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The Sarah Palin Rorschach Test

Whether one loves or hates the Alaskan governor reveals how they view conservatism and politics. [Also, from Roger L. Simon: "Obama: The Candidate as Rorschach Test."]

October 30, 2008 - by Jennifer Rubin

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The Players are those who engage in politics not simply as an intellectual exercise but as a sport — a combat sport. They appreciate the need to sell and engage voters. They like the rough and tumble of campaigns. They understand the point of it all is to “win, baby, win.” And because they see politics as a group activity they are attuned to the audience — the voters. They watch the crowd, not because the crowd is “right,” but because without the crowd (voters), this is all an academic exercise. It is not hard to see why talk show hosts fall into this category. They, after all, make their living engaging the public and understand precisely what it takes to hold their interest.

That is not to say that the Players don’t care about ideas or the message. To the contrary, because they see the message of conservatism as a valuable and potentially winning vision they are extremely attuned to finding the right messenger. If you trust the message to the wrong candidate you get 1996, or worse.

On the other side are the Kibitzers, those who don’t hold office or run campaigns or much bother with real voters. They write books, tell us what is wrong with conservatism, and scold the poor slobs who run campaigns. They lack any visceral sense of actual conservative voters. Their bent is decidedly academic and their approach to politics is sterile. If you can simply come up with the ideal blueprint, go on Charlie Rose’s show, and write a column for the New York Times or Washington Post, the light will go on, the conservative movement will be saved, and they will earn the applause of their peers.

Now, some of the Kibitzers, truth be told, don’t care much about ideas: it is sentiment and word pictures that catch their attention. They’d rather toss around elegant phrases unmoored to any reasoned argument — slip the surly bonds of analysis, as it were — than mix it up in the hurly-burly of real electoral politics. And Palin’s not very poetic, after all.

So it’s not hard to see why the Players love Palin. She weaves and bobs, winks and parries. She socks the opposition and lights up the crowd. Her instincts appear entirely conservative and her determination to rid the Republican Party of corruption and insiderism — the very things which have contributed to damaging the Republican “brand” — suggest she could be well suited to reviving and rehabilitating the Republican Party. She’s a doer, the ultimate defining characteristic of a Player.

It is equally clear why the Kibitzers disdain her. She doesn’t likely read any of their books for starters. She doesn’t spout philosophy (Abraham Lincoln doesn’t count in the Kibitzers’ book). She’s not going to discuss at length realism vs. neo-conservatism. And she has this terribly annoying habit of characterizing Barack Obama in stark, unfavorable terms instead of soaking up his transformational brilliance, as the Kibitzers have done. She’d never be mistaken for a think tank scholar and certainly never rate a column in a mainstream newspaper.

None of this is to say who is “right” about Palin. She might be the savior of the GOP or a flash in the pan. But the reactions to her and the force with which they are put forth, often in excessively personal terms, tell us more about the pundits than the subject of their attention. And they suggest that it will be a rocky road ahead, indeed, as the two sides wrestle over whether conservatism devolves into a philosophical exercise or remains a viable political movement.

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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.

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129 Comments

1. jvon:

Great piece. There’s little to disagree with here.

I love Sarah Palin because of her energy, enthusiasm, and optimism. I also have trouble figuring out how she is less qualified to be President than, say, Barack Obama. I think she was a great pick.

Oct 30, 2008 - 2:28 am 2. Marc Malone:

Palin’s image comes down to her first two bad interviews with Gibson and Couric, and the gilded-lily rollout. To the pros, and to many people, her performance was unconscionable. She was defined by those two interviews, and the puffed up resume. First impressions. The McCain campaign screwed up royally for filling her head with some 300 talking points.

Now that she’s hit her stride, she knows how badly they screwed up her image, and she’s casting the stupid pros aside. She has great political instincts. She’ll recover, but the stupid meme will never go away for many. Make no mistake, the pros did screw up, because they simply never adjusted for the dynamics of this campaign. They operated the same-old same-old way. Conventional wisdom in an unconventional year.

Oct 30, 2008 - 2:29 am 3. Miklos Hollender:

An opinions from abroad:

I think Sarah Palin is indeed a Rorschach test for Conservatives, but it’s about much than manners or players vs. kibbitzes – it’s about what Conservativsm MEANS.

The core idea behind Conservatism is that most of human learning is done not by rational theorizing, but by pattern recognition. Our brain processes huge amounts of data every second, and most information we get out of it is in the form of recognized patterns, not fully logical theories. It’s fair to say that 90% of our knowledge is in patterns, not in theories.

This pattern recognition is called common sense, and over generations, it’s called traditions, conventions etc. Religion is usually a carrier meme for these evolved patterns. It’s sort of an evolutionary process, like a genetic algorithm.

Liberals, Lefties and even many Libertarians want to use only 10% of the human knowledge that’s rational. And because our rational knowledge cannot yet fully explain neither human nature in itself nor everything that happens in society, they fill the holes with myths like that everybody is born good and only society makes people bad etc.

Conservatives are practical people who instinctively recognize the importance of evolved patterns in human learning: because our rational knowledge simply isn’t enough yet, these common sense patterns are our second best option to use. And to use these patterns effectively you don’t particularly have to be very smart i.e. very rational. You have to be _wise_ and you have to have a good character: you have to set hubris and pride aside and be able to accept traditions you don’t fully understand.

Thus, for a Conservative, while smartness never hurts, being wise and having a good character is more important than being very smart. Looking a bit simple simply isn’t a problem, you still have that 90% of knowledge at hand.

Anti-Palin Conservatives don’t understand it. They think Conservativism is about having different theories than the Left, they don’t understand that it’s that theories and rational knowledge isn’t so important.

Oct 30, 2008 - 3:15 am 4. Barb:

Great reply, Miklos! Reminds me of this quote from Einstein: The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:22 am 5. RE:

Miklos Hollender

Well said. There is indeed a huge difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom starts with humility. Now is that totally uncool, or what? Thinking yourself smarter than everybody else! Now that’s where it’s at! Totally Cool! Totally Obama. Totally disastrous.

Sarah Palin knows and understands where her food comes from. That puts her miles ahead of the rest.

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:27 am 6. FlyOver:

I think it’s very hard to assess Sarah Palin as a potential leader when she has had a full on assault by the media geared to portray her in an unfavorable light. Here is a report on that:
http://www.cultureandmedia.com/specialreports/2008/SarahPalinChar/SaraPalinFull_Report.htm

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:46 am 7. Alo Kievalar:

Give me a break. I have nothing “against” S. Palin. I don’t “hate” her any more than I “hate” anyone walking out of the local Walmart.

As one poster above said: “I love Sarah Palin because of her energy, enthusiasm, and optimism.” I do too.

But my sister-in-law has as much energy, enthusiasm and optimism as Palin does, but that doesn’t mean I’d vote for her.

S. Palin is a nice, attractive and typical American “gringa”, as they say in Latin America. Not only is she a “hockey-mom”, as she admits…that’s actually, believe it or not, what she should be, where she belongs.

But it’s a long jump from there to one of the top positions in the country. My sister-in-law doesn’t belong there. Neither does Sarah Palin.

When she aspires to such a position, she not only looks ridiculous, she’s an actual embarrassment. If you don’t see that simple truth, you’re either kidding yourself or your contact with reality is very differnet from mine.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:00 am 8. J Scott:

RE: Concur, and well-said. Palin’s humility is Main Street humility and her humanity and love of country resonate with most people—-the people who could care less about the kibitzers and their books.

I would submit that what passes for “intellectual conservative leadership” in today’s climate would have disqualified Ronald Reagan if he were running today. For today’s accusations of “anti-intellectualism” are based more on hyper-biased perceptions than yesterdays (due mostly to all the media attention and 24/7 coverage looking for a story). We all know the left despised Reagan, the Clark Clifford “amiable dunce” remark comes to mind, but Gov Palin’s attacks from the right have more to do with an intellectual standard that average voters would not identify with if they saw it; ust one reason the People are angry at right of center outlets that condemn Gov Palin.

Right-leaning media people have taken upon themselves the mantel of determining “who is intellectual” and by the converse, “who” is not; a task to which they are not suitable because the issue is bigger than “what we know”, and more concerned with the character used in leadership. To be sure, being bright is important. History demonstrates that Reagan cared not what anyone thought on either side about his “intellectualism”—he got results and the American People love good results.

This is what I find so refreshing about Gov Palin; she is enough of “of the people” to communicate in a way the vaunted intellectuals perhaps can’t comprehend, for she goes over the head of the policy wonks and speaks to people in a language of Main Street. That sir, is a rare commodity these days.

A few things about Gov Palin are certain; she has good instincts, a good work habit, she believes in America, she loves her God and Country, she has a fundamental sense of right and wrong (I see no hint of relativism in her comments—and if she doesn’t know what that means, that’s fine by me—a lot of folks would be better off not “knowing”, but I digress). People sense this and much more about her, they sense her ordinary American exceptionalism.

Her future is bright, indeed.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:11 am 9. Jbl:

“Now, some of the Kibitzers, truth be told, don’t care much about ideas: it is sentiment and word pictures that catch their attention. They’d rather toss around elegant phrases unmoored to any reasoned argument — slip the surly bonds of analysis, as it were — than mix it up in the hurly-burly of real electoral politics. And Palin’s not very poetic, after all.”

When Ms Noonan reads that she’ll have a black eye.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:18 am 10. Dan Irving:

Miklos,

While I agree with the majority of your comment, I find it interesting that you lump Libertarianism in with the left and Liberals. The American strain of Libertarianism differs in many ways from the European strain and, aside from it’s dalliance with the left during the Vietnam War, it is doesn’t necessarily define itself as being ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:21 am 11. Dan Irving:

“that’s actually, believe it or not, what she should be, where she belongs”

…pssst! Alo, your misogyny is showing!

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:26 am 12. David Thomson:

“Sure, there’s a strong suspicion that many in the anti-Palin camp are posturing to ingratiate themselves with the Washington cocktail set.”

This is simply a discrete way of describing the pro-abortionist mindset of these culturally left-wing Republicans. This is the number one thing these folks seem to all have in common. As matter of fact, I am unaware of even one exception! The real question to always ask about one’s attitude towards Sarah Palin is more often than not is this one: what do you think about abortion?

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:37 am 13. Dennis:

I wonder why Sara is not getting any credit for the great job she has done is Alaska? Alaska is our largest state adn has great wealth in natural resources. She has led the charge to clean up the political machine. Is that the reason she is disliked by so many in the TV interview guest pundits and Op-Ed newspaper writers? They own too much tothe established insiders. A cleaned up party (either side) would force them to find new insider friends and sources. Add the find insiders task to the getting invited to the great parties and dinnners you will find a very unhappy crowd.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:40 am 14. Peg C.:

Miklos makes excellent points. I’d also make a point about the Kibitizers or navelgazers. We can name a long list but one of the very worst (besides self-admirers like Brooks and Hitchens) is Peggy Noonan. Maybe this is because until recently we had high regard for her and she has proven herself as low and false as the rest. There is a real sense of betrayal within the conservative wing. REAL betrayal. I wrote a scathing letter to the WSJ about Noonan and won’t give her the time of day again. These people are so full of self-regard and hubris, they are begging to be knocked down. I’ll help.

