Sarah Palin, Victim of Elitism? - Victor Davis Hanson

[revelationmd]

You have to laugh at the ''Palin is an idiot'' brigade.

You just know these are the very same HopeyChangey kids that voted in a man who thinks there are 57 states in the US, that they speak Austrian in Austria, Hawaii is in Asia and that Asthmatics use breathalyzers.

Next year the same kids will vote for the dumbest president the US has ever seen again whilst sat in their mum's basement on their XBoxes wondering why they can't get a job.

[hrfalcons22]

And as far as being uneducated or unintelligent, MongoloidBabyUSA, he has a PhD from my alma mater, just a small-time little university called Stanford. And now that I'm about to black out from this overwhelming level of ignorance, I bid you adieu.

[hrfalcons22]

That's the whole point you fucking mongoloid. The very definition of feminism is complete and utter rights and/or political power for women. You're missing his point entirely. If the feminist movement were in fact supportive of those values, they would've lauded Palin. But they didn't. The fact that they made fun of her (the fact that she is stupid notwithstanding) reveals their true intentions. Educated, wealthy white men do not trash feminists. Feminists trash feminists.

[shandcunt]

Sarah Palin aint a victim of Elitism, she is a victim of her own stupidity

[hempartist420]

well it's hard not to tear Palin apart when she is supposed to be the 2nd most powerful person in the US, especially when she doesn't know what hamas is, she can't name a founding father or a supreme court case. they had to put a globe in front of her and show her what countries were which and how their foreign policies mattered to the US... you just can't be soft on someone that is trying to become the VP

[Halo4Lyf]

@hempartist420 Do you have any documentation of anything you just said, or did you pull it out of your ass?

[hempartist420]

@Halo4Lyf documentation? I need to give you proof that Sarah Palin is completely stupid? there are plenty of video documents here on YT that proves this well known phenomena

[Halo4Lyf]

@hempartist420 So I could start spreading the "well knwon phenomena" that your mother is a whore and you wouldn't object?

[BirdValiant]

Since when is elitism in high positions undesirable?

I want only the elite, most qualified people to be doctors, because they know what they are doing.

Similarly, I only want the elite, most qualified people to be politicians, because they know what they are doing.

[Halo4Lyf]

@BirdValiant When we say "elitism" we don't mean "highly trained, highly educated, highly experienced, highly capable." The US Navy SEALs are the elite, but they're not elitists.

When we say "elitist" we mean people who consider themselves to be part of some entitled ruling class or a new aristocracy. Entitled to rule because they have a degree from the Kennedy School of Government, or some other IVY league institution, which has become like a form of divine mandate to many of them.

[xanderbro92]

@BirdValiant @BirdValiant WRONG no can be the best or "elite" at telling me how to run my life. Sure its good to be educated, but not everyone is. And not everyone wants to be told that they cant do certain things even if it effects NO ONE but him/herself and be told its for his/her own good. That is why there should be term limits, so people with new ideas have a chance to try. They cant be much worse than what we have now, and what we have now among many other problems is Five

[xanderbro92]

TRILLION PLUS dollars

[jdbohdan]

The reality is, popularity and monetary success are not automatic qualifications for a good leader or politician. Nor for moral character.

The reality is, even people that already hold certain positions, doesn't mean they are truely qualified to be within them.



[jkjl234]

feminists don't support palin because she is an IDIOT. she is just another talking head that the republicans use and think can win because she is a "layperson". Just like George Bush, you can see yourself sitting down and have a beer with her. i just hope she has her shirt off when we start drinking. otherwise, im getting up and leaving.

[socalcraigster]

@jkjl234 - I understand. I got up and left when your mother took her top off.

The fact you can not understand Hanson's point goes to show that your are a petulant twat.

[jkjl234]

@socalcraigster i don't even remember what his point was. i made this comment 7 months ago and don't have time to watch again right now. all i know is, no matter what anyone says, sarah palin is an idiot. she may be a good politician and good at wielding power, but she is a fuckin idiot. she represents one of the core problems in our country: anti-intellectualism. stupid, stupid americans.

[jinxxedlikeshit]

I don't get it? Don't we want the elite to rule? Aren't they the best we have? Do we want retarded people to rule based on their emotions or singular questions?

The biggest difference between a good politician and a bad one is that the good one considers the impact on society as a whole while the bad one wants to represent every single question regardless of the total impact.

Sarah Palin isn't even a good joke, just a joke.

[charlesmnewman]

I truly enjoyed watching this jamoke define disingenuous.

[HarioHarima]

Well we only get about 2% of our oil from Russia and Kenya combined so...not as good of a question as you thought.

