Palin Reignites The Culture War

Newsweek Web Exclusive

« Return to Article

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: Harvybing @ 10/03/2008 7:35:35 PM

    HOW THE FANNIE MAE CROOKS WILL AVOID JAIL. THE BAIL OUT CRISIS WAS CAUSED BY A HANDFUL OF CORRUPT CONGRESSMEN AND FANNIE MAE OFFICIALS WHO BOUGHT UP 7 TRILLION DOLLARS IN BAD DEBT IN ORDER TO PAD THE BOOKS AND COLLECT HUGE SALARY BONUSES FOR THEMSELVES.

    HERE ARE THREE VIDEOS THOSE CORRUPT FANNIE MAE OFFICIALS & AT LEAST FIVE CORRUPT CONGRESSMEN DON'T WANT THE
    AMERICAN PEOPLE TO SEE:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2WKtp01yOw


    One Of The Crooks Is Rumored To Be The Next Attorney General Under Obama. If That Happens, NONE of them will ever be brought to justice.

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=67068

  • Posted By: mccthulhu @ 10/03/2008 6:15:58 PM

    Seriously??? "Why can't an 'average' American lead this country?" SERIOUSLY??? Because you end up with an average, or a very below-average America with that kind of leadership. This nation is in dire and desperate need of someone who can comprehend reams of data involving the catastrophe of an economy. You need someone who can understand the logistics, strategy and tactics of manoeuvering military units. Palin as VP is in a position to bring this nation to disaster because she's average. McCain may be somewhat more capable, but not moreso than someone who has put himself through an Ivy league education. The elitist badge being bandied about is an excuse for poor candidates.

    • Posted By: bahop @ 10/03/2008 6:28:50 PM

      Um. Washington never attended college. Lincoln was self taught. Truman went to a small college in Kansas City. Reagan went to Eureka College. George W. Bush went to both Harvard & Yale. Ivy League does NOT guarantee leadership capability.

      Also, your comment about the military is spot on ... and the ONLY person in this election with that qualification is Senator McCain. Senator Obama has never been in the military, was completely wrong about the surge, wants to surrender in Iraq, and won't even visit our troops when he's overseas. He is (and both Senator Clinton and Senator Biden have said this) COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED to be Commander-in-Chief.

      • Posted By: birdy_spice@yahoo.com @ 10/03/2008 7:35:29 PM

        ummm.. but what you're forgetting is that back in those days, men were self taught. they didn't rely on institutions for knowledge. they were scholars. they were all versed in law. they were avid readers. do you think einstein went to college? no.. he read the books on his own without a teacher assiging them.

        the reason we cite the ivy league schools is because it is absolute proof that these men meet a certain standard of education .. i think we're all agreed that we'd like a president to know the history and laws of this great nation before leading it.

        while mccain did not attend college, he still had an interest to educated himself and learn us history and law.

        palin, on the other hand, cannot cite a single newspaper she reads for information. palin knows nothing about this great country. she hasn't bothered because she didn't care. when asked about iraq, she said she doesn't pay attention to those things.

        you can't read the cliffs notes version and be ready to lead. you can't fake the presidency. this isn't just some stupid chemistry test in high school. this is a big deal. a president had better know why america ticks.. how she became.. what her laws are..what has been tried and failed.

    • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:32:36 PM

      Only if you feel that an Ivy League education makes you a better candidate, which I don't feel is true. I don't think it makes you a worse candidate either, but it shouldn't be the standard for intelligence. Much of what makes a good President/Leader is instinct. A natural sense of what is good and right for the country or majority. An unexplained inner compass that all great leaders have had. I'm sorry education alone just isn't enough and Obama is lacking EVERTYTHING, but the education.

    • Posted By: brehove @ 10/03/2008 6:23:31 PM

      I agree it's a precarious suggestion to will an average (we really mean, someone w/ less intelligence than ourselves) into office, but I'm more skeptical about the use of "average" in the first place. Palin is a fascinating politician insofar as she--rhetorically speaking--creates the average american as she speaks. Biden attempted to counter that creation w/ his Wilmington story during the debate. In this sense, it's more of a battle over what constitutues "average," rather than an opposition b/t elites & average citizens.

