# 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:** 22
**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:** [July 5, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/421 "2009-07-05T21:16:59Z")
Breaking news in the [Anchorage paper](http://www.adn.com): The FBI has come out and said that Palin is NOT under investigation. So there goes that speculation. I continue to believe it’s about money. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/422 "2009-07-05T21:18:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 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. So everything we remember seeeing on tv 20 years ago probably never happened? Damn. I reconstructed the Niners slaughtering the Broncos? Oh God the A’s sweeping the Giants in 4 was probably an internet constructed memory as well ☹ Looks like I’m really taking my memories in the butt here. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/423 "2009-07-05T21:20:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Breaking news in the [Anchorage paper](http://www.adn.com): The FBI has come out and said that Palin is NOT under investigation. So there goes that speculation. I continue to believe it’s about money. Just because the FBI isn’t investigating her currently doesn’t mean that no one is investigating … ABI or some other state/local entity could be. ---
**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/424 "2009-07-05T21:26:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Breaking news in the [Anchorage paper](http://www.adn.com): The FBI has come out and said that Palin is NOT under investigation. So there goes that speculation. I continue to believe it’s about money. “Broke” here oh about [16 hours ago.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11308030&postcount=380) Do keep up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/425 "2009-07-05T21:37:11Z")
> [@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. THERE IS A RECORD OF IT HAPPENING. Molly Ivins saying it did, Sam Stone saying it did, and Starving Artist saying it did is evidence. Rush’s tv show, if I remember correctly, was a flop. Few people watched it. I will believe Stone and Artist did. “No discussion on Usenet” :rolleyes: In the early 90s, not everone was recording everything and uploading shit to the youtube (I think I was a complete tard with a unix shell account then). The first time the SDMB ever burned me, but caused me to truly discover occam’s razor, was when a few brave soles here swore they saw that famous newlywed game clip, and were vilified, raked over the coals, accused of having invented memories. And lo and behold look what happened. Why would they lie about it? Sam has been around here a long time, and while I think he makes a few too many excuses for and gets too attached to a few political figures, I’ve never, ever seen him make something up out of whole cloth. If he says he saw it, I will believe it, especially if it’s backed up by SOMEONE ELSE who also claims to have seen it. Oh, and Molly Ivins. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/426 "2009-07-05T21:55:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Breaking news in the [Anchorage paper](http://www.adn.com): The FBI has come out and said that Palin is NOT under investigation. So there goes that speculation. I continue to believe it’s about money. The lawyer’s language is pretty funny too: > [@](#): > > “I can say definitively I am aware of no criminal investigation whatsoever involving Sarah Palin. Zero,” Palin’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said in a phone interview as he attended the Fourth of July festivities on the Delaney Park Strip in Anchorage. So he’s absolutely sure he doesn’t know of an investigation. Which is nice. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/427 "2009-07-05T21:58:44Z")
> [@zuma](#): > > a few brave **soles** here swore they saw that famous newlywed game clip They did sound fishy, though. 😛 ---
**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, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/428 "2009-07-05T22:31:40Z")
> [@zuma](#): > > THERE IS A RECORD OF IT HAPPENING. Molly Ivins saying it did, Sam Stone saying it did, and Starving Artist saying it did is evidence. Rush’s tv show, if I remember correctly, was a flop. Few people watched it. I will believe Stone and Artist did. That’s hearsay. Show me a tape. Show me an original transcript. Show me a record _from the time it happened._ We’ve had folks of the highest honesty and character on the SDMB swear nineteen ways from Sunday that the movie Star Wars was subtitled “Episode IV” in its first theatrical run and admit to amazement when it was conclusively proven it wasn’t. My best friend already completely misremembers how he heard about the events of 9/11 (I know his account is wrong because I still have the E-mails from the time) and I haven’t the heart to correct him because he’s not being dishonest; his memory’s just flubbed it. He’s a smart, honest man. Every study done on human memories shows this sort of shit’s very, very common and happens to everyone; you can convince people they saw things they did not see through the most conventional suggestion. Given that the story has all the elements of a misremembered story - it’s vaguely similar to another event, there is no evidence of it being reported anywhere at the time it happened, nobody can say when it actually took place, and there is no surviving primary evidence - I’m going to maintain a skeptical stance until it’s proven true. Note that **GIGObuster** has already provided a cite of the event - which, as mhendo immediately found out through an L/N search, was wrong. It claims the event took place on the day that the Millie picture incident, which we do know for sure happened, took place. **GIGO** ’s source is simply quoting Molly Ivins’s column and then confusing it with the incident that actually did take place, as in fact \*every single cite of the event \*does. Things repeated as fact over and over, as this has, can often become memories. But that doesn’t mean they happened. Don’t you find it curious that there’s no primary evidence? I do not doubt your sincerity, SA, or yours, Sam. I’m still skeptical the event happened. I think it’s been conflated with the Millie picture thing (and possibly salted with the flavour of John McCain’s incredibly cruel joke.) But I’m happily willing to accept it happened once someone comes up with actual evidence. > [@](#): > > Why would they lie about it? I have very, very clearly stated that I honestly don’t think anyone (on the SDMB, anyway) is lying. I cannot stress that enough; I am accusing no poster here of any dishonesty. Nor am I supporting Limbaugh, who says more than enough stupid things that one more or less won’t make a lot of difference. ---
