# Help Me Demonstrate Sarah Palin Is a Moron **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551 "2010-08-26T16:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/121 "2010-08-28T05:17:43Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > > Not knowing all facts about every subject, also doesn’t constitute “moron”. > > I agree with you. Like I said above, I don’t think Sarah Palin is a moron, or stupid at all. She is, however, not knowledgeable enough about world events or politics to be the second in command of the country. I don’t think that’s a major insult. Most of us fit into that category. I’d be fucked if I were asked some of the questions reporters asked her, and I’ve actually taken graduate level courses called Foreign Policy and International Security. I’d like to have a VP who doesn’t need a flashcard to understand why there are two Koreas, you know? It bothers me that a lot of people seem to excuse her ignorance by saying “well, hell, I wouldn’t know that either.” > > BTW, here is the original statement about Alaska’s proximity to Russia, complete with context: > > > [@](#): > > > > PALIN: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we saw with that invasion of Georgia shows us some steps backwards that Russia has recently taken away from the race toward a more democratic nation with democratic ideals.That’s why we have to keep an eye on Russia. > > > > And, Charlie, you’re in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They are our next door neighbors. We need to have a good relationship with them. They’re very, very important to us and they are our next door neighbor. > > > > GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you? > > > > PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska. > > > > GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they’re doing in Georgia? > > > > PALIN: Well, I’m giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it’s in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along. > > [From here](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=2) > > I don’t think it’s that stupid or bad of a point, actually. She’s just saying that Russia is close to Alaska and it’s important to maintain good relations with a neighboring country. I don’t think she’s saying that the proximity gives her any special knowledge of Russia, although it looks like Charlie Gibson tried to get her to say something to that effect. The fact that Russia is close to Alaska was not an answer to the question. Saying it’s important to maintain good relations with Russia is not an answer to the question. She was deflecting and giving a completely retarded, non-responsiove answer. She is a dim bulb. She thinks that people and dinosaurs lived at the same time. She thinks that a Dutch boy could have swum down to the bottom of the ocean and stuck his finger in an oil leak. It is impossible to recomcile those beliefs with even an average intellect. She really is fucking dumb. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/122 "2010-08-28T05:20:21Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > > [@Zsofia](#): > > > > Really? We always made to V E day. That’s it, though. My dad fought in the Korean War and I frankly know a hell of a lot more about, oh, say, the Punic ones. > > \My daughter’s American History class is STARTING at Dred Scott, so they can make it through to modern era by the end of the school year. Somehow, this does not make me feel warm & fuzzy about her history teacher. :dubious: \ Why? I’d be happy, because most history teachers can’t figure out that they can’t teach all they want to teach and start at the beginning. I didn’t learn anything past the second World War until I got to college. I’d’ve loved to have had an American History I that made it to the Civil War, and an American History II that went from the Civil War to modern times. If I were you, I’d be more worried that the teacher still won’t get through. The more recent the history, the more stuff that happens that is important in understanding the here and now. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/123 "2010-08-28T05:20:49Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@elucidator](#): > > > > silly twat > > Hey, **luci** , can we not use misogynistic language, please? > > eta: or am I being whooshed? Sometimes it’s hard to tell with you, dude. 🙂 Anybody can be a twat. Look at Steve Doocey. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/124 "2010-08-28T06:32:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > I agree with you. Like I said above, I don’t think Sarah Palin is a moron, or stupid at all. She is, however, not knowledgeable enough about world events or politics to be the second in command of the country. I don’t think that’s a major insult. Most of us fit into that category. I’d be fucked if I were asked some of the questions reporters asked her, and I’ve actually taken graduate level courses called Foreign Policy and International Security. I’d like to have a VP who doesn’t need a flashcard to understand why there are two Koreas, you know? It bothers me that a lot of people seem to excuse her ignorance by saying “well, hell, I wouldn’t know that either.” > > > > BTW, here is the original statement about Alaska’s proximity to Russia, complete with context: > > > > [From here](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=2) > > > > I don’t think it’s that stupid or bad of a point, actually. She’s just saying that Russia is close to Alaska and it’s important to maintain good relations with a neighboring country. I don’t think she’s saying that the proximity gives her any special knowledge of Russia, although it looks like Charlie Gibson tried to get her to say something to that effect. > > The fact that Russia is close to Alaska was not an answer to the question. Saying it’s important to maintain good relations with Russia is not an answer to the question. She was deflecting and giving a completely retarded, non-responsiove answer. She is a dim bulb. She thinks that people and dinosaurs lived at the same time. She thinks that a Dutch boy could have swum down to the bottom of the ocean and stuck his finger in an oil leak. It is impossible to recomcile those beliefs with even an average intellect. She really is fucking dumb. Sorry. You’re mistaking poor interviewing skills with her having supposed “beliefs” on those matters. As I stated, she was nervous and did not take time to make a thoughtful answer, and she should have clarified rather than just answered off the cuff. One problem, was the lightning speed with which they decided to select her for the running mate. I have not heard the interview in which she states dinos and humans coexisted. As to the dutch boy comment JEEz, be real. I’m not defending her or trying to say they need to turn back the clock and run her for office again. As I’ve said, I’m seriously disappointed in her behaviour. I think a lot of people see “stated something dumb in an interview” and immediately equate it with “that means that person IS dumb”. None of the current administration are immune from having said just as many VERY stupid things. They just haven’t been run in the media. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/125 "2010-08-28T06:46:24Z")
If they haven’t been run in the media then how do you know about them? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/126 "2010-08-28T08:31:31Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If they haven’t been run in the media then how do you know about them? From their own mouths, when they originally stated them in their speeches. For one, just off the top of my head, from Obama’s own speech. The whole “I’ve been in 57 states now” (and on youtube, which is not “The media”). Then there are the several speeches in which had a broken teleprompter and hemmed and hawed and “uuuhm uuh uh, huhhhhh, uh uuuuhmmmmm’d” us all to death. In an interview he did just prior to the elections where he stated (paraphrased) that one of his ideas was that all young people would get free secondary education, and in exchange they would spend the next 4 years after getting their degrees, in volunteer service to the country paying off their debt. Volunteer service that would be just like a fulltime job, or the military, only unpaid. And not even the rightie radios picked up on that one. Gee, and they’re going to eat, pay the light bill and raise their kids on the shining adoration and appreciation of the American people? But Gibbs (or whichever tingly-legged journalist it was) never even batted an eye, he thought that was a WONDERFUL idea. Not one of the news organizations said a word about it. We as Americans listening to the speeches and debates heard the stupid statements of he and Biden ONCE, at that time, but the news did not run it over and over in a “SEEE??? SEE how stupid?” the way they did the opposition’s missteps. I could google other ones, but I"m just stating the ones I can remember, but they only exist in youtube or other “what did he say”? websites, and never in the news. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/127 "2010-08-28T10:30:56Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > If they haven’t been run in the media then how do you know about them? > > From their own mouths, when they originally stated them in their speeches. For one, just off the top of my head, from Obama’s own speech. The whole “I’ve been in 57 states now” (and on youtube, which is not “The media”). You really can’t see the difference between a harried man speaking off the cuff and being corrected in midsentence from saying ‘50’ to ‘47’, and someone in a carefully prepared interview dropping the insinuation that she has special insights into the Russia-Georgia conflict because Alaska has a narrow maritime border with Siberia? If you don’t, you need to [read](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=2) that interview. The reason nobody seized on Obama was that he was speaking on a trivial matter, and wasn’t trying to slyly convince us there are more than 50 states, whereas Palin was clearly trying to inflate her foreign policy credentials. Palin’s wasn’t a verbal gaffe, it was a gaffe in logic that blossomed (rightfully) into a rich source of satire. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/128 "2010-08-28T13:28:29Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > > [@Indyellen](#): > > > > \My daughter’s American History class is STARTING at Dred Scott, so they can make it through to modern era by the end of the school year. Somehow, this does not make me feel warm & fuzzy about her history teacher. :dubious: \ > > Why? I’d be happy, because most history teachers can’t figure out that they can’t teach all they want to teach and start at the beginning. I didn’t learn anything past the second World War until I got to college. > > I’d’ve loved to have had an American History I that made it to the Civil War, and an American History II that went from the Civil War to modern times. If I were you, I’d be more worried that the teacher still won’t get through.\*\* The more recent the history, the more stuff that happens that is important in understanding the here and now.\*\*. (Bolding mine) That’s actually a way of looking at it that hadn’t occurred to me. You make a solid point. I think I’m disappointed because I adore early American history, and I was looking forward to helping her with it. (She’s dyslexic, so I often help by reading homework aloud with her.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/129 "2010-08-28T14:26:08Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > From what I remember, it was also in the context of her explaining her role in the military presence in AK. There are a ton of radar sites around the perimeter of Alaska (and I’ve been to a bunch of them personally, not sure it that’s a “cite” or merely anecdotal). So we can “see” Russia from where we live. A slight hijack: what were you doing at the radar sites? The airstrips and the sites themselves have restricted access, so either you were prior (or current) Air Force, are a contracted pilot, or worked directly for the ARS contract. Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/130 "2010-08-28T16:34:19Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > From what I remember, it was also in the context of her explaining her role in the military presence in AK. There are a ton of radar sites around the perimeter of Alaska (and I’ve been to a bunch of them personally, not sure it that’s a “cite” or merely anecdotal). So we can “see” Russia from where we live. Actually, if we take the apologists’ view of her VP statement, this too must be considered evidence _of_ her policy skills. Is it **factual** that you can see parts of Russia from parts of Alaska? As long as she was merely factually correct, then that completely defeats any analysis of whether or not she was speaking from ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/131 "2010-08-28T16:41:35Z")
