Thursday, November 13, 2008

"If there's an open door in '12 or 4 years later..."


I can't believe I'm talking about this woman one more time. She refuses to go away. Initially I was going to call this post Republican Cannibalism at its Finest because I felt Sarah Palin was getting a bad rap this last week from John McCain's camp. Leaking probably untruthful information about her, complaining about her, what's the point of doing all that now, when she's home doing all she can for her "great State of Alaska" other than to pass blame for the loss in her direction?
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We'll she stayed in her governor's office for about half a day and is now back on the mainland already campaigning for 2012, with unashamed personal promotion. This with her 43 percent unapproval rating. Every day, in every interview, her outlook on her political future changes.
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She said at the Republican Governor's meeting this week how she thought a woman would be good for the next ticket, but denied self-promoting. Ya. Right. "I don't think it's me personally, I think it's what I represent. Everyday hardworking American families - a woman on the ticket perhaps represents that. It would be good for the ticket. It would be good for the party. I would be happy to get to do whatever is asked of me to help progress this nation."
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First, she's Governor of Alaska only, then she's governor running for the Senate, then she's governor who nominates herself as Senator, then if it's the presidential nomination, she'll "plow through that door," even though she say's she doesn't mean her personally.
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The election's over. They lost. Yet she's still running for office. What do the "great people of Alaska" say about all this I wonder? Hasn't she been away since August? Doesn't she need to be doing some governing of her great state? Saying you're going to get back to work and actually doing it are two different things. Someone should explain that to her. Perhaps she'll make a good president after all. She's definitely got the skills.

19 comments:

Bray said...

As someone who respects Sarah Palin I am tired of people looking at her every move and making absurd judgments. I have to paste in a comment by LIBERAL opinion writer for Salon.com who is a Democrat, supported Obama and Clinton and is pro-choice and no on Prop 8. She disagrees on policy in every way with Sarah Palin but I love that she doesn't toe the line when she sees the ridiculousness of what is being done to Palin.

Camille Paglia said on Nov 12th.

"Reporters have been too busy playing mini-badminton with every random spitball about Sarah Palin, who has been subjected to an atrocious and at times delusional level of defamation merely because she has the temerity to hold pro-life views.

How dare Palin not embrace abortion as the ultimate civilized ideal of modern culture? How tacky that she speaks in a vivacious regional accent indistinguishable from that of Western Canada! How risible that she graduated from the University of Idaho and not one of those plush, pampered commodes of received opinion whose graduates, in their rush to believe the worst about her, have demonstrated that, when it comes to sifting evidence, they don't know their asses from their elbows.

Liberal Democrats are going to wake up from their sadomasochistic, anti-Palin orgy with a very big hangover. The evil genie released during this sorry episode will not so easily go back into its bottle. A shocking level of irrational emotionalism and at times infantile rage was exposed at the heart of current Democratic ideology -- contradicting Democratic core principles of compassion, tolerance and independent thought. One would have to look back to the Eisenhower 1950s for parallels to this grotesque lock-step parade of bourgeois provincialism, shallow groupthink and blind prejudice.

I like Sarah Palin, and I've heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage. As a career classroom teacher, I can see how smart she is -- and quite frankly, I think the people who don't see it are the stupid ones, wrapped in the fuzzy mummy-gauze of their own worn-out partisan dogma. So she doesn't speak the King's English -- big whoop! There is a powerful clarity of consciousness in her eyes. She uses language with the jumps, breaks and rippling momentum of a be-bop saxophonist. I stand on what I said (as a staunch pro-choice advocate) in my last two columns -- that Palin as a pro-life wife, mother and ambitious professional represents the next big shift in feminism. Pro-life women will save feminism by expanding it, particularly into the more traditional Third World.

As for the Democrats who sneered and howled that Palin was unprepared to be a vice-presidential nominee -- what navel-gazing hypocrisy! What protests were raised in the party or mainstream media when John Edwards, with vastly less political experience than Palin, got John Kerry's nod for veep four years ago? And Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, for whom I lobbied to be Obama's pick and who was on everyone's short list for months, has a record indistinguishable from Palin's. Whatever knowledge deficit Palin has about the federal bureaucracy or international affairs (outside the normal purview of governors) will hopefully be remedied during the next eight years of the Obama presidencies."
This is a tremendously talented politician whose moment has not yet come. That she holds views completely opposed to mine is irrelevant."

Bray said...

Just a note...the last sentance of this quote came from another column she wrote about a week previous. I put them together. In my rush I didn't indicate that.

L said...

Sounds like hero worship to me.

Christina said...

Palin is the most beatable candidate on the face of the planet (she will never appeal to mainstream Amis)- it would be fantastic for dems. if she ran in 2012. Unfortunately, I think Reps. are smarter then that and won't elect her. I heard the governor of LA is a good choice for '12, and I had thought Romney was a good choice, but with Prop 8 he probably isn't anymore.

okbushmans said...

