# They say Sarah Palin isn't smart enough to be POTUS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 18, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063 "2009-11-18T20:15:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/21 "2009-11-18T22:59:11Z")
Well, no. He emphasized the word "millions’ too much for me to believe he meant “thousands” instead. And if he is flogging geothermal as a realistic, long-term solution, then he had better get the basic facts right if he wants me to accept his conclusion. Is what he claimed about drill bits melting if you drill too deep in the earth correct? Was that the only limiting factor in transforming our whole economy to use geothermal? Where did he get the 35,000 years of energy quote? If he was wrong about the temperature, maybe he was wrong about other stuff as well. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/22 "2009-11-18T23:03:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If he was wrong about the temperature, maybe he was wrong about other stuff as well. and maybe… just maybe… He’s wrong about the MOLE MEN too! You just can’t trust a man who makes a mistake. He’s probably wrong about everything. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/23 "2009-11-18T23:07:23Z")
A few million degrees is a dumbass guess but he wasn’t really pressed on it and just tossed the number out there so who knows the answer he would’ve put on a test. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/24 "2009-11-18T23:26:20Z")
Oh, sure, it’s funny now. Until he does become president, and the Earth’s core stops spinning and he won’t authorize a trip to the center of the Earth to detonate a nuclear bomb, because he thinks the mantle’s temperature is several million degrees. It won’t be funny then. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/25 "2009-11-18T23:28:53Z")
He should have checked his Internet first to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/26 "2009-11-18T23:32:00Z")
Fine, fine. I won’t vote for Palin OR Gore for president. Ever! Ok? _Happy now??_ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/27 "2009-11-18T23:34:39Z")
Come on. This is absurd. Gore made a basic error, but he’s better-read on most of these issues than the average politician. Lord knows I’m not an Al Gore fan, but leaping on this one error as though it is anything meaningful is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/28 "2009-11-18T23:36:53Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Come on. This is absurd. Gore made a basic error, but he’s better-read on most of these issues than the average politician. Lord knows I’m not an Al Gore fan, but leaping on this one error as though it is anything meaningful is ridiculous. And using it to refute a claim about Sarah Palin is beyond surreal. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/29 "2009-11-18T23:42:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Is what he claimed about drill bits melting if you drill too deep in the earth correct? No drill “bit” has ever come close to reaching the mantle. However, industrial drill bits melt regularly due to friction - water and other fluids are used to cool them, but if the flow is interrupted or something fails the drill can melt. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/30 "2009-11-18T23:42:40Z")
Also, if it was final jeopardy, he would have made a safe bet so it wouldn’t matter if his answer was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/31 "2009-11-19T00:57:19Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Also, if it was final jeopardy, he would have made a safe bet so it wouldn’t matter if his answer was wrong. It is what Al Gore, Sarah Palin and Adolf Hitler have in common. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/32 "2009-11-19T01:25:05Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Also, if it was final jeopardy, he would have made a safe bet so it wouldn’t matter if his answer was wrong. It depends on where the other players were. Trust me, I’m an expert on this subject. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/33 "2009-11-19T01:26:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It is what Al Gore, Sarah Palin and Adolf Hitler have in common. No, no, no. You have to express it as “What does Al Gore, Sarah Palin and Adolf Hitler have in common?” ---
**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:** [November 19, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/34 "2009-11-19T01:29:20Z")
“What _do_…” ---
**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:** [November 19, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/35 "2009-11-19T01:30:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Well, no. He emphasized the word "millions’ too much for me to believe he meant “thousands” instead. And if he is flogging geothermal as a realistic, long-term solution, then he had better get the basic facts right if he wants me to accept his conclusion. > > Regards, > Shodan If he were submitting a paper with this error, and it wasn’t a clear typo, it would get rejected. If he were doing the science, I’d worry. In fact he is doing PR for the environment, a very important job, and is transmitting other peoples’ conclusions. I’ve seen what marketing people do to things written by technical people.“TapDance works by algorithms!” (True sentence written by marketing for one of our products.) Gore does a very good job for a politician, and clearly has learned a lot of stuff. But he isn’t and doesn’t claim to be a scientist. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/36 "2009-11-19T01:30:50Z")
What are “mole-men” Alex. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/37 "2009-11-19T01:31:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “What _do_…” Well, they let you write it before Final Jeop anyway. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/38 "2009-11-19T01:35:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > “What _do_…” Or “What does Al Gore have in common with…” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/39 "2009-11-19T01:37:53Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > and maybe… just maybe… He’s wrong about the MOLE MEN too! You just can’t trust a man who makes a mistake. …especially when it concerns the specific temperature of what everyone knows is [The Lake of Fire](http://sensuouscurmudgeon.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/jack-chick-1.gif)… ---
**Author:** ![blinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@blinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkie)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-say-sarah-palin-isnt-smart-enough-to-be-potus/518063/40 "2009-11-19T01:40:13Z")
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