# Sarah Palin's Intelligence Level **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 10, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667 "2010-04-10T20:41:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/141 "2010-04-13T16:41:32Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Were I about to be set on a national stage and told that I may be asked why Korea is divided. I would just say that I don’t know anything about it and ask to be filled in. > > Of course if you’re Sarah Palin and you use this strategy it’s “OMG she doesn’t know anything about N & S Korea!111 LOL!!111. She talks funny LOL !1!!!1!11. Tina Fey FTW !@!!11!.” Your average American who probably knows about as much as I do about the war in Korea or the politics of a distant country won’t be offended that Palin doesn’t either. It continues to play into the “She’s one of us” mentality. Which is why she’s popular. > > What Sarah Palin is great at is more important than being able to quote policy or recite history lessons, or getting herself elected. She will be instrumental in helping to turn over congressional seats currently held by Democrats in the upcoming election cycle. That takes a certain kind of intelligence. She’s one in a hundred-million and the left would be well advised to accept it. > > The constant mocking of Palin makes the left look like what many voters suspect: intellectual elitists who are out of touch with America. > > Go Sarah! People like you scare the crap out of me. Given that North Korea is a present day threat, knowing the historical context of the Korean War is important in making good decisions about policy. This is not a test in history class, where if you get a question wrong it is no big deal. You seem to be of the opinion that any old moron could be president. The booboisie is very offended if told that their emotional opinions are wrong - that evolution happened, that the banks not being bailed out would have had disastrous consequences, that climate change is happening. They don’t get why people think Harvard, Yale and MIT are better than Podunk Community College. Rabble rousing, by the way, does not imply intelligence. And I would thank you to not insult my country by saying it is as stupid as Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/142 "2010-04-13T16:49:09Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > One of the examples used in this thread to demonstrate Palin’s “stupidity” was that she didn’t know how/why there is a North & South Korea. I think many Americans look at it from a different perspective than many of the studied and learned members who post here. > > I have a decent degree of intellectual curiosity, but I thought about it and realized that I don’t know much about the politics of what went on 50 years ago re:the Korean War. I know that the North was backed by communists and the Soviet Union and the South was backed by the US. I don’t know why the North and South were at each other’s throats to begin with. I know that we were, “Making the world safe for Democracy.” McCarthyism in the US was fueling that sentiment. > > Truman was President and he had some sort of conflict with one of the leading generals in Korea (was it MacArthur?). The war never technically ended. Now that’s about all I know off the top of my head and that’s probably about as much as your average non-history buff is likely to know about the Korean conflict of the 1950’s. Most Americans, Palin included, are too young to have lived through the Korean war and is distant & lacks relevance to most Americans today. > > Were I about to be set on a national stage and told that I may be asked why Korea is divided. I would just say that I don’t know anything about it and ask to be filled in. > > Of course if you’re Sarah Palin and you use this strategy it’s “OMG she doesn’t know anything about N & S Korea!111 LOL!!111. She talks funny LOL !1!!!1!11. Tina Fey FTW !@!!11!.” Your average American who probably knows about as much as I do about the war in Korea or the politics of a distant country won’t be offended that Palin doesn’t either. It continues to play into the “She’s one of us” mentality. Which is why she’s popular. > > What Sarah Palin is great at is more important than being able to quote policy or recite history lessons, or getting herself elected. She will be instrumental in helping to turn over congressional seats currently held by Democrats in the upcoming election cycle. That takes a certain kind of intelligence. She’s one in a hundred-million and the left would be well advised to accept it. > > The constant mocking of Palin makes the left look like what many voters suspect: intellectual elitists who are out of touch with America. > > Go Sarah! “Dare To Be Stupid” used to be a parody song by “Weird Al” Yankovic, and you’ve turned it into a rallying cry. Is Deliberate Ignorance something you are actually _proud_ of? ---
**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:** [April 13, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/143 "2010-04-13T16:53:30Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Rabble rousing, by the way, does not imply intelligence. And I would thank you to not insult my country by saying it is as stupid as Sarah Palin. You lost _this_ battle a long time ago. I would guess that Palin would score higher than the US median on both an IQ test and a test of current affairs. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/144 "2010-04-13T17:06:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > People like you scare the crap out of me. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Dare To Be Stupid” used to be a parody song by “Weird Al” Yankovic, and you’ve turned it into a rallying cry. Please stick to arguing against **DJ Motorbike** ’s views without making personal comments. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/145 "2010-04-13T17:30:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Fair enough, I suppose, but we’re talking about a prospective Presidential candidate here. The last six Democratic presidential nominees (including Obama) had postgraduate degrees (all from law schools, natch) and all but Mondale were Harvard or Yale grads. Mondale attended the University of Minnesota law school. Granted, but that’s all irrelevant to the issue at hand – namely, whether Palin “struggled for years through a battery of community and state colleges to amass enough credits for a Bachelors Degree.” One can acknowledge that she does not have the Ivy League pedigree of Barack Obama, but this does not mean that she struggled through a series of lesser schools. Frankly, there’s just no evidence that this was the case. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/146 "2010-04-13T17:35:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [QUOTE=JThunder] > You’re dodging the question. I asked Diogenes to support his claim that “struggled for years through a battery of community and state colleges to amass enough credits for a Bachelors Degree.” So far, we have plenty of speculation but absolutely no direct evidence. > > Y’know, it’s poor form to disparage somebody’s intelligence while simultaneously substituting speculation for logic and evidence. I didn’t dodge any question you asked _me_-I merely asked you a separate question. [/QUOTE] That’s right. When I pointed out that there’s no evidence of Palin having struggled through school, you asked, “Would it disturb you more if she was actually stupid, or just acting stupid?” So yes, you did ask a separate question – a completely irrelevant one. If I were attempting to defend her intelligence, your objection might have some validity. I said nothing either way about her intelligence or her behavior, though. Rather, I pointed out that it’s grossly unfair to assume that she “struggled for years through a battery of community and state colleges to amass enough credits for a Bachelors Degree.” We know that she switched schools multiple times, but that’s obviously not the same thing. In other words, your challenge is completely irrelevant to the objection that I was raising, and you know it. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/147 "2010-04-13T17:37:16Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Actually, I was only contesting the assertion that her college degree was evidence of above average intelligence. No, you weren’t. You specifically said that she struggled through school, and that she scrambled to scrounge up enough credits to earn her degree. That goes far beyond merely contesting the notion that her degree indicates a certain level of intelligence. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/148 "2010-04-13T17:37:25Z")
Except for the documented series of lesser schools, you mean? I think the only thing you have an issue with is the word, “struggled.” You don’t have to accept that characterization if you don’t want to, but all I was really doing was countering the suggestion that having a collge degree, in itself, was evidence of an above average intelligence. I’d say her college credentials are the definition of “average,” and maybe a little bit less. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/149 "2010-04-13T17:40:03Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > In other words, your challenge is completely irrelevant to the objection that I was raising, and you know it. 1. It was a simple question(as yet, unanswered), not a “challenge”. 2. I’m glad you’ve gotten the point that it had nothing to do with whatever your objection was. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/150 "2010-04-13T17:44:55Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > No, you weren’t. You specifically said that she struggled through school, and that she scrambled to scrounge up enough credits to earn her degree. That goes far beyond merely contesting the notion that her degree indicates a certain level of intelligence. Read the post from **Mr. Excellent** that I was responding to: > [@Mr. Excellent](#): > > Really? I’ve no love for the woman, but I’d be very surprised if her IQ score weren’t well above average. This is a college-educated woman who had a relatively short, but reasonably successful, career in statewide politics. To which I said: > [@](#): > > She struggled for years through a battery of community and state colleges to amass enough credits for a Bachelors Degree. That doesn’t take any special intelligence. You cut that last sentence out when you snipped my quote above. That last sentence makes renders my meaning unambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/151 "2010-04-13T18:14:35Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Fuck, yes, I’m an elitist. That countries be run by the smartest people should be obvious to all. A-friggin’-men. I don’t understand why this isn’t obvious. I don’t want the President of the United States of America to be someone that I can hang out and have a beer with, shooting the breeze. I want someone who is REALLY smart, very focused, intellectually curious, able to admit when they don’t know something and then able and willing to seek out the information they need to fill that gap. And someone who recognizes that the reality of the current world situation is not black and white, “you’re for us or against us,” but is a myriad of colors, all of which require thinking outside of a parochial mindset. I DON’T want someone who celebrates ignorance as a virtue. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/152 "2010-04-13T18:26:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Dare To Be Stupid” used to be a parody song by “Weird Al” Yankovic, and you’ve turned it into a rallying cry. Is Deliberate Ignorance something you are actually _proud_ of? I’m saying that she’s not doing herself any favors. However, trying to use as a hammer against her only manages to endear her to her supporters. That’s sort of the gist of what I’m trying to say. I didn’t say I thought she’d make a good president. I said she’s going to stir up a huge amount of money for pubs in the next election. I don’t think she’s electable. Also, I like smart people. I like people who are intellectually elite. The views of the rabble are not necessarily those those expressed by me. 😃 ---
**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:** [April 13, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/153 "2010-04-13T18:38:02Z")
I have the opposite feeling - she’s going to draw shit tons of crazy voters and donors, and turn off independents and moderates. It’ll be the same effect she had on the McCain campaign - she preaches to the choir well, but is a shitty evangelist, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/154 "2010-04-13T18:49:12Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Except for the documented series of lesser schools, you mean? > > I think the only thing you have an issue with is the word, “struggled.” You don’t have to accept that characterization if you don’t want to, but all I was really doing was countering the suggestion that having a collge degree, in itself, was evidence of an above average intelligence. I’d say her college credentials are the definition of “average,” and maybe a little bit less. I think there’s almost no chance she “struggled”. I think that if it got tough enough to merit “struggling”, she’d _quit_. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/155 "2010-04-13T18:51:48Z")
Well, I left MIT because I didn’t want to compete with all the no-life Indian and Chinese students who were making me look bad. ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/156 "2010-04-13T19:08:39Z")
she’s an idiot. perfect for the republican voters ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/157 "2010-04-13T19:27:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Please stick to arguing against **DJ Motorbike** ’s views without making personal comments. Sorry. I meant that his position scared me, and I should have made that clear. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/158 "2010-04-13T19:35:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Sorry. I meant that his position scared me, and I should have made that clear. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/159 "2010-04-13T19:39:07Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > To which I said: > > > [@](#): > > > > She struggled for years through a battery of community and state colleges to amass enough credits for a Bachelors Degree. That doesn’t take any special intelligence. > > You cut that last sentence out when you snipped my quote above. That last sentence makes renders my meaning unambiguous. That’s because I wasn’t disagreeing with the second sentence. I was taking issue with the first one – the foundation of your subsequent claim. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667/160 "2010-04-13T19:39:17Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > The views of the rabble are not necessarily those those expressed by me. 😃 But… but… > [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Go Sarah! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palins-intelligence-level/535667.md?page=9)