      • Posted By: bahop @ 10/03/2008 6:29:31 PM

        Um. Washington never attended college. Lincoln was self taught. Truman went to a small college in Kansas City. Reagan went to Eureka College. George W. Bush went to both Harvard & Yale. Ivy League does NOT guarantee leadership capability.

        Also, your comment about the military is spot on ... and the ONLY person in this election with that qualification is Senator McCain. Senator Obama has never been in the military, was completely wrong about the surge, wants to surrender in Iraq, and won't even visit our troops when he's overseas. He is (and both Senator Clinton and Senator Biden have said this) COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED to be Commander-in-Chief.

  • Posted By: Terry Martin @ 10/03/2008 5:37:04 PM

    Maybe it's hard for Democrats to understand Palin.....she's not talking thru the side of her mouth. Too bad she's not running for the whole enchilada.....if it is experience people are worried about; they don't seem to worried about Obama (who is running for president). He's spent more time campaigning, than he has in the drivers seat in any of his elected positions. He is also one of the least experienced of all Senate members. How come it is acceptable to have his lack of "on-the-job" experience when running for the presidency.

    • Posted By: macrhino @ 10/03/2008 5:47:27 PM

      "maybe its hard for the Democrats to understand Palin" maybe its hard for anyone with a normal IQ to understand Palin. She only speaks to those already drinking the poison kool-aid

      • Posted By: Terry Martin @ 10/03/2008 7:34:57 PM

        Obviously your IQ is below normal

      • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:35:16 PM

        Maybe because he's smart and well-educated and well-brought-up.

        • Posted By: Terry Martin @ 10/03/2008 7:34:32 PM

          You can be all of that, and still a liar.

    • Posted By: annieb346 @ 10/03/2008 5:45:52 PM

      Because he is intelligent and understands the issues. He has higher level thinking skills. Sarah Palin's energy policy is described in three words - "Drill, Baby, Drill." It makes a good soundbyte, but it falls a little short as a policy.

  • Posted By: nbrakeman @ 10/03/2008 7:27:42 PM

    We are onto a new way of life. I think Sarah did a great job and she is a tribute to women everywhere. I think it will be an amazing roller coaster ride in our soon future. Are you ready? Hold on tight!!

  • Posted By: IsIt2009Yet? @ 10/03/2008 7:21:52 PM

    Thank you for mentioning what was, for me, the most cringe-worthy moment of the debate: Palin's winky, grinning 'shout-out' to her hometown third graders. In the mixed audience of Democrats and Republicans I was a part of, silence reigned as jaws dropped in response. Finally, one person--perhaps the most hard core Republican in the room--snorted in disgust and said, "What next? Is she going to wave hi to her pals too?" It was if she'd forgotten that she was appearing as the potential second in command of the world's greatest superpower and acted instead like a giddy teenager on her first time in front of a TV camera. If she was qualified to be President--the qualifications a VP must have--her inappropriate behavior and dress (as a female professional, I was appalled by the dangling earrings and red stilleto heels too) might not matter. But as it is, they reveal who Palin really is--someone out of her league, whose candidacy is an embarrassment to herself and her country. No doubt there are many who can't, or won't, admit that McCain made a reckless and unfortunate choice in Palin. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing of all is that their votes will count as much as those of others who recognize the painful truth that McCain and Palin are so determined to ignore.

  • Posted By: lpsilvey @ 10/03/2008 7:16:06 PM

    Please. Where are you people (Americans in general)? We're talking about the future of America. Palin is not as qualified as I am to be president, and I am certainly not qualified to be president of this - perhaps once was the greatest country on earth but is slowly capsizing under the weight of emperial dogma. Let's get real. We're talking about governing a vast country here with myrida issues, not ideological boxing matches. We're talking about, hopefully, a compassionate and intelligent view of how to bring the challenges of earth's inhabitants together to live in harmony. That's a big task. If we hire McCain and Palin and the Republican rascals, we will be bascially throwing the chickens to the foxes. Well, the foxes will be happy, at least until there are no more chickens.