[MrStainzseedzify]

@HarioHarima , If your stat of 2% is accurate, that still accounts for nearly 143 million barrels of oil every year. I would think simply speaking from a layman's perspective, a hell of a lot of damage can be done extracting that much oil annually in an imprudent manner. I think we would all have serious concerns if we became aware of just 0.5% of our own domestic oil being extracted in the manner it is in a Kenya or a Nigeria. In short, 2% of 7.14 billion barrels annually is still a lot of oil

[givinitsome]

"Feminism wasn't what my mother taught me" Lol so right...

[imshortemc]

This guy is incredibly talented.

[MongoloidBabyUSA]

When someone whines about elitism these days, they usually mean "not a low class ignorant right wing dickhead who talks in slogans from talk radio like me". Of course, this two bit intellectual is so afraid that the knuckledraggers will call him an elitist that he has to pretend that Palin is some sort of hero & great thinker. Palin was not made to appear like a fool, she is one. After all, the Dr, claims she has authentic blue collar roots when she's as middle class as they come,

[TheProgressistViewer]

boy did he nail it

[Whitetricycle]

Haha, this brain-donor described feminism as having a definite "political agenda". That's Republican slang for something sinister. Part of their inventive approach to language, it's how they aim to spread fear and suspicion through dog whistle phrases. What c*nts. But the funniest thing is that he seems to think it worth mentioning that feminism has a political agenda. Well of course it does, you boring droning intellectual delinquent!

[Whitetricycle]

This witless oaf is an academic? I've heard better arguments made by pissheads in my local pubs.

[Whitetricycle]

Oh please, can any of you actually think let alone spell or punctuate? Audacity on Palin's part was to think that she, a moronic and naive careerist, was a suitable candidate for the Vice-President. It's a bit rich for you fundamentalist extremist Republican types to start whining about elites! How can you be so dumb.? The elites running the country are not CNN and The New York Times, it's the unseen forces-the military-industrial complex (as cited by Republican Prez Eisenhower).

[SardonicSkeptic]

Why do very intelligent conservatives feel the need to promote the idiots that have taken over the conservative movement?

[baigandine]

Right, be disappointed. Feminism doesn't vote for whoever has tits. They also insist on a brain.

[baigandine]

She lost me at lipstick on a pig.

[Jujuman2003]

Sarah Palin isn't fit to run a Walmart, much less the US or Alaska. All her erratic behavior since her nomination just shows every single liberal viewpoint of her was true. She's never going to be President. She will make money off ignorant rightwing fools who think she's "just like me" (i.e., ignorant and uneducated and stupid and rural). And Victor Hanson is the biggest joke of a "scholar" who's ever lived. He makes all his money writing batshit crazy shit on National Review.

[WSCLATER]

So speaks another elitist snob.

[Jujuman2003]

You just proved my point with your message. Like I said:

Palin will make money off ignorant rightwing fools who think she's "just like me" (i.e., ignorant and uneducated and stupid and rural).

Sounds like I hit a nerve.  Haha.

[WSCLATER]

I think it's Sarah Palin who has hit a nerve, judging by the hysterical reaction of the left.

I don't get the point about "rural". Do you have to be metropolitan to be considered clever enough to make a contribution?

[MongoloidBabyUSA]

Just a lot of people were shocked how a corrupt, small minded low class fool, rural or not, with her nutcase fundamentalist end times church and creationism could prove to be so popular. But they are sheltered because they don't realize the right is full of and run by stupid reactionary fools like her.

I like your redneck PC, "they hate her because she's rural", well so is Clinton, Biden, etc. You sound like a white Al Sharpton.

[MongoloidBabyUSA]

So speaks another ignorant low class fool!

[ixamxmsright]

Feminism is a LIE>It is not a Women's movement,It's a Liberal .Marxist

,Progressive movement. Any women with a different viewpoint is never given the respect she has earned.Thankfully we, the new generation of women ,have caught on.Evident by the decreasing numbers of their ranks.I have no interest in associating myself with an organization of hypocritical elitist.

[MongoloidBabyUSA]

You talk like a brainless robot, whose "education" consists of talk radio. Maybe she got to where she was thanks to what the feminists did in the past? Did that ever enter your uneliitist, unintelligent, uneducated mind? After all, the bs artists who have been filling your pointy head with right wing drivel for decades were trashing feminists; so it's a little ironic that the same arseholes should complain that the feminists aren't coming to the rescue of there stupid pathetic right wing tool

[adamtequalsgreat]

Wow. Amazing. So any women who gets on the political stage should unconditionally be supported by the feminist movement? This guy is a moron.

[sonisisuper]

Elitism. Please.

Conservative elitists have been around a lot longer than liberal elitists.

And theirs (the former) is more a repugnant brand of eletism since it tends to focus less on intellectualism and more on materialism and other shallow factors.

I defy anyone to walk a day with Victor Davis Hanson and tell me he's not elite or an elitist from the car he drives to his shiny black loafers.

