# Levi Johnston Spills His Guts On Sarah Palin In Interview **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 2, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697 "2009-09-02T23:45:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 7
**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:** [November 1, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/121 "2009-11-01T12:28:47Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > It was a “Hail, Mary” pass, **Sampiro** , plain and simple. Underfunded, badly outpolled, forced to defend Bush’s undefendable policies, McCain decided to go after Obama’s only obvious weakness (well, this and relative inexperience): Hilary supporters, mainly the hardcore feminist agenda types, were (despite being traditional Dem. core voters) still smarting over losing “their” nomination to this nobody from nowhere, and McCain saw them as maybe voting R if he could get them a bright young woman on the ticket. He couldn’t know whether all her problems would prove to have substance, or if they could be minimized (or even used in her favor–appealing to Hilary supporters and appealing to those voters inclined to see all attacks on a woman as being inherently flawed are virtually identical appeals). For all he knew, she could turn out to be some kind of mega-genius on foriegn policy, oil, family values, boosting him a much-needed 10 or 15 points in the polls–he had a lot of ground to make up when he chose her, and he decided to see if he could pick a card that would fill in a straight for him. Didn’t work, but I think his reasoning is pretty clear. I’m sure there was another female he could hav picked. But she was very good a getting support from the religious right, who tended to dislike McCain. In fact, almost everyone I know who self-identifies as a “fundamentalist” really, really liked Palin. Her stupidity was considered a bonus, as she’d have to listen to God. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/122 "2009-11-01T16:17:31Z")
He had to go that far down the ladder to find a Republican woman who wasn’t pro-choice. He really wanted Lieberman, but the fundies were threatening to riot at the Convention if he picked a pro-choice running mate, so he tried to go for someone who would simultaneously appease the god shriekers and pull in disgruntled Hillary voters. That was a ridiculous miscalculation to begin with (and a sexist one), and it was amplified even more by the fact that she turned out to be a moron (which was a plus for the fundies, but was a deal breaker for Hillary fans) and an ethically challenged egomaniac – things he would have known if he’d bothered to vet her with anything more than a Google search. Hell, he could have asked anyone in Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/123 "2009-11-02T11:19:08Z")
If your dog needs surgery, your daughter got knocked up, you got fired from your job, your house is on fire and all you have left is ten bucks, buying a lottery ticket is an excellent move. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/124 "2009-11-02T12:39:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m sure there was another female he could hav picked. There were. Snowe or Hutchinson. But both are RINOs not passing the abortion litmus test. And Snowe is old - and that was already a problem for McCain himself. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/125 "2009-11-02T19:06:35Z")
The stupidest thing about her selection- at least before he allowed her to speak on camera- was her lack of experience. Obama’s lack of experience on the national level was the gap that he couldn’t close and was McCain’s best weakness to exploit- it couldn’t be construed as racism, it was a reasonable target, it’s something that Obama could not possibly change and something that Hillary had used and even Obama supporters admitted was his weak spot. McCain rants and rails about this lack of experience himself- quite validly. Figuring out what your opponent cannot do that you can and how to exploit that is one of the most ancient rules of combat- if you have numbers and they don’t then you choose somewhere that you overwhelm them in the open, if they outnumber you then you choose a bottleneck where their numbers are no advantage, Strategy 101. Instead he figured out what he could do that Obama couldn’t and then hobbled himself. I think the McCain-Palin ticket will be just as studied as the Kerry-Edwards as one of the two “stupidest run campaign that could _easily_ have been won” in political history and it’s ironic they happened consecutively. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/126 "2009-11-02T19:52:53Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Seems like ol’ Levi and Sarah are two bull-goose attention whores who just happened to lock horns in the most improbable political story since Linda Tripp sodomized Mary Todd Lincoln in that Minneapolis Airport bathroom… Mary could have beaten the crap out of Linda Tripp. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/127 "2009-11-02T19:54:09Z")
I don’t think any republican ticket could have easily won in 08, honestly it would have been almost impossible no matter who got the nomination for either side. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/128 "2009-11-02T20:02:36Z")
