The most ridiculous part is that some of those who are now biased against her were, only two weeks ago, singing her praises. It's disgusting.
Simply and utterly beyond belief
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The most ridiculous part is that some of those who are now biased against her were, only two weeks ago, singing her praises. It's disgusting.
You mean Fox used an anonimous source and MSNBC used the fake source
If you'd like, I can dig up a thread where people here were eager to believe that rumor. A shocker isn't it?
Not really. This is precisely why I hate "anonymous sources". There's no checks and balances.
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Sorry Aruna, no. In your opinion, she may have displayed a lack of knowledge. As I pointed out before, some of those pundits claiming she had a lack of knowledge actually new less about NATO and how it functions than Palin.This is a False Equivalency.
I LOVE that expression... heard it a few times in the last few months!
OK, here's the reasoning: Sarah Palin has shown through several interviews that she lacks knowledge in several areas. Thus, some people are inclined to believe further rumours of her ignorance. This is the reason for the claims of lacking intellectual curiosity.
But regardless, a lack of knowledge on such specifics is hardly in the same category--imo--as something like not knowing Africa is a continent.
Thus, those inclined to believe such things about her are so inclined because of their own personal animosity towards her--imo--not because they are engaging in any sort of reasoning process.
Wellllll...imo, both of them (and McCain) demonstrate an extraordinary lack of knowledge with regard to the economy. Extraordinary.
Such a history is not really there.
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This is a False Equivalency.
I LOVE that expression... heard it a few times in the last few months!
OK, here's the reasoning: Sarah Palin has shown through several interviews that she lacks knowledge in several areas. Thus, some people are inclined to believe further rumours of her ignorance. This is the reason for the claims of lacking intellectual curiosity.
Neither Obama nor Palin have shown such lack of knowledge. On the contrary. Biden may be gaffe-prone, but does anyone really doubt his knowledge?
In other words, it's not the gaffe that proves the intellectual lack of curiosity, but the history.
Not sure what you mean about the last two paragrpahs.
My take is that Palin runs Alaska well, and some of us prefer pragmatic leaders and to leave the intelligentia type of curiosity to pedants and professors who "masterbate with ideas" as Arthur Koestler so appropriately used the phrase.
I reserve the term intellectual for a higher plane of mental capacity than accumulation of knowledge and ability to transmit it.
Knowledge does not = wisdom or even common sense.
To refer to The Lonely Crowd, as one who is knowledgeable, can transmit, but may not necessarily be wise (humble moment), they are the "inner-directed" who made our unique nation great. I suspect Palin may be one of those, agree or disagree with her views.
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I'm almost... ALMOST!... beginning to feel sorry for her!!!
See post #22.
I'm not stupid, but I do say stupid things sometimes.
Until recently I did not know which countries are in NAFTA... (now I do!)
Like I said before, there are many otherwise intelligent people who don't know much outside their immediate range of interest. I've met a couple of them myself. As for me, I have some huge gaps of knowledge...
Well, she's a quick study, they say!
Actually, I agree with you here, and I too disike the word intellectual as used in the sense above: highbrow, pedantic and what not.
I suppose I should be more specific.
I lived in Germany for 35 years, as a foreigner. in my later years i joined a group of other English speaking foreigners; we met once a month to chat, to communicate, and sometimes we ranted.
We ranted about a particular type of German who knew nothing outside his/her particular orbit, and lived in a kind of cultural cocoon. It was like a whole breed, and most of us got to the point where we could identify them after only a few words. We called them "unexposed".
And I think that is the preferable word in this case.
100% agreed. But wisdom, IMO, implies an inquisitive mind, wide open and embracing to all kinds of people, whether they are like us or completely different. I've had the great luck to have known very many very wise people and this is the one characteristic they all have in common: they understand the human situation.
However, I do believe that one who would lead a country needs to be knowledgeable as well as wise. Pragmatism is important, but not enough.
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But does she? Not that I'm saying she doesn't, but how much about her as Alaska governor we know? Blacbird, who lives in Alaska, doesn't seem to think much of her...
As I've pointed out several times before, the jury is still way out on this one. She's been Governor for less than two years, and the past couple months of that were spent running for VP. Plus, up to now, the state has been awash with money, and she hasn't had a single difficult decision to make. It's hard to tell what she's done, other than be a public pretty face (in huge contrast to her odious predecessor). Being a public pretty face is something she does do really well (high school beauty queen, remember?), and she certain does love the lights and cameras.