[Jujuman2003]

Victor Hanson is a rightwing hack with the intellectual honesty of Joseph Goebbels but without Goebbels's intelligence. Why should anyone trust a guy who said Obama would lose to McCain 18 to 520 electoral votes?!

[edgarbrightman]

Have you read his work? It has academic rigor. It is well researched, well cited, and has a compelling narrative.

[Jujuman2003]

All I know is for all his supposed erudition he said McCain would beat Obama 520 to 18 electoral votes. Such a man is a rightwing hack and is unfit for scholarly books. His judgment is not only flawed but certifiably insane!

[irish100000]

Dredging for intelligence here is like mining for diamonds ...

ALL HOPE AND NO PROOF

Have a rest.

[palaeologos]

Victim of elitism? More like victim of her own smug ignorance.

[FrankinHolland]

Republicans need to be more like Ron Paul and LESS like Sara Palin.  I couldn't even bring myself to vote for McCain with her on the ticket.

[AtlasShruggery]

Paranoid delusions of victimization are a must for today's Republicans.

Sarah Palin was a militantly ignorant buffoon. Most of us suspected that she was in over her empty head as a governor. Her resignation just confirms it.

[chapstickfantasy]

almost pisses myself when he said america was the most careful ecological steward in the world.

[reiners83]

America, the most careful ecological steward in the world? Is that a joke?

[smujismuj]

reiners83

A joke?

Absolutely...but not very funny.

The industrial nations are turning the planet into a toxic waste dump.

[greygold1]

I admire some of this guys views and delivery but this one missed. Palin is simply a moron who should be forgotten. Whatever the alternative, it gave me a shred of hope in the human race that this backward huckster did not progress.

[templarguy]

Or it could be that she's just stupid.

[NoGuff]

"Or it could be that she's just stupid."

--That's subjective. At least she's smarter and more elequent than Caroline "ummm...you-know" Kennedy.

"Not even one? Not even something as generic as say, The New York Times?"

--I don't read the NYTimes regularly. I avoid it because of it's incredibly anti-American slant. Nothing ignorant about that choice. There are plenty of other newspapers out there with just as much or more integrity. So once again your point fails.

[templarguy]

The Washington post? The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune? None of those sprang to mind because she DOESN'T read newspapers. I highly doubt she reads anything at all. And as far as Kennedy is concerned, she's a dimwit who isn't the subject at hand. The subject is Sarah Palin and how insipid she truly is. But again, you have an ongoing fight against reality and it show by the way you cherrypick your points. Just like any neocon.

[NoGuff]

"she DOESN'T read newspapers"

--Neither do I, I get news from their websites. And I get extremely little from LATimes or Chicago Tribune. WaPo is a source.

"I highly doubt she reads anything at all"

--You're entitled to your doubt.

"The subject is Sarah Palin and how insipid she truly is"

--Insipid people don't get elected to a school board, then mayor, then governor with an 85% approval rating. But none of that matters to you.

"you cherrypick your points"

--No, I just don't lie like you.

[fjfjvmvm]

Changing the subject is a sure sign you've lost the argument. Website v. print is irrelevant - she couldn't name a single publication she reads. That is surely a sign of utter ignorance. You bring up Caroline Kennedy who is irrelevant to the discussion of Palin. But I will say she's a dimwit who has no business being Senator. That is because I'm not a party whore like yourself.

[NoGuff]

"Changing the subject is a sure sign you've lost the argument"

--I didn't change the subject, I clarified a point.

"That is surely a sign of utter ignorance"

--Okay, templarguy.

"Caroline Kennedy who is irrelevant to the discussion of Palin"

--Okay, templarguy.

"I'm not a party whore like yourself."

--Okay, templarguy.

[templarguy]

Wrong guy, stupid. Again, you have missed the mark. Why am I not surprised?

[templarguy]

You don't cherrypick your points? Really? Have you read how you take comments out of context and try to spin them in your direction? That's NOT cherrypicking?

As far as you reading online newspapers, you're full of shit. All you do is cruise right wing blogs, you tool.

And yes, in a state like Alaska where women are few and far between (attractive women even rarer) an idiot like Palin can get elected.

Oh, and that approval rating? Sliding. Fast.

[NoGuff]

"All you do is cruise right wing blogs"

--I applaud your powers of ESP. Quick-who's going to win the Superbowl? I need to place a bet.

"in a state like Alaska where women are few and far between (attractive women even rarer) an idiot like Palin can get elected"

--Oohhh, so that's your rationalization? Wow, you really didn't put any effort into making that one up, did you?

"Oh, and that approval rating? Sliding. Fast."

--But it just kills you that it even existed in the first place.

