# Sarah turns opaque. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856 "2008-09-16T16:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**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:** [September 23, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/181 "2008-09-23T22:00:08Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Good Lord. I hate this bitch more every day. She’s not George Bush with Lipstick, she’s Dick Cheney with Lipstick; evil. She’s Tricky Dick, except both evil, ignorant, and incompetent. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/182 "2008-09-23T22:28:59Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > What a freaking joke. So, in addition to being vindictive and a liar, she’s also a coward. Just what we want in a leader. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/183 "2008-09-23T23:03:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So, in addition to being vindictive and a liar, she’s also a coward. Just what we want in a leader. If Alaska had rejected this POS when she ran for governor we would not be looking at her as “a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency.” Not to call you out Chefguy, but you are our man on the frozen tundra. Was none of this known at the time? This is some scary, scary shit. Johnson and Nixon were both paranoid asses and Palin scares me more than either of them. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/184 "2008-09-23T23:56:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So, in addition to being vindictive and a liar, she’s also a coward. Just what we want in a leader. Already do. It’s been great for the last 8 years, why not go for more? -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:** [September 24, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/185 "2008-09-24T00:32:28Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > If Alaska had rejected this POS when she ran for governor we would not be looking at her as “a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency.” > > Not to call you out Chefguy, but you are our man on the frozen tundra. Was none of this known at the time? This is some scary, scary shit. Johnson and Nixon were both paranoid asses and Palin scares me more than either of them. I’ve talked about all this before, but will recap: On a local level, she looked good to a lot of people. I voted for her opponent, Tony Knowles, by the way. Palin made a lot of adept moves to get into the governor’s seat, and it didn’t hurt that she ran in the primaries against the governor with the worst approval rating in the entire US (well, not quite: he was #49). The scandals in our state legislature involving VECO were breaking open and she had already called out the head of the state Republican Party and had gotten him fired after exposing his conflict of interest with the oil industry. So she was seen here (on the surface, and who really looks past the surface these days?) as someone who was willing to expose corruption and who would be transparent in her governance. A maverick, if you will. Add to that the fact that Troopergate was still in the future, and nobody had bothered to check on her past dealings with people. The few people who could rat her out were drowned out in the general adulation on the right. In the primary, she was running against Knowles, who, while a relatively popular two-term governor before Murkowski showed up, was seen as an old-guard politician (and a Democrat) and tarred in public opinion with the same brush as the others who were soon to be under indictment. Even so, she didn’t win by much. Once in office, when it was too late to do anything about it, problems started to surface almost immediately. She and the Senate Majority Leader, Lyda Green, went at it hammer and tong, mainly because Green did not openly support her in the election despite being from Wasilla herself and knowing Palin quite well. Then AGIA raised its head and Palin bulldozed anybody who got in her way. Then the firings began; firings of people who she had appointed, but who now were “disappointing” her. When Monegan was sacked, there was general shock, as he was (and is) a very highly respected law enforcement officer in Alaska, having retired as the head of the State Troopers. A lot of questions began being asked right about then, but suddenly she was scooped up by McCain before they could be answered. I think that given another six months or so, her governorship may have started to unravel, but once again she escaped any tarnish by moving up, not out. Fortunately for us, the press is all over this for a change, and it is my fervent hope and wish that she will fail at this bid and have to return home to face the wrath of all the people up here she has given the finger to. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/186 "2008-09-24T01:52:28Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It’s the surest way to piss off the media, too. They’ve been bootlickers for Bush because they’ve been scared of losing access, but if they’re being denied access from the get-go, not only will they feel slighted but they have nothing to lose in being critical of Palin and McCain. Denying access to the media worked for Bush because, as the president, he \*is \*the story. It’s a little different when you try it and you _aren’t_ the president yet. You have no power whatsoever and your opponent will likely be more than willing to give you more access. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/187 "2008-09-24T02:49:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve talked about all this before, but will recap: > > \Once in office, when it was too late to do anything about it, problems started to surface almost immediately. **She and the Senate Majority Leader, Lyda Green, went at it hammer and tong, mainly because Green did not openly support her in the election despite being from Wasilla herself and knowing Palin quite well.** Then AGIA raised its head and Palin bulldozed anybody who got in her way. Then the firings began; firings of people who she had appointed, but who now were “disappointing” her. Bolding mine - **kd99** “Despite”? ---
**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:** [September 24, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/188 "2008-09-24T15:41:52Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Bolding mine - **kd99** > > “Despite”? Keep in mind that Wasilla is a very small town. Politics in a place like that can be intense, but are generally below the radar outside the city limits. It was of passing interest when she was elected mayor, and I sort of remember it, but couldn’t have told you her name back then. People from small towns try to get along out of necessity. The forced socialization and the small pool of people available requires that you make an effort not to make enemies. It’s sure not a stretch to see how a very attractive and personable woman (with a death grip on the Christian right vote) could easily be elected mayor in that venue. I’m sure that Green and Palin were friendly, if not buddies. Friends of Palin have discovered that the friendship only extends to the edges of Palin’s ambition, however, as witnessed by **Shayna’s** earlier post. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/189 "2008-09-24T15:49:16Z")
Thanks for that detailed answer **Chefguy.** It’s easy to see how it happened. I appreciate your time and effort. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/190 "2008-09-25T00:55:56Z")
