This is clearly a function of her handlers and their ability to spin any criticism of her as an attack. She doesn’t appear to be any brighter than a worn out 25w bulb. She’s the Joe McCarthy of the '00s, running her singular issue right into the ground.
Stranger
She is more than “borderline incompetent as a candidate”. She’s ticket suicide…like committing suicide “by cop”, only substitute “by Palin”. I really felt sorry for McCain, a man I actually admire a great deal, despite our political differences…he got saddled with Palin by the same handlers who managed the Bush elections, in an attempt to appeal to both women (as if we vote as a block, based on genitalia) and the Christian right. I could actually SEE the life draining out of him as the campaign progressed, because he KNEW he was sunk and it was like he was thinking, “let’s just get this over with already…I’m fucked sideways.”
I agree she is NOT a good speaker. I said here she doesn’t seem able to talk on her feet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she can’t THINK on her feet…just that she is not a very good public speaker/debater.
I know many examples from my own personal experience and from second-hand observation, of individuals who SUCK HARD at verbal communication or public speaking but who are very intelligent (can write, think and function at a high level).
I also completely agree that she is a rank amateur when it comes to persuasion and spin. I am embarrassed just watching her. :o (as opposed to say, President Obama, who very neatly and calmly picks her idiotic rantings apart without seeming to flex a neuron;)) But he has a lot more experience debating, speaking publicly, and picking apart arguments.
And that her beliefs are, imo, WHACKED in many respects. But just because someone holds different or even, imo, completely irrational, beliefs, does not an automatic idiot make them.
Maybe I am too tolerant. It sort of scares me to think that a majority of Americans are less “intelligent” than ME :eek: (at 129 IQ, for whatever that is worth:rolleyes:). I prefer to assume most of us are fairly intelligent and just not living up to our potential or testing well 
Nixon was, by most accounts, very intelligent. He was also, by many accounts, a pathological liar, paranoid, delusional, and I, personally, differ strongly with his core beliefs/ideology. I don’t think he was stupid, though. Maybe crazy like a fox.
I’ve known several people personally who projected simple-minded stupidity/not very brightness who turned out to be among the most cunning, clever, dangerous people of all. I do not automatically underestimate such individuals…that plays right into their hand. :dubious:
Palin HAS held elected office and HAS accomplished quite a bit to date. I tend to err on the side of cunning and innate intelligence at manipulating her environment rather than assume she is “stupid” just because she is a poor speaker and I disagree with most of her root assumptions.
If she WERE rather intelligent, she would be doing exactly what she is doing…playing to her crowd and raking in the dough/celebrity and laying careful plans for future prospects.
Based on the demographic she is currently courting, she doesn’t NEED to appear esp. articulate or savvy. It is, in fact, a liability. It will be interesting to see if she gradually becomes more so in order to appeal more to the broader demographic needed to progress much beyond her current status.
One of the defining characteristics of innate intelligence (as opposed to testing well on an IQ exam) is the ability to respond successfully to your environment, to adapt creatively to changing circumstances and thrive.
Can she? WILL she? In the meantime, I prefer not to underestimate the threat she poses by dismissing her as “dumb”.
I don’t agree with the people saying she’s intelligent, just uneducated.
I mean, at what point does someone finally become stupid? I can do any number of stupid things but have accusations waved off by people saying, “He’s not stupid, just bull-headed, ignorant and he has a refusal to change.”
I think she’s stupid.
I would call her stupid if she was seriously acting like someone who was going to run for president. Quitting her post in Alaska and dedicating her life to milking the idiots who love her rather than believing her own hype is pretty shrewd. I think shes smart because she’s turned her limited appeal into a shit ton of cash. She’s Paris Hilton dumb, you might not like her and she might seem like a moron with absolutely no talent but she’s turned acting like an idiot into a multi-million dollar business.
What significant thing has she done that’s stupid?
As Forest Gump said, stupid is as stupid does. And Gump wasn’t even that stupid. Slow, yes. Retarded, maybe. But he charmed the pants off Nixon and won a ping-pong competition. That ain’t retarded.
Palin went full retard and that’s why she went home empty.
More like a trend of stupidity, the kind of stuff that everyone in this thread has been mentioning.
They’ve been talking about things she said, which is easily attributed to lack of education. You said she did stupid things. And yet she’s raking in the dough. I should be so stupid…
Engage in nationally televised interviews during a vice presidential campaign without doing the slightest bit of preparation or research on the issues that she was campaigning on.
If her goal was to actually win the election, that was really, really stupid. It was also really, really, really stupid of the McCain campaign to let her do it.
Really? You have a cite to support that? I’d love to see it!
You’ll have to do your own analysis, I’m afraid, but this one certainly did appear to be true.
Just FTR, I am a high school drop out (actually, I “dropped out” in 7th grade, for all intents and purposes). I bless my mother every day for finally allowing me to officially drop out of that idiotic, pointless routine.
I went on to go to college and graduated with a 4.0 gpa. I’m currently working on my second degree (3.80 GPA to date).
At the same time that I hated jr high/high school for the dumbed down, pointless crap that it was (in my case), I totally appreciate college and other forms of higher education and challenges.
And I can attest to the fact that for some, formal education is not required to achieve great things. But damn straight my kids are going to college…I tell them, unless you have invented/done something by that age that renders you independently wealthy for life, you WILL go and earn a degree. (and even IF you have, college can be fun…go for it! :D)
I suppose it’s possible that she did prepare for the interviews, but was still unable to engage in discussions of some of the issues that she herself raised. Of course, you might describe somebody who has that kind of trouble communicating as “stupid.”
Since when is raking in dough proof of intelligence? By that reasoning, professional athletes and Britney Spears are intelligent. Sure, plenty of athletes and entertainers are intelligent and I would even say that the ones making the most are generally above average intelligence, but some of them are certainly as smart as a bag of rocks yet still making millions.
I just have to acknowledge this…love that film (Tropic Thunder)
An elective office that she bailed on. Was that her only accomplishment, or do you have a list?
Where did I say it was proof of intelligence? Not being stupid doesn’t mean you’re intelligent.
The fact that shes raking in the dough isn’t proof of intelligence. The fact that she realized she WASN’T going to be a credible candidate EVER and her only options were to milk this tea party thing for every penny she could IS a sign of intelligence. Someone who was truly stupid would believe they were truly a presidential candidate with a real chance at winning in 2012 and would be acting accordingly.
An office she bailed on with an eye to her own advancement, imo. (perhaps not the smartest of moves, perhaps THE smartest, all things considered…remains to be seen).
At the very least, doing so allowed her to capitalize on her fleeting celebrity and rake in the dough and position herself for future, higher, position. (in her dreams or not).
I do not have an official list at hand, sadly.
But what percentage of women, much less say mothers to multiple children, rise to the rank of Governor, even of Alaska, by sheer chance?
She plotted and worked for that accomplishment, it was not just handed to her. And she IS, like it or not, one of the few women to ever be on a nationwide ballot in the US. Geez, I should be so “lucky”. 
Don’t get me wrong…I am not proposing that she is RIGHT (correct), only that she is perhaps not the idiot so many assume her to be.
Again, I hold an assumption (maybe wrong) that someone whose beliefs and ideology and public speaking skills differ from mine is NOT automatically a moron. Just WRONG/IGNORANT on many levels (according to ME:D)
OTOH (playing devils advocate here;))