"her conspicuous unintelligence should be obvious to anyone above the age of 4"

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_02/022286.php


snip//

But the real entertainment came during the post-speech Q&A, when Palin fielded a few "pre-screened, pre-selected" questions. She was asked what Congress's top three priorities should be, if "conservatives" retake the majorities in both chambers. She said lawmakers' priorities should be to (1) cut federal spending, though she didn't say where, (2) adopt a conservative energy policy, and (3) turn to "our creator." Seriously.

This was the third part of her answer, verbatim: "I think, kind of tougher to, um, put our arms around, but allowing America's spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we're not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we're not afraid to say, you know, we don't have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren't afraid to go that route, not so afraid of the political correctness that you know -- they have to be afraid of what the media said about them if they were to proclaim their alliance on our creator."

For those keeping track, the first part of that answer was a 100-word run-on sentence.

Ron Chusid asks, "So, one of the U.S. Congress's top priorities should be ... asking for divine intervention from God?"

The answer, apparently, is yes.

I realize right-wing activists adore the former governor, but her conspicuous unintelligence should be obvious to anyone above the age of 4. There hasn't been a more ridiculous figure to hold American political prominence in a very long time.

She's simply an embarrassment.

—Steve Benen

[Richard Steele]

1. K&R

[liberalmike27]

57. Every time I listen

I end up sayin' Whaaaaa?

Sarah Palin, and Glen Beck affect me in very similar ways, and that would be WTF is he/she talking about, they just don't make any sense at all.

The worst thing about it is how badly it reflects on the intelligence of the American population.

If anyone wonders why the Republicans don't value public education, just look at either one of these characters, or anyone on fAUX Use. Smart people (like us, back pat, back pat) are wise to their BS. They also have money for their kids to go to school, and they don't want a lot of smart people competing for their jobs they want to hand down to their kids.

Also, smart people tend to KNOW their work has value, rather than the last 30 year trend of demoralizing, and destroying the idea that labor has any value whatsoever.

Brainwashing 101 on labor,
You and your unions wanted too much,
shipping jobs away is a good thing,
you are worthless anyway, and we can get anyone to do your job,
don't ask for a real living, or we'll ship that factory away.

And the most amazing thing is, they still haven't realized, after purposely and openly shipping jobs away, and destroying salaries, and knocking the minimum wage foundation out from under (more like letting it rot in place)our wage scale, which means the rest of the wages fell too, STILL THEY DON'T SEEM TO WANT TO CHANGE THAT!!

They've destroyed demand in the economy that was pretty much, along with Europe, supporting the whole world, and the rest of the world hasn't stepped up to replace what we've lost in our third-worldization of America.

All they can talk about is credit, we're not getting enough credit, not about how they've screwed us and that we don't make enough money anymore to buy anything but basics. And all of this, not to mention the fact that exporting millions of tax-paying jobs is the worst thing we could do for the debt/deficits. Hell, bringing those jobs back would be the most painless effort at reducing our debt, without increasing taxes, or cutting programs.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Palin has become the ICONIC GOPer with a microscopic brain..

A prime example of LOLOness and dumb speechifying

[cilla4progress]

3. Absolutely --

sadly, an embarrassment that could win, I'm afraid. I'd really hate to underestimate her, as we have her predecessors: Reagan, GW, for their obvious lack of smarts.

She's obviously trying to channel Reagan with her "lift American spirits" bullshit. What a dimwit. And yet and still -- WE MUST NOT UNDERESTIMATE the ignorance of the American electorate; the hysteria that can be engendered. We must be vigilant. I'm about ready to put on my party hat for Obama -- planning to head to a State Party planning meeting next week - if I can make it!

[axollot]

63. That's the important thing is we keep vigilant. And, to try to be as

excited about the process, despite the many set backs as we were in November 2008 - in 2010 and 2012. The worst thing we can have happen and what could kill the Obama WH would be letting the GOP take over Congress again as they did in 1996 (?) to the Clinton WH. And we are still living *THAT* nightmare as we are living the nightmare of *'s administration.

Here is what I see different. In the 1990's and 2000 elections the GOP used the media to great effect. They talked pretty much as crazy as Palin does now - then. The electorate is buying it less and less tho. Sure, people tune in to Palin - for her gaffes more than her policy IMHO.

