Quote Of The Day
A further area of study ought to deal with the mind-set of McCain's former campaign aides who continue to criticize Palin for not turning out to be the mute puppet they had so hoped she would be. That she went rogue I have no doubt--but this was only after they went stupid and helped pick her in the first place.
I hear that Mrs. Palin has now blamed her inability to answer basic questions in the Katie Couric interview like the one about what she likes to read on being flummoxed that Alaskans were being treated as rural hicks who don't know how to read. Hm... okaaaaaay. My recollection is that some years ago a provincial from the rural backwater state of Massachusetts, Senator John Kennedy, was asked a similar question and instead of stammering, charmingly made Ian Fleming assloads of money. The real point being, naturally, that Mr. Kennedy knew damn well what he liked and didn't give a shit whether it impressed anybody or not. Roguish types do that. Fumbling a softball question? Idiots do that.
Still, McCain's camp doesn't have much room to complain. They could've picked somebody competent over somebody pretty.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2009: Dammit! I may have picked a quote for the day too soon. After reading the above, I ran across this zinger from, of all people, famous babydaddy and aspiring male model Levi Johnston:
Still, McCain's camp doesn't have much room to complain. They could've picked somebody competent over somebody pretty.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2009: Dammit! I may have picked a quote for the day too soon. After reading the above, I ran across this zinger from, of all people, famous babydaddy and aspiring male model Levi Johnston:
I just look at her in disgust. ... It's almost funny, that she's like, 46 years old, and she's battling a 19 year old, and I'm winning.
-Levi Johnston, "Levi: I Look at Palin with 'Disgust'"
CBS, The Early Show, November 17th, 2009
CBS, The Early Show, November 17th, 2009
So... which one's the better quote for the day? The zinger against the McCain camp from the grizzled editorialist for one of America's leading newspapers, or the snarky soundbite from the teenage almost-son-in-law of the almost-Vice-President? Help me decide!
Comments
By the way....Looking forward to your couple nights of reading? ;) (he he he).
But Huey P. Long would not have fumbled that question, either.
I miss William F. Buckley, Jr...
I can't really count Sarah as a hick who made good, though. Sarah's educational record is pretty damn spotty. She's definitely cut out to be head cashier at the Wal Mart, up there, but big fish, small pond and all that.
But I'm not sure she's quite a hick, either. Her parents don't quite come off that way, for starters. Truth be told, after recently watching Gus Van Sant's To Die For again, I found Nicole Kidman's media-hungry, Machiavellian bimbo character to presage the Alaskan ex-Governor a bit uncannily; Todd might want to keep an eye on any high school students his wife starts hanging around....
All told they're a pretty smart bunch and would have told that old whiney bitch to shut her ass up and sit the f**k down.
And Levi is counting his money...and laughing all the way to the bank!!
Can't we just discuss Britney Spears, Linday Lohan, Paris Hilton, or some OTHER idiot?
Levi is laughing all the way to the bank indeed. Just like his baby's grandma.
HEY! I have a B.S. in Communications. Do I make fun of you for being a lawyer?
Oh...I guess I do.
Never mind.
Well, I guess we were discussing Sarah Palin....
(Damn, did you have to make it THAT easy, Dave?!?)
It is really pathetic that Sarah Palin feels the need to go after the father of her grandchild in public.
Not saying that Levi comes off as a brain trust in that article, but y'know what? I don't blame him for milking the situation for all he can.
I mean, he's nineteen and made a mistake that many young people make, and the Republican vice-presidential candidate for the entire freaking country thinks she needs to go after him in the national press?
Shit.
Let's just hope he can manage his money and not throw it all away on wine, women, and song (so-to-speak).
Looking at the entire situation, can you even IMAGINE having Sarah Palin for a mother-in-law? Holy fuck that would be hell. You have one fight with her daughter and she'd castigate you on national TV.
And really. Playgirl is porn? But beauty pageants are wholesome entertainment where women are judged for the contents of their minds rather than the shape of their bodies?
As far as a "female democratic candidate" being respected? All I have to say to that is: Hillary Clinton.
Imagining that has blinded my mind's eye. Thanks a lot, Michelle.
That's saying something.
Pass the brain bleach please.
Joe Biden.
Do you are REALLY think he got Mr. Obama any extra votes whatsoever? The man is no less of a liability than Sarah Palin was to McCain.
Really, WTF was the selection of this gas-bag really all about? Sure, many years in the senate, some random foreign policy experience, but a long-winded wound which will probably be seen as the worst selection by this "Hopey-Changey" administration.
And Eric, which one of those "Hollywood three" has ever been elected as a mayor or a governor of an American State? Give Palin a dash of credit. She's not nearly the moron those other three are.
Romney/Pawlenty 2012.
Which means that Obama selected Biden for criteria other than the short-term goal of winning votes. And despite the fact that I see Biden as something like a loveable, crazy uncle who has some good ideas but should probably shut up every now and then, you make some excellent points about his experience in the Senate, which of course he's now president of (even if that role is often mostly symbolic) and point out his foreign policy expertise.
That's really, really interesting, and thank you for pointing that out, Dave, because it's something I'm wont to overlook: obviously, we all know that McCain cynically chose an unqualified VP running-mate to draw votes (a point you pretty implicitly concede in your comment), but we often overlook that Obama, by contrast, chose someone who had some substance and little vote-generating appeal.
I think you were trying to score on Obama, Dave, but I think you just shot one into your own net. You're right, Obama's choice of Biden does look even better when you regard it as a long-term choice that it prioritizes what happens after Election Day over the short-term popularity contest of the general election itself. Good point!
As for Ms. Palin's ability to win local and statewide elections: her experience in doing so certainly exceeds her experience in completing a term-of-office-without-abruptly-quitting. True, the President didn't complete his Senate term, but at least he had another job lined up before he stepped down.
I also imagine that Ms. Palin is making a HELLUVA lot more money now than had she remained Governor. I believe two or three speaking engagements more than make up for the $125k a governor of Alaska earns.
In retrospect, Mr. Obama would have won the election if he had Wil Farrell or OJ Simpson as his running mate. He was destined to win THAT election. (Not so sure about the next one, but we'll see). I was pleased to hear today that he would consider tax cuts for businesses to encourage hiring. That's all part of his money people and their belief in Keynsian Economic Theory. Glimmer of hope.
Do you believe that if Mr. Obama had a chance to go back and select another running mate, he would choose Biden again? I think Evan Bayh would have been a smarter choice.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
I've been trying to be charitable, John. You're absolutely right, of course--there are mayor's races that involve more voters that Alaska's, and college student council elections that involve more voters than Wasilla's mayor's race. The idea that Mrs. Palin's ability to get elected in either election reflects some amazing national popularity is a bit daft; I believe the latest figures are that she can't even convince more than around 40% of her own party that she's qualified to lead.
But I didn't want to just come out and say that. I'd be a liberal elitist, etc. Just as it took Nixon to go to China, sometimes you need a conservative to put certain truths out there--thank you, John. :)