**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, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/429 "2009-07-05T22:31:47Z")
> [@MeDrewNotYou](#): > > We’ll see tomorrow, but my guess is that its Obama’s fault. After all, [he was at fault for Sanford’s affair.](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/25/165628/139) It’s pretty obvious that the government is now beyond all hope. How, how to get that message across without telling people to not bother voting? Tune in tomorrow when the EIB network can tell everyone what they should think. -Joe ---
**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:** [July 5, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/430 "2009-07-05T22:39:08Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > “Broke” here oh about [16 hours ago.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11308030&postcount=380) Do keep up. 🙂 Oh hell. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/431 "2009-07-05T22:40:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The FBI has come out and said that Palin is NOT under investigation. Anymore. 😉 She just held up her end of the deal, now they’re holding up theirs. **RickJay** , more than enough cites have been provided to you already. Admit your error graciously and move on. ---
**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, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/432 "2009-07-05T22:46:35Z")
> [@zuma](#): > > THERE IS A RECORD OF IT HAPPENING. Molly Ivins saying it did, Sam Stone saying it did, and Starving Artist saying it did is evidence. It does constitute evidence, of a sort. But it is NOT a “record” of the incident. Those people’s recollections can be weighed, and their value as evidence debated, but their recollections are not the same as a record of the occurrence. > [@zuma](#): > > Rush’s tv show, if I remember correctly, was a flop. Few people watched it. I will believe Stone and Artist did. > > “No discussion on Usenet” :rolleyes: > > In the early 90s, not everone was recording everything and uploading shit to the youtube (I think I was a complete tard with a unix shell account then). And yet, if my perusal of Lexis/Nexis is any indication, Limbaugh’s show was transcribed by Burrelle’s Transcripts, and those transcripts are now available and searchable on the Lexis/Nexis database. And a search, using appropriate search terms like **chelsea clinton limbaugh dog** , in the period from the beginning of 1992 to the end of 1995, reveals no incident in which Limbaugh said “Did you know there’s a White House dog?” while showing a picture of Chelsea Clinton. Limbaugh DID make a reference to Chelsea Clinton, implying she was a dog, but it was NOT done in the way that some people in this thread have asserted. I reproduced the transcript of the incident back in a [previous post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11307955#post11307955). I also found this transcript, from a subsequent show: > [@](#): > > **RUSH LIMBAUGH** > > November 10, 1992, Tuesday 11:15 AM > > SHOW: RUSH LIMBAUGH (9:00 PM ET) > > ANCHORS: Rush Limbaugh > > LENGTH: 3738 words > > LIMBAUGH: Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry. Let me tell you very quickly what happened last Friday night. There was a new in list and new out list that was published in the newspaper. The writer said in, cute kid in the White House; out, cute dog in the White House. Could we show the cute dog in the White House who’s out, and they put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton back in the crew. And many of you people think that we did it on purpose to make a cheap comment on her appearance. And I’m terribly sorry. I don’t–look, that takes no talent whatsoever and I have a lot of talent. I don’t need to get laughs by commenting on people’s looks, especially a young child who’s done nothing wrong. I mean, she can’t control the way she looks. And we really–we do not–we do not do that on this kind of show. So put a picture up of her now and so we can square this. > > (Photo shown of Bill and Chelsea Clinton, who is making a sour face) > > (Laughter and applause) > > LIMBAUGH: All right. We’re sorry. We didn’t intend to hurt her feelings. We’ll be back with our final segment right after this. Don’t go away. Again, while this is further, compelling evidence that Limbaugh did compare Chelsea to a dog, it again suggests that it was not a case of him asking “Did you know there’s a White House dog?” and then showing her picture. A further search on Lexis/Nexis, looking specifically for the term “white house dog,” finds numerous references, but they are all in newspaper articles from 1995 or later, referring back to an alleged 1992 incident. Don’t you think that, if Limbaugh had specifically said “Did you know there’s a White House dog?” and shown a picture of Chelsea, it just might have made the news when it happened? > [@zuma](#): > > Why would they lie about it? Sam has been around here a long time, and while I think he makes a few too many excuses for and gets too attached to a few political figures, I’ve never, ever seen him make something up out of whole cloth. If he says he saw it, I will believe it, especially if it’s backed up by SOMEONE ELSE who also claims to have seen it. Oh, and Molly Ivins. Show me where **RickJay** , or anyone else, accused them of lying. In fact, he specifically made a point of noting that people can, with perfectly honesty and sincere belief, “remember” an event that they never actually witnessed. Scholars who study human memory have known this for a long time, and have argued that it is not the same as lying, because the person takes a story told to them by someone else and internalizes it as their own memory. Or, the person witnesses a particular event, but remembers it differently from the way in which it actually occurred. I love Molly Ivins. She’s one of my favorite authors, and i think the country and the world are a poorer place for her passing. But she was not necessarily any more immune from the vagaries of memory than anyone else. It could be that she saw the incident in the transcript that i provided, but simply remembered or recounted it in a different way. ETA: Well, that all took so long that **RickJay** beat me to the punch. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/433 "2009-07-05T23:05:13Z")