Palin is wise, humble, and fearless. The Kibitzers cannot abide this in anyone but especially in a conservative woman of Palin’s stripe – extrovert, wife, mother, religious, achieving. She shows them up for what they are not – doers. Navelgazers never improved the world or accomplished great things. Thinkers and philosophers may explain the world but they do not contribute materially at the ground level. Appreciation for the doers and achievers of the world, in spite of the lip-service paid to them by most liberals and some conservatives, is in very short shrift. Palin has brought this conundrum to the fore and the do-nothings do not like it and are determined to destroy her for it. Good luck with that.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:41 am 15. tom:

Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air in a political world gone to elitism. That she acts on her instints and morality rather than what is politically correct

McCain’s campaign madea mistake of sequestering her, she should be on Meet the Press this weekend. The Charlie Gibson interview was edited heavily to take out her thought out answers and give the appearance of a war monger with respect to Russia.

Palin is a very quick study and has an enthusiasm and connection that you simply can’t teach. She will go far in a McCain white house

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:46 am 16. Andy Jackson:

I believe that the most furious spinning by the media and the talking heads is leading up to the most astonishing “comeback” in history. McCain will win because the “regular folks” in the “pro-America” parts of the country are disgusted and fed-up with the politics-as-usual.

Obama wins CA, OH (with 120% of eligible voters), MA, and IL. The rest go GOP and America avoids a disaster of epic proportions.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:49 am 17. Peg C.:

Alo, take your overt sexism and misogyny back to your Latin country. There is no place for it here in America or in this discussion. Mothers and wives in this country can be great achievers. Get over it.

Also keep in mind that the Democrats, so disparaging of Palin, would love her to death if she were a Democrat, and they know it. (She also wouldn’t be Palin, she’d be Pelosi, and we’d all hate her.)

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:49 am 18. James:

Let me see, who is it that has people traveling hundreds of miles, standing in lines for hours, waiting around for more hours? Who is it that has Democrats and Independents at her rallies? Who is it who seems to have initiated a burgeoning conservative woman’s movement? Who is it that attracted historic sized audiences for her acceptance speech, debate and SNL appearances? Who is it that has given important speeches on energy, special needs children, woman’s rights, Iran and the Second Shoah, and abortion? And who is it that may, just may, be instrumental in helping to carry the dazed and confused body of the Republican Party across the goal line against historic odds for the winning touchdown? But maybe the Republican Party doesn’t need all that, it’s doing so well.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:53 am 19. SiouxLady:

Thank you, Jennifer! I posed just such a question re Rick Moran’s piece in today’s PJM countering your previous piece on “Ten Reasons McCain Can Still Win.” Just to check you out, I looked up “kibitzer” for a precise definition. It says among other things, “a meddlesome onlooker.” That’s Moran, Noonan, Brooks, Frum and company! (Do tell! Was it “Poet” Noonan who stole the “surly bonds” quote for Reagan!)

If you re-listen to the Ingraham/McDonald session, again, I think you’ll find that McDonald didn’t object to Palin, as such. She objected to what Palin supporters ascribed to Palin and, therefore, objected to McCain’s choice! A blogger called “Armed and Dangerous” http://esr.ibiblio.org/index.php?s=obama+hitler had the same objection to Obama – likening his “swooners” to Hitler’s followers. However, he defended his position with hard evidence. McDonald (Palin-like?) could barely articulate what she was trying to say on the radio or in her hit-piece on Palin. I suspect if the rest of the kibitzers had their ears pinned back by Laura, they’d be as easily flummoxed.

While I like Palin, I disagree with her on a number of things. Like Hitchens, I’m an atheist. What I don’t understand is why he finds Palin’s theism objectionable but not Obama’s. I suspect it is because Hitchens is not a conservative, but an anti-communist leftist. His, sometimes, “conservative” positions – like supporting the Iraq war – make him the David Brooks of the left. They had sense enough to get rid of their kibitzer!

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:04 am 20. Red State Gal:

Excellent piece! I admire Sarah Palin. What a breath of fresh air! No one in this campaign speaks for me and my family like Sarah Palin does. I am excited to vote for her on November 4th!

The only nitpick I have with the analysis is the characterization of Players . . . there’s another group of people who support Sarah Palin, and my family is part of that group. It’s a group that has ideas about values, and that those ideas matter for the future of our country. We are not “playing” around. We view Sarah Palin walking the walk, and see that walk as the ultimate Idea.

But your skewering of the Kibitzers is so right on the money! It’s been sickening to watch these self-styled idea people trying to scramble for a place on the caboose in the Obama train, stepping all over Sarah Palin to do it. I hope after this election that we can leave such folk on the side of the road with their self-inflicted wounds to their integrity, and move on.

Red State Gal

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:06 am 21. edk:

Alo Kievalar

“your contact with reality is very differnet from mine”

True, mine IS very different from YOUR’S.
Give me a ‘doer’ above a ‘talker’ anyday…

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:31 am 22. Judith:

I do not identify with Gov. Palin, I admire her and wish I had her strength.
When things got tough she stood up and took it like a man (old expression, but one I cherish). She has a core. We need a person with a core in these hard/bad times. My grandparents and parents came through the depression and wars because they had a core, an inner strength that saw them through life’s tests. Obama is a willow swaying in the wind and I believe some of these conservatives (or fakes, i.e. noonan) are similar. I want a rock not a willow as a leader of what I perceive a great nation.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:31 am 23. anotherview:

I like this piece for it helps me understand the wide range of voices that Palin stirs. I think she is great and was just what the Republican Party needed. I chose to believe that McCain was looking for a legacy to leave, as well as a best choice for for VP.

She was definitely mismanaged by the old school in the beginning. To tell a Governor how to campaign who just beat an incumbent seems absurd. And to throw her to the enemy suggests that Obama staff is working in the McCain campaign.

Anyway, Palin has conducted herself on the highest level, which is not where the Obama hamp has played. For Palin’s daughter to ask her mother, “Why is that man saying those things? He doesn’t even know you.” perhaps says it all.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:37 am 24. anotherview:

Hollander…..just read you and Einstein’s quote. Too many times I have let my rationale mind over ride the intuition, “the voice within”. But not this time. Not this time.

McCain/Palin for the good of me.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:45 am 25. Kirk:

When people try to reduce her to hockey mom, that is like calling Obama a writer. It’s such a small part of the person it’s nondescriptive and unhelpful. When I think of the usual qualities people expect in a candidate, I think of :

Lawyer
Ivy League Educated
Rich (over 1 million in assets)
Experience in government

These traits have not served America well at all in government. They have failed almost every important test. It’s as if the sieve those 4 traits combined ALWAYS produces a incompetant, arrogant, greedy person of questionable character. They lie when the truth will do. They refuse to be held accountable for their actions. They are all the same mold, so they constantly give each other passes.

McCain drift a bit our of the combination. Palin is almost totally out of it. Break out of you expections for the usual 4 traits and see that America needs change. Change from the usual mold of lawyer, Ivy League, rich and government employee that has failed us totally. We need real people in there to clean it up.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:45 am 26. Mark M.:

You have just made a clear and convincing case that Sarah Palin is an empty suit.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:46 am 27. Jessicas:

I have nothing against a Republican woman who was qualified with a sufficient level of education, expertise in national and international policy, and an ability to articulate an intellectual curiosity that was NOT like a normal person. I would vote for a serious, qualified conservative woman.
Yes, she destroyed her reputation by her first interviews. (I think any educated, intelligent person would be hard-pressed to perform as poorly and sound as linguistically incoherent as she did.) She is a woman who speaks in simple-minded sound bites and has views that are far off the mainstream of American society (creationism, strident far-right abortion policy, etc.) Her record as a “reformer” is mixed at best; she begged for earmarks and lied about her record on the Bridge to Nowhere. Her leadership style was dictatorial and has been characterized by its “abuse of power.”
In short, we can do so much better as a country. We can do so much better than a woman who divides our country between the “real” American and the “fake” America.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:51 am 28. Todd W.:

If you find a person who has overperformed what would have been expected from reviewing his or her educational background, you have probably found a Republican voter. It is rare to see an actual representative of this group at or near the top of a ticket; the last example before Palin is Reagan, who of course had the same visceral support from the base. To oversimplify, these voters trust doing, not talking, and the good parts of Palin’s resume are all about what she has done as opposed to what she has studied or explained. Which is, to say the least, unlike Barack Obama.

But though Reagan’s formal education wasn’t superior to Palin’s, his self-education was, and if she is to be President, she will need to come to the campaign with a better intellectual foundation for her beliefs and ideas than she has shown in this one. I think, and hope, and she can and will.

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:57 am 29. lizzybear:

As a believing Christian Evangelical, I find palin a bad joke. Alaska, yes, is a very large state in regards to land wise. However, as for population, next to my state of Wyoming, has very little. Alaska has about 750,000. Hhhhmmmm, the South Side of Chicago has over 1,000,000. Palin wants to dumb down the population as she has dumbed herself down. Alaska is full of corruption.

Here you go,
This is from another, recent post elsewhere.
Hi Bob,
Nobody likes abortion. And, like Herm says about all that voted for bush, that voted for him on this one talking point, which by the way, I think makes everyone that voted for bush responsible for a war based on lies, his twisting of the constitution…. The abortion issue should be taken off the presidential ballot, for that one talking point, when so many other issues are very important too, is societal suicide. As a Believing Christian, I can’t support lies like what the bush camp, and now worse, the mcsame/palin camp offer. They are hate mongering racists against people that our God created. “We worship an awesome God in the bluestates.” Barack Obama, DNC 2004

If all of those, including yourself, Bob, voted for bush because you thought that he was prolife, and he has had 6/8 years of GOP control of the three branches of U.S. Government, why haven’t they overturned Roe V. Wade? I’ll tell you why, because they are liars that play on good people’s consciences. They are ever going to turn the table on e V. Wade. They use it as a political play. That’s rotton and horrible and they will rot in hell for doing so. Now let’s look at all the other pro life issues, war based on lies, innocents killed for lies, pure lies for money, now my Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Get the picture. It’s time to call the shots and Obama is the best, most moral and truthful candidate that this country has seen in a very very long time.

Lizzybear–White middle-aged woman from Wyoming That believes and trust Jesus as my savior

Oct 30, 2008 - 6:59 am 30. nowfocus:

So, those who like to do things like Palin, and those who like to think things through dislike Palin?

The last 8 years shows what happens when you don’t think things through. McCain’s entire campaign has shown what happens when you don’t think things through.

Lets stop characterizing over half the country. Its not that people don’t like Palin because she is not a beltway insider, or that she doesn’t seem like an everyday feminist.

Its that she is shallow, hallow. She speaks in broad generalities, and doesn’t want to accept that the complex problems that a president faces requires complex well administered solutions.

Palin represents trying simple folksy wisdom to the massive problems this country faces. These problems require nuance and carefully thought out policy to solve.

Rest assured the world we live in now is much more complex than the one Reagan faced.

Its also what her being picked represents. I cringe every time I read someone saying “She’s exactly like me”. I wouldn’t make a good president, and neither would most Americans.

Note that Palin has been on the national scene for less than 60 days. Obama for several years. If any of these concerns on Obama had any real weight to them, then they would have been brought up much sooner. As such there are far more unanswered questions about Palin’s record than Obama’s.

The Obama campaign didn’t even directly go after her. Lets see what the republican primary season does.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:02 am 31. Conservative Badlands:

I completely agree with you about the kibitzer mind set. But our leaders are exactly the same way. Look at what we offer the country; fracturing, abandonment, infighting, etc. Who would want to be part of this dis-functional movement? All we do know is grasping on to rhetoric and thinking that this the foundation of our movement. Conservatism is much more than guns and screw the Left. Forget about the Jacobins, let them rot on the vine. This is a way of life that looks to the past for the pragmatic changes of the future.