[templarguy]

In the days following 9\11 Bush had a stellar approval rating as well. And as far as you actually reading a newspaper, you're wrong. It's obvious to someone as the nose on their face that all of your points come from the same blogs as your,um, peers.

And, yes, in a state bereft of women, Sarah can skate. Or do you think that God protects her, seeing as how he actually told her in a prayer meeting to go into politics? She's a tool and you're a fool.

[fjfjvmvm]

She was criticized not because where she came from but because she was so woefully ignorant and a consistent advocate of insane and mendacious philosophy.

[EasyEs]

What is she ignorant of? What did she advocate. Smaller less corrupt government. Oh god no!

[fjfjvmvm]

I would say that someone who is unable to name a single newspaper is ignorant. But then you're probably so ignorant you didn't even know about that. Idiot.

[EasyEs]

She answered that she reads a few different ones big deal. I'll take her cleaning out government and taking on her own party in a minute to a guy who thinks he can double the benefits paid out from insurance companies while cutting the cost by half through the genius method of cutting into huge profit margins of 4%.

Go read all the Naomi Kline and Noam Chomsky you want you'll never outsmart me.

[fjfjvmvm]

She was pressed to specifically name a single paper. She couldn't because she couldn't remember the name of a paper that wouldn't be embarrassing, like the Wassila Tribune. That is powerfully ignorant and you're nothing but a hack for failing to acknowledge that.

But as always with people like yourself, you have to change the subject when you're called out. Just like you do here. You're losing so you just throw out unsupported insults about off topic matters. You are incredibly stupid!

[EasyEs]

No I don't care though. I don't think that is a sign of ignorance because I amounts of evidence to prove otherwise. You have to enplane how a woman who has a high approval rating and was smart enough to get different oil companies to agree on a profit sharing agreement as well approve a pipeline plan is ignorant as opposed to absent minded for a moment.

[fjfjvmvm]

Are you saying she did a good job spreading the (oil) wealth of Alaska? I thought that was evil socialism.

Anyway she was running for Vice President, that is why people were appalled at her ignorance of the world outside of Alaska. And no forgetting the name of a single paper is not a minor mental slip. She was repeatedly pressed, she is so ignorant she couldn't name a single paper, a single Supreme Court case with which she disagrees, or say whether Africa was a country or continent.

[NoGuff]

" say whether Africa was a country or continent. "

--And, of course, all you have are outright lies. How typical.

[NoGuff]

"She couldn't because she couldn't remember the name of a paper that wouldn't be embarrassing"

--I appluad you on your powers of ESP.

"with people like yourself, you have to change the subject when you're called out"

--And with people like you all you can offer are fast-food-wrapped Liberal talking points.

[NoGuff]

"someone who is unable to name a single newspaper"

--That's a Liberal talking point because I've heard it put that way verbatim for months, and misrepresents what happened. She was asked to name specific papers & mags that she read regularly to keep up on DC politics. She said she got her news from many sources. I get my news from many sources, yet I couldn't tell you which newspapers or magazines I get my news from regularly. And I'm not ignorant.

[templarguy]

Not even one? Not even something as generic as say, The New York Times? Really? If the GOP trot out a talking parrot to run, will you defend it, too?

[earthypig]

this guy has no conscience to be saying what he is saying with a straight face... .

[denholt]

Victor Davis Hanson is a BFF of Dick Cheney, so consider the source. He can't stand the fact that he's going to be out of power so he's bitter now.

[arshsingh1984]

Sarah Palin was criticized because she was a crazy end-times Christian, who used her state's proximity to Russia and Canada as foreign policy experience; who didn't know the answers to simple question that even George Bush by his 3rd month campaigning in 2000 had figured out. not due to anti-feminism

[davidatheist]

Sorry I gave you a thumbs down for this comment, I meant to give you a thumbs up good comment.

[Drone391]

I an a feminist, and I love and respect Sarah Palin, I agree that many other women took shots at her, but I think did it on the merits of her views not the gender of her body.

I don't think any feminist or woman who cares about women progressing in modern society wouldn't be proud of her, despite her faults. Or their political views, I don't think you can honestly say Sarah Palin isn't a credit more then anything else and care about the achivements of women.

[MVRWC]

heromadness your proctologist called, they found your head. U say on the one hand the 'rich' support the GOP - so your side claims, and the poor support the democrats. then you say my side has low information voters. does that make sense? actually the opposite is true. watch any man on the street interview and dem voters don't know the issues, don't know who their representative are, don't know the branches of our government and their purpose. Ayers, Dohrn, Khalidi, Rescoe, & U support O

[MVRWC]

actually we will not know on wednesday because a recent poll showed 75% of the voting public do not know the issues. they cry about the environment and do not want us to drill HERE but they have little problems with other countries ruining their environment so we can have oil. hypocritical you might think, unless you are a lib in which case you do not think at all.