What would you do if for the span of 2 months you are kept on a tight leash, told who you can talk to, what talking-points to cover and not to deviate, while your family and personal image are being attacked? I know I would not shrink into the wallpaper, pretending it never happened! I would take every opportunity I had to clear my name, and more importantly my families name. And in every interview I have seen, when asked about 2012, she talks about doors. Will one be open to her? Who knows. But I haven't seen her "campaigning". I think you've been mistaken with the SNL Tina Fey's "Palin 2012" t-shirt infomercial.
And in regards to Alaska being without their fearless leader, I somewhat agree. Best way to prove your executive experience is to get to work. However, the same argument could be made for those poor states like New York, Delaware, Arizona and of course Illinois who have had only half their representation in the Senate while their Senators took 2 years to campaign. Especially when half of their senatorial stint has been on the Presidential campaign trail. So what can be used against Sarah Palin can certainly be used against all the politicians on the national political stage.

Suzette Bradford said...

Lula, would you quit your crying about what's going to happen four years from now?!?!? Four years ago Obama was a state legislator, for crying out loud.

And honey, I can say this because I'm your friend, but I don't think you should accuse bray of hero worship. That would be the pot calling the kettle black. Have you ever read your own blog??? Your husband could have reason to be concerned. (Oh I'm talking about the Oreos--there you go again with your mind in the gutter).

Suzette Bradford said...

And another thing: I read a quote the other day from a newspaper agency that I'll paraphrase--something to the effect that this election proved that anyone can grow up and become president, as long as he's a man. This country/world just isn't ready for a woman president of the US. I'm beginning to sound like a paranoid woman, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. So you don't need to worry about big bad Sarah Palin. Regardless of her politics, I just don't think she'd win. I'd love to be wrong and see a qualified woman of either party in there next time. Oh but wait...that would mean Obama would be out. I don't know if the his worshippers, I mean supporters, could handle it. I'm smiling as I write! I'm smiling as I write!

L said...

I referred to hero worship sarcastically because of what MomsintoPolitics has been accusing Obama-ites of for the last two months! 'They don't look at his/her extreme views, he/she doesn't have enough experience, he/she draws big celebrity-like crowds and that's it.' It's like no one was allowed to like him just because they wanted to. In these respects the two are EXACTLY the same. So who's calling the kettle pink now?

And I brought it up because Sarah Palin wants to be brought up. This is a political blog that discusses what's in the news. She's the one in the news right now because now she can finally talk freely. And talk freely she is. Every night. She doesn't want to be forgotten.

So, I can cry about her all I want.
I listened to you guy's cry about Obama. It's a two way street.
Now, I need one of those oreos...

okbushmans said...

Lula, there was only ONE post titled "Do No Wrong" where I discussed Obama-worship, where I even brought up how I 'roll my eyes when people make McCain into something he's not'. So please save untrue generalities for public figures.
Secondly, as long as she is voluntarily in the public eye, she subjects herself to scrutiny. Scrutinize away! I did find it comical that she had one interview in her KITCHEN! That would be the LAST place I would have the national media!
What I would like to see her do, is use the spotlight to further her positions. Now she has people's attention, use it not only to finally defend herself and family, but to DO SOME GOOD WITH IT! Do something for those kids with special needs. Do something about how to help our country get away from dependency on foreign oil. Do something to promote a 'culture of life'. Do something to help our vets who are coming home with inadequate health care. I would pay more attention if she talked about that, instead of wardrobe and John McCain and main stream media. I guess it all goes back to what questions the interviewers are asking her though.

L said...

I concede OKbushman, I don't remember which post's are your's or which are Bray's, but I think she had one too, just before the election where she 'implied' she didn't understand why people were voting for Obama. Why no one was looking at the issues. I remember because she wanted me to explain this great mystery to her.

I agree on Palin. I would like to see her discuss not only those issues but issues that directly affect women. I do believe a woman could hold the greatest office in the land, and if Bill wouldn't have been such a liability, I think there's a good chance we'd have one now.

Whether I like her or not, Palin's success is good for all women, especially in politics.

L said...

I also was referring to people's comments on your site. Something neither one of us can control.

And the untrue generalities towards public figures cuts both ways dearie, in that no one ever thinks they're untrue when they say them. It's called having an opinion.

Mandy said...

It is Lula's blog. She can "cry" about anything she wants. And the nice thing is that if you don't want to read about it, don't. No one is forcing you.

To me Sarah Palin is like a bad cold. Just when you think it is going to go away it comes roaring back with a vengence.

I used to think she had really bad writers because of the things she would say that were incorrect in speeches. But, after hearing her response to the accusations that she didn't know the countries in NATO or that Africa was a continent, I am beginning to think a lot of it is her. "They are being taken out of context." How can Africa not being a continent be taken out of context? Granted, I am sure she knows that Africa is a continent but I just thought it was a weird way to respond to it. Maybe she should work on that before she runs again.