We forgot from where we came from. Someone in one of the posts above mentioned how philosophers and intellectuals do not contribute. While I understand your angst against “intellectuals” I feel the need to remind you that the Conservative movement was started by intellectuals like, Burke, Du Tocqueville, Acton, the Adams brothers, etc. Then later revived and saved in the 50’s by another intellectual, Russell Kirk.

Most that supposedly adhere to this ideal have no idea who these men are. Not that this makes them “bad” Conservatives. However, their grasp on their own philosophy is lacking. They are inspired by what they see, but they do not know why, nor do they understand it. We need a certain amount of intellectualism in our movement, but of the grass roots nature. Jindal is a fine example of this, except for the exorcism thing, I am still trying to figure that one out. Nevertheless, he is able to appeal to the common man yet still reamain brilliant. Reagan had this quality also.

All I can say is before you grab your pitch forks and torches to burn down the Upper Eastside dwelling, cocktail sipping, pinky in the air, special interest swilling Far Left Liberals, beat them at their own game, if you must. Personally I don’t have time for their ignorance. Have a nice day and great article, Palin might just turn out to be a amazing Senator.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:06 am 32. Charlie:

Two great theories here, Rubin and Miklos, both shedding light but neither explaining the heat (see for example above Alo and Peg C. coming from opposite sides).

If I may… only issues of class can generate so much venom but in this case not class as normally understood. Going back to the early 80s I relied on Arnold Mitchell’s The Nine American Lifestyles for my marketing work in the SF Bay Area.

Mitchell chronicled the sudden budding, in the 60s, of what he called the Societally Conscious lifestyle. He noted that inclusion in that cohort demanded active repudiation of middle-class (Belonger in his scheme) values, right down to not drving Detroit cars or eating Jello.

Later, in the 80s, the disdain was returned as the middle class derided the liberal elites as Yuppies and Secular Humanists. The gulf widened especially in the 90s as postmodernism became widely adopted in the Societally Conscious group.

They have come to stand as a mandarin elite in our society, not wanting work-a-day employment but influence in academe and the media, politics and the like–as their due.

Why the scorn for Palin? Almost all of it exclusively from this mandarin crowd? Why the adulation for Palin? Almost all of it from those rooted in or at least not disdainful of middle-class values?

Palin is living proof the mandarins have no special claims, that there are other routes to power than thru and by them. The mass supports her as relief from the steady condescension of the mandarins who see them as so… vocational… so ordinary… so clinging to old ways.

There’s your heat, folks.

Far as I’m concerned, we should welcome deliverance from the mandarins, and Sarah Palin has done a remarkable job of exposing exactly who they are.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:07 am 33. hillbilly mama:

Thank you, James. Ain’t it the truth.
Very quickly after Gov. Palin was named I was first shocked at how vicious the left attack was, secondly appalled at how catty and snide the right’s attack was and finally really insulted by the whole mess.
I have begun to take it personally. I am a born-again mother of five with a liberal arts degree and a funny accent. I am assumed to be dumb regularly, based on that.
And by a lot of so-called “feminists”, no less.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:10 am 34. cedarford:

Miklos point, shortened and perhaps a little simplistic, is that Palin appeals strongly to “movement” conservatives that think with their hearts, not their brains.

The problem is that is about 10% of the American population. And she then gets the “grudging” vote of those conservatives who are voting Republican mainly because they don’t like Obama and what he stand for – another 20%.

Then the real problems with Palin start.

Left-liberals reject her completely whether or not they think with their hearts or what passes for liberal brains. Then you have moderate Democrats, who have women that have some affinity towards a candidate like Hillary…but it turns out that they detest Palin. Especially if they think with their hearts – because they have very different values in their hearts compared to a rural Fundie. The moderate Dems that think with their brains were very dismayed by Palin’s roll-out – seeing her as intellectually not ready and being more alienated because she appeared to them to be some Cult Goddess of backwoods rattlesnake-handling Christians in Alabama. She never picked up the Hillary PUMAs or Jewish women – who given their cheers at Berhards Jewish Community Centers diatribe against Palin and their op-eds, absolutely loath her.

Independents seem to share the moderate Democrat view of her, just less forcefully. The pro-Hillary women don’t see her measuring up, as a stealth theocrat. Independents see her as simply not ready, or too extreme on matters like abortion. Some independents like her and will vote Republican because they think she is like them – an independent Everywoman..

Also, it had an effect on voter’s perception of McCain – generally negative outside the Fundie Conservatives. Palin seen as a decision he made rashly and impulsively at the last minute – and then how poorly he prepped her for the campaign and interviews.

The net effect of Palin appears to be a negative for the ticket. She became a Religious Right Goddess, got some independent women on her side as “simpatico” with her.

Lost the rest of Americans, though. Failed to get them to vote Republican.

It should be said – just so people who vastly overinflate her as the genius natural Leader of all Republicans and a surefire 2012 nominee don’t let their hearts get so far ahead of their brains that they further damage Republicans. Palin might grow in 2-3 years into an acceptable national candidate chosen by enough voters outside the Religious Right to be viable… She might learn enough to fill in the huge knowledge holes she has about foreign policy, domestic issues. Then again, she might not..

I’d also close with noting that the negative impact Palin had in getting voters outside the Base to go Republican is only one of many secondary contributors to McCain’s defeat.

You have to forget blaming Palin for “losing” the election..She just wasn’t the main cause, not a pimary cause. Not when compared to McCain’s inability to campaign coherently and attack Obama’s fitness to serve with a consistent message. Or McCains failure to build a good organization. Or that important compared to Republicans handed one of the greatest shit sandwiches ever by Bush and an imploding economy pinned on the Party of Wall Street and tax cuts for the rich.
*************************

I think if Romney had gotten through the Fundies and been the nominee – that he would have torn Barack a new asshole and whipped him with Independents, and campaigned with a superb organization and with a complete, coherent conservative vision for America that competed against the vision offered by Barack and Team Axelrod. Yes, the Mormon-hating Fundies and the Left would have still hated Romney – but they could see him as competent and in charge of the country in a way they could not visualize McCain. And he would have been 1000% better than McCain in the economic crisis and getting all parts of the Republican Party behind him – many not with any love for the guy – but Romney would have had a good plan and been an excellent communicator and leader.

A Romney run would have also folded in Congress races as a team effort and saved several Senators and House members who will fall Nov 4th. Under “The Maverick” they have been largely on their own.

Now if Hillary had made it past her version of the “Base” that rejected her like the Fundies blocked Romney – this race wouldn’t have been close. It would have been a lock for her. Even against Romney. (Or even Fred Thompson forced to drink 1 can of Red Bull an hour from the nomination ’till Nov 4th.)

*******************

My dream about McCain in the White House would be of him locking himself in a small room with a barred window that his Cabinet, media, and Congress would have to come to and listen to McCain berate them and say f*you to them with a big, courageous smile on his face. Nothing would get done, but McCain would feel happy and defiant. Occasionally, tapping noises would alert the Chief of Staff of another “hunch decision” coming from another “go with my gut” ex-fighter jock President. Then commands would fly out by paper airplane from the barred window, white for new McCain commands, red ones for rescinding past commands…

My dream about Obama is him sitting in the Oval office, feet up, insouciantly smoking a cigarette and picking an arugula leaf from his teeth…adressing his fawning admirers..”OK, now what?”

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:24 am 35. Self-hating boomer:

Miklos – Well said. Let me toss in a couple of terms from control systems engineering that I think are actually closer to what you were driving at: feedback, and feedforward. Feedback systems constantly measure and correct. Feedforward systems predict, and blindly control based on that prediction, oblivious to what is actually happening.

Most real systems are feedback, and the reason should be obvious to any conservative, but probably eludes lefty intellectuals.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:28 am 36. Vinny Vidivici:

Noonan wrote about the American public’s ‘war weariness’ before the 2004 election, offering a Kerry presidency as a pause that would refresh, so to speak. Nothing new for her.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:34 am 37. David G.:

Wrong Ms. Rubin — the principal difference between pro and anti-Palin conservatives is that the pro side believe ideological purity trumps everything else. Just as the old fellow travelers used to proclaim, ‘No enemy to my Left’, the Republican True Believers are happy to sing the praises of anyone who they perceive to be a reliable ally in the Struggle, no matter what inconsistencies or contradictions they might be required to overlook.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:34 am 38. Peg C.:

Charlie,

You are right but it’s more complicated than that. I am college-educated, grew up in rich, limo liberal West L.A., and was a far lefty Dem feminist for 26 years. I completely bought into the self-absorbed, arrogant and utterly false dogma of the left. How does this explain why I now reject that dogma and its preachers on the left and “right”?

I could go into it but suffice to say the scales fell from my eyes. That I identify more with the WalMart crowd than the Rodeo Drive crowd now doesn’t mean I don’t completely understand that mindset and grotesque self-absorption and self-delusion, that I didn’t spend decades saturated in it. Simply put, you cannot lump conservatives like me into an anti-intellectual pile and dismiss us (not you personally but the chattering classes, basically). Most conservatives I know did not grow up this way but became this way with age and wisdom.

The continuing viceral hatred and loathing for Palin, as they say, says nothing about her and everything about the haters. I also have to say I have never in my 54 years seen a more empty suit or unqualified sham as Obama. I mean that most sincerely.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:42 am 39. John:

McCain is going to lose. Palin is going to return to Alaska, of course she could resign the governorship but I don’t think that’s going to happen. There is going to be a massive blame game in which Palin is going to get slammed much to the chagrin of her far right evangelical supporters. There will be an effort by the far right to put her at the head of their faction which is going to fail because of geography and the fact that she just doesn’t have the intellectual equipment to sustain the role. Long term outcomes? She either disappears into obscurity or re-emerges as some sort of female Bill O’Reilly but even that depends on the mood of the country. If Obama is perceived as a success she disappears.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:46 am 40. Aiala:

Nice two pages of inconsequential hot air.

Palin is a brain-dead book-banning fundie who never met an idea she could comprehend. She’ll be relegated to asterisk status in five more days and we can all get on with repairing our country.

~A~

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:54 am 41. Vinny Vidivici:

Charlie: Good point about our mandarin-emperors with no clothes.

Alo:

The notion that there is a class ‘fit’ to rule which does not include citizens from all walks of life is alien to the American experience and American success. Your error is compounded when you disqualify Palin without calling into serious question Obama’s wafer-thin resume. But that’s another issue, altogether.

What really “looks ridiculous” and is an “actual embarrassment”, Alo, has been watching the products of our inbred elite wetting their bespoke trousers and pointing fingers at one another as the global financial system they inherited and abused teeters as a result of their incompetence and venality. If America is in the dire straits Obama and many on the Left claim it is, shouldn’t the Ivy League-Washington-Wall Street mafia which has dominated this country’s so-called leadership classes for decades be the very last place we look for solutions?

Much of Europe has traded fealty to devinely-selected, hereditary aristocracies for submission to a high priesthood of unelected bureaucrats and functionaries. Educational pedigree has replaced genetic lineage. A similar effort at placing certain decisions, powers and enshirined thinking beyond the reach of the people has been underway for some time in the U.S. In the process, we’ve come to confuse law-making with governing, judicial fiat with problem-solving, and ‘qualified to be put in charge’ with leadership.

We may need to learn the difference, once again. Fast.