[heromadness]

It's safe to say that most of the electorate doesn't know the issues. And based on the typical Republican smear campaign that's what they count on and how they get a majority of votes. And a sourceless "recent poll" doesn't mean much and i'm certain that number would be much higher if applied to the general population. However the party you no doubt aline with seems proud to be not only associated with the lowest information voters (to put it nicely) but to constantly pander to them.

[quinn2469]

I'm an Obama/Biden supporter but he brings up good points and makes me think about my own attitudes. Maybe I am a snob. Ok, so I'll give Palin credit for building herself up to where she is. America gave her an opportunity and she took it.

But why is it bad to elect "elites?" Isn't that what a republic is? People electing elites (the best) to rule? Joe the Plumber shouldn't be Treasury Secretary.

elite-noun

a group of people considered to be the BEST in a particular category.

[PhiloCentinel]

You're right, but for some reason, those who aren't qualified believe what they want no matter what, and they believe that they are qualified, contrary to reason. Non-the-less, "elitism" is prejoritive, unfourtionatly, so I would advise meritocracy as a more positive term.

[hipmama715]

Boo f*cking hoo. Maybe she shouldn't be so ashamed of her roots, and admit that she is unqualified for the job right now. Instead, she is willfully forging ahead into territory that she knows nothing about, and our country will pay the price for her ignorance, should she be elected into office. I'm all for a woman being in office, but not THIS woman.

[kmardes]

people are on her case cos she's plain stupid an inarticulate...not because she's a woman

[Redfingers]

No, elitism is a victim of Sarah Palin. She is attacking intellectual curiosity as a human vestige. She wants us to be clams. Stupid clams rolling down hills.

The fact that she has no intellectual curiosity is certainly enough reason to tear her to pieces, however. No one like that should have any real aspirations for the office. And we should bar them. Not legally, but from the polling booths.

[badmuffy]

People would have said the same bad things about her even if she was a man. Maybe worse because they wouldnt have been so scared of being called sexists.

[IndependantCuban]

Instead of empowering women, Palin weakened it! Actually, McCain weakened it. Her blather and in-articulate answers to simpleton questioning lead many to reality, her unpreparedness and lack of insight were unquestionable. Poor choice by McCain or GOP?

[TMTGAU]

boo hoo, this guy is so lame.

[jimbob6986]

I never knew Hanson was an amateur rhetoritician

[merdufer]

His points on certain particular topics are fair, but the whole Palin thing seems like such a hoax I don't even think it deserves fair opinions.

[bizzee1]

Palin was not praised for her audacity because her audacity was not praiseworthy. Her audacity was to think that she was qualified to be a heartbeat away from the most powerful office on the planet because she is a folksy charismatic while not being well versed in history and the issues of the day. Her skills only qualify her to be a spokes-model for somebody else's policies and not an insightful, thoughtful, POTUS. This guy falsely uses sexism as a reason for dissent against Palin. Palin=GWB

[alphacause]

I agree. Audacity without the intelligence, skill, or knowledge to back it up is just plain arrogance. It certainly is not something that merits our laudation. If I try to be head of General Motors, even though I have no idea how to run a car company might be considered audacious, but it is still idiotic and not praiseworthy. Similarly, a woman who clearly knows nothing about the law as evidenced by her own admissions, and a person who knows nothing about global affairs, shouldn't be the VP.

[idicula1979]

Her teenager daugter's sex scandel is not an issue if all things where equal, so I agree with the speaker there it should be a private matter, but it is the republicans and Sarah Palin in perticular that always make private matter such as gay rights and even abortion a matter of the public. Furthermore the thing that knocked John Edwards sex story out if the news was Sarah Palin's daughters sex story.

[CharlesVarney]

Her teenage daughters "sex scandal" is only scandalous because it violated the beliefs which Sarah Palin thought she had instilled in her children. Her support of abstinence only education is partly responsible for her daughters situation. Abstinence only education is negligence, plain and simple. It fails only slightly less often than telling people to abstain from breathing. There is nothing scandalous about teenagers having sex. What is scandalous is to KNOW this, and not prepare them for it.

[idicula1979]

True That

[Sage80]

This is poor argumentation. SO it would not be scandalous if Palin had a free sex, hippy sexual ethic? SO basically remove all morality & then you can avoid scandal. The ppl in the media DONT CARE if teenagers are having sex. They tried to invalidate palin's position by using an example of someone who did not behave accordingly. But because I drive drunk, and am president of MADD, does that invalidate my argument that ppl shouldnt drink & drive? of course not! It's pure crap.

[CharlesVarney]

Not really. A poor argument would be where you completely ignore my point, put forth your own irrational line of reasoning, then proceed to shoot down your own ill conceived logic with smug satisfaction. You are a very silly person. My point was that it is NOT a sex scandal for anyone who understands that sex is a natural biological function and that telling people NOT to do it just doesn't work. Simply put, there is nothing moral about abstinence because there is nothing immoral about sex.