You can just about see a couple of uninhabited Russian-held islands and about a three-inch stretch of Chukotka, a district of the Russian mainland which is _technically_ inhabited but is really just a couple of weather research stations and a bitumen mine. I think **Canvas** ’ point is that you can see lots of Russia from Alaska _by radar_, which is pretty much grasping at straws. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/132 "2010-08-28T16:42:57Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > > [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > > From what I remember, it was also in the context of her explaining her role in the military presence in AK. There are a ton of radar sites around the perimeter of Alaska (and I’ve been to a bunch of them personally, not sure it that’s a “cite” or merely anecdotal). So we can “see” Russia from where we live. > > Actually, if we take the apologists’ view of her VP statement, this too must be considered evidence _of_ her policy skills. Is it **factual** that you can see parts of Russia from parts of Alaska? As long as she was merely factually correct, then that completely defeats any analysis of whether or not she was speaking from ignorance! She said that it can be seen from an island in Alaska. The island she is referring to is [Little Diomede Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede_Islands). From there, one can see Big Diomede Island, which is a Russian possession and about 2.5 miles away. In the technical sense, she is correct. In the sense in which she meant it, she was grasping at straws. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/133 "2010-08-28T16:47:26Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > If they haven’t been run in the media then how do you know about them? > > From their own mouths, when they originally stated them in their speeches. For one, just off the top of my head, from Obama’s own speech. The whole “I’ve been in 57 states now” (and on youtube, which is not “The media”). That slip was on the cab;e news shows. It was played endlessly on Fox. That was a slip of the tongue by an exhausted candidate, by the way. Not an actual belief. The "um’s is not indicative of anything either except that he tries to think about what he’s saying before he says it. It’s rather desperate to try to call that evidence of “stupidity.” It’s just the opposite. > [@](#): > > In an interview he did just prior to the elections where he stated (paraphrased) that one of his ideas was that all young people would get free secondary education, and in exchange they would spend the next 4 years after getting their degrees, in volunteer service to the country paying off their debt. Volunteer service that would be just like a fulltime job, or the military, only unpaid. He never said unpaid. You are misinformed. > [@](#): > > We as Americans listening to the speeches and debates heard the stupid statements of he and Biden ONCE, at that time, but the news did not run it over and over in a “SEEE??? SEE how stupid?” the way they did the opposition’s missteps. I could google other ones, but I"m just stating the ones I can remember, but they only exist in youtube or other “what did he say”? websites, and never in the news. You saw those speeches in the media, and every one of Biden’s gaffes gets covered more than Palin’s moronic babblings. Obama actually doesn’t have any comparable examples at all. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/134 "2010-08-28T16:55:59Z")
Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of righty apologists who appear to think that people think the “I can see Russia” comment was ridiculed because they think it isn’t true, but that was never the point and never in doubt. What was stupid was that she thought that made her an expert on foreign policy. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/135 "2010-08-28T17:12:09Z")
BTW, in the book I referred to upthread, Obama comes off, imho, best of all. He does seem a little arrogant, but he appears to be genuinely extremely intelligent and curious about the world around him. As the economy worsened during the campaign, he had nightly conference calls with Ben Bernanke to quiz him about the workings of the economy, since he didn’t know much about it. Obama saw gap in his knowledge and worked his ass off to close it. I came away really impressed by his intelligence and even more glad than I had previously been that he’s the president. Worse than the “you can see Russia from Alaska” statement is, I think, the implication that the McCain campaign made that Palin knows about national security because she was nominally in command of the Alaska National Guard. That was ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/136 "2010-08-28T20:19:45Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I think she appeals to people who believe, like she does, that faith in god’s will is more important than facts from books. The Dope tends to have a low opinion of these people, but there are a lot of them and they have political power. Denigrating them as morons and idiots isn’t going to help, IMHO. Even when she and they ARE morons and idiots? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/137 "2010-08-28T20:26:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think **Canvas** ’ point is that you can see lots of Russia from Alaska _by radar_, which is pretty much grasping at straws. But who really gives a damn if you could see Russia, through binoculars or radar or whatever? It doesn’t alter the fact that Palin is dumber than shit. And yet other stupids continue to hang on her every word. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/138 "2010-08-28T20:45:09Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > > [@Kyla](#): > > > > I think she appeals to people who believe, like she does, that faith in god’s will is more important than facts from books. The Dope tends to have a low opinion of these people, but there are a lot of them and they have political power. Denigrating them as morons and idiots isn’t going to help, IMHO. > > Even when she and they ARE morons and idiots? Well…yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/139 "2010-08-28T22:05:53Z")
The “refudiate” thing, but not (mainly) for the initial error of conflating “refute” and “repudiate”. When she tried to correct herself, she incorrectly chose “refute”, instead of the correct “repudiate”. If you were derided nationally for bad English usage, wouldn’t you crack open a dictionary and make sure you got the correction right? IMHO, that’s far worse than the original mistake of conflating the two words. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551/140 "2010-08-28T23:39:26Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > My main problem is that I have an unfortunate habit of forming opinions and then forgetting the exact evidence that caused me to form that opinion. Isn’t that just like a little lady to do that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-demonstrate-sarah-palin-is-a-moron/551551.md?page=8)