Re: Palin thinking Africa is a country: "[It] was taken totally out of context."

[jenmito]

Her Senior Foreign Policy Aid (C. Begham?) claimed, to Norah O'Donnell, "That comment was taken totally out of context." In what context could that NOT mean she didn't know Africa's a continent? :shrug:

[ErinBerin84]

1. and what about the other out of context things?

About NAFTA, etc? Plus, coming from the team that claimed Couric's question about what newspapers she reads was a "gotcha questioN", it's hard to believe anything at this point. The problem is, it IS close to believable that she would say that about Africa, given her past performance.

[jenmito]

2. Norah said she asked about ALL those comments and that was his answer...

Not very believable.

[Supersedeas]

22. well, at least now, they are admitting that these things were said -- Nicole Wallace denied that

they were said.

[alsame]

3. I asked my 10 year old niece to tell me the countries in North

America and she got it right. And I asked her to describe what Africa is and she got it right. And she's not even a Governor.

[jenmito]

4. I did the same to MY 10-year-old neice! SHE got it all right, too!

And she's not even a MAYOR!

[alsame]

8. Niece/Niece in 2016!!!

[jenmito]

16. I'll go for that!

And my neice looks like Obama's kids. :)

[grantcart]

11. I asked my 18 year old daughter - who is generally uninterested in history or politics to

name a Supreme Court Deciscion that she like and one that she didn't

Brown vs Board of Education

Plessy vs Ferguson


Now how hard is that really - even if you forgot the name you could name the principle and everyone would have said ok

[gemlake]

28. To me, blowing the North American countries is more serious

The "country of Africa" thing probably was a slip of the tongue. But to not know the countries in NAFTA? That's scary.

[slampoet]

36. Also you really need to know WHY NAFTA was made.....

....the reaction against the European currency.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. There is no doubt that Sarah Palin is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but

it is really unfair of the Republicans to try to paint her as being responsible for McCain's loss to Obama, which is exactly what they are trying to do with these anonymous leaks and statements regarding her lack of knowledge. She was chosen by McCain and his staff, she did not interject herself into the potential VP spot. The biggest blunder was McCain's in naming her as VP when they should have realized that she did not have the level of competency required for the position. The fault is his, not Palin's. She is being blamed for McCain's poor judgment.

[ErinBerin84]

10. yes, I agree. We know that Palin is not sharp,

but the Newsweek article really seems to give McCain a free pass, characterizing the Palin pick as "romantic", and a "bit" impulsive...a BIT?! Also, according to the article, he thought joint town halls and suspending his campaign would be "romantic".

edit: also, Norah said that Mark Salter had said to politico today that McCain figured that he was going to lose, and that it was a horrible climate for Republicans so it would have been almost impossible. As Rachel has said..."He didn't have to lose that badly!" There were other horrrrible misteps in his campaign that they should own up to a little.

[TwilightGardener]

12. She actively campaigned for the VP slot, courted "elite" east coast journalists

and the religious right nuts a year in advance, intentionally raised her profile--but did absolutely NOTHING in terms of shoring up her lack of required knowledge while hoping to be chosen. She is to blame as much as McCain--he should have had more idea of the depths of her ignorance (although well-regarded "intellectuals" like Kristol highly recommended her), and she should have had the humility to either turn down the offer, or the smarts to prepare herself for the role.

[DefenseLawyer]

15. Um... she didn't have to take the job

Was she kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to get on that bus? Was that wink really a signal? "Help me!"

[Arkansas Granny]

27. She probably has enough ego to think that she could fake it, or she

doesn't realize how woefully incapable she is.

[DefenseLawyer]

29. Undoubtedly

That still doesn't make her a hapless victim of the McCain Campaign. Buy the ticket, take the ride.

[Obamanaut]

20. I think we should put a lot of the blame on her. Somewhere deep

inside I betcha she knows she was way over her head. This was a situation where the big N word would have been useful - NO. Thanks, but NO thanks.

She bought her ticket, now she must take the ride. No sympathy here.

(couldn't pass up the 'betcha.')

[Gasping4Truth]

48. Fair. Unfair. Whatever.

When your enemies are devouring each other, don't stand in the way!

I guess I'm quoting Machav... Machiv...
Nevermind.

[chappydog26]

6. And she thinks that if she runs in 2012

she'll actually be able to win with idiotic statements like these? WTF??

[TwilightGardener]

7. So...she said it then? They just confirmed it.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. In what respect Begham?

:evilgrin:

[Solomon]

14. Beat me to it. LOL

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

26. It just had to be done.

;-)

[sfam]

13. While I agree that Palin is a close-minded idiot, I don't believe this story...

I'm far more inclined to believe her spokesperson that this was a misstatement said in the middle of agonizing debate prep, similar to Obama's 57 states comment. Bottom line, the rats are trying to burn down the ship prior to jumping off. I think their credibility is probably 20 points lower than Hannity's at this point.

Is Sarah Palin a proud member of the Flat Earth Society? You Betcha! Has she ever read the Constitution? Not even in High School. But I'm positive she knows that Africa is a continent. The smear, while incredibly funny, is both sickening and non-credible.

[Doityourself]

17. I believe it completely!!! She believes the earth is 6000 years old..not far fetched to believe

she doens't know Africa is a continent!

I think she got where she is..on her look, alone!

