# 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:** 25
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/481 "2010-11-30T04:22:28Z")
John Yoo’s secret memorandum establishes the solid legal basis for extra-national treason. First degree treason is treason against the Unites States by a citizen thereof, and is liable to the most extreme penalty. Treason against the United States by a non-citizen is second degree treason, punishable by death. ---
**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 30, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/482 "2010-11-30T04:33:05Z")
What’s more extreme than death? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/483 "2010-11-30T04:43:29Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > What’s more extreme than death? Death followed by double secret probation. ---
**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 30, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/484 "2010-11-30T04:52:30Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Death followed by double secret probation. Ah! To be served at Abu Ghraib! Now everything is making sense. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/485 "2010-11-30T05:22:16Z")
You have to party with the Palins. A fête worse than death. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/486 "2010-11-30T16:10:18Z")
> [@godix](#): > > That being said, calling Republicans dumb is just something that Democrats do… It’s actually something that both Republicans and Democrats do. (Calling Republicans dumb) Republicans use words such as "Intellectual, " “academic,” and “elite” as pejoratives, and Republican candidates take pains to project images that they are none of those things. When a significant part of your messaging is “I’m dumber than that smart guy, so vote for me!” you can hardly cry foul when the other side says “That guy is an idiot.” ---
**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 30, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/487 "2010-11-30T16:15:37Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Republicans use words such as "Intellectual, " “academic,” and “elite” as pejoratives… And it’s most hilarious when such talk comes, as it sometimes does, from Republicans like Mitt Romney, who went to Stanford, BYU, Harvard Law and Harvard Business, and is worth somewhere north of $250 million. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/488 "2010-11-30T17:31:46Z")
“Okay, put on this coonskin cap, Mitt, and lose the monocle. We are live in _five_… _four_… _three_…” ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/489 "2010-11-30T18:03:39Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > What’s more extreme than death? Being forced to watch an entire season’s worth of Sarah Palin’s Alaska…in one sitting. ---
**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 30, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/490 "2010-11-30T18:07:00Z")
Actually, I predict she’ll leave the show halfway through the first season in order to better serve the people of TLC. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/491 "2010-11-30T18:42:35Z")
> [@IdahoMauleMan](#): > > Wow. Never heard of her until your post. > > But all I can say is…Hellooooo Guv’ner! Huh; interesting. I went to high school with her. Somehow I missed her meteoric rise in politics (although it’s not at all surprising, from what I remember of her). I think she wrote a nice little message in my junior year yearbook. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/492 "2010-11-30T19:27:18Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > I think she wrote a nice little message in my junior year yearbook. Five dollars! I’ll bid five dollars! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/493 "2010-11-30T19:46:03Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Being forced to watch an entire season’s worth of Sarah Palin’s Alaska…in one sitting. I just threw-up in my mouth a little bit there. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/494 "2010-11-30T20:29:02Z")
Re: _Sarah Palin’s Alaska_. I tripped across it the other night, so I watched it for about 5 or 10 minutes. I mean, it’s not horrible fair, but it’s definitely not for me. The piece I saw was something about Track fucking up a tire on a trailer, and then the whole clan going fishing. Look. I grew up in rural Maine. I left for a reason. Maybe this show might have a novel perspective to a city dweller who’s never seen a Bean boot, but I couldn’t watch that shit for any length of time if it was _Meghan Fox’s Alaska._ It’s basically _Green Acres_, but colder. ---
**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 30, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/495 "2010-11-30T20:43:49Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > It’s basically _Green Acres_, but colder. And with mosquitoes instead of flies. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/496 "2010-12-01T00:58:07Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Death followed by double secret probation. > > > [@Shayna](#): > > > > Ah! To be served at Abu Ghraib! Now everything is making sense. :smack: In the context of Abu Ghraib, should that not be “double secret penetration”? ---
**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:** [December 1, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/497 "2010-12-01T14:59:25Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Look. I grew up in rural Maine. I left for a reason. Maybe this show might have a novel perspective to a city dweller who’s never seen a Bean boot, but I couldn’t watch that shit for any length of time if it was _Meghan Fox’s Alaska._ Well, you know how Hollywood is about spin-offs… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/498 "2010-12-01T16:13:53Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Re: _Sarah Palin’s Alaska_. I tripped across it the other night, so I watched it for about 5 or 10 minutes. I mean, it’s not horrible fair, but it’s definitely not for me. The piece I saw was something about Track fucking up a tire on a trailer, and then the whole clan going fishing. > > Look. I grew up in rural Maine. I left for a reason. Maybe this show might have a novel perspective to a city dweller who’s never seen a Bean boot, but I couldn’t watch that shit for any length of time if it was _Meghan Fox’s Alaska._ > > It’s basically _Green Acres_, but colder. Is that L.L. Bean boot? I thought their stuff were for citified yuppies! All the professors here in Berkeley wear them. Maybe if I don a pair I’ll be able to watch some of her show. Oh, I have a question. Do Maine natives have a secret code that gets them a discount for their products? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/499 "2010-12-01T16:18:09Z")
Ayuh. Just tell them, “you can’t get theah from heah” and you’re good as gold. ---
**Author:** ![godix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/278dde/32.png) [@godix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godix)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453/500 "2010-12-01T19:34:20Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > It’s actually something that both Republicans and Democrats do. (Calling Republicans dumb) Republicans use words such as "Intellectual, " “academic,” and “elite” as pejoratives, and Republican candidates take pains to project images that they are none of those things. When a significant part of your messaging is “I’m dumber than that smart guy, so vote for me!” you can hardly cry foul when the other side says “That guy is an idiot.” A large part of the public perception about elite intellectual academics is that for all their intelligence, they’re really really stupid on how the ‘real’ world works. You know, the whole professor who knows everything there is to know on the subject he teaches, but has absolutely no common sense and/or is incredibly naive. So using ‘elite intellectual academic’ as if it were a bad thing isn’t quite the same as proclaiming ‘I’m dumber than that smart guy!’ In fact, the only people who think folksy charm is synonymous with stupid are those elite intellectual academic liberals that believe anyone who can’t quote Sartre is beneath them. Besides, Marion Barry was a Democrat. Clearly Republicans don’t have a monopoly on stupid. Richard Daley was a Democrat also. Clearly Republicans don’t have a monopoly on being anti ‘elite intellectual academics’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sarah-palin-dumber-than-ronald-reagan/561453.md?page=26)