And I do think there will be a woman president or vice president. Look how close Hillary was. I think it will happen. It just depends on the person. Look at Jesse Jackson, he ran and was black and didn't win just because he is black (like so many say is the only reason Obama won). But when you have a really good candidate, he won. Same for a woman pres. or vice pres. When we get a really good candidate she will win.

And as for Palin getting back to work in Alaska, she should. The election is over. She lost. I haven't seen McCain all over TV. Yes, the other candidates were campaigning and I am sure their state suffered from it but the election is over now. At least they had an excuse when the election was coming up. What is her excuse now?

And as for the hero worship, I do recall more than once being called that because I am an Obama supporter. I am not going to go back and find them all because I have better things to do with my time, but I know if has happened more than once.

okbushmans said...

I do agree with Palin's speaking abilities. However, I think it is consistent with all politicians. I could pull my hair out every time ANY politician is being interviewed, and even when NOT running, gives the same practiced response which really doesn't answer the question! And she is definitely not immune. I think that is why I was pretty pleased with Pres. Elect Obama's first press conference, although there were only a few Q&A's done, he answered the questions concisely! What a new concept!
Lula and Mandy, in response to my sensitivity to your comments about my blog, it is because I stress being rational, fair and factual. I get extremely defensive when I feel like people characterize me as anything else. Yes, there are people who comment who I don't agree with from both sides. But they are free to comment. But that does not reflect my opinions. (And that is my legal disclaimer!)

Bray said...

Lula you are quite an interesting woman. How did you get me to the point of hero worship? I said I respect Sarah and think people make absurd judgments. THAT one line is hero worship? You do know that the rest of the comment was a quote from Camille Paglia, a Democrat? Are you saying she is the Hero worshiper??? I think you are so funny.
You must be still have frustrations from past discussions because I can't see where that came from.
I did do a post saying that I had not heard a lot of substance from many liberal blogs as to why they were voting for Obama or what in his background showed that he was capable of bringing about change but I was sincere and was just asking for clarification. We had a good discussion that I thought ended very respectfully but I guess not for you.
Lula, he won, we are happy for you and all look forward to seeing how the next 4 years goes. I respect your opinion and don't look down on you....it often seems that you think you are in hostile territory. No I am a-ok with your views and opinions and though some of us have different ones we can still be friends. I have said this before, I think you are smart and know why you voted the way you did. Yet you keep bringing up that we think you are a mindless worshiper. Nope.

I also agree that it is fine to bring Sarah Palin up. Say what you want and we may defend her. That is what it is all about.

L said...

I was being sarcastic Bray. Good grief why is everyone being so serious.
Non-political subject next.

Bray said...

Lula, I think I finally get you....You are a comment whore(said in the most friendly tone) You post controversial topics. Get us all riled up and we comment, comment, comment. Then you throw in sarcastic comments to get us all more riled up and we keep commenting until there are 40 or more. I just realized HOW smart you are.
Maybe on Momsintopolitics we are too benign.
Ok brace yourself. I am going to post something so controversal on our blog that I will get you all in a tizzy. Keep watching....... Believe me it will be worth it.

L said...

I don't know what you're talking about. But beware, it's hard work being a pain in the ass.

Jen said...

Ladies, the alligations against Sarah Palin and not knowing that Africa is a continent is a Hoax. Here is a snippit from a New York Times article posted today.

"Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months..."

I'm sure that this isn't the only alligation that simply isn't true.

I have one simple question. If she isn't a threat, then why bother?

Regarding her "getting back to Alaska", I would like to reiterrate the point that okbush said, what about McCain, Obama, and Biden. McCain and Obama were on the road for 2 YEARS! That is rediculous. Palin was announced at the RNC in September and the election was November. At most, it's been 2 months! Also, she got right back to Alaska and started working. She has been in 1 post-election interview with Gretta Vansustern. Gretta went to Alaska and actually interviewed her in her home and office. She listed all the things that she had been working on since she returned to Alaska (did anyone here even watch the interview?). She left to go to the RNC Govenor convferene. Seriously, is that such a horrible thing to do, as far as I can tell it's all part of her job as Govenor. And the questions that come from reporters are being asked as she is walking to and from places and riding in the elevator. She is only answering the questions that come to her. This is HARDLY any reason to accuse her of running for president. I'm not trying to be defensive, I just trying to keep things real.

If you would like to read the story for yourself, here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/arts/television/13hoax.html?hp

Mandy said...

If the Africa thing was all a hoax, fine, I had a hard time believing it was true (as I said in my comment) but that wasn't my point at all. If someone said to me that I had made the comment that Africa wasn't a continent I would say, "What?!?! Oh come on. Who doesn't know it is a continent. That is completely untrue!" Which I think most people's reaction would be. So why was her response "it was taken out of context". I actually heard the question and her answer during that interview. I just thought it was a weird way for her to answer the question. I thought she should have defended herself more because it came across that she may have actually said it. I know I would have.