> [@Umbriel2](#): > > Mary could have beaten the crap out of Linda Tripp. Mary had the crazy on her side, though. That gives an edge. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/129 "2009-11-02T22:23:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I think the McCain-Palin ticket will be just as studied as the Kerry-Edwards as one of the two “stupidest run campaign that could _easily_ have been won” in political history and it’s ironic they happened consecutively. This has been hashed and rehashed millions of times, of course, but it was never going to be easy for any Republican to win that campaign with the economy as the top issue. Why did McCain pick her? The really short version (I think) is, his campaign desperately needed a shot in the arm, he needed to appeal to the far right, he believed he had an opportunity with Hillary’s feminist base, and he liked the idea of a risky, surprising choice. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/130 "2009-11-02T22:29:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Why did McCain pick her? The really short version (I think) is, his campaign desperately needed a shot in the arm, he needed to appeal to the far right, he believed he had an opportunity with Hillary’s feminist base, and he liked the idea of a risky, surprising choice. The far right would _never_ have gone for Obama or Hillary. The most they would have done is obstained (not likely) or write in a third party candidate (also not likely with the Obama momentum). In other news- Johnston’s [del]pimp[/del]manager was on a CNN entertainment blip last night assuring people that (his terms) “the pics will show the full Johnston” (yuk yuk). Meanwhile Levi’s hitting the gym several hours every day to gear up for the shoot. It’s nice to see a young man take his obligations seriously. This is going to be so fun. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/131 "2009-11-02T23:09:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The far right would _never_ have gone for Obama or Hillary. The most they would have done is obstained (not likely) or write in a third party candidate (also not likely with the Obama momentum). It’s not that they were going to vote for Obama. He needed them to come out and vote for him, or he was probably going to lose anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/132 "2009-11-03T00:58:40Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Well, so did her dad. I guess it runs in the family. Well, Todd, aka “First Dude” doesn’t exactly strike me as the sharpest knife in the drawer either. So it looks like they were made for one another. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/133 "2009-11-22T07:13:37Z")
Rump bump. Get 'em while they last: video of leaked [obviously NSFW Levi nude shots](http://www.mediaite.com/online/levi-johnstons-playgirl-photo-shoot-leaked/) (lots of naked butt, no frontal). ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/134 "2009-11-22T18:00:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Rump bump. > > Get 'em while they last: video of leaked [obviously NSFW Levi nude shots](http://www.mediaite.com/online/levi-johnstons-playgirl-photo-shoot-leaked/) (lots of naked butt, no frontal). Interesting - thanks. Actually, he looks better than I though he would - on recent television sightings he looks a little, uh, “well-fed”, but I guess it was just the clothes he was wearing as this isn’t bad (like I should talk!). Sort of the guy-next-door type and not your usual overly-buffed model. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/135 "2009-11-24T18:26:12Z")
Sarah can’t [seem to shut up about Levi](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20320464,00.html): > [@](#): > > How is your daughter Bristol doing as a young mother? – Marci Griffith, Gilbertsville, Penn. > > She’s spectacular. She’s amazing. Still doesn’t get a lot of sleep because Tripp is a light sleeper through the night and Bristol’s got him all the time. But she’s going to college, she’s working and taking care of the baby. She’s got her hands full. But very, very strong, very optimistic. She teaches me good lessons through all of this, too. She keeps things in perspective. She is realizing that her good decisions today will bear fruit, perhaps years down the road, but she’s seeing now that it’s worth it to take the high road when it comes to the [custody] controversy with Levi [Johnston] and him doing his porn stuff [posing for Playgirl]. It’s all about the baby, it’s all about what he is going to grow up with, and she knows she has to pull even more weight to make sure Tripp has a good upbringing. But the skirmish [is getting attention](http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/palin-vs-johnston-ctd): > [@](#): > > Palin’s inability to leave a grievance un-aired is quickly becoming the stuff of legend. But the feud with Johnston is one of the more egregious, and ongoing, self-inflicted political injuries I can ever recall seeing. (The irony of her applauding her daughter’s decision to “take the high road” in the same sentence in which she throws her “porn” dig is almost too much.) > > The obvious, immensely easy play here would be for her to make up publicly with the boy. But even if that’s too much–as it obviously is–you’d think she could manage some high-road blather when asked about Johnston (“We’ve had our disagreements, as you all know, but he’s good kid and I hope it all works out for him in the end”) and could avoid bringing him up altogether when she’s asked about something else, as in this case. But, no, she somehow seems to believe–and no one close to her can evidently dissuade her–that if she can win a war of words with a semi-employed, 19-year-old high-school dropout, it will amount to an actual victory for her. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/136 "2009-11-24T18:37:47Z")
Like she won’t be checking out the Levi _sans_ Levi’s pics. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697/137 "2009-11-25T03:13:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Like she won’t be checking out the Levi _sans_ Levi’s pics. Oh hell ya. Plus I’m damned near convinced they have a pact and probably call each other with disposable cell phones to coordinate how to cross pollenate each other: “Okay, I’ll mention your upcoming fragrance line _Rogue_ when I denounce you on Maury Povich if you’ll mention the possibility of me getting a guest shot on GLEE when you’re on The View”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/levi-johnston-spills-his-guts-on-sarah-palin-in-interview/508697.md?page=6)