Additionally, as I also pointed out, the Governor here hardly "runs the state". Gubernatorial powers here are severely limited, with the legislature actually being the real driver behind most stuff. Which doesn't mean the Governor doesn't have a role in proposing policy and being the point person for public efforts. It only means we haven't seen much of that from Sarah Palin, yet.
caw
Well, that's interesting, an invented source - I'd think a reporter seeing something like that would be trying to identify this individual and all the groups he allegedly belonged to, looking at the ownerships of websites (not always available with "protected" domain registration available for cheap), when they were created (always available - if it's very recent, I'd smell a rat), how many other websites point to these websites and pages (especially BEFORE the news broke - if it's very few or none, that rat really stinks), etc. The person's name can also be verified in a myriad of online and offline ways.
But if a paid reporter doesn't do it, there are huge numbers of bloggers poking around, and such truths are bound to come out within days of the "revelation" of such net.inventions.
But as far a credibility, imagine a Vice President being unable to correctly spell "potatoe."
But if a paid reporter doesn't do it, there are huge numbers of bloggers poking around, and such truths are bound to come out within days of the "revelation" of such net.inventions.
But as far a credibility, imagine a Vice President being unable to correctly spell "potatoe."
Who is this "we?" It's not illegal to lie unless you're under oath.
She is A Member Of The Other Party, and apparently a strong member who was helping McCain get the right-wing conservative vote (not that they would have voted for Obama, but she might have helped them go vote instead of staying home). That's enough of a reason for her to be "swiftboated."
That's not logical...
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I'm not so sure about that "other party" thing, Ben. I watched something yesterday about a Republican Governor's conference, and a few of these guys were openly critical of Palin. It's probably a little in-fighting to see who will dominate the group, but it damned sure wasn't a love-fest. I'm trying to remember which one was the harshest. Pawlenty said some things that were borderline harsh, but another Gov sort of went off. No links yet.
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This is a False Equivalency.
I LOVE that expression... heard it a few times in the last few months!
OK, here's the reasoning: Sarah Palin has shown through several interviews that she lacks knowledge in several areas. Thus, some people are inclined to believe further rumours of her ignorance. This is the reason for the claims of lacking intellectual curiosity.
Neither Obama nor Palin have shown such lack of knowledge. On the contrary. Biden may be gaffe-prone, but does anyone really doubt his knowledge?
In other words, it's not the gaffe that proves the intellectual lack of curiosity, but the history.
Actually, it's not false at all. If a person is willing to buy into the concept that Palin doesn't realize Africa is a continent, they must be equally willing to buy into the idea that Obama thinks there are 57 states and that Biden believes that television was around in 1929--both statements that if taken seriously would exhibit a frightening lack of knowledge.
For the benefit of robeieio:
And I meant it, when I said it. She was a breath of badly needed fresh air to clear out the stench of the preceding governor, and his extended administration. Democrats had run a tired, past-tense candidate, a former governor who was never that popular, and in a state with nearly 2/3 Republican voter registration, he wasn't going to win, in any case.
Since that post, Palin has disappointed me some, notably in her unnecessarily clumsy handling of the state trooper situation (she's been cleared of legal ethics violation in that matter, but I never thought that was an issue, anyway; she hasn't been cleared of bad judgment). And her performance on the VP campaign trail was, plainly, atrocious. Although I blame much of that on John McCain, who should never have put her and her utter unpreparedness on stage in the first place. And now, I find myself cringeing at her whining about how she was treated as a VP candidate; which says little more than she didn't have a clue about what was likely to happen when she started uttering ignorances in public interviews.
But, as I said, we'll see how her governorship goes from here. She's still a big improvement over that Jabba the Hutt we had before. She handles the next year well, I'll probably vote for her re-election.
But I do reserve my right to change my mind, something of which robeieio apparently disapproves.
caw
blacbird said:
And I meant it, when I said it. She was a breath of badly needed fresh air to clear out the stench of the preceding governor, and his extended administration. Democrats had run a tired, past-tense candidate, a former governor who was never that popular, and in a state with nearly 2/3 Republican voter registration, he wasn't going to win, in any case.