We are in the information age and information killed McCain's run - probably why he really wants to clamp down on the Internet, with his bill that will allow ISP's to block information/sites etc. Now with the Citizens United verdict - we will see some real shady ads but can they "swift boat" again with as much impact? I don't know but really I dont think they can, again people are on high alert and pissed off. However, on the flip side of that coin - we simply cannot sit back and trust the system to work but continue to work it so the system works for us, it's citizens.

cheers
Sandy

[cilla4progress]

67. So, I should really plan to make it to

my state Democratic organizing party next week? :)

[tonysam]

4. I really don't get the obsession with Palin

She's not going to get the GOP presidential nomination, so why even waste your time posting about her?

And to be blunt, some of the posts border on sexism and would be noted as such if Palin were a Democrat.

It's very unbecoming.

[polpilot]

66. Same as, identical to...the obsession with Reagan. Easy, understandable answers to complex problems.

(1) Government bad (2) military good (3) Taxes bad (4) Government bad (Did I say that already) (5) Democrats are communists, socialists, and hate 'real' Americans

she combines this with 'how's that hope and change been for you and your families'?? presto! Pres. Palin.

[starroute]

5. So the Palin Doctrine is "Do nothing and hope God bails you out"

Well, it sounds like a plan, but has she explained yet how God is going to fix the economy? Reduce unemployment? Repair our crumbling infrastructure?

Or, for that matter, what happened to that old saw about how "God helps those who help themselves"?

Oh -- I've got an answer for that last one. I just googled on the phrase and found all the fundie sites emphasizing that it's not from the Bible, can be traced to that evil deist Benjamin Franklin, and God actually wants us to sit in a puddle waiting for a handout.

Got it.

[Atticus]

6. "The American people aren't that stupid!" But, see:

Nixon(twice), Reagan (twice, still prayed to by some), Bush I, Bush II (twice, the poster-boy for "head-up-assedness").

NEVER count out anyone the corporations might find useful.

[Monk06]

7. Here's the first two paragraphs of gibberish from her farewell address as governor. In case anyone

forgot. In all it's bass ackward wing nuttery.

"What an absolutely beautiful day it is, and it is my honor to speak to all Alaskans, to our Alaskan family this last time as your governor. And it is always great to be in Fairbanks. The rugged rugged hardy people that live up here and some of the most patriotic people whom you will ever know live here, and one thing that you are known for is your steadfast support of our military community up here and I thank you for that and thank you United States military for protecting the greatest nation on Earth. Together we stand.

And getting up here I say it is the best road trip in America soaring through nature's finest show. Denali, the great one, soaring under the midnight sun. And then the extremes. In the winter time it's the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn't it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins. It is as throughout all Alaska that big wild good life teeming along the road that is north to the future. That is what we get to see every day. Now what the rest of America gets to see along with us is in this last frontier there is hope and opportunity and there is country pride."

[farmout rightarm]

17. Isn't that last part what Captain Kirk recited a la beatnik poetry? Too funny!

:D

[Raine]

24. Absolutely HORRIBLE speaker

it's like being tortured to try and listen to a complete speech of her's. You feel like screaming "please just shoot me and end the agony!!" :cry:

[The Wizard]

40. Talk about thought disorders

loose associations and cognitive dissonance. She's a walking talking example of why government intervention is sometimes necessary to keep the citizens safe. And she carries loaded weapons.
She's damn near talking in tongues.

[tranche]

8. These people want to WIN so bad, they don't care the vehicle that takes them there.

I was talking with my girlfriend yesterday about the fascination with Palin from the right, and this very same subject, "can't these people see that she's not too bright"? My answer was that these conservatives hate the Democratic party and the perceived (left) that they support her because they truly believes she might have a chance to unseat the Dems. They don't care a lick if she can actually lead, they just want to WIN.

[MoonRiver]

9. I hope that moron keeps talking and the media covers her every word.

She will talk herself,and if we're lucky the Repuke Party, into oblivion.

[Stephanie]

10. "proclaim their alliance on our creator"?

Um, what on earth does that mean? Was she supposed to say "reliance?" Was her palm too small for her to give the scripted answer correctly?

[tavalon]

32. She's just putting food on her family

[jgraz]

11. Interesting how close that response is to what she'd written on her hand.

Even more interesting: she wrote "budget cuts", crossed it out, wrote "tax cuts", yet she still said "budget cuts". This is world-class stupid.

[BennyD]

38. She should have used a teleprompter. n/t

[66 dmhlt]

47. "World-Class Stupid" ... Boy, you got that right!