**zuma, mhendo, and RickJay** , allow me to junior mod here for a moment. Please see **tomndebb** ’s _moderating_ post at [415](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11309058&postcount=415) and start your own damn thread if you want to get to the bottom of this Rush Limabugh business. It is not appropriate here. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/434 "2009-07-05T23:05:41Z")
Is it just me, or does that transcript sound like Limbaugh frantically covering his ass, like his non-apology when people proved that he was full of shit when he accused Michael J. Fox of faking? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/435 "2009-07-05T23:33:58Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Like it or not, Rush and similar have a huge hold on the GOP at the moment. By joining them, she’ll have both absurd riches and the ability to influence policy choices on a national scale. She can endorse/campaign for this or that Republican, depending on who is going to kowtow/pay her. By working outside the government, she’ll still have ego-filling impact and the narcissistic benefits of fame, but without the mundane day-to-day chores and responsibility of actually holding office. I guess a pundit is sort of like a governor, except you don’t have actual responsibilities. ---
**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, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/436 "2009-07-05T23:53:01Z")
Ok, so we have “compelling evidence that Limbaugh did compare Chelsea to a dog” But he never said it \*\*just \*\*like Molly Ivins say he did. I think this does not help Rush. IMHO I can say that it was like the transcripts are reporting, but the backpedaling shows that we did properly remember the reaction of the crowd and Rush and that made us realize that Rush did screw up. Anyway, back to subject. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/this-fatal-attraction-has-boiled-her-own-bunny/article1205967/](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/this-fatal-attraction-has-boiled-her-own-bunny/article1205967/) This Fatal Attraction has boiled her own bunny > [@](#): > > Now, with an abrupt decision to abandon ship that shocked many Republican insiders, and a bizarre, semi-coherent resignation speech mangled in syntax and analogy (“only dead fish go with the flow,” she said mystifyingly at one point), I’m wondering whether Sarah Palin has boiled her own bunny. > > Even her one-time fervent supporter, arch-conservative commentator William Kristol, called it “a high-risk move.” > [@](#): > > More recently, there’s been Mr. Letterman’s cheap reference to Ms. Palin’s “slutty flight attendant” look, and in a devastating profile in Vanity Fair magazine now on the stands, writer Todd Purdum not only takes aim at her competence as governor, but writes that several political insiders separately questioned whether, in her “extravagant self-regard,” she had something called narcissistic personality disorder. All throughout Ms. Palin’s tightrope tenure on the national political scene, it’s been difficult to separate what was legitimate criticism of her from what was sexist or simply unfair. > > In Mr. Purdum’s profile, for example, he says a couple of things that raised alarm bells with me: “She is by far the best-looking woman ever to rise to such heights in national politics, the first indisputably fertile female to dare to dance with the big dogs. This pheromonal reality has been a blessing and a curse.” Mr. Purdum’s article also suggests that Ms. Palin’s erratic behaviour during the campaign might have been a result of postpartum depression. And on the day of her resignation, CNN’s Rick Sanchez wondered whether she might be pregnant. Oh, please. There’s so much to legitimately criticize Ms. Palin for that it never made any sense to go hormonal on her. Politics clearly needs women who don’t behave “nicely” – otherwise they wouldn’t get anywhere, but Ms. Palin’s lack of depth, her demagoguery and her rogue quality have been evident right from the beginning. And as a candidate for the highest political office in the land, she made a lot of people very, very nervous. > > Let’s hope this resignation is her swan song and not her 2012 campaign debut. Like others mentioned, with her resignation Palin just gave a huge club to other Republican contenders to use against her for 2012, I do not think that she will overcome that. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/437 "2009-07-06T00:19:50Z")
**TWEEEEEEET!!!** What part of > [@tomndebb](#): > > Aside from any relevant commentary by Limbaugh on Palin, the subject of Limbaugh’s nonsense is closed. > [/Modding] do you folks not understand? The next post on that topic in this thread gets a Warning . [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/438 "2009-07-06T01:24:36Z")
perhaps it’s time to consider switching from Tweeeeeeet!! to **AAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGAAAHHH!!!** the better to grab their attention with? just a suggestion 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/439 "2009-07-06T02:03:57Z")
Why blame hormonal instability when you have ample ammunition for “batshit crazy?” I read that article, while I did mentally note the female-specific comments, overall, I think it showed that the creature Sarah Palin is a complete whack-a-do, not necessarily Sarah “A Woman” Palin. I’m dying to call my mother who has become a RabidRepublican to see what her take on this is. I don’t think my logic synapses could take it however, as much as I’d like to take one for the team. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/440 "2009-07-06T02:17:59Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > I’m dying to call my mother who has become a RabidRepublican to see what her take on this is. I don’t think my logic synapses could take it however, as much as I’d like to take one for the team. Aww, come on, I’m really curious! I thought about asking my dad, but that will probably ruin my mood for the rest of my day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=23)