[Sage80]

Abstinence is the ONLY form of birth control that works 100% of the time. The fact that Palin's daughter is pregnant does not invalidate it as a method...it PROVES that ONLY when it is discarded, does the possiblity of unwanted pregnancy occur. It is actually PROOF for abstinence only. If she had practiced it, she would not be pregnant. But don't be stupid. Who ALWAYS lives up to their own moral standards? This says nothing of the teaching. Have you ever lied? If so, u cant teach against it.

[CharlesVarney]

What IS a scandal is why people are still pushing abstinence only education after congressional studies and the Center for Disease Control have shown that it fails to prepare its recipients for the real world. The result is more teenage pregnancies, more STDs, and more abortions. When the best case scenario has 25-year-old virgins fumbling around like idiots on their honeymoon, you've messed up. It is 100% effective for the 50% who use it. We need a comprehensive program for the 50% who do not.

[alphacause]

Just because Palin is a woman doesn't mean that feminists have to support her. TRUE feminists don't just support a woman because she is a woman. True feminists want women to be acknowledged because of the talents that they can bring to the table. They want women to be valued for being intelligent, not for just being women. If Sarah Palin was a competent woman, then feminists would support her. Unfortunately, Sarah Palin is a caricature of the feminist ideal and not the genuine article.

[Sage80]

So only females of a CERTAIN PARTICULAR political persuation are TRUE feminists? This is garbage. She has the highest approval rating in the USA. Pelosi BARELY has double-digits. And PELOSI IS ACCOMPLISHED??!?!?!?! Who made up this rule that no matter what you have achieved, only if you are from a certain side can you be a TRUE female ideal? This is pathetic.

[alphacause]

Where did I ever say that only females of one political persuasion deserve support from feminists? You are attacking a straw man. I said Palin would be respected by women if she demonstrated knowledge on subject matters germane to being the head of the country (i.e. foreign affairs, economy, and the law). She, judging by the answers she gives to simple interview questions, is grossly deficient in this area. I never brought up Pelosi. A more apt comparison would be to Hillary Clinton.

[Sage80]

YOU said she does not live up to the feminist ideal. You claim your reasoning for this is that "True feminists want women to be acknowledged because of the talents that they can bring to the table. If Sarah Palin was a competent woman, then feminists would support her."

And I don't know WHAT you would call an 80% approval rating if not competent! The underlying assumption is clear. Her career as an executive has been supremely competent. So you defy your own argumentation (or lack thereof).

[alphacause]

Just because some one has a 80% approval rating doesn't mean that they are being assessed on competence. Remember image has a lot to do with our political arena. If someone projects an image of warmth, which she obviously does, many people will support them. However, just because you find someone friendly doesn't make them qualified for a position. I would rather have qualified surgeon remove a cancerous tumor, even if I can't relate to him, than the funny janitor that I can relate to.

[Sage80]

Excuse after excuse after excuse. If obama had anything NEAR an 80% approval rating, you would tout his political achievenment. You are fact-picking in order to make your case. Your arbitrary glossing is not convining to me. You speak of Palin as successful because of image, and yet you truly claim to believe that Obama has gotten where he is due to sheer achievement & experience? Due to his resume? What about obama's image? ONLY his image, the protection of the MSM are why he is here today.

[alphacause]

She has an 80% approval rating in a state where there isn't any major political competition, where no great institutions of learning exist, and where no ethnic diversity exists that would approximate the rest of the country. Wow! Big accomplishment! Talk about low standards. Next you are going to tell me that any beauty pageant competitor could be President. Oops! Sorry, I guess that is what you are saying.

[Sage80]

Again, what we have here is the sort of manhattan elitism that certain states don't matter, and that (of course) there's no real competition. Just an endless barage of excuses.

It would become you if you just came out & admitted you personally disagree with her.

lack of diversity. small state, excuse #427, running alaska is not a big accomplishment. You are 52 years old typing on youtube!

[Sage80]

The only kind of person that can believe of obama what he himself does, is someone

who has never really ran anything, much less a state.

And no one claimed beauty pageant was a qualification any more than community organizer..oh wait.

[Sage80]

I agree. A qualified executive who has looked over an 11 billion dollar budget would be a good starting point. He has never stayed in a job long enough to acrue any kind of experience to begin with. ALways looking toward advancement. Note: He was not an ACTUAL professor at harvard. he was guest lecturer. Some experience. Oh yes,,,he gave a wonderful speech in 04.