(By the way, your statement about where this “gringa” “hockey mom” “belongs” is rank bigotry. But these days, certain forms of bigotry are acceptable, no? Try replacing “gringa” with ‘negro’ and “hockey mom” with ‘laborer’ and maybe you’ll get it.)

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:57 am 42. jane:

I had to recheck the title of the article to make sure we were talking about Palin when I read this remark by nowfocus.

“Its that she is shallow, hallow. She speaks in broad generalities, and doesn’t want to accept that the complex problems that a president faces requires complex well administered solutions”

That comment almost perfectly describes Obama.

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:59 am 43. johncuckti:

Tuesday will be her last day in non-Alaska politics.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:05 am 44. Charlie:

Peg C. — Of COURSE it’s more complicated than that. Our experiences are pretty similar.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:15 am 45. Vinny Vidivici:

jane:

I notice this, too. So many of the dismissals of Palin (the experience rap) describe Obama far more precisely.

Double standards, moving goalposts and two Americas, I guess.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:35 am 46. bil t:

Former Senator Chafee’s coment that Palin is a wacko was right on target.It seems someone high up in the McCain campaign shares that view; and the facts clearly say it is the right one. Why else would she have declared her candidacy for 2012 yesterday? The ideas the right deals with are totally bankrupt and, given our recent experience, not liklely to make a comeback any time soon. It really doesn’t matter who the right shoves out there, Palin, Joe the Plumber, Larry Craig, bozo the clown ,it doesn’t much matter–just sit back and enjoy it.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:42 am 47. MacBeagle:

Alo Kievalar:
You try to reduce her to nothing more than a hockey mom, as she has said. She didn’t say that she is now just a hockey mom, she just said that that was where she came from. You seem to forget that she was elected mayor of an (admittedly) small town, and that, having done quite well at that, got elected to the Governorship of her state. And, having achieved that, she immediately set out to stamp out the corruption she found amongst both parties within the state political bodies. In performing this and other of her Gubernatorial duties she has achieved an unprecedented 80%-85% approval rating from the citizens of Alaska. I can’t understand why so many Republicans like yourself find it necessary to reduce her in this fashion to “just a hockey mom”. I don’t understand how anyone can honestly believe that Mr. Obama is, in any way, more qualified to be President. She clearly has better instincts and core values than either Obama or Biden. I have no problem what so ever voting for McCain with her as his running mate. I also have no problem with the idea of voting for her to become President in 2012 or 2016.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:53 am 48. Stuart:

What I am finding where I live in North Carolina is that alot people I have talked to are centering around the superficial detail of her voice, accent, and how she talks. One of my coworkers said yesterday that she “is so pretty, but I so wish she was smart.” When I asked why she felt that way she said “Have you heard how she talks?” Another chimed in about how she winks at the camera and says “don’t ya know.” When I had a friend openly say she was undecided and asked input on who to vote for, another friend point blankly said “Do you really want to hear Sarah Palin talk for the next four years?” No challenges or questioning to her postions or policies, just how she communicates. It doesn’t surprise me, but it is amazing how voters take something like that has a major issue of who they vote for. I would figure people here in the South would be sympathetic to the sterotypes associated with peoples accents and language.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:03 am 49. Tom:

Palin is a social conservative.

Palin is a fiscal conservative.

Palin believes government is the problem and it is too big.

Palin believes the USA should be less dependent on foreign sources of energy.

Palin believes that Israel has a right to exist.

Palin believes you must live the principles you preach in open government and she rightly thinks Republicans in Congress turned their backs on government reform.

Palin is exciting, optimistic, and close to the people.

If she wants it, she will be the unifying leader of the Republicans going forward since she is a proven vote-getter.

McCain is coming back because the undecideds are figuring out that Obama is a Marxist. His whole life as been spent immersed in Alinsky Communism, including his writings, spoken words, and who he hangs out and works with.

McCain may pull off the upset.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:12 am 50. LB:

“…theories and rational knowledge isn’t so important.”

LOL, that’s a good one.

Another good one: “Sarah Palin knows and understands where her food comes from. That puts her miles ahead of the rest.”

Looks like you guys don’t get it: running a country with a trillion dollars budget in a highly integrated world economy in full crisis mode, while at war in two countries, is not something that you learn by hunting for food. As for rejecting rational knowledge, that’s a proposal to return to the Dark Ages. Do you know what was the infant mortality rate during this period when theories and rational knowledge were not that important?

Paradoxically, the computer that Miklos uses to write his comment is built on theories and rational knowledge. Put a thousand Palins to it, and they’ll never be able to create a computer chip.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:15 am 51. Independent Mo:

I think there is a divide through the center of the Republican party right now. But it cuts another way. For people who appreciate stage performance and telegenic delivery, Palin exerts an undeniable pull. I am amazed by how many otherwise cautious and analytic individuals were alternately thrilled or terrified by Palin’s ability to deliver on message. She is probably the first conservative with that kind of ’star quality’ that Reagan employed so effectively. Her appeal that seems to skip past the analytic part of the brain and resonates within the gut, the same kind of vibrational pulse that seems to radiate from star athletes and celebrities.

But the shadow side for Palin, just as is often the case with celebs and sports stars, is that they are all too human. Once the spotlight is off and you examine her actual track record and actions, there’s a terrible drop-off. Starting with the acceptance speech at the convention, once you looked at the facts behind the ‘bridge to nowhere’ (she kept the money, for Christ sake!!) there are revelations and a string of objective facts that show how unfit she is to be governor of Alaska, let alone VP of the United States.

Somewhere among the wreckage of the 2008 Republican party is the seed of a new growth path for conservatism in the US. It could either be a new, possibly more virulent strain of the current version which values style and showtime performances, or it could return to a party for the people who see the path to the future through the lens of philosophical conservatism of William F. Buckley and pragmatic steadfastness of Chuck Hagel.

I am pretty sure that the Palin/Reagan branch will win out…it’s so much more entertaining!!

But the country will be poorer as a result.

I am not a betting man, but seeing the

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:19 am 52. jeeves:

As a Democrat, I hope Sarah Palin is GOP nominee in 2012. That will be insure Democratic majorities for a generation.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:26 am 53. Chuckt:

Biden himself said the Presidency does not lend itself to on-the-job training. Obama is not qualified for the Presidency; all he’s done is “community organizing” which, translated, means engaged in voter registration fraud with ACORN and rubbed elbows with washed-up terrorists. (Ayers calling the police on FoxNews recently has to be the most hilarious video of the century – there is no richer irony.) Biden has been wrong on almost every foreign policy issue since he’s been in Congress (being 1 of 100 allows one to do that), so although Biden may appear to be qualified from his years of experience in the Senate, he’s still not ready to be Pres or VP because he has learned nothing from those years of experience. Palin, on the other hand, is not running for President. The VP job does lend itself to on-the-job training. Palin has certainly demonstrated her readiness for that position, from taking on the power brokers in her own party (and defeating them, btw), taking on the powerful oil industry CEOs & lobbyists (and defeating them, btw), not to mention winning the Governorship against long odds. Palin is certainly ready to be VP, and after 4 years of on-the-job training, she will then be ready to be P, something I’d be glad to see. I hope she shakes up Washington like nobody before her, returns power to the people, and kicks the bums in Congress back to whereever they crawled from.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:26 am 54. David:

One question: why is ’she’s/he’s just like me’ a valid reason to vote for him/her? Surely you want your leaders, the ones with the codes, the ones making decisions for you and in your name to be BETTER than you. Cleverer. Calmer. Wiser. Better educated. Not someone who has absolutely no grasp of the economy and how it works and lacked all curiosity about the world outside her state until she got picked by McCain.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:33 am 55. Vinny Vidivici:

LB:

You’ve got it backwards. It’s the self-reliant with intiative who create things like computer chips, not the permanent political class to which you seem so eager to turn over your life because the world’s become too complicated for you.

Enjoy living on your knees.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:36 am 56. Believer:

I just witnessed today’s efforts for these two: Palin and Obama.

Palin stirred and roused the crowd to great cheers with the right message, perfectly delivered, in Missouri. The air of excitement and energy was evident. This woman knows how to connect with Americans.

Obama, on the other hand, shared what is now a tired message to his crowd in Florida with a delayed, tepid response. Those $600million may have backfired, causing ‘overexposure’ – or the troubling, unanswered questions – growing in number – may be taking their toll.

The Democrats have packaged and managed their candidate as well as anyone could. They’ve been remarkably successful — especially considering how flawed he is. It shouldn’t be forgotten – or underestimated – they’ve had tremendous help from a biased media as well.

But the success of another candidate – Sarah Palin – scares them. Even today. And so they’ve tried to destroy her from the moment she walked into the spotlight. They know she’s their biggest threat. Because she’s genuine. And her authenticity only helps to reveal the how phony their candidate is.

And her goodness – her faith – her joy despite circumstances — contrasts so sharply with a man who lacks all three. We see hope in Sarah and an opportunity to move toward all that is good in life and liberty.

I’m confident the American voter will, in the end, reject the one who hasn’t shown the character or judgment to lead us. They won’t – with their vote – bestow on a man what our own government would not: a security clearance.

We won’t allow him access to our nation’s secrets and the most sensitive material regarding our national security. He’s friendly with far too many enemies of our nation.

We have more sense than that. I heard it in the rallies this morning.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:44 am 57. 12-String Infidel:

As a Goldwater/Reagan conservative who was born ‘inside the Beltway’ (but had to good sense to move to flyover America), Palin provides authentic hope for the survival of the Republican brand this century. Obamaphobia will force me to push the “McCain” button 11/4…but with Gov. Palin on the ticket I can now do so without holding my nose.

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:48 am 58. GayPatriot » Do Palin-hating conservatives understand the grassroots?:

[...] Jewish Athena (Jennifer Rubin) just penned, er, pixeled (?) a most excellent post on Sarah Palin, looking at the divisions within conservative circles over the Republican Vice [...]

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:48 am 59. Chuckt:

Vinny: right on, sir. David: Palin is running for VICE-President, not President. McCain will be the one with the codes; he’s served in the military. When it comes to the codes, McCain IS better, more clever, calmer, wiser. Palin lacked curiosity about the world outside her state? That’s so ridiculous it doesn’t even merit a response. Brace yourself & watch McCain & Palin win the White House, and then watch as they bring sanity to an out-of-control Congress (Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Feinstein, Boxer, Schumer, Murtha, Rangel, et al).

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:57 am 60. Maria:

Mcbeagle you are right on about Alo’s comment. The “hockey mom” happens to run be Governor of a State, big state or small that is an enormous task, and she’s been successful in that role. She is “dumb” like a fox but Alo isnt that perceptive. Because she doesnt speak in a nunanced elitist manner like Alos’ heroes do, then she is unqualified. Yet the community organizer with no legislative record and a distaste for American values and patriotism he is plenty qualified. Where so these nuts come from?

Oct 30, 2008 - 9:59 am 61. Mike M:

I spent over 20 years testing people for management jobs by determining their management style, from Engineer to CEO and Directors in both the public (government) and the private sectors. Did this as part of the retained search activity of my consulting company and before as a COO.

Your management style is wired in and I have never seen anyone change, though they have modified it a bit as they age(mellow out). IQ has nothing to do with management style, though it does impact on success. The other main factor is energy level, which in my mind is very important to success. I have tested over 1,000 people and found that success is determined by 1, Management Style, Energy and lastly by IQ.

So looking at the candidates(they all have a very high energy level) and observing their management style my best guess is:

JOE BIDEN

Not sure, basically a con artist, and a lousy liar.

