# Is Sarah Palin dumber than Ronald Reagan? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453 "2010-11-21T17:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**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:** [November 24, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/361 "2010-11-24T16:16:30Z")
> [@](#): > > In what respect, Really? Palin doesn’t understand anything, and nobody understands **F-P**. Either that, or his post and Palin both shoot moose while wearing Chanel eyeglasses. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/362 "2010-11-24T16:31:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The meme was that he was this great intellectual, much smarter and more learned than Bush. > > Gore flunked out of divinity school and dropped out of law school. Bush has an Ivy League MBA. > > Regards, > Shodan Okay, that’s fine if that’s the meme, but then why the ‘Gore said he invented the internet’ and ‘Gore said he was the inspiration to love story’ (I think that was the book). That doesn’t really line up the the ‘great intellectual’ meme nor a ‘stupid’ meme. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/363 "2010-11-24T17:07:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Palin doesn’t understand anything, and nobody understands **F-P**. Either that, or his post and Palin both shoot moose while wearing Chanel eyeglasses. How the moose got Chanel eyeglasses, I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/364 "2010-11-24T17:09:58Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > The line was understood at the time to be a reference to Reagan’s alleged cluelessness, lack of knowledge, and confusion over the facts. You are misinformed. It was a jab at his insistence on facts that are not in evidence. What does that have to do with stupidity? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/365 "2010-11-24T17:39:43Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Reagan \> Palin \> StarvingArtist \> fencepost \>onlysanepersonleftontheplanet \> Susanann \> YouTube commenter \> ralph124c It’s hopeless: if the thread has already moved on to the next page by the time **ralphy** comes back to it, he won’t see your post. That’s the problem with having the attention span of a gnat. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/366 "2010-11-24T17:50:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s hopeless: if the thread has already moved on to the next page by the time **ralphy** comes back to it, he won’t see your post. That’s the problem with having the attention span of a gnat. Gnat here. If I’m going to be used in a comparison, I demand a spot on the chart; Reagan \> Palin \> StarvingArtist \> fencepost \>onlysanepersonleftontheplanet \> Susanann \> YouTube commenter \>Gnat\> ralph124c Could I maybe back up a spot or two? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/367 "2010-11-24T18:07:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s hopeless: if the thread has already moved on to the next page by the time **ralphy** comes back to it, he won’t see your post. That’s the problem with having the attention span of a gnat. Yeah, **ralph124c** ’s main purpose on this board seems to be drive-by posting. He rarely has the attention span even to hang around in his own threads. He has started 25 GQ threads in the last 20 days, and in the vast majority of those he has made only a single post—the OP. His most successful thread of those 25 GQ threads was one on protecting oneself from inflation. The thread attracted 126 replies, and yet **ralph** never saw fit to return to it even once after posting the OP. At least that OP was able to generate some answers, and was not a completely retarded question. The standard format, however, for a **ralph124c** GQ thread, is more like: > [@](#): > > A long time ago, i saw/read/heard about where someone/something (possibly Person A, Person B, or Person C) did/said/demonstrated this vaguely-remembered and not-very-specific thing/idea/concept. > > Does anyone else know anything about this? The questions are generally either so trivial that a quick Google or search of Wikipedia brings up the exact answer, or they’re so vague and poorly-worded that no answer is ever likely to be forthcoming. He leaves these shitbombs in GQ, and moves on to the next thing. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/368 "2010-11-24T18:22:42Z")
Speaking of which, this thread has become way too much fun for the pit. I suggest another move, but this time to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/369 "2010-11-24T19:50:36Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > Is/Was the meme that Gore was stupid or that he simply took credit for everything? My memory is foggy on this issue, but I seem to recall that the criticism was that he simply claimed credit for everything (the internet, influenced a book with his relationship, etc). I misspoke. I meant to say “Palin/Quayle is stupid” in addition to “Gore invented the internet” as erroneous memes that, once they gain ground and become widespread, are almost impossible to reverse. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/370 "2010-11-24T19:53:58Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Speaking of which, this thread has become way too much fun for the pit. I suggest another move, but this time to MPSIMS. After move to MPSIMS: Reagan \> Squee-ey Kittens \> Palin \> StarvingArtist \> fencepost \>onlysanepersonleftontheplanet \> Susanann\> YouTube commenter \>Gnat\> ralph124c ---
**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:** [November 24, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/371 "2010-11-24T19:54:07Z")
You don’t think Quayle was stupid? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/372 "2010-11-24T19:59:49Z")
Noe. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/373 "2010-11-24T20:04:04Z")
No, Quayle wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t smart, either. He was just an average politician. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/374 "2010-11-24T20:10:15Z")
Quayle wasn’t stupid; he was intellectually _lazy_, just like GWB or Palin. He seemed to have normal intelligence, he just didn’t bother to use it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/375 "2010-11-24T20:13:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You don’t think Quayle was stupid? I just watched William, the kid who stumped Quayle, on the Letterman show. Cool kid, not so much the vice president. He was so patronazing. And so wrong. I still don’t know if he is actually stupid, but he ain’t no Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/376 "2010-11-24T20:53:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s hopeless: if the thread has already moved on to the next page by the time **ralphy** comes back to it, he won’t see your post. That’s the problem with having the attention span of a gnat. The cute thing abour him is that he’s the most credulous person on the planet. I’m pretty sure he paid extra to get one of the rare dictionaries that has “gullible” in it. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/377 "2010-11-24T22:15:49Z")
This appears to be a simple verbal blunder, but still pretty funny. [Sarah Palin: We’ve Got to Stand With Our North Korean Allies](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/sarah-palin-north-korea_n_788107.html) ---
**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:** [November 24, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/378 "2010-11-24T22:25:54Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > This appears to be a simple verbal blunder, but still pretty funny. > > [Sarah Palin: We’ve Got to Stand With Our North Korean Allies](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/sarah-palin-north-korea_n_788107.html) She’s a fucking idiot. It makes me quake to think about what she would do in a crisis of this nature. North Korea doesn’t react well to threats or even to misplaced commas for that matter. Her bumbling could lead us to nuclear confrontation very easily. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/379 "2010-11-24T22:27:44Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > This appears to be a simple verbal blunder, but still pretty funny. > > [Sarah Palin: We’ve Got to Stand With Our North Korean Allies](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/sarah-palin-north-korea_n_788107.html) After she’s corrected, she unleashes this brilliant insight on foriegn policy: > [@](#): > > “Yeah. And we’re also bound by prudence to stand with our South Korean allies, yes.” Soon to be followed by this well-reasoned use of very small words: > [@](#): > > “This is stemming from, I think, a greater problem when we’re all sitting around asking ‘Oh no, what are we gonna do,’ and we’re not having a lot of faith that the White House is gonna come out with a strong enough policy to sanction what it is that North Korea’s gonna do.” Game. Set. Match. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/380 "2010-11-24T23:48:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > She’s a fucking idiot. It makes me quake to think about what she would do in a crisis of this nature. North Korea doesn’t react well to threats or even to misplaced commas for that matter. Her bumbling could lead us to nuclear confrontation very easily. Allow me to fill in for various GOPtard posters: OBAMA SAYS THERE’S 57 STATES!!! -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453.md?page=20)