[alphacause]

She might have an 80% approval rating in her own state, but that is like saying I won the high school popularity contest. Alaska has a total population less than the city I live in, and she has only been the head of that state for less than 2 years. Also it should be noted that her popularity doesn't arise from any sagacious action, but an act of pandering by distributing oil revenue to Alaskian citizens. Mmmm...I wonder why no one is calling her socialist for this? redistribution of wealth.

[Sage80]

Hmmm...i wonder why youre not calling obama a socialist for redistributing welfare checks to non-income tax payers when oil revenues are stated as being collectively contributable to alaska citizenry as wealth. This is their OWN money theyre getting back. BIG difference.

[alphacause]

Obama didnt say he would redistribute welfare checks to non-income taxpayers. Stop getting information from Fox News. Not everyone in Alaska works for the oil industry, so only people, in a free market, who work for the oil industry should get oil revenue because they are the only ones who did the work to make that money. For Palin to distribute oil revenue to many citizens in Alaska, who were NOT part of the oil industry, makes her guilty of the very thing you guys are accusing Obama of.

[Sage80]

Wow! Look at you go! Covering just like ol olbermann. He would redistribute "wealth" appropriated from 5% of the population and redesignate to the other 95%, 40 of which pay NO income tax! They areessentially receiving welfare. Free money.

ANd you are conveniently missing the point of taxation on oil. People who have paid out of their pockets are essentially receiving back THEIR money. Under obama, non-taxpayers are receiving income from taxes not taken from them in the first place. Socialism.

[flpete]

i have to agree with alphacause: if most americans thought mrs palin was qualified, the challenges from people here, the media etc would of quickly die off, as her competence would rise up. this is not the case.

[Sage80]

This is absurd. You're not thinking things through. It's like talking to zombies. YOU believe beause the media SAYS so, and has portrayed her in a light, she must not be qualified. SO you are absurdly assuming some kind of constrained neutrality on their part. Those who are closest to her, let's look at them. 80% approve!!! SO apparently only 20% know something the rest don't, and has only been shed with the stalwart truth police of CNN & MSNBC?? PLEASE! you have no brain of your own.

[flpete]

hello sage80: sounds like you seem hateful because i have a different opinion. please respect that as i do, not call me names. it shows to others how inmature you are. we will know by wednesday whos qualified or not..

[ZankDigiTrash]

this is annoying 1/5

[chicagoken]

I know Marge Gunderson, Marge Gunderson is a friend of mine. Sara Palin, your no Marge Gunderson.

[Hooya2]

The whole point of feminism isn't to get women in positions of power, it's to get COMPETENT women the respect they deserve. I'd say Palin is getting all the respect she deserves.

[pod054321]

ditto

[eirefrance]

Oh, c'mon. He doesn't really believe this. In the world of political dirtiness, Palin is the only true victim? Riiiiight.

[BigHornCanyon]

twirp has a conservative audience

ever hear of base instincts?

very base!

[EeyoreWhyBother]

This guy thinks that just because Sarah Palin is a woman, feminist should support her. If Sarah were to become president, via Mccains likely death, she would make a horrible president. She doesn't not have enough experience to do the job. People then could use her as an example as to why women should not be allowed in the white house. Sarah becoming president would be severely damaging to the feminist cause, not helpful.

[alternativeinfo]

Elitism is just a spin on "prefering someone intelligent". There is nothing wrong with wanting the best choice, and labelling that as elitist is just a rhetorical trick.

In this video he points to many female politicians who has earned respect and admiration, so could it not be that Palin doesn't get that same respect because her ability and talent is lacking? I'm just asking...

[humanist7117]

His Palin political rise "facts" are unsupportable.

[CharlesVarney]

And being a maverick isn't a free pass. You want a medal? Congratulations! You have occasionally departed from the apocalyptic policies you normally subscribe to. Momentary lapses into sanity are nothing to be proud of. To be minimally sufficient to the task of the vice presidency, you need to be able to think rationally about all aspects of the world we live in. She needs protection from witches? She's a young earth creationist? She wants to force her personal religious views onto other women?

[CharlesVarney]

Sure, audacity can mean boldness or daring... but not when you lack common sense or decency. Not when you just spew half-truths and insults at people in a desperate attempt to drag them down to your level. Her brand of audacity translates to insolence and she just ends up looking arrogant.

[freaks182]

i really don't even know how this got on fora tv, or how a guy as smart as this doesn't realise how she is not qualified for the position. the reason feminists are against her is becuase she isn't very smart and they think that women should be respected equally to men, not that women should get a free pass. i wouldn't vote for ANYONE that thought they had foreign relations becuase their nation was close to another one but had never talked to them.

[golfdad1]

Heromadness: But, she is markedly MORE qualified than the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, whose entire life achievement has been to develop and practice a pleasing speaking style and to have published (perhaps not actually have written) two narcissistic books about himself.

Thinking people are significantly more impressed with Ms. Palin's actual political, governmental, and personal achievements.