Since that post, Palin has disappointed me some, notably in her unnecessarily clumsy handling of the state trooper situation (she's been cleared of legal ethics violation in that matter, but I never thought that was an issue, anyway; she hasn't been cleared of bad judgment). And her performance on the VP campaign trail was, plainly, atrocious. Although I blame much of that on John McCain, who should never have put her and her utter unpreparedness on stage in the first place. And now, I find myself cringeing at her whining about how she was treated as a VP candidate; which says little more than she didn't have a clue about what was likely to happen when she started uttering ignorances in public interviews.
But, as I said, we'll see how her governorship goes from here. She's still a big improvement over that Jabba the Hutt we had before. She handles the next year well, I'll probably vote for her re-election.
But I do reserve my right to change my mind, something of which robeieio apparently disapproves.
caw
It's all in my user title.
To be honest, I liked Sarah Palin at first. And that's despite my biased, so I gave her a pretty good chance. But over the course of the campaign, she proved to me she just wasn't very bright. However, that had nothing to do with this.
I assumed it was just a slip-up in the stress of the moment. That's still what I think it was.
To be honest, I liked Sarah Palin at first. And that's despite my biased, so I gave her a pretty good chance. But over the course of the campaign, she proved to me she just wasn't very bright. However, that had nothing to do with this.
I assumed it was just a slip-up in the stress of the moment. That's still what I think it was.
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She meant to say, "My neighbor has an Afghan with the most luxurious hair", but she mixed it up on the way out of her mouth>
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Don't be silly. If I "disapproved," I would have said so and not posted the old line in a playful manner.
For the record, I also recall you noting--well before Palin was picked by McCain--that you thought she was far too inexperienced to be a VP, though you did correctly note that she might be a potential pick, based on appearance more than substance (yah, I know: I'm cursed with a memory of everything). See? Credit where credit's due.
if it did happen, i think it was a slip of the tongue. they happen to every one. just a few weeks ago, i was talking to my dad, and was going to tell him that i had written two thousand words, and said twenty thousand instead.
they happen to every one, and this was just blown out of proportion. country and continent are very similar in sound, (well similar enough) to cause a slip.
they happen to every one, and this was just blown out of proportion. country and continent are very similar in sound, (well similar enough) to cause a slip.
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No, not at all. As an American citizen and politician it is obvious that Obama knows there are 50 states... even I know that!
I have met several well-educated people in my life who refer to Africa as if it were some big amorphous blob where everyone is the same. Only the other day I read in the papers about some woman saying she lived "like people in Africa", re-using her bath water; that to me is the same as saying Africa is a country. Many people assume that Guyana is in Africa and ask me things about "down in Africa". My own stepson once yelled something at me about "you-all in Africa". (He's a jerk!) Some people just don't diffeerntiate between African countries; it is all "Africa". Something like that could have happened with Palin. It really is no stretch to imagine that a fairly insular person, who has never travelled, thinks that way. Interestingly, se has never actually denied the claim, not in so many words; she says it was taken out of context, "Africa, the continent versus the country"... huh???? SO obviously the subject did come up at some time, and there was a misunderstanding.
As for Biden's Roosevelt gaffe: it could very well be that he really didn't know, that it wasn't a gaffe at all; some people are date challenged. I am myself. I can never remember the dates when some famous person lived, much less compare that date to when a certain thing, such as TV, was invented. It was always my downfall in history class.So I am willing to accept that he might be "date challenged"... are you satisfied?
The thing is, the Roosevelt gaffe is unimportant. It is of no consequence. You don't really need to know the exact date when TV was invented, and align it with the dates of any particular famous person, in order to be President or VP. That's more of a Trivial Persuit question.
You do need to know quite a lot about Africa and how it is divided up, however.
But I don't believe in flogging a dead horse. I think the smears - coming from her own party! - are nasty in their motivation, regarless of their truth.
I am quite willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I don't say, as some do, that it is totally unbelievable. Like I said, I don't care.
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THIS IS SO RIGHT. I cannot agree with this statement more. People know nothing about geography. Examples:
1) I work for a travel company. On a weekly basis I get people asking the most IDIOTIC things that would be obvious if they had even GLANCED at a map. At all. (IE, "I would like to stay by the beach in Florence." Not kidding.)
2) When I was teaching in China, people would ask me what the weather was like in America. I was flabbergasted. Then I went home to the US, and everyone asked me what the weather was like in China. ?!
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Well, you see, Florida is kind of like Canton, and Beijing is kind of like Washington, DC, and Sichuan is kind of like Nevada...
I've had people asking me if they have trains from Taiwan to China. No kidding.
I've had people asking me if they have trains from Taiwan to China. No kidding.