but on Wednesday's show, Letterman admitted he may have gone to far – then he repeated the jokes. He also said they were not at the expense of the Palins' 14-year-old daughter.
from Huffington Post
At the same time, I want to be clear, if the situation were reversed with a political family other than Governor Palin - would the Golden Rule stand? I hope so.
Meanwhile, I support Governor Palin in this discussion:
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20284295,00.html
In the wake of her recent visit to New York, David Letterman had some fun at the expense of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on The Late Show this week – but the governor and her husband, Todd Palin, aren't laughing.
On Tuesday's show, Letterman joked in his opening monologue that the governor visited Yankee Stadium, sitting in "far, far right field" with Rudy Giuliani. "They had a wonderful time," he continued. "The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter."
That last bit, a reference to the disgraced former New York governor who was caught with a prostitute, went over like a ton of bricks in the Palin household. Alaska's first couple took to their Facebook page to post the following messages:
From Todd Palin: "Any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too."
'Disgusting'
From Governor Sarah Palin: "Concerning Letterman's comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter): 'Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'"
On Monday, Letterman's "Top Ten Highlights of Sarah Palin's Trip to New York," included the following: "Keyed Tina Fey's car" (No. 7), "Finally met one of those Jewish people Mel Gibson's always talking about" (No. 3), "Bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look" (No. 2) and "Especially enjoyed not appearing on Letterman" (No. 1).
A spokesman for The Late Show had no comment, but on Wednesday's show, Letterman admitted he may have gone to far – then he repeated the jokes. He also said they were not at the expense of the Palins' 14-year-old daughter.
from Huffington Post
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