[heromadness]

Obama is a Scholar who taught Constitutional Law for nearly a decade. He is Harvard educated and was elected to lead their Law Review, which is generally considered the most prestigious in the country. Whether you agree with his rhetoric or not, no "thinking people" would ever compare his qualifications or intelligence to Palin unless they were making a joke or perhaps were a GOP shill.

Her party will also continue to stultify Scientific progress if that matters to you.

[Sage80]

Scholars & lawyers are qualified to be president???? Get off of it. WHAT QUALIFICATIONS?>??? you are so blindly deceived by his useless rhetoric that you fail to admit that he has never been responsible for so much as a hockey team in his life! Let me repeat..his purpoted qualifications are his ability to run a campaign to be president. NOTHING ELSE! It is unprecedented that someone so inexperienced reach this far. Clinton admitted as much. Drop the koolaid.

[heromadness]

Dismissing a Constitutional Law scholar of undeniable intelligence, with knowledge that would be an asset as President? He has run an exemplary campaign, made a rational VP choice and comes across as a stable leader. I'm not blinded to potential problems, but the choice is crystal clear when compared with the McCain/Palin ticket.

What are you looking for in terms of presidential qualifiers?

Pandering to the divisive political elements in the GOP has compromised McCain's integrity.

[ahakutittaja]

AMEN to that.

[givebirthathome]

Palin's hometown newspaper endorsed Obama. There was a 1500 demonstration against Palin in Alaska-that's a big demonstration in Alaska.

Obama's 2nd book impressed me in that it showed Obama had a developed political philosophy, not narcissism. As far as I can tell, Palin record as an executive in Alaska is poor, and for its place, somewhat resembling George Bush's--deficits(Wasilla), abuse of power, attempts to suppress information, and avoid oversight.

[heromadness]

Her apparent ignorance of policy & basic science represents the willful dumbing down of the electorate and that's the problem. The women & men that are critical of her are so because she is wholly unqualified for the position.

I personally find her VP nomination disgraceful.

[Sage80]

And yet once again, NOTHING on Obama's complete and utter lack of experience in the 1 slot. He has never run a thing in his life. His primary qualification for POTUSA is RUNNING for POTUSA. Most senators vote present only a handful of times. In less than two years, he has exceeded 130! Please shed your facile attempt at objectivity & admit you like the guy because he represents your politics. His ascendancy is the ONLY thing disgraceful in this campaign, other than his response to Russia.

[heromadness]

Sage80, stop with the spamming hissy fit of rhetorical attacks. Your viewpoint is obviously limited and "koolaid" rants paired with deflecting Palin's shortcomings onto Obama doesn't equal much. Frankly you come off as desperate and confused, which seems to be the general feel of the GOP lately. Rethink your tone or stfu.

[stephenetienne]

Palin is still unqualified for the job of vice president and president.

[theDHC]

All candidates are caricaturized by the media, this has been done since the dawn of satire. the media assigns "roles" to candidates and looks for evidence to back up their stereotypes.

So i don't know why a man as smart as this guy is complaining that Palin doesn't get enough praise. if Palin doesn't want to be type-casted as "stupid" then she should fight harder and not give terrible interviews.

[AtSwimTwoBricks]

That may be true generally, but I think the Republican campaign itself supplied this stereotype.

They did after all decide to sell Sarah Palin as a salt of the earth, common, "just like you" hockey mom. It paints a picture almost of grabbing a woman from outside a grocery store and catapulting her, unprepared and out of her element, toward the second highest office on the globe.

Her accent, her language skills, her shamefully bad answers/avoidances and her medieval fear of witches only fed it.

[givebirthathome]

Wow, that's some facile partisan spinning. True feminism doesn't respect demagoguery. True feministm doesn't worship at the altar of power. Simply getting power is not an achievement to be respected.

Perhaps some have engaged in caricatures, but there are real problems in Palin's record, and apparently character.

[Sage80]

Problems that are NOT apparent in Hillary's??? PLEASE! You speak of TRUE feminism! You hypocrite! The so-called mistakes are so perfunctory in nature, so as to deem a self-made success story like Palin as anything OTHER than a true feminist is a blatant telling of partisanship that leftist liberal pro-choice women reserve solely for themselves. Just admit it. You don't like her. What IS the achievement to be respected?? Youre talking out of your ass like the MSM trying to discredit her efficacy.

[givebirthathome]

Sage, I didn't say anything about Hillary. I was a Ron Paul supporter until he dropped out of the race, and since then I've been supporting Obama. Voted for Bush in 2000.

So you made some wrong assumptions about my politics, etc.

I think Palin would make a bad VP for character reasons, but she has been a victim of sexism and elitism *as well*. There's a whole lot more to character than being pro-life.

See the Palin Sarkozy video. Serious, unconscious diva.