  • Posted By: thebob.bob @ 10/03/2008 7:14:06 PM

    The Obama generation has seen what the "culture wars" have done to America and they're done with it. They don't care who did or didn't smoked pot, who went to Woodstock or even who won the Vietnam War. They're tired of the petty weapons of mass distraction like abortion and 'moral' values. Education, the Environment, Health care matter more than unwinnable rants about socialists and fascists.
    Listen up boomers. Listen to the "poet of your generation", Get out of the new road if you can't lend a hand for the times they are a changin'

  • Posted By: MotorCityMe @ 10/03/2008 7:09:16 PM

    I was very turned off by Sarah Palin and her fake folksy come-ons and winking. She tried desperately to cover up the fact that he is uneducated and not particularly intelligent. Joe Biden, on the other hand, came across as the real deal - fully capable of stepping right into office smoothly, yet human enough to tell what it was really like to be a parent and husband after a terrible car crash. Obama/Biden have my vote - hands down!

    Obama/Biden have my vote - hands down!!

  • Posted By: jcfinsf @ 10/03/2008 7:06:24 PM

    No, actually America's current right-wingers are stupid. Really. Everything they do turns into a morass. Few will be fooled by their lies this time: the Democrats will likely sweep elections all over the country. A whole generation are coming of age in the middle of this Republican nonsense; they refuse to be on the head-in-the-sand side of history. They're educated, global citizens. The "me and only me" mantra of the Regan, white, upper class, and suburban voter (the REAL elites) will be put to bed once and for all. Just you wait.

  • Posted By: bartsimpson2008 @ 10/03/2008 7:04:48 PM

    This news writer says Palins every women act plays well??? What? I am insulted that the republican party thinks women are that stupid and shallow. If republican women are stupid and shallow it's news to me. Palin was a bad choice for VP, McCain made a huge error choosing someone who is clearly not qualified to play at this level of presidential politics.

  • Posted By: Think Now @ 10/03/2008 6:49:30 PM

    This woman is dangerous. Her comment about the Vice President having power over congress should warn every American away from her. This is not shades of Dick Cheney, this is no doubt about it I am going to be trouble!
    Dave

  • Posted By: birdy_spice@yahoo.com @ 10/03/2008 6:48:39 PM

    no one has ever accused a black man of being elitist in this country. no one is going to buy it. one can't really ignite a culture war against obama/biden as both come from humble beginnings and biden is still considered one of the poorest senators in the nation. mccain is stinkin rich.. he's been rubbing shoulders with the rich/elite longer than i've been alive. sarah and todd are worth over a million dollars and have an income of at least 170,000 yearly. that kind of family income is well above middle class.. especially in alaska where they are considered rich by those measures. sarah and todd palin cannot convincingly play the part of your average middle class because middle class they are not.

  • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 5:53:55 PM

    It amazes me how Democrats think the average American is not qualified to lead this nation. The qualifications for Vice-President, or President for that matter, as listed in the Constitution do not include an Ivy league education, designer suits and arrogance. Democrats attitudes are exactly the problem with this country because their elected officials have forgotten who elected them. It amazes me as they run down Sarah Palin that they go on for hours how much the respect and care about the "average - middle-classed - American". Sarah Plain IS the average-middle-classed American and they HATE her. Let's be honest the only people the Democrats truly care about are the rich and the poor. The ONLY time the Democrats care about the middle-class is when they need our votes or to raise our taxes. They care about us as long as we sit down, shut-up and let them do what they think is good for us. Haven't you heard, we are all too ignorant to know what is good for us. Thank God for Sarah Palin and her true understanding of the middle-class. She knows we don't need a keeper, just leave us alone, don't tax us to death and we will be just fine!

    • Posted By: terrifiedinvegas @ 10/03/2008 6:02:31 PM

      Oh sure, let's vote for the "average joe" candidate who we'd rather have a beer with.

      Wait, we did that in 2000 and how did that work out?

      • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:09:00 PM

        And if you vote for Obama you are voting for the same type of candidate you did with Bush. Someone with little experience who will have to lean on his advisors for advice. Sorry, I'm not ready to repeat that same mistake.