JOHN MCCAIN

Managerial Style Persistent/Determined Personality

Basic Style — Achievement, reached through determination and persistence, is the mark of this type. They combine a highly analytical approach with a powerful drive to attain results. Consequently, they are viewed as pragmatic, objective, and fact-oriented. In many organizations, they serve the function of bringing others back to reality. As they take on tasks, they demonstrate a composed and steady approach with a high degree of personal responsibility and accountability. Determination is a powerful factor in their make-up, and once they initiate an activity they tend to carry through. Because of their emphasis on facts, they may be viewed by others as skeptical and questioning. They are frequently willing to go their own way in spite of the party line.

Possible Limitations — Pleasing people for its own sake does not rate high with them. They are more interested in getting the job done and forcing people to look at facts rather than feelings. They are not easily moved from their convictions and may show behaviors which others view as stubborn or opinionated. Their independence inclines them to do things in their own way and it may take direct action from superiors to change this. They frequently have difficulty expressing their own feelings which may make it somewhat of a problem for them to sell their ideas or generate enthusiasm for them. The same independence leads them to trust their own skills more than others. As a result, they may frequently continue to do tasks that could better be delegated.

SARAH PALIN

Managerial Style Aggressive/Persuasive Personality

Basic Style — This person is at home both in pursuing results and in working with people. While they are assertive, they are well-aware of the importance of interpersonal relationships and tend to make them work toward their goal. They know what they want and move directly toward it, but utilizing strategies which bring others along with them or persuade them to their position. Their self-confidence and skill in dealing with the “real” world make them particularly adept at taking abstract or theoretical concepts and turning them into practical, creative ideas. Eager to get things done, they generally plan well and organize the pieces so that results are achieved as harmoniously as possible.

Possible Limitations — This person, with their organization and drive, wants things to happen and happen quickly. When they do not, they are likely to become annoyed and impatient. Because of their focus, they need a highly stimulating environment which provides a stage upon which they can act or they may divert their energies to other activities. This need to be involved in the “big” operation provides them with little tolerance for detail and routine

BARACK OBAMA

Managerial Style Persuasive/Diplomatic Personality

Basic Style — This type of person is quick to make friends and establish contact. Outgoing by nature, they meet strangers easily and demonstrate a high degree of social poise. Basically oriented toward creating a pleasant and favorable climate in which to operate, they find themselves anxious to receive the approval of others and to keep them happy. They can make people feel good and get them to join them in pursuing certain goals. They tend to make use of their many contacts to assist them in reaching these goals. The positive approach of this type frequently provides a more hopeful outlook for an organization. In addition, they are frequently willing to use both their enthusiasm and their talent in assisting associates in their undertakings.

Possible Limitations — They may be overly concerned with interpersonal relationships. This leads them to spend a good deal of time in contacts and to rely on “talking” more than doing. Harmony and popularity may be valued higher than getting the task accomplished. In moving toward goals, this person’s optimism and enthusiasm may lead them to jump to conclusions which cannot be supported by the facts. Others watching them may view them as impulsive and, as they change to keep others happy, may feel that they are inconsistent. This lack of objectivity carries over to their dealings with others where, again, they may misjudge their talent or potential because of their optimism

There are about 8 other basic management styles that cover people such as Doctors, Dentists, Engineers, Machinists, and jobs requiring detail orientation etc. It is kinda like mixing four basic characteristic, Task Orientation, Influencers, High Security, and Compliance. You get an infinite amount of variation.

Palin as a boss, would be tough on you, demanding results, make decisions, a good at delegating and measures you on results not method and talks straight. Obama would be tough, though pleasant and easy to talk too, would want to control you be holding back information, has a difficult time making decisions, and delegating. McCain, would be stubborn, and want lots of detail from you, be friendly, but demanding. He would listen then make his own decision. May want harmony and compromise to easily.

That is my professional opinion on the matter.

Oct 30, 2008 - 10:15 am 62. WVBill:

If Palin is the 2012 Republican nominee, the Republicans will all be Kibitzers. Just who would she add to the religeous right base of the party? Women? Not the ones not already on board for whomever is the nominee. Working class men? Center-leaning men? Not a chance. She might play well with gun totin’, Bible thumpin’ red state Republicans, but preachin’ to the choir don’t fill the pews.

Oct 30, 2008 - 10:16 am 63. Alo Kievalar:

To Vinny and MacBeagle:

Both of you (and others) made the fundamental error that because I think Palin is not only ridiculous but actually ludicrous (as a VP candidate), that therefore, I’m a “democrat” or I somehow “like” George Bush and approve of his policies.

I don’t.

If Palin is “ludicrous”, then G. Bush is pathetic. Which is worse? I don’t know. Both are bad.

If Palin is a typical “gringa”, then Bush is a typical “gringo”. Both make risible (that means “laughable” for those that are vocabulary-challenged) characters on the world stage, a total embarrassment to our image abroad.

I vote for the (wo)man, not the policies or the party.

Looks and appearances count – a lot. And to me, they count 100%. Forget about what they “say”. They’re all saying the same thing, basically. And they will all react to the problems the new POTUS will face in pretty much the same way. It’s inevitable.

The real problem with McCain beyond his fumbling, stumbling “persona” (that means “how he comes across”), is his wife…I think her name is Cindy or some similar candy-sounding name.

Talk about a blank-looking mannequin (that’s one of those wooden dummies on store-windows dressed in the latest fashion), shaking her head with a “nay” or a “yay” depending on what her husband on-stage is saying at the moment. But it’s so obvious the poor thing (despite her 100s of millions) doesn’t really understand what is being said. Another “gringa”.

By the way, if Palin doesn’t win, I bet she’s divorced within a couple of years. That’s also inevitable. What man could possibly want a woman who……oh, well, forget it.

Also by the way, I just found a new word. It’s a real word…..really. Here it is. I’m sure some of you will find it very useful. I already have.

mis´an`drist (mĭs´ăn`drĭst)

n. 1. one who hates men. Contrast misogynist and cf. misandry.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by C. & G. Merriam Co.

Oct 30, 2008 - 10:37 am 64. rightwingprof:

I hope you are correct. I fear, however, that the split is deeper, over whether we should be governed by professional elites or citizens. The (to put it kindly) lame excuses put forth by the anti-Palin voices, excuses like “experience,” which show that the person knows nothing about Palin or the other candidates, tends to support my hypothesis that it’s the Tories v. Whigs. These people don’t mind citizens running for Congress, but God forbid one of the great unwashed should run for the White House.

Oct 30, 2008 - 10:49 am 65. The Historian:

OBAMA IS THE STEALTH CANDIDATE!

The reasons why candidate Obama cannot be trusted are explained at this link;

http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-is-stealth-candidate.html

Oct 30, 2008 - 11:12 am 66. David:

Chuckt, sorry, I wasn’t clear: I was talking about Palin’s future as a potential leader of the GOP and a nominee for president in 2012, I wasn’t comparing her to Obama – or McCain for that matter. My questions stands: she’s maybe like me or you, but I want someone better than me to lead my nation. And, yes, a 44-year old who only got a passport las year, can’t name a single periodical she reads and thinks she has foreign policy experience because Alaska borders Russia, in my book, has displayed zero curiosity about the outside world. To claim otherwise, I think is ridiculous.

Oct 30, 2008 - 11:15 am 67. kevin c:

ITS THE SNIDE ELITIST DC/NEWYORK TYPES WHO DISLIKE SARAH PALIN. THE “ME-TOO” “CONSERVATIVES” LIKE PEGGY NOONAN,KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ AND GEORGE WILL,WHO REALLY ONLY DESIRE THE COCKTAIL PARTY INVITATIONS FROM THE LIBSCUM COMMIES AND REALLY WANT TO BE LOVED BY THERE “PEERS”. BILL OREILLY IS STARTING TO FALL INTO THE SAME CATEGORY,KISSING OBAMAS ASS SO AS TO GET ANY FUTURE INTERVIEWS WITH THE “MESSIAH”. PERSONALLY,I FIND SARAH PALIN HONEST TOUGH AND REFRESHING. IT TAKES GUTS TO TAKE ON HER OWN PARTY IN HER HOME STATE,SOMETHING I DONT SEE THE COMMIE WUSS OBAMA OR HIS COMMIE LACKEY BIDEN EVER DOING. BY THE WAY THE LOSER BEFORE ME -ID RATHER NOT CARE WHAT PERIODICAL SHE READS. SEEMS TO ME OBAMI COMMIE HAS OBVIOUSLY READ THE COMMIE MANIFESTO AND I DONT SEE FAWNING TINKLER CHRIS MATTHEWS OR KATIE THE COMMIE COURIC ASKING THE “MESSIAH” ABOUT THAT. HIS OWN BOOK SAID OBAMI COMMIE WENT TO KORANIC SCHOOL-READING THE KORAN IS AS SCARY AS READING MARX. SO SAVE ME YOUR DAILY KOS BS AND MSM TALKING POINTS. PALIN HAS GUTS AND IS HONEST AND THATS A GREAT START. MORE THAN SOME LOSER WHO CANT EVEN TELL YOU THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS RACIST GOD DAMN AMERICA “PASTOR”

Oct 30, 2008 - 11:33 am 68. Albert:

I am a pretty centrist, go to church EVERY Sunday Christian, living just below the Mason-Dixon in what I like to call the “up-south.” I read places and articles like these because I’m trying to understand the things that I find that I don’t always agree with. Because I find that in that understanding is the opportunity for at the very least learning something, and on some rare occaisions even changing my mind

And I think Miklos really did get a good bit of it right. It really is about pattern recognition.

But everybody sees a vastly different pattern (myself included). Largely the one they want to see (myself included).

Was Reagan the greatest communicator of a generation or a amiable dunce? (yes)
Is Palin the breath of fresh air representative of the patriotic American from the heartland or a hopelessly ill prepared example of American mediocrity run amuck? (yes again)
Is Obama a hopelessly inexperienced lefty idealist/socialist with no notion of what constitutes the “real America” or is he (with just three years less experience in political office than Jack Kennedy when he was elected) the embodiment of the hopes and dreams of a lot of youngsters who still want to believe that we represent something better than Abu Ghraib? (yes finally)

Lizzybear I’m with you. My bottom line is that I trust in Jesus. Through Him all things are possible.

Beyond that: we see the pattern that we want to see, the one that fulfills our expectation, the one that speaks to our self interest in outcome.

Oct 30, 2008 - 11:55 am 69. Marc Malone:

Alo Kievalar – Wow. You really are a third-worlder, aren’t you? What you don’t understand is that American men love strong women. Todd Palin is the happiest man in America. Many men would give their left nut to be in his place.

Mike M – Nice work. You have them pegged. From what you wrote, it seems that Obama would be the least effective of the three. (Biden doesn’t count, because he is so obviously unhirable.) Desiring to please people to satisfy one’s own ego leads to great ineffectiveness. It also invites sycophants.

To Others – When people say that Palin is just like me, they’re not talking about skill-sets; they mean values and outlook. Palin exudes positivity, joy of life, values, and character. It’s all out on her sleeve. Even the people at SNL were totally taken by her. They disagree with her politics, but acknowledge the force of her personality. They all had the same reaction after dealing with her. These are people who, without having met her, would probably revile her, and probably did previously. Lorne Michaels (sp?), Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey. They all had nothing but good to say of her after dealing with her. It’s about walking the walk.

As for being stupid, well, that’s just stupid. I remember Couric’s interview, asking what papers and magazines Palin reads. The right response was, “Ugh, Palin read! Me like read.” She’s a sitting Governor, for Heaven’s sake. She has to keep up on things. She gets daily briefings. She has great knowledge of energy development from a governmental perspective. What do you read? How insulting. She didn’t handle it well, because it was just so insulting.

Beyoond that, she’s run a business and a town. She pilots a plane. She pilots a boat. She has a great track record of success.

What gets me is the people who favor intelligentsia and rationale in their leaders, fail to apply those traits when evaluating Gov. Palin. Theirs is simply a visceral response. They recognize a threat to their belief system at a gut level. Her mere existence invalidates their premises. They reject her. Those on the right accept her for the reason that she validates their beliefs. Her story is the classic American dream.

By the way, she IS a millionaire. Her wealth is estimated at $1.2M, half of that in the house her husband built. They made their money through really hard work. How do you not respect that?

Oct 30, 2008 - 12:04 pm 70. old dave:

As an aging California baby boomer who falls mainly into the economic conservative, social liberal category, I have been highly impressed by Palin and what she has accomplished. The “intellectual lightweight” characterizations of her by the national press and punditry sounds remarkably reminiscent of their characterizations of Ronald Reagan when he was a California politician coming into the national political scene.

Oct 30, 2008 - 12:29 pm 71. Chuckt:

David, I get your point re: Palin as a GOP leader and in 2012. Now, as to wanting your leaders to be better, you sound like Groucho Marx: “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.” Our forefathers intended for the power of government to rest with the people (”of the, by the, and for the”). If that happens to be a PTA-belongin’, gun-totin’, moose-huntin’, hockey Mom, then so be it. I’d much rather Palin be in the VP seat than “Plugs” Biden. Sarah Palin is honest & the real deal; when she speaks, you understand she has no hidden agenda, she doesn’t try to hedge & dodge questions. She speaks from the heart. Biden & Obama (& Hillary, previously) must speak guardedly or else expose their real agenda (although they each have slipped a few times and spoke candidly), i.e. spreading the wealth, raising taxes, punishing the successful, rewarding the non-producers, and so socialistically on. As to her believing her foreign policy experience comes from Alaska bordering Russia, that’s simplisticly ridiculous, too. The fact is, as Governor, she commands the Alaska National Guard and understands the dangers we face from enemy nations, not just Russia, and she also understands the importance of fostering positive relationships with our allies. If she had zero curiosity about the outside world, she’d still be an unknown PTA hockey Mom in Wasilla. I’m voting for Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain’s husband!

Oct 30, 2008 - 12:36 pm 72. jane:

Marc Malone I think you’re being too kind to Alo Kievalar.

I doubt that Alo Kievalar has the excuse of being some third worlder from a place where women are insignificant property. IMO he is either a snot trying to agitate or he is just a common ordinary American sexist pig. Notice his words that “words and appearance count 100% to him.” From that comment and his comments regarding Gov Palin’s marriage and Cindy McCain’s intelligence we could perhaps conclude that in addition to being shallow and a woman hater he’s really into hair plugs and dumbo ears.

Oct 30, 2008 - 1:00 pm 73. jane:

I meant his statement that LOOKS and appearance count 100% – words don’t matter to him.

Oct 30, 2008 - 1:02 pm 74. Jackstothemax:

I think Sarah Palin can be a power “player” in the next election in 2012. She has a smart and witty personality that I think makes her a great candidate in the next 4 years. I’m sure if anyone was thrust into the spotlight after being governor for 2 years, and prior to that, a small-town mayor, they too would be ridiculed for some of the comments they made while in contention for being the second position in line for one of the most important jobs in the world.

I believe if Palin keeps learning more about the presidential race during this election, she can definitely be one of the most influential people in the race in 2012.

Oct 30, 2008 - 1:29 pm 75. BD57:

The most pathetic of the smears against Palin is also one of the oldest – “conservative = stupid.”

She ran against the political establishment in Alaska and got herself elected.

Stupid people don’t do that.

She’s gone after political corruption in her own party and survived.

Stupid people can’t pull that off.

Presidents don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. The notion that any president can (or should) know more about any issue than anyone else strikes me as foolish – a president who devotes that much time to any one subject is going to neglect others.

Job #1 for a President is to lead. Leadership is exercised by making decisions. The ability to make sound decisions is paramount. More than anything else, sound decision-making rests upon the values of the decision maker, humility (knowing what she doesn’t know, being willing to learn from those who know more) and analytical skill (what are the ramifications of A, B, C? Which is the best option?).

There’s less evidence of Obama possessing these skills than there is for Palin.

As for Biden – his 36 years in the Senate have demonstrated that “experience” does not automatically lead to “wisdom.”

Oct 30, 2008 - 1:44 pm 76. Matt:

As an independent voter who tries not to be pressed by the rhetoric of the left or right, my advice to the Republican Party would be to run Colin Powell on the ‘I disagreed with Bush’ platform.

Oct 30, 2008 - 1:59 pm 77. Chris F.:

Sarah Palin was a bad pick and to hear some people tell it she is the most qualified then why is she not on the top of the GOP ticket. She is ethically challenged and would continue Cheney’s legacy of abusing power. I don’t know why no one see this could be an issues. She needs to be impeached by the Alaska Legislature and removed from office. She is a cancer and a blite on the GOP. I still think we need to know more about her witch doctor and her successionist husband.

Oct 30, 2008 - 2:52 pm 78. Xavier Cugat:

Drill Baby Drill

Oct 30, 2008 - 3:16 pm 79. Damion:

I laugh reading all these e-mails. We are in this mess because this Administration took away the safeguards that had been in place to protect against this very thing. We’ve had 8 years of a failed GOP Administration. It took Roosevelt 12 years to get us out of that depression. Obama will try to clean up this mess the GOP has caused, just like Roosevelt did after the two GOP presidents that were in office before the crash of 1929. The last one being Hoover. I hope I’m seeing the dirty, slimy Carl Rove politics on it’s way out. The people aren’t as dumb as you think they are…..

Oct 30, 2008 - 3:49 pm 80. Damion:

I was at first impressed with the lady. But after a short period of time, I started to see and hear a nasty person who only wanted to slam Obama and lie about him. How can she keep going on about something that happened when Obama was 8 years old. At least McCain was an Adult, in congress when he had his relationship with Keeting. Palin has a voice that is like fingernails on a blackboard, to me. We now see that she has been found guilty of abusing power in office, she is also being looked at on other issues that have taken place in Alaska. She seems to use people to get what she wants, then turns on them. Her friendship with Stevens causes many to think that she must be sorry now for that friendship. They are now looking at how she had that $500,000 home built that her DUD husband said he built. We find the same contractor that built the Hockey Mom’s Ice Arena is the same one that bult her home, both completed the same year. I think it’s safe to say that when she returns to Alaska, she will find that her image is not what she would like it to have been. I’ll be surprised if she runs again for Governor. She might be given a job in the GOP somewhere?? I see her career over at this point…

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:10 pm 81. AdrianS:

Sources: Sarkozy views Obama stance on Iran as ‘utterly immature’

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is very critical of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama’s positions on Iran, according to reports that have reached Israel’s government.

Sarkozy has made his criticisms only in closed forums in France. But according to a senior Israeli government source, the reports reaching Israel indicate that Sarkozy views the Democratic candidate’s stance on Iran as “utterly immature” and comprised of “formulations empty of all content.”

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1031943.html

2008. The year The One (Barack Obama) … Lost.

Obamalies or Lies Obama Tells
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=73

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:15 pm 82. ATC333:

865 on College SAT, 120 IQ, Mayor of a town of less than 10,000, Governor of a State of less than 1 Million citizens, very many seemly who do not think that highly of her. Found to have been unethical in attempting to have her brother in law fired, Shown to have bilked the State of Alaska of about 21K in travel expenses for her children, when they were not part of the Official Proceedings, Billed the State of Alaska for housing while living at home, Had no clue what the Bush Doctrine even was when asked, Has no clue of the intricacies of foreign relations, but can see Russia from home, Has knowledge of things military because she is the titular head of the Alaska National Guard, Has no clue as to how to deal with real budget issues because she is a governor of a state with a sufficient surplus to distribute $1500.00 to every man, woman and child in Alaska, Apparently she does not read, as she cannot name a news magazine or other print material when asked, and the list goes on and on. And this is who you want to have manning the Nuclear trigger while completing McCain’s Presidency, should he become unable to serve? She and McCain see only in Black and White. There is no gray in the Right Wing Neocon world, unlike the real world. If you liked being led by Bush and crew, you will absolutely love Ms Palin as President! 4 more years of continued Bush/Palin/McCain polices, and China will hold our National Payday Loan Note. But then, it is not patriotic to pay taxes–now who said that? Think about it. Think long and hard about it. This is a very scary but possibly very real scenario indeed.

Oct 30, 2008 - 4:58 pm 83. nohype:

Whoever wins the election will probably be pretty unpopular in four years. I find it amazing that Obama supporters do not recognize this probability–many of them either have drunk the kool-aide or they are so focused on the symbolism of a Obama victory that they have not thought about the difficulty of actually governing. If he tries to pursue moderate policies, he will alienate his base. If he tilts hard left, which is his instinct, he will alienate most Americans. It is highly likely that, just as the Republicans overplayed their hand when they controlled the legislature and executive, the Democrats will let power go their heads.

As a result, Palin’s chances of becoming president may be much better if McCain loses this election than if he wins. If he wins, she will be running tied to a record of an unpopular incumbent. But if Obama wins and is the disaster that most conservatives expect him to be, she will be the natural choice to oppose him. A poor performance by Obama will reduce the credibility of those who find fault with everything she has done while being unable to see any problems with Obama.

Of course, life is full of surprises. And it may be that we are not ready for a woman president. Certainly the coverage of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin should raise the possibility that bias based on gender in politics is greater than bias based on race.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:02 pm 84. John Q Patriot:

Sarah Palin will be President of the United States in the not so distant future. She has the moral fiber and family values required of our leaders. Unlike our President Bush, she will be intimidated by Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank. Governor Palin has raised the Alaska National Guard to a state of professional readiness and she reformed the Anchorage suburb of Wasilla beginning with its subversive library. It is our hope that a Palin administration would expand the Global War on Terror, strengthen the USA Patriot Act and impose a permanent ban on the union of depraved homosexuals. The “separation of church and state” will no longer hinder this culture warrior in her mission to reshape America. Governor Sarah Palin is the future of the Republican Right and every real American knows you can never be to Right.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:51 pm 85. John Q Patriot:

Sarah Palin will be President of the United States in the not so distant future. She has the moral fiber and family values required of our leaders. Unlike our President Bush, she will not be intimidated by Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank. Governor Palin has raised the Alaska National Guard to a state of professional readiness and she reformed the Anchorage suburb of Wasilla beginning with its subversive library. It is our hope that a Palin administration would expand the Global War on Terror, strengthen the USA Patriot Act and impose a permanent ban on the union of depraved homosexuals. The “separation of church and state” will no longer hinder this culture warrior in her mission to reshape America. Governor Sarah Palin is the future of the Republican Right and every real American knows you can never be to Right.

Oct 30, 2008 - 5:54 pm 86. ncgma:

To Alo Kievalar:

“If you don’t see that simple truth, you’re either kidding yourself or your contact with reality is very differnet from mine.”

Maybe your contact with reality is the one that is different!

Oct 30, 2008 - 7:59 pm 87. Robert Hurley:

All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:21 pm 88. skink:

a Rorschach Test?

did you perhaps mean a litmus test?

the Rorschach is used for differentiating psychotic from nonpsychotic thinking. Are you implying that anyone that supports Palin must be psychotic?

on seconds thoughts, upon reading the opinions of the majority of whack-jobs that visit this site, you may be right.

Oct 30, 2008 - 8:40 pm 89. Believer:

Well, a sampling of 817 voters in Israel don’t have much confidence in Obama. They favored McCain by a fair margin. Most were Democrats.

What figured most in their decisions were the advisors that Obama’s chosen. That lost him their confidence.

Obama: “are the chickens coming home to roost?”

Oct 30, 2008 - 11:05 pm 90. Marc Malone:

Believer – The actual significant point of the poll, is that 46% of the Dems voted for McCain. That’s the Jewish-American vote. That’s huge!

Robert Hurley – I’m not buying your poll stats, because apparently, Biden has better favorable/unfavorable ratings than Palin. Someone’s conducting a push poll.

Oct 31, 2008 - 12:45 am 91. House of Eratosthenes:

[...] a fascinating contribution of hers called The Palin Rorshach Test, Jennifer Rubin notes that Sarah Palin, the Alaska Governor currently running for the White House [...]

Oct 31, 2008 - 6:48 am 92. HonestAbe:

Even Lawrence Eagleberger, a McCain supporter and former Secretary of State thinks she’s a joke:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/31/eagleburger-blisters-pali_n_139524.html

Oct 31, 2008 - 7:35 am 93. Arnold:

And isn’t it a coincidence that he slipped & referred to “my Muslim religion”…….
What’s in the heart comes out via the tongue!
From Rush Limbaugh’s radio show …..
You are aware, probably, that Barack Obama lost his bearings recently and said that he was going to campaign in all 57 states.You heard this? And most everybody chalked it up to, ‘Well, he’s tired.’You know, this is a Dan Quayle moment. I mean, Dan Quayle goes out there and misspells ‘potato,’ and we still hear jokes about it. Barack Obama says he’s gonna go out and campaign in 57 states! He was just tired, you know, it’s been such a long campaign, he’s been so many places, he probably thinks there are 57 states. Well, I have here a printout from a web site called the International Humanist and Ethical Union. ‘Every year from 1999 to 2005 the organization of the Islamic conference representing the 57 Islamic states presented a resolution to the United Nations Commission on human rights called commbating.’

Obama said he’s going to campaign in 57 states, and it turns out that there are 57 Islamic states.
So did Obama just lose his bearings, or was this a more telling slip, ladies and gentlemen?

KEEP IT GOING, FOLKS! Our future is at stake…Make no mistake about it.

Oct 31, 2008 - 8:15 am 94. jane:

HonestAbe: – the Huffington Post is only one notch higher in the cesspool than the Daily Kos and not a source most of us credit.

nohype – Obama is smart enough to realize that he may create a total disaster in four years and that is why he is already trying to lower expectations. I guess he’s moved on to the next stage in managing his useful idiots – convince them that they can’t actually expect to hold him to all the lies he’s told in order to garner their support. We’re already reading the “it’s going to take a long time to clean up the Republican mess.” Didn’t you hear his “oh so qualified” running mate tell people to be prepared for thinking he’d gone off his rocker? Some of us already think that way – guess he’s just trying to bring his loons in line with us.

Oct 31, 2008 - 8:36 am 95. Robert Hurley:

It is a little late, but I had to share this report with you

“Nico Pitney and Sam Stein report that former Secretary of State Larry Eagleburger, one of John McCain’s key foreign policy surrogates, now says Sarah Palin isn’t ready to be president”

Oct 31, 2008 - 9:04 am 96. Granny:

I think the bottom line is ME. And what’s good for ME is good for YOU. That’s the mystery of human life. You get what you give. Only mothers (and some fathers) find that out. We become pragmatists. Hopefully Sarah fits that as well as she seems to. Don’t underestimate that unified family. That doesn’t just happen. It proves her points. She can-do.

Oct 31, 2008 - 9:14 am 97. Believer:

I’ll bet Eagleburger doesn’t think Obama is ready to be president.

I’ll bet he thinks Sarah Palin is more ready than Obama to be president.

And I’ll bet the troops want Palin to be their Commander-in-Chief a million times more than the troop-dissing Obama.

Vote McCain/Palin. For the troops. For America.

Oct 31, 2008 - 9:48 am 98. Believer:

Marc — thanks for clarifying — it’s great news, yes

Oct 31, 2008 - 9:57 am 99. Katie B:

Facts: Gov. Palin enjoys tracking down animals by airplane, chasing them until exhaustion, then moves in for the kill. See Defenders of Wildlife website for specifics. Plain and simple: A vote for a ticket with Palin on it is a nail in the coffin for wildlife. Better believe it my fellow animal lovers and environmentalists. You know the Polar Bear pin she wears? That’s not because she supports helping them, it’s meant as a slap in the face to those of us that very much care about their plight and global warming. Just google away and you’ll see that she sued the government to overturn Bush placing the bears on the endangered species list. She looks cute, is friendly as can be, but that’s one cold and calculated female we are looking at. Ruthless.

Oct 31, 2008 - 10:42 am 100. Jeff Weimer:

A wise mand once said, “character is what a person does do when no one is watching”.

Sarah Palin did poorly in her first interviews, there is no doubt. I chalk it up to two things – The handlers assigned didn’t have confidence in her and were afraid she would say something embarrassing to McCain. They got what they expected because they held her back. Second, she’s used to running her own campaign, and parsing her positions through the McCain campaign prism came hard to her, as it would any of us. She recently decided to “go rogue” and mostly ignore what her advisers told her to do, and she’s done remarkably well, without gaffes, unlike the many Biden spews weekly. Many of us worry about her resume – it’s a valid concern. It’s relatively short and under the radar for most of the nation. However, her record of accomplishment in such a short time and her temperament say volumes to those who are willing to look. Compared to Obama’s record, both are of roughly equal length, although Obama represented more people at all levels. That’s important, but in comparison, his power was diffuse, while hers was singular at all levels of comparison. He was a state senator representing his district, but his votes were shared amongst 58 other Senators. Hers as mayor was one. As US Senator, he shares his power with 99 other senators, they can only effect power with a majority or supermajority. Hers as Governor was one. As an aside, the governor’s club is exactly half that of US senators. She’s been in a “buck stops here” position for nearly her entire political career. When she became governor over TWO popular politicians, beating the Republican in the primary and the Democrat in the general, she immediately embarked on a political reform program and cutting spending and requested earmarks where she could. She took on the 800 pound gorilla in Alaska , “Big Oil”, twice – and won both times. She renegotiated the “windfall tax” (in reality a profit share) to better serve Alaskans – they own the oil after all. She then renegotiated the Gas pipeline with an eye on government to industry transparency, and won that too. “Big Oil” has proposed an alternative that uses no government money in response to the contract with a Canadian company. In essence, her short resume has very significant accomplishments. Compare Barack Obama’s resume, and it doesn’t have anything to compare – even his advisors are hard-pressed to find anything.

Many question her foreign policy experience. It’s one leveled at all governors as they don’t directly deal with those issues, and it’s valid. In her defense, Alaska is the only state bordered by two foreign countries (one friendly, the other no so much) and she has to deal with with them on a frequent basis. It’s not at the level of international brinkmanship, but her moves have to be careful that it doesn’t get that far. As to the other side, Obama’s foreign policy experience is arguably even less, and his instincts are worse. Review the Iran “no preconditions”, the Russia/Georgia contretemps last July and Sarkozy’s comments we’ve heard recently. True, he has Biden, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and that’s no small potatoes. However, Biden’s instincts are suspect – he proposed sending $200 million to Iran immediately after 9/11.

Yes, I’m a Palin fan. I’m impressed by her achievements, her willingness to take on the status quo (and win!), and the she hasn’t forgotten where she came from . Contrast that to Obama, who has relatives living in squalor (”my brother’s keeper”).

Oct 31, 2008 - 11:07 am 101. Alphonse Denayer:

This election is bringing out the true advocates of conservatism (pro Palin) and those who claimed conservatism as long as it allowed them the convenience to exist in their bubble of upper parlor room pesudo intelligentsia, such as Noonan, Brooks, Hitchens and Buckley. Powell was a Republican in name only, acting always out of loyalty to the Republicans who gave him his carrer oportunities and was clearly never a conservative.

Oct 31, 2008 - 1:45 pm 102. SeanLA:

I do like Sarah, I smile whenever I look her and will vote for her in a second, I would want someone like her to run this country.

As Biden said, many in todays administration will be charged with crimes and jailed once they take over, So my question is, what charges do you think Palin will be found guilty of come next year?

I know there are many investigations awaiting her once she gets back to Alaska, but what would be the one that they will put her in jail for?

It can’t just be a `local’ crime, like abuse of power, it has to be federal, she has to go on trial and convicted on the national level (TV), what crime do you think it will be?

Oct 31, 2008 - 3:34 pm 103. John Williams:

Surely someone who enjoys killing wild animals is unfit for any kind of office.

Oct 31, 2008 - 3:52 pm 104. Sue Davies:

It’s obscene to even consider giving the Republicans a second chance, Palin or no Palin. Here’s why:

The Republicans made two terrible errors, post 9/11.

First, when US forces had al-Qaeda on the ropes in Afghanistan, the White House suddenly and inexplicably switched to Iraq before finishing the job. Bin Laden slipped away and al-Qaeda was able to regroup.

Wth Saddam toppled, a re-energised al-Qaeda – which had never been in Iraq – was ready to step into the vaccum caused by the White House’s second lethal mistake, the failure to have a coherent What Next? policy in place.

As a direct result of those two mistakes, thousands of US and Allied soldiers have been killed or injured, at least 90,000 Iraqi civilian men, women and children have died and millions made refugees.

A second go? Forget it.

Oct 31, 2008 - 5:23 pm 105. Sabine:

I am not a Republican, but I can’t help it, I like this woman. She warms up to me in a strange way. All she needs is a few more years in the political arena, and I think she will be a force to be reckoned with.

I like the fact that she is an average woman with everyday issues to deal with; like many of today’s women. That gives her an advantage.

She did a good job in the debate with Biden. I agree with jvon, I too love her energy, enthusiasm and optimism.

Oct 31, 2008 - 6:09 pm 106. Kevin Sharpsville, PA:

Count me in the Player catagory.

McCain-Palin 08!

Palin-Jindal 2012!

Oct 31, 2008 - 6:17 pm 107. Kevin Sharpsville, PA:

John William,

If you eat it, killing it is completely acceptable. No, it is COMMENDABLE.

You sir, most likely don’t possess the cojones to kill your own chow…without the butcher, you would starve.

Oct 31, 2008 - 6:21 pm 108. Believer:

Eagleburger has clarified his remarks:

Calling Obama a “flim-flam artist” he said he has no experience in foreign affairs and his positions on foreign policy have been both “stupid” and “contradictory.” Adding he has had no executive experience either.

He said Palin, on the other hand, has had executive experience and has had no reason to be knowledgeable about all things regarding foreign affairs. But she’s learning even now from the best – John McCain. And has proven to be a quick study.

As I’d said upthread, I was pretty sure he’d be far more comfortable with Palin than the “flim-flam artist.”

Oct 31, 2008 - 7:15 pm 109. Edward A.:

Why has the McCain campaign fallen apart? Is this due to Sarah Palin? Why is she being blamed for the weak, wandering, unfocused campaign?
Remember, McCain slected her proving his inability to make intelligent decisions. But, why blame her? She is clearly beyond her limited ability which seems to be recognized more and more by a majority of Americans.