[Brother Buzz]

12. That's more than a run-on sentence, it's proof she missed a couple of periods and is pregnant again

She's already working on names

Energy
Smudge
Tax
Lift
America
Spirit

[varelse]

25. DUzy

[Brother Buzz]

28. No, I'm not worthy. I simply connected to brilliant DUer's ideas

I don't have that star thingy anymore or I'd track down their posts and give them equal credit.

[rasputin1952]

41. I still think it's DUzy worthy...

:hi:

[spanone]

13. unfortunately she's not an embarrassment to the media

[progressoid]

14. All medulla oblongata.

Nothing else.

[farmout rightarm]

15. If she knew 6 more things

she'd be an idiot.

[BlueIdaho]

16. A low information candidate for low information voters...

Could be the perfect storm.

[tblue37]

18. GWB was about as lacking in knowledge as she is, and as quick with

the malapropisms.

[spooky3]

21. yes - how soon we forget -- The Party of Embarrassment

would be funny except that we have seen how dangerous and costly such figureheads can be.

[timtom]

19. "She's simply an embarrassment."

Like, Bush WASN'T???

[donheld]

20. She makes America an embarrassment before the entire world.

[cbdo2007]

22. Yet there's still a huge group of people here at DU that are afraid of her.

No offense to anyone, but any adult with a normal intelligence level on both the right and left aren't taking her seriously at all. She isn't comparable to Reagan or Bush Jr - she's the equivalant of Britney Spears running for President. It's all a joke to sell books and for people to keep paying her $100,000 speaking fees. The ONLY relevancy she has is from the people here at DU who treat her seriously and the small group of wackos who worship her.

[spooky3]

52. I predict she will NOT run but she will wait until the last possible moment to announce.

The easy money she's getting now is just so much better than having to work hard at a government job.

[cbdo2007]

55. I'll one up you and predict she'll at least run in one primary. That way she can add

"Presidential Candidate" to her marquee which will at least add another $50,000 to her speaking fees. Otherwise she'll just be linked to McCain's failed campaign forever. She'll run in the Iowa primary and then drop out.

Also, if she announces even for a month that she's a candidate that will bring, who knows how many, Million$$$ of dollars to her through donations.

[JJ]

60. I thought the exact same thing about Bush in 2000

"No one can really trust this moron to run the country, can they?"

It was so painfully obvious what an idiot he was, not enough people could possibly be that naive to get that guy elected.

[JackRiddler]

23. To be fair, anyone above the age of 8.

I mean, seriously, you can fool four-year-olds very easily, and it doesn't take that much effort to still fool them at six or seven. But at eight most of them will see through this level of clumsy prevarication.

[Raine]

26. Compared to her chimp actually looks semi-smart.

which is something I thought would be impossible for anyone to achieve. :silly:

[KonaKane]

27. Dan Quayle II

This is gonna be hilarious.

[TexasObserver]

29. recommend

[patrice]

30. Doesn't matter how stupid she is; she is Bait in the next Republican Bait-&-Switch

Her job is to herd the most reliable voting block there is, Special Needs voters, and flirt with Racists, until the shell game is over and they run Romney/Huckabee.

[Mopar151]

43. It's pretty scary

When she can make those two look good.

[patrice]

53. Her role in the whole thing is that of a Whore.

God, this'd make a great novel if it weren't so Sadly true.

[Mopar151]

59. A "Whore of Babble-On"?

I don't know whether to laugh, or hide under the bed with the dog.

[patrice]

65. I'm going to picture you doing both, so may I join you and the dog?

:hi:

[progressoid]

62. Yep - she'll make anyone else seem actually appealing.

The rabid right will hold their noses and vote for a Mormon if they have to. And the rest will gladly take anyone other than that loony moron.

[Kablooie]

31. An embarassment and a glorious standard bearer for our conservative bretheren who don't know better.

[Douglas Carpenter]

33. kick and recommend

[vssmith]

34. How many times did she change colleges before she got a degree?

I would love to see her transcripts.

[madmax]

35. It didn't hurt W.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter.

[Democat]

36. Exactly right. Many here don't realize that.

Bush was just as dumb as her, or at least he acted like it. And he was president for 8 years.

Carter and Kerry were smarter than both of them. How did that work out for them?

Often times, intelligence is not as important as being strategic, rich, and ruthless when it comes to politics.

[krkaufman]

51. That was among my favorite bits from the 2008 election...

... all the media and Right Wingers/Republicans deriding Bush and saying that they wouldn't fall for that again... and then immediately doing so when it turned-up in a pretty (by political standards) package and winked at 'em.

Fool 'em once...