        It amazes me how fearful liberals can be of people from a world they just don't understand. You call yourselves tolerant. What a joke. You are only tolerant if someone is poor and needs your pity or if you feel they are your intellectual equals. The rest of us are just stupid rednecks right. Read your history. You might be surprised how many great men and women never even graduated from high school.

        • Posted By: terrifiedinvegas @ 10/03/2008 6:26:48 PM

          You're correct. Lefties are very intolerant. Especially of Presidents who can't conjugate simple verbs, who get their foreign policy advice from Jesus, squander an economic surplus while doubling the national deficit, occupy a foreign country because they think it would be neat to do a press conference on an aircraft carrier, shred the basic tenets of the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions, out their own CIA agents, fund schools contingent that they don't support sex education, make it financially advantageous for companies to move your job overseas and lead a great nation to the brink of financial collapse... and to do it all while being on vacation in Texas. Yes, we are very intolerant and very scared, giving that all signs indicate that Cowboy McCain and his Trophy VP will continue this alarming pattern.

          • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:48:13 PM

            Such intellect...I am impressed...LOL. You will be surprised to learn that there is another 50% of this country that might disagree with your tirade, but that 50% REALLY irritates you don't they.? They irritate you because they keep getting their candidates elected. Well Mr. Liberal if you want the other 50% of this country to vote your way, you better learn to present your concerns in a non-judgemental fashion where folks on the other side might be more inclined to listen, instead of just telling them their stupid.

    • Posted By: macrhino @ 10/03/2008 6:10:56 PM

      80% of Americans can name 4 members of the SImpson family but can't name 4 rights delineated by the Bill of Rights. sdhdavis IS the average American. The problem with the country now is described as "Cult of the Amateur." Look at the comment by sdhdavis and ask youself, is he/she qualified to be the most powerful person on the planet? Palin isn't either.

      • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:22:19 PM

        And Joe Biden needs a refresher course on the Constitution. Let me tell you something. Those 80% of Americans would be okay admitting that they didn't know the Bill of Rights and would be impressed that you did. They would treat you kindly and with respect and possibly even admiration. It is a shame that you can't or won't show them the same courtesy.

      • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:19:46 PM

        Your attitude doesn't really surprise me. I am insignificant to you. You don't care or value me or any member of the middle-class as a member of this society. That is unless I am willing to believe your liberal idealogy...that you care about me...and will blindly go vote for Obama. Liberals should be ashamed of the way they devalue those in society who work hard for a living. I can tell you this, any average American with a drop of common sense could run this country better then the Democratic Congress with a 17% approval rating. I wonder what is wrong with all those Ivy league educations? Oh, that's right there are Republicans in Congress representing their constiuents and getting in their way. What a joke!

  • Posted By: NACNUDBOB @ 10/03/2008 5:06:32 PM

    In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride and arrogance; it is often associated with a lack of knowledge combined with a lack of humility. An accusation of hubris often implies that suffering or punishment will follow, similar to the occasional pairing of hubris and nemesis in the Greek world. The proverb "pride goes before a fall" is thought to sum up the modern definition of hubris. In reference to someone being in hubrity: hubrity is a fulfillment of being hubristic or a continual behavior of being prideful. Victor in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein exudes hubris in order to become a great scientist, but is eventually regretting this previous desire. Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus exudes hubris, all the way until his final minutes of life.

    • Posted By: dem no more! @ 10/03/2008 5:52:39 PM

      The definition of hubris in my book is Obama going on his European tour and addressing the masses on behalf of America. Prideful, arrogant and a definite lack of humility seeing as how he has not won the election yet.

      • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:47:18 PM

        yessir, massa--we'll get back to the plantaation now

  • Posted By: A-me @ 10/03/2008 5:12:31 PM

    And beware of false prophets--the slogan repeating kind. Change, hope, blah blah blah, give me the keys to the white house.

    • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:46:10 PM

      Prophets, The Chosen One. Whatever happened to the separation of church and state?

