I wouldn’t put it that way, myself. It does bespeak a bit of a hair trigger. And the implication that your OP needs to be defended against the charge of redundancy* doesn’t really reflect well on your confidence in its merit.
Personally, I’m just as happy to see Pubbies expending energy on defending Ms Palin, although, I’d just as soon the forces of goodness and light not use up so much on attacking her. It’s McCain we need to defeat, after all; we should use our resources to destroy him. We do that, and the Palin issue goes away.
*Not that you did actually defend it. From where I sit, you just lashed out and shouted down a perceived enemy for criticizing your lack of originality.
H.L. Mencken was not without faults, but occasionally he hit it out of the park. Here’s one that was a useful quotation in 2000 and 2004. With a minor modification, it plays well in 2008:
"The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most easily adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.
"The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." (Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920)
I sympathize with the OP, in spite of the glut of anti-Palin threads.
I saw part II of her interview with Gibson and shit my pants. There is no doubt in my mind that the GOP doesn’t give a damn about doing what’s best for this country. This pick is a fulminating symptom of their mindless pursuit of power and their pathological short-sightedness. Watching people eat this up…oh, how it kills me.
I don’t think Palin is the anti-Christ or anything, but gosh darnit, why can’t we have an administration that doesn’t leave us sitting on the edge of our seats all of the time, waiting for the latest embarrassment to show itself. Watching her is like watching Bush in so many ways. You can’t help but wait for her to mess up in some big or small way. I’m tired of feeling this way towards my head of state, for crying out loud.
Damn right. And the excuses. If she said if elected she’d strip and do a pole dance in the Oval Office, they’d say why criticize her for having an open Presidency.
One thing I disagree with the OP on, though. Bush got more knowledge about the world sitting at the dining room table one night listening to his Pappy talk then Palin has gotten her entire life. He might be an incurious fool, convinced of his prophethood, but in 2000 he knew more than she does now. It’s like the Pubbies feel they haven’t fucked the country over enough, but want to try harder.
This is the SDMB, dude. We are all about Fighting Ignorance. Thus when you say that Palin is a horrible candidate for Veep and her beleifs are somewhere to the right of the KKK, then fine. High Five, dude! Obama/Biden!
But when dudes say “she’s a book burner and here’s the list…” then that’s a simple out and out lie, a swiftboating. And, no matter that I think Palin isn’t even qualified to be Gov of AK, let alone Veep*, I still will fight the good fight against Ignorance.
In fact the attitude of she’s eviil and thus we should ignore the truth is distasteful in the extreme. That is the attitude of a bookburner.
That’s exactly what lost the election for Kerry- not enough people fighting for the truth.
let alone (shudder) (dare I say it?) President.:eek:
That should get Palin supporters to reassess their positions.
Seriously, the ridiculous number of anti-Palin threads and general bile towards her just convince her supporters that she’s got the left worried. And honestly, I think they’re right, the left is worried. So why continue the hyperbole? Sure you discuss the issues in the thread, but with that thread title and attitude most of your opponents have already dismissed you as partisan and scared.
I don’t think this election is going to be made or broken by Palin, and I sure as hell don’t like her, but I don’t understand how people opposed to McCain and/or Palin think spite and anger towards her and anyone who supports her will get people to change their minds.
What I find most aggravating is people saying she’s as or more experienced/qualfied as Obama. Even the most cursory glances at their resumes demonstrates that this is patently false. The next gambit, of course, is the denigration of everything and anything Obama HAS done, to make Palin’s inadequacy seem less egregious. But you can’t erase the facts, no matter how hard (and snidely) you try.
Palin was a poor choice, picked only to pander to certain sectors of the population to which McCain does not appeal. If the Democrats picked someone like this, I’d be just as critical. It’s ridiculous, but if you point out the absurdity, the whining begins about the meanness, the unfairness, etc. I really hope voters with a modicum of rationality will see through this tactic by the Republicans. Do you really want Palin to be President? If not, do not vote McCain/Palin.
Well, I defended her in the Charlie Gibson thread, and for a very good reason.
She has captured people’s imaginations.
She could catapult McCain into the White House.
People who do not want that can not be careless in their critiques. They must give her every benefit of the doubt, and acknowledge every fact in her favor.
And then eviscerated her for the ignorant half-wit she is.
Frankly, I am enjoying the OP’s take; I find even considering her seriously, seriously surrealistic.
Exactly. That’s hardly a rebuttal there, Dutchman. First of all, Obama is young and in good health. There isn’t much chance he will drop dead in office and cause the Veep to ascend. Not so with McCain, due to age and health problems; his Veep choice is much more likely to be President than Obama’s. Palin must be evaluated in light of this fact.
That said, Joe Biden is OK by me. I’m guessing if you strongly don’t like him, you wouldn’t be voting for Obama anyway. However, I can easily imagine a middle of the road Republican who likes the more moderate McCain being totally turned off by Palin on many levels, but having to decide either to embrace her, thus going into denial about her many shortcomings, or having to reconsider voting for McCain.
The trouble with your imagination is that it is pure fantasy. Name me just one Republican who is on the record as unhappy with the Palin choice for vice-president.