Oct 31, 2008 - 8:35 pm 110. Dave:

Republicans are gonna lose Big Time! Look what folksy, simple minded, I wanna have a beer with that guy, got us. 2 wars, Katrina, financial meltdown to name just a few. We don’t hate Mrs. Palin, we just don’t want her ruining our country even further.

Oct 31, 2008 - 9:39 pm 111. Marc Malone:

Dave – Wow! Bush got us Katrina? He moved the very winds? He was supposed to be ready for a Cat 5 hurricane. FEMA was not set up (by Congress) to be a proactive, or even a reactive, organization. It was just supposed to be a relief coordinating operation. They learned, and things went very smoothly this year, didn’t they? What do you want from a President: Omniscience?

He got us two wars? I thought there was just one: the War on Terror. Did Bush get us 9/11? Or was that Clinton cutting the CIA budget so drastically, or refusing to take Bin Laden when he was offered on a silver platter?

The financial meltdown is Bush’s fault? Y’know, I could swear he called many times for reform of F/F. In fact, he did it 17 times this year alone, before the meltdown happened. Who caused it? The Dems. They own this problem. They just spin it better.

Nov 1, 2008 - 3:04 am 112. henrykaye:

let us not forget who got us in this mess—the intelectuals Harvard Yale educated if there so smart why are we in this economic mess????? were did Lincoln go to college, were did Regan go to school

Nov 1, 2008 - 3:52 am 113. Scott:

Dave # 110 –

You might want to wipe that Kool-Aid moustache off your upper lip.

It’s a dead give-away to your juvenile level of understanding about 1) war, 2) Katrina, 3) the financial meltdown, and 4) probably everything else that should be under consideration during this political season.

Nov 1, 2008 - 9:33 am 114. s sommer:

Mc Cain had me, until he let himself be arm-twisted by evangelical leaders into choosing Palin.
The idea of her taking over should something happen to him is just unthinkable. Wake up, people!
Do you want a puppet president, if that happens? The guy is 72! I had a 48 year old friend drop dead of a heart attack recently.. such things happen all the time. No warning, at all.
I watched videos of her debate to become governor. Easy to see how she won: lousy competition!
I studied her record via the Alaska press going back to her days as mayor. Go online & read & see.
She is a phony, exaggerates and lies about her record. How does she get away with it?
She is criticized by the press for superficial things, but hardly anybody is truly looking at her record and her bald-faced lies: about earmarks, the stadium deal, the ethics report, on & on.
Why do people fall for her emotionally, without checking out the facts? Craving a politico to love!

Nov 1, 2008 - 1:20 pm 115. Believer:

#109 had better wake up and watch the “change” that’s in the air.

McCain is catching up with – and in MISSOURI(!) moving ahead – in the polls.

His campaign hasn’t fallen apart at all — and Palin continues to pull in the huge crowds.

More and more Americans are learning the truth about Obama. No thanks to the biased media. They’ve been the biggest enemy to a fair election process the past two years.

Well, maybe Obama’s own campaign and his old pals at ACORN have had as much to do with corrupting the election process.

But, despite it all — McCain may very well pull out what Americans want: McCain/Palin for the next four years.

Nov 1, 2008 - 3:56 pm 116. Marc Malone:

s sommer – So… you got your info from the the Alaska Press? That would be the MainStream Media (MSM), right? No wonder you don’t think well of her… but her constituents do. That would be a clue. Forget what the press says. Just look at the results.

As mayor, she balanced the budget AND reduced porperty taxes. Soliciting earmarks, she got lots of infrastructure built. Wasilla is the fastest growing town in Alaska still, because of the infrastructure and policies put in place. In her 6 years there, the town grew 50%. That is good management, no matter what anyone says about her. She had no special training for the job.

When she headed the extremely important oil and gas commission, she earned $118k/yr… more than hubby. She quit in protest of unethical behavior by the others and blew the whistle. She walked away from a job that paid more than half her family’s combined income and it should have scuttled her political career. She stood on principle. Could you have done that? Many of those others are now in jail. Good on her.

As Governor, she took an axe to government waste. In two years, she used the lone-item veto to cut a half Billion(!) dollars in waste. She fired all kinds of people who wouldn’t get on board with the changes because they insisted in continuing to try to feed at the government trough. Whack, whack, whack. Ethics probe? Monegan was clearly one of those pigs who wouldn’t stop trying to feed at the trough. Changed his story when he had a chance to get back at her. Whom do you believe: Monegan; or the woman who walked away from a high-paying job on principle? More good on her for all this.

She upped the rate oil companies pay for mining the resources. She gave the money to the people in an added bonus to prepare for the high winter costs that seemed to be coming. The negotiations were done in public, instead of a crooked backroom deal as before. She then finally got the pipeline project going that had ostensibly been in the works for 30 years, with no progress made. More good on her.

She accomplished all this in relatively short time with no special training; just a strong sense of right and wrong. Nevermind all the wordsmiths. The towering accomplishments speak for themselves. They stand there like a great truth, unassailable, a light for all to see.

Good on her.

Nov 1, 2008 - 5:52 pm 117. Javelin:

This is the way I see it;
The Palin supporters are basically the stupid, shallow reactionary fatheads who see themselves in Palin, like your average two bit talk show scum or mindless worshippers of redneck schtick like Fred Barnes. Since most people never heard of her or could tell with certainly what the capital of Alaska is b4 McCain picked her, the fact that they swallowed the Palin bait so quickly shows that they are just common herd followers.

So if aomeone was a peabrain who bought into the stupid blue blood with his phony cowboy act called W., Palin is the logical next step for worshippers of crassness. The rest of the world sees her as a dimwit who has already violated the Peter Principle, unless they are tokens who pen screed for the right wing blog and press industry.

What is really laughable and contemptible is the same people who would screech if you suggested some of Obama’s critics are motivated by racism were the first to jump up to smear Palin’s critics as anti – (women, conservative, hunter, Christian, American) or simply call them sexist or elitists. Really, it sounds more like right wing political correctness and reverse snobbery; where what is generally regarded as common, shallow and stupid is held up as virtue!

If this annoyed some of you, then I made my point!

Nov 1, 2008 - 6:41 pm 118. Javelin:

Malone,
Didn’t McCain pick her cause he said she shared his anti-earmarks plank? And didn’t she up the spending in Wasila a good chunk for her hockey rink, in a land full of frozen ponds?

Nov 1, 2008 - 6:50 pm 119. Peg C.:

The best argument in favor of Palin is the enemies she generates. Best measure of a person is whether they love her or hate her. That’s my litmus test.

Nov 1, 2008 - 7:07 pm 120. The Wide Awake Cafe » Barack Obama Cannot Close:

[...] has made the hard decisions, the wise decisions and in this election, in his brilliant choice of Sarah Palin for his veep, he made the one bold decision that united the Republican base, thus paving the way for [...]

Nov 1, 2008 - 7:07 pm 121. Javelin:

So Peg, are you saying that a person can be judged as good or evil depending on whether they like Palin or not, or Palin is hte measure of all things good in the world? If that is what you mean, then you are truly a small mind of dimmest wattage, a true sap.

Nov 1, 2008 - 9:29 pm 122. jane:

This is the way I see it;
The Obama supporters are basically the lazy shallow reactionary insipid do-nothings who see themselves in Obama, like your average non-productive hateful freeloaders or mindless worshippers of an empty suited unqualified crook out of the Chicago machine.

See how easy it is?

Nov 2, 2008 - 7:53 am 123. jaimeshawn:

Love Palin.

Can’t stand the other candidates.

Nov 2, 2008 - 10:53 am 124. Javelin:

So Jane, is that how you feel about most of America, I guess this country will never live up to your pristine moral and intellectual standards.

Like I said before, the reactionary dimwits who admire and support W are the same ones who admire and support Palin, they see a fellow small mind but prettier; pure identity politics!

Nov 2, 2008 - 11:51 am 125. Javelin:

If supporting Palin is the measure of today’s conservatism,, as defined by talk show hosts and big mouths, then count me out. I have never been part of the base, not being either reactionary, stupid or Christian. I live in the real world and want nothing to do with mental midgets and moral hypocrites who gave us W and all the mess his ideologically driven incompetence brought us.
Though I will still vote for McCain, but it’s pandering to the W and Palin loving dimwits of the base that has ruined McCain’s chances!

Nov 2, 2008 - 12:08 pm 126. John Williams:

Kevin 107,
Whether or not I eat meat is immaterial. Most people, in the US and in the World, eat meat. So the most that we can hope for is that the animals are well looked after then killed quickly and cleanly.

That doesn’t happen in hunting. All too often the animals die in terrible agony because most hunters are not good marksmen and rarely produce clean kill shots.

Maybe Sarah Palin is an excellent markswoman, but even the experts don’t kill with every first shot. I used to hunt but What turned me against it was seeing so few hunters ever showing the slightest remorse for the suffering they inflicted. It’s nothing to be admired.

Nov 2, 2008 - 4:29 pm 127. jane:

You’re actually somewhat right Javelin. I do see many – not all but many of the Obama supporters as shallow freeloaders who are so emotionally needy that they are looking for a keeper rather than a leader. IMO many Obama supporters remind me of the people who followed Jim Jones.

You seem to have no difficulty insulting the people who do support Palin so why call me on dismissing those who support Obama? You think it acceptable to say this about Palin supporters “your average two bit talk show scum or mindless worshippers of redneck schtick” and yet imply that I must think I’m better than they. At least I’m not the one who got sucked into a mindfog by a guy who only mirrors back whatever his audience wants.

Nov 3, 2008 - 11:24 am 128. Marc Malone:

#118 Javelin – Yes, McCain chose her for her anti-earmarks stance, among other reasons. As Mayor, she sought earmarks for public inffrastructure projects. These were not spurious projects put into place to enrich her buddies. They went to solid projects, like roads and such.

Alaska got so many earmarks, because it is a huge State with a small population. In order to exploit the resources and develop the land, they need outside capital infusion. Yes, she built a hockey rink, among other things. I lived in AK for a year. Guess what? It’s not frozen all the time. Really. I believe she used a bond issue to bild it. That has to be directly voted in by the people. Seems they went for it. You got a problem with that? These earmarks are what allowed the city to become the fastest growing town in Alaska.

There’s nothing wrong with earmarks in principle, but rather in practice. Not everyone is ethical like Palin. The system gets abused. So, as Governor, she has reduced the number of earmark request dramatically. She’s picking and choosing the requests, and you can bet they won’t be wasted dollars.

Any more questions?

Nov 4, 2008 - 12:31 am 129. james r.:

Since,the ‘chosen one’s’ election our media has put the greatest of effort! & energy defining Gov. Sarah Palin in the most inhuman, & negative terms. Perhaps next year?,when america views their sons,& daughters marched off to die in a confrontation with a nuclear armed! Pakistan, lead by our fearless leader the untested one,or just maybe when?,our are troops still in Iraq as trainers?, get attacked! by a suicide bomber, they won’t be ‘dead!’,because Obama the man who ‘campaigned’ for 20 months telling the sheeple of america he would end the war,but privately, & so secretly1 promised Iraqi officials hw would maintain US troops levels,do you think???, our media might attempt to define Obama for what he is??, did you say no!…,then your right.

Nov 8, 2008 - 5:30 pm

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The Sarah Palin Rorschach Test

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