  • Posted By: PacificGatePost @ 10/03/2008 6:46:02 PM


    AMERICA IS ABOUT TO MAKE A HISTORICAL DECISION ON ITS WAY OF LIFE

    Numerous forces are at work, pressuring American voters into a decision in a time of extreme stress.

    http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/10/vote-critical-decision-in-dangerous.html

    Not a time for knee-jerk reactions and emotions.

  • Posted By: A-me @ 10/03/2008 5:18:17 PM

    Obama is not elite. He's never done anything except talk. And that to Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, and if he has things his way Hezbollah, Ahmedinajad, Hamas, Castro, and...hm, what other wild ideas could he come up with... HOPEFULLY we won't find out.

    • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:44:34 PM

      But somehow the fact that Mike Davis is the puppeteer in McCain's campaign has not bothered you? He has been a well-paid LOBBYIST for years, and is the principal architect of John McCain's complete sell-out of his principles. Assuming he had any--I still am bothered by his dumping his horribly injured wife for young and wealthy Cindy. P.S. Cindy--you're not in high school. Dress like an adult.

  • Posted By: joebev @ 10/03/2008 5:24:28 PM

    I am sick of hearing that Sarah Palen did better than expected in the debate. Palen was horrible but the press generally seems to be afraid to say so except for a few. She parroted what she was taught, did not answer questions, had no specifics and said some pretty weird stuff using odd words and made up words and convoluted awkward phrasing: ("I quasi-backed down"? ""The crisis on main street is now effecting wall street"? Nuclear war would be "the be all and end all of too many darn people"?) Yikes!! If I were her public speaking professor, I'd give her an "F"!

    At least the polls show Biden won. The state of our press is very disappointing. It makes me sick. Edward R. Murrow is rolling in his grave and Walter Cronkite must be ready to jump off his sail boat and end it all.

    • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:40:34 PM

      That's NUKE-U-LER. Ms. Palin seems to have learned her pronunciation from our current folksy President.

  • Posted By: k@chicago @ 10/03/2008 6:04:53 PM

    Yeh!!!! to sdhdavis... well said! RE: comments on her "folksiness" and percieved as less intelligent. Obama's accent on his sentence or certain words is to me, street accent. And annoys me to no end... and street accent is absolutely not percieved as "intelligent" bey any means. Re: birdy_spices' comments on Palin's "supposed" mistakes... so easy for Biden to argue by giving factual mistakes/lies... but you wouldn't know that unless you've followed the history of all the candidates.

    • Posted By: sdhdavis @ 10/03/2008 6:39:22 PM

      I totally agree. It is the occasional slang or phrasing of a sentence when he isn't careful. The arrogance of his walk and his constant need to impress. It's something you can't put your finger on, but you just don't trust him. It makes you wonder.

    • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:26:57 PM

      Obama has a "street" accent? Really?? Which street? Sounds like Main Street to me. Someone who has an education. Someone who has intellectual curiosity. Someone who could probably tell you what books or magazines he has read, and what he thought of them to boot. Not the other side of the tracks, where they talk like this: "Drill, baby, drill," "Gonna, gotta, lookin'" and "Say it ain't so, Joe." Her parents were teachers? Of what? Shop? I thought a lot more of Alaska before she appeared on the scene.

  • Posted By: Miller51550 @ 10/03/2008 5:35:57 PM

    Palin worked to get where she is today. She obtained her education while rasing a family. Barrack on the other hand, had a 'B' average and attended only elite PRIVATE college.. Having a 4.0 in the best high schools in the land... does not get you into Columbia, expecially into Harvard. (He omitts any test scores, academic records or document that got him into these school. Without his degree for Harvard, he is no body and does not get into Politics. .

    • Posted By: avocats @ 10/03/2008 6:37:36 PM

      She obtained about as much of an education as she had a career as a journalist. Not at all. She was in what, five different schools? From the sound of her, she mastered in basketweaving. Embarrassing.

    • Posted By: macrhino @ 10/03/2008 6:01:42 PM

      "She obtained her education while rasing a family." Well she graduated in 1987 and married in 1988. How was she raising a family?

      The poster can't write, can't string together words to form coherent thought, has the facts wrong, yet still feels like he/she is qualified to comment intelligently. Ask yourself what is wrong with the US. Perhaps Miller is actually Palin?

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse