# Dear God, thank you for not electing Sarah Palin **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399 "2008-11-06T03:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/1 "2008-11-06T03:01:39Z")
Watch Bill O try to spin Sarah Palin’s breathtaking ignorance as a _good thing._ [Sarah Palin couldn’t name the countries in North America.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/palin-didnt-know-africa-i_n_141653.html) Didn’t know Africa was a continent — thought South Africa was just the southern part of the country of Africa. Bill O’Reilly thinks that $40,000 of clothes for Todd Palin is “nit-picking.” Palin refuses debate prep for Couric interview. …astonishing. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/2 "2008-11-06T03:06:26Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > [Sarah Palin couldn’t name the countries in North America.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/palin-didnt-know-africa-i_n_141653.html) Didn’t know Africa was a continent — thought South Africa was just the southern part of the country of Africa. How is that… how is that possible? I mean, like many others, I saw her as unprepared for the Presidency and an amusingly poor on-her-feet interviewee, but she never struck me as quite so buffoonishly, oustandingly ignorant. I assumed she had baseline competence; not ready for the highest office in the land, but still reasonably well-educated. I mean, she was a Governor and all that. She’s not… I mean… wha-buzzah? I guess I need to see some hard evidence, because this is still kind of dubious. It may just be an overinterpretation of some small misspeak or brain-fart. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/3 "2008-11-06T03:13:10Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Dear God, thank you for not electing Sarah Palin. I’m John McCain, and I approve this message. (No, of course I’m not, but he’s **gotta** be realizing that he dodged a bullet there. I’m sure he’s very disappointed and all that he’s not going to be President, but I seriously doubt that he’s regretting missing the opportunity to work closely with Sarah Palin. His handlers were probably developing staffing plans that involved keeping her locked up in the Naval Observatory and only letting her out for fundraisers with the base.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/4 "2008-11-06T03:14:43Z")
I feel much safer with Palin in Alaska watching for Putin to poke his head up and fly into Alaskan airspace. I’m sleeping better now. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/5 "2008-11-06T03:15:52Z")
Oddly, **Morgenstern** , I feel a lot _less_ safe. Now Putin _knows_ what a vacuous ninny she is. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/6 "2008-11-06T03:19:16Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > How is that… how is that possible? I mean, like many others, I saw her as unprepared for the Presidency and an amusingly poor on-her-feet interviewee, but she never struck me as quite so buffoonishly, oustandingly ignorant. I assumed she had baseline competence; not ready for the highest office in the land, but still reasonably well-educated. I mean, she was a Governor and all that. She’s not… I mean… wha-buzzah? > > I guess I need to see some hard evidence, because this is still kind of dubious. It may just be an overinterpretation of some small misspeak or brain-fart. I think you are underestimating how stupid most people are. There are people who don’t know that New Mexico is a state or that Japan and China are different countries. I know a teacher who thinks that Japanese people have a genetic trait that made them unable to pronounce "R"s. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/7 "2008-11-06T03:19:24Z")
Incredible. I suppose this could just be staffers engaging in some back-biting, but this is being reported by Fox News! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/8 "2008-11-06T03:20:02Z")
I have a hard time believing the stuff that was being reported in that link, and I say this as someone profoundly unimpressed with Palin. How on earth can anyone who reads all the magazines not know which countries are party to NAFTA? It’s not like it’s a long list. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/9 "2008-11-06T03:20:26Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I guess I need to see some hard evidence, because this is still kind of dubious. It may just be an overinterpretation of some small misspeak or brain-fart. Yea, I was totally unimpressed with Palin, but even I have trouble believing quite that level of ignorance from her. I think someone’s just got an ax to grind. On the plus side, if she really is that dumb, there’s no way in hell she’ll get anywhere near the WH in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/10 "2008-11-06T03:22:25Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I think you are underestimating how stupid most people are. There are people who don’t know that New Mexico is a state or that Japan and China are different countries. I know a teacher who thinks that Japanese people have a genetic trait that made them unable to pronounce "R"s. I understand that people in general can be astonishingly ignorant in various ways. But I’m not talking about people in general; I’m talking about Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/11 "2008-11-06T03:25:15Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Oddly, **Morgenstern** , I feel a lot _less_ safe. Now Putin _knows_ what a vacuous ninny she is. As opposed to a guy who looks into his eyes and sees…not a former KGB head? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/12 "2008-11-06T03:26:19Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I think someone’s just got an ax to grind. Maybe, but if so, they fooled Carl Cameron. From the OP’s link: > [@](#): > > According to Fox News Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron, there was great concern within the McCain campaign that Palin lacked “a degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency,” in part because she didn’t know which countries were in NAFTA, and she “didn’t understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a series, a country just in itself.” ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/13 "2008-11-06T03:27:24Z")
“I looked into his eyes and I saw N… P… R.” ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/14 "2008-11-06T03:30:51Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Maybe, but if so, they fooled Carl Cameron. There are species of bread mold that have fooled Carl Cameron. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/15 "2008-11-06T03:31:57Z")
The type of bread mold that say “I can see Russian dressing from my house!”? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/16 "2008-11-06T03:37:29Z")
God, Bill O defended her valiantly though, didn’t he? Can you imagine if Joe Biden didn’t know Africa was a continent? I shudder to think the level of hypocrisy had that been the case. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/17 "2008-11-06T03:46:40Z")
I am so glad that stupid, nasty, hateful bitch is out of my face, I’m almost happier about that than I am about Obama actually winning. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/18 "2008-11-06T03:46:45Z")
So either she really is as stupid as I, and others, have always maintained (gratifying if a bit frightening to learn). Or the GOP has already decided, “Fuck the bitch. She’s going under the bus!” In which case, we’ll probably see a steady supply of these sorts of stories. Either way, we’re winners. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/19 "2008-11-06T03:53:24Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > I am so glad that stupid, nasty, hateful bitch is out of my face, I’m almost happier about that than I am about Obama actually winning. My thoughts exactly. > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > So either she really is as stupid as I, and others, have always maintained (gratifying if a bit frightening to learn). Or the GOP has already decided, “Fuck the bitch. She’s going under the bus!” In which case, we’ll probably see a steady supply of these sorts of stories. Either way, we’re winners. Why can’t it be both? BTW for those enjoying the Palin meltdown as much as I am, stay tuned to [Andrew Sullivan’s blog](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/). Quoting Andrew: > [@](#): > > We will soon find out a lot more about the Wasilla wannabe. If you think I’ve moved on from chronicling this crazy person who nearly got within a heartbeat of the presidency, then, well, you haven’t read this blog for that long. I’m Lovin’ It™. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/20 "2008-11-06T03:55:28Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > I am so glad that stupid, nasty, hateful bitch is out of my face, I’m almost happier about that than I am about Obama actually winning. Shayna, I said the same thing, but I was told to grow up in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=491293). (Also because I thought the boos about the mention of Obama in McCain’s concession speech were sore losing.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399.md?page=2)