# Palin Resigns as Gov? WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 3, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843 "2009-07-03T19:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/361 "2009-07-05T03:39:17Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I recall one or two serious conserfvative pundits saying that Limbaugh was out of line for his comments. > I recall, (and saw on TV and heard on the radio and worked with), a lot of Limbaugh fans who continued to chortle over his “great” shot for months. It might have been different among the few fans of Rush in the more polite Frozen North. In fact, **there is no objective, primary evidence the Rush Limbaugh “did you know there’s a White House dog?”/Chelsea Clinton joke ever took place.** There is no tape of it and no transcript, and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere at the time it is alleged to have taken place. The earliest known mention of it is a Molly Ivins column written November 12, 1993, which which Ivins claims it happened, but she provides no explanation of when the joke is alleged to have aired. What’s been repeated over and over is Ivins’s story, not the original event. All the claims of “I remember such and such happening” are almost certainly memories playing tricks on people; they’re reconstructed memories of the incident based on how much it’s been written about on the Internet. The incident probably never happened. Limbaugh’s an ass and I wouldn’t put it past him to make such a joke, but I think it’s important for the record to note that the story is very likely an urban myth, not truth. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/362 "2009-07-05T03:47:35Z")
However, whether it was actually stated or not, a (very) few Right-wing pundits condemned it and a (very) great number of ditto-heads repeated it frequently and with gusto. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/363 "2009-07-05T03:53:38Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Who are these other “honorable” quitters that she’s referring to? What the hell is she talking about? Roberto Duran? ---
**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:** [July 5, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/364 "2009-07-05T04:04:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In fact, **there is no objective, primary evidence the Rush Limbaugh “did you know there’s a White House dog?”/Chelsea Clinton joke ever took place.** There is no tape of it and no transcript, and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere at the time it is alleged to have taken place. > > The earliest known mention of it is a Molly Ivins column written November 12, 1993, which which Ivins claims it happened, but she provides no explanation of when the joke is alleged to have aired. What’s been repeated over and over is Ivins’s story, not the original event. > > All the claims of “I remember such and such happening” are almost certainly memories playing tricks on people; they’re reconstructed memories of the incident based on how much it’s been written about on the Internet. The incident probably never happened. > > Limbaugh’s an ass and I wouldn’t put it past him to make such a joke, but I think it’s important for the record to note that the story is very likely an urban myth, not truth. You apparently missed where **Sam Stone** and I both saw it at the time it happened. It caused me to change my view of Limbaugh and to stop watching/listening to him. It was not a mirage. ETA: The phrasing might have been slightly different though. As I recall it, Limbaugh was showing various Clinton-related photos and said, “And here’s the new White House dog,” followed by a photo of Chelsea. > [@tomndebb](#): > > Take your mischaracterized complaints about other posters to the Pit. But your insultingly mischaracterized statements about my “dog ate the post” posts, which in effect call me a liar and a coward, are okay…is that right? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/365 "2009-07-05T04:05:34Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Roberto Duran? Oh, yeah, the physicist who discovered the neutrino. Ran around yelling “No mass! No mass!” ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/366 "2009-07-05T04:07:42Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Roberto Duran? Are you guys serious? Can’t you think of someone who didn’t finish their first term? Someone who maybe WON instead of being a big loser? Someone who some idiots have called “the Messiah”, but only his opponents? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/367 "2009-07-05T04:11:43Z")
> [@](#): > > “Want me to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children’s future from OUTSIDE the Governor’s office?” It was four “yes’s” and one “hell yeah!” The “hell yeah” sealed it - and someday I’ll talk about the details of that… I’d like to hear more about the “Hell yeah.” anybody have any thoughts on this? She really seemed to be hinting at something. . . ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/368 "2009-07-05T04:14:48Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > That [Vanity Fair](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908) article really ripped her a new one. Can’t take the heat maybe? For the record: Everclear is 190 proof, not 151. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/369 "2009-07-05T04:20:38Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You apparently missed where **Sam Stone** and I both saw it at the time it happened. It caused me to change my view of Limbaugh and to stop watching/listening to him. I did not miss that. People do have a tendency to remember things that never happened if the story is repeated often enough and was sufficiently similar to events that happened at one or more other times. This can happen for both real and unreal events; many more people have claimed to see the Challenger explode in real time than actually did, for example. I believe you are remembering seeing something you did not see. **That’s not meant as an insult, it’s a phenomenon common to all human beings.** There WAS an incident in late 1992 when a photo of Chelsea Clinton was shown in conjunction with an unrelated comment about George H. W. Bush’s dog (Millie, you may recall) but it wasn’t substantively similar to the alleged “White House Family Dog” joke in any other way. It’s likely many people are misremembering that. I will believe it happened when objective evidence is presented. For such a famous incident it certainly is curious that _there’s no record of it happening_. There isn’t even any evidence that it was discussed on Usenet or other similar forums of the time at the time it would have occurred, e.g. some uknown day in 1993. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/370 "2009-07-05T04:21:32Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Are you guys serious? Can’t you think of someone who didn’t finish their first term? Someone who maybe WON instead of being a big loser? Someone who some idiots have called “the Messiah”, but only his opponents? > > -Joe See though, I can COUNT that guy. There’s only ONE of him. Where are all the countless others? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/371 "2009-07-05T04:23:44Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In fact, **there is no objective, primary evidence the Rush Limbaugh “did you know there’s a White House dog?”/Chelsea Clinton joke ever took place.** There is no tape of it and no transcript, and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere at the time it is alleged to have taken place. Let’s see. It was 1993, so no, there’s no documented proof _on the internet_ that it happened. Plenty of people heard it, me included; the US did not undergo some sort of mass hypnotism. I also heard his ‘apology’ the following week. Why would he apologize for something he didn’t do? Regardless, neither comment excuses the other. Both were tasteless stupid jokes and the politics of the idiots making them doesn’t make it an acceptable tactic for the other. That said: one was over 15 years ago made by a bloviating idiot who made disparaging remarks about Michael J Fox’s disease fercryinoutloud; how hard do you have to reach to believe he said what he said about Chelsea? The other was made by a late night comedian who is not recognized as the head of his political party and would have gone completely unnoticed had the butt end of the lame joke not gone frothing at the mouth about it. Why anyone takes what either of them says seriously is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/372 "2009-07-05T04:26:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In fact, **there is no objective, primary evidence the Rush Limbaugh “did you know there’s a White House dog?”/Chelsea Clinton joke ever took place.** There is no tape of it and no transcript, and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere at the time it is alleged to have taken place. > > The earliest known mention of it is a Molly Ivins column written November 12, 1993, which which Ivins claims it happened, but she provides no explanation of when the joke is alleged to have aired. What’s been repeated over and over is Ivins’s story, not the original event. I remember seeing it also. The bio of Chelsea on Monsters and critics mentions the date: [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/archive/peoplearchive.php/Chelsea\_Clinton/biography](http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/archive/peoplearchive.php/Chelsea_Clinton/biography) > [@](#): > > Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh compared 13-year-old Chelsea to a dog: > > On November 6, 1992, three days after her father won the elections, when Chelsea was still in braces, Rush Limbaugh said the following on his television show: ‘Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat; Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is also a White House dog?’ He then pointed to a video monitor, which switched to a picture of Chelsea. Limbaugh has claimed that it was a technical error, despite the fact that the show was taped in advance of its broadcast, giving Limbaugh ample time to fix the ‘error.’ ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/373 "2009-07-05T04:34:42Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Actually, you should be here to discuss the potentially realistic aspects of Palin’s resignation, otherwise you should be posting in The Pit or IMHO or, pehaps, MPSIMS. Sorry. My vote: A scandal is about to blow up in Palin’s face. And she’s using her family as part of her excuse for quitting. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/374 "2009-07-05T04:35:58Z")
In any case, to claim that David Letterman is responsible for Sarah Palin resigning is pathetic. She or her family were made fun of by a late night comedian so she’s quitting? Good. Because public office now means opening not only yourself but your family members to as much criticism and scorn as the pundits can heap. Scrutiny on the national stage is that much more intensive, especially if one is going to parade one’s children in front of the camera and use them as props. If she wasn’t ready for that, she should never have opened herself up to it. What if she _had_ been elected? The Bush twins were under fire for years here when Bush 2 was governor and for eight more years when he gained the presidency. If your family can’t weather that storm then national politics are not for you. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/375 "2009-07-05T04:36:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I will believe it happened when objective evidence is presented. For such a famous incident it certainly is curious that _there’s no record of it happening_. There isn’t even any evidence that it was discussed on Usenet or other similar forums of the time at the time it would have occurred, e.g. some uknown day in 1993. You are of course free to set your own standards as to what you choose to believe or not. But I saw it with my own eyes and quit listening to Limbaugh immediately afterward, so outraged was I that he would make fun of a young girl’s looks, especially one who, at thirteen years of age, is at the time of life when one is most insecure about their looks, and here he is making fun of her looks to a national audience. As for why no one made a big deal of it at the time, my guess is that Limbaugh’s show was new (and short-lived); that not many people were watching it (which is why it was short-lived ;)); that Limbaugh’s fans were unlikely to make an issue of it; and that the Clintons didn’t want to give the issue further exposure by making a big deal of it. Remember, this was in 1992 or '93 and the Internet wasn’t around like it is today. Nor was cable. Nor were loud talking-head shows. Most people got their news from ABC, CBS and NBC, and none of those outlets was likely to report it. So in other words, hardly anybody but Limbaugh TV watchers saw it, and those who did, even if they were outraged by it, had no outlet to make it widely known. Limbaugh subsequently did come in for heat from some of his fans and tried to convince them that it was an honest mistake (my recollection is somewhat different than **Sam’s** , in that Limbaugh chucklingly tried to pass it off as a mistake at the time as well), but again, by and large hardly anyone saw it when it happened, and there really was no one on the scene at that time who was in a position to make an issue of it. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/376 "2009-07-05T04:45:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In fact, **there is no objective, primary evidence the Rush Limbaugh “did you know there’s a White House dog?”/Chelsea Clinton joke ever took place.** There is no tape of it and no transcript, and it wasn’t mentioned anywhere at the time it is alleged to have taken place. > > The earliest known mention of it is a Molly Ivins column written November 12, 1993, which which Ivins claims it happened, but she provides no explanation of when the joke is alleged to have aired. What’s been repeated over and over is Ivins’s story, not the original event. It could be that we have a case of people conflating different events, and perhaps remembering one as the other. I’m not sure if i’d even heard of the alleged incident before this thread, but i’ve done enough reading on the subject of the reliability of human memory to know that your observations about people remembering things they never actually saw is right on the money. Anyway, i did a Lexis/Nexis search for some appropriate terms, and came up with this story: > [@](#): > > **Newsweek** > > May 17, 1993 , UNITED STATES EDITION > > Low Blows > > SECTION: PERISCOPE; Feuds; Pg. 6 > > LENGTH: 107 words > > Why did Bill Clinton take a verbal jab at Rush Limbaugh? At a recent Washington dinner, Clinton joked that the talk-show host defended Janet Reno after Rep. John Conyers grilled her on the Waco fiasco “only because she was attacked by a black guy.” Limbaugh complained he’d been called a “racist.” White House aides say Clinton – who’s supersensitive about his daughter – was getting back at Limbaugh for comparing Chelsea to George and Barbara Bush’s dog, Millie, on TV. Limbaugh’s producers say he apologized after “the wrong photo” was aired when Chelsea was mentioned. They say they don’t recall if it was a photo of a dog. And then i found this transcript, also on Lexis/Nexis, from The Blowhard’s show: > [@](#): > > **RUSH LIMBAUGH** > > November 6, 1992, Friday 11:15 AM > > SHOW: RUSH LIMBAUGH (9:00 PM ET) > > ANCHORS: Rush Limbaugh > > LENGTH: 3612 words > > \ > > LIMBAUGH: Thank you. This show’s era of dominant influence is just beginning. We are now the sole voice of sanity, the sole voice of reason. We are the sole voice of opposition on all television. This is the only place you can tune to to get the truth of the opposition of the one-party dictatorial government that now will soon run America. Oh, I mean, we are only beginning to enjoy dominance and prosperity. Most of these things on the in-out list are not even funny, but a couple of them–one of them in particular is. > > David Hinckley of–of the New York Daily News wrote this, and what he has–he’s got–it’s very strange. He says, In: A cute kid in the White House. Out: Cute dog in the White House.’ Could–could we see the cute kid? Let’s take a look at–see who is the cute kid in the White House. > > (A picture is shown of Millie the dog) > > LIMBAUGH: (Voiceover) No, no, no. That’s not the kid. > > (Picture shown of Chelsea Clinton) > > LIMBAUGH: (Voiceover) That’s–that’s the kid. We’re trying to… > > (Applause) > > LIMBAUGH: No, just kidding. I’m just getting. Oh. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. That was a terrible thing. That–that was an absolutely terrible–I am–I am sorry. You know, I just–the end of the week, the pressure’s on–actually the pressure’s off, and I relaxed a little bit too much. You know, when my radio show started in August of 1988, a presidential campaign then, and Amy Carter was protesting everything American while at Brown University. And I didn’t, of course, like that. I didn’t like her protesting everything American, and I made a remark on my show that I’ve now since apologized for and I’ve taken it back; I didn’t mean it. I said, You know, she may be the most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country.’ > > \ > > LIMBAUGH: There I go. My friends, I apologize again. I–that’s the third time the crew makes a mistake by showing you Millie the dog when I intended to show you Chelsea Clinton, and then I followed with that terrible story. I’m–I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m fatigued. I’m tired. I really don’t–in fact, you know what I’ll do? Let’s pretend this is a daytime talk show and that I’m a guest on, say, Sally, Phil or whatever. How can I make amends to you for what I just did? I can spank myself. People who spank themselves, next RUSH. Watch this. I can’t provide links, because Lexis/Nexis is a subscription service. Anyway, whether or not this is (allegedly) the same incident, and whether or not this incident happened as described here, it’s clear that Limbaugh, or at least his show, associated Chelsea Clinton with a dog about a year before Molly Ivins wrote her piece. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/377 "2009-07-05T05:06:54Z")
What have we got here, we’re arguing over the sensitivity and taste of a guy who made fun of a Parkinson’s victim for being all shaky? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/378 "2009-07-05T05:30:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > What have we got here, we’re arguing over the sensitivity and taste of a guy who made fun of a Parkinson’s victim for being all shaky? This is the SDMB. We’ve got standards. You’ve got to properly cite your _tu quoques_. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/379 "2009-07-05T05:37:10Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > What have we got here, we’re arguing over the sensitivity and taste of a guy who made fun of a Parkinson’s victim for being all shaky? Well, as this is not the pit, I can’t really say what I think of Rush here. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/380 "2009-07-05T05:37:20Z")
For those waiting for “the other shoe” … you may [have a wait](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palin5-2009jul05,0,7018263.story). > [@](#): > > … the FBI’s Alaska spokesman said the bureau had no investigation into Palin for her activities as governor, as mayor or in any other capacity. > > “There is absolutely no truth to those rumors that we’re investigating her or getting ready to indict her,” Special Agent Eric Gonzalez said in a phone interview Saturday. “It’s just not true.” He added that there was “no wiggle room” in his comments for any kind of inquiry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=20)