[DCBob]

37. She is only "rediculous" to those who pay attention..

Most only hear her soundbites which many seem to relate to. Comments which we see as goofy nonsense others see as "simple wisdom". She is a political force no matter how stupid she appears to most of us. That's the America we live in now... and it sucks.

[radhika]

39. Be Advised: Americans Like 'em Dumb -

Look at Reagan, W and the thugs in Congress and Senate. Americans are very comfortable with sociopathic and faux-folksy packages that ruin the nation.

[Mopar151]

48. Sadly, a lot of this is about bullying and co-dependence

If you follow some of the threads on bullying here, the codewords and tactics start looking very familiar. I'm currently reading "Odd Girl Out" reccomended at one of the links - now "the tush from the bush" really creeps me out.

[justgamma]

42. I considered it " divine intervention"

when Barak Obama won the presidency against all odds. How come when they win, it's God's will. He obviously didn't want the geezer and the grifter ruining His country.

[cbdo2007]

45. That's how I see it too. I prayed hard for Obama to win and it must be what Jesus wanted.

I'm not kidding either or trying to be sarcastic. I'm a Christian who prayed for Obama to win and it came true. How can anyone argue with that?!?! :)

[Zoeisright]

44. She's an embarrassment BECAUSE she's a repuke.

She is the embodiment of right wing nuttery and the culmination of 30 years of stupidity. This is what repukes ARE. It's about time we're seeing it personified in such a brazen twit.

[Echo In Light]

46. K&R

[krkaufman]

49. My favorite... ~we can't be afraid to be god-fearing~

:rofl:

[Peacetrain]

50. And she is exactly the type the republicans like to run.. the stupid

[Alcibiades]

54. "We need a commander-in-chief, not a law professor"

"standing behind a podium."

She's off message here. She should say that Obama is a "community organizer," not a law professor. This is wrong on several levels: firstly, law professors are respected; secondly, Obama himself never actually rose to professorial rank; thirdly, this invites a comparison with what Palin did before she sought elected office. Having as president a former beauty queen-sportscaster-Wasilla mayor-governor-quitter is not nearly so desirable as having one who taught constitutional law.

Please run, Sarah.

[ginnyinWI]

58. this is so "on its head"

A more accurate statement would read, "We need a commander-in-chief, not a former beauty queen with notes written on her hand who barely scraped through a four-year degree and didn't even have the guts to endure one term as a governor of a low-population state."

[Alcibiades]

70. She lives in an alternate reality

Along with the rest of the Republicans. The good news is that the Republican establishment is so discredited that they have to invent outsider nobodies such as Palin and Brown and make them into somebodies.

[rhett o rick]

56. There is a reason she is getting so much attention.

With the republican party in shambles the left is neutralized. The mainstream conservatives are moving to the Democratic Party and are being wooed by the Party leaders. Like Arlen Specter. Looks like the Democratic Party can win elections without the left. How nice for the corporate cabal. Elections will be contests between the reich-wing and the Conserva-Dems. Kinda like Arlen Specter's race.

A strong republican party would force the Democratic Party to embrace the left. But Rahm has made it clear how they feel about the left.

So the CorpAmerica cabal is pushing Palin to insure the republican party, for the time being, isnt a threat.

[bobthedrummer]

64. She is an operative with a network, that much should be stipulated-a far RW appeal...

:argh:

[Jefferson23]

61. If she runs, I will be listening closely to her Republican challengers.

The tea baggers seem to me to be a fractured group, those with legitimate complaints, and then those who wish for an anti-immigrant,
anti- abortion, lets drill in Alaska candidate. Low taxes will be for the wealthiest, and less regulation over all.

How is she going to garner a significant percentage of Independents with that platform, she hurt McCain with her crazy bullshit last time, so what is new here?

[niyad]

68. salem witch trials, anyone?

[niyad]

69. do I remember correctly that this idiot took 6 years and 5 colleges to get a journalism degree? it

is apparent that being able to speak and write english comprehensively is not a requirement in journalism these days.

actually, this fact was confirmed for me by the news manager of one of the local tv stations, after I had called for a month straight complaining of the gibberish passing for the news "crawls". he told me that there were 5 or 6 people working on the crawls, and I asked if any of them actually had degrees. he assured me they all had journalism degrees. I asked if they all went to the sarah palin school of journalism. he then told me that journalism students do not feel it necessary to have a working knowledge of english, a statement which completely blew my mind. Working knowledge of the language in which you are working is NOT a requirement for journalism these days?

I don't even bother looking at that channel for anything anymore.