[sfam]

19. Its easy to buy into the caricature, but I don't think its actually true...

She actually does have some awesome negotiating savvy. Yes, she is definitely a wingnut who believe God speaks to her, but there are lots of those out there. Most all of them in positions of actual authority somewhere have rock-bottom level basic knowledge such as "Africa is a continent."

Sorry, I'm not buying it. I'm FAR more inclined to believe that Schmidt is trying to sand bag her as much as possible. And personally, I find Rove wannabee Steve Schmidt to be FAR less truthful than Bagdad Bob.

[ipfilter]

23. She said Putin rears his head during "trade missions".

If she can say that I can believe the Africa comment. I think we would all be stunned at what she doesn't know.

[sfam]

24. Perhaps so, but I'm not taking Schmidt's word on it, however fun the story may be...nt

[frickaline]

37. I agree with you but I still find the story pretty funny.

Probably I shouldn't since I really doubt it is true but I'm finding it hard to have much sympathy for her. It does seem pretty clear that they are bent on destroying her at the moment and I think they'd say just about anything to accomplish that goal. That alone doesn't mean this isn't true but when Faux News is involved, I get a bit skeptical.

[sfam]

43. Oh I've absolutely enjoyed the story, even if I don't believe it. :)

[Doityourself]

38. Exactly...we also know she doesn't care much for reading... she's a twit and though

some may call it sandbagging...it wouldn't be the case, if they didn't have the ammunition.

In the end, screw Sarah..I hope they all tear each other to shreds!!

[Doityourself]

35. She's dumber than a box of hair clippings..she didn't even know any SC cases other than Roe v Wade..

How about a simple one: EXXOn! Duh, Sarah!

Yep, I believe it completely!

Sandbagging maybe true, but they have ammunition to do it. I don't feel sorry for her, at all!


I hope they all cut each other's throat..and let the blood run!

[sfam]

44. Again, I love the circular firing squad and hope it continues. Including the Palin bashing. But...

This doesn't mean I actually will be taking the word of pathological liars throwing mud that personally benefits them.

[Doityourself]

47. I believe its true...it's too bizarre to make up..sorry. n/t

[jenmito]

21. But he didn't SAY she misspoke. He said it was "taken out of context."

I can't think of ANY way that could be taken out of context. Can you?

[sfam]

25. Yeah, her aide covered that...same way as Obama's 57 states thing...

She said it was a missatement in the process of massive debate prep. Palin pretty much spews words out of her mouth in a random string. Its just so happens that in this sentence, the words jumbled together to appear as if she thought Africa was a state.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=6196407&page=1

Again, I just don't see why we take Schmidt's word on this. I get his motive, and yeah its REALLY fun to bash her - I do enjoy that. My fear is we again put her expectations soooo low, through the floor in fact that she has the ability to rise again like a Phoenix. Personally, I'd be far more happier if she restricted herself to punishing bad family members illegally from now on.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. I've corrected people far more educated and smarter than her who've made similar

statements. This is not uncommon in this country. When you don't give a flying fuck about the world that surrounds you outside the US it's easy to make stupid ass statements like that. I don't recall the exact statistic but a large percentage of US high school graduates don't even know which countries make up North America. I'm not sure why this is so hard to believe.

[sfam]

32. Because Steve Schmidt said it. End of story...

Why would you believe him about anything?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

39. Because even paid lairs can make true statements once in a while.

This is not much of an argument. Because this guy said it there is no way possible in the universe that it's true, please. Listen to her phone conversation with "Sarkosy". This fucking twit doesn't even seem to know who the Belgians are. Given her ignorance on every other subject this is very plausible. If you don't want to believe it, hey more power to you I guess.

[sfam]

42. Sorry, I just need a bit mroe evidence than that...

Yeah, she's definitely a fucking twit. But I just am not ready to believe everything anybody ever says about her, and certainly I'm cautious in believing a pathological liar who is saying this for a clearly personal reason that benefits his future. Call me crazy if you want...

[TexasObserver]

18. I heard that! How the hell can you take it out of context?!

How can you NOT know that Africa is a continent, and that be out of context to the issue of whether you know Africa is a continent?

Everything that comes out of her mouth is either stupid, or ridiculously stupid.

[revkat]

46. In the context of asking about South Africa

I read somewhere that Sarah was asking if South Africa was a country or a region of Africa. Which makes sense, I mean, when we say "Sub-Saharan Africa" we are talking about a region of the continent, not a specific country. Now, that she didn't know South Africa was a country is horrifying in its own right, but perhaps a tiny bit better than thinking Africa was all one big country.

[XemaSab]

50. Some people don't HAVE maps

:shrug:

[Orsino]

31. Taken completely out of the context...

...of Sarah Palin's not giving a damn about Africa.

[jberryhill]

33. Her personal witch doctor - Muthee - is from Kenya

Given that part of Muthee's much vaunted resume' in her church was his witch hunting activities in Kenya, the notion seems like she said something stupid in passing. But simply on the basis of her association with Muthee, it's likely that she knows that Kenya is a country in Africa.

[crossroads]

34. In what respect Charlie?

[Monk06]

40. Everything the woman says lacks context. She speaks utter gibberish

[anneboleyn]

41. like Britney not knowing Japan was a country...

[Dr Fate]

45. No- we totally took it in the context that you are an idiot. n/t

n/t

[XemaSab]

49. She was referring to the *other* Africa

You know, like Guiana and Guyana; Guinea and New Guinea; Mexico and New Mexico.... :P

[codjh9]

51. I'm sure it was taken out of context! I mean, hell, she knows Europe is a country, right? :^)