From odd to strange to bizarre: did anybody else catch the video on Olbermann that shows Palin’s witch-hunter pastor laying hands on her and praying that she’s safe from witchcraft? In the name of Jeebus, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/191 "2008-09-25T01:01:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > From odd to strange to bizarre: did anybody else catch the video on Olbermann that shows Palin’s witch-hunter pastor laying hands on her and praying that she’s safe from witchcraft? Well, shit. Now what am I gonna do with this black cat? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/192 "2008-09-25T01:26:19Z")
Yup. That story’s been out for a while. I may have missed it, but I didn’t hear him go into detail about is the woman that preacher drove out of her Kenyan village by proclaiming her a witch who caused a number of fatal car accidents. > [@](#): > > . . . > > According to the Christian Science Monitor, six months of fervent prayer and research identified the source of the witchcraft as a local woman called Mama Jane, who ran a “divination” center called the Emmanuel Clinic. > > Her alleged involvement in fortune-telling and the fact that she lived near the site of a number of fatal car accidents led Muthee to publicly declare her a witch responsible for the town’s ills and order her to offer her up her soul for salvation or leave Kiambu. > > Says the Monitor, “Muthee held a crusade that ‘brought about 200 people to Christ.’” They set up around-the-clock prayer intercession in the basement of a grocery store and eventually, says the pastor, “the demonic influence – the ‘principality’ over Kiambu – was broken,” and Mama Jane fled the town. > > . . . > > [http://www.alternet.org/election08/99118/sarah\_palin\_linked\_her\_electoral\_success\_to\_prayer\_of\_kenyan\_witch\_hunter/?comments=view&cID=1012729&pID=1010634](http://www.alternet.org/election08/99118/sarah_palin_linked_her_electoral_success_to_prayer_of_kenyan_witch_hunter/?comments=view&cID=1012729&pID=1010634) ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/193 "2008-09-25T04:55:39Z")
Is Sarah ever going to answer a direct question with a direct answer? ---
**Author:** ![Rachm\_Qoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Rachm\_Qoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachm_Qoch)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/194 "2008-09-25T05:15:56Z")
In an interesting twist, an AK legislator is asking troopers to look into [criminal witness tampering by the McCain campaign.](http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/346-alaska-rep-accuses-mccain-palin-campaign-of-witness-tampering.html) [AS 11.56.545](http://www.touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title11/Chapter56/Section545.htm) > [@](#): > > Tampering With a Witness in the Second Degree. > > (a) A person commits the crime of tampering with a witness in the second degree if the person knowingly induces or attempts to induce a witness to be absent from an official proceeding, other than a judicial proceeding, to which the witness has been summoned. > (b) Tampering with a witness in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/195 "2008-09-25T06:03:59Z")
[Palin goes head-to-head](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM72M62jAUc) with that slashing investigative reporter Katie Couric! The look on Couric’s face is priceless. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/196 "2008-09-25T06:19:34Z")
I like the way Katie said _ **"I’m going to ask you one more time…"** _ Translated that means _ **"Look, you stupid, lying cow, stop feeding me bullshit and answer the fuckin’ question."** _ I swear, anyone that thinks shes a viable option for VP is an imbecile. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/197 "2008-09-25T07:18:14Z")
My God, that interview was bad. No wonder they’re terrified to let her debate. I don’t think cramming is going to help her. You can’t coach a dwarf to play in the NBA. That ingratiating, “folksy” thing she tries to do when she’s painted into a corner (not that painting her into a corner appears to be that hard to do. She seems to be stuck for an answer if you tell her hello). That performance was SO miserable, it makes me wonder if McCain’s whole stunt today was about drawing attention away from Palin and hoping to cancel her debate altogether. They can’t relish the thought of her bumbling her way through answers about “US Americans fighting in countries such as the Iran and the Iraq and such as…” Kudos to Katie Couric for not taking it easy on her. She sounded like a real journalist. That was probably the toughest interview Palin has ever been through. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/198 "2008-09-25T08:06:27Z")
Most likely the last. But, hey, look how well she handled Hannity! ---
**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:** [September 25, 2008, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/199 "2008-09-25T08:15:14Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That performance was SO miserable, it makes me wonder if McCain’s whole stunt today was about drawing attention away from Palin and hoping to cancel her debate altogether. They can’t relish the thought of her bumbling her way through answers about “US Americans fighting in countries such as the Iran and the Iraq and such as…” > > Kudos to Katie Couric for not taking it easy on her. She sounded like a real journalist. That was probably the toughest interview Palin has ever been through. No doubt. But they haven’t seemed to have figured out that the way to convince people she’s qualified isn’t to act scared as shit at her talking to anyone. He’s going to be drooling soon, at this rate. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856/200 "2008-09-25T11:55:11Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > Is Sarah ever going to answer a direct question with a direct answer? In what regard, Charlie? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-turns-opaque/463856.md?page=11)